4 CHAPTER 4

Gannie, Michael, and Phoenix stared at Lie for a long time after Damien slammed the door shut. She turned and stared back at them, ready to brawl anyone who dared to face her in the middle of her rage. "What?" she asked, temper still rising. "If you have a problem, go chase him. Or fuck him for all I care."

She barrelled past them all—bumping Gannie harshly—and went to the mudroom to grab her coat. She was out of the house in under a minute. Her destination? Unknows. She just walked away from the house with nothing in her mind. She was pissed at everything around her. She kicked at the annoying stone on her path and sent it flying to the center of the road. She glared at the tree that rustled its leaves in the wind.

Damn Gannie for disturbing her sleep. Damn Damien for being a hottie. Damn her fate for giving her such a lousy life. Damn her genes for giving her the worst of her parents. Damn everything. Damn it all.

Damn her for thinking so lowly of herself.

She was proud of her brilliance and brains and she also knew that she was attractive, but why is it that no one liked her? No one ever dared to date her. Here or even back home. Back where she was called ugly indiscriminately. Maybe that place was where her insecurities started.

She hated blaming anyone for her weakness but she was tired of blaming herself too. She wanted to feel beautiful, to be beautiful, but every time she saw Gannie, her self-esteem crumbled. It was like a living proof that she'll never be beautiful.

Gannie was everything that she was not: beautiful, confident, and proud. She was someone people felt proud of. She was someone a man would show off to his friends and family.

Lie was not like that. She looked down at her ragged shorts and faded sleeveless shirt, and felt even worse. She walked with her head bowed low to hide whatever emotions she had on her face. Her hair fell over the side and properly hid her face.

Phoenix was a tall and stoic man. His hair was now salt and pepper and he wore it with pride as he looked at her eldest daughter with a raised brow. "Care to explain?" he asked, arms crossed over his chest. Even at 65, he was still straight as a rod and strong enough to whoop her ass if need be.

Gannie knew that Lie was their dad's favorite since she was the one who didn't grow up with him but it was still unfair. Everyone should be treated equally.

"I did nothing," was her reply that she accompanied with a shrug. "Seriously, it was just the usual teasing!"

The father widened his eyes threateningly at his troublemaker of a daughter. It was not new for Gannie to tease the youngest Fitzgerald but for Lie to actually burst and walk out? That was new alright.

"Fine! Fine!" Gannie threw her hands up in surrender. "I found out she has a crush on that guy Damien so I sort of used him to tease her. I didn't know she was so emotionally distraught over him! Geez!" she pouted and scoffed before stomping to the couch and dropping herself down. "It isn't my fault that neither of them is making moves on each other. If I know, I had just helped them out."

"Morganna…" Michael's use of her real name made her sit up straight. If it was her dad, she knew she would have been able to smile and charm her way out of trouble but this was Michael, the man she loves with all her heart, who won't think twice about punishing her in ways that she disliked. She knew that she was in deep trouble with him. After all, Lie was like his best friend aside from her.

Phoenix sighed and left the two lovers alone.

Michael sat down across from Gannie and leaned forward, eyes serious and cool. "That was out of line."

Those words did what a shouting match with Lie or her father could not. They shamed Gannie. She looked at her joined hands on her lap and gulped. "I just…" she took a deep breath and nodded. "I was wrong. I'm sorry." She looked at her fiancé and reached for his hands. "I'm sorry, baby."

"You know that I don't need your apology, Morganna. It's not me who you need to say sorry to." He cupped her face and kissed her forehead gently. "Make it right with her. She's a little bit off lately, and this doesn't help."

Gannie sighed and stared at Michael. "You sure you're not in love with her? Ow!" she immediately rubbed the spot on her forehead where his finger had landed when he flicked her.

"Don't even think about it, Gannie, or I will make sure that you won't be able to get away from me ever again. I know I promised to graduate first but if you continue thinking like that, I won't have a choice but to marry you as soon as possible." He raised a brow and looked at her with eyes hot enough to burn her clothes away. "Or maybe… I'll just get you pregnant. Then, you won't have any choice but to stay with me."

Her heart melted, her loins flooded with heat, and she had to go and sit on his lap so she could embrace him again. "I'm really sorry though. I just thought that they kinda looked cute together."

Michael chuckled and buried his face against Gannie's neck just to nip it gently. "I know they do. I'm their housemate. I could detect the strong connection of lust and the wavering connection of love between them. Damien is attracted to her. Maybe even more. Lie… I think she's just a bit curious about her reactions around Damien for now."

She giggled and turned her head to the side to give Michael a bit more of skin to kiss and to nip. "Well, as I said, they would look good together," she mumbled and held Michael's face before kissing him deeply. "I love you, you know that?"

"I'm pretty sure I've known that since you were six years old," he teased and got a slap to the side of the head in return. "What? It's true!"

"Shut it, Smith. Just say that you love me too."

"I love you too."

It was already dinner time when Damien decided to walk back to the mansion. He had stayed at the library all day long, grumbling over the fight with Lie. Damn the woman for thinking so low of herself and of the people around her. Did she think that all men wanted were body images? The thought of it made him grit his teeth again. He took his backpack from the table and walked out of the library. The cool night air slapped him harshly and he had to push his hair away from his face. He looked up at the sky and saw the bright moon, the same one that had shone over Lie last night and made him think that she was a goddess.

