Tarnished Love by Bianca Borell
CHLOE
To my shame, I seek him out until Sophia asks, “Which one do you have your eye on?”
“Excuse me?” I gulp, feeling my cheeks heat.
“One is at our house, mourning in his old room, and the other is at the club where I am headed. Care to join?”
This evening has been intense, awkward, and uncomfortable, and I need a reprieve.
“My brother will be away some time. I am sorry he brought you here only to let his hurt win again. Come on, everyone left already and Christmas is over. Let’s go dance.”
Only the two of us and her parents—who were dancing in the corner to an old tune— remained.
I smile at them, melancholy striking me. I follow her out to her SUV and she starts the engine.
“Do you drink?”
“Not a fan.” She shrugs and taps the wheel.
“Damien wouldn’t have brought you to meet us if you weren’t important to him. I have to get to know you.” She peruses me as if assessing if I am a danger to her brother. “I hope he will love again, but as long as Bria is around, he won’t.”
“He’s just a friend. My best friend.”
She scans my face as if to check if my expression matches my answer. “I hope for your sake it’s the truth. You seem like a nice person, Chloe, and call me Soph.”
***
The elevator rises to the forty-fifth floor, and I step out to an open space with windows as far as the eye can see. A 360-degree panoramic view of the city. The music pounds in my ears. I recognize the DJ and blink—he’s a platinum record selling artist.
“Private party,” Sophia says at my gaping mouth, and heads toward a group of twenty people—including Filip, who stills with a glass halfway to his lips when he sees us. Soph introduces me to her friends, Angelina, Milena, and Nico, whose gaze travels down my body, interest flashing in his green eyes. Filip pierces him with a look, and then a girl storms away with Nico rushing after her.
“Idiot,” says Sophia and leaves me with Filip at a table where I know no one else. This was a mistake. He dips his face and his breath, warm and mixed with the alcohol, raises goose bumps in places I wasn’t aware one can get goose bumps.
“Like I said. Casualty.”
“I am a big girl, Filip. I do just fine on my own.” His eyes bore into me.
“Liar. Who abandoned you, Daddy or Mommy?”
His voice has no trace of sympathy, and I push him off and turn around and dance. I will enjoy this night. I snap some pictures with the DJ for Anabelle, and a fainting gif fills my screen in response. I sway back toward the DJ, who winks at me and gestures for me to get closer. My body has always and will always get men’s attention, and I crave it. His dark eyes sweep down my body, and I know the video playing in his head. How he will fuck me after he’s done with the job. It’s no surprise.
“Come back with me to my hotel room,” he says.
With a shake of my head, I step away from him. Best case scenario, I will halfway enjoy myself, but most likely I would wake up and feel worse. With my head high, I stride back to where I last saw Filip.
“Where’s Sophia?”
“On the phone,” Filip snarls and throws the rest of the glass down his throat.
He grabs my hand, and he pulls me into the elevator.
“Filip, where are we going?”
He presses the button to the fiftieth floor, his earthy, alluring scent enveloping us, my heart rate spiking up at his nearness. I rush out of the elevator, and the view of the lights dancing on the lake captivates me.
“Are we allowed to be here?”
“The entire building belongs to a friend. I can go wherever I want.”
He drags a hand down his face and says, “I’ve been thinking about today. Damien bringing you only to leave was a shitty thing to do. Why do you stay with him?”
I squint at Filip, not understanding his sudden concern for my wellbeing. He must notice my confusion because his hands slap against the window, trapping me between them. His face inches closer to mine, and a rush of excitement rolls down my spine.
“I love my sister.” He burrows his head in my neck, inhaling my scent, depriving me of any rational thought. “They play and pretend while me and Sophia keep the balance level.”
“Why did she cheat on him?”
“Who knows.”
“He deserves to know.”
“Even she doesn’t know.”
How can that be? He pushes himself off the window, taking the warmth with him, and slides his hands into his pockets. The elevator pings, and Sophia strides toward us.
“Did I interrupt something?” She grins, and he scowls. She leans her head on his shoulder, and he strokes her back and a pang of jealousy strikes and unbalances me.
“Are you two . . . ?” They wince, their faces scrunch up in disgust, and the relief blanketing me is disconcerting.
“We’re family,” he says, and she lifts her chin, smiling.
“I’m heading out,” Sophia tells us.
“Tell him fucking hi.”
She giggles and counters, “Without the fucking.”
We’re once again alone, and a vein pulses in his neck, his muscles coiled with restrained anger.
“You don’t seem pleased.”
“Because I am not.”
“Why? I get the impression Soph is tough.”
“She is.”
“Then what is your problem?”
Filip grips my waist and pushes me against the window, caging me in place, and then kisses my exposed shoulder. I beg my body not to react, but it’s my mouth that lets out a traitorous mini moan.
“He loves her, but he thinks he’s not good enough, and this will hurt her.”
“She has you.”
“She will always have me, and I will make sure she gets whatever she wants, but first she must become brave.”
“Isn’t she already?”
“Bria and Damien broke us all.”
The heat of his body, mixed with his addictive scent, holds me in place, and I expel a breath I held captive for too long. Which one is real, the deep, inquisitive one, or the one that has everyone laughing and fools around? My smartphone dings with a text from Damien.
I am at home. It won’t happen again.
“Still hasn’t learned to apologize, I see. He’s such a bastard,” he mumbles, and I catch his eyes on my screen. I yank my phone from his line of sight. Hasn’t he heard of privacy?
“I should go,” I say.
His thumb caresses the corner of my lips, and he says, “Yes, that would be the wisest thing to do.”
“And what would be unwise?” Mouth, are you on a strike tonight? His smile shadows over my neck. The easiness in which we slip into intimacy disconcerts me.
He’s dangerous, and I flee.
