Page 157 of The Pact

Fuck, that was unexpected. I’ve loved her for so long, but hearing those words come from her mouth right now makes my heart stop. “I love you too, Thea.” I kiss over her neck as my fingers trace over her arms.

“God damn it!” The roar tears all of our attention towards Damian’s room. The crash that follows has us scrambling to put our clothes back on. Cole and I are the first ones to make it to Damian.

THEA

The three of us rush into Damian’s room, with me pulling up the rear, finding him bent over his desk, palms planted on it with his chest heaving. His keyboard lies a few feet away from him on the floor, cracked in half. A few stray keys are scattered around it.

I’ll have to deal with this first, then the issue of Sutton thinking I said that I loved him. It was meant for Cole. I didn’t miss the look he gave me when his brother answered instead of him. Of course, I love Sutton, but that wasn’t how I wanted to say it. That’s a problem for a different day.

“Damian?” I tread carefully. He doesn’t move.

Taking a step forward, Sutton stops me. The look of worry on his face makes me trust his judgment. I step back.

“Hey man, what happened? Anything we can help with?” Sutton’s the one who approaches Damian. Cautiously, he stands next to him and places a hand on his back. He relaxes slightly at his brother’s touch.

Damian lets out a breath and straightens. Turning, he stares at us. His face is red and his hair’s a mess. “My computer is overheating. It won’t fucking work. I have shit to do.” I can feel the rage coming off of him.

I glance over at Cole, who’s moved to stare out the window. Shaking my head, I test the waters.

“How can we help?” I ask as I bend down to pick up the pieces of the keyboard. Once I’ve gathered it all, I bring it over to Damian. He takes it from me and his eyes soften a little.

I want to reach out. I want to hug him, although I don’t know if he’ll accept it.

Finally he speaks. “I need to take this whole thing apart, but I don’t have time for that right now. I have a deadline to meet.”

“What about your laptop? Can you use that for now?” Sutton offers.

He runs a hand through his hair. “I guess. It’s not ideal.” I feel the mood lighten. Now is as good a time as ever. I step forward and wrap my arms around Damian, hoping that it comforts him even a little. He hesitates, but returns the embrace.

“I’m sorry,” I murmur against his chest.

He breathes out and his shoulders relax some. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” I hug him tighter. Sutton rubs his brother’s back, helping to release the rest of his tension.

Staring up at Damian, I take his face in my hands. “Get through today. Just push through. We’ll get everything figured out. And tonight, we’ll all watch a movie and eat junk food. Tonight will be better, I promise. But get through today.”

For a moment, I think I see Damian’s eyes water. His throat bobs and he looks away, not wanting me to see this side of him. It hurts my heart, however, I ignore my own selfish pain.

“Okay,” he finally agrees. “Thank you, Thea.” He leans down and kisses my head, pulling me tighter against him.

I want to chalk this up to coincidence. It has to be. There’s no way that Damian’s computer troubles and Wesley’s bad reviews are Gavin’s handy work. Right? I shudder at the thought that it could very well be.

53

THEA

It’s dark by the time I’m pulling into the driveway. I got caught up editing after a few boudoir shoots.

All day I’ve been eager to get back home, wondering if Damian’s mood has changed or if he’s been able to fix his computer. If the answers to both are no, I’m hoping the promise of movie night was enough to get him through the day.

I’m walking up the sidewalk to the front door when I hear voices coming from the patio. Turning around, I walk to the gate and peek between the slats. Damian, Wesley, Cole, and Sutton are in the lounge chairs drinking beers. Well, that’s surprising.

Their shirts are off and the sight of their muscular bodies in the warm glow of the string lights makes an idea pop into my head. Maybe I can make tonight better. And it won’t be with movies and popcorn.

I’m still a bit sore from Sutton and Cole, but in a good way. In a way that makes me eager to explore more new territory with all of them.

Ten minutes later, I’m stepping onto the patio in a strappy white bikini. All four of them turn their heads as the gate thuds closed behind me.

“Damn,” Sutton says appreciatively as he pushes off the chair, walking towards me. I put out a hand to stop him. Wesley lets out a choked laugh.

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