Chapter 16
The last person I expect to see outside my bedroom once we reach the dormitory is William. He leans beside the closed door, arms crossed, one foot propped against the wall behind him. He and Jolene reached the dormitory before us even though Archie and I left Somerton House first. It only took a matter of minutes to run into them. Or, more accurately, for William to come barreling after us, demanding to know why I would leave the party and my roommate without a word. After which I muttered we all knew Jolene wasn’t going to be my roommate tonight. Jolene beamed while William looked murderous. He probably hoped he could sabotage my attempt to secure a lover.
Afterward, Archie insisted on walking behind the other couple so we could have some privacy. After a few minutes, they were so far ahead I couldn’t see them anymore. I was certain William would be bedding Jolene in his room by the time I even reached mine. The thought made me irrationally angry all the way here, though I’m not sure why. It would have been foolish to hope I’d be the only one earning a point toward our bet tonight, considering Jolene’s determination.
But if that’s the case, why the hell is he outside my room? There’s no way my friend changed her mind.
“Where’s Jolene?” I ask.
His gaze shifts from me to Archie and back again but he doesn’t push off the wall. “My room.”
“Then why aren’t you with her?”
He purses his lips, jaw tightening. “I need to ask you something.”
“Then ask.”
“Alone.”
“Anything you can say in front of me?—”
“It’s about your research,” he says, finally straightening and stepping away from the wall. A cruel smile plays on his lips.
I stiffen. The last thing I need is for Archie to know I’m using him for research. He doesn’t even know about our bet. I burn William with a glower before turning to Archie. “Go inside my room and wait for me.”
Concern etches Archie’s brow. “Is everything all right? If you don’t want to talk to him, I’ll…” He glances at William and visibly deflates. I could have sworn he was about to say something bold and protective, but of course, one look at the towering poet would change his mind. Archie isn’t much taller than I am, and he’s as slender as a twig. “I’ll wait in your room.”
I open the door for him. “I’ll be in shortly.”
He moves to the doorway, then pauses. With one hand bracing my lower back, he plants a kiss on my cheek. I flinch at the unexpected contact, but he quickly pulls away.
As soon as he steps inside my room, I close the door and march up to William. “What the hell do you?—”
I’m only a few feet away from him when he steps into my space. I launch back, but he shadows my every move, angling his body and forcing me to do the same. In a matter of clumsy footsteps, I find my back against the wall beside my door, right where William was leaning a moment ago. It’s still warm from his body, and as he leans before me, hands planted on either side of my head, I’m struck by a vision of being pressed between two of him. The William before me and the warmth of his shadow against my back.
Oh.
Oh, I’d like to write that down! What if the shadow was sentient? My mouth practically waters as I imagine the fabulous love scene that would make?—
“Weenie,” he says, snapping me out of my imaginings. His voice is a deep whisper. “Do you really want to do this?”
His face is so close. The dim light of the hall, the way he’s half cast in darkness, somehow makes the intensity in his gaze more alluring. But…what is he asking me? His proximity makes it impossible to remember where I even am or what the hell we were talking about. “Do I…what?”
“Do you really want to sleep with him?” he says through his teeth, nodding toward my closed door.
Oh, right. I steel my expression and lift my chin. “Of course I?—”
He takes one hand off the wall to cover my mouth, cutting off my words. “Don’t just argue. Fucking think, Weenie. Do you want him?”
My lips tingle where his palm presses against them. And now his face is even closer. His eyes dart between mine, his question hanging in the air. He’s holding my gaze in a much more serious way than he did earlier when he kissed Jolene. I can’t help recalling the heat that surged through me at the sight.
“Do. You. Want. Him?”
My chest heaves, the word no blaring inside me. But I can’t say that. I have a bet to win, and he is not going to sabotage me. I shove at his arm and he releases my mouth without resistance. “Why is it so hard for you to believe I can make up my own mind?”
He returns the hand to the wall beside my head. “You don’t seem attracted to him. Your body stiffens every time he touches you.”
I scoff. “Just because you can’t kiss someone you’re not attracted to, doesn’t mean I can’t.”
“So you admit it. You’re not attracted to him.”
“Oh, I find him attractive. I think he’s very cute.”
He gives me a simpering look. “Cute. You mean like a puppy? How arousing.”
“I happen to like cute men. They’re a lot better than arrogant beasts like you.”
“If you prefer cute men so much, then spend your time selecting one you honestly like. You could have your pick of lovers, Ed. Ones you’re attracted to. Why just settle for the first person who shows interest in you?”
Is he serious? Does he really think I can have my pick of lovers? What an ignorant fool. Just because he’s lived his whole life with no shortage of interested parties doesn’t mean the rest of us experience the same. I’m not like him. I don’t have a flock of lovers at my beck and call. I’m not as attractive or as likable as he is. Besides, even if I’d wanted to choose a lover who isn’t Archie, I was too distracted by William tonight to do anything but settle for the first man who liked me.
