Page 13 of Devoted (Love and Burlesque #2)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

VIVIAN

What ghosts around comes around.

F all is my favorite season for a lot of different reasons. One, I love all the spooky shit. Two, this is the time of year I get a ton of commissions for custom-made costumes. Not only am I gratefully distracted from the whirlwind my life has become these last few weeks, but I’m making bank, too.

My phone vibrates on my desk as I pack away the final costume.

I want to get the Betty Boop outfit put away before checking my phone.

My client is scheduled to pick it up in about fifteen minutes, so it’s probably them giving me a heads-up.

After this gets into their hands, I’ll have plenty of time to finish the final details of my costume for the Halloween party at The Garden of Eden tonight.

The anticipation of what tonight can bring has my skin buzzing.

I haven’t seen Knight since last weekend.

Sitting next to him as we were surrounded by all our friends and family was more pleasant than awkward, like I assumed it was going to be.

When I caught him staring at me in the library…

Well, I can’t explain exactly what I was feeling.

There’s this element of control I feel from knowing he’s watching me, knowing he’s so struck by me that he has to keep his eyes on me at all times.

Another text notification pops up on my phone. As soon as I finish tying the bow on the package, I pick up my phone and open up my text app.

Unsaved Number

I’m sure you heard your father paid a visit to Alek.

We will be visiting together in a month. I expect a warmer reception from you, sweetheart.

Even now, my mother still won’t refer to Alek as a member of our family.

I should have seen the signs of my parents’ narcissism earlier.

I was too young to understand what was happening within our family until Alek left and then with their falling-out with Thomas.

When my two older brothers were gone, there was only me.

I didn’t know how good I had it, feeling like the invisible child for so long, until they turned their sights on me.

I block this number, too, even though I know she’ll text or call me again in a few weeks.

I’ve been out of their lives since I left to put myself through design school three years ago, and I still feel the presence of their control around my throat like a physical rope.

Believe it or not, this is probably the nicest of the messages Julie has sent me after I left.

At least this one isn’t calling me a disappointment for joining my brothers in their ‘sinful lifestyles,’ as she puts it.

Not to mention the ones condemning me for coming out as bisexual. Julie layers on the compliments when she wants someone to follow her orders, but she’s vicious as soon as you deviate from what she considers conventional.

My brothers don’t know the extent of how much our parents have been contacting me, and I refuse to tell them. They carried so much of the burden during our childhoods. I can deal with it now for the three of us.

The ringing of the doorbell is a welcome distraction.

I grab the box and head down the small steps from my office to my bedroom.

Answering the door, I’m relieved to see the smiling face of my client as she bounces excitedly on the steps of our apartment.

Our conversation is short and sweet before we part ways, each of us having parties to get ready for.

Though I highly doubt her plans involve a little revenge.

For it being the first staff, friends, and family party I’ve attended at the club, it has been fucking wild, and it’s only just begun.

Drinks and food are catered, so the staff is free to let loose without any of our normal work responsibilities.

The stage has become a dance floor for everyone in attendance, when it usually holds our hunky dancers and performers.

I’ve been looking for Knight since the party started, but I haven’t been able to catch him. There’s a shiver that runs down my body every couple of minutes, though, so I know he’s watching me even when I can’t see him in the huge crowd of people.

Not going to lie, the feeling of having his eyes on me is turning me on as much as it is pissing me off. I want to find him and play into this little game we’ve got going on. It’s about time he lost the upper hand here.

Making my way to the front doors to catch some air and hopefully calm these fucking hormones down, I step out, only to see Alek and Ezekiel making their way to the entrance.

Waving them over, the friendly smile I greet them with suddenly falls as I see Alek’s costume is torn up. The costume I spent hours customizing for his huge ass.

“Alek! Is there a reason you decided to butcher your cape?” I ask, my tone exasperated. Taking a few steps toward him, I attempt to grab onto the tattered cape, but he swats my hand away with a slap.

“Chill, Viv. Just had an accident. Trust me, you don’t want to touch that.” My brother’s expression is disgustingly smug, his naughty smirk giving him away.

“Oh, you guys are fucking gross.” I didn’t touch the cape at all, but I shake my hands out anyway, wishing I had some hand sanitizer on me. This is not how I expected my night to go.

“It really was a beautifully made cape, Vivian,” Ezekiel tries to console me. His eyes are soft, eyebrows pinched together in a look of genuine apology. I’m just about to forgive him for defiling my work, but Alek ruins the moment.

“He said it was exquisite to come on.”

“Alek!” Ezekiel and I scold him at the same time. My brother’s poor boyfriend looks like he’s about to die of embarrassment, and I look only a few shades of red lighter than him.

