3. Tru
CHAPTER 3
TRU
“ I can’t believe him,” I whispered as I barged into my new apartment.
Vaughan whipped around so fast that the small towel he had around his waist fell to the ground between us. My eyes widened, and my jaw dropped while my gaze unintentionally flew to his dick.
Big.
Long.
Thick.
Shit…
My cheeks flushed.
My body shuddered.
And when I licked my lips, and my stare suddenly connected with his, he grinned like a fool with a cocky expression I wanted to smack off his face.
“Like what you see?” he asked in a rough yet smooth tone.
Unable to find my voice, I shook my head instead.
“What’s wrong, Tru? You sure you don’t want to go for a ride?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat, unexpectedly feeling hot all over.
Because of him? His dick? What the hell was happening to me?
“Why don’t you just bend over? You’re staring right at him. I mean, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before, sweetheart.”
That was enough to snap me out of whatever spell Vaughan Aires had the power to pull on women. I abruptly turned away, looking at the door instead.
“Can you please tell me this is just some sick joke, and you’re really not my new roommate?”
“Who knew I could still make you blush?”
“Vaughan…”
“No need to be shy now, Tru. We both know I’m aware of what you look like when you’re turned on.”
“Oh my God! I can’t argue with you if you’re not wearing any pants.”
He chuckled as his footsteps made their way upstairs to what I assumed was his bedroom. Once he was out of sight, I looked around the open space of the condo. To my complete and utter surprise, it was nicely decorated and cleaner than anything I could have imagined him living in.
A black leather sofa, loveseat, and cream accent chair sat in the middle of the spacious living room, and a huge flat-screen TV hung on the far wall. The accent rug under the coffee table matched the room perfectly. Even the art on the walls seamlessly coordinated with the furniture and simply accentuated the small details, like the dining table and kitchen.
No way did he do all of this. His family probably hired an expensive decorator because, God forbid they ever have to lift a finger in doing anything other than barking orders at someone else. Vaughan wasn’t just rich; he was wealthy, and by that, I meant he had generational wealth. Decades upon decades of fortune had been passed down in the Aires family. They were oil tycoons.
“Don’t make yourself comfortable, Cinderella. You’re not staying.”
My eyes shifted to his, and he was now wearing a pair of low-riding blue gym shorts, emphasizing his rock-hard twelve-pack and lower abdomen fuck-me abs.
He fucking grinned again.
“Is this amusing to you?” I questioned, folding my arms over my chest.
He bit the side of his lip in a charismatic and magnetic way, and it was my turn to arch an eyebrow. I hated that he was trying to use his so-called charm on me.
“What? You’re just going to stand there and be all you? That’s really mature, asshole.”
He scoffed. “I’m not the one eye-fucking the shit out of you, now am I?”
His voice was deep, deeper than before, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t catch me off guard. Everything about him did. I thought I knew what to expect when it came to him, but he proved me wrong. Which didn’t make any sense. I was supposed to have the upper hand, not him.
My gaze broadened in shock. “That’s not what I’m doing. How about you own up to the fact that I’m your new roommate, and I’m not going anywhere? Then we won’t have any problems.”
His patronizing stare scanned the length of my body. He started with my pink toes, lingered on my breasts, and stopped at my eyes. His expression was hard to read, and it did nothing but confuse me. His persistent gaze made me feel as if I were naked in front of him.
I thought I was prepared.
I thought I knew everything there was to know about him.
I thought a lot of things, but I’d learn soon enough that I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
It was one thing to think you knew, to assume, but when it stared you right in the face, when he was looking only at you, it changed things.
It changed everything.
The way his eyes tore into mine ignited a fire deep within me. He wasn’t looking at me. He was staring through me. And I hadn’t expected that.
I wasn’t prepared for that.
The reality of him was much more than I remembered. I never wanted to be one of those girls. His groupies.
Especially not now.
His condescending tone finally broke the awkward silence. “Problems with you?” he stated as a question with a crooked grin and a cocked head, eyeing me up and down once again.
I watched as he slowly engulfed every inch of my body, making me feel much more exposed. He bit his bottom lip again when he sensed my feelings.
“Yes,” I affirmed. “That’s what I said.”
