Page 34 of Marked By Night

That moment was the metaphorical nail in the coffin of our relationship. Because that was the first time he allowed me to see the monster lurking beneath that perfect boy-next-door exterior and those deceiving eyes.

Dammit all to hell. I kick the ground, splashing more mud and dirt onto my Chucks, but I don’t care. I’m so angry with myself for letting the stench of whiskey on Tyler’s breath distract me from kicking his ass sooner. For even dating him in the first place. I should’ve killed him. Like I should’ve killed Mickey Sinclair. My uncle hasn’t been in my life for over five years now and yet he still finds ways to haunt me from wherever he is. Whiskey is a weakness I cannot afford moving forward. A fear I need to face someday.

Today is not that day.

A lone bench appears in my line of sight and Kaos leads me over to it. It’s at the perfect angle to watch the festival, but far enough away that we have a sliver of privacy.

“Thank you,” I tell him, trying to convey my gratitude for him through words.

Kaos’s face softens and he puts an arm around me, pulling me into his chest. It’s extremely hard for me not to get choked up again. I’m forced to suck in several sharp breaths to keep the tears from rolling down my cheeks.

I don’t cry.

“Tears are a sign of weakness,”Mickey used to say. Ugh. I’ve got to stop letting his words control me, but some behaviors are harder to break than others. A fact I’m acutely aware of.

“I’m sorry we weren’t there sooner,” Kaos rumbles, guilt swirling in his dark blue eyes as he looks down and pushes a piece of hair out of my eyes as I look up at him. He caresses my cheek with calloused fingers.

“You couldn’t have known.”

His eyes flash and he looks away, dropping his hand.

“But, I suspected,” he says. “We were approached by a woman named Savannah outside the bathroom while you were inside. She has been vying for our attention lately and I think she was sent here to distract us...” He trails off, rubbing a hand over his chin.

My gut churns. “Really?”

Kaos proceeds to explain what happened beforehand. What the fuck? Why can’t women uplift other women? It’s hard enough in this world as it is without adding petty chick drama.

“Sounds like this Savannah chick has it out for me.” I conclude after he’s finished, “and she has Elian in her pocket. Pants too, more than likely,” I mutter under my breath. Not good. Not good at all.

“Whatever. I’ll deal with her when the time comes,” I say then I shove all of those thoughts away.

My eyelids flutter closed as I hum along to the music, letting the beat enter my soul and erode all the bullshit trapped there. My eyes pop open when Kaos joins in with me and then we sing our hearts out. Never mind the lyrics or what they say, it doesn’t matter. There’s only me and Kaos.

Another piece of hair falls into my eyes and he reaches over to tuck it behind my ear. The warmth that blooms across my face where his fingers touch makes me shiver and gooseflesh rises on my arms. My eyes pop open and lift to his.

“Aren’t you two cute as fuck. Is there room for one more?” Dante’s arms flex as he sticks them in his pocket and rocks on his toes like he’s shy, giving me a sideways look with his abs on full display. I don’t know him too well yet, but something tells me he doesn’t have a shy bone in his body.

Kaos tosses a shirt—seemingly from nowhere—at Dante and it smacks him in the face, catching him totally off guard. Somehow he manages to recover and catches the shirt before it hits the muddy ground, giving Kaos a lazy smirk. He’s back to his usual goofy self once more.

A laugh bursts from my lips unbidden, but not unwelcome, which makes Dante’s amber eyes swing to mine and his signature smirk turns into a megawatt smile that takes my breath away.

“Put the fucking shirt on, asshole,” Kaos barks but his words hold no real heat.

Dante rolls his eyes and turns around, slipping the cotton tee over his head.

Did I mention he has back dimples? Because he does and they look downright lickable. I shake that thought from my brain. For God’s sake, I was attacked by my ex-boyfriend and my self-defense trainer not even an hour ago, and here I am lusting after two men I met yesterday.

“Don’t do that to yourself,” Kaos tells me, pulling my attention to his.

“Huh?”

“I saw your smile fall and your whole demeanor change. I don’t have to be a mind reader to know what you’ve got going on inside that beautiful mind of yours. You wear your emotions across your face, my Little Flame,” he says, cupping my cheek and pulling my eyes to his. “There’s no timeline for grief.”

I mull that around in my brain for a moment. My mind is at war with my body. “But isn’t it a little crazy or even wrong?”

The corner of his lip turns up into a small sad smile and he shakes his head. “Your mind may be tripping over the fact you’ve known us no more than a day, but your body recognizes us.”

Oh, so they feel it too. This undeniable connection between us. Everything seems to be driving us together. To prove his point, he trails a finger down the side of my jaw. Heat breaks across my skin, pulling a small moan from my lips.

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