Chapter Four: Rowan
548 Words
The after-party was loud, crowded, and smelled like sweat, alcohol, and bad decisions.
Usually my kind of night.
Tonight felt like torture.
Because Elena Vale walked into the house holding another man’s hand.
Luca Devereux.
My rival.
Of course it had to be him.
The entire room noticed them immediately. They looked disgustingly perfect together—Luca in a fitted black shirt with tattoos visible beneath rolled sleeves, Elena beside him in a tiny dark dress that made every guy in the room stare too long.
Including me.
Especially me.
Luca’s hand stayed possessively on her waist as he guided her through the crowd.
Like he knew people wanted her.
Like he knew I did.
My jaw clenched hard enough to hurt.
“Careful,” one of my teammates muttered beside me. “You look ready to kill somebody.”
Maybe I was.
Elena laughed softly at something Luca whispered in her ear. The sound carried through the room and landed directly under my skin.
I hated how aware I was of her.
Every glance.
Every movement.
Every time she touched him.
Then Luca pulled her toward the hallway.
And I followed without thinking.
The upstairs corridor was darker, quieter. Music thumped faintly through the walls downstairs.
I stopped near the corner when I heard her laugh again.
Low.
Breathless.
My chest burned instantly.
Luca had her pinned gently against the wall, one hand braced beside her head while the other rested on her thigh beneath the hem of her dress.
Territorial.
Intimate.
His mouth moved against her neck slowly while she gripped his shirt.
“You’re jealous tonight,” she whispered teasingly.
“Should I be?”
“Rowan Cross hates everyone.”
“He doesn’t look at everyone the way he looks at you.”
Silence.
Then Elena sighed softly. “You’re imagining things.”
“No,” Luca said coldly. “I’m not.”
I should’ve walked away.
Instead, I stood there listening like a damn psycho while jealousy twisted through my ribs.
Luca kissed her again.
Harder this time.
Like he was proving a point.
And Elena kissed him back.
Something dark snapped inside me.
I stepped forward before I could stop myself.
Their heads turned immediately.
Elena’s eyes widened.
Luca just looked amused.
“Well,” he drawled. “Looks like the dog followed us.”
I ignored him completely.
My eyes stayed on Elena.
Her lipstick was smeared slightly.
Her breathing uneven.
And for one violent second, I imagined dragging her away from him and finding out if she’d look at me the same way.
Dangerous thought.
Very dangerous.
“You lost, Cross?” Luca asked.
I finally looked at him.
“No.”
The hatred between us crackled instantly.
Luca pushed away from the wall slowly, placing himself between me and Elena.
Protective.
Possessive.
My hands curled into fists.
“You keep staring at my girlfriend,” Luca said quietly. “That’s starting to become a problem.”
Elena stepped forward quickly. “Can both of you not do this right now?”
Neither of us listened.
Because this had stopped being about rivalry the second Rowan Cross looked at Elena Vale and decided he wanted something he couldn’t have.
And I wanted her badly enough to destroy myself over it.
- Writer
