The rest of the week became a delicious kind of torture.

By day, we played the perfect roles: Marcus’s quiet little sister and his laid-back best friend. We laughed at the same jokes, helped with chores, and sat through family dinners like nothing had changed. But under the table, Damien’s foot would brush mine. In the hallway, his fingers would graze my waist as he passed. Every stolen touch sent electricity racing across my skin and left me aching for more.

By night, the real fire began.

On the fifth night, after everyone had gone to bed, I slipped out to the beach again. The moon hung low and silver over the water. I spread my blanket on the sand and waited, heart hammering with anticipation and nerves.

He didn’t make me wait long.

Damien appeared like a shadow, barefoot and wearing only loose shorts. The moment he saw me, he crossed the distance in long strides and pulled me into his arms. Our kiss was immediate, deep, urgent, weeks of pent-up longing pouring out in the crash of waves around us.

“You’re driving me insane,” he growled against my mouth, hands sliding down my back to grip my hips. “Every time I look at you during the day, all I can think about is this.”

I shivered, pressing closer. My shyness melted a little more each time we were alone. “Then stop thinking and show me.”

He groaned, a raw sound that made heat pool low in my belly. He lowered me onto the blanket, covering my body with his. The weight of him felt perfect, solid, warm, overwhelming in the best way. His mouth moved from my lips to my neck, sucking lightly at the sensitive spot below my ear until I gasped.

“Quiet, baby,” he whispered, smiling against my skin. “Can’t have Marcus hearing those pretty sounds you make for me.”

His hand slipped under my thin tank top, pushing it up slowly. This time he didn’t stop at my ribs. His palm cupped my breast, thumb brushing over the lace of my bra. I arched into his touch, a soft whimper escaping before I could stop it.

“Fuck, you’re so responsive,” he murmured, kissing lower, pushing the fabric higher. “Been dreaming about tasting you.”

When his mouth closed over my nipple through the lace, pleasure shot through me like lightning. I bit my lip hard to stay quiet, fingers tangling in his dark hair. He took his time, switching sides, teasing until I was squirming beneath him.

“Damien…” I breathed, voice shaky.

He lifted his head, eyes dark with lust. “Tell me what you want, Elena. I need to hear it.”

My cheeks burned, but the words slipped out anyway. “Touch me… more.”

That was all the permission he needed.

His hand slid down my stomach, slipping beneath the waistband of my shorts. He paused, giving me one last chance to stop him. When I didn’t, his fingers dipped lower, finding me already wet and aching.

“Shit,” he hissed, forehead dropping to my shoulder. “You’re soaked for me. All this time pretending to be shy… and you’re this ready?”

I could only moan softly as he stroked me with slow, deliberate circles. The pleasure built fast and intense, my hips rocking against his hand instinctively. He kissed me again, swallowing every sound, his own breathing ragged.

“That’s it,” he whispered against my lips. “Let go for me. Come on my fingers, baby.”

The words, combined with the skilled pressure of his touch, pushed me over the edge. I came with a muffled cry against his neck, body trembling as waves of pleasure crashed through me.

Damien held me through it, murmuring soft praises“Good girl… so beautiful… mine”until I floated back down.

When I finally caught my breath, I reached for him, wanting to return the favor. My hand brushed the hard length straining against his shorts, but he gently caught my wrist.

“Not tonight,” he said, voice strained. “This was for you. We have time… as long as we’re careful.”

He kissed me softly, almost tenderly, then helped me straighten my clothes. We lay tangled together on the blanket for a while longer, listening to the waves, his fingers tracing lazy patterns on my arm.

“You know this can’t last forever like this,” he said quietly into the darkness. “The secrecy. The hiding.”

“I know,” I whispered, pressing closer. “But I don’t want to think about that yet.”

Damien sighed, pulling me tighter against his chest. “Neither do I. Not when you feel this right in my arms.”

As we finally slipped back into the house separately, him first, then me a few minutes later, I couldn’t shake the mix of euphoria and fear swirling inside me.

We were playing with fire.

And neither of us wanted to stop.

The final days of the beach house vacation felt like borrowed time.

Every stolen moment with Damien was sweeter and more dangerous than the last. We became experts at pretending, laughing easily with Marcus during the day, then disappearing into shadows at night. A quick kiss in the pantry while Marcus showered. His hand sliding up my thigh under the dinner table. A whispered “I need you” against my ear when no one was looking.

But the closer we got, the harder it became to hide the fire between us.

On our last full night, the house was restless. Marcus had invited a couple of local friends over for a bonfire and drinks. Music played low from a portable speaker, laughter floated on the breeze, and the scent of grilled marshmallows mixed with saltwater air.

I stayed on the edge of the group, nursing a soda, my eyes constantly finding Damien across the fire. He leaned against a log, talking casually with Marcus, but his gaze kept drifting to me, dark, hungry, full of promises.

When Marcus and his friends decided to run down to the water for a midnight swim, the opportunity was too perfect to ignore.

Damien caught my eye and tilted his head toward the house. A silent invitation.

My heart raced as I slipped away first, pretending I was going inside for a sweater. He followed a minute later.

We barely made it through the back door before he had me pressed against the wall in the dimly lit hallway. His mouth crashed onto mine, hot and demanding. I melted instantly, hands fisting his shirt as he lifted one of my legs around his hip.

“Been dying to do this all night,” he growled between kisses, grinding slowly against me so I could feel how hard he was. “Watching you in that little sundress… knowing exactly how wet you get for me.”

A soft moan escaped me. His hand slipped under my dress, fingers teasing along the edge of my panties. “Damien… someone might come back.”

“I know,” he rasped, nipping at my bottom lip. “That’s what makes it so fucking hot.”

He pushed my panties aside and stroked me with two fingers, swallowing my gasp with another deep kiss. I was already slick, aching from days of teasing. He circled my clit with perfect pressure, making my knees buckle.

“Quiet, baby,” he whispered, voice strained with his own need. “Don’t want Marcus hearing how pretty you sound when I touch you.”

The risk made everything sharper. My hips rocked against his hand as pleasure built fast and intense. He added a finger inside me, curling it just right, and I had to bite his shoulder to muffle my cry as I came hard, trembling against him.

Damien held me through it, breathing ragged, his forehead pressed to mine. “God, Elena… you’re going to be the death of me.”

I reached for the waistband of his shorts, eager to give him the same relief, but he caught my hand again, kissing my knuckles.

“Not here. Not like this,” he said, though his voice was rough with restraint. “When I finally take you completely, I want you spread out beneath me with all the time in the world. Not a quick fuck against the wall while your brother’s twenty yards away.”

The promise in his words sent fresh heat through me.

He straightened my dress, smoothed my hair, and pressed one last soft kiss to my swollen lips. “Go back out first. I’ll follow in a minute.”

I nodded, legs still shaky, and slipped outside just as laughter echoed from the beach. Marcus and his friends were heading back up, towels slung over their shoulders.

I rejoined the group, cheeks flushed, trying to act normal. Damien appeared a few minutes later, looking calm and collected, except for the dark heat in his eyes when they met mine.

Later that night, as everyone finally went to bed, I lay awake staring at the ceiling.

Our secret was getting bolder. Riskier.

And deep down, I knew we were running out of time before someone noticed the way we looked at each other.

The way we couldn’t keep our hands off each other.

The way this forbidden flame was becoming impossible to hide.