I hate the way he makes me feel. Scared, but also turned on. I’ve never had someone who made me feel an inkling of what Damien does; but all it is, is stupid hormones. At least, that’s what I tell myself.
13
Damien
The dark need that normally drives me to do shit like that is instinctive. The fear in Nesrin’s eyes makes every nerve in my body spark to life. The party is in full swing when I reach the living room. I don’t see any sign of Genevieve yet, but I know she’ll be here. I spotted the Havens earlier, and where they are, she’ll be.
Moving to the bar, I grab the bourbon and lock the cabinet, before I head out into the garden. Finn is with Mali, and Cass has his arm slung over Holly’s shoulders.
Cassian’s gaze meets mine, and he offers a wink, to which I grin. His plan had worked perfectly. The timing was just right for me to find my wild rose hidden in the cellar. Her scent is still clinging to my nostrils when I make my way through the garden and down to the brand-new greenhouse that Bradford built for Nesrin’s mother.
It’s darker down here. It was one of my favorite places to hide, but now that this glass monstrosity is here, I figure I’ll hide inside it. Pushing open the door, I head inside. Leaving the door ajar, I make my way to the back, where Dad had the roses set up. A variety of color greets me—pink, red, white, even a slightly blood-stained shade—and I pick up the darker one.
It’s beautiful. With thorns that poke out of the stem, I smile, thinking of how feisty Nesrin is when I’m near her.
Fire burns in her eyes when our gazes lock, and my cock hardens at the thought. My heart thuds against my ribs, a warning that I’m going to get lost in the darkness along with her.
Perhaps my little sister would like to play hide and seek with me. I know this place like the back of my hand, and there are many shadowed corners to do dirty things.
My father trusted me with something precious, but he knows that I’m destructive. I’ve broken far too many fragile things in my life. And, this time, it will be no different because I will break Nesrin Ellington.
She’ll never be a Thorne.
“I thought I’d find you in the shadows of the garden,” Gen says, from behind me. I don’t turn to her. I don’t like that she’s invaded my privacy. I open the bourbon and take a long gulp from the bottle.
“What are you doing in here?”
“I wanted to see if you would introduce me to your new sister. I hear she’s quite the looker.”
Her words have me spinning on my heel, my gaze boring into her. “Oh? And who would tell you that?”
She shrugs. I wonder if she notices how tightly my knuckles have wrapped around the bottleneck. The images of wrapping my hand around her delicate throat, just like this, makes me even harder. But it’s not her face in my mind. It’s someone far more forbidden.
“Get out. Go play with your boys, I don’t have time for games.” I sway the bottle toward her, gesturing for her to leave, but Gen’s stubborn; she merely stares at me with a grin on her face.
“Are you turned on for her, Damien?” Gen glides forward, her black boots crunching over the ground, the sound seems louder than it is. “Does her innocence make your dick hard?” When she reaches me, her hand finds my crotch, and she palms me slowly. As much as I try to simmer the rage inside, I can’t, because she knows I like it rough; I love it dirty, and I crave it violent.
“I said. Get. The. Fuck. Out.” Even as I enunciate each word, a groan rumbles in my chest. There’s a hand on my dick, and as much as I’d love to give Gen a hard pounding for being an insolent little bitch, I smirk before ripping her hand from my body. “When I tell you something, you obey. This is my fucking house, now get the fuck away from me, Gen.”
The small, sinister smile that graces her lips makes my heart beat hard against my chest. “I’ll leave, but don’t think this is over.” She turns on her heel and walks out of the greenhouse. The party is louder now, and I watch her moving toward the Havens, who are standing in a circle around the fire pit.
They were my biggest mistake.
“Hello?” A soft, familiar voice comes from the darkness, but I don’t respond to it. “Is anyone down here?” she asks, and still, I remain silent. I want her here. I realize that my need wasn’t for Gen or any other girl at this party. It’s for the girl who steps over the threshold.