Page 92 of A Vampire's Pain
“He is playing you.”
“Damon—”
“No! Val, this is what he does!” Damon said. “He plays them! All the damn time! I have seen it.”
“Maybe, but he is not playing me.”
Damon shook his head.
“Can’t you hear yourself?!”
“Can’t you?” I asked.
Damon looked at me shocked.
“You sound crazy right now!” I said.
“Me?!” he asked.
I nodded.
“Gabriel is not a bad person. Maybe he once was, but not anymore, and he has not treated me badly at all,” I said.
Damon glanced at Gabriel again, who had finally gotten on his feet and was watching us closely now. Damon turned to me and then grabbed the side of my blouse, pushing it down, so he could see my bare shoulder.
“Have you slept with him?” he asked me.
“What?”
“Answer the question.”
I didn’t have to, though. I could feel my cheeks heating, and Damon could clearly see the answer in my eyes.
“He has slept with you but not even marked you,” Damon pointed out and let go of me before turning to Gabriel. “And you are serious about her?”
“Yes,” Gabriel said.
“Oh, please. You have no self-control, there is no way you could not not mark her!” Damon said.
“Hey!” I said and grabbed my brother’s arm. “I’m the one who asked him to wait because I knew how you would react!”
“Sure, because you knew that me seeing the mark on your shoulder would somehow get me madder,” he said.
“Yes!”
He shook his head.
“No, a mark would tell me he was serious,” Damon said. “And you know this because you know me. So, do you know what I think? I think you don’t even believe he is serious about you. I think you know deep down that you’re being played as well.”
I felt my heart beating faster, as I listened to Damon. Could he be right? I glanced over my shoulder, seeing Gabriel watching me intensely, clearly wanting an answer as well, but I wasn’t sure what to say.
“Come on, Val, let’s just go home,” Damon said and grabbed my hand.
I pulled away from him though.
“Wait!”
“Valeri, don’t let him play you anymore!” Damon said and grabbed my hand again.
