I tell her. “I was about to clear the table, the boys just left.”
“Oh, don’t you worry about it.” She shoos me with a wave of her hands. “I’m here to do this, so please, why don’t you go ahead and walk around, familiarize yourself with the house. It’s big enough to get lost in.”
“It looks like it,” I tell her, with a smile.
For a moment, she looks at me as if she’s about to say something important; her expression turns serious, but when her gaze flicks over my shoulder, it changes. “You’ll like it here,” Joy tells me before she grabs the stack of plates and scurries into the kitchen.
That was strange.
When I turn to leave, I find Damien leaning against the doorjamb, looking at me. He doesn’t look at all perturbed, his arms folded across his chest. I notice he’s now wearing a black leather jacket over the shirt he wore to dinner.
“I suggest you don’t go out into the garden at night,” he tells me, but there’s a warning bite to his tone. “It’s not safe out there.”
“Why? Will wild animals eat me?” I retort playfully, causing his smirk to appear. His lips tilt into a seductive grin, and his eyes seem to light up at my words.
“Not animals, no.” He leaves without another word, and his response slowly sinks in, making every inch of my body burn with the promise of what he actually meant.
10
Damien
The woods are dense and dark, and I know they’re dangerous, but it’s not me I’m worried about, it’s her. It’s only been a short while that I’ve been around her, but the need to keep her safe seems to override the want to send her packing.
Being in the house with her only seems to make me want to be near her. The banter between us has become twisted, more than I expected it to. Her fire is nothing like any girl I’ve come across, which only seems to turn me on more.
And that’s not a good thing.
She’s eighteen, I tell myself.
She’s an adult, I remind myself.
But each time, there’s a heavy foreboding that our age gap is far too big.
I twist open the bourbon and swig back a mouthful. The burning liquid trickles down my throat, reminding me that I’m alive, that I’m not lost in the darkness of this fucking town.
“I didn’t think I’d see you here tonight,” the sultry voice says from the shadows. Neither did I.
“Yeah, the house is a shitshow,” I tell her. But I don’t look at her because I don’t need to meet her hungry gaze. Genevieve has been one of my fuck buddies for years, and even when I left for college, she still waited for me. Love was never in the cards for us, and she knew that, but she never cared. I broke her heart more times than I can count. And even in those times, she would return, just to dance on my dick.
“Anything I can do to help?” she questions, in the tone that used to get me hard as fuck. Now, all I want is to go home, to taunt the little sister my father dumped us with.
“No.” Another swig of alcohol, reveling in the burn, I focus my attention on the dark water that sits before us. The stillness of the stream offers solace. Genevieve doesn’t take a hint; instead, she leans against the car beside me. She reaches for the bottle, and I allow her to grab it.
I finally turn to look at her. She takes a small mouthful, swirling the amber liquid, before swallowing it slowly.
“Is it another girl?” she asks, without looking at me. But I don’t know how to answer her. Yes, it is; no, it’s not. It’s a girl I can’t have because my father decided to stick his dick in her mother.
“Perhaps.” It’s the only thing I can offer in response. Genevieve hands me back the bottle and pulls out a packet of smokes. Even though I’m tempted, I don’t ask her for one. It’s one of the things that’s never truly fazed me. Finn smokes on the odd occasion, especially when he’s had a few drinks. But Cass and I have steered clear of it in recent years.
“I hope she’s worth it,” Gen tells me. “I mean, you could have so many beautiful women lining up for you.”
“Are you one of them? Is that why you’re here?” I’m challenging her, and I know it. There is no doubt in my mind