Chapter 169 Chapter 169

Chapter 169 Chapter 169
Amber
He climbed the last flight of stairs without slowing, my body still draped over his shoulder like I weighed nothing. Every step jostled me against the hard muscle of him. 
The crimson dress had ridden high enough that cool air kissed the backs of my thighs. My hair swung in a dark curtain toward the floor. I could smell him, he didn’t reek of alcohol, just clean skin, night air, and that darker undercurrent that always made my stomach tighten.
He reached the landing, kicked the door open with one powerful thrust of his leg, and strode inside. 
I always wondered why he shared a dorm room like the rest of the regular students when Soren and the other heirs had a whole mansion for themselves each, away from the dorms.
He didn’t have any roommate either.
The room was dim, lit only by the low glow of a single lamp near the far wall. 
He crossed the space in three long strides and deposited me onto the center of his bed. The mattress dipped under my weight and the cool sheets hit against the fever-hot skin of my back and legs.
He walked back to the door, shut it with a solid click, and turned to face me.
I pushed myself up onto my elbows and immediately regretted it. 
Because I was seeing more than one of him.
Two Damians stood in front of me wearing identical black suits with the same silver eyes, and unreadable expressions. 
I blinked hard and shook my head too but the doubles refused to merge.
“Oh no,” I muttered, lifting one hand to my forehead. “Can you clone yourself?. That’s… inconvenient.”
I pointed at the one on the left, then the one on the right, then back again, squinting like that  might solve the problem.
Neither of the two said a word.
“Okay. Real one, raise your hand. Fake one, stay quiet. We’re doing this democratically.”
Again I got no response.
I groaned and flopped back against the pillows. “Rude. Both of you.”
A quiet huff of something that might have been amusement left him. He shook his head once, crossed to the wooden cupboard against the wall, and opened it. 
I held my head in my hands and was faintly aware of the clinking sound of glass followed by something being poured in it.
When he turned back he held a small tumbler filled with something murky green and herbal.
The second the scent reached me I remembered that bitter and earthy concoction.
It had the kind of taste that clung to the back of the tongue for hours. I scrambled backward across the mattress until my shoulders hit the headboard.
“No. Absolutely not. I know what that is.”
He approached the bed without hurry, glass in hand. “Drink this. Then we talk.”
“It tastes like damp soil and wet leaves.” I pulled my knees up, dress pooling around my thighs. 
“I’m fine. Perfectly coherent. See?” I gestured vaguely at my own face and nearly poked myself in the eye.
“It will clear your head. Only then we will talk.”
“My head is clear enough to know that stuff tastes horrible.”
He blinked slowly, then approached the bed.
“What are you doing?” I asked as he set one knee on the mattress, making the bed dip slightly.
I tried to slide farther away and ran out of mattress. 
His free hand came up, and then his fingers slid into my hair at the base of my skull. 
I almost gasped at the touch but he made no sound as he angled my face upward until I had no choice but to meet those silver eyes.
They were hooded and dark, the kind of look that made the air leave my lungs in a slow, shaky exhale.
“Open your mouth.”
I pressed my lips together harder, dreading the herbal drink’s taste and what it would do to my nerves.
The drinks were letting me speak my mind and my body was running on alcohol. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to look him in the eye with a clear head.
So I refused to obey.
As a result, his fingers tightened just enough to send a bright spark of sensation across my scalp. He tipped my head a fraction higher.
“Stop being a bad girl”
“Promise…promise me”
“Promise what?”
“That you wont walk away after I drank this”
His eyes narrowed just a fraction, telling me he had definitely planned to do that.
“Promise me you won't make me fall asleep and leave. Promise you will stay until I get what I want”
His eyes searched mine.
“You will regret having asked me that once you drink this and your alcohol muddled brain wont make you delusional”
But I shook my head. “I am not delusional”
“Red…”
“Just let it be my choice. That’s all I ask…”
I saw the hesitation in his eyes and a part of me hated to beg for scraps of attention from him.
But there was no going back now, not when I could see his carefully built wall of restraint start crumbling.
Plus, he was to blame partially for this state of mine. He teased and taunted me throughout the dance, touching and feeling me and then just walked away.
That was not fair. So I pushed him even harder.
“Please…”
He stayed still for a moment and then I saw his shoulders sag in defeat.
“Be a good girl for me and drink this first, Red”
He knew the effect those words would have on me. He knew how to use them, how to lower his voice to that husky, gravely pitch.
And he used it to his advantage.
The words made heat pool low in my belly and a full-body shiver ran through me. 
The dominance in his voice left no room for argument, no space for the last scraps of drunken defiance. My lips parted in a shaky breath.
He brought the glass to my mouth and tilted it. 
The bitter green liquid flooded over my tongue. I tried to turn my head but his grip held me steady. He never broke eye contact as he made me swallow every last drop. 
The taste was exactly as horrible as I remembered—sharp, earthy, lingering. When the glass was empty he finally released my hair and started to step back.
My hand shot out and fisted in the front of his shirt.
“Where are you going?”
The words came out raspier than I intended. I kept my hold, knuckles white against the black fabric.
“The Hunt starts in a few hours.” His voice was calm and controlled. “You need to rest.”
Something hot and frustrated flared behind my ribs at the blunt dismissal when he promised me.
Wait, actually he had promised nothing.
Anger rose up in me and I shoved myself up onto my knees on the mattress, still gripping his collar, and pushed him down.