I have a reservation at Chez Bruce and was wondering if you’d like to join me instead? It’s a Michelin star restaurant, and I hear the food is just incredible.”
Was she serious right now? Even after kissing the face off Julian in his bedroom at the party, and even after seeing the way Damon had kissed me, she was still making a play for him. Unbe-fucking-lievable.
Damon appeared lost in his own head as he blinked and then finally looked at her.
“What?” He sounded gruff and irritable, like she was an annoying fly buzzing in his ear when he was trying to concentrate.
She huffed out a little laugh and smacked him playfully on the arm. “You weren’t listening! My friend cancelled on me and I want to have dinner tonight. What do you say?”
My body moved on autopilot as I continued to eavesdrop, and I was more than a little relieved that Damon didn’t once look down at her chest. Then my gut dropped when he seemed to sense me watching them, his eyes finding mine. His entire face hardened as he stared at me for a long moment before looking back to Alicia.
“Okay,” was all he said, and she smiled like he just agreed to marry her. A wave of nausea overtook me, and now I felt like I really might vomit. He was saying yes because of what he thought I’d done with Blake. That had to be the reason. This was payback.
“Right, well, I’ll stop by your place around eight, then,” said Alicia before skipping across the room to Jacob.
I couldn’t stand this. I had to talk to Damon. Leaving the dancers to continue their warm-up without me, I approached him. He was radiating an aura that said “leave me the fuck alone,” so although I wanted to touch him, to try to calm him down in some way, I didn’t.
“Can we talk?” I whispered, my voice pleading.
His jaw tightened as he glanced at me briefly. “I have nothing to say to you.”
“Damon, please, it’s not what — ”
“Oh, Christian, can we have you over here next to your Satine?” Jacob called, and I sighed. Bloody Jacob. Couldn’t he just leave us alone for two seconds so that I could explain to Damon what had happened?
Without another word, Damon moved past me and over to where Jacob stood with Alicia. Iggy joined them a second later and began instructing them on the routine that was to follow. Satine would invite a bewildered Christian up to dance and he would accept, bemused and overwhelmed by her outlandish display.
The scene began as Damon took a seat and Alicia stood before him. He was in such a dour mood that he still hadn’t noticed her nipples, which were clearly all for his benefit.
She held her hand out, “Dance with me.”
Damon hesitated before Henry, who played Toulouse, gave him a push, and then he was standing in front of her. She danced for him. He took her in his arms, and they moved together while the rest of the dancers performed around them. Damon had been doing really well with the choreography lately, but right then his timing was completely off. His movements were awkward, like he wasn’t even paying attention, and Alicia yelped when he stepped on her foot.
“Sorry,” he said, but his voice sounded miles away.
Sweat broke out on my skin, and I wished I could press “pause” for a second. Damon was clearly having a terrible time dealing with his anger, and there was no need. Everything he’d seen me do with Blake had really been meant for him.
Speak of the devil, I caught Blake’s eye and found him staring at me curiously. I felt like yelling at him for what he’d done, but I’d been just as foolish not to turn and check who’d come up behind me. Still, he had no right to try to touch me without permission, and I was mad. So fucking mad at him.
“Okay, from the top,” said Iggy. “And Damon, please try not to injure Miss Davidson this time around. She does need her feet to dance with, after all.”
He mumbled something that sounded like another apology, ran a hand through his hair, and they started the scene over fresh. This time Damon misplaced his footing and Alicia tripped, almost falling flat on her face. Jacob completely misread the situation, thinking Damon’s sloppy moves were down to being distracted by “her top.”
“Okay, I think I know what the issue is here. Alicia,