Destructively Alluring (4 page)

“Then why don’t you?” I asked lightly, disgusted by her behavior. I should’ve backed out of being her date. I should’ve backed out of the entire fucking evening.

“You’re insufferable right now. I had someone else willing and ready to fuck me tonight and yet here I am putting up with you,” Monica scoffed.

Right. Because flaunting how she was willing to sleep with anyone was going to
really
make me want to fight for it.

“By all means, call him, then,” I mumbled, meaning it.

God, at this point, did I fucking mean it.

In the darkness of the limo, I saw Monica’s face flush bright red just as the limo came to stop. “You are such an asshole!” she cried, looking like she was about to hit me.

“Monica, really. After the little display you just put on, I couldn’t care less what you think about me,” I commented calmly, actually semi-amused at her tantrum.

The moment the limo driver opened the door, she was gone, cursing me colorfully under her breath the whole way. I can’t even lie and say I wasn’t relieved. A part of me wanted to feel bad for how I’d treated her but from the moment I’d picked her up, Monica had been expecting a level of treatment that I had never been willing to give her.

The whole ‘throwing her willingness to sleep with other men thing’ in my face didn’t help matters. By all means, she was welcome to have other lovers besides me. But don’t flaunt how easy it is to get them. That shit doesn’t look good on any woman.

I couldn’t stand women who expected men to kiss the ground they walked on and in the past, Monica had somewhat controlled that side of herself in my presence. She’d been aware that the way to keep me interested during our agreement was not by demanding more from me than I was willing to give.

I could only assume that my distraction earlier today had fueled her temper to the point that she no longer had any control over herself. But in all seriousness, at the core, that’s who she is and I was over it.

Over everything.

Over her.

I couldn’t bring myself to overlook her personality anymore. Definitely not enough to fuck her.

And, personality notwithstanding, we also know why else
.

Shit.

“Dorian!”

I turned, catching sight of my best friend, Lucas, just as I walked into the hall. The benefit was being hosted by the Society for Children in Special Need and they’d rented out a massive hall for the event.

Considering how many companies were involved and donating, they had more than enough money.

I waved at Luke, moving past the mingling people and meeting him by the first bar right after the entrance.

“Got dragged into this shit, too, huh?” Luke asked, smirking as we shook hands.

“That’s what happens when you donate and sponsor. How have you been?” I asked, accepting a drink that he held out to me. One sip confirmed what the color had pretty much already divulged. Whiskey wasn’t my favorite drink but I could choke it down if necessary.

And thank God I had already taken my first sip because it was about to become
very
necessary.

“
Eh,
I’m fine,” Luke responded, shrugging.

But his tone clearly stated he was anything but fine so I just had to ask, “What is it?” I took another sip while looking at him, eyebrows raised and waiting for an answer.

Luke’s hazel eyes looked eerie as fuck as he stared at the dance floor with a far-off look. “I’m fine, just…fuck man. Calum is a fucking asshole,” he grumbled, swallowing the rest of his drink in one gulp.

Uh-oh
, as they say. Something about his obvious anxiety was starting to look oddly familiar. “What did your brother do this time?” I asked, raising my drink to my lips.

“Hired a hot little thing to work in his firm as one of his many assistants. One that is definitely too fucking young for me to be getting hard-ons over.”

I choked on my drink. I kid you not. The whiskey slammed into my left tonsil at full blast and somehow heated up about ten degrees more.

“You ok, man?” Luke asked, patting me on the back.

Several of the people around us were already turning to stare curiously at me.

Great.

“Speaking of assistants,” Luke continued, removing his hand from my back. “I see yours and damn, she looks…fuck. I really am turning into the old fuck who lusts after the young chicks, aren’t I?”

Yup. I had become the first man in history to spontaneously develop asthma.

Definitely not the first to flash-imagine killing a fucker.

Luke is lucky that I was busy choking, is all I’m saying.

