Clarissa's POV

I walk out of the living room and into the hallway. He’s already heading in my direction when he spots me. His steps falter as he closes the distance, his face betraying uncertainty. I can almost see the thoughts racing through his mind, his hands clenching into fists, battling for control.

I know what he’s thinking. His concern for me, the reason he showed up even though he knew it would be just the two of us in the house, is palpable. He had to confirm that I was okay, even though he suspected I might have lied about being sick. That’s how much Damon cares about me.

“Shouldn’t you be in bed resting?” he asks, his voice tinged with suspicion as he approaches.

His steps remain slow, as if he’s trying to keep as much distance between us as possible.

“No,” I answered. “I’m feeling better. Well enough to be out of my bed.”

He nods, his gaze falling to my exposed stomach. Can he tell that I’ve been preparing for him?

His body tenses, and I suspect he’s aware that I’ve been getting ready just for him to see. He knows now that I’m up to something he wouldn’t like.

He exhales loudly, glancing behind him as if searching for an escape route. “I’m going to my room then,” he says. “I’m glad you’re feeling better. If you need anything, call me. Don’t come to my room.”

My jaw tightens at his words, but I quickly mask my reaction. I can’t let him leave like this. I have to act fast.

I place a hand to my forehead, pretending to get a headache. “Ow.”

The sound makes him turn back around. I can’t see his reaction, but I hear his sharp intake of breath. He rushes to my side, his concern evident. It’s amazing how quickly he always jumps to protect me. He’s someone I can always count on.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, lightly touching my forehead.

“I feel dizzy,” I whisper, another lie. I’ve been lying to him lately just to have some time alone with him.

I start to sway on my feet, and Damon wastes no time picking me up into his arms. He carries me back into the living room and gently places me on the couch. I’m thrilled to be this close to him again. Damon doesn’t realize how much I need his closeness. It’s almost as if his body heat feeds my energy. I’m always happiest around him.

He kneels beside me, his eyes full of concern. I’ve managed to scare him and convince him all at once.

“Should I call you a doctor?” he asks, his voice laced with panic. I don’t want him to worry about me when there’s nothing wrong. I just need him to stay. It’s working, so now’s my chance.

I lean into him, burying my face against his neck. He stops all movement at my touch. It feels so good to be this close to him. I turn my face to inhale his scent, and he freezes, his hands lightly gripping my waist.

“Clarissa,” he whispers. “What are you doing?”

“Why do you always smell so good?” I ask.

He sighs, “Did you lie to me about feeling dizzy? Was this another one of your tricks to get closer to me?”

I don’t answer. Instead, I wrap my arms around his neck and hold on tightly. He moves his hands to my arms, “Clarissa, did you lie to me?” he repeats.

Of course, I did. It’s obvious. I don’t need to spell it out for him.

“Does it matter?” I whisper against his warm skin.

My lips brush against his neck, making him shiver. My heart skips a beat at the thought of kissing him again. I desperately want to touch my lips to his, to taste him once more.

“It does matter,” he growls. “We’ve talked about this. Atticus already suspects us, and so does Anya. We can’t keep this up. It’s time for you to move on. There’s nothing between us, Clarissa. The sooner you realize that, the faster we can move on with our lives.”

I shake my head against him.

“No,” I say stubbornly. “I don’t want to let go of you. I refuse to stop fighting for us. You can try to lie to yourself about your feelings, but you can’t lie to me. I know you want me just as badly as I want you. I’m tired of doing all the fighting for us. Why can’t you do the same? If we both fight, don’t you think we have a better chance of being together?”

His heartbeat quickens at my words. “You’re wrong,” he mutters softly. “I don’t want you. I never did.”

“I don’t believe you,” I insist. “You’ve lied to me before just to get me to stop going after you. You lied to protect me, and you’re still doing it. I don’t care what you say; I know you want me.”

He inhales sharply. I can feel his composure slipping away. It’s almost time to show him the tattoo.

