Darius' hardened gaze snaps to mine and his anger swells, rushing into me in a crushing wave. I instantly sever the link, unable to bear it any longer.
Aurora moves into my line of sight, cutting off my view of Darius. “I know what you’re thinking,” she says, her expression earnest, almost desperate. “But it's not what it looks like.”
“I think it's exactly what it looks like,” I reply quietly with a thick swallow.
“You don't understand,” she growls, her orange topaz and starlight jewels flickering with her frustration. “He had an argument with my mother today, and is always a piss to be around afterwards. That's all this is.” Eyes softening, she clutches my fingers. “He’s crazy about you.”
“And now he's crazy about her,” I state coldly, feeling my own ire begin to bloom.
It’s no secret that he beds women casually, as do I males, but after today … the things he said … I thought he wanted more. But evidenced by the blonde plastered to him, it was all a lie.
“Danya?” Aurora scrunches her petite nose and glances over her shoulder. “He hates Danya.”
“Clearly.” His sister opens her mouth to speak, but I cut her off with a raised palm. “Darius owes me nothing, Aurora. He can do as he wishes.”
She bites her lip, seeming like she wants to press, but nods when I give her a hard look.
“Okay.” She places a kiss on my cheek and stalks off to Kace, whispering fervently with him while glaring at Darius.
“Maybe we should leave,” Tristan says, sounding unsure.
“No,” I reply. “I need to speak with him. Tonight. There's not much time left.”
Tristan peers down at me in the same moment I feel a tug on our bond, his expression morphing to that of desolation once he feels my pain.
I cut it off and give him a brittle smile. “It’s better this way, anyway. No more muddled feelings. No more distractions. We just do what we came here to do.”
“If that's what you want,” he says quietly.
“What I want?” I laugh bitterly. “No, but it's what I have to do.” Then I walk towards the only person I've ever developed romantic feelings for while he holds another female in his arms.
Chapter 27Darius
She’s staring at me. I can feel it. Those amethyst eyes sear me like hot iron, inflaming my hair to scorch through the back of my skull, branding me with her anger.
Tossing back my whiskey, I slap the glass onto the bar rail. “More.”
Trip eyes me from behind the counter, his green eyes accusing as he slowly reaches for my private stash of whiskey beneath the counter and pours me another glass.
I ignore him. I ignore Aurora and Kace’s angry whispers, ignore Zander’s concerned looks, ignore Griffin’s confusion as he enters the tavern and strides towards us, and I ignore the burn of Lena’s stare. Swigging my whiskey, I let the spirits wash away all the pain and grief of the day, leaving behind nothing but fury.
Our bond flares. Only for a moment, but long enough for me to feel Lena’s anger. The strength of it matches my own.
Good. That's all I want to feel from her. None of the worry she sent hurtling down the bond after I left my mother. Or her sadness. And I sure as fuck don’t want the pity she tried to hide, but I felt it all the same. She can keep that shit to herself. I don't need anyone’s pity, let alone hers.
Red nails scrape across my chest and Danya lowers her lips to my ear. “Are you ready to get out of here?”
My lip curls at her husky tone. A failed attempt to be more enticing, but instead she sounds like a grunting male. Nothing like Lena’s natural, throaty tone. She could tell me to eat shit and die and my cock would still twitch at the sound. But that’s why Danya’s still sprawled across my lap when all I want to do is throw her ass onto the tavern floor.
Since Lena and her companions rarely separate from one another, I knew when Zander walked in with Kace that Lena wasn't far behind. Needing to send a strong, undeniable message, I glanced to where Danya had been loitering ever since I arrived. All it took was a jerk of my head to have her crawling on top of me. Lena doesn't need to get any ideas about us. Today was a mistake. I shouldn't have said any of that to her. I lost sight of what to expect out of my life. Of what's important. My friends, Theon and Aurora, my kingdom. Not her. Not someone who refuses to confide in me. Not someone who plans to leave me.
“Get her off your lap,” Aurora hisses in my other ear. Squeezing between the stools, she glares up at Danya like she wants nothing more than to slam her pint in her face. “Lena’s coming this way.”
Not exactly what I was hoping for, but maybe that'll make this easier. She can see firsthand how little I care for her. She’ll take one look at me with Danya in my arms and walk right on past. Hopefully right out of the city and out of my life forever.
Grinding my teeth at the thought, I clench my hand around the glass, watching as a crack webs through.
Uncaring of the shards of crystal drifting in the amber liquid, I toss my head back and drain every last drop before passing the broken tumbler to Trip. Then, I swivel on my stool just as Lena appears before me.
Gods, she really is beautiful.
Even when she's angry like she is – and she's livid, judging off the scarlet rage mottling her golden cheeks – she's still the most stunning creature I've ever seen. Or ever will.
She's not meant for you. She never was.
Clenching my jaw, I drag Danya higher onto my lap, pressing her tighter to my chest.
Lena follows the movement, her narrowed eyes flitting from my fingers wrapped around Dayna’s waist to the crimson nails scratching at my chest, before she lifts her gaze to mine and a mask falls into place, her expression slipping into one of indifference.
“I need to speak with you,” she says, not a request but an order.
Betraying none of the turmoil within, I say nothing in response, meeting her apathetic gaze with one of my own.
“It's urgent, Darius,” she tries again, but when I remain silent, her mask slips and she rolls her bottom lip between her teeth, chewing on it. Something she does when she's trying to conceal her emotions. Or apparently, as she is now, when she's deep in thought.
Ignoring the odious female sitting on my lap, she steps closer, her brow furrowing as if in pain. “Please.”
A loud cackle draws Lena’s gaze up.
