Damien walked me straight to the door, not the back of the line where I had expected to go. The bouncer gave him a nod, glanced at me, and stepped aside to let us in. Of course he would get VIP treatment at a fancy club like this. It made me wonder offhandedly how much money and influence he actually had.
Immediately we were surrounded by a soft haze and swirling blue and purple lights streaking across the dark room. The music was loud enough to drown out any conversation that was lower than a shout. A DJ stood up on a stage behind his equipment, and girls in short cocktail dresses swung their hips to the beat of the music. This place was a far cry from the small college bars back in town.
Damien’s arm remained around my waist as we made our way through the crowd and toward a back corner. We caught more than a few glances on the way, mostly from women staring at Damien. I couldn’t blame them. With his long, dark hair combed and falling just past his shoulders, his neatly trimmed beard, his massive height, and his piercing green eyes coupled with his charcoal-gray suit straining against his muscles, he was absolutely irresistible. Even when I was still angry at him before things got cleared up, I had felt an immense physical reaction to his appearance.
I held his arm tighter with every stare he got. At least tonight, I looked like I fit in. I was glad I had decided to not skimp on my makeup earlier.
Damien finally led me to a half-circle booth in the back corner of the club that was labeled “Reserved.”
“Wow, a fancy reserved booth and everything,” I teased.
He gave me a sheepish grin as he let me slide in first. “There are some perks to having connections around here.”
“This is a big booth. Sure you don’t wanna invite any of the dozens of girls who were staring at you?” I raised an eyebrow at him and nodded toward the crowd for emphasis. Sure enough, a group of four women about twenty feet away were casting conspicuous glances at him and whispering.
He let out a snort and rolled his eyes, scooting in closer to me and pressing his lips to my forehead. “I don’t give a damn about anyone but you.” I looked up to meet his eyes, which were now heavy with emotion. He leaned in and let his soft lips brush against my ear as he murmured, “I’ve missed you.” Pleasant chills shot through my body.
I tentatively lifted my face to his, and in one quick motion he wrapped his hand through the back of my hair and pulled lightly, leaning down and kissing me without reserve. His lips melted into mine as his tongue slipped into my mouth, deepening the kiss. I pulled back slightly. “You know we’re in public, right?”
“Yes. And you should know by now that I couldn’t care less.” To prove his point, he leaned in and bit my bottom lip, holding it between his teeth for a moment before letting go and kissing my forehead. “I’ve missed you,” he said again.
A pointed cough at the front of the table interrupted us. Alex stood there with his hands in his pockets and watched us with an unreadable expression. He was wearing black suit pants and a white button-up shirt with the sleeves loosely rolled up, showing off his veiny, muscular forearms. I hated to admit it, but damn, he looked good.
He locked eyes with me for an uncomfortable couple of seconds, but I didn’t avert my gaze. I held his stare until he turned to Damien and snapped, “Why is she here?” His words were laced with disgust, and I noted how he seemed unsteady on his feet. He was drunk.
“Because I invited her,” he responded matter-of-factly. “And you better be glad we’re in public right now, because I have a lot of things to say to you.”
Alex rolled his eyes. “You can say what you want, but she was just using us. She found out we had money and used it to her advantage, and she would have kept at it if I hadn’t told her off. She’s just like all the others.” He was seething, the hatred barely concealed by the sharp bite of his words.
“I never wanted any of your fucking money!” I shouted. “And you initiated the sex!”
Damien laid his hand on my shoulder. “It’s not worth it,” he said. “He won’t listen.” He turned to Alex. “Get the fuck away from us right now. Come back when you decide to be reasonable.”
Alex turned on his heel and walked away without another word. Did he really think that I was using them? I hadn’t told them I was moving soon because I didn’t expect to get so close to them so quickly. After we did start to get close, I didn’t want to hurt them, but I had also never insinuated that I wanted a relationship with either of them, let alone both. Was it even possible to be in a real relationship with two people at once? Either way, we had never established any sort of parameters for whatever it was that we had going on.
“Do you want a drink?” Damien asked.
“Yes, please. Just get me something you think I’d like. I don’t really care what it is.”
Damien scooted out of the booth, and I watched as he walked through the crowd and toward the bar. He had taken off his suit jacket, and his shirt was stretched tight across his broad, muscular back. Watching from afar, it was even more evident how much female attention he drew, and I couldn’t blame them for staring; He looked tough, with his muscles obvious even through clothing. His height was impressive in itself, but he also clearly cared about his appearance enough to look put-together. Even with his long hair that fell a few inches down his back, he gave off an intimidating appearance. If they knew how kind and funny and intelligent he was, they would probably be stripping naked in the middle of the club just for a chance at his attention.
Within ten minutes Damien returned with two drinks in his hand, one a beer for him, and slid the other one in front of me. “I’m sorry about Alex.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for.” I sipped my drink. Vodka and Sprite. Of course he would remember what I liked.
“I guess not. It just pisses me off that he would push you away like that after we agreed that we enjoyed having you around.”
“Wait, so you talked about me?” I raised my eyebrows at him, wondering what they would have said about me in private conversation.
“Well, yeah. You’ve been around quite a bit. I needed to know what he thought about you.”
“And?”
Damien took a long swig of his beer. “And, I told him that I really liked you and wanted to keep you with us. He agreed. He said he actually liked you as a person, which is rare for him, and that he wouldn’t be opposed to having you come over more often.”
“So he’s upset that I’m moving, then,” I said. It was more of an observation than a question.
“That’s probably the case.”
Damien was silent for a moment. I couldn’t meet his eyes. Even though I didn’t really do anything wrong, and I had planned on moving before I even knew them, I knew that it was shitty of me to not tell him after everything that had been happening between us. Finally, Damien lifted my chin to face him. “ It doesn’t change anything. You’re here now, and that’s what matters. We’re not going to think about what will happen in the future. We’re going to have fun and live life to the fullest every chance we get. And now that I know I only have you for a couple more months, you’re going to be stuck with me a lot more often.” He grinned, but the smile was tinged with a slight hint of sadness. “Now finish your drink and let’s dance, baby girl.”
Dance? Oh, god. I slammed the rest of my drink as Damien grabbed my hand and led me to the dance floor. “I suck at dancing!” I shouted to him over the heavy beat of the music.
“Too bad!” He yelled back with a mischievous smile. In a swift motion, he grabbed my waist on either side and pulled me to him. I wrapped my hands around the back his neck, suddenly grateful for my heels that allowed me to actually reach that high.