Page 39 of Call You Mine

“You conniving bitch,” I shout, and once again the room gasps in response. The few people at earshot don’t look familiar to me, but everyone in Hillcrest Hills and its surrounding towns knows who we are. I’m sure this minor altercation will soar through socials and front pages of gossip sites in a matter of minutes.

From the corner of my eye, I notice someone recording us on their phone but before I can say anything Drake rushes the poor guy, grabbing his phone and slamming it down on the table. The asshole jolts in fear and nearly pisses his pants at the daunting force of a man that is Damon Drake.

Without a word, Damon stalks back over to us, but Willa’s smile only widens. He has proved the point she’s suspected from the get go. Damon is not one of us, and in her eyes, the old me would never have been caught dating a guy like him. Hence, this relationship is a fraud.

My mother straightens in her seat, her smirk slowly fading as she stares at Damon protectively grabbing my waist. “Watch your tone Wynter. Regardless of what you think of me, I am still your mother and will not allow you to disrespect me.”

Beside me, Ace chuckles. “You mean the way you just put your two kids up against each other in hopes of what mother? Huh? What did you expect to gain out of Wynter and I fighting like this?”

The restaurant guests slowly go back to their mundane conversations, the women grazing like livestock at the minuscule salads in front of them, while the men sip their expensive liquor from cut glass drinkware.

“That perhaps you’d realize the god-awful mistakes you both made in choosing your partners. I mean just look at him, Wynnie, the man is a savage. Threatening your brother like a madman.” She turns to Ace, “And the girl, son, going after your father wasn’t enough. She needed to complete her twisted threesome with you.”

“Cause your choices were so classy mom. Fucking your husband wasn’t enough, so you had to fuck his brother too? Tell me did you know we were Wesley’s kids? Or were you so confused who’d come inside you first.”

“Watch your tongue Wynter,” she shouts, standing up abruptly. Ire blazes in her blue eyes, disgust on her face as she looks at me but I know the same expression sits on my face as I stare blankly back at her. Her voice lowers as the restaurant manager approaches our table. However, the look in her eyes as she glares at him, makes him turn right back around the way hecame. “The choices they made for me were out of my control. Not that you’d care, obviously, but I would have never fucked either of them if they’d given me a choice.”

I almost feel sorry for my mother and the idea that she had no say in what happened to her. I paid little attention to the story of how I was conceived after news broke out about Wesley being my biological father, but apparently Willa’s husband Warren was sterile. Being the oldest Servite son, he needed to provide an heir. My grandfather took it into his own hands to appoint Wesley, his youngest son, as his heir and forced him to conceive a child with Warren’s wife, my mother.

Some sick and twisted shit but knowing my grandfather and our family history in this town, I don’t doubt it to be true. But my mother is a monster and regardless of how that happened, I can never forgive her for all she’s done to me.

A server approaches our table but makes the correct decision in biting her tongue as she sets another martini in front of Willa.

“Now,” Willa says, taking her seat. “The two of you will sit down right this second, or I promise you this is the friendliest version of me you will see.”

Drake is the first to speak, beating Ace who looks so taken aback by the way I responded to our mother to even form a sentence. Yeah brother I grew a fucking backbone.Where the fuck is yours?

“You may think you still have power over them or anyone Willa, but you are mistaken. You can insult me all you want, but I will not stand for you disrespecting Wynter that way again. I don’t give a fuck who you are or who you may have fucked to get you where you are, you don’t scare me.” Damon’s expression turns wild as he continues to show Willa no mercy. “You are right. I am a fucking savage who grew up in some no-good slum, parentless and penniless, but that also means I have come face to face with some scary fuckers in my past. A bit of advice, Willa,I would think twice if I were you before you come at me or my girlfriend again.”

This time it’s Scarlett who laughs under her breath, clearly pleased with the way Damon’s standing up to my mother.

“How dare you?” Willa sneers, but he ignores her, instead grabbing my hand and tugging me toward him.

“Wyn, let's go. We’re fucking done here. And don’t expect to hear from us again Willa. You’re better off disappearing off the face of the earth again.”

Willa sits stunned, her cheeks burning red in embarrassment at the way he so easily dismissed her. Damon looks toward Ace before we pass him and Scarlett. “She deserves better than to be spoken about that way. I’m sure you know that since you married her, but in case you’ve forgotten.”

The strangest thing happens next. Ace doesn’t argue back or try to punch Damon for insinuating he’ll just allow anyone to speak so poorly of Scarlett, but he nods in agreement with him.

Damon drags me through the restaurant and out the front door. “Damon, please stop,” I call out, barely able to catch my breath but he ignores me, continuing to pull me down the street toward where we parked along the curb. “Damon, stop. We need to go back.”

In a rush of movement, I’m slammed back against the car door. Damon presses himself against me, caging me in under his weight, one hand still tightly wrapped around my wrist while his free one lands at the small of my back pulling me in. “Don’t push me on this Wyn. There’s no fucking way we’re going back in there. You’re going to be a good little girl, keep your pretty mouth shut, and get your ass in the damn car.”

I melt to a puddle of mush at the authoritative tone in his voice as a rush of desire nearly paralyzes me.Holy shit this man is a fucking animal.I shouldn’t turn me on, the way he’s forcing himself against me. The crass way he speaks to me, demandingand ordering me around, but fuck if I’m not embarrassingly wet by the mere look in his eyes and the way his nostrils flare in anger.

“Or what huh? You're going to pick me up and throw me in?”

His lips tease mine as he leans forward, breathing me in to calm himself down. I raise my hand against his chest, feeling his heart beat slow under my palm and decide to push my luck. Wrapping my free hand around his waist, I pull him in closer to me making him growl in my ear. The hairs on the back of my neck raise awareness of how close we are and what’s about to happen.

“Don’t fucking tempt me, Princess. I’m not above bending you over the hood of my car and fucking you raw until you learn to do as you’re told.”

A soft moan escapes my lips and just as our lips touch, we’re interrupted by the sound of my brother’s voice calling my name.Fucking cock blocker.

“Wynter,” Ace shouts, rushing toward us.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Damon groans, pushing off of me and turning to find Ace and Scarlett standing behind him.

“Out here on the side of the street, really?” Ace scoffs, disgusted by the compromising position he’s found us in. His blonde hair has grown out more than it usually is, and his face looks fuller, the dark shadow of hair along his chin and jaw making him look older than he is.

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