Chapter 4 Lies Between Sheets and Shadows

1:13 AM - Ariella's Apartment

Ariella tasted regret and desire in the same breath.

Damien's mouth was on hers - hot, demanding - and her fingers twisted into his soaked shirt, pulling him deeper, closer, against every screaming voice in her head.

She should've stopped him.

She didn't.

Their kiss wasn't gentle. It was wild, charged, as though two years of silence had built a dam that now broke loose in a single breath. He walked her backward through her apartment without breaking contact, kicking the door shut with one heel. The storm outside faded behind the slam of wood and the crackle of heat between them.

Her back hit the wall. She gasped.

He used that second to press in, lips grazing her throat. "Tell me to stop."

She couldn't.

His hands were at her waist. Hers were in his hair. His breath was fire down her neck. Every part of her screamed to run. Every other part begged to stay.

"Tell me you don't want this," he murmured.

She didn't answer.

Because that would've been a lie.

And lying to Damien always came with a price.

---

1:35 AM - Bedroom

Her sheets were a mess of red silk and heat. Clothes trailed behind them like regrets - a heel by the hallway, her dress on the stairs, his shirt somewhere near the fridge.

Their bodies tangled like they'd never been apart. Her skin burned under his mouth. His hands left trails of fire along her ribs. Every kiss felt like a threat. Every touch a dare.

He whispered her name like a promise. She moaned his like a sin.

And when they came together, it wasn't gentle.

It was a war won and lost in a single, shattering breath.

---

3:07 AM - Silence

She lay beside him, chest heaving, sheets twisted around her legs. The room smelled of rain and sex and something too old to name - memory.

Damien's hand rested across her stomach, possessive.

"I shouldn't have let that happen," she whispered.

His voice was drowsy, but certain. "You didn't let it happen. You wanted it."

She turned to face him. "That doesn't mean it was smart."

He smiled faintly in the dark. "Since when did we ever do anything smart?"

She stared at him - tousled hair, skin flushed from heat, eyes half-lidded from release - and felt the familiar ache of danger.

"You think this fixes anything?"

"No," he said simply. "I think it breaks more."

At least he was honest.

For once.

---

7:20 AM - Cross Global Lobby

By morning, the masks were back on.

Ariella walked into the building like she hadn't just spent half the night tangled with her enemy. Her lipstick was fresh, her heels sharp, and her expression unreadable.

Damien was already in his office, sipping coffee.

She walked past him without a word.

He didn't stop her.

But as she passed, his eyes met hers - and in that fraction of a second, a memory crackled between them. Skin on skin. Breath on breath. Her nails in his back. His name on her lips.

She looked away first.

He smiled to himself.

---

9:03 AM - The Press Leak

It hit social media like a missile.

@NYInsider:

> BREAKING: Cross & Blake execs caught on camera - outside hotel, 2 AM. Lovers' reunion? Or something scandalous brewing? 👀💥

#EnemiesToLovers? #KissMeThenHateMe #CorporateHeat

The photo was blurry - a silhouette of Damien and Ariella outside her building last night. His hand on her waist. Her lips near his ear.

The internet exploded.

The boardroom exploded louder.

Ariella stormed into Damien's office, tossing a tablet onto his desk.

"You leaked this, didn't you?"

He didn't even look at it. "What do I gain by leaking a scandal that could tank our share price?"

"Notoriety. Control. Me."

His voice dropped. "I don't need to leak a photo to have you, Ari."

She hated how her name sounded from his mouth.

Hated more that her body remembered it.

"This could kill our brand," she snapped.

"It's also making headlines in 43 countries. Trending on every platform. Google stock jumped six points just off our name being mentioned next to desire. You know what sells better than perfume, Ari?"

She crossed her arms.

He grinned.

"Lust."

---

2:14 PM - The Confrontation

Her phone rang. Jules Bloom.

Her co-CEO. Her friend. Her only real ally.

"Tell me you didn't sleep with him," Jules hissed.

Ariella closed her office door and sank into the leather chair. "I didn't plan to."

"Planning isn't the issue, Elle. You broke your own rule."

Ariella winced. "I know."

"'Never kiss what you have to kill,' remember? That's what you told me when I started sleeping with that Italian investor."

"I remember," Ariella muttered.

"Then remember this: if you give Damien an inch, he'll take your throne. And if you fall for him again-he'll bury you under it."

---

7:38 PM - Damien's Penthouse

That night, she went to him.

He opened the door, expression unreadable. "Here to fight or surrender?"

"Neither," she said. "I want the truth."

He stepped aside. "That's a dangerous request."

She entered anyway.

"I saw the reports," she said. "The rumors. The leaks. But I also saw the charity deposit this morning. Anonymous. Six million dollars. A name I recognized buried in the transfer trail: A.C. Holdings."

Damien said nothing.

"That's your shell company."

He poured whiskey. "You did your homework."

"You covered for me, didn't you? The insider tip. The sabotage report last year. That was your team."

A beat.

"Yes."

She blinked.

"Why?"

He took a slow sip.

Then: "Because I made a mistake two years ago. I chose the company over you. I chose revenge over love."

She stared at him.

"You left me humiliated, Damien. Standing on that stage, with a merger pitch that collapsed, investors laughing, and you walking away without a word."

"I know."

"You ruined me."

"I know."

"And now you want forgiveness?"

He stepped closer. "No."

She raised a brow.

"I want redemption."

Silence.

Then she asked the question that had haunted her for two years.

"What happened, Damien? Why did you really walk away?"

He looked her dead in the eye.

"Because someone threatened your life if I didn't."

Her blood froze.

"What?"

"I thought I was protecting you. But I only destroyed you."

Ariella stepped back. "You expect me to believe that?"

"I'll show you proof."

"I don't want proof. I want truth."

"You just got it."

"I want time," she whispered.

He nodded.

And for once, Damien Cross didn't chase her.