The door to her chamber opened without a knock.
Damien didn't enter so much as invade the space, the low light catching the lines of his suit, the shadow cutting sharp along his jaw.
"You didn't tell me everything."
Diana didn't look up from the book she wasn't really reading. "About what?"
His eyes narrowed. "About Rhys."
She let the book fall shut. "What do you want me to say? He showed up, grabbed my arm, told me to run. That's it."
Damien stepped closer, slow and deliberate, until the air between them felt charged enough to spark.
"That's not it. He said something to make you think."
"Maybe I just think for myself," she said, forcing the words out with a defiance that tasted almost sweet.
For a moment, silence stretched between them. Then he reached down, plucked the book from her hands, and set it aside.
"I don't care if you hate me," he said, his voice low, almost intimate. "I care if you forget who owns you."
Her chest tightened. "You don't own me."
His hand came up—not to grab, not to hurt—but to cup the side of her face. The warmth of his palm was at odds with the steel in his tone.
"Every choice you make while you're under my roof is mine to allow. That's the only way you stay alive in my world."
Her pulse was loud in her ears. "And what if I decide I'm done playing by your rules?"
His gaze didn't waver. "Then I'll teach you why my rules exist."
For a long moment, neither of them moved. She could feel the fight in her rising, the instinct to push him, to see if he'd bend or break. But there was something else beneath it—something dangerous, a pull she didn't want to name.
He dropped his hand and stepped back, but his eyes stayed on hers like he'd left a claim there.
"Tomorrow, you don't leave my side," he said. "Not for a second."
"And if I do?"
That faint, wolfish smile returned. "You won't."
---
Across the estate, Cassie poured herself a drink and leaned against the desk in the surveillance room. Rhys was watching the feed from Diana's chamber.
"You're smiling," Cassie noted.
"She's starting to push him," Rhys said, eyes fixed on the screen. "Sooner or later, she'll push too far."
Cassie swirled her glass, her lips curving. "And when she does?"
"She'll run," Rhys said. "Straight to us."