Chapter 5 - The Stolen Kiss
The raw intensity of Damon's confession left Ren entirely speechless.
He had been watching her for months, orchestrating her employment just to protect her from his own dangerous world.
Damon closed the final distance between them and captured her lips in a bruising, desperate kiss.
Ren gasped into his mouth, but she didn't push him away.
She grabbed the lapels of his expensive shirt and kissed him back with equal, reckless passion.
For the first time in her life, she felt completely, overwhelmingly safe in a man's arms.
When they finally broke apart, both of them were panting heavily in the quiet hallway.
"I will never let Silas touch a single hair on your head," Damon promised, resting his forehead against hers.
Ren nodded, finally believing the stoic, mysterious billionaire was actually telling the absolute truth.
Later that evening, Ren was back in the kitchen preparing a complicated saffron risotto.
Her phone buzzed on the counter, flashing her brother Toby's name on the screen.
She answered it immediately, thrilled to hear his voice after the terrifying events of the week.
"Toby, are you okay?" she asked, stirring the rich, fragrant broth.
"Ren, you have to get out of that mansion right now!" Toby shouted through the receiver.
"Damon paid your debt, Toby, he is a good man and he is protecting us," she tried to explain.
"It wasn't Damon Cole who paid off the loan sharks, Ren," Toby cried frantically.
"I saw the signature on the final release documents this morning."
Ren stopped stirring the risotto, a sick feeling settling deep in her stomach.
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"Who signed the papers, Toby?" she whispered, terrified of the answer.
"It was Silas Cole, Ren, and he told the loan sharks that you belong to him now."
