Excuse me?” I said again, louder this time, because it was finally sinking in that this man had the audacity — the actual nerve to grab me like that, to talk to me like that, to bring up what happened with Damon as if it was some kind of punchline while standing there acting like the king of the entire universe.
And that was it. That was the moment everything boiled over. I smacked his hand off my waist so hard the slap echoed like a gunshot.
“Don’t touch me! ” I yelled, my voice shaking so hard it didn’t even sound like me anymore. “What is wrong with you, Daren? Seriously, what the hell is your problem”
He didn’t move. He didn’t even blink He just stood there, calm as anything, which only made me talk more because my brain and my mouth were completely out of control now.
“I mean, what is your deal?” I demanded, throwing my hands up because I had too many feelings and nowhere to put them.
“You walk around this house like you own it, like everybody’s supposed to bow down to you because you have this big tough guy act and those stupid eyes that stare at people like they’re secrets you’re about to expose, and you think you can just grab me? Me? Damon’s mate? Are you out of your mind?”
My voice kept getting louder because he wasn’t reacting and that made me even angrier, like I was screaming into a void that looked annoyingly good in black clothes and boots.
“I am not one of your little toys you can just play with when you’re bored,” I went on, jabbing a finger right at his chest because if he wasn’t going to respond then I was going to fill the silence myself. “I don’t care how many girls you’ve made swoon with that stupid smirk or that whole dark—and—dangerous thing you’ve got going on, because it does not work on me.
“Not even a little bit. I am furious. I am offended. I am still shaking from earlier, and you think this is the time to pull something like that?”
I shoved my hair out of my face because it was sticking to my cheeks from how worked up I was, glaring up at him even though he was still standing there like a statue while I was practically on fire in front of him.
“You know what your problem is?” I said, pacing now because standing still felt impossible when my whole body was buzzing.
“It’s that you are a fucking horny bastard! and you think nobody’s allowed to call you out on it because you’ve got this whole broody bad boy thing going on.
“Well guess what, Daren? I’m calling you out. Right now. You don’t get to grab me, you don’t get to talk to me like that, you don’t get to stand here acting like you have the right to anything when all you’ve done since I got here is piss me off.”
I stopped only because I was running out of breath, my heart pounding so hard it hurt, my hands shaking because the adrenaline had nowhere to go.
And Daren?
Oh, he just stood there. Hands shoved in his pockets now, shoulders relaxed, face calm, eyes locked on mine like my entire meltdown was the most fascinating thing in the world.
And then he smirked.
That slow, knowing, arrogant smirk like he had been waiting for me to scream myself breathless, like he had just let me throw my entire heart across the yard so he could drop whatever was coming next like a bomb right between us.
“What the fuck,” I said finally, too loud, too fast, my hands flying everywhere because my mouth and my brain were no longer on the same team.
“What the actual fuck was that? That’s what Damon calls me! Damon calls me that! Why do you sound like him? Why did you say it like that? What is wrong with your voice? Oh my God, this is insane, this is actually insane, Daren, what the hell is happening right now because I swear for a second it was like..like..oh my God, no, this is so weird! ”
He tilted his head slightly, smirk still carved across his stupidly handsome face, eyes locked on mine like he was enjoying every single second of watching me unravel.
“Well I am good at mimicking my brothers voice. I did that a lot when we were kids and that’s what he calls you, right?” Daren asked, voice still low, still deep, still sounding way too much like Damon for my peace of mind.
I just stood there because my brain was scrambling for words while my entire body buzzed like I had grabbed a live wire, and the worst part was that he knew. He knew exactly what he was doing, and it was making me want to scream all over again.
I shook my head so fast my hair flew into my face. “Stop it,” I snapped, or tried to snap, except it came out shaky because my chest was already tight and my brain was screaming that this was wrong while my wolf was pacing in circles like she didn’t know whether to growl or sit down and listen. “Stop talking like that. Right now. I mean it, Daren, this isn’t funny. It’s creepy and it’s weird and you sound—oh my God—you sound just like him.”
But he didn’t stop.
No, of course he didn’t stop.


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