46. Chapter 46
Chapter 46
One month. One long, tortuous, fucking month.
That was how long it had been since Mallori had moved out. I’d seen her last week, and hearing her sweet voice, seeing that gorgeous face, made me itch to invite her inside.
But I didn’t. I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off her if we were alone, and it wouldn’t even have to be sexual—though that desire was there in spades. No, I simply wanted to cuddle up with her on the couch and watch movies. I wanted her to tilt her head over onto my shoulder so I could feel her soft hair drifting down my arm.
Was she missing me as much as I missed her? I secretly hoped she would use the house key to sneak in and climb into my bed one night.
Okay, maybe I’d fantasized about that a time or ten.
The day after that sensual night where Mal and I had watched our video, I’d been about to destroy the memory card, but she stopped me. Told me she wanted to watch it again and asked if I could put it back in my safe.
But then the tornado had happened, we’d gone to my cabin, and time had run out before we’d had a chance to view it again .
So, last night I went into the Den for the first time since she’d left. Alone. I popped in the video and watched it. It made me equal parts sad and ecstatic when I saw us together on the screen.
My cock though? He was very happy to see her again, weeping at her very first moan. I’d wrapped my big fist around myself and came twice while watching it, and then I put the card back into my wall safe.
Did I feel guilty about that? Maybe a little, but I couldn’t bring myself to destroy it. It was too special to me.
And what did it say about me that a sex tape was something special? Fuck it . I didn’t care if it made me a prick. I needed it.
Pulling down my street, I felt my dick swelling behind my zipper. Maybe I’d watch it again tonight and then get rid of it.
Then again, probably not.
My lips curved up into a smile when I saw Mallori’s little Honda parked in front of my house. I’d taken off work an hour early today, faking a headache in the hopes of seeing her before she left. Then I’d gotten stuck in traffic and was afraid I’d totally miss her, but she was still here.
I was as giddy as a six-foot-five-inch grump could be. And I had been a grump these past few weeks, much more irritable than usual.
Pulling into the garage, I got out of my car and managed not to sprint inside the house. I did walk really fast though.
Listening at the closed door of the studio, I didn’t hear any music, so I tapped lightly on the door. “Mal?” There was no answer, so I called her name a little louder, and this time, I heard a whimper.
Fuck, what if she was dancing and hurt herself? I pushed open the door and peeked my head inside to find Mal lying spread eagle on the hardwood floor. My heart practically fell out of my chest, and I ran over, skidding the last few feet on my knees.
“Mal, are you okay?” I cradled her face in my hands.
She made a frustrated noise, and I looked her over, searching for any injuries and checking her pulse. Nothing seemed to be wrong, so I carefully lifted her into my arms.
“Mallori, can you tell me what’s wrong?”
“Tired,” she rasped. “So tired.”
That’s when I noticed the dark circles ringing her eyes. Poor thing. She wasn’t hurt; she was exhausted.
Standing, I paused at the doorway. Should I take her to my bed or to the living room to let her rest? Deciding putting her in my bed would be a bit presumptuous, I headed to the left and settled on one end of the couch with Mal’s head in my lap. After covering her with a blanket, I stroked her hair and let her sleep.
For two full hours, she dozed deeply, our breathing being the only sound in the room. Jesus, how do they expect their students to function when they overwork them like this? The harder she slept, the angrier I became. I mean, I knew this was a doctorate-level program, but fuck. This was bordering on abusive.
When her eyelids finally fluttered, I figured she’d wake up disoriented, so I whispered, “It’s Hawk, baby. You’re at my house.”
A soft smile curved her lips, and she rolled toward me and nestled her nose against my stomach. I continued rubbing her hair for a few more minutes until she finally opened her eyes.
“Hey, sorry,” she said, her voice sounding like she’d swallowed a desert full of sand .
“It’s okay. You needed the rest.” I fought the urge to kiss some moisture onto her dry lips. “When was the last time you got a good night’s sleep, Bee?”
Tears pooled in her beautiful eyes. “It’s been a while. They’re horrible people.”
I wanted to fucking punch someone. “Is it studying or assignments?”
Her face crumpled, and a sob erupted from her chest. “No, I’m doing good in school. It’s my roommates.”
Wait. What? I lifted her to sit in my lap, and she buried her face in my neck. “You have more than one roommate? There are only two beds in your room.”
Mal shook her head. “Starla is my legal roommate, but her boyfriend lives there too. They keep me up all night, every night.”
I was so fucking confused. “You need to tell someone, sweetheart.”
She lifted her head and glared at me through her tears. “You think I haven’t tried that? I go to the housing office several times a week, but they say there’s nothing they can do. “Starla and Donner—”
“Wait, did you say Donner? Like Santa’s reindeer?”
Mallori let out a little hiccuping laugh. “That’s what I said. He’s more like Satan’s spawn.”
My blood began to simmer in my veins. “How are they keeping you awake?”
“They have sex a lot, and when they’re done, they turn on the TV. Sometimes they’ll doze off, and I sneak the remote from them and turn the volume down, but a few minutes after I get back in bed, they turn it back up. None of Starla’s classes start until afternoon, so she’s able to sleep in the mornings after she’s done torturing me.”
I was completely flabbergasted, and my simmering anger turned into a full-fledged flame. “They have sex with you in the room?”
She nodded. “I tried to talk reasonably to her, but she just acted like a bitch, so I finally reported her. That pissed her off, and now they’re trying to make me think I’m crazy.”
“How?” I gritted out, clenching my fist against the couch cushion.
Mallori closed her eyes and shook her head. “Just a bunch of weird little things, but I know it’s them. Like I’ll be gone from the room for twelve hours, but when I return, my toothbrush is wet.”
My mouth dropped open. “You didn’t use it, did you?”
She shook her head vehemently and scrunched her cute nose. “Hell no. I went and bought a new one, and I keep it in my backpack, which I keep on my bed while I sleep. Or while I try to sleep. And I think they’re moving my underwear.”
Red colored my vision. “That motherfucker touched your underwear?”
Mallori’s face looked pained. “I think so. That’s what I mean about trying to make me think I’m losing it. I always keep my panties on the right side of the drawer, but when I come home from class, they’re moved to the far left.”
“You’re moving back in here,” I blurted out, and her eyes widened.
“I-I can’t do that.”
I grasped her chin and let my eyes blaze into hers. “Yes, you can, and you will. Besides, Nut misses you.”
Her forehead scrunched until wrinkles appeared. “Her name is Coconut, and you took her to the shelter after I left.”
Lifting an eyebrow, I asked, “Did I? ”
Mallori’s eyes rounded to the size of dinner plates, and her voice went breathless. “You kept her?”
Puffing out a sigh, I nodded. “I had her in the front seat of my truck, ready to take her to the shelter, and she just kept looking up at me like I was about to feed her to an alligator or something.” My lips flattened into a thin line. “I couldn’t do it, Bee.”
She threw her arms around me and cried against my shoulder for a long while before pulling back. “Can I see her?”
“Let me go get her. She’s probably in your room.”
After standing, I bent down and caged Mallori to the back of the couch with my arms, putting my face about an inch from hers. “Listen closely, Bee. There’s no fucking way I’m letting you stay in that dorm with those psychos for one more night.” Then a thought struck me, and I smirked. “Actually one more night sounds great. I think I’ll stay with you.”
Her face was a mixture of apprehension and curiosity. “What do you have planned, Hawk?”
I stood and winked. “You’ll see.”