Caught in Us

by Layla Hagen

  His mouth covers mine so completely I’m sure he’ll take my breath away, but the opposite happens. It feels like this is the first time I'm breathing in months. I lose myself in his kiss and the warmth of his arms. He coaxes my lips open, slipping his tongue into my mouth. Sighing, I welcome him, allowing him to probe me on the inside, exploring in turn his delicious taste. The primal dance of our tongues lights up an impulse deep inside me that travels right between my thighs, turning my intimate spot tender and wanting. His kiss drives me to the edge, and I find myself returning to that happy place I had memorized and revisited in my dreams.

  We gasp for air, our breaths skittered.

  "I haven't asked for permission," he says in a husky voice. "Do I need to ask for forgiveness?"

  "Wow, Damon. We need to slow down. You cannot just waltz back into my life and declare your love for me. You're making me hyperventilate."

  He chuckles lightly, but his stare loses none of its intensity. It smolders me. "I got my shit together, and I want you, Dani. I will accept nothing less. I will fight for it, and I won't play fair all the time. I need you. This year has proven to me how miserable I am without you. So, how about that first date? What do I have to do for you to agree to it?"

  "This can be our first date," I offer.

  "Not a chance. Last time, I did it all wrong."

  "I liked it," I say in all honesty. "I think a little adrenaline was just what I needed at that time."

  "Regardless, had I been more careful, maybe things would have been different. This time, I want to do everything the right way."

  "Okay."

  "Let's go back to your friends."

  "Why?" I ask, startled.

  "Because if it's just the two of us here, I’ll damn all rules, and do more than just kiss you senseless."

  "Oh." Heat creeps in my cheeks, and somehow Damon notices it even in the dim lighting.

  "Stop blushing, or I will not be responsible for my actions. I always did think you were irresistible when you blushed."

  "Let's go," I murmur.

  When we find the group on the dance floor, Chase immediately puts an arm around my waist, as if we’re old friends.

  “If you want to keep that arm, you’d better put it elsewhere,” Damon tells him. His tone is half-joking, but the glint in his eyes is dangerous. Even in his advanced state of drunkenness, Chase recognizes an alpha claiming what’s his and backs away.

  “Didn’t realize she’s yours,” Chase slurs, removing his hand. “My bad.”

  “Now you know it. She’s mine.” Damon pulls me into him, and we begin to swing our hips to the rhythm of the music. We spend the rest of the night dancing with the group, laughing and joking. Damon never lets go of me.

  ***

  When the night is over, Damon walks Hazel and me back to our dorm while Kylie and Drew carry a drunk Chase to his room. Tiredness sweeps into my bones, yet when I slide under my covers, I remember the touch of Damon's lips before he said goodnight. A delicious shiver shakes me. Suddenly, I know sleep won't come easily. Hazel twists around in her bed, too. I bet I know what keeps her awake.

  Clearing my throat, I ask, "What's the deal with Chase?"

  "He's the world's biggest man-whore," Hazel declares. "And I am totally in love with him."

  "Of course you are." I punch my pillow into a more comfortable mass then turn on one side toward Hazel. "You are finally meeting your mom's prophesy of dating a bad boy."

  "Not exactly. I'm not dating, just daydreaming about a bad boy."

  "Did anything happen between the two of you?"

  "You mean besides me drooling whenever I see him?"

  "I'm pretty sure there's some drooling on his part, too."

  "Nope, that look he gives me is just him exercising his eye-fucking muscles." There is disappointment in her voice; my heart breaks for her. "Don't read anything into it. I did last semester and was bitterly disappointed."

  "But why are you into him? I mean, he's good-looking and fun, but seems a bit of an asshole."

  Hazel gets out from her bed, groping for the door in the darkness.

  "Where are you going?"

  "This talk needs chocolate," she says.

  "True that." I follow her, driven by the promise of chocolate. Nothing better to prolong the afterglow of a kiss than chocolate. I turn on the small lamp on our couch table, though Hazel seems to be able to find her way to the chocolate piling place even without light. That's what I call commitment. She whisks out a new package and we both sink on the couch, ripping it open.

