Noel.
K ANTON IS IN my room.
In my bathroom.
Naked.
Well, of course, he’s naked because he’s in the shower. The problem was not him being nude but that I liked the idea of him being naked in my bathroom. I also liked the idea of me being naked in there with him.
That is not what I need right now.
My life was in shambles, and Kanton being here was proof of how shambled my life truly was. For goodness’ sake, I let him share my apartment just to avoid returning money I did not have.
Shambles .
My phone startled me when it notified me of a call. I shifted from the foot of my bed where I’d found refuge since my bathroom door closed, grabbed my phone, settled on the side next to my nightstand, and accepted a call from Simone while my eyes landed on the door that separated me from Kanton.
“Hey.”
“What’s wrong? Why are you whispering?” she rushed out. I lowered my eyes and then peeked at the door again.
“Nothing’s wrong. I don’t want him to hear me.”
“ Him , as in the sexy houseguest?”
“Don’t call him that.”
“Then deny it and tell me he’s not classified as such.”
I can’t. I can’t. I can’t.
“Simone . . .” I groaned.
“Okay, fine. Why would he hear you? I thought you were confined to your room while he had full rein of the rest of your apartment.”
“I am, but I haphazardly forgot one small detail.”
“What?”
“I only have one full bathroom.”
“In your room . . . ahhh . . .” she squealed. “Is he in your bathroom? Like right now ? That’s why you’re whispering. Shit, What does he look like naked? Did you peek? Please tell me you peeked. Wait, send me a picture. Can you steal one?”
“Yes, yes, I don’t know. No, hell no, and no.”
“That was a lot of answers, and I still have no damn clarity.”
“You asked a lot of damn questions, but the most important is no, I will not be sending any pictures because, what the fuck, Simone?”
“Don’t you dare act like that’s beneath you because we both know it isn’t.”
Okay, so maybe I’d snuck photos of men and sent them to her before, but at least I had the right because I was interested and needed her help gauging whether to shoot my shot, or I was involved and wanted to brag about enjoying the time of my life with a man I wasn’t planning on making a real connection with, but they were never naked.
Okay, another lie. Naked in my bed but covered by bedding, and why the hell am I debating this?
“I’m not acting like it’s beneath me because, pending the circumstances, we both know it is not. However, this is very different,” I hissed, then cut my eyes toward the bathroom door. “We’re not dating, involved, or even a one-night stand. He’s a stranger who bullied his way into my apartment.”
She was silent. Too silent.
“Simone, did you hear me?”
“I heard you.”
“Then why aren’t you saying anything . . .?”
“Because what I’m going to say, you’re going to deny, and I just enjoyed Christmas caroling, and I’m not trying to ruin my holiday cheer by arguing with you, only for you to admit later that I was right, and you were wrong or in denial.”
My mouth dropped open, and she followed with, “Just fuck him, get it over with, and then you can pretend it didn’t happen after this week is over.”
“Why on earth would you say that?”
“Because I know you. I’m your very best friend. You and I are so connected you literally don’t have to speak, and I can still feel your thoughts. I know, and what I know is that you like this guy, even if only in a physical sense.”
“I—”
She quickly cut me off with, “You let him stay.”
“I didn’t have a choice, and you told me to let him.”
“Because it’s what you wanted; again, I know you.”
“I couldn’t afford not to let him stay. A stranger in my apartment is not what I wanted.”
“ Emmie .”
One word had me slamming my mouth shut and swallowing whatever argument I prepared to combat that she would say next. “Emmie” was short for “emergency credit card.” I had two thousand dollars on that card and vowed only to use it in case of emergencies. I could have easily refunded his money using Emmie, but I didn’t.
“Well?” Simone asked in amusement. The kind of amusement that screamed, “I pulled your card when you refused to pull out your own to solve this issue.”
“This technically isn’t an emergency,” I tried, but my argument was weak.
“You allowing—as you keep stating—a stranger to share space with you, a man who you don’t know shit about, clearly falls under the ‘emergency’ category. You simply chose not to use Emmie because you didn’t feel threatened by this man and wanted him there.”
