“Good night, then.” She reached for the door and opened it.
I stared at the porch for a second, my heart thudding. I wanted to demand more, but I was afraid it would push Eredine away entirely. So instead, I pulled her to me and kissed her like we’d never kiss each other again. By the time I released her, we were both panting. “Are we still on for our run tomorrow, or is that too early now?”
She shook her head. “We can run.”
“All right … good night,” I said, my words hoarse. Because I would have given anything for her to invite me back into her bed, to give me the pleasure of waking up next to her.
Something I couldn’t decipher crossed Ery’s expression, but it was fleeting, and whatever it had been made her face close down. “Good night.” She stepped out of my embrace.
And so I left her there.
I got in my car and drove in the wee hours back to Caelmore, trying to figure out how I could change Eredine Willows’s mind. Because our night together had blown my mind beyond anything I’d expected, and now, I was afraid there could never be a woman who matched her.
She’d fucking ruined me.
17
EREDINE
Rather than go on a run with Arran, all I really wanted to do was run away from Arran. He’d left in the early hours, and I could not sleep for a while after his departure. Images of him, of what I’d just experienced with him, played over and over in my mind, and I couldn’t believe it, but I felt insatiable.
He’d satisfied me so well that I needed more.
Arran Adair was the best, most giving lover I’d ever had, and like a greedy, starving woman, that one bite had made me hunger for it all.
It had been a little more than a bite. Our night together had been an unrelenting display of passion. Once I’d said good night to him and locked up, I’d returned to my bedroom only to find it was heavy with the scent of sex. I’d cracked open a window, but that didn’t help with my bedding. Arran’s cologne was all over it.
I’d finally drifted to sleep with the smell of him in my head.
That I woke up exhausted, restless, and needy made me panic. One night with Arran was supposed to scratch the itch. It wasn’t supposed to make the itch spread.
Okay, bad analogy.
The point was, I couldn’t get him out of my head. As I showered that morning, my body felt overly sensitive, and I longed for him to be here with me, his soapy hands gliding over my slender curves.
Damn it.
This was not good.
I’d messed up.
I’d underestimated Arran and myself.
The desire to run away from this reality was great, but I would not do that to my friend. We had a deal, and it was contingent on our night together not messing up our friendship. Sure, it would be weird at first the morning after we’d learned every inch of each other’s bodies, but time would take care of the weirdness.
I’d fallen asleep without taking care of my hair, so it was a wild mess. Wrangling my curls into two buns at the base of my neck using a ton of pins, I then dressed in workout gear. I was just slipping into my sneakers when my phone buzzed on the vanity.
Arran’s name was on the text notification. My pulse raced, a small smile prodding my lips, and I tapped on it.
Ery, I can’t make our run this morning. I have to be at the Gloaming first thing to accept a delivery. Talk soon.
My stomach roiled as I tapped out a simple “OK” and sent it. Was Arran blowing me off?
Anger and hurt churned inside me as I grabbed my keys, opting to run, anyway. My first class at the estate wasn’t until eleven, so I had plenty of time. During the drive to the beach, I clenched the steering wheel so hard, it was a wonder it didn’t crack in my hands.
Was he truly blowing me off?
I’d trusted Arran, and now he was making it weird between us.
Of course, there might actually be a delivery at the Gloaming, but the timing was suspect.
Asshole.
Ugh, why did men always inevitably have to be such men?
* * *
My classes went fine. Contrary to what Michelle and Natalia said about the other guests being wary of me since Iris Benning’s expulsion, I’d had no comments or strangeness from club members. I did have one actor who’d recently started taking my Pilates classes who had taken Pilates in LA for years and kept trying to take over the instruction. I’d learned to be patient with know-it-alls like him and just smile and continue talking to everyone else. It was irritating but nothing I couldn’t handle, and according to Michelle, his visit would be brief, as he rarely stayed at the estate. Which was true for quite a few members. They were too busy to visit, but they wanted the prestige of being able to tell people they were Ardnoch members.