Chapter Three
Damon
If looks could kill, I’d be lying on the floor in a pile of ash. Bella doesn’t even wave at me like she usually would, and we’ve been friends for years. I guess I know whose side she’s on.
I don’t know what I was thinking not sending Melinda away the second she showed up here. The truth is I haven’t been making the best decisions as of late. I’ve been stressed as shit and needed some release, and things with Corey are not going to happen, for so many reasons—including her brother River, who I kind of need to get along with right now.
Add that I’m working to try to beef up security while the Lost Lions MC is lurking, potentially ready to start a war with us. Oh, and then the other things, like Corey being ten years younger and how dating her would be in strict contrast to my new role at the club as sergeant at arms. The job puts me in one of the club’s most dangerous roles, and after what she went through, the last thing she should be doing is dating someone who will always put her at risk.
Oh, and also the fact that I’m a hot mess.
“Who is that?” asks Melinda, arching her brow as the front door slams shut.
I met her at the bar a few days back, and she seems pretty fun. Fun, easy, casual, exactly what I’ve been needing. Well, that’s not true. She seemed like the second-best option, and I know it makes me an asshole for even thinking that. Desperation had me thinking with the wrong head, especially after not fucking anyone for so long. It was a coincidence she was taking over Julianna’s office space, and a tie-in with the club I would have avoided if I had known.
“Women who live here,” is all I say, because Melinda doesn’t need to know every bit of information. And if I’m being honest, I didn’t even invite her here today, she surprised me by following from the office to give me the lunch she made. Yes, I’m aware that’s a big fucking red flag.
“Listen, I’d prefer it if we didn’t meet here. We’ve only just met recently, and my family is all here,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck. “So next time, just call me.”
“Oh,” she says, blue eyes going wide. “Of course, I’m sorry, I didn’t think. I just went after you when I saw you had forgotten the food. I better get back to work anyway.”
She gives me a kiss, winking at me as she walks to the road where she parked her car.
“Fuck,” I whisper as I finish unloading the last of the boxes and then head inside, where I find Corey slamming cupboards in the kitchen, with Bella sitting at the dining table, softly speaking to her. Bella pauses when she sees me, so I have no idea what was being said. Corey pulls her head out of the pantry to see why Bella has gone quiet, her beautiful hazel eyes narrowing when they land on me.
“What?” she asks, scowling. “What do you want?”
“Nothing,” I say, shifting on my feet. I don’t want to assume that she’s so upset because she saw me with another woman, but that really is the vibe that I’m getting right now. “Are you okay?”
I grimace when the words leave my lips. Yes, I want to know if she’s okay, but asking is only going to make her angry—the last thing she’d want is for me to have noticed that she’s pissed off right now.
She purses her lips and slams the pantry door shut. “Why wouldn’t I be okay?” she asks, glaring at me dead in the eye.
I’ve never seen the similarities between her and her brother, in looks or in personality, but as she stares me down, an intense aura of violence surrounding her, I can see how they’re related.
I shrug and bite my bottom lip as I think how to word this without setting off the already ticking bomb. “I don’t know, you just seem a little angry, so I just wanted to check in on you.”
Phew. I relax, thinking I did well.
“You arrogant asshole,” she sneers, crossing her arms over her chest, which pushes up her perfect breasts. I try to keep my eyes on her face.
Okay, maybe not so well. Although I don’t think anything I say right now would be helpful, because I’m the main target of her anger.
“What, you think I’d be angry because you’re parading around my home with your new Barbie doll?” she continues, shaking her head. “Do you think you’re that good-looking?”
Ouch.
I sigh. I don’t want to fight with her. “Fucking hell. Sorry for asking, Corey.”
I should have walked right on by and minded my damn business. I don’t owe her anything. She’s not my old lady. Yes, we shared a kiss a few months back, but that’s it. She has no grounds to be upset.
None.
Yet why do I feel a little guilty?
“I’m going to leave you both alone,” Bella mutters as she slides by me to give us some privacy. Or maybe she just wants to escape this conversation.
Hell, I want to escape this conversation.
Corey huffs and a lock of red hair blows off her cheek. She’s fucking cute, even mad, but she’s also infuriating. The cliché about fiery redheads is no joke. This woman can go from angel to the devil in ten seconds flat.
“Well, I guess there’s nothing left to say, then,” I reply, crossing my arms over my chest, mimicking her defiant body language.
Seems like communication isn’t our strong suit.
“I guess so,” she replies.
Yet neither of us walks away, our gazes locking and holding.
The truth is, I do care for her, and I don’t like the thought of her being upset. But we haven’t even spoken properly in some time, and we sure as hell haven’t been acting like we’re anything other than friends.
If that.
If I could be with her, though, I would. The timing just isn’t right. And it’s not that I don’t want her. I wish I could tell her that. But I guess with her seeing Melinda, it won’t help anyway.
We have a silent conversation.
Her almond-shaped hazel eyes say, There’s still something between us.
And mine say, It’s too hard, and it shouldn’t be so fucking hard.
So you want easy? her eyes reply with a smirk across her perfect lips.
We’re friends, mine fire back, ignoring the dig at Melinda. This has nothing to do with her. This is between Corey and me. And I know we’re not doing anything wrong. Hell, I haven’t been this worked up since the last time we kissed. I’ve been stupid thinking that sleeping with Melinda would make me forget about Corey.
I want her.
“Fine,” she says out loud, then walks past me, our shoulders lightly brushing.
Without thinking, I reach out and grab her arm, pushing her back against the wall, our bodies pressed against each other. “You look so beautiful when you’re angry,” I say, gaze dropping to her lips. I remember how sweet they were when I tasted them. I then remember being punched in the face by River, but to be honest, it was worth it.
“I’m not angry,” she replies, but the fire in her eyes says otherwise. “And don’t try to charm me. You can do what you want, Damon. I mean, you clearly are. So don’t worry about me. Not that you have been.”
She puts her hands on my chest and pushes. I don’t move an inch. The air is so thick between us, and I don’t know what I want from her. I don’t think she knows what she wants from me either, but she obviously didn’t like seeing me with Melinda, no matter what she tells herself.
She’s jealous.
Why does that make me feel satisfied? But if she’s not ready to admit her feelings, she’s probably not ready for anything, right?
The timing isn’t right, Damon. You have to prove yourself to the MC. And in order to do that you are going to be in dangerous situations. Being with her will put her in danger as well.
I don’t fucking know.
I step away and she gets the hell out of here, leaving behind the fruity scent of her sweet perfume, and my cock hard as a rock.
“Fuck,” I mutter, scrubbing my hand down my face.
No one riles me up like that woman. She makes me feel everything .
Maybe that’s another reason I’m hesitant to give in to what I want.
It’s called being smart and in control.
Right?
But I know I’ll find her in my dreams tonight.