“You’re exaggerating the details.”
“ I’m being honest when you are not. Now, I suggest you take a minute to be real with yourself, even if you don’t want to be real with me. I’m going to hang up now and maybe, just maybe, I’ll get a photo from you. If not, then even better because that means you like this man enough not to share. I love you, The past few months have been mentally taxing, your finances are questionable, and your Christmas is not what you hoped it would be, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the gift that the universe dropped in your lap. Maybe you might even consider sitting on his and sliding south on his North Pole. Either way, I support whatever decision you make because, again, I love you. You need a win, Think about it. One week of fun, and then the two of you return to your individual lives. No harm, no foul.”
“It’s not that simple,” I pouted.
“It can be. Now, I have to go. Mom’s going to have my ass if I’m not downstairs in these ugly-ass onesie pajamas.”
I grinned. “You love those ugly-ass onesies.”
“I do, but I’m trying to spare your feelings.”
Because I love those ugly-ass Christmas onesies too, and if I were home with my family, I’d be wearing matching ones with them.
“Which I love you for, but go. I’ll figure this out.”
“Ahem, I’m sure you will,” she said with a little too much candor in her voice, but I couldn’t travel down that road because, at that very moment, a cloud of steam escaped the bathroom, followed by the man in question.
I quickly ended the call and straightened my spine, feeling guilty about the conversation I’d just been having about him. Also, his current state didn’t help the situation.
The man was shirtless, in a pair of heather-gray sleep pants that were way too thin and sitting extremely low on his trim waist. I did have the restraint to allow my eyes to travel north instead of south, however, incredibly slow, enjoying every line and contour of the muscles in his abs, chest, broad shoulders, and defined arms. One of those arms was tucked, holding the clothes he’d just come out of, and the other hung loosely at his side, gripping a toiletry kit with his fingers.
It was insanely unfair how perfect this man’s body was, and just as my eyes felt greedy, deciding, why not, and traveled low to steal a quick peek of the rest of him, he cleared his throat, and my face blazed with embarrassment for what I was doing.
Regardless, my eyes found his, and the levity dancing in them from having caught me doing what he had done several times today humbled me.
I shifted in place uncomfortably. “All done?”
“Yep.”
I straightened my spine a little more. “I hope you didn’t leave a mess.”
Too late. There was definitely one in my panties.
“Nope. Cleaned up after myself.”
He was still staring at me, smiling arrogantly and still standing at the foot of my bed, smelling all masculine and good, assaulting me with a hint of citrus and bergamot, and, oh Lord, this would be a long week.
“You’re still here.”
“I am.”
“Is there something else you need?”
Why did I ask that?
The flicker of longing in his eyes and the way they glided smoothly over my entire body had my nerve endings going haywire.
“Blanket and pillow.”
“What?” I shook away the ungodly thoughts that I was having.
“It’s late, and unless you’ve changed your mind about my sleeping arrangements . . .” His eyes lowered to my bed before they rounded back up to me. “I’m going to need a pillow and blanket for the sofa.”
“Oh, right.” I snatched up a pillow from my bed and shoved it into his chest. He moved quickly enough to cuff it in the arm that wasn’t holding his clothes, and I eased around him, heading to the door. “The linen closet is just outside my room to the left. I don’t have extra pillows, so that will have to suffice, but you can change the pillowcase, and blankets are in there.”
He didn’t move right away, those jovial eyes finding me again in a way that heated my skin as he passed. I fought another deep inhale of him.
This is going to be a very, very long week.
“Thanks,” he muttered, stepping into the hallway. Just before I could close him out, he leaned in, bringing his face close to mine. “Good night, Sleep tight.”
I frowned hard, hurried out of his personal space, and slammed my door, stealing one last look at his unfairly handsome face that I would bet my last dollar would be in my dreams tonight.
Once I collected myself, I leaned my forehead against the door and pointlessly attempted to calm myself by inhaling several deep breaths to slow the erratic pace of my heart. Kanton Joseph was going to test my restraint, and deep down inside, I was somewhat looking forward to the challenge.