Part 39

/HIS POV/

Mia was grinding on him. Pressing her body against him sensually. It turned him on. At least enough people were dancing in the room that they're somewhat shielded from close inspection. Marginally. Even though stupid fucking Jake seemed to be staring at Damon, but he's getting kind of used to that. Whatever. He was enjoying it, embracing it with all his heart.

He let Mia tip her head back, falling on his shoulder, while his eyes drifted to seek out Jakes gaze. Deliberately, he pressed himself into the grinding. The CEO didn't want to invite him in the first place, but Mia insisted they make it right and also they were friends now.

The platinum blonde guy twisted his mouth and turned away.

Damon wanted to laugh, wanted to throw his hands in the air. Instead, he twirled Mia in the circle of his arms and gave her a slow, lazy grin. She grinned back, her hair clinging to her forehead in a room filled with sweaty people, eyes clear and bright.

"Just so you know..." She whispered, voice sultry. "I am about one drink from dropping to my knees for you."

His arms clenched around her waist, his eyes wide and a groan escaped his lips. "Why must you torment me like this?"

"Cause it's funny..."

Damon sighed. "Now I need a drink."

"Me too."

"That a good idea?" The CEO drawled, raising his brow. "What with you being one drink from," he leaned in, lips catching on the shell of her ear, "sucking me off right here."

"I need a drink," She told him firmly.

Damon fondly rolled his eyes. "Only if you stay the night with me"

"If you want me to." She ran her index finger along her collarbone, thumb resting in the dip. It's such a small gesture, and it's very nearly enough to make him forget every rule about being a good host. He just wanted to drag her upstairs.

"Don't be silly of course I want you to spend the night."

Her lips curved. "It's settled then. Now go get me that drink."

"What am I, your slave?"

Instead of answering him, Mia licked at her lips, her tongue rolling out the ridges and corners of her mouth. Teasingly she fluttered her eyelashes at him and nodded her head. That minx!

Damon groaned. "Okay, what do you want?"

"You, naked in the bed" She shot back. Mia's evil. Giggling, she added. "For now I'll settle on a pina colada."

***

By the time Damon made it back into the room, his Vodka and Coke was down to a third, and the apple on the side of the glass fell in the pina colada. He hoped that Mia would still appreciate that despite him being stopped on the way only to be congratulated and gushed over.

Except that when the CEO finally located her, Mia had one hand on Jake's shoulder, their backs turned to the dance floor, and their heads bent together. So the assistant wasn't waiting for his return with bated breath as he expected, might even have failed to notice it's taken so long.

Something twisted inside him at that, acidic like poison. He downed his drink, left Mia's glass on a shelf and turned to go outside.

Damon needed fresh air honestly.

Leaning against the railing, Damon caught the sight of Jake, stupid fucking Jake whom he had invited mostly for Mia's sake, only for her sake, and look how that had turned out. He should not have agreed to her, but she had a way of making him say yes.

Jake was alone right now. Huh. Also, he's about to make his way around the bar, maybe get something to drink for him. And possibly Damon shouldn't have downed his last drink like that. Alcohol made things easier, made him face things without any worry in the world. The CEO was jogging after Jake before he even realised.

Whatever, he's the host. Damon can do anything.

***

"Hey!" The CEO called out, looking around only to realise that they were the only ones present. Good. He could finally make his point to him. Besides, the last thing he wanted was to attract attention. "Can I help you with that last drink? It's getting late and I am sure you have to work tomorrow. What a shame."

Yeah, that's his way of throwing him out.

Jake froze, like, someone poured a bucket of ice water over him, and Damon would love to do that. Yeah, count him in. Slowly, Jake turned over and met his eyes. The darkness hid his features, and he wasn't fully steady on his feet, but Damon could still hear his voice correctly.

"Not at all. Actually I am just ordering two drinks. For Mia and me."

The music pounding from the speakers didn't entirely swallow the words, but Damon does swallow, and that wasn't a very smooth transition. There's a bit of a buzz in his brain, anger coursing through his veins at the implication. Like hell, he was buying drinks for her.

The CEO glared at him. "Oh, really? Are we finally dropping our masks, then? Being real? I'm touched."

Jake made a sudden move as if he's intending to move in for a punch. He stopped halfway there, close enough to see the ugly twist to Damons mouth. "Oh, come on! I'm not pretending to be anything. Believe what you want to believe"

The CEO tried hard not to roll his eyes. He poured disdain thick into his voice. "Really? Is that what you tell yourself?"

"No, I don't need to convince myself every two seconds. I know myself. Thank you very much." Jakes laugh sounded hollow and pierced at his skin.

Damon breathed through bile rising in his throat. He's too drunk for this conversation; he wasn't nearly drunk enough. Seriously who did this guy think he is? No one talked to him like that.

"And yet..." Somehow, Damon located a smile and dragged it up, his eyes shifting towards Mia. She was now talking with her best friend, Jane. "And yet you're the one leaving without her. All this confident and honest persona didn't really help you, did it? Still, Mia will be in my bed tonight. Ironic, isn't it?"

Jake sucked in some air. "You're fucking disgusting."

"Ooh did I hit a nerve there?"

A new surge of confidence imbibed him. Damon couldn't believe that he's jealous of a guy like Jake but also at the same time he's helpless.

Jake scoffed. "You're a pathetic little shit, Damon. Listen I'll be honest with you. Its true that I tried to overcompensate only because I liked her. Not anymore. I know that she's in love with you." His grin was a grimace. "So I backed off already."

Damon stood still for a while, breath knocked out of his lungs. Hearing about Mias feelings from someone else made it too real. That meant he wasn't reading too much into it.

"Really? She's in love with me?"

Jake laughed sharply, the sound like a shovel scraping over concrete. "Really."

For several long moments, Damon held his breath, focusing on the tightness in his lungs and the dizziness in his head. Then he exhaled, inhaled again. "Wow"

"My reaction exactly" Jake made a snorting sound which should be offensive really. However, the CEO was too occupied to ponder over that. After all, he just found out about his assistant's feelings for him from Jake of all people.

"Now I am walking away but don't think others will do the noble thing" He cleared his throat. "So I suggest you do something about it before it's too late" With that, Jake turned on his heels, the sound of his footsteps stomping along Damons nerve endings, and for a second, he froze.

Even though Jake pretty much flaunted about his sacrifice, he was right. The CEO should do something about his feelings for Mia.

It's about time.

***

"I love you," Damon declared as soon as he cornered Mia. It couldn't wait. The moment it's out, his body froze. It's like ice cubes clogging up his intestines, like hail in the middle of summer, like a cold shower on sunburnt skin, and he smiled through the static.

Mia was quiet for several seconds, blinking her eyes several times, mouth slacked open.

"I love you," The CEO said more quietly, the words reassuringly. "I love you so much, and I want you, and I want you to be mine. I want that."

She swallowed loudly, her lashes trembling as he continued to stare. He couldn't look away. Mia was breathtakingly beautiful.

Without breaking eye contact, Damon raised his arm and reached for her cheek, his other hand tangling their fingers for a brief moment. He softly stroked the back of her hand assuringly, petite and frail against his large ones.

"I love you too" Mia whispered after a while, her voice breaking.

Slowly, carefully, he lifted her hand and bought to his lips before pressing a quick kiss.

***