Chapter 1

1

D anika followed Hayden through the side entrance of the house, into the kitchen, continued moving through the living room, and finally slipped into her bedroom.

She shut the door behind them, and although she wasn’t allowed to have boys in the house without adult supervision, let alone in her room, Hayden was the exception.

Maybe it because they had known each other for so long, or maybe it was the fact that Hayden lived next door and spent as much time at her house as he did his own? Either way, right now, this worked for them.

He sat on the edge of her bed, grabbed the lighter and joint he had put back in his front pocket, and grinned at her. But then he grabbed a toilet paper roll, minus the toilet paper, and she saw it was filled with lint from a dryer.

Although they certainly didn’t get high a lot, they hung out with friends that did, and smoking in their rooms required some kind of ventilation system other than a window. The toilet paper roll and lint would filter out the smoke and smell of the marijuana when they exhaled into the end.

It was crafty and makeshift, but got the job done.

After patting the spot next to him she moved away from the door and sat beside him. While he brought the joint to his lips and lit the end, Danika glanced at the window, could see the pool from her bedroom, and also her father and Damien.

He was slightly facing the house now, and although she could see his profile, could tell he was gorgeous and had the classic square jaw and masculine features, she was too far away to see specifics like eye color.

“Here,” Hayden handed her the joint, his voice strained as he held in the smoke.

Danika looked away from the window and grabbed the joint. She inhaled, watched the tip light up orange for a second, then handed it back to Hayden.

He shook his head and exhaled into the end of the toilet paper roll.

“Take another hit.” He handed her the roll, and she exhaled into it. After taking one more hit off the end of the joint she handed it to Hayden, already feeling the pot work through her body. After exhaling once more, she felt her eyes become “fuzzy”, felt her mouth dry, and glanced at the window again. She couldn’t see Damien, but she saw her dad by the grill again.

“I’m fucking thirsty, Danika,” Hayden said and lay back on the bed, this goofy smile on his face. He took another hit, handed her the joint again, and although she should have said no, she took it. “Thattagirl,” Hayden said and started chuckling. “It’s your birthday, after all.”

After she took another hit and handed it to Hayden, she said, “That’s it for me or my dad will for sure be able to tell I’m high.” And she was stoned, pretty damn stoned actually.

“I’m thirsty as fuck, Danika.”

“Yeah.” She needed to get some eye drops for her, too. She got off the bed, left her room and shut the door behind her, and felt her cell vibrate in her shorts pocket.

After grabbing it, trying to focus on the keys and chuckling at the fact she was really fucked up, she started to text her friend Madeline back. Madeline texted her saying she was sorry she couldn’t make it to the party, but that they’d get together next weekend.

Danika glanced up, saw the corner of the hallway where she would need to turn and go into the bathroom, and looked back at her phone to send the message. But just as she turned the corner she slammed into a very hard wall.

For a second, because her brain was moving slower than normal, Danika thought she had literally run into the wall. She’d dropped her phone, and when she went to pick it up she saw the pair of big, black boots in her line of vision.

Slowly Danika started to stand, her head feeling light and dizzy as the blood suddenly rushed away. Then she was staring at her father’s friend, a lion shifting SEAL, big and tall, and looking pretty damn intimidating.

He inhaled deeply, his nostrils flaring, his pupils dilating, and she swore the air around them became charged. The hair on her arms stood on end, and for some inexplicable reason she felt this protective pull come from this man.

She stared into his face, taking in the way his eyes were this strange amber color, and the fact his short blond hair was perfectly styled, almost severe in its perfection. He had one of those square, masculine faces, not beautiful or classically handsome, but sharp, all male in appearance, and lacking any kind of emotion.

But it was the low hum, almost a purring sound, that left his throat that had her taking a step back. He followed, advancing like an animal stalking his prey, and Danika felt like she was the meal he was about to devour.

She didn’t know what was happening, why she felt this weird tingle in the base of her spine, or

why this man was tracking her like this, but she couldn’t find her voice to try to stop it. And then the wall had her retreat coming to a halt.

Her heart thundered behind her ribs, and although she wouldn’t consider herself a shrinking violet, she felt very small compared to him. “You’re my father’s friend,” she said on a soft voice.

He made that weird purring sound again, a mixture of softness, but also having a hard edge to it.

She felt like it was a dangerous sound, like something he might make right before he slit someone’s throat, but despite feeling that she couldn’t find any fear inside of her. He had yet to respond, and this weird intensity slammed into her from him, like a hot poker moving through her belly.

It was a strange sensation, not unpleasant, but not exactly comforting either.

“You’re Danika,” Damien said with this growl in his voice. His pupils kept contracting and dilating, and when he looked down, closed his eyes, and shook his head, it was like he was trying to control himself. “You’re Tyler’s daughter.” Again he didn’t say it like a question, but almost like he was speaking to himself. He took a step back, breathed in and out heavily, and she saw the way he clenched his hands at his sides. “You’re Tyler’s daughter,” he said again, this time with a little more determination in his voice.

Danika had no clue what in the hell was going on. She was high, confused, and felt like she was standing on a tightrope, and beneath was a black abyss. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s going on.” Her lips were dry, her mouth feeling like it had a wad of cotton in it, and her pulse felt off the charts fast.

When her door opened and she looked over to see Hayden standing there, his expression kind of goofy and his eyes bloodshot, she wished she could be oblivious to the situation right now, too.

“Who are you talking to?” Hayden asked, and then glanced at Damien. His eyes widened as he took in the sight of the other man. “Um, Danika?”

Damien made this low growly noise again, but this time it was deeper, more threatening, and directed right at Hayden. Damien took a step toward Hayden, and it was like everything stalled. “She’s mine,” he said to Hayden in a deep voice that had Danika’s heart stopping.

“What?” Hayden said, knitted his brows, and looked at Danika. “Your what?” maybe it was because Hayden was so high, but

he wasn’t acting as though this beast of a man was staring him down. Before anyone else could say anything Damien looked at her once more, held her gaze with his own, and then turned to leave.

But his movements were tense, and it was like he was trying to force himself to walk away.

After he left she stood there, still pressed to the wall, and Hayden standing in her doorway.

Her father came in only a few minutes later, stopped at the end of the hallway when he saw the two of them, and pointed his spatula to the front of the house. “You know what happened to Damien?”

She shook her head and swallowed. “No, why?” It wasn’t a lie because she had no freaking clue what in the hell had gotten into him.

“He just said he wasn’t feeling right and had to leave.” Tyler shook his head when she shrugged, then turned and headed back outside.

For several minutes the silence stretched between her and Hayden.

“What in the hell was that?” he asked.

She stared at the hallway where Damien had just left, shook her head, and tried to get her thoughts in order. “I have no clue, Hayden. But that was the most intense situation I think I’ve ever been in.”