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Donovan’s hand returned to his side as he turned to Daphne. I wasn’t sure what expression I wore, but I knew my skin felt hot. Donovan held one finger up to his lips. “It’s a secret,” he answered coyly.
Irritation wormed its way through my chest. I didn’t want her to get the wrong idea. “It’s nothing,” I said, hoping I sounded normal.
Daphne’s face had a light flush, either from the warmth of all the bodies or the alcohol. “I came to get another drink,” she explained, looking at Donovan. “But there’s someone I want to introduce you to.”
He pushed away from the bar immediately. “We’ll talk again later.” He winked at me before joining Daphne.
The two of them moved on and I was left alone to reflect. Out of everything, there was one thing that worried me. If Donovan had found out about my feelings for Daphne, then how long did I have before she figured it out, too?
“Come on, Daph, you need to take off your makeup.”
I had lost track of Daphne during the party, but when I finally found her again she was three sheets to the wind. It had been a struggle just to get her back to our room, but she had no interest in going to sleep.
She flopped against the bed and kicked off her heels, sighing in exaggerated relief. “Feels so good,” she groaned. Before I could try to wrangle her again she crawled up to her knees and fumbled for her zipper. When she couldn’t reach it she groaned again. “Marina help, it’s too tight.”
“This is why you should watch how much you drink,” I chided, though I’m sure she wasn’t listening. I undid her zipper and she shimmied out of the dress, leaving me to do my best to ignore her lingerie-clad body.
Freed from her constraints she laid down on the bed. I started to head to the bathroom to grab some makeup wipes when she called for me. “Marina, come here.”
“What is it? Do you feel sick?”
She waved at me to come closer. Once I sat beside her she pulled herself up and leaned against me, resting her chin against my shoulder. For a moment we just sat there, staring at each other, until she finally spoke.
“Kiss me.”
Chapter 4
Thiswasmysecondtime waking up beside Daphne, but I couldn’t enjoy it as much as yesterday. I was confused, and a little sad.
Daphne had tried to kiss me, and I had rejected her.
As much as I wanted it to mean something, I knew she had been drunk. I knew that. No matter how badly I wanted her, how badly I wanted her to want me, I couldn’t take advantage of her while she was drunk. But, God, the way she looked at me when I pulled away had been like a stab to the heart.
Despite it all, she was still snuggled up beside me in her sleep. I had managed to take off most of her makeup before she passed out, but she was still only wearing her underwear.
It was silly, almost. I knew how she tasted and the sounds she made, but looking at her undressed felt like a violation. Our relationship was strange, but it was all I had.
I sighed and got out of bed. A shower would clear my head, and I needed to be at the top of my game for the rest of the day.
When I came out of the bathroom, I found Daphne awake and sipping on a bottle of water. A flicker of anxiety taunted me, but she greeted me with a yawn and a “Morning,” like it was any other day.
I needed to pull myself together. She probably didn’t even remember that she tried to kiss me, let alone that I had pulled away. If she did she would probably be mortified, anyway.
I shut my eyes tight and sucked in a slow breath. Once my heart slowed down I got moving.
Twenty minutes later and I was dressed and ready to go, but Daphne was still in the bathroom. We still had some time until we needed to leave, but I’d rather be earlier than late for the presentation.
I gave it another few minutes then knocked on the door. “Hey, Daph? Do you need anything?” It was quiet for a moment, then the door opened. “Oh.”
She was a mess.
This was not the Daphne I had watched command rooms and dominate board meetings. This Daphne had shaky eyeliner and blotchy foundation, with her long hair in some shoddy half-up half-down bun. I sighed. “Okay, come with me.”
She let me lead her to the couch without protest and sat. I jumped back in the bathroom to grab as much as I could carry then dumped the products next to her on the couch. She let out a gasp as I climbed onto her lap to get the best angle, but she didn’t move away.
I took off her makeup as gently as I could, then started the process from the beginning. I was confident in my skills - I had done both of my sister’s makeup more times than I could count - but doing it on the girl I liked presented a challenge of its own.
Neither of us spoke, but we didn’t need to. She was beautiful with or without makeup, but I wanted her to feel confident under the harsh stage light. A thin layer of foundation, a few dabs of concealer, and a swipe of a peachy blush later and the base was done.
