Perfect Enemies

30

We inserted ourselves into the crowd, and in no time at all, I was lost to the music. Maybe it was the champagne or perhaps the week’s worth of frustration festering inside me, but I shed my inhibitions and danced like no one was watching. But someone was watching. When the music suddenly slowed, Gio pulled me in close. Time had gotten away from me. I stiffened at first, wary of the message a slow dance might send to Gio, but then I caught a pair of amber eyes boring into me from across the dance floor. Kane held Reyna loosely, his stare a claiming touch that made my skin feverish. Didn’t he know he was the one who made this happen? Why glower at me when he was the one who pushed me away? He was impossible to understand. Without a hint of weakness, I held Kane’s vicious stare and leaned into Gio. My heart rate stumbled to a gallop. Interpreting my actions as a show of affection, Gio pulled me closer, spinning us until I lost sight of my temperamental nemesis. Once I wasn’t putting on a show, a wave of awkward embarrassment crashed over me. What had I done? I was already abusing my friendship with Gio, but leading him on was unnecessarily cruel. Everything about this night felt like a horrible mistake. Guilt anchored my feet to the floor, halting my dancing. “I need to head to the restroom.” I shot him a forced smile before retreating from the ballroom. The bathrooms just outside the dance were bustling with students, not helping my need for isolation. I had to have a few minutes alone to regroup, or I was going to fall apart in front of everyone. On a whim, I checked the single-stall family restroom and found it empty. Relief urged me forward. I flipped on the light switch and hurried inside, but before the door clicked shut, a resolute shove forced it back open. The momentum sent me stumbling backward, giving Kane the opportunity he needed to slip inside and lock the door behind him. “What are you doing?” I gaped at him in utter confusion. Kane glared, the florescent lights casting his angular face in stark relief. I’d never seen him look so volatile—a hurricane of emotions bearing down on me. “What is your game?” “What game?” I shook my head, confusion brewing into irritation. “Why were you staring at me instead of your date? If anyone is playing a game here, it’s you.” I stood taller and lifted my chin, unwilling to be intimidated. He took an aggressive step forward, making me step back so that my butt was pressed against the porcelain sink. He’d gone with a classic black jacket and white button-down with the top button undone. No tie. No frills. The look was pure business—stark and powerful—right down to the fiery sparks in his eyes. He was teetering on the edge of a very precarious cliff, but why? He pushed me away, and I complied, so why was he so upset? “I wouldn’t send you mixed signals just to f**k with you. I have my reasons.” The coarse touch of his voice scraped along my skin as his hands clamped around each of my arms. “No!” I shoved his chest, but he refused to release me. “You can’t say s**t like that and not give me some kind of explanation. You’re making me absolutely crazy, and I can’t stand it one more—” My emotional rant was cut short when Kane’s lips slammed against mine. Like our explosive first kiss weeks before, I became instantly drunk on his touch. My blood sang with a desire so consuming it eclipsed all else. I’d had crushes and experimented some with my last boyfriend, but none of those experiences brought on the same mindless desire Kane elicited from deep inside me. The intensity of my feelings scared me but not enough to override the violent thrumming in my veins. A need so elemental it was second nature. When his hands grasped me possessively and molded our bodies together, I could feel his impossibly hard c**k pressing against my belly. The thought of him inside me sparked my nerves but also emboldened me to know he was just as helpless against the web of desire that had us in its clutches. I hadn’t had s*x yet because situations in the past had never been quite right. I wasn’t ready, or the timing was off, or the guy wasn’t the one. None of that was an issue when Kane’s lips were on mine. He was all I wanted— the only thing I wanted—and judging by his voracious appetite, Kane was suffering from the same consuming hunger. Why was he preventing us from exploring that chemistry? Why reject the desire he so clearly felt? The push and pull was maddening. I couldn’t allow him to break me, and if we continued the hot and cold any longer, I’d end up in pieces. Pulling back, I rested my forehead against his, cringing at the ache in my chest. I whispered a single word, knowing he’d understand. “Why?” What was the problem that kept him from getting close to me? Why wouldn’t he let me in? His lips parted then shut before he finally spoke. “Because I’m trying to protect you,” he breathed. I lifted my eyes to his, desperately searching for answers. “From what?” A ghost of an apology flitted behind his eyes before he pulled away and allowed an iron curtain to fall between us. “From myself.” The words were eerily hollow. Cold and lifeless. He let himself out, leaving me floundering in his wake. Like a heated glass that cools too quickly, hairline cracks splintered my heart. From the outside looking in, they could hardly be seen, but the fissures were weakening me one tiny fracture at a time. I’d hoped if I could squash my feelings enough, my desire for Kane might weaken, and I could move on to someone else, but it wasn’t working. I wanted him more than ever. All our pretending had accomplished was heartbreak and a steady descent into madness. I had to make him see that being with me was worth whatever the risk. How could anything be worse than the torture of rejecting our connection? I had to take control of the situation—either make him see the detrimental nature of his actions or eradicate him from my system entirely. The thought alone was gut-wrenching. I could lock down my desire and ride out the storm safe behind a reinforced wall, but at what expense? How much of my heart would I need to paralyze in order to survive seeing him every day with other girls? I was strong enough to see it through, but I wasn’t sure I’d ever be the same. My best hope was to push Kane to the breaking point. Force him to face losing me entirely and hope that he can’t face it any better than I could.