In Between

CHAPTER EIGHT

THE GAME OFtruth or dare wound on, with more people starting to drink to avoid answering intrusive questions and quite a few taking shots in lieu of doing a dare. People were drunk, sober, and every stage in between. So far, I had answered every question I’d been asked, since I chose ‘truth’ most of the time, but I had still been drinking just to stay buzzed.

The sound of my name startled me from whatever I had just been thinking about, and I looked over to the person who said it. He was tall and lanky, but cute, and he hadn’t spoken much this evening. I forgot what his name was. “Truth or dare?” he asked me.

“Truth.”

“Oh, come ooooon,” Amber drawled drunkenly, “you keep choosing that every time now.”

“Fine.” I smirked. “Dare.”

A spark lit in the man’s eyes, and he smiled, but it was not a friendly smile. It reminded me of a predator sizing up its prey.

“Suck me off,” he commanded. A challenge. What? Hell no.

“Nah, I’ll take the shot,” I said, forcing myself to laugh to keep the mood light. It was a game, after all, and he was shooting his shot. I stood up to grab a bottle, but he continued to speak.

“Come on, I bet you want it,” he taunted. “I’m betting you’ve already slept with Alex and Damien, judging by the way they’ve been looking at you tonight. What’s one more?” Dear god, just stop.

“Watch it,” Alex’s low voice warned. I walked into the kitchen, rolling my eyes in irritation, but this man just would not stop.

“Oh, so you can be a slut for them but not for me?” He yelled after me. “You even made out with Amber less than an hour ago. Fuckin’ tease.” I poured my shot of vodka, brought it to the doorway so everyone could see me, and tipped it back into my mouth while flipping him off with my other hand. A couple people laughed uncomfortably.

The man mumbled something under his breath. I couldn’t hear what he said, but in an instant Damien and Alex were standing, as was he, and Damien yelled, “Party’s over. Get out.” The man now looked like a cornered, frightened animal. “Don’t ever come back. She’s ours. Touch her and you’re dead.” Damien shoved him, and he stumbled back into the wall before practically running to the door.

The others shuffled out, some waving goodbye to me and grabbing the alcohol they had brought, others just heading straight out the door to avoid any more conflict. I was glad most of them had taken an Uber here after how much everyone drank tonight. I still stood in the doorway between the living room and kitchen, my jaw hanging open at the sudden turn of events.

“That motherfucker,” Damien grumbled as he picked up solo cups off the coffee table and side tables.

“Sorry to ruin the night,” I said, still in slight shock over whatever had just happened.

“You didn’t ruin anything. That prick did. What is it with creepy men going after you all the time?”

“Welcome to the world of being a woman,” I joked. I looked around, noticing that Alex had disappeared. “Where’d Alex go?”

“Probably to get his anger out without destroying anything—or, I should say, anyone.” Damien chuckled darkly as he threw the cups into the sink and began examining the alcohol that was left. Strange. He was the one who I would’ve guessed had more violent tendencies. After all, I had seen him beat Luke to a pulp only a week ago.

I couldn’t believe that had only been last week. It seemed like so much had changed in such a short time.

I had to say something to lighten the oppressive mood that was now filling the silence. “Amber was cute.”

Damien’s mouth twitched, and I wasn’t sure if it was a smile or a scowl. He set down the bottle he was looking at and approached me with heavy footsteps. I bit my lip and kept my eyes down. He grabbed my jaw and gently forced my head upward to look into his eyes.

“You’re mine now. And his,” he added, nodding in the general direction of stairs down to the basement that led to Alex’s room. He leaned down, his face now inches from mine. “Don’t forget it.”

I nodded, my eyes wide. Even though we had gotten intimate last week, this display of possessiveness was still unexpected, and . . . hot. His demeanor was usually so lighthearted and playful, and this was a whole new side of him.

He closed the gap between us, crushing my lips against his own. His muscular arms circled my waist, reached down to my ass, and lifted me effortlessly onto the counter. I wrapped my legs around him and held his shoulders tight as he deepened the kiss, pushing his tongue into my mouth and threading his fingers through my hair with one hand while the other held me tightly at the waist. He took a half-step forward, and the hard ridge under his jeans rubbed against my inner thigh.

God damn.

Alex coughed from the doorway. Damien and I stopped kissing, but he lingered close to me, giving me a wicked grin. “To be continued,” he muttered.

Alex looked more at ease than he had before. “Punching bag in the basement,” he said, as if reading my thoughts wondering where he had disappeared to.

“Makes sense,” I responded, my face warm. Why am I getting embarrassed? I asked myself. I literally had sex with him while Damien watched not even a week ago. Kissing in the kitchen was nothing compared to that.

“Well, what next?” Damien glanced at the clock on the stove. I was shocked to see that it wasn’t even midnight yet.

“Taking a shot, that’s what,” Alex said as he tipped his half-empty bottle of tequila to his lips and took a swig. Damien reached for the bottle and followed suit, then held it out to me.

“I’m fine for now,” I said, shaking my head. “I’ll stick to my mixed drinks for a while. Plus, I just took a shot like ten minutes ago. And unfortunately, I’m not 6’2 and built like a linebacker.” I lightly elbowed Damien for emphasis.

“6’3, actually.”

“Shut the hell up,” I said, trying to keep a straight face. Damien laughed, and my smile cracked.

In one swift motion, Damien picked me up from the kitchen counter where I had been sitting, threw me over his shoulder, and walked to the living room. “That’s not fair!” I squealed, playfully hitting his back.

“Life’s not fair, baby girl.” He swung me onto the couch and plopped down next to me. Alex followed us into the living room holding my drink along with a newly opened beer for himself. His face was lighter, more relaxed now. But even with his smile, it was like a thin layer of darkness always surrounded him, somehow.

“Well, I don’t know about you two,” Damien said, “but I was mostly enjoying that game of truth or dare. Except,” he turned to me, “someone here seems to be playing all truth, no dare.” I wrinkled my nose at him and stuck out my tongue. “But, we can adapt to that. So now, the game is just questions. You answer honestly, or you drink.”

“That’s not fair, it’s two against one! And you guys probably already know everything about each other.”

Damien shrugged with a grin on his face.

“Fine, let’s play.” Maybe it was the booze, or maybe it was the fact that a hot girl had asked me to make out with her earlier, but I was feeling brave. Fearless. My stomach clenched at the possibilities of where the night could go now that we were alone.