“You’re my fucking adopted sister,” he growls. “I’m supposed to protect you, not fucking lust after you!”

My eyes widen. “Was that just a confession?”

He runs a hand down his face, trying to pull away from me, but I don’t let him go. I’m not letting him get away that easily tonight.

I can feel him losing control. I know Damon well enough to recognize when he’s struggling internally. He’s desperate to escape before he does something that would change our lives forever.

“Please,” he begs. “I need you to let go of me. Not for me, but for your own good. You need to let go, Clarissa. Stop this before it’s too late.”

I pull away, standing directly before him, offering him a clear view of my body. He might think he’s finally getting through to me, but he’s about to get a rude awakening.

“I wish you would at least try,” I whisper, fighting back tears. “When your family adopted me, I never wanted to stay. I considered running away so many times, but you’re the only reason I stayed. You’re the reason I chose to remain. You were my shining light. You made everything better for me, and not because I thought of you as my brother. My feelings for you have always been different. What I feel for Atticus and the others is so different from what I feel for you. Nothing and no one is ever going to change that.”

“Clarissa, I know you think that way, but you don’t understand what you truly feel,” he tries to reason with me.

“You’re wrong,” I insist. “You have no idea what I feel for you. Maybe my words aren’t getting through to you, but I have something that might prove how much you mean to me. Just how much you’ve always meant to me. This isn’t some stupid crush that I developed out of nowhere. What I feel for you is strong and so real that it hurts.”

His jaw tightens, and his gaze softens.

I move my hands to the front of my jeans. His eyes follow my movements. I see the moment realization dawns on him. He knows now that I’m trying to take them off.

“What are you doing?” he asks, his voice high-pitched. He sees my hands but doesn’t want to believe I would do something like this. He’s in denial, and I’m not letting him recover. He has to see his name on my skin. He has to see how beautiful it looks on me and how proudly I wear it. If things were different, I would have happily shown it off. Unfortunately, I’ve had no choice but to hide it.

“Clarissa!” Damon hisses. “What are you doing?”

I ignore him, continuing to unbutton my jeans. He has to understand how I truly feel about him, and this is the best way to show him.

“Stop that,” he growls.

I don’t listen. Instead, I slip the jeans down my legs until they’re at my feet. I slowly turn around so he can have a clear view of my backside.

I know the moment he sees what I want him to. There’s a sharp intake of breath, and though I can’t see his face, I know I’ve achieved the effect I wanted. His breathing grows heavier, and I feel a surge of satisfaction. This is what I needed to do for so long.

I know he can see the tattoo of his name on my exposed skin. It’s been difficult hiding it all this time. Whenever we went swimming or to the beach, I wore clothes to cover it. He’s the first person besides the tattoo artist and Autumn to see it. To truly see it. To know whose name is written on my skin.

My body flushes with heat, knowing he’s watching me, watching the tattoo. The person responsible for it finally knows of its existence.

Finally.

**DAMON**

All the air was knocked out of my lungs at the sight before me. It was a damn beautiful sight. I couldn’t look away, even if I wanted to. My eyes were locked on the spot Clarissa was so eager to show me.

A tattoo of my fucking name. Every day since I learned about the tattoo, I’ve been tormented by it. I hadn’t been able to sleep, haunted by the need to know its significance. Now, seeing my name inked on her skin, I was overwhelmed. I’d been killing myself over this, and it was my name all along.

Damon. It was drawn beautifully on her skin. I never thought my name could look so beautiful, but I was wrong. I was proud to see it on her, so proud it made me feel sick to my stomach. I was a sick bastard for loving this, for even considering anything with her when I had to protect her from men like me.

What the fuck was she thinking?

MY NAME.

MY fucking NAME.

How did she not see how wrong this was?

I knew it was wrong, but I had never seen anything more f*cking sexy. I wanted to run my fingers over it, trace the letters with my tongue, sink my teeth into it and mark it as my own.

