She looked to Lennox in surprise. “How would you even know?”
Lennox gave her a sly smile. “I’ve been his roommate a long time. Not a lot of privacy in a dorm room.”
She waved her hand. “You two know way too much about each other.”
“You’re not wrong,” Auden said, giving Lennox anothershut uplook. “Come on, I’ll walk you out.”
“Okay.” She crossed the room and grabbed her purse from the dining table, happy that this was ending on this note instead of her running out in a panic.
Lennox had followed, and when she turned around, he gave her a little salute. “‘Night, Sweets. It’s been fun.”
She stepped closer, and on a little surge of bravery, she gave him a hug, expecting it to feel awkward but only feeling comfortable warmth instead. “Good night.”
He gave her a gentle squeeze and then released her.
Auden opened the door for her and then walked out after she did, joining her on the stairs, his hands deep in his pockets. The night air was humming with mosquitos and the distant sound of someone’s TV playing.
They walked to her car in silence, and she pulled out her key fob to unlock it. He reached for her door, but before he opened it, he turned to her, expression pensive. “I really am sorry about what happened tonight. I was way out of line. I guess I’m not used to…thinking of you as a grown woman. I have this pretty intense urge to protect you, and when I couldn’t get through, I went to shock tactics. It was uncalled for.”
Her chest tightened, his concern for her taking some of the edge off of how he’d acted. She reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it. “I’m not your little sister.”
He cleared his throat, and a muscle in his jaw ticked. “Yeah, I’m aware of that now.Super ultraaware.”
She released his hand, confused by the emphatic tone. “What do you mean?”
He tucked his hands in his pockets, his shoulders stiff. “Because when I thought for half a second that you were actually going to call my bluff…”
She swallowed. “Yeah?”
He looked off to the side and squinted like he couldn’t quite get the words out facing her. “I was prepared to make good on my threat.”
Her heart dropped into her stomach, and any chance she had at speech left her.
“Thatwasn’t a little sister thought.” He looked back at her, his dimple flashing in a quick, self-deprecating smile. “Good night, freshman. Text me when you get home so that I know you got there okay.”
He left her standing there, stunned and a little weak at the visual he’d left her with.
She may be tough.
But she was in way,wayover her head.
CHAPTERSEVEN
Lennox was aimlessly flipping through stations with his feet up on the coffee table when Auden came back inside. He watched as Auden shut the door and then leaned back against it with his eyes closed. Every muscle in his shoulders looked to be bunched tight beneath his blue T-shirt. Lennox grimaced.
He’d expected Auden to come back inside ready to argue with him after he’d pushed things with O’Neal tonight, kissed her, but the guy just looked beat down instead. He cleared his throat. “You okay, man?”
Auden let out an audible breath, then opened his eyes. “I don’t even know what the fuck that was tonight.”
Lennox clicked off the TV and lowered his feet to the floor, bracing his forearms on his thighs. “Well, let’s recap. I kissed your little’s sister’s very virginal BFF at her request while you watched, and you, my friend, threatened to lick her pussy until she came—whileIwatched. That last part was implied—because I definitely wasn’t going to leave the room if she’d taken you up on the offer.”
Auden groaned and banged the back of his head lightly against the door. His hand went to his crotch and adjusted the obvious state of his dick. “When she gets back to her dorm and replays what happened tonight, she may rethink her stance and never speak to me again. I basically pushed her into a corner and made her kiss you. I didn’t give her any good outs.”
“Meh,” Lennox said, shrugging. “You’re giving yourself too much credit and her not enough. She wouldn’t have kissed me if she didn’t want to. I asked again before I did anything. And she kissed me back—and was into it.”So was I, way more than I should’ve been.But he didn’t think Auden would appreciate that tidbit. “Honestly, I think she liked that you were watching.”
“Len…” he said, warning in his voice.
“You know, I’ve never really shared your hard-on for the innocence thing,” Lennox continued. “I like my partners with some experience under their belt. I’d rather someone just role-play innocence if we want to play those types of games. But with her…I get it.”