Chapter 5 MINE TO PROTECT

Alex's Pov

Damien snatched the phone from my hand, his jaw clenched tight. "Block the number."

"That's your solution? Just ignore it?"

"Until we know who it is and what they want, yes." He sat up, running a hand through his hair. "It could be a bluff. Someone fishing for information."

"Or it could be someone who actually knows." My heart hammered against my ribs. "Someone who saw us together."

"We've been careful....."

"Have we?" I stood, pacing the room naked. "You had me working directly with you today. You think people didn't notice? You never pull junior executives onto projects personally."

His expression darkened. "So what do you want to do? End this before it really starts?"

"I want to know what we're dealing with." I grabbed my phone back. "I'm responding."

"Alex, don't...."

I typed quickly: "Who is this?"

The response came within seconds: "A friend. Meet me tomorrow. 2pm. The coffee shop on Fifth and Madison. Come alone."

"Absolutely not," Damien said, reading over my shoulder. "This could be dangerous."

"Or it could be someone trying to help." I turned to face him. "Either way, we need to know."

"Then I'm coming with you."

"They said alone."

"I don't care." He pulled me back onto the bed, his hands gripping my arms. "I'm not letting you walk into something that could hurt you."

"You can't protect me from everything, Damien."

"Watch me." He kissed me hard, possessive and desperate. "You're mine to protect now."

The claim should have annoyed me. Instead, it sent heat pooling low in my stomach. "Show me."

His eyes darkened. "What?"

"Show me I'm yours."

Something primal flashed across his face. He flipped me onto my stomach, his hand pressing between my shoulder blades to keep me down. "You want me to prove it?"

"Yes," I breathed.

I heard him moving, getting supplies ready. Then his slicked fingers were inside me again, rougher than before, stretching me quickly. I gasped into the sheets, my cock already hardening again despite having come minutes ago.

"You're going to feel me for days," he promised, adding another finger. "Every time you sit in a meeting, you'll remember this."

"Please," I moaned, pushing back against his hand.

He removed his fingers and I felt the head of his cock pressing against me. No condom this time, we'd both gotten tested over the weekend, shared results, made the decision together.

"Tell me you want this," he demanded.

"I want it. I want you. Please, Damien..."

He pushed inside in one hard thrust, and I cried out at the stretch, the burn, the perfection of it. He didn't give me time to adjust, just started moving with deep, punishing strokes.

"Mine," he growled, his hands gripping my hips hard enough to bruise. "Say it."

"Yours," I gasped out. "I'm yours."

He reached around to stroke my cock, already leaking and desperate. The dual sensation of him inside me and his hand on me was overwhelming. Every nerve ending was on fire.

"That's right." His teeth grazed my shoulder. "And I'm yours too. No one else gets to have this. Gets to have you like this."

His pace increased, each thrust driving me into the mattress. I was making sounds I'd never made before, completely uninhibited, lost to the pleasure he was giving me.

"Touch yourself," he ordered, releasing my cock. "I want both your hands on the headboard."

I gripped the headboard as instructed, and he adjusted the angle, hitting that perfect spot inside me with every thrust. My cock bobbed untouched between my legs, precum dripping onto the sheets.

"Look at you," he said, his voice rough with desire. "So desperate. So perfect."

"Please," I begged. "I need to come."

"Not yet." He slowed his pace to long, torturous strokes. "You come when I say you can."

I whimpered with frustration, my whole body trembling with need. He kept me on that edge, building me up then backing off, until I was sobbing into the sheets.

"Damien, please, I can't-"

"Yes, you can." His hand slid around to my throat, not squeezing, just holding. A claim of ownership that made my head spin. "You can take everything I give you."

He picked up the pace again, pounding into me relentlessly. My arms shook from holding myself up, every muscle taut with tension.

"Now," he finally said. "Come for me now."

I reached down and barely touched myself before I was coming, harder than I ever had before. My vision went white, pleasure so intense it almost hurt. I felt him stiffen behind me, felt the heat of him spilling inside me, marking me in the most primal way.

We collapsed together, both shaking and gasping. He stayed inside me as we came down, his arms wrapped around me protectively.

"I love you," he said quietly against my shoulder.

I froze. "What?"

"I like you." He pulled out carefully and turned me to face him. "I know it's fast. I know it's complicated. But I've never felt this way about anyone."

My throat tightened. "Damien-"

"You don't have to say it back." His thumb brushed over my cheek. "I just needed you to know."

"I-" The words stuck. Three months of anonymous conversations, one weekend together, and he was saying he has feelings for me? It was insane. Impossible.

And yet.

"I think I might have little feelings for you too," I whispered. "I think I have for a while."

He kissed me, soft and sweet, so different from the rough possession of moments ago. We stayed like that, tangled together in the aftermath, until reality intruded.

"About tomorrow," I said eventually. "I'm going to that meeting."

"We're going to that meeting," he corrected.

"If you come with me, it tips our hand."

"I'll stay in the background. Watch from a distance." His grip tightened on me. "But I'm not letting you face this alone."

I wanted to argue, to prove I could handle things myself. But the truth was, I didn't want to face it alone either.

"Fine. But you stay out of sight unless I signal you."

"Deal." He pulled me closer. "Stay tonight. I'll have you driven to work separately in the morning."

I nodded, already drifting off in his arms. Tomorrow would bring whatever it brought. Tonight, I just wanted to be his.

My phone buzzed one more time. Another message from the unknown number: "Smart choice. See you tomorrow. And Alex? Bring your boss if you want. I already know he'll be there anyway."

I showed Damien the message. His expression went ice cold.

"Whoever this is, they've been watching us closely."

"Too closely," I agreed, fear creeping up my spine.