I sighed heavily as I enter my bedroom. "Look, I'm just in a shit mood, that's all. It has nothing to do with you."
"Are you sure?" she asked, following behind me and plopping down on my bed, which I was determined to ignore. I'd already spent too much time imagining her there. I didn't need the reality right in my face. "Because ever since I moved in you've been acting really weird. If I did something, just tell me. This is exactly why I didn't want to move in with you in the first place."
I could only hope I got the job and started tonight. The less time I had to spend at home with her, the better. At the very least I hoped working long hours would make me too exhausted to get horny, but who was I kidding. It didn’t take much for me to get turned on around Charlie these days. "I'm sorry. I promise you haven't done anything wrong. I like having you here. To be honest, I probably get more from it than you do. You've been a great roommate. And friend." I had to keep reminding myself of that.
"Then what the hell is going on? You can't even look me in the eye anymore." She put an arm on my bicep and turned me to face her. Staring into her gaze "Please, Liam. Whatever it is, I can help. I don't want to make you feel like a guest in your own home, and besides, we're supposed to be able to talk to each other. So talk to me."
But that was the problem.
The last thing I wanted to do wastalk.
“There’s nothing to talk about. I’ve got that interview and I need to head out soon. Do you need anything before I go?”
Her mouth twisted and she took a step closer, pressing me against my dresser so I couldn’t escape. The closer she got the less oxygen there seemed to be. My heart began to race like I’d run a couple miles.
"You're really not going to talk to me?” She sounded hurt, which didn’t help my self-control. “Since when do we do the silent treatment?"
I shoved out from under her touch, unable to stand the feeling of her hands on me and turned to walk away. The destination didn't matter, the only thing that did was getting away from her until I could remember all the reasons I’d been repeating to myself for the past few weeks.
We both needed to save money by sharing the house.
Sex would only complicate both of our lives.
We were friends.
Then she reached out a hand and took mine. Heat shot up from the contact and I’d never known there was a temperature hot enough to freeze, but that’s what it did. Her touch froze me down to the core, stopping me in place. No amount of reason could have spurred made me leave when her hands were on me.
I turned, my whole body tense with indecision.
Her brows furrowed and her hair was a wild mess around her face. She bit her lip, sucked it into her mouth.
Fuck just friends. Then took a step toward her, come what may.We could be so much more than that.
My hand tightened on hers, then tugged, reeling her in. She glanced down at where I held her and her mouth opened into a littleOof surprise. I licked my own lips in anticipation. That mouth. God, I wanted that mouth.
“Liam?” she asked, her voice quavering. “What are you doing?”
I crowded her into the dresser where she’d had me pinned just moments before. Her expression wasn’t confused anymore. And she wasn’t nervous like she’d been the first time we’d kissed. Some part of me recognized the flare of arousal in her eyes, the same part that had made the split decision to kiss her in the first place.
“I changed my mind.”
She squeaked out a sound of surprise when her back came in contact with the dresser and her hands grappled for a hold, but slipped once before she could steady herself. “A-about what?”
I bracketed arms around her and smiled a little at the way her breath caught at my closeness. I liked her nerves. I liked having her off balance. “This kiss. What if it wasn’t a one-time deal?”
Before she could respond, I dipped my head and nuzzled into the curve of neck and shoulder. I didn’t kiss her there, not yet. The last time had been rushed. If I was going to hell for this, I was going to take my time about it.
“But I thought you said—”
“Forget what I said.” My lips were close enough they brushed against her skin as I spoke and she shivered.
“But we can’t,” she said and her voice was as breathless as I felt.
I continued my exploration until my lips met the shell of her ear. “Wanna bet?”
Chapter Fourteen
Charlie
