Elena's POV

For a brief moment after the kiss, my mind went completely blank, as though everything inside me had been forcefully emptied, leaving behind nothing but a stunned stillness. By the time I regained even a fragment of awareness, Damien had already deepened the kiss, his control absolute and suffocating, leaving me no space to breathe, let alone think.

My eyes sharpened instantly.

Ignoring the dish soap foam still clinging to my hands, I raised my arm and swung it down at him ...