DamonDamon got in and shook his head as the girl pressed her hands to her face and turned. The soft sound of her crying tore at his heart. Was she in love with Kendal? Now wasn't the time to ask, but there would be some comfort in knowing that someone cared about his best friend besides him. Bethany cared too, but Kendal wasn't going to let her too close to him. Damon had no doubt that Kendal holding Beth at arm’s-length was because of his friendship with Damon."My car is over there." Kendal pointed to the far part of the parking lot as they walked out."Don't worry about it. Matt and I will come get it later. Let's just get you home." Damon walked toward his car, moving to Kendal's side and opening the door for him. "Man, I'm sorry for not coming sooner. I'm a fucking horrible friend.""It's all right." Kendal got in the car and leaned back, letting out a long sigh. "Just make it up to me and grab us a six pack before you hit the freeway.""Of course," Damon mumbled before closing
BethanyDamon being with Kendal for the last three days gave her a lot of time to think through things. If nothing else, she was willing to hear him out that night. She had a lot to say, but it almost seemed like the old Damon was back for a minute. The one who stood beside her at Jake's apartment and made love to her in Jamaica. Maybe all the pressures of getting back to work trying to be everything for everyone changed him. Her being his step-sister and his fiancée had to have weighed heavily on him."I'm not a victim," she mumbled before walking into the courtroom. The place was packed with students from the look of things. She didn't know many of them, but something told her that word had gotten around. Everyone loved a good train wreck, no matter who was involved.Kendal sat near the back of the room, his face blank and eyes haunted. Bethany made her way over to him and sat down in the seat beside him."Hey. I'm so sorry about your loss." She slid her arm into his and pressed her
Bethany"You guys talk about this later." Bethany put her hand on Damon's thigh and glanced up at him, giving him a stern look. Only he could shut down the conversation. Kendal was too out of it to do anything more than react with whatever punches were thrown his way."Okay. You're right." Damon's eyes moved across her face slowly, holding her captive as if he had some sort of power over her. Sadly enough, he did.The warmth of knowing that maybe not everything was lost between them caused her stomach to tighten. There was no one she wanted beside her, above her, all around her but the handsome asshole watching her so closely.How did we let things fall apart?She finally pulled her gaze from his and glanced up toward the front to find Krista turned around, her eyes locked on Bethany. Unsure of what to do, Beth did the only thing that seemed natural to her. She held her friend’s gaze, trying like hell to push as much sympathy into her expression as she could. They'd been friends for f
Damon"God, that sucked," Kendal muttered as they walked out of the courtroom.Damon put his hand on Kendal's shoulder and moved his best friend to the side of the hallway to get them out of the rush of the crowd. Bethany wanted a moment to talk with Jake and hopefully see Krista. Damon offered to go with her, but she needed a few minutes to herself. He could respect that."No shit." He glanced around and turned his attention back to Kendal. "Do you need me to do anything else for the funeral tomorrow?""No, and honestly, not to be a dick, but I need some time at home by myself tonight. I appreciate you being with me for the last few days, but I need to mourn the loss of my sister, Damon. My heart hurts so goddamn bad, but I've been trying to hold it in because you're all up in my grill."Damon smirked. "All right, bro. I'll take you back to your place and leave you be for the night."Kendal nodded and lifted his lips in a sad smile as he glanced over Damon's shoulder. "I think you be
DamonHe parked outside of the apartments on campus and turned the car off. The need to sit in the darkness and gather his thoughts was a new sensation. He was so used to rushing into things like a bull in a china shop and getting his way. No matter what it was, or who it was, if he wanted it, it was going to be his. Where he wasn't sure he could change that about himself, he hoped like hell he could at least try and soften it a little bit.Getting out of the car, he grabbed the single red rose he'd picked up on his way over to get Beth and walked toward her apartment.He knocked on the door and took a step back as she opened it.The blue dress she wore fit her like a glove, the top tight and accentuating just how big her breasts were, and the bottom flaring out and forcing him to pay homage to her beautiful legs."Wow," he whispered roughly. "I'm not sure how you keep getting more and more stunning, but you do.""Thanks." She stepped outside the apartment and closed the door. "Is thi
BethanyI'm not the victim. He didn't do any of those things with malice or the intent that I thought he did. Against her better judgment, she unbuckled her seat belt and moved to her knees, leaning over and wrapping her arms around his neck."I told you that I was struggling, that I felt like you didn't care about me. I know it's stupid now, but those are the things that kept kicking me down each time I would try to work things out with you." She pressed her face against his neck and breathed in deeply. "You're not a monster at all. I just felt like a victim, which is stupid."He kissed the side of her face and rubbed her back softly. "You want me to take you back to your place? I honestly didn't realize how bad all of this looked. I didn't have the intent you thought I had, but I understand why you ran from me. Maybe you were right to run.""No." She turned her face toward his. "I don't want to run anymore. I just need to understand where you were coming from. You explaining it is
Bethany"No, let me finish." She took a deep breath. "I went to school that day and came home to find my mom in the house and three big thugs tearing up everything. He'd skipped town because he owed them drug money, but he left us there without saying a word. He forced us to be the victims of poverty, of fear, of a whole host of other fucked up things." Tears filled her eyes, but she kept going. "I've never been whole or complete. When we first got together, I kept waiting for the other shoe to fall, but it didn't. I think I started just to assume that everything you did had some small seed of malice in it. Why wouldn't it? We couldn't last. You wouldn't want a broken girl like me. I had nothing. I have nothing. I'm poor, and you’re rich. I'm average, and you're beautiful.""Beth." Damon pulled into the driveway at his place. "You're everything I want in my life. You're beyond beautiful to me. You're talented and smart, and you could run circles around all of us put together if you be
BethanyShe laid on the bed as he moved around the room. There were a million things she wanted to say, but he'd laid her down and told her to hush the minute she started asking questions. There was nothing left to do but watch him walk around the room, lighting candles. She'd pulled his shirt from him as he kissed her before getting up, which left the view from her vantage point beyond spectacular. Thick muscles bunched up as he reached up to pull the curtains closed. His arms and back were beautifully sculpted, as was his chest and stomach.He glanced over his shoulder and gave her a sexy smile. "What are you thinking, Beth?""I was wondering what kind of pasta we were going to make." She tried hard not to smile in the middle of her fib, but much like her mother always warned her, the devil made you smile each time you lied."Oh yeah?" He turned around and unbuttoned his slacks, pushing them over his hips and letting them fall to the ground. The sexy bastard didn't have on underwear