Chapter 125: Chapter 124: Reclaiming the Study
ARIA’S POV
Aria pushed open the study door and stepped inside, her heart pounding so hard she could hear it in her ears.
The room was exactly as she remembered....rich mahogany walls lined with bookshelves, the massive oak desk positioned by the windows overlooking the estate grounds, the leather sofa by the fireplace where so many intimate moments had unfolded between them.
And Damien, sitting behind his desk, phone pressed to his ear, his eyes finding hers the instant she entered.
He was in the middle of a call, his voice sharp and businesslike. "I don’t care about their timeline, Richard. If they can’t meet our requirements, we find different partners... Yes, I’m aware. I’m also aware that we hold the leverage here, so...." He paused, his eyes never leaving Aria’s face. "Look, I need to go. Send me the updated proposal by end of day."
He ended the call and set down his phone, his full attention turning to her.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. They just looked at each other across the study, the air between them thick with anticipation, with memory, with barely restrained need.
Then Damien gestured to the space in front of his desk. "Come here, Aria."
She crossed to him on trembling legs, her body already responding to the command in his voice, to the dark promise in his eyes.
When she reached his desk, he pushed his chair back slightly and patted his lap. "Sit."
Her breath caught. "Damien..."
"Sit on my lap, Aria. I want you close."
She moved around the desk and settled onto his lap, his arms immediately wrapping around her waist, pulling her back against his chest. The position was intimate, possessive, and achingly familiar.
"How was your night?" he murmured against her ear, his breath warm on her skin.
"Long. I couldn’t sleep. Kept thinking about...." She stopped, suddenly shy despite everything they’d done together.
"About what?" His hand slid up her thigh, a slow, deliberate movement that made her breath hitch. "About this? About being back here?"
"Yes."
"Are you happy to be back here at the estate?" His voice was casual, but she could hear the tension underneath, the need for reassurance.
"Yes," she whispered. "Yes, I’m happy to be here. With you."
"Good." His hand moved higher on her thigh, and she felt his lips curve into a smile against her neck. "Do you remember everything we did in this study, Aria? Everything that happened in this room?"
Her pulse quickened, heat flooding through her as memories assaulted her. His hands on her body. His mouth claiming hers. The way he’d made her fall apart on this very desk.
"Yes," she breathed. "I remember."
"Are you sure?" His hand reached the seam of her jeans, fingers tracing it slowly. "Are you sure you remember it all?"
His hand was already moving her jeans to the side, working at the button, and she was suddenly breathless, her body already trembling with anticipation.
"Yes, sir. I remember everything, sir."
The words slipped out before she could stop them, that automatic response to his dominance, and she felt his entire body tense behind her.
"Fuck, Aria." His voice was rough, strained. "Do you know what that does to me when you call me that? What it does to my dick when you say ’sir’ in that breathless voice?"
His hand slid beneath her panties, fingers finding her already wet, and he made a low sound of satisfaction.
"You’re already soaked for me." His fingers slid through her folds, exploring, teasing. "And I haven’t even really touched you yet. What does that say about you, Aria? That you’re dripping wet just from sitting on my lap?"
She was already shaking, her body responding to his touch with embarrassing eagerness. "Yes, Damien. I’m already wet. Please...."
"Please what?" His fingers circled her clit, barely touching, driving her insane. "What do you want?"
"Please....." She couldn’t form words, couldn’t think past the sensation of his fingers between her thighs, the hard length of him pressing against her from behind.
"Oh, I know what you need." One finger slid inside her, and she gasped. "But why should I give it to you? After everything that happened? After you lied to me for months?"
"Damien, please....."
"Why don’t we start settling scores now?" His voice was dark, edged with something that made her core clench. "You want to come? Then take it. Ride my finger and take what you want. I’m not going to do the work for you."
"Please, Damien, I’m so close.....I just need..."
"Then ride, Aria. Take what you want."
She started moving her hips, grinding down on his finger, chasing the pleasure he was dangling just out of reach. It was desperate, shameless, and she didn’t care. She needed this. Needed him.
"Yes, Aria," he encouraged, his free hand gripping her hip, guiding her movements. "That’s it. Ride it. Take what you want. Show me how desperate you are for me."
She was so close, the edge right there, pleasure building and building until she could barely breathe.....
And then he withdrew his hand completely.
"NO!" The cry tore from her throat, anguished and desperate. "Damien, please! I was so close.....please!"
"Do you want this, Aria?" His fingers returned to her entrance, teasing but not entering. "Do you really want this?"
"Yes! Please, sir, I want it....I need it...."
"Fuck, Aria, don’t call me that!" He cursed under his breath, his body tensing behind her. She could feel how hard he was, how much restraint he was exercising. "My dick is already rock hard. If you keep calling me ’sir’ in that voice, I’m going to lose what little control I have left."
He shifted her on his lap, positioning her so she was straddling him, facing him, her legs on either side of his thighs.
