I turn my head, my lips softly brushing his jaw as I whisper, “Good,” with a finality that would drain the last drops of H2O just to keep him thirsty.
I push myself off his body and walk away from his hold, leaving him there, speechless with his boiling anger scorching my every move. The crowd consumes me as Tyler’s shadow slides into the club from the other corner of my eye.
When he finds me, his arm loops around my waist with that same casual claim, which makes me freeze inside because I wasteetering toward the idea that I should not push Liam too far, but,oh well.Oops?
Tyler leans in, his breath hot against my ear. I flinch, my shoulders tensing as his lips brush my skin.
“You look…” He gives a low whistle, eyes skimming down the slit of my dress. “Gorgeous.”
I smile in response as I spot Liam leaning against the far dark corner, next to a Shiva-encrusted wall, soft lights cast a dim ambiance on his face, but nothing about him exudes a gentle atmosphere at the sight of Tyler kissing my temple. Hands in his pockets, head tilted in a way that feel both lazy and lethal, I’m angry with myself for feeling deserted when I walked away from him. I don’t like that I want to push the buttons he is putting on display for me to see which one paints the room red.
“Excuse me, I have to—” I mumble, trying to get past Tyler, but he pulls me in closer and I can feel Liam’s lurk burning me from the inside out. Tyler’s laugh is warm against my neck, and I smile at Liam, letting him see every flicker of provocation in my eyes while hiding the absolute destructive pain I have in my chest.I’d never let him know how broken I truly am.
Liam's eyes narrow as one corner of his mouth curls upward, not a smile, but a promise. Without a spoken word, and any of this making sense to me, I will pay for this later.
As Tyler invades my space more and more, the high I feel is slowly crashing down. My head is swimming with alcohol, a swirling sadness clutching my chest with the realization that Liam will never remind me of Joe and the fight I thought I had in me is disappearing.
Where had that girl gone?
Waves of grief engulf me, and I’m fighting an urge to scream.
“I...” I can’t finish my sentence as I’m squirming in Tyler’s grip.
“If you want to keep that hand, I’d move it.” Liam’s voice slices through the music, and he is suddenly in front of Tyler. They’re both tall, but Liam is overwhelmingly commanding. My mouth goes dry at the storm rolling off him.
Tyler faces him, his grip on me tightening. “You again? You've got a problem, man?”
Liam’s eyes flicker to mine just once before returning to Tyler, his stare heavy, unblinking. “You’ve got three seconds to remove your hand from her waist.” Liam says, smiling like a creep.
Tyler snarls at Liam. “Isn’t your brother underground already? Don’t you have some kind of grief group to attend?” I sharply look at Tyler, aghast for saying such a horrid thing, but before I can do anything, Liam effortlessly clean punches Tyler straight in his nose, causing his head to roll backwards and blood gushing out.
“Motherfu—!” Tyler screams in pain. Liam is apoplectic, pain laces his face with indescribable anger, and I can’t blame him for one second. I had lost my brother too; I was familiar with that untouchable territory.
Liam grabs him by the shirt while I am still gaping. Security rushes their way, and when they see it’s Liam, they dutifully turn a blind eye. Well, that’s interesting.
“Next time I’ll give you fewer than three seconds.” Liam grits through his teeth, smacks his shoulder like best buds, and stares at me.
“Sweetheart,” he says, loud enough to cut through the music. “You’ve got a death wish.”
Funny, I had that same thought just a little while ago.
“And… that’s my cue.” I walk away as fast as I can bring my legs to the restrooms feeling like I have a tail stuck between my legs.
The restroom’s door clicks shut behind me, the bass rattles the mirror and lodges in my chest. The violet, fluorescent light isharsh as the mirror catches a flush in my cheeks I can’t entirely blame on the dancing. I shut my eyes close, and images vault me to Liam’s fist colliding with Tyler’s face, the shock on everyone’s lips.
I lean against the sink, taking a slow breath, trying to steady the pulse in my neck and chest, but I can’t get a hold of it.
The door opens and my heart skitters, but it’s only a girl walking in, holding vomit in her mouth, barely making it to the stall. I feel the way she looks.
While I contemplate that, the door slams open again, and I’m jerked, spinning, my back hitting the wall hard. Pain radiates, making me hiss. A broad chest, a wall of heat and muscle, presses into me with unyielding force. He shoves the door closed with a sharp kick, and his hand crashes against the wall beside my head.
His other hand shoots up, fingers curling firmly around my jaw, tilting my face until his icy blue stare pins me there like prey. He is so cruelly fucking beautiful it makes my mouth dry.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” Liam’s voice is gravel.
My chest heaves. “I—”
“You told Tyler to come find you?” He seethes. “You wanted me to see you hanging all over him?”