He gritted his teeth. How could anyone be so egoistic and unconfident at the same time? She calls herself brilliant and a bloody goddess but then she turns a full 180 degrees and proceeds to insult herself. She's a damn handful.

He kicked a rock on the pavement and continued kicking it while he was walking towards home. The sound of the stone bouncing on the pavement helped calm him a little. It was a good thing that the mansion was just outside the university belt. It was close enough to the university but also far enough to have privacy from the other students. It was also an additional point that the mansion was inside a gated community where a couple of guards protected the place from those who commit petty crimes.

His mind traveled to Lie again. Calliope Fitzgerald. He thought her real name was Callie Ford Fitzgerald but he was mistaken. Was Ford a part of the whole name too or was it another part that she changed? He didn't know.

He listed the things he knew in his mind.

She's 24 years old.

She's a genius by anyone's standard.

She's on her way to getting her PhD.

She washes her underwear by hands.

She loves Metallica, but she also loves Disney. (you never really know what's going on in her mind)

So far, those are the things he knew about her. Added to those would be her indecisiveness when it comes to her scent.

Damn, he wanted her. He wanted her on his bed and in his arms. Did he love her? Possibly. He's not sure either. But is he in lust with her? Definitely. He wanted to exploit and explore that body of hers. He wanted to know how she would react to his touches and kisses. He wanted to know if there was a tiger inside the tiny kitten.

His gaze was taken by the silhouette sitting under the tree a couple of blocks away from the mansion. At first, he thought it was just some random person but as the wind blew towards him, he knew who it was.

"What are you doing here?" he asked Lie. He stopped in front of her and looked down at her. Her position made her seem tinier than she already was, and much more vulnerable.

"None of your business," the professor replied and pulled her knees closer to her chest.

He sighed and sat on his heels so he could be at least level with her, but he was still too tall. "I'm sorry for what happened this morning. I didn't mean to be violent against you."

The look in her eyes made him stop everything in his mind. The moon had made it seem like her eyes were orbs of galaxies.

"Do you really think I'm gorgeous?" she asked, voice small and soft. Her eyes were only asking for the truth and any small lie would have been caught by her.

He nodded. "Yes, you're gorgeous," he replied. For some reason, she smiled, and his heart melted. Gods…

"I have an offer to you…" she tilted her head to the side and still smiling like she knew the secret of the universe.

"What is it then?" he asked, itching to touch and smell her hair again.

"Be my fuck buddy. No-holds-barred. No strings attached. We can stop when you're tired of it all."

Damien stared at the tiny woman in front of him, mind racing, and heart skipping a beat. What did she just say? Fuck buddy? This professor? No-holds-barred? No strings attached? What? Did he mishear what she said? He smiled and tilted his head to the side, too. "I'm sorry, I don't think I understood what you meant."

"Fuck buddy. You and I fuck each other. No-holds-barred. No strings attached. You can have a girlfriend after, then we will stop when you're tired of it. I'm just really curious."

He stared at her. She didn't look serious, not with that smile on her face. Was she just pulling his leg?

His face must have shown his uncertainty because she chuckled and patted his face. "You can say no, Damien. I'll just look for another person." She stood up and dusted her coat while her eyes were on the night sky.

He immediately followed suit and grabbed her wrist. "Fine. We can be fuck buddies. No holds barred. No strings attached." Was he stupid? Maybe. Did he think he did the right thing? He was so very not sure. Will he gain something from it? Her virginity is one. Her attention is two. What else? Heartbreak? Possibly.

Her giggle made him look at her face. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"You just look so cute when you're having an internal battle," she replied and stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. "I won't bite. I promise." She pulled back and proceeded to walk towards the mansion with her hands inside the pockets of her coat. "Unless you ask me to, of course."

He watched her for a few seconds before following. "You sure about this?"

"Definitely. I'm just curious about this whole thing about sex. Maybe the constant frustration would go away once I have experienced it, you know?"

His shoulders lifted and fell. He never saw it that way. After all, he lost his virginity at a young age. "So… no holds barred? No strings attached?"

"No holds barred and no strings attached but you'll have to tell me when you get a girlfriend. I wouldn't want to hurt a person just because of my curiosity.���

"Aren't you thoughtful?"

She snorted and looked up at his face with a grin. "Hey, my curiosity will never come first over the feelings of another person. I'm aware that you like a gorgeous woman so it's safe to assume that you won't have any feelings for me. There's little to no chance that I will hurt you in the process. Don't you think so?"

He stopped walking and stared down at her. She also stopped and smiled up at him. Maybe he was just as curious as she was too. Maybe he was just attracted to her. Maybe… he held her upper arms and lifted her up to crush her lips with his. Hard. Hot. Demanding.

And she opened up to him. Soft. Smooth. Pliant.

A sound of aggression came from him and a sound of surrender rose from her. Would it always be like this? Would she always surrender to him? Or will the table turn around on him and end up with him under the mercy of this tiny woman?

Vanilla filled his nostrils and brain. His blood dropped to his lower regions. His arm snaked around her waist and pulled her closer, giving her the chance to wrap her arm around his neck and give more of herself to him.

Just like that, the universe became silent for him. In his mind, there was nothing else except him and this woman that he was holding. His teeth nipped and pulled, his tongue tasted and prodded. Her lips were soft and sweet and potent. Who could say no? Who could get enough?

Definitely not him.