Damian stood where Ava had left him, the faint echo of the door closing still ringing in the air, his gaze fixed on the space she had occupied only moments before. The room felt altered, as though her presence had shifted something fundamental and left it unsettled in her wake.
He exhaled slowly. His control had never failed him like this.
He crossed the room and stopped near the window, bracing one hand against the frame as he stared out into the grounds below.
His pulse still hadn't steadied even after she was gone...
The image replayed again in his mind...her kneeling on the floor, the sharp intake of breath when the glass cut her skin, the way she had gone still when he touched her. Not flinching or pulling away.
Trusting him...
Damian closed his eyes briefly.
. He had believed distance would make it manageable, that formality and restraint would keep things where they belonged.
Instead, Ava had slipped past his defenses without force or intention.
