Bad Things (Tristan & Danika #1)(47)

“Maybe,” I allowed, returning his smile.

“So there’s this party tonight, some big house party. Wanna go?”

“I don’t think so. I won’t know anybody.”

“You’ll know me. And you’ll meet some of my friends. Have you met Dean?”

“I haven’t.” I’d almost met the band’s mysterious fifth member a few times, but it had never actually happened.

“Well, it’s your lucky night. He’ll be there. And this cool chick Frankie will be there. She’s a tattoo artist, and she’s getting her own reality show, so she’ll be famous soon. I bet you two will love each other. She’ll hit on you, because you’re gorgeous, but that’s to be expected.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea. Don’t you think Tristan will be pissed if he finds out we we’re hanging out? I went out of my way not to tell him who I was going out with tonight.”

Jared shrugged, unconcerned. “Who will tell him? He’s working tonight, so he won’t be coming, and I can guarantee Dean won’t say a word. If we run into anyone else, I doubt they’d make the connection between you and him. So he’s still staying with you, huh? I can’t believe his apartment isn’t ready yet…”

That gave me pause. Not that the apartment wasn’t ready, but the fact that I’d never given a thought to how long he’d been at the house, and some part of my brain had even forgotten that he was supposed to be leaving soon. Originally, he’d only been staying for a week, but that week had come and gone in a flash.

“We can just go for a little bit,” he cajoled. “It’s only twenty minutes away. I’ll drive, and I’ll bring you back to your car whenever you ask. It’s a pool party. We can go swimming. I promise it’ll be fun.”

I did have a suit in the car, packed from my last excursion to Decadence.

“Do you mind if we just go for an hour or so?” I asked.

He took that as my capitulation, and his smile widened. “That sounds perfect.”

We wound up somewhere to the west of the strip. And what he called a ‘house party’ was held in a gated estate that I don’t think anyone could have called just a ‘house’.

“I’m not sure exactly where, but someone told me James Cavendish has a place just down the street. Frankie, that tattoo artist you’re going to meet, is actually good friends with him. The reality show she’s starring in will be in his casino.”

“Really?” I asked, impressed.

“Yes. And like I said, you’re going to love her. She’s a blast.”

“Are you sure we’re dressed for this?” I asked him as he pulled his black Mustang through a set of intimidating gates.

“Oh yeah. Half of these people will be wearing swimsuits, so we just might be overdressed.”

I’d stuffed my bikini into my purse, but I glanced at his hands as we made our way past closely parked cars to the huge building at the center of the property. “Do you have a suit?”

He grinned. “Already wearing it, under my jeans.”

“You had this all planned out,” I observed.

“I had my hopes.”

The place was packed, and the setup reminded me of a frat party more than anything, which surprised me, considering that it was held at the biggest mansion I’d ever seen.

People were walking around in swimsuits, holding red plastic cups. I was instantly more at ease. My first impression of the place had been intimidating, but I could deal with plastic cups and a pool party, no matter the swanky location. Still, it was hard to even get through a room, there were so many people.

“How will you find anyone in this crush?” I asked Jared, having to lean into him and speak directly into his ear to be heard.

He shrugged. “Let’s get to the pool. We’ll either see them or we won’t.”

It took some searching, but Jared found me an empty room to change. Luckily, my small outfit fit into my purse. I was just debating about where to stash it when Jared opened the door a crack, peeking his head in. “Want to stash your purse in my trunk? We can just go around the house to get to the pool, so we won’t have to swim through the crowd twice.”

“Good idea,” I said, following him.

He snagged my hand as he navigated us back through the crush of people.

Tristan held my hand all the time, but for some reason I felt like I shouldn’t let Jared do it. I didn’t protest, though, telling myself I was being silly.

We stashed my purse in his trunk, making our way toward the back of the house by way of a paved path.

I was surprised when Jared stopped us at the side of the house, pulling me into a darkened alcove. He pulled me close, and I didn’t protest, closing my eyes and tilting my head back.

I let him kiss me, shivering as he ran light fingers along my bare back. He was a good kisser, his lips soft on mine. He wasn’t forceful at all, just cajoling, and I found myself thinking about how Tristan’s kiss had been, how it had demanded more from me that I’d known I wanted to give, and how I’d wanted to give more than I could afford to. Even thinking about another man the whole time, though, I could see that Jared knew what he was doing.

Still, it felt wrong, and I found myself quickly regretting it. This was Tristan’s brother, and as much as I wished that I didn’t, I had feelings for Tristan, and this was wrong. It was a nice kiss, but that was all. Just nice was nothing like what I felt for Tristan, which meant that the kiss, as meaningless as it was, was giving the wrong impression. I couldn’t date Jared. It was naive of me to even have considered it.