Damian Townsend.
Our former last names guaranteed us a spot with The Founders Society. We were descendants of the Founding Fathers and could prove it. But the Salvatores were not from the United States and didn’t have the same lineage as us.
“I’ll be on my best behavior. I was just blowing off some steam.”
Bastian’s thumb traced his bottom lip, and my eyes followed the simple movement.
I licked my lips.
He stared at mine.
“We can’t do that anymore,” he whispered.
“You don’t have to be embarrassed by me.”
“I’m not.” He slid his fingers through his dark caramel hair, brushing it off his forehead. “Fuck. It’s not like that. You know I love you.”
“As a friend,” I tossed back at him. “A brother?”
He swallowed hard. “Yeah.”
I understood obsession.
But love?
Not so much.
I didn’t know how it felt to love someone. What I felt for Bastian went beyond love. I wanted to possess him, crawl so far beneath his skin that I became one with him.
He was like a drug to me.
An addiction.
After he let me get high on him once, I couldn’t stop.
I tugged at the grass, needing to keep my idle hands occupied—anything to stop myself from thinking about what I couldn’t have.
The waves crashed on the beach below us. And with at least a hundred-foot drop, I loved being inches from the cliff’s edge, knowing it could all end at any second.
I was not afraid of dying.
I only feared losing Bastian.
He was my reason for living on the worst days. When we were together, it gave me hope. And sometimes, that was all I had.
Hope for more.
Bastian knelt in front of me and placed his hands on my shoulders. “Don’t mess this up for our family. Take a shower and get dressed. The Wellingtons will be here within the hour.”
“Only if you get in the shower with me,” I said to see how he would respond.
His eyes lowered briefly. “Come on, D. We talked about this.”
“You want me, too.” I gripped his chin, forcing him to look at me. “Stop denying it, Bash.”
“What we do in the dark can never see the light.”
He pushed himself up from the ground and extended his hand to me. I took his hand and rose to my full height. He didn’t step back, so I slipped my fingers between his and pulled him to me.
