Page 126 of Twisted Obsession

Liya could have wiped the floors with me, and I knew that. I wasn’t a fighter, a fact Lavena was aware of. But I appreciated the confidence.

Only after Liya had vanished from view and everyone had taken a calming breath did I realize Marcella was holding my arm still and Kas and Sasha were right behind me, looking as if prepared to grab me if I actually decided to hit Liya. I would have laughed hysterically at the scene, but Darius took that moment to turn to me, his expression set.

“Are you okay?”

I nodded, because I was. Despite my initial urge to break Liya’s face, I knew deep down that it didn’t matter what she said and the more I let it, the more I would be stooping to her level.

I faced Marcella. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have caused a scene at your party.”

The other woman laughed. “Oh sweetheart, I was ready to cause a scene. You handled that far better than I would have.”

I apologized again anyway, slightly embarrassed by the whole incident, which Lavena found exceedingly hilarious.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you square up on another person before,” she remarked, elbowing me lightly. “I was almost tempted to let you have a swing before stepping in.”

“I would have paid top dollar to see you flatten Liya on her ass,” Kas agreed.

I shook my head, touched, and concerned by their confidence in my abilities to flatten anyone. “That’s not how it would have gone down, but thank you,” I said, chuckling.

“Oh! Guys, the girl with those tiny shrimps is back,” Sasha hissed, dark eyes following a waitress making her rounds, a silver tray of tiny crackers in hand.

I didn’t understand what was happening, but watched my friends abandon me and hurry to ambush the poor woman with the snacks.

“Good lord,” Marcella sighed, watching the trio. “People are going to think we starve those three if they continue eating all the pastries.” With a shake of her head, she hurried over to save the caged woman.

“Not going to lie, that was pretty hot,” Darius said with a little grin that made me laugh. “And just for the record, I would have put all my money on you in a fight.”

“Then you would have lost all your money,” I told him. “But thank you.”

He brushed back a coil of hair off my cheek, letting his fingers linger and glide along the line of my jaw to my chin. “You’re it for me. You know that, right?”

A warmth bloomed in my chest as I caught the hand and held it. “I do. I was never angry that she was here or that she wanted to see you. I was insulted that she thought she had any right to after what she did. Besides, it was five years ago. Why are you the tree she keeps barking up?”

The analogy seemed to amuse Darius to no end when he burst out laughing. His free arm snaked around my middle, and I was drowning in the warmth of his embrace.

“I’ve never been compared to a tree before,” he said, sobering.

I offered him a lopsided smile. “Are you okay?”

His answer was a slow, teasing kiss I felt coarse through me like warm honey. “I haven’t been this okay in years.”

“Good, then take me home and prove it.”

It didn’t take a lot to convince him to leave, but it did take longer than either of us liked to thank everyone, say goodbye to his family and get his car brought around. The brightly lit manor glowed against the dwindling twilight. Its sheer seclusion rewarded us with a canopy of endless stars stretching far over the treetops in the distance. The whole place was a sight to beheld in the warm light of day, but in the night, it was something out of a fairytale.

I peeked at the gorgeous man at my side, taking in his shaded profile half hidden in shadows and thought of Rumi again.

Both light and shadow are the dance of love.

I wondered if Darius ever thought of that afternoon he’d read that poem to me all those years ago. It probably hadn’t meant the same thing to him as it had me, but I held on to the words, wrapping them up against my chest with all the other memories of him I kept tucked away there.

“What are you doing tomorrow?” He turned those unfathomable eyes down to mine, the blue pools hooded in thought and darkness.

I shook my head. “Not sure. Nothing, I think. Why?”

My hand was captured in his. The fingers were raised to his lips and the warmth that rolled down my arm sent a shiver through the rest of me.

“I owe you a coffee date,” he reminded me quietly as he pulled back.

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