Clarrisa's POV

I have.

I have touched his hair.

I love touching his hair.

I don’t know if Damon knows that he always groans whenever I play with his hair, but I love the sound he makes. If I could hear it every day, it would make me so happy.

“Clarissa,” he whispers. “Answer me.” I can’t help myself as I slowly reach up and run my hand through his already-styled hair. His breath hitches, and I wait; I wait to hear the groan I love so much.

When I do hear it, my heart rate increases.

“See,” I whisper. “His hair is soft.” My eyes flash dangerously when my words finally sink in.

He gently grabs my wrist and pulls my hand away, but he doesn’t let go of it.

“What are you saying?” He asks cautiously before taking a step towards me.

“What do you think I’m saying?” I answer his question with one of my own.

“I’m wearing a white shirt. I have blue eyes. According to you, my hair is soft.” He repeats my words. “Are you saying you put on this dress for me?”

My body shivers at his question, and I don’t know why. Before I could answer him, Anya pushed me away and wrapped her arms around Damon’s neck.

My heart ached as she leaned forward and pulled him in for a passionate kiss.

Damon grabs her waist and pulls her closer to him. Why does he even love someone like her?

Does he not realize by now how hard it is for me to see him with her? Of course, he doesn’t know Clarissa, you’ve never done anything for him to realize your true feelings.

He now knew that I dressed up just for him; wasn’t that enough of a hint? Or did he think I was lying to get him to stop asking me questions?

Autumn grabbed my arm and pulled me over to where she was standing with Atticus. They’d just finished their dance.

“Can you get something to drink for me?” She asks him. He nods and leaves the two of us alone.

I’m sure she’d done that so we could speak about Damon.

“Are you okay?” She asks me. I shook my head. “Not in the least. It’s so hard for me to see him with her. I feel like recently she’s been kissing him more in public than in the past.”

Autumn nods, “I’ve also noticed that. Maybe she’s behaving this way because she’s already lost Atticus and doesn’t want to lose Damon also.”

Then why wasn’t she also kissing Dante like that? Was she okay with losing him?

“They’re still kissing,” I mumble. I can’t hide the hurt from my voice.

“That’s good.” She tells me. “That will give us enough time to find you a dancing partner for the night. Like I told you, Damon is too comfortable, you need to make him worry.”

I think Autumn was right. Earlier, when he thought I was speaking about a random guy, I’d seen a side to him I’ve rarely seen before.

“I think I know the right person for the job,” Autumn tells me; I’m surprised by how happy she is. Who did she find?

“Look at him,” she tells me as she tilts her head to the person next to us.

My eyes widen.

Ares Prince.

Carter’s younger brother.

“You’re insane!” I hiss.

“Why not?” She demands.

“Do you not remember what happened with Carter? There’s still so much tension between them ever since. I don’t think dancing with his brother would make Damon happy. He will be angry with me, and that’s the last thing I want to happen.”

She sighs, “Ares is not Carter. He’s perfect for the job. He’s known to be a player, and that’s good. We don’t want someone who will stick to you after tonight. We just want someone for you to have fun with. Since Damon doesn’t like Carter after what happened in the past, that’s perfect for us.”

“I don’t know about this, Autumn.”

“Trust me. I wouldn’t have asked you to do this if I weren’t sure it would work in your favor.” She tries some more to convince me.

I turn to look at Damon, and he’s currently staring into Anya’s eyes as they dance.

I press my lips together tightly, more determined than ever to listen to Autumn’s request.

“Okay. I’ll do it. But I have no idea how to approach him.” I confess.

“You were a lot braver when you were doing things like this for me.” Autumn teases me. “That’s okay. I’ll work some magic. You don’t need it, though. You’re stunning; anyone would jump at the opportunity to be your date tonight.”

I try to call her back when she walks over to Ares. I was having second thoughts about this. She doesn’t hear my call unless she’s pretending that she can’t.

I’m not sure what she told Ares, but his eyes are now on me. I don’t feel the tingling or heat I usually feel with Damon, but I definitely felt nervous.

He says something to her, and she smiles. I tried to stay calm as he walked over to me.

“Autumn just informed me that you’re looking for a dance partner for the night.” He tells me.

I forced myself to nod after the death stare Autumn gave me.

“That’s very lucky for me. I was also searching for a dance partner for the night. And I think I’ve found the best one in the room.” He says as he lifts my hand to his lips.

My eyes widen, and I return Autumn’s death stare. She never said anything about this! I force myself not to slap Ares hard across his face.

I wrap my arms around his neck as he grips my waist and guides me to the dance floor.

“I’m surprised that Clarissa Fawn is dancing with me tonight.” He says as he spins me. “Aren’t your brothers super protective over you?”

“I don’t have to answer that. We’re not blood-related.” I remind him.

“You might want to remind them of that. Especially Damon. It’s only because of him that no guy from the academy tries to ask you out.” He informs me.

“What are you talking about?” I ask him.

I knew that Damon told everyone not to bully me, but I wasn’t sure what Ares was saying to me.

“Damon practically told all the guys to stay the fuck away from you, or there would be serious consequences. Everyone knows the kind of connections that your family has. That’s why they listen to him.” He informs me.

My eyes widen. Was this true? Has Damon been meddling with my love life this entire time? It’s not like I had one to begin with but still.

Why would he do something like that?

“If this is true, why are you dancing with me?” I ask him.

“Because you’re beautiful.” He answers me without a second thought. “I’m not scared of Damon. My family is just as influential and powerful as your family. There’s nothing for me to be worried about. Besides, we both know our brothers’ rivalry, which will make things more interesting.”

“I told you, I’m adopted.” I remind him

I didn’t want him to refer to Damon as my brother. I felt sick to my stomach anytime someone said that to me.

He chuckles, “I’m sorry.”

He spins me again, and this time my back is pressed to the front of him. I have a clear view of Damon now. He still hadn’t noticed, and I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or upset.

I don’t get time to ponder on that thought because Damon chooses that second to search the crowd. I’m not sure if it’s me that he’s looking for. A few seconds later and I have my answer.

He’s looking directly at me. His gaze doesn’t stay on me for long; it’s now on Ares, then on Ares’s hands on my waist. I can see the surprise on his face to see me in the arms of another man.

I swallow. Why did I feel like I was cheating on him? Why did I feel like I was betraying him? This was absurd! My feelings made zero sense to me.

My breath gets stuck in my throat. Damon freezes on the dance floor. He was in the middle of a dance with Anya, but now he isn’t even moving.

I pause also. He no longer looks surprised, but he seems angry. Very angry.

Oh no. I’ve done it, haven’t I?