Page 134 of Of Flames and Fallacies

“I’ve learned to not have any expectations of you.”

“Good. People are disappointing. I’m glad to see you’re finally learning.”

A delicate gold trims the midnight blue of his coat with more gold accenting the rest of his attire. Celeste was very strategic in what I wore tonight, considering how coordinated our garments are. Perhaps she even manipulated me into this dress by having me try on such egregious options first.

Where Cole is tightly pressed and formal, Darian is the opposite. The sleeves of his coat are rolled part way up his forearms, exposing scarred olive skin. His collar is wide open, plunging low to reveal his collarbone and the dip between his chest muscles. I’m willing to bet he did it on purpose.

I arch an eyebrow. “Did one of your buttons break? How embarrassing.”

“I thought you might like it.” He winks.

“How considerate, you’re thinking of what I like now?”

“I think about you a lot more than you’d probably like to know,” he purrs.

Gods, and paired with that lethal smile of his. Part of me wants to smack it off him, so the other part of me isn’t so tempted to kiss him right here. Right now.

What is wrong with me? When and how have I lost this much self-control?

I roll my eyes hard enough I might give myself a headache if I do it again. “Why are we dancing?”

The reflections in his eyes swirl like stars in a night sky. The glimmer from the chandeliers flash around us as we spin again and again.

“Because it pisses big red off,” he says with a grin. “That, and I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to dance with the most brilliant woman here. Although, her choice of dress is questionable.”

I snort. “And what’s wrong with my dress?”

“Well…” He drops to a hushed whisper, “I’m hoping if I tell you I don’t like it, you’ll take it off.”

I grit my teeth to block a shiver from passing through my spine. If I push him away hard enough, maybe he’ll stop tempting every damn fantasy I have of him that keeps flashing in my mind.

“Fuck you,” I say in exasperation and look away.

He pulls me closer into him as the music eases and dips me achingly slow. My neck stretches down and opens for him as my head tips back to stare at the ceiling. Vulnerable. If he so much as kissed me, it’d be over. It’d destroy every last bit of my self-control, if he only dared. His breath heats my neck.

“I hope you always keep your word,” he whispers huskily.

Before I can react, he draws me back up to stand. My head swims in dizzying circles, and I dash off the dance floor before my desires get the best of me.

Cole watches me stride across the room from where he stands with Celeste. He gets sidetracked when she laces her fingers into his. With her other hand, she cups his jaw and draws his face to hers.

The softness of her touch, the implied intimacy of it, underlines the reality of our situation—she’s free to be herself and doesn’t have to hide her affections. The way she looks at him is the same wayIwant to look at him.

But he turns out of her grasp and instead focuses on me.

I could burst into flames or tears, but instead, I beeline straight for the cart lined with bottles of liquor.

“You’re upset, I can feel it—”

“I’m fine.”The words waver in my mind as much as they might have if they were spoken from my lips.

“I’m happy to dispose of anyone who’s making you feel this way. Just saying.”

“We have rules, remember?”

“Rules can be bent.”

I pause at the bar-cart, bracing my weight against the lip of the counter. I stare at the bottles and snatch the closest one. Pulling a spare glass stored on a bottom shelf, I uncork the bottle and pour a knuckle’s worth of liquor into the glass. With a shaky breath, I throw the drink back and swallow.

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