"Look at me," he commanded.
She opened her eyes, met his gaze, and the hunger she saw there made her breath stop.
His hand returned between her thighs, and this time he pushed two fingers inside her, then added a third, stretching her wider than before.
"Oh god....Damien...." Her head fell back, overwhelmed by the sensation.
"That’s it," he murmured, his fingers beginning to move. "Take all of me. Let me fill you. Let me remind your body what it feels like to be claimed by me."
His free hand moved to her sweater, pulling it up, then reaching behind to unhook her bra with practiced ease. The fabric fell away, exposing her breasts to his hungry gaze.
"Beautiful," he breathed. "Fucking beautiful."
Then his mouth was on her, taking her nipple between his lips and sucking hard.
Aria screamed, the dual sensation of his fingers inside her and his mouth on her breast overwhelming every sense.
"DAMIEN!"
He released her nipple just long enough to speak. "What is it, Aria? Do you want me to stop?"
"No! Please don’t stop....please...."
"Then let me remind your body who it belongs to." His mouth returned to her breast, sucking harder, teeth grazing the sensitive peak while his fingers curled inside her, finding that spot that made her see stars. "Let me show you what it means to be mine. To be claimed by me. To surrender completely."
His thumb found her clit, pressing in firm circles while his fingers thrust deeper, faster, his mouth working her breast with an intensity that bordered on painful.
She was climbing, climbing, pleasure building to impossible heights....
"Come for me," he commanded against her skin. "Come on my fingers, Aria. Show me you remember who owns this body. Who owns your pleasure. Who owns every part of you."
His fingers curled one more time, his thumb pressed harder, his teeth scraped her nipple....
And she shattered.
The orgasm ripped through her with devastating force, her entire body convulsing, walls clamping down on his fingers so hard she heard him groan. She screamed his name, not caring who might hear, not caring about anything except the overwhelming pleasure consuming her.
He worked her through it, his fingers gentling but not stopping, prolonging the pleasure until she was gasping, shaking, barely able to hold herself upright.
When she finally came down, trembling and breathless, he withdrew his fingers slowly and brought them to his mouth, maintaining eye contact as he licked them clean.
"Delicious," he murmured. "You taste exactly as I remembered. Like honey and desperation and mine."
She couldn’t speak, could barely think, her body still trembling with aftershocks.
Damien’s hands went to her face, cupping it gently, his thumbs wiping away tears she didn’t remember crying.
"This is just the beginning," he said quietly, his eyes burning into hers. "This is me reclaiming you. Reminding you....and myself....that despite everything that happened, despite the lies and the betrayal and the pain, you belong to me. You always have. You always will."
"Damien...." Her voice was wrecked, barely recognizable.
"Shh." He kissed her softly, tenderly, so different from the brutal claiming of moments before. "We’re not done yet. Not even close. But first...." He pulled back, his expression shifting to something darker, more intense. "First, I need you to understand something."
"What?"
"I brought you here....to the estate, to this study....because this is where everything started between us. Where I first touched you. Where I first made you come apart in my arms. Where we built something real even though it was based on lies." His hands moved to her hips, holding her firmly. "And I wanted to reclaim this space. Wanted to replace the painful memories with new ones. Wanted to show you that we can be here together without the past destroying us."
Tears spilled over, and she didn’t try to stop them.
"I love you," she whispered. "I love you so much it terrifies me."
"I know. I love you too. And that terrifies me just as much." He kissed her again, deeper this time. "But I’m done running from it. Done trying to protect myself. You’re mine, Aria. Completely. And I’m yours. Whatever that means. Whatever that costs."
She wrapped her arms around his neck, held him close, felt his heart beating against hers.
They sat like that for long moments, just breathing together, the intensity of what had just happened slowly settling into something softer, something that felt almost like peace.
Finally, Damien pulled back slightly, a wicked smile playing at his lips.
"Now," he said, his voice dropping to that dark register that made her core clench despite having just come. "We’re going to go upstairs to my bedroom. And I’m going to spend the rest of the day reminding your body exactly who it belongs to. In every way I’ve been fantasizing about for the past month. Are you ready for that?"
She should have been exhausted. Should have needed time to recover.
Instead, she felt heat already beginning to build again.
"Yes, sir," she whispered.
He groaned, his forehead dropping to hers. "You’re going to be the death of me, Aria Chen."
"Probably," she agreed with a smile. "But what a way to go."
He laughed....actually laughed...and the sound was so beautiful, so rare, that it made her chest ache.
Then he stood, lifting her with him, her legs wrapping around his waist automatically.
"Hold on," he murmured against her neck. "Because I’m about to show you exactly what it means to belong to Damien Blackwood."
And as he carried her out of the study toward the stairs, Aria found herself thinking that she was the luckiest woman alive.
Even if she was probably going to be completely destroyed by the end of the day.
She couldn’t wait.