My eyes clashed with her body instantly. She was north mixed with raw metal and my eyes were magnetized, the attraction between us immediately drawing my attention to her face.

“Dude, seriously. Are you sick or something?”

I placed my drink back on the bar, ignoring Luke. It was best for his well-being considering the tone that he’d just used in regards to Demi.

Damn it, how hadn’t I known that she would be here? How did that escape my notice?

What
was she doing here? Is this where she and that prick were supposed to…

Oh, hell no.

“Dorian, what’s wrong with you? Where the fuck are you going?”

Luke’s questions were ignored.

Everything but
her
was ignored.

I was walking across the hall and heading straight towards Demi. Nothing else could be paid attention to. The fucker by her side was probably none other than her fucking date and the positioning of his hand had to change.

As in, right the fuck
now.

Get your hands off my girl’s waist, dick.

The thought was heard, trust me, but I was too busy heading their way to stop and panic at the absurdity of that shit.

In a tight black dress that fell all the way to the floor, left one leg showing, and the tops of her breasts completely on display, Demi looked devastating. Even worse was the sight of that asshole’s hand laying lightly on her side while they stood before the dance floor and talked.

What exactly are you planning on doing?

I had no real fucking idea but all of my common sense had evaporated and all I could think of was getting his damned hand off of what was mine.

You’re about to cause a scene.

And I didn’t give a fuck, either.

That was my ‘a-ha’ moment. Right as I got close enough to really see every detail of her -from the sexy way she had her hair up, to the way the skin of her shoulders glowed under the lights- I realized that I was too far gone over the girl to care. There was so much I should care about that didn’t matter as of that moment.

If this was insanity, she was the infection that was causing it and I was too ill to fight back any longer. She’d leaked into the crevices of my brain and had taken over my control centers, turning them all against me until every little spark going off between my synapses called for her. The particles of my body had become inflamed, throbbing with the sheer need to claim what they believed belonged to them.

I had no idea what I was about to do. A good idea of all the problems that would arise from whatever it is that I did end up doing, and a full acceptance as well as relief at the fact that it could be no other way.

I was trapped in the most basic and primitively powerful attraction that I’d ever experienced. Fighting it was only going to make it worse. I had to try and explore this.

I had to find a way to make the girl mine.

I had to.

And most importantly, I had to find a way (one that did not involve murder) to get that boy away from my girl!

He looked young. Probably no older than twenty. He looked oddly familiar, too, but I couldn’t place where I’d seen him before.

Demi turned just as I was less than a three feet away, her dark-rimmed eyes widening behind her large black glasses. “Dorian?”

“Evening,” I said, hearing how my tone changed as I inclined my head towards her.

Her body obviously tensed subtly at my low tone.

I couldn’t get over how hot she looked. I’d never seen her wear dark make-up and the black shadow on her eyes was almost too much. She looked dark and seductive.

Dangerous.

Sliding my hands into my pockets, I made myself turn and nod at Keith who, consequently, was still putting his life in danger by not letting go of Demi.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” he responded, actually fucking smiling at me while holding his hand out for me to shake.

Rational thought begged that I be more objective about this. After all, the boy had no idea what was happening inside me thanks to Demi.

Well, it was a miracle that rational thought was still developing in my mind at the moment. What was even more impressive was that I could still hear its whispers above the malevolent roars taking precedence in my thoughts. Bowing to its pleas were damned near impossible considering all of that.

“How are you, Mr. Sorenson?” Keith asked as we shook hands, surprising me.

Demi was staring between the two of us and her cheeks were slowly turning pink.

“I’m fine. And you?” I asked, not letting on to the fact that I knew his name.

Yet.

I momentarily stared into Demi’s eyes. Caught her looking at me. Saw her eyes fall to my feet and slowly, very slowly, trail their way back up to my face. The way they froze on my open collar and the way that her cheeks darkened further told me everything I needed to know.

And the blood began falling south. I promise you this.

