Violence (Antihero Inferno #3) - Lily White Page 0,75
if given a reason and the opportunity.
I still don’t even know what set Ezra off. I just know the shouting woke me, and when I opened my door to peek into the hall, I saw a kid spitting up blood and Ezra scaring the shit out of people.
On one hand, I’m furious that he hasn’t grown up enough to stop the fighting. But on the other, I have a feeling whatever the twins were put through by their piece of shit father was enough to stunt them both in maturity.
All they know is violence and anger, instead of having been taught how to let things go.
That’s another problem riding my thoughts. Ezra owes me another piece of his story soon, I’m just not sure I want to talk to him and let him tell me.
Not with the way he’s been around me.
Not with the hatred so visible in his eyes.
I’m not sure I should call it hatred, though. If anything, what I see when I look at him is betrayal and pain.
I have to give him credit, though. He’s a master at spoon feeding me so much guilt that I’m choking on it.
To makes things worse, Ivy fled town after playing that prank on Gabe, and while she’s spending her time beach-hopping in sunny California, I’m stuck here without anyone I can talk to.
Not that I could tell her exactly what’s going on. I’m still not willing to fully admit how I ended up in this position with the twins in the first place. But it would be nice to have a buffer, or just an excuse for why I can’t be with them all the time.
Yet here I am.
A full week has passed, and I’m walking up to their front door to watch movies and order pizza for our fourth date. Damon opens the door before I have the chance to ring the bell.
Dressed only in a pair of jeans that hang loose and low on his narrow hips, he isn’t making it easy for me to ignore the sculpted planes and hard ridges of his chest and abdomen, the shadow of muscle over his broad shoulders or a set of perfectly defined arms that should be illegal.
My eyes trace the tattoo on his shoulder. It’s identical to Ezra’s.
Seriously, this man is the sweetest of candy, the hard kind that you have to suck on for a while before you reach the -
Okay. I need to cut that line of thought off before I lose the ability to stand on solid legs.
Forcing my eyes to his face, I don’t miss the blatant offer in his stare for me to keep exploring what his body has to offer.
“Hey,” he says simply, so much heat in his amber eyes that the color is liquid and tempting.
I shake myself of a reaction I can’t be blamed for. Just about any healthy female - and even a good number of males - would feel the same.
“Hey.” My voice comes out on an awkward croak.
Clearing my throat, I give him a weak smile and lift my brows in silent question as to whether he’s planning on letting me in.
Eventually, he takes the hint and steps aside, but he doesn’t move enough that I can get through without our bodies brushing together, his scent wrapping around me as I pass.
Then it’s his arms wrapping around me and his chest against my back.
Stopping in place, I close my eyes and take a breath. Enjoying having Damon so close is wrong, but it’s not the same type of feeling I have when it’s Ezra holding me like this.
Still, I can’t claim I don’t react to Damon’s presence. It’s hard not to. I had a relationship with him as much as his brother when we were younger. I’d tempted fate so much that all three of us were hurt because of it.
I won’t do it again.
I flat out refuse.
Which is why we both need the reminder that there’s a third part to this friendship.
Especially now that he’s burying his face against my neck as his arms squeeze tight.
Especially now that I can feel another part of him that’s a bit too excited to be this close to me.
“Where’s Ezra?”
Damon stills at the reminder, several tense seconds passing before he slowly releases me and answers.
“He went to Tanner’s place for a little bit. Something happened with Luca, and Tanner is freaking out. We were both supposed to go, but I offered to stay here since we’d already made plans.”