She looked downright breathtakingly sinful and easily became the most beautiful woman in that room the moment she walked through those doors.
“Jesus Christ,” I whispered to myself.
I let my eyes travel over her again, devouring every inch of her…until the hand of a black-clad arm settling on the small of her back made me pause. My gaze flickered up to see the owner.
Corbin Blackwood.
“Is he her date?” The question came out a bit more sharply than I intended, but the chatter and music in the room dulled it enough to where it wasn’t picked up on.
Lucas followed my gaze and smiled. “Yeah. He called me yesterday and asked if I knew whether or not she was bringing a date to the gala. I said I didn’t know, but I checked with Callie, and she confirmed that she wasn’t. So, he asked if he could have her number…”
I glanced back in Morgan’s direction, and my jaw ticked as a foreign wave of irritation hit me. It was something I’d never felt in my life. It started like a slow, creeping fog, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth as the tendrils of anger-spiked mist swirled until everything was blurred by a thick cloud of possessive wrath.
Because CorbinfuckingBlackwood had his hand on the small of Morgan’s back.
And Morgan…she wasmine.
I’d seen her on plenty of dates once our game of sabotage started, butnoneof them made me feel likethis. Maybe it was arrogance and the gall I had to think that none of those other douchebags held a candle to me. ButCorbindid. He was a year older and grew up in the Charleston scene, but I’d known him and his brothers since we were teenagers. He was down-to-earth, nice as hell, and charming as fuck.
And he had his goddamn hand on Morgan, and I fuckinghatedit.
I could feel the fury coursing through my veins with each wild thump of my heart. And though it was unfamiliar, I knewexactlywhat it was.
Jealousy.
Pure, unadulterated jealousy.
Perhaps Morgan thought that coming with a date to acharitygala—one our friends were being honored at—would pause our little game, but I never wanted to play sabotager more than I did at that moment.
I took a sip of my drink, my hand clutched so tightly around the glass I thought it might shatter as I eyed her over its rim.
“You okay?”
I snapped from my daze and looked over at Lucas. “Peachy.”
He seemed to take my answer at face value and returned to his conversation with Gabe and Callie. My eyes went back to Morgan and herdateas they started making their way across the room toward us.
“Mo! That dress!” Callie grinned once they neared.
My heart stuttered a beat because, up close, she looked even more breathtaking. That anger flourished even more in my chest when Corbin smiled at her. “She looks stunning, right?” he said.
Fuck off.
Corbin greeted each of us, and when he got to me and extended his hand, I forced a smile and shook it with a much tighter grip than necessary. “Quite a grasp you got there, Callahan,” he said with a chuckle.
“Don’t know my own strength sometimes,” I murmured unenthusiastically.
My eyes went from him to Morgan, and when she met my gaze, she gave me an inquisitive look, subtly arching her brow. I gave her nothing in response as I held her stare, and I swore I saw a flash of intrigue in her eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it came as she turned back to her conversation with Callie while Corbin got lost in conversation with Lucas. And as he did, I saw his hand snake around her to rest on her hip.
I downed the rest of my drink before excusing myself to get arefill. I needed to step away because I wanted to hit something, and Corbin’s face was at the very fucking top of that list.
As the evening continued, I felt like some kind of masochist because I couldn’t take my eyes off Morgan and her date, no matter how torturous it was to watch. Everywhere they went, my gaze followed. I saw each time she smiled or laughed at something he said. I saw each time he put an arm around her or placed a hand on her.
Iwanted to be the one she was smiling and laughing with.
Iwanted to be the one to have my arm around her or my hand on her body.
And it was almost like she knew. Maybe not to the full extent, but she knew something was going on in my head. Because each time she looked at me, that flicker of curiosity would flare in her eyes as if she were both taunted and allured by the mystery of why I couldn’t seem to take my damn eyes off of her in a way I never had before.
