Page 15
“No. I needed a break. That’s just for—“
“Fun?” I guessed. She rolled her eyes but nodded.
“Can you please—“
“Study,” I ordered, pointing at her setup. She stared at me for a long moment before she sighed and went back to taking notes. I opened the book with one hand and started to read.
Forty minutes later, we were back at the apartment over the bakery. A place I’d been given in case I needed a break from campus. A spot I’d never used or taken anyone to. It had been my safe haven, a spot where I headed to escape the world and pressures my life brought on. One I’d only ever shared with Roxanne.
She kicked off her shoes at the door like she usually did, setting her book bag on the table. Just watching her little routine when she got to my place made my heart fill with a warmth that wasn’t familiar. I liked how comfortable she was around me, in my space. The way she looked like she belonged there. Because she does, the thing inside of me growled.
“Okay,” she sighed, “I’m here. What did you want?” She was obviously keeping her walls up high around her.
Not that I blamed her. She didn’t know what to expect from me after what I’d said to her earlier. What I’d called myself and her. I leaned against the back of the couch, one leg crossed over the other, trying to give off an unbothered image.
“Come here,” I ordered. She blinked, making it clear she’d heard me, but didn’t move. “Do I need to remind you of the rules, Roxanne?”
The rules I hadn’t implemented in the last two months.
Rules I’d hardly reminded her of until today when I’d seen my roommate walk off into the sunset with his girl, or chase his girl, but that was neither here nor there. Watching Adam go after Callie had made me yearn for more. It’d broken the tiny shred of control I’d held on to for so long and forced me to admit what I’d already known.
Roxie is mine.
“Dave—“
“From here on out tonight, you call me something else,” I interrupted. Her eyes rounded and her face brightened. “You knew this was coming, little girl.” Her expression dissolved, and in its place was almost a look of uncertainty.
“At any moment, you want to stop, all you have to do is say so.” Just like she would, my brat opened her mouth. I’d expected her to say it, to press the brakes on this whole thing before it even began.
And I think part of me was hoping for it.
Expecting it almost because I knew if she let me go through with this, there would be no turning back. No way I’d let her get away from me. But she shut her mouth and simply stared at me. The silence in the apartment was almost deafening.
“Okay,” I rasped. “Come here, babe,” I ordered, crooking my finger, and this time, she did as she was told.
Walking to me, still wearing faded jeans and my hoodie that looked ridiculously big on her, swallowing her up, with her hair tossed up in a floppy ponytail with little tendrils of hair messily framing her beautiful face. I’d never seen anything more magnificent. And my body agreed. She couldn’t have been sexier if she was wearing lace and silk. I liked the way my clothes looked on her. It was a Neanderthal-like thought, but I couldn’t help it. Roxanne brought something out of me no other woman had ever come close to, something primal, almost feral, that seemed to rely on its animalistic baser instincts.
“Good girl,” I praised the moment she was in front of me. I breathed in deeply, trying to temper down the crazy beating of my heart, and immediately realized I’d fucked up. My girl’s soft scent filled my lungs and made my mouth water, pushing me even more on edge.
“Dave—“
“What are you going to call me?” I interrupted softly.
“Dave—“ I shook my head, and she frowned.
“What exactly are we going to do?” she asked, the question expected.
“Do you trust me, Roxie?”
“Roxie,” she repeated under her breath, but her gaze was as unguarded as I’d ever seen it.
“Do you, honey? Do you trust me?” I pressed the issue, needing to know because without it, I knew I couldn’t take this to another level.
“You know I do,” she replied softly. “I wouldn’t be at your secret love shack if I didn’t.”
“Secret love—“ My lips twitched and I shook my head, unable to mask the amusement she sparked to life. “For your information, I’ve never brought anyone here.”
“What?” She blinked, her eyes locked with mine as she stared at me like she was looking at me for the first time or through new eyes.
