Page 14 of Lust
But Lilith was mildly racist. She wasn’t discriminatory in the acute sense of the word, nor did she use bigoted slurs. The DC area was much too politically correct to tolerate outright prejudice. Around here, racism was only fashionable if expressed through microaggressions.
For example,I’m surprised at how articulate you are.
And my personal favorite:I'm not racist. I have a black friend.
I knew that Tristan had taken a step back from Lilith, a deed spurred on by her backhanded comments toward me. However, Lilith was a family friend, and a lobbyist who had singlehandedly generated Tristan’s most sizeable sponsorship checks. She couldn’t be entirely ignored.
Curiosity got the better of me, and I straightened my head for a better look. Lilith stood tall next to Tristan, her hands wrapped possessively around his bicep. She was determined to fend off the admiring herd surrounding him. Like others, her judgment was clouded by Tristan’s external facets.
My brother is absurdly attractive,I grudgingly admitted. He was probably the most attractive man anyone in our circle had seen—chiseled bone structures, strong jaw, locks of dark hair, and amber-gold eyes that stole the show.
One would think he’d be humbled by the good looks gifted to him by God. Instead, Tristan acted likehewas the gift from God. His vanity knew no bounds.
“You’re in college, right?” Tobias asked. His voice came from nowhere. For a minute, I had forgotten altogether that he was here with me.
“Yeah…”
Lilith and Tristan were on the move. Considering his anger from earlier, I had no idea how he planned to make my life miserable and preferred to be on alert.
“Sara?”
“Hmm?” I was busy glancing around to track Lilith and Tristan’s movements. My displeasure grew when she dragged him to the dance floor.
“I asked if you were done with your first year of college?”
It was challenging to concentrate on Tobias’ words while mentally preparing for battle. “Oh. Yes. Yes, I am.”
I tried to focus on Tobias, who appeared annoyed by my inattentiveness. He followed my line of vision. “Isn’t that your brother?”
“Umm… yeah.”
He said nothing more, grasping that I was no longer in the mood to converse.
It was ironic. I couldn’t shut up for the life of me, yet I was tongue-tied when my speaking skills came of use around a hot guy. I was engrossed, searching for a topic to break the ice, and it slipped my mind to track Tristan. The couple next to us moved out of the way, landing me right in the peripheral of Lilith and the devil himself.
Tristan was sizing me up.
Our scorching non-verbal exchanges were nothing new. Bystanders couldn’t identify the love-hate relationship we harbored, and our parents never branded our dynamics as anything past sibling rivalry. The world didn’t know how we tortured one another. That honor was exclusively reserved for the two of us.
Tris’ eyes dripped with something resembling intensity as they roamed my dress. My skin flushed under his heated gaze, but perhaps it was just the aftereffect of dancing. Goosebumps sprung to my skin, counteracting the flush.
I hated how easily Tris unhinged me.
Preposterous.
No one in this world managed to perturb me in the flustering way I felt under his attention. However, the initial antagonism in his eyes flickered when his gaze landed on my dance partner, trailing down to Tobias’ arm resting a little too low on my back.
Shit.
The way Tris’ eyes blazed, I was shocked the room hadn’t caught on fire. He had warned me against cops, and Hell hath no fury like a DC politician scorned. But could this honestly count as a snub to Tris, considering that our parents had orchestrated it, and I was no longer this man’s detainee?
The disdain on his face screamed that he could care less about all those valid reasons. Amber eyes lit up, invoking the wrath of my oldest adversary. My imperturbable nature was noteworthy based on the context, knowing trouble was coming my way.
I pulled on Tobias’ arm. “Come on, let’s go outside. I want to show you something.” I didn’t wait for a response and dragged a perplexed Tobias away before Tristan took his first long stride toward us.
Hello, Mr. Marcolf.
Looking great, Mr. Marcolf.
