Page 26 of Good Boy

The dining room was suffocating. I took my seat at the head of the table, feeling the weight of my family's expectations like a noose around my neck. Where the fuck was Darius?

"Weston," my mother said, drawing me out of my thoughts. "I hope you don't mind, but Victor's son has joined us for dinner."

Just then, Darius walked into the room with Victor's son, and my stomach pitted into a tight coil. He looked like a tall glass of fuckable trouble, and it pissed me off he was standing next to what belonged to me. I tried to keep my expression neutral, but my eyes betrayed me as they locked onto Darius.

"Nice of you to join us," I said curtly, trying to hide my emotions under a veneer of annoyance.

"Sorry," Darius said, a sly grin stretching the length of his mouth as he took a seat across from me. "We were just getting acquainted."

"Mm-hmm.”

I forced my gaze onto the empty plates before me. My jaw tightened as I listened to their low conversation. What the fuck were they talking about? And why did it feel like they were sharing some secret that I didn’t know about?

"Sweetheart," Cynthia said, her voice cutting through my thoughts like a knife. "Would you care for some wine?"

I nodded as my irritation grew with each passing second. As the clink of glasses filled the room, I couldn't help but let my eyes drift back toward Darius and Victor's son. It was infuriating, watching them share private jokes and whispered conversations while they left me out in the cold.

"Something on your mind?" Darius asked, finally breaking away from his conversation to look at me. His eyes were unreadable, and I hated how easily he seemed to be able to read mine.

"Nothing," I lied, feeling the heat rising in my cheeks. "Just wondering what you two find so fascinating."

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Darius teased, a wicked grin playing at the corners of his lips.

My heart raced, adrenaline pumping through my veins like gasoline on a fire.

As the evening dragged on, my patience continued to wear thin. I made attempts at conversation, doing my best to feign interest in the mundane topics being discussed. But my thoughts kept straying back to Darius. The way his lips felt against mine, the heat of his body as he pressed against me.

And as the clock ticked on, my hunger for him grew, gnawing at me with an intensity that threatened to consume me. I couldn't take it any longer; I needed him, and I needed him now.

But as much as I wanted to give in to my desires, I knew I had to maintain appearances for the sake of my family's reputation. So I gritted my teeth and endured the evening, every moment spent away from Darius feeling like an eternity.

The clinking of silverware and the murmur of conversation filled the room, but my focus remained. Their hushed voices grated on my nerves, making it impossible to concentrate on Cynthia and Victor's boring exchange about some charity event.

"Weston, what do you think?" Cynthia asked me, her tone snobbish and expectant.

"About what?" I said, barely hiding my annoyance.

"Never mind," she scoffed, rolling her eyes and turning back to Victor.

My grip tightened around my fork. The sight of Darius leaning in close to Victor’s son stoked an inferno deep within me that threatened to consume every ounce of self-control.

"Alright, cut the shit," I barked, finally reaching my breaking point. "It's rude to have side conversations at the table. Why don't you share?"

Darius locked his gaze on me, his eyes smoldering with amusement. "You want us to share, Wes?" he taunted, his tongue peeking out just enough to sweep his bottom lip. "Okay."

He paused for a moment, letting the tension build before continuing. "We're just talking about cars and bikes. Stuff that's too beneath you."

"Is that right?" I spat, my jaw clenched so tight it felt ready to snap. The insincerity behind his words was maddening, and I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to their conversation than they were letting on.

"Absolutely." His voice dripped with sarcasm. "In fact, we might just head out and take a look at them after dinner. Care to join us?"

"Maybe I will," I shot back, my heart pounding in my chest as I stared him down.

It was clear he was testing me, pushing me to my limits. And though I knew I should walk away, I couldn't resist the pull of the dangerous game he'd started.

"Good," Darius said with a smirk, as if our heated exchange had never happened.

My grip tightened on the edge of the table, my knuckles turning white as Darius stared me down. The silence was deafening, a tangible tension hanging in the air between us.