Page 108 of Sticks & Serpents

Damien exhaled sharply, gripping the edge of a bench like it was his lifeline. “I do.”

My breath caught in my throat. The weight of his words crashed down around us, heavy and suffocating. Because that was the real answer—his admission cut deeper than any fist could have. It wasn’t rage or pride that drove him; it was fear. Fear of losing me to their whispers and judgment.

He stood there, muscles taut and jaw clenched, his vulnerability flashing in those eyes. It made my heart ache because I knew how much he struggled with that darkness inside him—the part that made him feel unworthy of love, unworthy of me.

“Damien,” I whispered, my voice barely above a breath as I reached out to touch his arm, grounding myself in this moment between us.

He flinched slightly at my touch but didn’t pull away. Instead, he stared at the ground like it held all the answers he couldn’t face. “You don’t know what they say… what they think.”

“Then tell me,” I urged softly. “Don’t let their words define you.”

His gaze snapped up to meet mine then, filled with confusion and something else—longing? Desperation? I wasn’t sure. But it was enough to make me take another step forward, closing the space between us until we were inches apart.

The tension between us crackled like static in the air. I could feel it, the weight of his fear and desperation wrapped around us like a thick fog. Damien cared too much, and that thought sent my heart racing. He would burn down his whole fucking world to protect me, and that terrified me more than anything else.

I reached out, brushing my fingers over his cheek, tracing the sharp line of his jaw. “You didn’t have to do this,” I whispered, the words barely escaping my lips.

His hands gripped my waist, pulling me flush against him. The heat radiating from his body wrapped around me like a blanket. “I don’t know how else to protect you,” he admitted, his voice raw and edged with something I couldn’t quite place.

My heart cracked wide open at his confession. It wasn’t just about the anger or the violence—it was deeper than that. He was lost in a storm of emotions that threatened to consume him whole, and all I wanted was to anchor him back to reality.

Damien pressed his forehead against mine, breathing hard as if every breath he took fought against an invisible weight. His entire body was tense, like he was barely holding himself together. The vulnerability in that moment felt sacred; it felt like we were standing on the precipice of everything.

I cupped his jaw with both hands, forcing him to look at me. “You’re not protecting me, Damien. You’re punishing yourself.” My voice trembled as I spoke those words; I could see the pain etched across his face.

His grip tightened on my hips, almost as if he feared I would slip away from him again. “I can’t fucking lose you.”

Those words hung in the air between us, heavy with meaning. They sliced through any remnants of doubt lingering in my mind about where we stood—or what we were becoming together.

I swallowed hard, blinking back tears that threatened to spill over. “Then stop pushing me away.”

His eyes darkened, the storm within them swirling more fiercely than ever. I noticed his hands shake slightly at his sides, betraying the chaos brewing just beneath his surface.

For the first time, I saw it—the fear beneath all that rage. It wrapped around my heart like a vice, squeezing tightly. I couldn’t ignore it any longer; this was more than just anger or pain—it was vulnerability, and it shattered my defenses.

“Let me love you, Damien,” I whispered, my voice barely carrying above the weight of everything hanging between us.

His throat worked as he processed my words, breath coming in ragged gasps that echoed the turmoil within him. The tension felt almost electric as I held his gaze, willing him to see that he didn’t have to face this alone.

Then, finally—finally—he leaned in.

He kissed me.

He kissed me hard and desperate, pouring every ounce of himself into that moment like I was the only thing keeping him from drowning in a sea of chaos. The heat of his mouth ignited a fire inside me, one I thought had been extinguished in the wake of all we had endured.

I melted against him, feeling the weight of his body press against mine as if he needed me just as much as I needed him. My fingers tangled in his hair, holding on tight as if he might slip away if I didn’t anchor him here.

Damien pulled me closer still, deepening the kiss until everything else fell away—the doubts, the fears, the judgment from others—and all that remained was this moment between us: raw and unguarded.

My heart raced in rhythm with our breaths mingling together as we lost ourselves in each other’s warmth. In that instant, nothing mattered but him and me—two souls colliding against all odds in a world that seemed determined to tear us apart.

The kiss felt like a promise; one that said we were still here despite everything threatening to drown us both.

He tugged off my pants with an urgency that left me breathless, never breaking the kiss. I felt the cold air hit my skin as he exposed me, but it only heightened the heat between us. In one swift motion, he lifted me up and slammed me against the wall.

His mouth left mine for a moment, just long enough to look into my eyes with a ferocity that made my heart race. And then he slammed inside of me.

The force of it took my breath away, and I gasped as he filled me completely. He didn't give me a chance to adjust or catch my breath; instead, he started moving with a relentless pace that left me clinging to him for dear life.

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