“That’s hypocritical coming from you,” I say. “You expect me to be particular about who I take to bed when your bedfellow of choice required no effort at all.”
One of his hands balls into a fist against the wall, and a frustrated growl rumbles in his chest. “You know nothing about my bedfellow of choice.”
He punctuates the last words, but I don’t know what he’s getting at. Does he think I’m insulting Jolene?
“Blooming hell,” he says, shaking his head. “You know nothing at all.”
“Which is why I’m doing research. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” I turn to dip under his arm, but he moves it, planting it beside my waist now. I press my back into the wall again. His other hand is just above my shoulder, his body caging in mine. My heart slams against my ribs.
“He’s human,” he says with a frown. “I thought you wanted to research fae lovers.”
My mouth falls open. How does he know? But of course he does. He heard the same conversation I did. He had to have overheard Daphne and Monty talking about my fae characters’ inaccuracies in my book.
“There’s research, then there’s our bet,” I say, keeping my voice as steady as I can. I can’t give him the satisfaction of making me flustered if this is a repeat of what he did on the balcony. “If I can’t get both from the same partner, I’ll be happy with one.”
He lowers his head and blows out a slow sigh. “There are other ways to research. Safer ways. If you’re going to have meaningless sex with someone you don’t even like, then…” He finally lifts his head and meets my eyes again. There’s heat in his gaze, mixed with something that reminds me of the vulnerability he showed me on the balcony. His next words send my pulse skittering. “Use me.”
I blink at him, piecing his words together.
He steps closer, our bodies mere inches apart. “Use me,” he says, his tone firm. Resolute. “Use me like you did in the north wing. You want a fling with a fae lover and a point in our bet? I’ll give you both. A free pass. Just say those two words, Weenie. Free pass.”
He’s so close, his breath mingles with mine. I can taste it, the faint liquor that infuses it, and I find myself leaning closer, wanting more. Would his lips taste the same? If I say those two words, free pass, would my curiosity be sated?
Intellectual curiosity, of course.
That’s all.
I tell myself this, but the fluttering in my stomach says this might be more. This might be…desire.
He speaks again, and I go limp against the wall, more pliant with every word. “Say it. Say it and I’ll give you a point without taking one myself. I give you my word. A fae promise. Position me however you want and I’ll make sure it’s for more than academic study. I’ll let you find out exactly what touch you like best, what position, and then I’ll withhold it from you. I’ll tease you, torment you, until you’re begging me, whimpering and whining like one of your blushing heroines. Just when you can’t take it anymore, I’ll give you what you want. I’ll touch you in every way you like. Then I’ll make you come.”
I bite my lip to stifle the gasp that rises to my throat. My breaths are sharp and short, my knees going limp.
“Use me,” he whispers over my lips, and heavens above, I can’t remember a single reason not to do exactly what he says. Not even the thought that his lips were on someone else’s so recently can cool the sudden fire burning in my core. I can’t stop the irrational certainty that he’d kiss me better. That I’d kiss him better than Jolene or anyone else ever could.
The hand beside my waist creeps closer on the wall until it rests against my side. Just the slightest angle of his wrist would allow him to grasp me. I wonder how firm his hand would feel at my waist. Wonder whether it would rove over my hip and bottom first or curve over my breast?—
“William.”
I stiffen at the distant voice. It’s Jolene, and she’s coming from the men’s dormitory farther down the next hall. While the memory of William kissing Jolene only made me crave him more, the thought of her actual presence banishes the illogical ardor I’d been filled with. I straighten and expect William to push off the wall, but he doesn’t. He remains in place as if he has no shame in getting caught by the woman he’s supposed to be wooing. His brow is arched in question, the memory of his last words still dangling between us.
Use me.
How close I was to falling for that. But…but there’s no way he truly meant it. The fact remains that he kissed Jolene. Which means he’s attracted to her. She’s the one he wants to spend the night with.
I put a hand on his chest and force him back. He lets me, despite being strong enough to resist my greatest efforts.
“You’re a really good actor after all,” I say, a tremor in my voice. “But you’re just trying to sabotage me.”
“Is that what I’m doing?”
I launch myself toward my door, desperate to put space between us. I cling to the handle as if it’s a life raft. “Go focus on your own sex life and stay out of mine.”
Jolene calls William’s name again, and this time she comes into view. He glances toward her, and I take the opportunity to rush inside my room.
As soon as I slam the door behind me, I slump against it, throwing my head back with a heavy sigh. Even with the door and several feet between us, I can still feel William’s presence. I can still feel the memory of hands that never quite touched me. Can still taste the liquor on his breath. I’m hot all over and desperate to remove some layers.
I reach for the clasps at the back of my dress when movement stills my hand. My attention whips to one of the two beds in the room. Archie reclines on one, arms propped behind his head, fully nude and fully aroused.
He winks. “Hey, sweet girl.”
My stomach sinks. I’d forgotten about him.
I give him a tired smile, my gaze sliding to his unimpressive erection. “Oddly enough, this is the second time this has happened today.”