Heat pounded through me as she caught me staring and quickly looked away. I could guess where her mind was and just thinking about it had my mind there, too, locked and obsessed and fuck me, I needed to get her alone.

Now.

“I remember meeting you awhile ago at my dad’s fundraiser,” Keith continued, seemingly oblivious to the way the particles in the air between Demi and I seemed to be igniting.

His comment made it click in my mind and I finally remembered where I’d met him before. Fuck. Josh Bennett’s kid. Not that we were close but hurting the boy was definitely a no-go now.

You’re psychotic.

And we all know whose fault that is.

“Yes, I remember,” I said lightly, feeling Demi’s stare on my face again.

Keith looked like he was about to say something else when he caught sight of Demi’s red face. “Demitra, are you alright?” he asked, his voice lowering in a way that had me seeing red.

No, dick. She’s not alright. You’re in the way and there’s something between us that you are not a part of. Now fucking move so I can get my woman alone and we can take care of our problem.

“I…I’m fine,” Demi
lied
.

“Do you need something to drink? You look overheated,” Keith said, voice still dripping with concern.

“You do look overly…hot. Maybe you should get her some water, Keith,” I said, injecting just the right amount of ‘genuine’ concern into my tone.

Demi’s eyes snapped towards me, anger flashing within them. “Keith, no. Wait…I’m fine,” she trailed off as Keith moved away from her and pushed his way passed the people in a hurry.

A part of me was nice enough, I guess, to feel a little bit bad when it came to him. That lasted less than a nanosecond then Demi turned on me, the angry look on her face letting me know that she knew exactly what I was up to.

Still, she just had to ask, “What the hell do you think you’re up to?” Her voice was obviously spitting death wishes at me, all thinly veiled behind her tone. This new side of her was too much. I couldn’t help but get further aroused and I felt myself start swelling even more in my pants.

That would be bad since we were still in the middle of a crowded hall. Without stopping to think, I grabbed the girl by her arm and began ‘leading’ her away from the edge of the dance floor.

“D
orian, I swear to fucking God,
what
is wrong with you?” Demi demanded.

In all the time she’d been working for me, I’d never heard her curse. Her doing so now made everything that much worse. My dick popped to its full length so hard the fucker almost knocked me off my feet and brought me to my knees.

He nearly ripped through my pants, too.

I’m fucking serious.

“Demi, unless you want to cause a scene, I suggest you not fight and follow me.”

Not that I had any real idea where I was taking her, only that it had to be anywhere away from Keith.

“You’re already causing a scene, you idiot!” Demi hissed quietly as we passed a group of people on the large patio outside. “You don’t think everyone is seeing my
boss
dragging me away from the party right now?”

She continued to grumble under her breath as we went down the stairs. My eyes were locked on the entrance to the massive labyrinth that was before us.

Fucking perfect.

Needing to get us somewhere private, I kept on going, her arm in my grasp the whole way. Demi semi-let me lead her. That is, until we were inside the entrance of the labyrinth, the tall green ‘walls’ on either side of us.

“Let go,” she snapped, pulling her arm roughly out of my grip now that we were away from prying eyes.

I let her, but as out of my senses as I was, I made damned sure that I was standing between her and the way out.

“This is the last time I’m going to ask, what is your problem?” she huffed, looking utterly lickable in her fury.

Especially in that dress. That slit baring her thigh made me want to grab, bite, lick and fucking suck every inch of her skin.

And the heels. The fucking heels.

“Are those red heels?” I asked, hearing how out of breath I clearly was.

Demi looked at her feet, an adorably confused expression crossing her face. “Uh…yeah.”

We were both panting harshly as we stared at each other.

“You look beautiful,” I blurted out, my voice low and raspy.

“I…I…thank you?” Demi stuttered, looking completely confused and out of it.

Something was beyond wrong with me. I know, I’ve said this, but it’s worth mentioning again. It made no sense to me how this girl could have me so out of control.