Cruel Devil: Chapter 14

And then there were two. Aaron leaves to go boarding, leaving me and a very shirtless Dominique behind. Right. Clothes. He needed clothes. Which meant I needed clothes. Gah.

I head for my bedroom, conscious of Dominique’s silent steps behind me. Once inside, I head for my dresser and pull out a pair of yoga pants and a sweater. I look down at the shirt. I don’t want to give it back. It’s soft and comfy and it smells like him. Like cinnamon and sandalwood and yum.

I can not believe I thought that. Not keeping the shirt. I am not that girl and no, I am not hung up on him. Just no. He’s an asshole. An inconsiderate, domineering jerkface.

I pull it over my head and hold it out to Dominique, who’s just standing there. Staring. It’s the first time I’ve gotten a good look at his front and yeah, it’s just as good as the back. Better actually, which is completely unfair.

His chest is wide, sculpted. He has abs that should be illegal. And those lines … you know the ones.

I want to trail my fingers over those lines, lick his hip bone, stroke his abs. Wait. No. Fuck. I do not want to do any of those things.

Alright then. I am not keeping the shirt and he really needs to put it on and leave. I cannot be around him right now. I think the sun addled my brain or something.

“Take it,” I say, and give the shirt in question a little shake.

He’s not looking at the shirt though. He’s looking at me. And the look in his eyes isn’t an innocent one. It’s the same look he gave me in the classroom. Heated. Hungry.

I drop the shirt.

“Christ.” He runs a hand over his head. “That thing is fucking indecent.”

I look down at myself and yeah, he’s not wrong, but neither was Quinn. I’m glad she offered me the swimsuit. Once I got over the shock of the thing, I decided I liked it. I don’t care what anyone else thinks.

I’ve never had a hard time getting a guy’s attention, present company not included, but I’m attractive in a cute sort of way. Not beautiful. Not hot or sexy. Just, cute. I have round cheeks, curly blond hair, bright blue eyes and one of those faces that people look at and think to themselves, This swimsuit takes me from cute to sexy and I’m not going to lie, I like it. I like feeling sexy, and as much as I hate to admit it, I like the way Dominique is looking at me while I’m in it. Which, yes, I know that’s bad. It’s the sun. Totally blaming the sun for my crazy stupid thoughts right now because I shouldn’t like the way he’s looking at me. In fact, I should be snapping at him for it. But I’m not. I need to steer us back onto safe ground.

“Thanks for the unsolicited opinion,” I tell him.

“Put that back on.” He nods to the shirt.

“Pass. I don’t take orders from assholes.”

His eyes narrow. “Put on the shirt.”

“No. In case you didn’t notice, Kappa Mu is having a party. One I plan on getting back to and enjoying. You should have left with Aaron, but since you didn’t, I’ll be nice and let you borrow my car. But I’m going to go have fun.” I’d breeze past him out the door if he wasn’t still blocking it, but because he is, I lean back against my dresser and fold my arms over my chest to wait.

His jaw tics.

“Put on the shirt, Kasey.”

“No.”

“Dammit. Put on the fucking shirt.”

“Make me, asshole.”

Okay, that last comment, probably not a great choice of words. Dominique closes the distance between us. Capturing my hips in his hands, he jerks me to him.

“Why do you always have to fight me on shit?”

I give him an incredulous look. “You’re kidding, right?”

His nostrils flare.

“You do not get to dictate what I wear or do or anything about my life. You don’t own me. Get that through your head.” Something in me snaps. All my frustration from before, my anger and hurt at his dismissal comes rushing to the surface. Where does he get off? “You think that, what, since we fooled around in a classroom that you all of a sudden get to make demands? That’s not how this works, Dom!” I shove at his chest. “Get the hell out of my way.”

He shifts his stance, still blocking me.

“Dominique—”

“Put on the shirt or take off that suit. You’re not going out where all those fraternity punks are in that.”

I bite the inside of my cheek until I taste blood. “Fine,” I snap.

Surprise flashes in his eyes and he takes a step back, giving me some space, but I’m not going to put on his stupid cinnamon smelling shirt. Since he wants me to take off the swimsuit, I’ll take it off.

I grab the straps of the swimsuit and tug them down, pulling my arms out.

“What are you doing?”

Ignoring him, I push the swimsuit down past my ribcage, exposing my breasts.

A small smile curls my lip and I shove the swimsuit down over my hips, letting it pool at my feet. I swallow hard, but refuse to be embarrassed as I raise my eyes to his. “Happy now?” My voice is surprisingly even, giving none of my nerves away.

Need flashes in Dominique’s eyes as he drinks me in. Then, without saying a word, he turns, jerks my bedroom door open, and leaves, slamming it shut behind him.

My phone rings but it takes me a minute to collect myself. I pick up Dominique’s shirt from the floor and slip it on. Not because I want to wear anything that belongs to him, but because it’s there. And then I dig my phone out of my bag. It’s no longer ringing, but I can see it was my mom who called. I’ll call her back later. I’m not really in the mood for one of her chats.

I consider going back to the party, but that doesn’t sound appealing either, so instead, I drop down on my bed and crack open a textbook, telling myself that my decision to stay inside has nothing to do with Dominique. I just need to catch up on some homework.

Clearly, I am a big fat liar.