I sigh heavily. Even out here, the basement music is too loud now. The people hanging out on the back patio above me scream and laugh, and I wish I had the balls to tell them to shut up.
I just need to go home, but Jade has the key.
“Drop something?” an accented voice asks from behind me.
I spin to find Sexy Shakespeare holding my cat-ear headband. “Thank you,” I say, suddenly feeling a little awkward. What do you say to someone you just made out with? “I’m Jessie, by the way.”
He smirks, the corners of his mouth drawing up into a gorgeous smile. There’s something familiar about him, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. His smile manages to dissipate some of the awkwardness, like this situation is entirely comfortable for him. Amusing even.
Whatever it is, it rubs off on me.
“Will,” he says and bows with a flourish.
My mouth tugs into a smile entirely of its own accord. Then my phone dings, jarring me from the moment, and I peel it out of my corset.
Jade.
Won’t be back tonight. Have fun ??
Need the room key. Don’t go yet.
Shit.I have to catch Jade before she leaves, but I don’t want to lose this guy.
“Can I give you my number?” I ask, frantically searching the crowd for Jade. The beer on my back no longer feels wet, just sticky and swampy. I squirm in my too-tight corset, rolling my shoulders. An ache has started in my jaw, neck, and upper back.
I check my phone again to see if Jade has texted. The gray dots appear then disappear.
Sexy Shakespeare holds something out to me, and I give him my attention. In his hands are a mini scroll and a pen with a feather attached to it.
“Your commitment to this costume is impressive,” I say as I scribble my number across the paper.
“Why, thank you, milady.” He takes the scroll back and snatches one of my hands, pressing his lips to my knuckles, his eyes holding mine. It’s singlehandedly the sexiest and most romantic thing I’ve ever experienced in my twenty-one years of life.
“Until next time,” he says. He bows and disappears back into the frat house.
Fuck, that was something else. I touch my fingers to my lips, trying to conjure the taste of cinnamon schnapps and oranges. It comes back to me easily, and for a moment I let myself be free again.
DING.
I snap back to reality at a text from Jade asking me to meet her out front, and I do, retrieving the key and promising to unlock the door for her in the morning.
I walk back to the dorms in a trance. My lips are swollen and raw, my whole body buzzes with desire that was never fully satisfied, and my neck feels exposed after having the warmth of Will’s face buried there. The pull to turn back and find Sexy Shakespeare is almost stronger than my desire to get out of my beer-soaked clothes.
By the time I’ve showered and crawled into bed, it’s nearly midnight—much later than I intended on being out. I glance at the open textbook on the floor by my bed. Guilt settles on me, a knot in my stomach, and I turn off the light so as not to have to face the consequences of my actions.
I had fun tonight, but did I have too much fun?
I close my eyes, hoping I can sleep off my guilt, but all I can think of as I drift off is a masked stranger with a familiar smile…
CHAPTERTWO
JESSIE
“I put a spell on you and now you’re mine.”
His hand flexes and clenches my hip, and when he pulls me against him a thrill runs through me. I shiver. He’s behind me, kissing that spot where my neck meets my shoulder. How do I get his lips back on mine? I reach up…
“Well done, Jessie. See me after class?” Professor Campbell drops a piece of paper on my desk, tapping her manicured nails against the fake wood.
