Only Yours (2 page)

We finish watching the rest of the movie, snuggling close, and laughing so hard, my sides ache. My friends are the best. Once more, they came to my rescue and know exactly what I need. As the movie comes to an end, we grudgingly begin cleaning up the debris surrounding us. At our age you would think we wouldn’t make such a mess, but no, my bed is now sadly covered in an assortment of gummy bears, crushed Doritos, and smooshed multi-colored M&M’s.

Expecting them to head home now that my tears have dried and the immediate danger of Daemon trampling down my door has ended, I head to the living room to gather up their things.

“Where are you going, baby girl?” Tony asks with raised brows.

“To turn off the lights and get your stuff.” I answer through a large yawn.

Shaking his head no, he takes my hand and pulls me back down onto the bed. To my utter shock, they both silently climb in after me, one on each side, and curl up around me.

“Nobody told me we were having a slumber party,” I murmur against my pillow.

“It’s been too long since we’ve had one,” Sasha says, sleep coating her words. Gripping my hand, she holds it tightly between our bodies. Before I can respond, Tony reaches around my waist and lays his hand on top of ours. I glance at down at our lump of entwined fingers, and a few forgotten tears slip out.

“Thanks guys. For everything. I love you more than peanut butter,” I whisper.

“I love you two more than ice cream,” Sasha replies.

“I can top that,” Tony says with a lazy drawl. “I love you two more than a banana split, covered in three scoops of sherbet ice cream, and a mountain of M&M’s.”

We all giggle, sounding more like teenagers, instead of grown adults. It feels good to be silly again. It’s so much better than being sad and depressed. I don’t know what I would do without my two crazy friends. Knowing that I am not alone, makes my pain bearable, and gives me some hope that I can survive whatever Daemon throws my way.

Maybe...hopefully!

Chapter 2

"Do you think the ass will ever shut up?" Sasha groans, rubbing her temples. “He’s giving me a freakin headache.”

“No, but we can always hope he loses his voice.” I respond solemnly.

Sasha throws her head back and laughs. Daemon is acting like a complete lunatic and I’m at my wits end. I take another sip of my coffee while contemplating what I should do. I knew he would arrive sooner, rather than later, but I had hoped I would have had more time. Thirteen hours. That is all the time he waited before pouncing on my door. I haven’t even thought out what to say to him. How does one go about preparing to do battle with a man who controls your body as if it is his own? With one heated look, he can have me soaking my panties, panting with need, and smiling with the kind of happiness I’ve only read about in books.

Yes! It is scary, but the jerk is that talented.

“I don’t know how to make him stop,” I gripe, taking another scalding sip of coffee.

“Maybe we could bribe him into taking a break for an hour...or five,” Tony smirks.

“Bribe him? How?” My tone perks up. That might work. I would try just about anything at this point.

“Well...,” he falters. “He might give you a small reprieve if you give him a few minutes of your time. At least allow him to tell his side of the story.”

“Not happening.”

I immediately start protesting that idea. Tony, leans over the table, throwing his hand over my mouth, and muffles my creative choice of curse words. “I didn’t say you would like my idea, but it has merit. A few minutes of bullshit is better than hours of listening to him trying to bang down your door.”

I give Tony a cross look, but manage to keep my mouth shut. It has been over three hours since the pounding first started and Daemon has yet to slow up. He keeps telling me that I need to let him in. I don’t want to see him. He broke my heart and the one promise he made to me. I asked him to always be honest with me and the whole time he was keeping a secret the size of Mount Everest. I don't how to ever forgive him for that. Even if I could somehow look past it, how do I trust him from here on out?

"Kelly, please open the damn door! Let me explain. You don’t have all the facts,” Daemon bellows. “I’m not leaving without the chance to see you, so you either open this door, or I will tear the damn thing down." he growls, knocking against the door once more to make his point.

The desolate sound of his voice rips at my heart. I might not have known him long, but I have felt more for him in these last few weeks of us being together, than I ever felt for Gary, and I was with him for seven years.

