15. Daire

FIFTEEN

daire

I WAS FEELING pretty fucking good.

That didn’t happen often. But as I lounged back in my chaise that overlooked the city from my living room, I threw back a shot of the good stuff, a bottle of Louis XIII, and almost smiled.

Almost.

The image of Joey, Carl, and Doug propped up outside Astor literally freezing their dicks off as they slowly started to wake up and realize what was happening was one I’d never forget. If it’d been my plan, things would’ve gone much worse, but I couldn’t deny that the pure terror on Joey’s face when I threatened him sent a wave of satisfaction through me. He’d never even look in Gavin’s direction again.

Would I catch hell from Gavin when he arrived at Astor tomorrow and put two and two together? Probably. Had it been worth every curse he’d throw my way? Abso-fucking-lutely.

Wanting to keep the warmth flowing through my body, I poured myself another shot, relaxing as an alt-rock song from the early nineties blasted through the apartment. The rest of the guys had gone out to Church, an exclusive club we belonged to, to celebrate and give themselves an alibi, but I didn’t give a shit about showing my face. Those three assholes had gotten what was coming to them, and there was no way in hell they’d give us up. Not with the amount of shit we had on them, including video footage from Astor’s security cameras—which Harry had hacked into—that clearly showed Gavin being pushed around on several occasions.

So they could go ahead and out themselves as abusers and bullies, or they could keep their mouths shut and deal with the consequences of what they’d done.

I threw back the shot before I could think too much about that and get riled up again. The liquor was doing its job of numbing everything, and I wanted to keep it that way.

Something that sounded like a door slamming pierced through the music, and out of the corner of my eye, someone moved.

“Where the fuck are you?” Gavin shouted, his entire body coiled like a rattlesnake as he sprinted toward my room, not even noticing me sitting by the window. He burst into my bedroom without knocking and flipped on the light. When he didn’t find what he was looking for, he stormed out, his hands balled tightly into fists.

Looked like someone got the good news early.

I got to my feet, smirking as I cocked my head to the side. “Looking for me?”

Gavin screeched to a halt. The flush on his cheeks deepened, and it must’ve been the cognac that made me notice how good he looked pissed off. Even if it was at me.

“You asshole,” he seethed, crossing the space between us. He looked like he wanted to hit me, but the chaise in between us stopped him short. Not that it did anything for his anger.

“Have you lost your mind? What the hell did you think you were doing?” He had to yell to be heard over the music, which seemed to piss him off even more. “And turn that shit down.”

I raised a brow. “You seem upset.”

“Yes, I’m—” He growled in frustration, grabbed my phone off the chaise, and turned off the music blaring from the speakers. The apartment plunged into silence, and he tossed my phone back on the cushions between us. I could see the wheels spinning in his head as he clenched his jaw, like he had so much to say he wasn’t sure where to start.

My smartass mouth could help with that.

“At a loss?” I said. “You could just say thank you.”

That did it.

“Thank you?” he said, his words coming out low and deadly. “You want me to thank you for what you did tonight? And don’t bother trying to deny it. I know it was you.”

“Who’s denying it? But you should know, it was more a group effort than a one-man show.”

“Are you seriously making jokes right now?”

“No, I’m just trying to work out why you’re so pissed.”

Gavin’s left eye twitched as he vibrated with fury, and I could’ve sworn he began to shimmer and blur. Or maybe that was the lighting. Or the alcohol. Or the combination.

“I’m pissed,as you so eloquently put it, because for the first time in months I was out on a date with someone who made me feel special. Who didn’t make me feel like he would lose his shit at the drop of a hat⁠—”

“Well, good for you.”

“Yeah, it was good for me,” he fumed, and stormed around the chaise, pointing a finger at me. “Until East sent me a text with a video of you getting all dark and murderous.”

My lip curled. I was proud of that description. “I’ll be sure to tell him you enjoyed it.”

“You’re insane.”

“I thought you said ‘dark and murderous.’ Make up your mind.”

“What is your problem? Why do you keep doing this to me?”

“To you?”

