He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
The kid -Cain. His name was Cain -seemed like a decent enough human, for all that he was completely lacking the balls, or conscience, or whatever one needed to bring their father to justice. Hell, in a way, Damon could almost understand it. In his quest to get his life back after the crash, Damon had asked his own brother to do some pretty underhanded, not-exactly-legal things in order to keep Damon’s name off everyone’s radar. And Cort had done them, not because he was a shitty person, but because love and family loyalty sometimes trumped everything else. But understanding why Cain had made his choice didn’t mean that Damon wasn’t angry about it - not when it was Damon’s fucking life that hung in the balance. And understanding didn’t mean that he and Cain were friends. Not by a long shot.
“That’s none of your business, kid.” Damon tried to swing his legs around, but Cain’s feet were in the way. “Move,” he said.
Cain swallowed hard, but shook his head and planted his feet more firmly on the cushions. “No. Not until you tell me what you’d planned.”
Was he fucking kidding? “Not happening. I said,move,”Damon yelled. He pushed at Cain’s feet, but from this angle Cain had all the leverage.
“And I saidno.” Though his eyes betrayed some hesitation, Cain cocked his head with pure determination. “Gee, I hope Parker and Rodney aren’t standing outside the door listening, just in case I need their help with the drunk, belligerent dude they apprehended. All that angry yelling would bewaytricky to explain, wouldn’t it, since I said you were my friend and all?”
Damon blinked, stunned.Oh, that fucking brat.The kid had maneuvered him perfectly. He sucked a breath in through his nose and let his eyes go hot. It was gratifying to see Cain squirm, even though he kept his feet braced right where they were.
Damn it.
“Now, as I was sopolitelyasking,” Cain said, no hint of a quaver in his voice. “Why were you here? I’m gonna assume you had some kind of plan, however misguided.”
Damon huffed out a laugh. This was what his life had come to - answering to a punk like Cain Shaw.Jesus.
“I came to see your father,” Damon drawled, and since he couldn’t get off the sofa - well, not without hurting himself and/or Cain - he flopped back down and propped his hands behind his head, resting and watchful. He’d see what the kid had to say about that.
“Yeah, duh.” Damon lifted an eyebrow and Cain shrugged. “Well, I figured you weren’t here for the hors d’oeuvres.” He gave Damon a small smile, and his eyes flashed with mischief. “Or to make a campaign donation.”
Once again, Damon found himself laughing. “Maybe for the free drinks?”
Cain rolled his eyes. “Maybe for the scintillating conversation. And there are any number of eligible women in the crowd.” He flexed his hand against his bent knee and his smile dimmed. “Just ask my mother.”
“No eligible guys?” Damon teased.
Cain’s shocked eyes flew to his.
“What’s that look for? You remember I was there when Jack confessed everything, right? You know I know that you and he had an affair, just like you know that Jack and I hooked up a couple of times, too.” God,Jack. A name he didn’t even like to think about, let alone say, and judging from Cain’s expression, he didn’t like hearing it any better. He hurried on. “I’m aware that you’re gay, Cain. Just like you’re aware that I am.”
Cain swallowed and gave a shaky laugh. His eyes darted around the room like he was looking for cameras. “Jesus, just hearing you say it out loud gives me chills. Like, if anyone else heard it… Damn.”
Damon levered up on one elbow and leaned until his chin was directly above Cain’s knee. “Voldemort,” he whispered.
God, the kid’s smile was electric- the even white teeth glowing against his perfect skin sent a pang of frustrated arousal directly to Damon’s groin… Andholy shit, there was a feeling he hadn’t had in a really long time. At least as long as it had been since he’d laughed. Possibly longer.
Why this kid? Why was he suddenly so charming?
Maybe the double shot of whiskey he’d downed to sell his drunk act had hit him harder than he’d thought.
“What?” Cain chuckled. “What are you even talking about?”
Whatwashe talking about? Not his dick. Oh, right. “Voldemort. You know, from Harry Potter?”
“Yeah, I know Harry Potter. I’m just surprisedyouknow Harry Potter.”
“I canread, kid. God.”
Cain flushed. “I just meant I didn’t know you’d, you know, readthosebooks.”
“Hasn’t almost every human on the planet read those books? Or at least watched the movies?”
Cain cleared his throat, his embarrassment somewhat endearing. “Well, I guess I figured it was mostly, you know...” His hand fluttered in the direction of Damon’s head, as though this should somehow explain something.
It didn’t.
