Chapter 420: Not Your Mate
Sofia’s POV
For a moment, silence filled the office—only the sound of our ragged breathing and the creak of the desk beneath us. My body was wrecked, trembling, sweat cooling on my skin. I thought—hoped—it was over.
But then Damien didn’t soften. He didn’t pull out.
My eyes flew open, my heart lurching when I felt him still hard, still deep inside me. His breath came rough against my ear, his voice a gravelly growl.
"Not yet," he rasped. "I’m not finished."
My stomach dropped. "Damien—" My protest cracked into a gasp as his hips shifted, pulling back and slamming forward again with savage force.
"Thought I’d let you go that easy?" he snarled, his teeth grazing my throat. "No. I have missed this for three fucking years."
Damn it. I forgot how a beast Damien was in sex. He could go round upon round with me.
I clawed at his shoulders, half to push him away, half to anchor myself as he set a brutal pace, driving into me like he was carving his name into my body. My legs slipped from his shoulders, but he caught them, folding me in half, pinning me open beneath him.
The angle was ruthless. Every thrust struck deep, knocking the air from my lungs, making my body bow and shudder helplessly against the desk.
"Damien—stop—" I begged, but the words were breathless, broken, traitorous, drowned in the sounds spilling from my throat.
"Liar," he growled, sweat dripping onto my chest as his mouth crashed against mine, devouring me, punishing me. "You don’t want me to stop. You never did."
My back arched, my nails tearing at his skin, and still he moved harder, faster, and relentlessly. His groans mingled with my cries, filling the room with the raw chaos of us—anger, lust, hate, and need colliding in every thrust.
My body betrayed me again, that unbearable heat coiling tight, too much, too fast. "Damien!" I screamed, cumming for the third time, my release ripping through me so violently I thought I’d shatter into pieces.
And finally—finally—he let go.
With a guttural roar, Damien buried himself deep, his entire body trembling as he spilled inside me, the force of his release shaking through every muscle. His grip on my thighs was bruising, his mouth against my neck hot and deep.
When it ended, he sagged against me, both of us spent, chests heaving, sweat-slick skin pressed tight.
My legs were jelly. Every muscle in my body trembled as I tried to push myself up from the desk. The wood was slick beneath my palms. I slid off the edge, my knees almost giving way beneath me.
A rough, steadying hand shot out, gripping my arm before I hit the floor.
"Careful," Damien muttered, his voice still raw, his grip tight around my waist as he steadied me.
"Let me go," I snapped, yanking at his hold. My hair clung to my damp face; my chest heaved. "Just let me go, Damien."
His brows drew together, his jaw hardening. "What the hell is wrong with you?" His voice rose, low but annoyed. "You’re my mate."
The word hit me like a blow, but I forced a bitter laugh, twisting out of his hold. "I’m not officially your mate," I spat. "Not really. She might be out there somewhere, Damien. Your real mate. What happens when you find her?"
His eyes darkened, his chest rising and falling, sweat gleaming on his skin. "I’ve already accepted you," he said, voice rough, almost pleading under the anger. "You’re the one I chose."
I scoffed, wrapping my arms around myself as if that would keep me from breaking. "I don’t have your mark," I threw back at him, my voice cracking on the last word. "That’s all that matters in our world, isn’t it? I don’t have it."
He flinched like I’d struck him, his mouth tightening. "You don’t have my mark," he said slowly, "because two days before our mating ceremony... you disappeared."
The truth hung between us, heavy and jagged.
My heart lurched painfully, the old wound tearing open. He wasn’t lying. I had run. I had left everything behind, including him.
Damien stepped closer, his eyes locked on mine, unreadable but burning. "You vanished, Sofia," he said, his voice low but shaking with pain. "You could have been my mate... you could have had my mark if only you didn’t run away."
I saw the pain in his eyes... My disappearance must have hurt him so much... Even my wolf stirred in pain for him, and I felt the urge to cup his face and apologize. Say sorry for leaving, but then I remembered Rebecca. Her death, and he was my number one suspect, and until I know for sure he has no hand in it, he and I can never be together.
"I m... I’m sorry," I heard him whisper, his face softening. "If I hurt you or did anything wrong—" his voice —"I’m sorry."
His throat worked as he swallowed, his eyes searching mine like he was trying to claw his way back into me. "Let’s just go back," he said hoarsely, his voice breaking. "Sofia, I love you so much. I’ve never stopped. And I can see you still love me."
That hit harder than I expected. It made something inside me want to collapse into him, to believe him, to let go of every wall I’d built. But the image of her slammed back into me—Rebecca, her death, her chopped head, the unanswered questions. The suspicion that had eaten at me every night since.
I straightened, my chin lifting even as my voice trembled. "Please don’t flatter yourself," I snapped, but it came out thin, like a blade dulled by too much use. "I was just sex-starved, Damien. That’s all this was." I forced a bitter little laugh, hating how it sounded. "You’re really good at fucking. We had a great fuck. That’s all."
His jaw clenched, his frown deepening.
"I don’t want to be with you again," I continued, my voice steadier this time, though it was a lie. "We should just co-parent our son."
The silence after was brutal. His eyes flickered, dark and unreadable, but I could see the way my words had hit him hard.
He took a slow step closer, but didn’t touch me. "That’s what you really want?" he asked quietly, his voice breaking.