So many dirty thoughts raced through my mind. I knew I had to stop this before I lost control. I had no clue how I was still standing, not covering her exposed skin with my face.

She wasn’t moving. She stood there, giving me time to take in the ink on her skin. She knew what she was doing, how to tease me and make me yearn for her. She was f*cking good at it.

When did Clarissa become this seductive? If she’d acted this way from the beginning, I wouldn’t have lasted. She could have tied a chain around my neck and dragged me along. I would have been hers in an instant.

A tattoo of my name. Damn it.

My eyes were glued to the tattoo. It was like a spell, begging me to touch it. How had she hidden it for so long? How had no one else seen it?

“Should I start showing it off proudly from now on?” she threatened. “Should I go to the beach tomorrow and let everyone have a good look at it? I’m sure that will stir up plenty of drama; you’ll have no choice but to postpone the wedding.”

Her words were venomous yet laced with a twisted satisfaction, the kind that stung and thrilled me all at once. “Everyone will be talking about Damon’s little adopted sister and how she’s obsessed with him and has a tattoo of his name on her ass. My name will be all over those magazines, and pictures of your name on my ass will be on everyone’s phones. I’m sure it will be a lovely topic on everyone’s lips.”

A low growl tore from the back of my throat. I didn’t want anyone else seeing that tattoo; it should be for my eyes only. Mine alone.

I crossed the room to her, grabbing her with a mix of desperation and anger. Her body shivered as I leaned closer, my breath hot against her ear. “Are you insane? You wouldn’t dare put your life in danger like that!” I growled. “You’ll keep it hidden as you’ve done in the past. Don’t you dare show that part of yourself to anyone else but me!”

“How will my life be in danger?” she demanded, her voice tinged with defiance. “The only danger I see is losing you.”

Fuck.

She turned around in my arms, and I could see the resolve in her eyes. My hands itched to grab her a*s and pull her body against mine. Her proximity made my breath hitch.

“I don’t want to lose this,” she whispered. “No one else makes me feel this way, Damon. My body is on fire for you. I’ve never wanted any other man in my entire life. You’re all I’ve ever wanted. The only man who has ever made me feel like I needed him by my side to breathe.”

“Stop it,” I growled. “Stop saying things like that to me.”

I was closer than ever to losing control. I wanted to tear the rest of her clothes off and bury my lips on her skin.

“I ache for you, Damon,” she whimpered.

Ah, fuck. If she kept this up, I would lose it right then and there.

“I wish you would stop pushing me away,” she cried. “I wish you would finally give in to what we both need.”

I wished it were that easy. I wished I could pick her up, announce to the world that she was mine, take her to my room, and f*ck her as hard as I wanted.

She closed the gap between us, and I knew she could feel how fucking hard I was for her. Forget feeling it; she could see it too. The bulge in my pants was impossible to miss.

She rubbed her nose along my neck, and I couldn’t help but groan.

She was killing me.

I couldn’t take this anymore. I had to have her. I had to taste her. I had to spread her legs and bury my tongue inside her honey. I couldn’t wait any longer.

The front door slammed shut, and her eyes widened in surprise.

They were back already. Our family was home.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I picked her up and pulled her behind the thick curtains with me. I could hear footsteps approaching as I covered her mouth with my hand to keep her quiet.

We were so close that I knew she could still feel me between her legs.

What the fuck was I thinking? I almost destroyed everything I was working for.

If they hadn’t returned, Clarissa’s plan would have worked. I would have taken everything from her, and I wouldn’t have been able to turn back.

I closed my eyes in frustration. What was wrong with me? Why couldn’t I control myself around her?

I had nearly ruined everything for her.

When the footsteps finally left the room, I quickly moved away from her. I had to create distance between us as fast as possible. I yanked her pants back up, buttoned them, and made sure everything was in place before storming out of the room.

“Damon!” she called after me.

I didn’t respond. I couldn’t.

This couldn’t happen again. There were only a few days until the wedding. I needed to maintain some control, at least until then.