Dragging my sorry ass up from the comfy confines of my couch, I walk into the kitchen and refill my coffee mug. As many cups as I’ve had this morning, It’s amazing I’m not bouncing off the walls. Since waking up with an enormous hangover, I’ve been practically pouring the stuff down my throat. Leave it to me to get rid of one crutch and fall back onto another. The warm liquid has been a miracle worker, smoothing out my nerves, while helping to ease the pain in my head.

Trey stood by his word and kept Daemon away last night. Sasha, Tony, and I slept snuggled together in my bed until around six o’clock, when we were rudely awoken by Daemon punishing my door with his fist. He has not stopped since.

"I can go out there for you if you like?" Sasha says for the umpteenth time. I think she is secretly craving the thought of letting loose on Daemon. She has always been one who prefers to handle her problems straight on, instead of hiding from them, like I am doing right now.

"No thanks,” I answer politely. I’m still trying to find the courage I seem to be lacking. I am not normally the meek and scared type, and acting so now, is not setting well with me.

I hate the idea of any of my friends getting into an altercation with Daemon over me. This is my problem, and I need to be the one to deal with it. I wanted more time to work out my feelings and figure out my next move, but just like with everything else, the stubborn ass is forcing my hand to act first and think later.

Pushing away my half-drunk cup of coffee, I glance nervously towards Sasha before making my way towards the front door. My feet drag as I walk. They don’t want to move. I can’t blame them. I wish things were different. I wish...I wish I didn’t love him.

Taking a deep breath, I lay my palms against the exterior of the door. Even through the thick layers of the wood, I can feel his heated energy seeping through. My traitorous body reacts to his nearness as goose bumps spread up and down my arms.

Reacting before I have a chance to chicken out, I quickly open the door. I am not sure what I expected to find, but the sight of Daemon disheveled, and looking as though he has literally been to hell and back, is a shock to my system. He’s still wearing his tux from the party last night, except now it is a mass of wrinkles, and his hair is standing up in all directions. Knowing Daemon, he’s probably ran his hands through it near a hundred times since I left him last night. I swallow, trying unsuccessfully, to dislodge the lump in my throat. I don’t think he’s slept at all. His eyes seem glassy and outlined in dark circles that makes him look a bit crazed and desperate. I hate seeing him this way, but his ill state is not enough to break through my petulant anger.

He did this to himself,
I silently repeat to myself.

"What do you want, Daemon?"

Wrapping my arms around myself for support, I stare him down with more force than I actually fell. I might feel weak, but I refuse to show it. I stand tall, straighten my shoulders, and act as if I am a warrior standing down an opponent, instead of a broken-hearted woman wanting to hide in her bed all day, and cry herself to sleep.

And the Oscar goes to ...me!

"Oh Tulip," he sighs, staring deep into my eyes. The intensity of the longing and despair staring back at me hits me like a Mack truck. Breaking eye contact, I glance down and silently wish I was wearing something other than my black yoga pants and loose fitted
‘Kiss the Cook’
t-shirt, I won last year at the annual food festival. With my hair tied up in a messy knot on top of my head, I no doubt look like something the cat drug in.

His clothes might be wrinkled, but they still fit him nicely. I try hard not stare at the perfectly shaped abs peeking through his custom-fitted shirt. I absently rub at my mouth, making sure that I’m not visibly drooling.

That would be so embarrassing!

Even wrinkled and messy, he looks downright edible. I curse my traitorous body for still having a reaction to him. Obviously my girlie parts missed the message about him being the enemy. Ignoring the heat building in my belly, I search for the right words to convey the hurt I feel, but nothing seems right, so I stay quiet.

He sighs. "I am so sorry you had to find out everything the way you did. I wanted to tell you myself, but I was afraid of how you would react.” He lifts a hand to my cheek, brushing his thumb across it gently. I don’t move, not accepting his touch, nor rejecting it either. His eyes close half-mast as he continues, “I screwed up. I waited too long and now the exact think I feared has come true."

