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“My name is Thea.”
Those soft, full lips I was intimately familiar with quirked into a grin sexy enough to melt the panties of a lesser woman. Or at least a less infuriated woman.
In truth, I had Alvina to thank for my renewed resistance. My annoyance with her had shored up any cracks in my defenses, and a smile had no hope of penetrating them.
Even if it was an obnoxiously gorgeous smile.
“I know, but you’re my Curly Puff. Calling you anything else just feels wrong. I’m all about fairness, you can call me anything you like, too.”
“Oh, can I? You’d grant me such a coveted privilege?” My dripping sarcasm only broadened his grin. “Let’s see, you set me up to sleep with your best friend—who I hate—when you knew my mind wasn’t right after they tested my power. Oh, and your fucked up reasoning was based on a vision of the future by the biggest bitch in this school, who had it out for me before I even met her. I gotta say, only one name feels fitting for you…” I stepped closer until my chest was only a fraction of an inch away from his, my head tilted back to meet his gaze. “I’m going to call you ‘Liar.’”
The heat of desire that had come into his eyes at my closeness was doused like a candle in a hurricane.
Good.
“Puff, I—”
“Not sure who you’re talking to, Liar, because it damn sure isn’t me.” Childish? Sure, but I didn’t care.
“Let it go, man,” came a voice from behind me. I didn’t need to turn to know it was Darrio. He must have walked up seconds before, his intoxicating presence only just making itself known. Tingles rippled over my skin, drawing an involuntary shiver from me.
Every atom in my body yearned to lean back and soak in the warmth of his muscled chest, to let him hold me up and keep me from falling for the bastard in front of me all over again. The temptation to allow Sam back into my heart was so fucking strong. Just because he’d betrayed me didn’t flip off my love for him like a switch.
If only.
“Fuck you, Nympho, if I wanna talk to her—”
Darrio was blocking my view of Sam before my jaw had fully dropped. Sam could be a smartass sometimes, but he’d never taken it that far. Now, Sam’s face was drawn in a hard mask as he used the few inches he had on Darrio to loom over the seduction god blocking his access to me.
Darrio may not have taken the “W” for height, but he was broad and equally strong. The energy seething from my normally sweet and calm man was on the verge of combustion.
If I didn’t do something, one of them was going to swing.
“She doesn’t want to talk to you. She’s made that clear. So get the hell out of her face until she says otherwise.” The muscles in Darrio’s back rippled under his hooded sweatshirt, and I made my move.
“Darrio, it’s fine.” I kept my voice a low, soothing whisper as I reached forward to place a palm on his shoulder blade. Stepping around to the side of him so I could disrupt his stare down with Sam, I let my hand drift lower until I could thread our fingers together.
His heated brown eyes met mine. The molten umber was so different from the soft, melted chocolate of his drugging stares when he kissed me. Guilt flooded me at the change, but there was nothing to be done at the moment. Instead, I needed to focus on getting him away from Sam.
And getting me away from Sam.
“Come walk me back to my room.”
I held my breath, unsure if he was going to move. My gaze flicked toward Sam, whose stare blistered with ferocity where it was trained on Darrio. The tension in the air around us grew thicker and more constricting.
Something I couldn’t decipher passed between them, and the tightness slowly leaked from Darrio. Without a word, he spun on his heel and stormed down the hall, dragging me along behind him. I somehow resisted the urge to take one last look at Sam. Gods knew I wanted to, but I wouldn’t give him—or myself—the satisfaction.
After a few more yards of stumbling to keep up with Darrio’s long-legged stride, I snatched my hand free.
“Damn, slow down.”
“Sorry, Red.” He halted so fast I barely had a chance to process as thick, strong arms wrapped around me. Instantly, some of my anger melted away. Of the four men who’d managed to burrow their way under my skin since my arrival at Divinity, he’d been the most level, the most faithful, the most honest.
And yet the stupid, insecure part of me still needed to push him away, too. I’d let Sam in, and he’d set me up to sleep with his best friend. I’d trusted Remy to teach me how to use my death power, but he could barely control his own, not to mention the things he wasn’t telling me about his past. Then there was Varon, who was his own type of “hell no.”
With a seventy-five percent failure rate, what chance was there that Darrio wouldn’t let me down, too? Well, I mean, obviously twenty-five percent, but math was stupid, and so were feelings.
Now if only I could find that damn off-switch.
