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The sun is high in the sky, and lunch is almost ready. Thankfully being invited to the Thorne manor isn’t as scary as it used to be. The first time I walked into the enormous mansion, I felt so small, as if I was invading a sacred space. But now, I’m here, and it’s as if I belong.
Damien saunters from the kitchen, his blue gaze catching mine. “Little Kaly,” he says with a smile that sends my stomach tumbling wildly. All three Thorne brothers are beautiful, breathtaking, and even though the eldest one looks like an Adonis, it’s the middle brother, my best friend, who has my mind running wildly.
I offer a shy smile. “Hello, Damien,” I greet him. Most girls at school can’t get a word out when he’s around. And I can see why. He’s dressed all in black, reminding me of a vampire about to feast on my blood.
“He’s out back,” he informs me, knowing I’m here for Cassian.
“Thanks,” I mumble as I rush by him, my cheeks hot from embarrassment. When I reach the back porch, I take in the number of students already at the pool. At first, I didn’t want to come here, to be surrounded by people I didn’t fit in with, but Cassian promised to look after me.
As he always does.
“There she is,” he says when he sees me, leaving the grill to Finn. When he reaches me, his arm snakes around my neck, and he pulls me into his hold. Since I turned seventeen a couple of weeks ago, he’s been holding me more often. Being affectionate, whereas when we first met, he never came close to me.
“Quite the party,” I remark, watching the girls in tiny bikinis as they splash around in the pool, and I’m jealous, wanting to be that comfortable in my own skin.
“It is. But you’re here now, so it’s even better,” Cassian whispers in my ear, sending heat coursing through my body. If he only knew how I truly felt. “Want something to drink?”
“You have the hard stuff?” I tease, looking up into those endless teal eyes.
He chuckles, and I bask in the vibration from his chest. “You can have one drink, but only one.” His warning is clear. Cass knows I drink and get high. He’s been there on more than one occasion when I’ve been out of my mind. He’s been my rock, holding me steady.
When he hands me some fruity drink, I can’t help but roll my eyes, earning myself another chuckle. I sip the fizzy drink and linger around, keeping close to Cassian because the rest of the kids are all a year older than me, which has me nervous to talk to any of them.
The darker the sky gets, the rowdier the party, and as soon as the sky has burst with a prickling of white stars, there are couples skinny dipping in the pool, some have taken to the hot tub. I lean back in one of the loungers when a couple of guys surround me, one has a joint, which he offers me, and I thankfully accept.
After a few pulls on it, I feel the high hitting my veins, taking me to a place where my anxiety no longer exists, and soon, I’m shimmying out of my jean shorts and tank top. Underneath is a bright green bikini that barely covers what needs to be hidden.
I’m about to head for the pool when a firm grip on my hips startles me, causing a yelp to tumble from my lips. The warm breath of someone is at my ear in seconds, and then his voice cuts through my high.
“What the fuck are you wearing?” Cassian hisses with a threat of danger in his voice. His lips send electricity zipping down my body like sparks from a firework setting off to burn me alive.
“A bikini,” I sass him, tugging away so I can face him. When I do manage to spin around, my breath is knocked from my lungs when I take in his thundering expression. “What?”
“You’re not fucking wearing that,” he grits as his hand snags my arm and picks up my clothes with the other before he pulls me into the house, all the way up the stairs until we’re in his bedroom. Alone. The word trickles through my mind, and my thighs squeeze together at the possessiveness in his eyes.
“What’s wrong with this? The other girls have similar—”
“You’re not the other fucking girls,” he says, pushing me up against his bedroom door. I’ve only ever been in here once before. And right now, I’m practically naked while he’s still fully clothed. I’m at quite the disadvantage.
Tipping my head back, I lift my chin before I ask, “What does that mean?”
His hands land on the door behind me, his arms caging me in. I want so much for him to kiss me. I can’t stop myself from lifting onto my tiptoes, so I’m taller. Even so, I’m still shorter than him.
