AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Don’t laugh, Pheebs. It’s a very real possibility.” He’s so full of shit.
I roll my eyes. Shrugging, I throw out, “I’d just ask Shane, then.”
A joke, obviously. I’d never consider asking Shane something like that. Hell, I wouldn’t have considered asking Hunter if I weren’t the drunkest I’ve ever been in my life.
But the words erase any trace of humor from Hunter’s expression. His eyes become cloudy, his brow lowers, his nostrils flare. A new tension radiates off his body, his swollen muscles coiling.
The darkness in his expression passes, but it isn’t replaced by the playfulness that he had when he strolled in. There’s still a serious to him.
“Tell me you don’t want it, Phoebe. Tell me youwantto say no. And I’ll drop it.”
I could end this ridiculous charade right now. Hunter might be a jerk, but he’s not a creep. If I told him flat out that I absolutely do not want to sleep with him, he’d drop it. We’d put this awkward episode in our relationship behind us.
It’ll be as easy as opening my mouth and saying so.
Yet, I can’t do it.
Because over the last five days, I’ve let myself think about what it would be like with Hunter. Something I’ve let myself fantasize about before, but this time, those fantasies had the taste of reality. I was fantasizing about something I could turn into reality with just a word, just by reaching out and taking it.
It’s like a meal you catch the scent of, and you’ll never be satisfied if you don’t get to eat it.
I can’t deny that Idowant it—but I also can’t deny that Ishouldn’t.
“One word, Phoebe,” he says, his voice a low rasp. “Tell me you don’t want it, and I won’t bring it up again. But if you do want it,” his voice becomes even lower, thicker, “I can make it so good for you that it’ll more than make up for the time you wasted with that ex of yours. That’s a promise.”
My nerves are simmering, my heartbeat heavy. Tingles wash over my body. There’s a tender ache between my legs, and all I can think about is how good it would feel for Hunter to relieve that ache.
My lips part. I can feel a word on the tip of my tongue. It’s notno—it’s …
Another beep comes from the front door, and I jump back from Hunter as I hear it open.
Disappointment falls over Hunter’s expression, and my chest sinks.
“Oh. Hey, guys,” Shane says casually, spinning the lanyard that holds his access card.
I should be relieved. I feel like I was a moment away from crossing a line that I should never cross.
Sleeping with Hunter Landry? It would be a mistake.
“Well, I’ve got homework to do. Enjoy your class, boys,” I say brusquely, brushing past Hunter and walking out the door.
Once I’m outside, I can breathe again.
I’ve let myself imagine things I have no business imagining ever since Saturday morning. I need to be real: I drank way too much, babbled incoherently something I’d never even dream of saying while sober, and that’s all there is to it.
I still want to find someone to hook up with, someone I can enjoy myself with—but that personcan’tbe Hunter.
Even though I still couldn’t tell him I don’t want it.
18
HUNTER
Now that I’ve let the idea of sleeping with Phoebe Sinclair into my head as a real possibility, it’s really fucking hard to focus on anything else.
Last night I could almost feel the weight of her perky tits in my palm as I fisted my cock, thinking about how her face would look flushed with ecstasy.
I’m pathetically far behind on the next essay I have due for the history seminar I’m taking. I can’t focus on any of my classes this whole damn week. I feel like if this drags on any longer, I’m going to turn into Ryder, a former teammate of ours who was notoriously lazy about school, until he met his girlfriend, Candace, who whipped him into shape a little bit.
