Page 54 of Darkest Obsession

“Everyone’s online,” she snaps. “That’s not the issue. The problem is having every moment of my life documented for the world to comment on and criticize. I just don’t want to deal with that here. So leave the book alone and honestly, leave me alone too.”

“Not a chance.”

“Don’t make me punch you again.”

“I meant… just for tonight. I’ll sleep on the floor. I just… In case the blackmail’s real. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I can do just fine without you.”

“Just tonight,” I tell her. “I promise I’ll leave you alone tomorrow.”

I don’t know what the fuck she’ll say, but I want her to say yes, even if I don’t think I have the strength to let go of the gorgeous dark brown thighs I clutch in my palms.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Clover

I wish his hands didn’t feel so good on my thighs. I don’t want him to let go, but I know letting Thomas hold onto me is a slippery slope. Didn’t I learn my lesson with the other guys on the rowing team? Thomas isn’t any different from the assholes on his team. If anything, he’s worse. He’s the instigator and he gets away with being the strong, silent guy calling the shots. No one notices that he pulls the strings. I see him for who he is.

“You can stay on the floor,” I tell him, even if I don’t know need him to sleep there, if he wants to post up like a guard dog, who am I to stop him? I’m not really scared. I mean, those last emails were a bit freaky, but I can also get Kola or Sylvia to come over tonight. I don’t need Thomas here.

He smiles when I tell him that he can stay and I get this really weird funny feeling, nothing like what I felt with Jude or Kit. I can’t fool myself into thinking he’s different from them. What do they say about birds of a feather?

“Perfect. Though I don’t doubt you have an adequate capacity for self defense.”

Everything he says is so weirdly formal. Thomas talks like a prince from a fairy tale, but he looks like the villain with all those tattoos and the black nail polish.

“You’ll need a pillow.”

“Nonsense. I did a tour of Japan and we slept on mats. You have a rug. I can sleep there.”

“Don’t be stupid.”

I want him to head to the floor, but he just keeps holding onto my thighs. I could easily scramble off him, but if Thomas feels stuck… so do I. We pause for a moment and everything gets too quiet. I hear footsteps in the hallway and my heart races.

“They’re probably not coming here,” Thomas whisper-mumbles.

I bite my lower lip because I’m not so sure. I hear a body slam against my bedroom door. Shit. Before I can scramble off Thomas and double check that the door is locked, Sylvia pushes open the door to my bedroom and shrieks.

“Clover!”

Shit.

“Thomas?!”

Double shit.

Thomas practically flings me across the damn room. I fall on the ground and hit my back hard. “OUCH!”

Sylvia stands in my room with her hands on her hips and her face moves upside down.

“What the hell is going on here? Seriously? What are you two doing? This is breaking several school rules. You hate each other! I’m going to freak out if you two don’t explain what’s going on right now!”

Thomas gets off the bed, but he doesn’t answer Sylvia. He sticks his arm out to help me up. I’m too embarrassed to turn him down, even if having the guy who tossed me like a volleyball to save me moments later has its own flavor of humiliation to it. I grab his arm and hoist myself to his feet, doing everything in my power not to lose my balance and lean into Thomas’ chest. That would only make it worse. Sylvia looks pissed. More pissed off than I expected.

“Listen, it’s calm,” Thomas answers. Does he want Sylvia to pop him in the mouth? Okay, that’s more my thing. But Sylvia looks pissed off. Pissed awf.

“It’s calm? How is that an answer? What the goodness gracious is going on!?”