We locked eyes.
“I’ll take my chances,” he arrogantly replied.
“Oh my God! You’re such a fucking asshole.”
“Tru, I think we’ve already established that.”
“I’m just stating facts. None of which you’re denying.”
“Cinderella—”
“Stop calling me that.”
He pushed off the kitchen counter he was leaning on and strolled over to me with such purpose that I felt it down to my bones. He stood right in front of me, lowering his face too close to mine.
“Cinderella,” he bit out yet again. “I’ll call you whatever the fuck I want. This is my place, and don’t you forget that.” He smiled, breaking the harshness of his statement.
Something about how he looked at me made me more uncomfortable than I already was, if that was even possible. I could feel my guard escalating higher and higher as the seconds passed between us.
“I mean, if we’re calling a spade a spade, I’m not the one who came at you, am I?”
I said nothing because, honestly, what could I say to that?
Bastard.
“I didn’t think so,” he added as if reading my mind. “You’ve called me a fucking asshole more times than I care to count in the past hour, and I’m still not clear on what I did wrong. So try again.”
“I forgot you being an asshole isn’t an act; it’s a personality trait. Along with you using anything in a short skirt.”
He shook his head, narrowing his eyes at me. “I used them? That’s not the way I remember it. I’d get your story straight before you go playing martyr, Tru.”
“Unbelievable. You’re going to try to deny it?”
I don’t know how long we stayed frozen at that moment, but he suddenly leaned forward, closing the gap between us and bringing us back to the present. His cheek grazed mine as he moved closer to my ear, and I faintly felt his breath on my neck.
“You smell good.” He lightly brushed his lips on the sensitive area just below my ear, causing shivers to ripple throughout my entire body. The rhythm of my heart escalated, betraying my mind from the asshole before me.
“What the hell?” I snapped, roughly pushing on his hard chest.
He didn’t budge.
“Who the hell do you think you are? You can’t just go around sniffing me!”
Why is he staring so hard? “I just did.”
“So what? You expect me to just spread my legs open for you now, like every other girl?” I crudely mocked, letting him know he couldn’t intimidate me. “I will tell you one thing… I’m not impressed. You’ve always just been a boy trying to be a man, and not a good one at that.”
He snidely chuckled. “You have no idea what I’m capable of. How about I show you just how much of a man I am? I have something right here”—he grabbed his dick—“for that sassy little mouth of yours that always thinks it knows everything.”
“You cocky son of—” His finger came up and pressed against my lips, silencing me, and I barely resisted the urge to bite it.
“Sticks and stones.” He playfully tugged the loose ends of my hair lying across my cheek. “I paid you a compliment. It’d do you some good to say thank you.”
I smacked his hand away.
“Touch me one more time, and I’ll?—”
“You’ll what? Last time I checked, you need me, or you’ll be out on your ass.”
“Yeah?” I countered. “Well, last time I checked, you need me, or you won’t graduate. Who do you think knows each other more?”
He pulled away, quickly realizing I was right.
“And the plot thickens,” I mocked. “Listen, I don’t want to live here any more than you want me to, but I already signed my leasing contract this morning and paid my first and last month’s rent. For the next year, I live here whether you want me to or not. And trust me, if I had another choice or an unlimited amount of funds, I’d find another place to live and say to hell with the money I won’t get back from the agent.”
It was obvious he contemplated what I was saying.
Adding insult to injury, I demanded, “Now, if you’ll point me to my room, we can end this unwanted conversation and go on with our day.”
I hated the way he was eyeing me as he led me up the stairs. It was as if he was scheming something volatile in his thick, stubborn skull.
“Fine. You want to live here?—”
“I don’t want to live here, Vaughan. I have to.”
“By all means.” He gestured beside him, nodding down the long, narrow hallway.
“Your bedroom’s next to mine.”
I let out a deep sigh, understanding what that meant.
“Don’t worry, Tru. I never let them spend the night.”
“You’re disgusting.”
He winked, walking back toward his room. I’d never forget his next words. They weren’t a statement.
They were a warning.
“Welcome to my world, Trudence.” With a devilish grin, he added…
“Let’s see how long you last in it.”