“Yes, to me.” Gavin’s chest heaved in agitation. “You are not my bodyguard, Daire. I am not some broken, fragile piece of glass who needs you to step in and fight my battles for me. I had a moment, months ago—that doesn’t mean I’m weak. I thought I made myself clear the first time around.”

“Oh you did,” I fired back. “By shutting me out. Believe me, I got the message. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to act when I find out Joey and his dickwad friends are bullying you.”

“I didn’t ask you to do that.”

“No, you didn’t. You didn’t even tell me about it. I had to find out from Nerd Boy that your asshole ex was still pushing you around. Why?”

“Because it wasn’t your business! Isn’t that what you always tell me?”

I took a step toward him. “This is different.”

“Why? I was handling it.”

“You weren’t doing shit. Otherwise they would’ve stopped.”

That was apparently the wrong thing to say, because Gavin lost it. He launched himself at me, his hands connecting hard with my chest. But I had more weight on him, more balance, so when he grabbed hold of my shirt, I wrapped my fingers around his wrists.

“For someone who claims he doesn’t like violence, you have a nasty habit of putting your hands on me,” I said, dragging his hands down behind his back and holding him there. “But that was your last shot.”

Gavin aimed daggers my way, his irritation a tangible thing as it pulsed between us. The tension in the room hissed and sparked like a live wire.

“Can you blame me? You’re enough to drive anyone to violence.”

“Because I took care of a problem you let get out of control?”

Breathing hard, Gavin struggled against my grip. “I hate you.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you do. Still doesn’t explain why you didn’t tell me. Why you didn’t let me help you.”

“Because I know you, Daire. You don’t know when to stop. You’re an animal.”

Something in me snapped. I jerked him forward, our bodies flush and our noses almost touching as I said, “That’s right. I am an animal. And I’ll eat you alive if you fucking let me.”

It wasn’t anger or fear that lit Gavin’s eyes at my words—it was desire. As if the thought of doing just that turned him on.

I didn’t think then. I just acted.

I slammed my mouth down on Gavin’s in a kiss so fierce, so possessive, that he gasped, his entire body going so still I wondered if I’d shocked him to death.

Before my brain could kick in to make me conscious of what I was doing, Gavin’s mouth parted—and then he was kissing me back. With the adrenaline riding both of us, nothing about what we were doing was tentative. All rational thought flew out the window as the sweet taste of his lips penetrated my inebriated state, and suddenly all I could think about was stealing a deeper, longer draw of him.

I let go of Gavin’s wrists, bringing my hands up to cradle his flushed cheeks. His lips parted on a gasp, and before I could tell myself what a monumentally stupid idea this was, I took the kiss that I craved.

My tongue entered Gavin’s mouth with only his groan as permission. But the hands back on my shirt hauling me closer confirmed what I already knew—he wanted this as badly as I did, and if that wasn’t confirmation enough, the hard dick rubbing up against mine sure was.

Gavin’s tongue tasted like that drink I knew he favored. Rich like port, with hints of spice to it. A taste I knew I’d never forget after tonight, as I swept my tongue around the honeyed interior of his mouth.

It was like an instant hit, a one-two punch that sent a buzz rushing so fast through my veins that it overpowered any other sense, any other thought, other than when I could get another. I bit and sucked at the pouty lips that had just been cursing me to hell.

My head began to spin, the living room starting to feel completely off balance, along with the rest of my world, as the reality of whom I was kissing slammed into me.

Abruptly, I jerked away, and the sight of Gavin’s swollen mouth and dazed eyes was enough to wake me up.

Holy shit, what had I just done? This was Gavin, for Christ’s sake. Quiet, sweet, and undeserving of having the likes of me mauling him. What the hell was I doing kissing him?

I dropped my hands from him like he was on fire and stumbled backward, knocking my ass into the chair. Frustration ripped through me, and I kicked it out of the way as Gavin started toward me.

“Daire, wait.”

I would not stick around for whatever he wanted to say, not when I could feel my body going into shock.

Without another glance, I hightailed it away from him, ignoring him when he called after me. It wasn’t until I stepped across the threshold of my bedroom that I finally answered him.

By slamming my door and locking it up tight.