Page 45

Kota

“T hat was fucking weird,” I said.

“Very,” Crew responded from the kitchen.

It was only our second day back from winter break, and we’d just watched Bridget and Lane scurry out of the apartment together like they were Bonnie and Clyde about to commit a crime.

“You think they’re... sneaking around?” I asked, putting my air pods back in their case.

His eyes remained on the bagel he was putting cream cheese onto, but his tone still had that spark it always had, his mouth pulling into a crooked half-smile. “You mean secretly hooking up like we have? No shot.”

I was less upset about Lane and Bridget rushing out strangely than I was about them leaving me alone with Crew.

We’d already had two hookups, two massive mistakes that I was set on taking to my grave, and we didn’t need any more. Plus, I didn’t have alcohol as an excuse right now if I were to walk over and rip his clothes off.

“We agreed we wouldn’t talk about it ever,” I said, mentally gluing myself to the couch so that I didn’t have the chance to do one more stupid thing to add to the list.

Crew let out a single chuckle. “Is that why you texted me the other day?”

There was that cocky side of him again. The one I loathed with every inch of my being. “I texted you because I hate you.”

“That seems a little contradicting.”

In order to ward off the heat rising in my cheeks, I had a few options here. One, I could’ve run into the bathroom and stuck my head in some ice water. Two, I could’ve shoved my air pods back in and pretended like he wasn’t there. Or three, I could’ve flipped the switch and embarrassed him just as hard.

Out of all the options, number three was my favorite.

“How was your trip, by the way?” I asked.

He shrugged nonchalantly. “Fine.”

“Get any girls?”

Crew’s chin stayed towards his chest, but his eyes popped up to glare at me. “Why do you care?”

I let the words roll off my tongue with no emotion behind them, managing to add an innocent shrug. “Just wondering.”

His jaw twitched beneath his skin as he dropped the butterknife he’d been holding. “Why? Did Lane say something to you?”

A devilish grin crept across my face at his sudden discomfort. “No. Was he supposed to?”

“No.”

“Maybe I’ll ask him.”

Every time he glanced at me, the heat in his eyes grew hotter, every last bit of it aimed directly at me. But the best part was that we were at a point where I knew it was no longer just hatred. Lust was now involved.

“Hey, uh,” I said, standing, “don’t you have a rule about not fucking a girl twice?”

Crew remained still, even as I stepped towards him. His hands found their way to the countertop, leaning into them to expose his arms, those muscles that I loved digging my nails into.

His voice dropped to a seductive note, becoming the same moment I knew I might’ve fucked up, because this game was a bit more dangerous than I realized.

“What kind of game are you playing, Kota?” he asked.

I crossed my arms, my confidence wavering for the first time since this conversation started.

“This is just really fucking annoying,” I admitted, refusing to look at him like the coward I suddenly was.

“What is?”

On one hand, it felt like the words were reluctantly getting ripped out of my throat, yet on the other hand, it felt so nice to just say it.

“How you’re stuck in my head every second of the day.”

The ego boost couldn’t have been clearer had he tattooed it across his forehead. Two dimples popped up, sinking deeply into his cheeks as he gave that outrageously beautiful grin, nearly knocking me off my feet.

The amount of satisfaction in his voice was sickening. “Am I now?”

“Yes,” I hissed. “And I need you to get the fuck out of it.”

I was expecting laughter. Or for him to sprint out of the room.

But instead, the floor creaked under his weight as he rushed towards me, shamelessly grabbing the sides of my head with both hands and letting our lips collide.

Within moments, I was pushed against the nearest wall, becoming trapped.

My mouth separated from his, creating just enough distance to speak. “I thought you hated me.”

His fingertips traced across my skin all the way up to my throat where his grip tightened and loosened, tightened and loosened. He pulled back to get a full view of my face, probably more than content knowing I was about to combust under his touch.

There was this sort of uncontrollable cloud of lust surrounding us. The more we experimented with the strange, intoxicating connection between us, the deeper we’d sink into this dangerous hole, and the harder it would eventually be to get out of it.

Whatever was going on here was bound to get messy. And we both knew it.

But that still didn’t stop us.

The gruff timbre of his voice ripped straight through me, and there was absolutely no way he couldn’t feel my erratic pulse slamming against his fingertips right now.

“Do you want me to show you how much I hate you?”

It felt like it was impossible to form a sentence, or even get a single word out for that matter. All I could do was give a trace of a nod.

A dimple slowly appeared as one corner of Crew’s mouth lifted into a sinful smirk. He planted a hand beside my head on the wall, towering over me as his other hand found its way to the button of my black jeans, toying with it.

He cocked a brow. “May I?”

Oh my.

I gulped as I gave another weak nod.

With a quick flick, the button was undone, and both my jeans and panties were on the floor in seconds.

Along with Crew.

He gripped the back of my calf and threw my leg over his shoulder, not hesitating to bury his face between my legs.

With my head tipped back against the wall, my hands ran through his hair, eyes clenched shut. I let out a whimper, one after another as Crew’s mouth explored my most sensitive parts.

I stole a glance, and I hated to admit that I loved seeing him there, my leg draped over his shoulder, hair a mess from my touch, head buried right where it should be.

As the minutes ticked by, I could feel the build in my stomach, my body temperature spiking drastically. My lungs were on the brink of gasping for air, and when Crew moaned, sending a vibration through my core, breathing became even harder.

My nails dug into his shoulders, legs shaking as my muscles became like jelly All at once, I could feel my body release, and knowing Crew was tasting it sent me into an entire new kind of frenzy.

If Crew hadn’t grabbed me and held me up, I would’ve slid down the wall, incapable of holding up my own body weight.

“Crew,” I spoke urgently through a strained breath.

He pulled away and looked up at me with bedroom eyes, the ring of his mouth wet and glistening under the lights.

He kept our gaze locked as he slowly brought two fingers to my opening, and in one sudden movement, pushed them inside me. He gave a few pumps before taking them out and shooting them into his mouth, watching my reaction as he sucked every drop of me off.

A loud, desperate moan left my mouth. “Crew,” I begged, “please.”

Flashing a sexy grin, he stood, bringing his hands under my ass, effortlessly lifting me and carrying me into his bedroom.

Fuck. Here goes another mistake.