Page 18 of High-Rise Heat

Seriously, I’ve wanted to tell him how I feel for months and now that I have—sure, it wasn’t ideal, but still—thisis how he reacts?

Fuck him.

He doesn’t move, and his gaze is so damn hard, I feel the tears falling. I yank his hands off my hips.

“Got it,” I say hoarsely. “Loud and clear.”

I uncage myself from him and stalk off the dance floor, heading straight for the bar. I need a fucking drink. Preferably ten. I wipe the rogue tears from my cheek and look back at him only once to see him frozen in the same damn position, staring out at the silk lanterns with that stoic look.

Fine.

Just … fine.

I cut the corner around one of the tables and run straight into Isaac. He swoops back to avoid a collision, a large glass of wine in each of his hands. His eyes are wide and I can’t tell if he was close enough to the dance floor to hear what we said, but yeah—I’m definitely crying, so there’s that.

I grab one of the glasses of wine he’s holding and chug it. It’s red and warm, and it slides down my throat with a chocolatey deliciousness that tastes too good for this moment. I swallow it all down before looking back to Isaac.

“This is that expensive shit, huh?” I say finally and he nods. “Sorry.”

“Nope, I’m pretty sure these are the moments when you’re supposed to drink the expensive shit.”

I smile for a second not sure what to say to that and Isaac catches my eye, but there’s a sadness in it.

“Did you hear all that?” I ask and he shrugs.

“Just the important bits,” he admits and I can’t tell if he’s upset or matter-of-fact about it. I just laid out my heart to the guy I’ve been in love with for two years—shit! I really am in love with him, aren’t I? Brilliant. I look over at Dom, but he’s walked to the far side of the dance floor and is standing with his back to us. Awesome. Sure, I won’t deny that everything I said came out shitty. And yes, I absolutely admitted to wanting to fuck another man, but that’s what he was asking wasn’t it?

“I didn’t know you were in love with him,” Isaac says, his brown eyes soft and apologizing, like he knows he fucked up and made this worse for all three of us.

“Yes, you did,” I say back, grabbing the second glass of wine and drinking it down too. “You just like to play with fire.” Isaac’s eyes cut to the ground. But really, we’re both at fault. We both flirted and put on a show and tested the waters. And yes, there absolutelyissomething between us, but I’m hung up on Dom. If Dom wasn’t here, this would all be very different.

I put both the glasses on the table beside me and step forward. I cup Isaac’s stubble-covered cheeks and kiss him. It’s soft and delicate and he’s surprised at my advance. He knows Dom is right there. We both do. But then his arms wrap around me and the kiss deepens. His tongue finds its way inside mine and the pressure of it all is sad and impulsive and beautiful. I melt into his mouth, because I damn-well need to be kissed. His hands snake up and down my back and the kiss is hot and filled with desire—filled with need. And I taste everything I could have, if Dom wasn’t here, everything that would overwhelm and fill me and burn me to ash.

When I pull away I’m breathless. This spark between us burns hot, kindled with a fresh anger I want to use to slap Dom.

“Damn!” I say under my breath, wiping my mouth with my fingers, my heart pounding. “Youaregood at that.”

Isaac smiles at me proudly with a smirk that says,If only…

But I brush my wet cheeks and we both know that’s not happening.

“I—” I start to explain, but Isaac shakes his head.

“I get it.” He nods to the dance floor where Dom stands on the far side of the room with his back to us. “I should probably go apologize to my friend.”

I smile weakly. “I don’t envy that.”

“Not your problem.”

I squeeze Isaac’s arm before retreating out of the ballroom, leaving the red lights and the sparkles behind me. I take a cab back to our hotel and when the elevator dumps me out on the top floor I kick off my shoes, pull down my hair and walk straight through the suite and out onto the terrace.

The wind is vicious and alive out on the balcony and it tosses my hair in a tornado of curls. I look out at the skyline and everything inside me feels wild and unhooked. My tears blur all the lights into a symphony of color. My heart rioting.

It’s easy to stand on top of the world and imagine your life a different way: a life filled with fantasy and pleasure and possibility. It’s easy to forget how much it hurts to learn your vision is faulty, and the things you thought were one way end up being a completely different color and shape. It’s easy to forget the sobering effect of waking up in the morning and seeing the truth in sharp and brutal focus. It’s dangerous to hope. It’s dangerous to allow yourself to get carried away.

7

Isaac

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