  Hazel sighs over-dramatically while taking a bite. "Other college kids have beer stacked up everywhere, and we still swear by chocolate. Do you think we might do college wrong?"

  "Absolutely not." I savor the chocolate, the caramel melting in my mouth and the pepper giving it just the right amount of kick.

  "I don't get the appeal of beer. It's bitter and makes you fat. Why not eat chocolate instead? Anything that fits the saying one second on your lips, a lifetime on your hips should at least have the decency to be sweet."

  "Amen."

  We chew on our guilty pleasure for a while before I bring Chase up again. "So...every good girl has to fall for a bad boy, right?" I say, remembering her mother's words of wisdom.

  "Yep. My turn has come, it seems. I just wish it would fade away soon. I'm tired of hyperventilating every single time I’m around him."

  "Have you tried...you know, making a move on him?" I ask tentatively. Knowing our history with boys, it's unlikely.

  "He sort of made it clear last semester that he only sees me as a friend." She plays with the hem of her pajama top, rubbing her thumbs together.

  "Oh."

  "Yeah. We had that talk."

  A loud bang coming from the direction of the corridor makes us both jump. "Should we go outside and see what happened?"

  "Nah, probably just someone who partied too hard tonight. You'll get used to it." We listen for a few more seconds, but no other sound comes.

  "Do you think Chase meant it?"

  Hazel throws up her hands in frustration. "How the hell do I know? He keeps giving me that stare and hangs out with me during all our classes—he insisted we take the same classes because he says I'm a good study partner. But when we go out, he makes it his mission to either ignore me or keep an embarrassingly large distance between us if we dance. You'd think I develop some incredibly dangerous virus as soon as I’m in party clothes, and he can't come closer than an arm's length."

  "Hmm..." I make a mental note to study Chase closer.

  "Do you want to talk about Damon?"

  "Not really. I'm still trying to convince myself I haven't just imagined the whole thing," I answer. Hazel sashays across the room, returning with a new chocolate package. "Give that here. It's my favorite chocolate in the world."

  "I know," Hazel says proudly. "Lucky your parents own the company producing it."

  I lean my head back, closing my eyes as I take the first bite.

  "God, I think I am in love with chocolate," Hazel announces. “I think Facebook should have the option to put as a status, In a relationship with chocolate, and it's not complicated at all."

  Chapter Twenty-Four: Damon

  I look at the glass and steel skyscraper for a few good minutes. Meeting James Cohen on his territory will be a challenge, but I’m up for it. The last time I saw him, I was beating someone and putting his sister in danger. I'd be surprised if he doesn't have his guards kick me out of the building or punch me. Doesn’t matter. James Cohen is the only person who has the resources to help me, and Dani's safety is more important than anything—including my damn pride.

  "What can I do for you?" the receptionist asks.

  "I'm here to see James Cohen." I use my best unapologetic, no-questions-allowed tone since I don't have an appointment. I lift my lip in a half-smile and look her straight in her eyes. She holds my gaze for a few seconds then looks away, blushing.

  "Sixth floor," she murmu
rs.

  What is it with women that this tone and smile always work on them?

  "Thank you."

  I slip in the elevator, surprised at the mix of business suits and ragged jeans and t-shirts inside it. When I step out on James's floor, a bunch of the fellow jeans-wearing dudes follow. So this is what an office full of techies looks like. There are more than three dozen people typing away on their laptops in the open-space office. The sound of typing is occasionally interrupted by cheering or laughter.

  I spot maybe two people wearing suits, but everyone else looks as though they've just put on whatever they found first this morning before coming in to work. They look like me. The muscles in my neck loosen a notch.

  "I'm looking for James," I tell a dude passing by.

  "Corner office in the back. Are you new? Haven't seen you before," he says. I give a noncommittal shrug. There are enough people around that I can get lost in the crowd, and I look the part of a newbie, so I go along with it. "He's pissed. I suggest whatever you have to ask him, ask someone else or he'll eat you alive."

