“Or something. You good?”
I stare at where his name is lit up on my screen. “Yeah. I think so.”
“Good.” He brushes a long, lingering kiss across my mouth. “And if you decide you want to back out, I’ll be right over to screw you silly.”
Goddamn, I almost blow this whole thing off here and now. “You don’t fight fair, you know that?”
“Just wanted to make sure there was no confusion.”
He picks up his letter and his clothes and I watch him all the way to the door, reveling in last night and this morning and wondering what the fuck I’ve gotten myself into. His hair is still a mess from my pillows, my skin is still tight with his dried cum, my room coated in the smell of sex, and I’machingto pull himback down under me until I know what every inch of his skin tastes like.
Émile opens my bedroom door and pauses. “Huh. Christian? There’s a naked man in your hall.”
I groan. “Jesus, Madden. You know you’re supposed to wear clothes when we have guests!”
He steps into view, hands raised like a busted perp. “In my defense, we were pretty sure he snuck out this morning. Like, it’s almost eleven, dude.” Madden eyes Émile. “Since when do hookups stay that long?”
Ah, crap. What do I say here? Boyfriend? Fiancé? Fellow con artist?
Émile blows me a kiss. “At least next time I’m here I’ll know that clothing is optional.”
“Next time?” Madden echoes as Émile disappears down the hall. My roommate turns his gaze on me. “There’s a story here, isn’t there? Should I get the others? Popcorn? Pizza? Or is this a rum situation?”
Might as well get it over and done with. “Let me shower and I’ll meet you all downstairs.”
“So is that a yes or no on the rum?”
“It’sstill morning.”
He raises his hands, lifting each in turn, like scales.
“It’s a no.”
“Gotcha.”
It’s going to be a long day.
The guys aren’t known for being patient though so I grab a towel and some clothes and shower as quickly as I can. The last thing I need is them gathering in the bathroom because I’m taking too long. Again.
They’re all herewhen I get downstairs, and as much as I’d like to be relieved that I only have to relive this once, I know what them being here means. They organized to be home because they’re expecting me to be a mess today from fucking up last night. And hey, they’d be right—if it wasn’t for Émile. All night he completely distracted me from the horror I’d lived through and somehow made it not so bad.
I’ve barely sat down in the spare armchair when Xander jumps in.
“How bad was it?” he asks, huddled close to Seven.
“Basically everything I was dreading … but worse.”
Madden cringes. “Well, that’s not ideal.”
“Thanks for pointing that out.”
“I just don’t get it. I’m assuming you were careful, and tried to fly under the radar, so how did it go wrong? What didDatesforRatesdo?”
I give him a dry smile. “Jordan canceled.”
“That asshole,” Gabe mutters. He would have only gotten home from work a few hours ago, and I kinda want to tell him to go to bed.
“Which should have been my sign to abort the entire thing then and there.”