AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m gonna run downstairs and grab us some water. Do you want anything?” I asked, ignoring the primal feeling I got from seeing her in my shirt. The possessive part of me thatlikedit.
A bigger part of me knew I shouldn’t. Because she wasn’t mine. Not after tonight. And I couldn’t get attached to a girl whose name I didn’t even know.
Not when this was a one-night thing.
Padding downstairs, I was relieved to find the house now quiet and empty, grateful I hadn’t had to send everyone who didn’t live here home, as distracted as I’d been by the girl in my bedroom.
“You’re up late,” said a voice as I entered the kitchen, and I startled, finding my fraternity brother, Jackson, sitting at the table.
“Yeah.” I glanced at him as I grabbed two bottles of water out of the fridge. “What areyoustill doing up?”
“Homework.” He shrugged, rifling his hands through his dark brown hair.
Tilting a water bottle towards him in response, I gave a nod. “Don’t stay up too late.” He might have only been a yearyounger than me, but I still felt a responsibility towards all the guys in the house. “Gotta sleep sometime, right?”
He snorted, looking at the second bottle of water in my hands. “I’m sure that’s what you’re doing too, huh?”
I gave him a grin, not deigning that with a response.
There was definitely no way we’d be getting much sleep tonight, but I didn’t think she’d care much either.One night.I was going to savor it.
CHAPTER 5
Ella
Where were my shoes?I’d found my dress and underwear, practically thrown in opposite directions of the room, but my heels had somehow disappeared. I remembered wearing them last night, when we?—
My cheeks warmed as I dressed.
No, Ella,I scolded myself.Don’t think about it. You have to get out of here.
I wasn’t sure why the urge to flee was so strong. All I knew was that I couldn’t stay here. Even if we’d connected, it was just a one-time Halloween hookup. It didn’t mean anything.
And I certainly wouldn’t stay and wait for him to kick me out himself. No.
But thinking about it, staring at his muscular form under the sheets, that was a recipe for disaster. A repeat wasn’t happening.
Even if I couldn’t keep my eyes off of his bare shoulders, his muscles on clear display. He was surreal, a specimen that shouldn’t be real. But he was. And I’d slept with him. Ran my fingers up his back, buried my fingers in his hair. Let him play with my body whatever way he wanted.
He was so handsome and charming,and it wasn’t fair.
Not that he’d had to charm me into his bed—no. I’d done that willingly.
Especially when now I had to slip out in the wee hours of the morning, do the walk of shame back to the sorority house, and hope Audrey would keep her mouth shut when she saw my current disheveled state.
God, this wasembarrassing.
She always told me not to sleep in my makeup, but I never listened to her. The glitter she’d brushed on my lids last night still dotted my lids, and there were black streaks from where I’d smeared my mascara and eyeliner. Plus, my hair was all tangled from Charming’s hands. He’d loved running his fingers through my waves, and I wished I had a brush so that I could at least make myself look a little more presentable before running out of here.
Using my hands to brush through it—at the very least—I pulled it up into a bun, cursing the loss of my hair tie from last night.
And where the hell were my shoes?I’d been tiptoeing around the room for several minutes, but I still couldn’t figure out where they’d ended up after he’d taken them off of me. I wasn’t waking him up to ask, either.
The floorboard creaked under my weight as I moved towards his desk, and I froze, staring at his sleeping form. Holding my breath and my pose, I prayed for an easy escape. Charming turned over, but thankfully, didn’t wake up.Thank god.
Letting myself have one last look at his body, appreciating his muscular back, I exhaled a short huff of breath before giving up. At least I only had to walk a few blocks to get home, anyway. Barefoot was better than being caught and having to face a potential rejection.No, thank you.
Giving up on my shoes, I flung open the door and fled into the morning, just as dawn streaked across the sky.
