“Maybe she feels like something else.”
Were they being serious?
“A glass of Chardonnay would be fantastic.”
Ty went to get drinks, leaving me alone with Damien. It was a long and awkward three minutes until the DJ started playing Burning Down the House by The Talking Heads.
“If you weren’t standing here, I would’ve thought you told him to play that song, Damien.”
“Just a funny coincidence.”
I playfully nudged on his shirt. “I’m glad you decided to come out with us. I wasn’t sure if you were coming.”
“Well, someone’s got to keep tabs on him.”
“Tabs on him or tabs on me?” When he didn’t say anything, I added, “Your brother’s a really nice guy. You two are almost too much alike.”
“Neither of us is that nice. Ty’s my brother, and I love him, but I trust him with you about as much as I trust myself. And that’s not saying much.”
Ty returned with our drinks and handed me my wine before giving Damien his beer. “Did I hear my name?”
“I was just saying how similar you two are.”
After a few minutes, Diamonds and Pearls by Prince came on. Ty took the wine glass out of my hand. “I love this fucking song. Dance with me, Chelsea.” When I didn’t move, he said, “Come on.”
What the hell. Why not?
I let him lead me to the platform. His hand was on my lower back. Lights on the dance floor flashed around us. He wrapped his arms around me, and I placed mine around his neck.
As we swayed to the music, it became clear as day: even though this younger, debatably hotter version of Damien was expressing interest in me, I wasn’t feeling anything more than the cheap thrill of his body pressed against mine. It proved once and for all that my obsession with Damien was so much more than physical. He essentially had a clone who was actually showing romantic interest in me, and all I wanted was to be with the grumpy dude sulking in the corner—the one who repeatedly rejected me. I was somehow connected to Damien in a way that I didn’t even understand, connected to the way he made me feel, the way I knew he understood me, the way his heart beat for me.
The dance was getting to be too much. When the song finally ended, I excused myself and headed to the bathroom for a breather. I was alone drying my hands when the door opened behind me. My body froze when I felt his low, penetrating voice vibrating against the nape of my neck.
“Do you fucking like him?”
Turning around slowly to meet Damien’s incendiary stare, I whispered, “I wish I did.”
“You’re not acting like you don’t. Or maybe you’re living out some little twisted ménage fantasy?”
Now, he was making me angry.
“Are you jealous?”
“Yes. I’m fucking jealous,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Get over it.”
“Look who’s talking. You’re not over me.”
My voice was strained. “I’m trying.”
“You’ve been trying to get over me…or under me?”
I wanted to slap him. “Fuck you. Now all of a sudden you want me because you think I like your brother?”
“No, Chelsea. I’ve always wanted you, from the moment you knocked on my door and called me the devil. But tonight…it’s finally making me insane. I’m not thinking straight. Right now…I just need to taste your lips, feel you moan over my tongue again.
He suddenly pulled me into him.
“Oh, God,” I muttered over his mouth as he gripped my waist, his mouth enveloping mine. He kissed me so hard, and his breath tasted of cigar and beer as he ravaged my mouth with his tongue. I couldn’t move my tongue around fast enough, couldn’t taste him enough. Feeling the heat of his erection pressed against me, the heat between my own legs was overpowering; I was so wet and throbbing. My entire body was buzzing, ready to explode.
He suddenly stopped kissing me. Panting, we just stared at each other with lust-filled eyes. Bunching my hair in his fist, he pulled it back as he lowered his mouth to my neck. Damien kissed me softly and traced his teeth along my skin. He then started to suck on the skin at the base of my neck. The pain was euphoric. I knew he was trying to mark me, staking his claim on me so that Tyler would clearly see which one of them I truly belonged to. And the truth was, only one man did own me—heart, body, and soul—and that was Damien.
Fuck me.
Please.
Just fuck me right here.
A woman’s voice startled us. “Excuse me! You’re not allowed in here. You need to leave right now.”
Shit.
Damien moved away from me and blinked a few times, seeming to come out of the trance-like state he’d been in.