Suddenly, one of the entrance doors swings open and only misses me by a few inches. I’m about to turn around to see who just about knocked me on my ass when I hear Ezekiel greet the person. “Hello, Knight.”

Turning around, I quietly gasp for a few reasons: Knight is wearing the same fucking costume as me and he looks hot as hell in it. My expression turns from one of shock to one of annoyance right away. Here he is, taking another chance to fuck with me.

“Did you copy my costume?” I don’t even need to ask the question, because I know he copied me. The Phantom of the Opera was the book I was holding when he was creeping on me while we were at Ezekiel’s house last weekend.

“Really, Vivian. You’re asking if I’ve copied your costume as if you are the only person who has ever enjoyed The Phantom of the Opera ?” The sarcasm dripping from his words causes me to grind my teeth.

This is a standoff that has been months in the making, and I’ve had it with Knight’s attitude. As if they can sense what’s about to come, Alek quietly murmurs something I don’t catch to Ezekiel before both of them head into the club.

Pulling the Phantom’s half mask down so that it sits at the base of my neck, I cross my arms and ready my stance for this little chat. “Why are you being such an asshole to me?” I know why, but I want you to say it.

“I don’t know what you mean. I don’t treat you any differently than how I treat everyone else.

” There’s a shaky quality in his voice that tells me he doesn’t believe what he’s spewing, either.

His arms cross in front of his chest, attempting to brace himself even as I watch his stoic expression fall with every passing second.

“Try again.” My voice deepens with the command as my eyes stay trained on him. I’m going to get the truth out of him tonight.

“I have nothing to say.” His voice is low between gritted teeth, chest rising with heavy breaths.

“Try.” I lean closer to him, raising my pointer finger to a spot between his chest and his throat.

“Again,” I whisper. Being nearly a foot shorter than him leaves me looking up at him from below, yet I am the one who’s in control in this situation.

I’m tired of him coasting around whatever this is between us.

I see his gulp, the way his Adam’s apple bobs in front of my eyes, and I feel it, too, as the large muscles underneath my fingertip strain against me.

“You are an everlasting thorn at my side, Vivian.” His harsh words should make me shrink, but I am glued to his front, relishing finally getting some truth out of him.

“Do you believe I want to be thinking of you at all hours of the day and dreaming of only you at night? You are everywhere, and it makes me feel insane.”

My eyes widen at his confession. Before I can retort, I see Knight rip off his mask and toss it somewhere, and then those infuriating lips are on mine in an instant. It feels like he swallowed the yell I was about to unleash.

The anger I felt a moment before is entirely replaced by barely controlled lust with every swipe of his lips against mine. His kiss is firm and consuming but still surprisingly respectful as he waits to see how I respond.

Twisting my hands into the billowy fabric of his shirt, I pull him down and angle my mouth against his so I match his fever in this kiss.

There isn’t anything gentle about how our lips crash into each other, like we are both pouring our frustration from the last few months into the explosion of a kiss.

Sucking his bottom lip between my teeth, I bite at his flesh, and he whines in response before I feel his arms wrap around my waist and his body mold against mine.

Fuck me. The sheer bra I wore tonight is doing absolutely nothing to shield me from the heat radiating from Knight’s abdomen as the textured fabric teases my nipples.

It’s like the added sensation snaps me back to reality.

“Knight, wait.” My lips barely part from his with my plea.

Immediately, he stops and moves his head away from mine.

The panic in his eyes as he searches for my expression is like a dagger to my heart.

I can tell that he’s waiting for me to reject him.

I’ve seen and felt that same look on myself.

“Hey.” I cup Knight’s jaw, and it feels like I’m taming a wild animal. I gently whisper, “I’m not mad.” My thumb brushes the corner of his lips. The deep sigh of relief that leaves his chest has me smiling up at him. “We’re just making out at the club’s entrance where anyone can see us.”

“Oh, shit.” Knight looks around as the situation clicks for him. I don’t blame him. I was almost completely lost in the moment, too.

“Knight, look at me.” Squeezing my fingers around his jaw, I turn his face so he looks me dead-on once again.

He obeys, eyes so solely focused on me that the intensity scares me a little.

“I don’t regret whatever the fuck this is, but I don’t think either of us are ready to have it out in the open, right? ”

“Right,” he repeats and nods. His cheeks squeeze together, and his lips form a pout as he does it, making a face that has me breathing out a small laugh. And it’s like my laugh broke down a damn of tension as he joins me in this weird as fuck moment.

Letting go of his face, I smooth my hand down his throat, tucking my fingers into the deep V-neck of his unbuttoned shirt, almost translucent—honestly, the sluttiest thing a man can wear.

“So…” I bite my lip. My eyes dart back down to those lips I didn’t get enough of. “Let’s get out of the open.”