Falling for Rex by Shayne Ford

6

LUNA RAE

“Excuse me,”I say, trapped in front of the doorway.

I try to walk around him.

He blocks my way.

I can’t get out.

He doesn’t want to get in. I find it impolite that he doesn’t move an inch.

It’s ruthless to step in front of someone and cut their way like that.

“Excuse me,” I say again, grappling with a bad feeling while flicking my gaze up.

Eyes carved out of a frosty glacier look at me, his red-hot smile sizzling like a drop of lava dropped between sheets of ice.

I take a small step back, wrestling with recognition, experiencing fear, and a foreboding sensation.

Kian Jackson looks at me, savoring my reaction, indulging in my confusion, and straight out panic.

“Are you going to step back or not?” I throw at him, visibly irritated.

He takes a step toward me, completely blocking my view, removing the door from my line of sight.

I can’t even scream for help.

Why would my mind go there?

We’re at a party. Nothing can happen. And since when have I become so easily intimidated by someone?

“Who’re you?” he asks directly, his smile growing, his eyes gleaming like embers.

It’s hard to pin down the exact color of his eyes.

I can’t tell whether they’re dark or light. They look dark, but only because I stare at them from a close distance, and his pupils seem to be enlarged. Or maybe it’s only an optical illusion.

He steps closer, the light falling down his face.

Oh...

Gasping, I almost fall backward.

He shares Rex’s handsomeness while flashing dark masculinity. His eyes are dark-blue mixed with bejeweled green like the ocean in October.

A blaze glints through them, like fire buried under the water, threatening to surface and scorch everything in its wake.

His smell is intoxicating, a rich exotic scent with notes of mint, grapefruit, bergamot, and musk.

I find myself breathing faster, my lips opening.

“I’m Luna Rae. You?”

He tips his gaze down and looks at my neck, a smirk lining his lips.

Self-consciously, I bring my hand to my neckline and jerk the fabric up.

Why is he checking my skin?

He flips his eyes up.

“You know who I am,” he rumbles in a thick, hoarse voice that makes my nipples hard. “You know my brother.”

“Your brother?” I squeak.

Something is wrong.

I should act differently, yet I don’t know why. For some reason, I figure that lying is the way to go.

“Who is your brother?” I ask, still holding my dress together as if his eyes could magically peel it off.

Bitting the inside of his cheek, he slightly tilts his head and hurls a warning look at me, making me quiver.

Lying to him doesn’t sit well with him.

“Rex Jackson,” he mutters, gauging my reaction.

“Oh, Rex... Yes... I think I know him,” I chirp, digging myself into a hole. “He’s one of my friend’s friends.”

“Mmm-hmm,” he mocks, entertained.

I don’t know what strange scenario plays in his head right now, but bad vibes come from him in droves.

“I know him through her if that’s what you mean.”

His eyes turn cold––two pools of simmering metal mixed with ice.

“Yeah. That’s exactly what I mean,” he sneers again.

I expect him to roll his eyes, but that’s not what he does next. Pivoting slightly, he brings his hand to my hair and lowers his mouth to my ear. His touch revives a memory I lodged in my brain for the first time in my life... last night.

It gives me chills.

“Just so you know... He’ll fuck someone else tonight.”

He pauses for a second and straightens to look at me and read my reaction before he speaks again.

“Enjoy the party,” he says before smoothly moving away.

What??

The space clears in front of me by the time Frankie finds me glued to the wall not far from the door, still shaking and trying to pull myself together, tossing blank stares around the room.

Kian Jackson disappeared.

I don’t know whether he left the party or went upstairs, or stepped out through a side door.

For sure, he didn’t come this way.

“What’s with you?” she asks, holding my hands. “Are you sick or something?”

“Sick?” I mutter, unable to gather my thoughts. “Sick?” I mumble again.

“Who did you talk to?” she asks, stepping out of the way.

Men and women walk in and out, the catering crew bringing more food and drinks to the tables outside.

I can’t talk.

“How much did you have to drink?” she asks, looking down.

My glass is half empty. I set it on a small table next to the wall.

“It doesn't matter. Not much...”

I try to focus on her.

“What did you talk to Rex about?” I ask.

She gives me a mystified look.

“Uh... He asked me about you. I told him you were upstairs, and he seemed anxious to see you when something happened.”

“That’s why I’m asking.”

Hesitantly, she reads my eyes for a second.

“What did you see?” I ask.

“He turned around to head to you upstairs when his friends and his brother walked in, and he suddenly pulled to a stop. He looked surprised, and he was cold as if he’d slipped a mask on. Next thing I know, he talks to his lady friend––the woman he had surfed with. I don’t know what his plans were for tonight, but she sure wanted to spend some time with him. He pulled back to her and never left her side as if he suffered from amnesia and forgot that you were in the house. I wanted to ask him if that’s what it was when I noticed her touch his arm and murmur something in his ear, flirting with him. At that point, I didn’t know how to bring you up into the conversation. It made no sense.”

“Where is he now?”

“He’s out there with her, sitting at a table. It’s not only them. It’s a group of people, but it looks weird if you ask me.”

I jerk my hand up, annoyed.

“Forget about him.”

“What do you want to do? Do you want to go home? You can go if you want to. I’ll ask Carlos to give me a ride home later, or I’ll find someone else.”

“I’m not leaving just yet. I want to see how things turn out. I don’t want to make it look as if I came here for him and left because he is with someone else.”

“I’m sure there’s an explanation,” she says.

I make a clipped gesture.

“I don’t want to hear it. Go back to your man, and we’ll talk later.”

She squeezes my hand.

“Let me know if things change. Okay? Maybe text him?”

“That will never happen. Don’t worry. It’s a good lesson for me. It’s better that it happened fast.”

Her eyes are still slanted down as she struggles to find words to comfort me.

“I’m fine. Go, Frankie.”

Reluctantly, she turns around and walks away while I collect my drink and head back to the second floor.

What a great start to the summer.