Page 37 of Call You Mine

I mean Willa technically could, throwing the right amount of green on the table can get you anything, but I know her falsesense of pride will keep her from ever begging for her place back. Yet my mother seems to have something else up her sleeve. Something that frightens me because I don’t have a damn clue what she’s capable of.

I once thought I knew the extent of her maliciousness, specifically after discovering what she hid from Ace and I for so long, but after being ambushed and threatened by her at Stella’s wedding, I feel like I never knew the woman. The woman she has become is a stranger to me, regardless of the reason she is who she is now, she is the only one to blame.

Damon’s been silent since we left the house fifteen minutes ago but I’ll admit I haven’t been quite the chatterbox either. Our drive here was awkward to say the least, the silence embarrassing as if we were suddenly strangers who had no clue how to act around one another. Though after everything that’s happened I’m not surprised.

How could two people who used to speak every day suddenly have nothing to say to one another?

I’m sure Damon has plenty to say to me only I know none if it is what I want to hear. If it were up to him, we wouldn’t be humoring my mother by meeting her out for lunch. If it were up to him we’d blow her off and wait patiently as she disappeared once more.

If it were up to him, he wouldn’t be standing here with me pretending to be my boyfriend to keep up appearances.

But I know my mother, at least I know the woman she once was and her pride won’t allow her to leave without getting what she came for. If we don’t do this, she will latch onto us like a deadly plague, irritating us with her constant presence and destroying us if we were to drag this meeting out.

Willa Servite is best dealt with head on. What Willa wants, she gets. It’s always been that way and we’d be foolish to think things are now somehow different. That she’s somehow maturedand learned from her past mistakes. People like her, my father, my uncle, they don’t learn until it’s too late.

Just as we’re about to enter the restaurant, Damon reaches for me, tugging me by my hand and pulling me into him. My back clashes with his hard chest and just as I’m about to turn and curse him out for nearly making me trip and fall flat on my ass, I’m rendered speechless when I find his eyes, dark and demanding, looking at me in a way I’ve never seen before.

Like they know me. Like they want to figure out every secret, every dirty detail I hide behind them. More than just lust and desire, he’s looking at me like he’s someone who knows the way my mind works. And maybe he does or at least he’s playing the part well enough.

The muscles in his jaw clench like he’s contemplating saying something to me but can’t find the right words to say it. The sight of Damon Drake dumbstruck and speechless is unnerving and slightly exhilarating. To know I cause his stupor. That I have the power to render the Daunting Dragon speechless.

Damon breaks the silence the way he knows best—with a taunting demand. “The moment we walk through that door, we’re no longer Damon and Wynter, we’re a couple. Boyfriend and girlfriend and I’ll play my part just like I said I would. But be warned, Wyn,” he says, turning me back around so his chest is to my back. Goosebumps cover my skin as he scoots in closer and leans in to whisper, his erection digging into my lower back. “The moment she steps out of line to insult you, I don’t give a fuck if she’s your mother or the goddamn Queen of England, I’ll put the bitch in her place.”

It’s the last thing I’d ever thought he'd say. I was sure he was going to berate me once again about lying about our relationship and remind me this thing between us wasn’t real, just a ploy to trick my mother into leaving me alone.

The only part he doesn’t know, the part I know will ruin this little pact we’ve made, is I made my mother believe I’d get her the money she wants, from him. I’m not sure yet how I’m going to get out of that mess but I need to find a solution quickly before he figures it out. I need to find some dirt on Mommy Dearest, something that will have her fleeing Hillcrest Hills with her tail between her legs, again.

I thought about telling Damon the truth, but I know how that conversation will go. He’ll put an end to our entire agreement before it’s even begun and I’m not willing to give up on this. He may think it’s all fake, all part of our contract to stop Willa from forcing me to marry one of her sugar daddy prospects, but I’m willing to use this chance to prove to Damon that we are meant to be together.

The pull, our connection, it’s all too real to give up on. I’ve felt nothing like it and seeing him again, being this close to him, and feeling his hands and mouth on me even for just a second, has made me realize I want him more than anything. Yet he’s always kept me at arm’s length. I have also, but that was when I had to because Enzo was a threat to us. When he was an obstacle standing in my way, but he’s not anymore. He’s dead and we’re both better for it.

Deep down I know my lies will be nothing more than a betrayal to him. If there’s one thing Damon Drake hates more than the ghost of his dead mother and the scumbag who fathered him, it’s dishonesty. Regardless, I can’t get myself to tell him the truth, even if it is the one thing that will ruin me for him.

Walking inside hand in hand, my heartbeat pumping wildly as I look around the room at the blank stares and gaping expressions on everyone’s face, I realize this was a horrible mistake.

Did I think coming back home after years of being absent would not matter?

No, but I’d hoped people would be a little more subtle about their distaste. Acquaintances I once had, friends I once believed were authentic, all staring at me like I’ve risen from the dead or grown a third head overnight.

Leave it to Willa to choose a place that’s crawling with people from our past life, all here expecting us to cause a scene. They had to have known she was back. It’s all anyone was talking about after Stella’s wedding and I’m sure word got around.

“Welcome to Saint & Second,” the hostess says from behind the front podium. I watch her eyes widen as they flick from me to Damon, spending way too long admiring him.

I mean I get it, he’s a fucking vision in the black slacks that fit perfect and tight around his thick thighs and hard ass, and the black dress shirt does the same wrapping around every inch of muscle along his shoulder, arms, and chest. The black ink snaking around his neck and hands makes him look dangerous. The good kind of dangerous, like some Mafia Dom. Wicked with the promise of a good time if you were his.

In this case, I am his, and it’s more than a little unsettling to watch the redhead little bitch oglemyman.

I spot Willa the instant the hostess leads us toward the dining room. She’s sitting in our usual booth, toward the back side of the room underneath the glimmering gold chandelier, the same she had put into our dining room home because she loved it so much.

“Mother,” I utter spitefully, air kissing her on both cheeks. The scent of her fruity perfume sits bitter on my tongue.

“My darling, it’s so good to see you again. It’s been too long.”

I watch as her gaze fades away from me and to the man standing way too closely behind me I feel as if I’m suffocating between the two of them.

“Yes, well, seems like not long enough,” I murmur under my breath, feeling Damon’s hand rest at the small of my back. He pulls out my seat before extending an arm out to my mother.

“Mrs. Servite, it’s a pleasure to formally meet you. Damon Drake.”

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