  Just my luck. "Thanks for the warning." I head to the back office with determined strides. I knock twice and go in after I hear a brisk, "Later."

  "I said later," James says. He sits at his desk, his head bent over some papers. He's not wearing a suit, either. There is a tall brunette next to him, gesturing heatedly and pointing to something on the paper. I've seen photos of the two of them in a magazine. That must be Serena, his fiancée. He angles his eyes at me then stands up so quickly he nearly topples the papers in front of him. "You have the nerve to show up here?"

  Well, this is going as expected, minus the punch. "I have to talk to you."

  "Are you Damon?" Serena asks. To my astonishment, she's smiling.

  "Yeah."

  "Excellent," she says.

  James turns to her, frowning. "You knew he was coming here?"

  "No, I'm just happy to finally meet him. Hi, Damon. I'm Serena."

  I smile at her, nodding curtly.

  “Good, you two met. Now get out of my fucking office, Damon.”

  "You'd better listen, James,” I say. “It's about Dani's safety."

  This stuns him for a few seconds. "That shouldn't be an issue if you stay away from her."

  "Not true."

  James stares at me, but remains quiet. I take that as an invitation to continue. No reason to soften the blow, so I just say it bluntly. "Gabe seems to be plotting some stupid vendetta. He's pissed at both of us; on me for ratting him out for the drugs, on you for hiring the lawyer."

  "Why now?" James asks.

  "He's out of jail. I’m back. Dani's back. And he’s targeting her. He told me so."

  James swears loudly. "Why?" he asks through gritted teeth, though I'm sure he knows the answer as well as I do.

  "Because she’s your sister," I pause, "and because he knows I love her."

  He swears again.

  "He's keeping a low profile. Gabe's not stupid. I learn from my mistakes, so I won't underestimate him again."

  "What's your plan?" James squints, his jaw clenched.

  "You have him watched. You have resources to do that, right? My...sources tell me he's into drug dealing for real. Heavy stuff. If we manage to get the police to catch him and lock him up..."

  "And your part in the plan would be?"

  "The bait."

  "No." His tone is so firm Serena flinches next to him. "Let me ask you this: what are your intentions regarding Dani?"

  "Um, James...how is that your business?" Serena asks.

  "I’m making it my business. She's my sister. The last time he was in her life, he screwed everything up for her then left."

  It's my turn to get angry. "Not by my choice. I didn't leave her. I was carted off."

  "You stayed away from her after you graduated high school. That was your choice."

  "Yeah, after graduation...thought that was for the best."

  "What changed?" he inquires.

  "When I met Dani, I was at the lowest point in my life. I was dragging her down. It was a series of fucked-up circumstances, but still, I brought them on. When your dad and my dad arranged for me to be shipped away like a piece of pork, I gladly wanted to strangle them both. But then I thought, maybe it's a good thing. Maybe Dani would be better off without me. I hadn't planned a future for myself, or at least not one that would be worthy of Dani. After I finished school, I got into fighting again. I tried to live my life the way I had before I met her. It didn't work out. When I saw her in London, I realized I didn't want to stay away from her anymore. I wanted to change. I applied to Stanford and got in. I know I am not the man you want for your sister, but I want to become that man. I owe it to my mom, to Dani, and to myself."

  "That was a swoon-worthy love declaration," Serena announces. "If you haven't told all of this to Dani, I will chase you with a gun."

  I grin. "I like you, Serena."

  "Serena," James exclaims, throwing his hands up in the air, "you are not helping." Turning his attention back to me, he continues, "Say this business with Gabe doesn't come to a resolution. What then?"

  I take a deep breath. "That's not an option."

  James gives me a loaded look. I hold his gaze. He and I both know what will happen if locking up Gabe fails. I will have to disappear from Dani's life for good. It won't solve the issue, but it'll hopefully make Gabe leave Dani alone. My presence here is a provocation for Gabe.

  "Have you told Dani about Gabe?" James asks.

  "No, I wanted to talk to you first."

