Page 35 of Sticks & Serpents

And in that moment, I knew this was just the beginning. She might think she was free, but deep down? She was mine again. She just didn’t know it yet.

As she disappeared around the corner, I leaned back against the wall, satisfaction coiling within me like a tightly wound spring ready to snap. The game had changed; our roles were shifting once more. No longer just memories haunting each other’s pasts—we were tangled up in something far more dangerous now.

The thought of reclaiming her sent adrenaline surging through my veins. She would fight it; she always did. But eventually, she'd come back to me.

I felt that familiar spark ignite—a promise that this time would be different. And for once? I welcomed the chaos that lay ahead.

I checked my phone later,heart pounding from the adrenaline still coursing through me. Nothing from her. Not a single word after our kiss.

Doesn’t matter, I told myself. She’d need time to process everything that just happened—time to wrestle with those emotions I knew were bubbling beneath the surface. I tossed my phone onto the bed, a satisfied grin creeping across my face.

I picked it up again, thumb hovering over the screen as I crafted a message.

Didn’t feel like a mistake to me.

There was power in those words, a challenge wrapped in familiarity.

I hit send and tossed the phone aside again, letting it rest on the sheets.

A moment later, my mind wandered back to her expression when I pulled away—the mixture of anger and desire painted vividly on her face. The way she looked at me, as if she were battling against some magnetic pull that kept drawing her closer, ignited something primal within me.

She was slipping back into me.

That thought settled deep in my gut, fueling the confidence swelling inside me like an unstoppable tide. The fire in her eyes during our kiss—how it flickered and burned—told me everything I needed to know. Holly was trying so hard to maintain that defiance, but I saw right through it; there was always something between us that couldn’t be ignored.

And soon? She’d fall. Hard.

Every fiber of my being buzzed with anticipation at that prospect. It wouldn’t take much longer before she realized this was where she belonged—with me, tangled in this beautiful chaos we created together.

With each passing moment, I could sense the walls she’d built around herself starting to crack just a little more. It thrilled me knowing how much control I still held over her emotions; how easily she could be swept up by the tide of everything we used to share—the heat of passion mixed with resentment, love tangled in chaos.

I let out a low chuckle as I sank back into my thoughts, waiting for the moment when she'd finally break down those barriers completely and surrender herself to what we both knew existed between us.

It would happen; it always did.

Chapter11

Holly

Ipractically sprinted back home, my heart pounding like a war drum. The neighborhood stretched before me, the flickering lights overhead only amplifying the chaos in my chest. I pressed my lips together, feeling the remnants of Damien’s kiss linger—swollen and warm against my skin.

Each step felt heavier, laden with a mix of adrenaline and something else that twisted in my stomach. Fear clawed at me, but it was worse than that. I could still feel him—the weight of his body against mine, the roughness of his hands holding me captive. Everything I had once sworn I hated about Damien ignited something deep within me, something primal that fought against the voice screaming for me to run.

His dominance enveloped me like a dark cloud, and as much as I wanted to deny it, I craved that control. I couldn’t shake off the electric thrill coursing through my veins when he pushed me against the wall. My breath quickened at the memory of his smirk, that knowing glint in his eyes when he realized just how easily he unsettled me.

I reached the door to my room and fumbled with the knob, hands shaking so hard it took two tries to get inside. The moment I stepped into my room, I locked the door behind me as if it could keep out all those memories and feelings rushing back. But they crept in anyway—every detail of his touch burned into my mind.

I sank onto the edge of my bed and buried my face in my hands. “What am I doing?” My voice cracked under the weight of confusion.

I hated myself for wanting him again, for responding to him when everything screamed for me to stay away. This was why I had left in the first place—the chaos, the pain wrapped in seductive whispers—but here I was, drawn back into his orbit as if no time had passed at all.

My heart raced, and I squeezed my eyes shut, willing the memory of Damien’s lips away.

But he was already inside my head.

I hated him for it. Hated myself more.

The kiss lingered like smoke in a closed room, curling around my thoughts and suffocating any rationality. “It was a mistake,” I muttered under my breath. “A lapse. A moment of weakness.” I repeated the words like a mantra, hoping to drown out the way his touch ignited something deep within me.

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