“I’m guessing you live here, then?” Kameron asks.
His words bring me back to the half empty bar.
“Yes and no.”
He cocks an eyebrow at me, looking like he is about to ask for more clarification, but music starts to bump in the speakers next to us. Lights strobe around, swirling to the beat.
Lianne is standing in the middle of the small platform with a microphone in hand and a full smile on display. Some guys at the bar turn to watch her, and she doesn’t hesitate to belt the lyrics. Lianne is performing to the few peoplewatching as if they have come to attend her concert by choice, strutting up and down the few steps that fit on the platform.
“You guys must be really close,” Kameron cuts in.
“She is my best andonlyfriend.” I throw his way, still watching Lianne perform.
She has been the one to be able to come out of her shell. Since day one... well, not day one. That day, she looked scared. But that first day at school, she didn’t hold back. I was surprised when she came to sit with me.
Not everyone wants to be partnered the whole year with a Donovan. Having the daughter of the Divine’s Vessel around is a dampener for them, let alone me, an outsider, who entered into that family. Lianne is an outsider, too, but she didn’t have the title of my family like I did. She didn’t even care that my last name and family were a part of me. She made me feel like I could just be myself without the looming expectations of keeping the mask and role at the forefront.
“Seems like a good one to have if she’s your only one?” Kameron says.
“You got a friend like that?” I turn my focus to him.
“I got two.” He holds up two fingers to me.
“Two? Well, aren’t you just the competitive type? Had to one-up me. Literally.”
Leaning even closer to me, he taps my chin with his fingers. “I could be that number two for you, if you want?”
His lips are so close to mine I can smell the scotch on his breath. Heat cascades through me.
I subconsciously pull closer to him, and the barest touch of his mouth on mine makes me jolt out of my seat.
“I need to use the restroom. Excuse me.” I dart to the bathroom at the back of the bar.
Pushing the door open, I head to the first stall I see.
I lock the stall and sit on the toilet, my head propped in my hands. What am I doing? Do I want this? My brain, body, and heart all agree on a big fatYES. But there is a little voice in the back of my head that questions,What would the Divine think?That voice is accompanied by another voice telling it thatif the Divine didn’t have this planned for me, then they wouldn’t allow the opportunity for it to happen.
I like the second voice’s reasoning and explanation more, but that might be because I want to taste this man with all my being. More than any boy I had a crush on growing up. Because if I am honest, that is what they all were. Boys.
Kameron is no boy. He is all man.
I give myself a pep talk before I walk out of the stall, wash my hands, and tap my damp hands on my cheeks to cool them off.
If I’m not careful, I am going to let this man do bad things to me. Things I wanted more than anything but know I can’t have.
I look at my reflection in the mirror, brushing flyaways from my updo out of my face before opening the bathroom door.
When I turn out of the doorway, I hit a hard, warm wall. I look up and see Kameron standing there with a look on his face that causes goose bumps and shivers. One hand lands on the small of my waist, while the other cups my neck, his thumb tracing my jawline.
He looks to my lips and back up to lock his eyes with mine. “I’m usually a gentleman. And I can be tonight if you want me to but...” His gaze falls back on my lips, his thumb gently brushing my lower one. “All I can think about is the many,manyways I cannot be a gentleman to you.” He pulls my waist, and my torso and hips hit his. “Tell me, Elliott. Do you want a gentleman?” He hovers his lips over mine as he whispers the words to me in a low growl.
I don’t think about it. The voices don’t have a chance to argue with themselves or me in his presence. I wouldn’t even be able to hear them with how fuzzy he is making my head with his words.
“I don’t need you to be a gentleman tonight.”
That is all I get out before I crash my lips to his. He groans into my mouth, and I drag my hand up his neck and allow my fingers to brush through his soft, wavy hair. I pull him deep into the kiss. His tongue licks at my lips to open for him, so I do. I have no clue how to kiss or what I need to do, but I just let him guide me. He wraps his hand around my neck, gripping me securely before pulling me back from him. My chest rises and falls as I crave his kiss to return.
He smiles as he instructs, “Go back into the bathroom, Elliott.” I stare a moment, trying to comprehend his words.His grip tightens slightly, I shiver at the feeling. “Bath. Room. Now.” His eyes look darker now. “Before I have my way with you right here in this hallway.”
