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For a moment, I consider turning around and just bailing on the whole thing. But then I’d have to go home and face my dad, and if given the choice, Madd seems like the lesser of the two evils right now. He may hate me, but at least it’s not under the guise of being in my best interest.
I approach the open office door on quiet feet, hesitantly peeking my head into the doorway.
My heart skips a beat every time I see Madd Kessler in the flesh. He was good looking back when we were teenagers, but now that he’s grown, the man’s sexy as sin. From his strong, square jaw, to the mouthwatering muscle he’s packed onto his large frame and the whorls of ink decorating his tanned skin, he’s the embodiment of what parents warn their little girls to stay away from- yet here I am, running toward the sea of glaring red flags over and over again like a masochist.
He’s seated behind his desk, leaning back in his chair with his feet kicked up on the desktop, cell phone clutched in his tattooed grip. The moment I peek in at him, his dark blue eyes flicker to the doorway. They collide with my own and for a tortuous moment I’m sucked into his orbit, held captive by that stormy stare.
His upper lip curls back from his teeth in a snarl, and I brace myself for another round.
11
I’ve been hiding in my office at the squad complex since I left Roxy’s room, killing time scrolling through my phone when I really should be hitting the weight room for a workout. I’m lost in the mindless scroll of social media when my inner wolf suddenly perks up, moments before I catch the faintest whiff of a scent that’s embedded so firmly in my memory, I couldn’t forget it if I tried.
And I’ve tried.
Notes of vanilla, jasmine, and just a hint of peach tickle my nose- the distinct scent of a ghost from my past, back to haunt me.
I glance up right as Sloane peeks her head in the doorway of my office, the cherry on top of the shit sundae I’ve been served today.
Irritation flares as my lip curls back from my teeth. “When I said we could coexist, I thought it was understood that meant we’d stay out of each other’s way,” I growl.
Rather than taking my warning for what it is, Sloane steps into the doorway. She breathes a sigh, the forlorn look in her eyes and the slump of her shoulders giving me momentary pause. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Sloane look so…defeated.
It does something to me, and I fucking hate it.
“What do you want?” I snap.
She must realize how pathetic she looks, because she suddenly stands up straighter, lifting her chin like she’s shoring up her confidence. “I need a dorm room,” she says evenly. Not asking, but telling. Because that’s the Sloane I know, not the shrinking violet that first peeked her head in here.
“Tough shit,” I scoff, slapping my phone down onto my desk. “They’re all taken, and even if they weren’t there’s a waitlist. Some of the full-time squad fighters are camped out in the barracks waiting for one to open up.”
“Oh.” Her throat bobs with a hard swallow and she nods, turning around to retreat.
Again, not the Sloane I know, and this version of her irritates the hell out of me.
“Why?” I find myself asking- and kicking myself as soon as I do. I shouldn’t fucking care.
She stops in her tracks, spinning back around to face me. “What?”
“Why do you need a dorm?” I ask gruffly.
Sloane worries her lower lip between her teeth, like she’s deciding whether or not to give me the real answer. “Things are a little… tense at home. I just want my own space.” She heaves a sigh, running a hand over her hair. “Doesn’t matter, I’ll figure something else out.”
I drag my feet off the desk, my shoes landing on the floor with a thud as I lift my ass from the chair and dig a hand into the pocket of my sweats. “Here,” I say, pulling out a key and tossing it in her direction before I can reconsider what I’m doing or change my mind.
She doesn’t catch it. She flinches back like I’ve just chucked a grenade at her, letting it fall to the floor beside her with a metallic clang. Her brows draw together in confusion as she turns and bends at the waist to pick it up, giving me a spectacular view of her ass in her little cutoff jean shorts. I clench my teeth as my eyes zero in the perfect roundness of each cheek peeking out from beneath the frayed hem, unable to look away.
My dick twitches beneath my zipper, images flashing in my mind as I picture bending her over my desk and peeling those little shorts off, smacking that gorgeous ass and watching my welted handprint bloom on her skin…
“What’s this?” she asks as she straightens, shaking me from the unwelcome fantasy I conjured up in my mind.
“Room one-oh-one,” I rasp, shifting my weight on the desk chair and subtly adjusting my boner. “I don’t use it anyways.”
Sloane’s eyes flicker from the key, to me, then back again. Probably wondering what the catch is since I haven’t exactly been kind or giving since she waltzed back into my life.
“Are you sure?” she asks tentatively.
I give her a single, curt nod.