  "That’s a change." His tone holds appreciation.

  "I want to make things right this time."

  "I'll put some detectives on it immediately. It's best if you talk to them first and tell them everything you know about Gabe's current activities. They'll be here within an hour."

  "How do you know?" I ask. "You haven't even talked to them."

  He gives me a pointed look. "They will be."

  "You know detectives who can be here in an hour?" Serena asks half-amused, half-incredulous. "Who am I marrying?"

  James makes the call, and then he and Serena look over some papers again. I catch the words ‘chocolate factory’ and ‘father’.

  "I heard your father suffered a heart attack," I say.

  "He did," James replies, without looking up from the papers, "and the doctor ordered him to stop working. He actually listened and now Serena and I are looking for someone to take over the reins of the factory."

  "Why don’t one of you do it?"

  "I don't have time, and Serena already has a job."

  "What do you do?" I ask her.

  "Investment banking," she replies, just as someone knocks at the door.

  "Later," James bellows.

  The door opens, and James looks up exasperated. I have a hunch the word ‘later’ doesn't mean much around here. Two twenty-something guys who look like they haven't slept for a while stand in the doorway. One of them carries a laptop.

  "We know you're busy, but this is urgent,” one of them says. “If we break through this, we could advance by a month. We need your input on the code."

  "Okay, come in." James gives Serena an apologetic look, but she waves him away good-naturedly, continuing to look over the papers by herself.

  "You still code yourself?" I ask, impressed. James is something of a legend in Silicon Valley—an exceptionally skilled coder who started his company when he was a few years older than me. I figured he's doing only business stuff by now, leaving the coding to minions.

  "Sometimes," he answers.

  The guy carrying the laptop places it in front of James while the other one grabs a marker and starts scribbling some lines of code on the whiteboard. James scans the laptop intensively for a few minutes, and then the three of them huddle in front of the whiteboard, each writing snippets in an attempt to find the piece of code they need to move forward. James is very good, but looking at the lines of code, I realize they’re missing s
omething.

  I grab a blank sheet of paper and a pen. Blocking out their voices, I focus hard and start writing down possible solutions.

  "How about this code sequence?" I hold up the paper.

  The three men stop mid-talk, turning to me. James copies the sequence on the board as the other two still look at me in surprise.

  "Nah. The repetition happens one sequence too early. It won't—” James stops mid-sentence, drawing a double-headed arrow between two of the lines of code. "But if we inverse this sequences, then it will work. Great job, Damon. Chris, John, what do you say?"

  Chris and John stare at the whiteboard suspiciously. Then the guy called Chris says, "I have to run it in the program, but I'm ninety-nine percent sure it will work."

  "Is he another prodigy, James?" the guy named John says. "Where do you find them?"

  "This time, he found me." James grins at me.

  "Get him to work for us. Maybe we'll be able to keep him, unlike the last one." With that, John grabs the laptop from James's desk, and both he and Chris leave the room.

  "You're smart!" James exclaims.

  "That surprising tone is not offending at all."

  "I didn't mean that I thought you were stupid. Dani said you were smart, and you did get into Stanford, but you're not average smart, you're very smart. Are you looking for a job?"

  "Yes," I say without hesitation.

  "Then you're hired. I'll take you to Francine, our HR head afterward. She'll help you with the paperwork. Take as many hours as you can. When can you start?"

  "Right away, since classes don't start until tomorrow. Why did the other guy leave? The other prodigy."

  "He started his own company. That's the best reason to lose employees. I don't mind, though the team always feels that's a betrayal of sorts." The door opens. "Ah, detectives, you're already here. Good. Let's start."

  Chapter Twenty-Five: Dani

  The first day of classes is hectic. I grab a coffee and a donut for lunch and still make it to the first afternoon class with only a few minutes to spare. I take a deep breath in the doorway then start looking for Hazel in the classroom. Even though the auditorium is large enough to seat two hundred students, there are only twenty or so in attendance, so I find Hazel quickly. She sits next to Chase, of course.