Vicious by Sinden West Read Free Book Online

ten,” Damon murmured into my hair. “Where are you going to sleep tonight?” I looked up, he had a playful smile on his face.
    “I thought I might ask you r Dad if I could crash on the couch,” I teased back. Well, I hoped that it sounded like teasing, I wasn’t used to this kind of stuff. Damon responded by kissing me. Even though we were surrounded by people, in that instant I felt like it was only us. Maybe it was the security of being held in his arms, or maybe his status in this group of people. Whatever it was, for the first time since David’s death, I felt like I had a type of power.
    I wanted to hang on to that.
    After he broke off his kiss, he grinned down at me. “Knowing my Dad, he’ll make me give up my bed to you anyway. And then I’d sneak in with you in the middle of the night so we may as well just share my bed. It’s going to happen anyway.”
    “We’ll see,” I said. That’ s when I became aware of the girl staring at me. She was the one from the other night, who Connie said slept with lots of Damon’s friends. I could feel her eyes boring into me. I pushed away from Damon slightly, straightened my back and lifted my chin.
    “Have we met?” I asked.
    She didn’t shy away from the challenge, meeting me head on. But before she could speak, Damon interrupted.
    “Violet, this is Julia. She used to go to our school.”
    I waved my fingers at her. “Hi, Julia.”
    Her painted mouth twisted up into an unfriendly smile. “Hi, Violet.” Her eyes moved from me to Damon, and even in the dark I could see her gaze soften. This girl had it bad.
    “So, are you two old friends?”
    Her eyes flicked back to me. “We’ve known each other forever.”
    Damon pulled me in closer to him. “We’re gonna go,” he told his friends. I wasn’t really listening because I had Julia’s eyes on me. She was sick with jealousy; I could tell. As we drove away, I could imagine her watching us until the car lights disappeared.
    “Is she your girlfriend?” I asked him once we were close to his house.
    He gave a small laugh. “That’s just, Julia. We fuck every so often. It doesn’t mean anything.”
    “Not to you.”
    He shrugged. “That’s not my problem.”
    The inexplicable affection I had started to feel for him di ed at that moment, memories of my mother’s insane love and desperation surfaced. A coldness went through me as I stared at the black road ahead of us. I didn’t say a word to him once we quietly snuck into his house, not when he made me come, and not when he turned off the lights and pulled me against his hard chest. I was glad that I had remembered that this was just a game. None of it was real. Like all men, he was just a means to an end.
    His breathing changed, indicati ng that he was asleep. I lay awake for a long time, sober now. Through a gap in the curtain, the full moon glowed. I kept my eyes on it until I couldn’t stay awake any longer.
    Mr Lucas cooked us breakfast when we finally rose. He was a plumber and had an early morning call out so had been up for hours . He piled bacon on my plate and poured coffee. “Same girl two nights in a week? That’s a miracle.”
    Damon scowled. His Dad grinned and ruffled his hair which made Damon scowl even more. “Shut up, Dad. You’re embarrassing Violet.”
    But I was laughing, and eventually Damon cracked a smile as well. “He’s a dick,” he muttered to me quietly. But I could tell that he didn’t really think that. He held great affection for his father, and it was refreshing to see. This scene between them made me forget my annoyance with Damon the night before, this was like a different side of him. He was lighter and softer. This was not the asshole I knew by reputation. This was the devoted son.
    We didn’t talk on the way home, once again the radio was loud and he kept his eyes on the road. But once we pulled into the Malones’ drive, he switched off the engine. I looked at him expectantly , and he seemed to hesitate