So many thoughts and questions are bubbling up in my mind. I’m having a hard time deciding which one to grasp onto first. I can faintly hear Sasha and Tony in the living room talking amongst themselves. I know they are listening in. I wouldn’t expect anything different. I’m thankful they are staying back and letting me handle this my way. It is not very often Sasha keeps her options to herself. Her self-control is not normally so disciplined. I am sure Tony is to thank for that.

I pull back from his reach, no longer wanting to feel his heat mingling with mine. I’m don’t want to hear his excuses. He doesn’t get to play the victim. I cross my arms over my chest and get ready to stand my ground.

"Don't give me that line of bullshit, Daemon," I hiss. "You had plenty of time and hundreds of opportunities to come clean with me, and you never did. Does Gary even know that you have been dating me or was this some set-up between you two from the very beginning? Did Gary ask you to humiliate me as some sort of revenge for me leaving him?"

Once the questions start spewing from my mouth I can't seem to stop them. My hurt is quickly morphing to anger. My entire body feels electrified and alive as I shake with a blinding rage that is starting to take me over. I have never felt anything like it. It is both terrifying and freeing at the same time.

"You actually think I would try and hurt you on purpose?" He asks raking a hand through his already tousled hair. My heart beats faster remembering just how silky his hair felt running through my fingers. I twist my own fingers together in front of me, fighting off the craving to reach up and brush back, a stay strand of hair that has fallen on his forehead.

"I don't really know what to think anymore," I answer honestly.

Leaning his hands on either side of the door frame he leans in towards me. "I hate having this conversation standing outside for all of the world to overhear. Can I please come in?"

I glance around, just now taking notice to the few nosy neighbors of mine, who are unsuccessfully trying to appear nonchalant, as they eavesdrop on our conversation. Shame on them. Peeking through their half-closed blinds and absently tending to an impetuously perfect garden, is not being inconspicuous. I swear some people have no sense of personal space. Kind of like the sex-on-a-stick standing in front of me.

Ignoring the roaring alarms going off in my head screaming to me that I am making a big mistake, I nod a small yes, and move aside so he can come in. "We can talk in the living room," I murmur, closing the door soundly behind him.

Sasha and Tony look up from their seats on the couch as we stroll in. Neither seems surprised or happy to see Daemon in my home. The atmosphere surrounding all of us, is anything but comfortable, as Sasha pins Daemon in place with her icy gaze. As much as I would enjoy letting her have a chance to put him in his place, I really just want to get this conversation over with so he will finally leave.

"Do you two mind giving us a moment?" I hesitantly ask, peering at them through pleading eyes. I have no reason to ask anything of them after the many tears of mine they have wiped in the last twenty-four hours, but here I stand, doing just that.

Tony stands and offers his hand to Sasha, and helping her up. Walking past us he stops and plants a chaste kiss on my cheek. "We will be in the kitchen. Yell if you need anything, babe," he says giving Daemon a heated look.

Daemon's eyes narrow on me and I can see the wheels in his head spinning. I am not sure what he is thinking. Whatever it is, it can’t be good. His breathing has increased and a tiny vein in his neck protrudes every time he clenches and unclenches the muscles in his jaw.

"What is your problem?" I hiss, once my friends are out of earshot.

Without any warning he stalks towards me. I instinctively walk backwards, taking a step every time he does, until I bump into the wall behind me. Placing his arms on each side of my head, he cages me in. A shiver of anticipation courses through me. I am not afraid of Daemon. I never could be. No matter how much damage he has done to my heart, I know deep within myself, that he would never physically hurt me. He is a liar, not a monster.

Daemon's brows wrinkle with tension. He brings his face inches from mine and holds it there. His breathing deepens as he frantically searches my face. I inhale deeply, enjoying his scent, as it wafts over me. I steal a glance down at his mouth, and bite down hard on my bottom lip, to keep from learning forward, and capturing his lips with my own.

"Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me there is nothing going on between you and Tony." he rasps angrily.

His words hit me like a cold bucket of ice being thrown in my face. I cannot believe he actually thinks so little of me. I am not some cheap floosy that would stoop so low, as to throw myself at my best friend, hours after being with another guy. Tony is more of a brother to me than a friend, and as good looking as he is, I could never see him as anything more.