A smirk crosses my face but then I chastise myself for letting his charm through a text affect me. Another message comes in.
Reese: I’m at your door. Let me in.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
Without thinking, I burst through my door, eyes wide and frenzied and so beyond distraught that Jonathan will find out about Reese that I feel like puking.
Jonathan and his girl are making out on the couch, but pull away quickly when they see me standing in front of them, chest heaving, and phone in my hand, standing ramrod straight and awkward.
“Uh, Paisley, whatcha doin’?” he asks, giving me his What the Fuck eyes.
I point at him and say, “If you’re going to have sex, do it in your room.”
“Paisley,” he warns. “Maybe you should go back in your room.”
I know we just discussed him having the living room for the night, but that clearly changed the minute Reese decided to show up at the apartment.
“This is a common space, Jonathan. I have every right to be here.” I stand tall, hands on my hips, realizing I’m barely covered by the low-dipping tank I’m wearing. Literally, the sleeves are cut down to my hips, showing off a massive amount of side boob.
His face is full of confusion, questioning my motives. Times ticking. I know Reese is about to knock on the door, I can feel it. So I say the first thing that comes to mind. “I’m sorry. I know we talked about this earlier, but, umm . . . all I can hear is your lips smacking against each other.”
“Then turn on some music,” Jonathan counters.
I point my finger at him and say, “Valid point, roomie. But it’s gotten to the point that I’m . . . umm.” I swallow hard. “It’s gotten to the point that I’m now horny, knowing you two are out here. So I’m going to have to ask you to go to your room for the night and stay in there.”
“What?” Jonathan asks, completely confused.
“Oh my God, just go to your room,” I shout. “I can’t have you two out here turning me on. For the love of God and my horny ass, just go to your bedroom. GO TO YOUR BEDROOM!”
Yes, I officially start flapping around like a crazed lunatic.
The girl turns to Jonathan, a look of disgust on her face. “I’m kind of freaked out. I think I’m going to go.”
“No,” I shout before Jonathan can respond. “Don’t go . . . girl.” I don’t know her name, calling her girl is not the best, but I’ve got nothing else. “Um, Jonathan has been talking about you all night. Don’t let me cock-block him. He has a great penis, you’re going to want to take advantage of it.” She looks me up and down, questions flowing through her eyes. I hold my hand up before she can jump to conclusions. “I know what you’re thinking. Yes, I’ve seen his penis, no we have not had sex. I’ve seen his penis because he walks around naked.” She scowls at Jonathan who then shoots daggers at me. Shit. I pull out the only tool left in my arsenal. “There is no need to worry though, I’m a lesbian so his dick doesn’t affect me.”
I’m sorry to all lesbians out there.
Jonathan pinches his nose and shakes his head at me. Yup, I’m a dead person tomorrow, especially if he doesn’t get laid tonight.
“So what I’m trying to say is, go back to his room and let him show you his giant penis. You won’t regret it. Oh, and he has a long tongue, very useful . . . for special things.” I cringe, hating every word that comes out of my mouth.
The girl turns to Jonathan and says, “Let me see your tongue.”
For a second I don’t think he’s going to oblige her, but he gives in and sticks his tongue out for her, curling the end just right to widen her eyes with intrigue.
“See, look at that thing.”
A large smile crosses her face as she stands and grabs hold of his hand, pulling him to his feet as well. “Let’s go to your bedroom.”
Leading the way, she directs them back to the bedroom but not before Jonathan can quickly mouth, “We will talk in the morning.”
I gulp, knowing damn well how that conversation will go. The minute his door is shut and I can hear giggling, I run to the front door and throw it open to see Reese’s hand raised, ready to knock.
Chapter Fourteen
**REESE**
I can hear Paisley rambling on the other side of the door. I can’t quite make out what she is saying, but I can tell her voice is frantic, so instead of knocking right away, I hold off. The last thing I want to do is piss her off even more.
I pull the hood up on my zip-up jacket and hope no one thinks I’m a creep, lurking in the hallway. When I decided to go to Paisley’s apartment to see her, I didn’t think about what I might say or do. Hence the athletic shorts, sandals, and a zip-up hoodie with nothing under it. I wasn’t thinking at all, I just knew I had to get to her, to apologize, to fucking grovel at her feet and beg for forgiveness.
Luckily, Ashley was able to find out her address for me. She wasn’t pleased to hear my desperation, but I told her if she didn’t figure it out, she would be fired by tomorrow morning. She got me Paisley’s address within ten minutes.
I’m not going to lie, I’m nervous as fuck. Talk about shoving one’s foot in their mouth. I didn’t even think when I heard a man’s voice come from her phone, asking if she was going to be home for dinner. All I saw was red, and I overreacted. I didn’t think about her having a roommate.
I’m jolted out of my self-hatred trance when the door in front of me flies open, revealing a perfectly beautiful, yet crazed Paisley. Her eyes sear me, not in a good way, and it looks like she’s about to headbutt me again.
Through clenched teeth, she asks, “What the hell are you doing here?”
Because I’m the biggest ass in the world, I act innocent. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”
“No.” She goes to shut the door when I stop her with my palm to the wood between us.
“If you close this door, I will be sure to ring your doorbell all night until someone lets me in.”
Her eyes widen and then thin out in frustration. She looks over her shoulder, to the left and then back at me. Opening the door, she points to the right and says, “March your smart-ass to the door at the end of the hallway. I’m not kidding when I say you have two seconds to hide yourself.”
I’m not going to battle with her. I take my opportunity and quickly follow her directions.
Once I walk in her room, I’m instantly taken aback. Paisley is a tough girl, a little rough around the edges, wears cut-off jean shorts, boots, and has tattoos decorating her skin. I would consider her to be hard as nails, with a room to match, but that’s not what I find in front of me.
Her room is all white. White furniture, white walls, white decorations. Her bed has white sheets and a huge, fluffy white comforter that looks so fucking welcoming I want to bury my head in it. A collection of pastel abstract paintings hanging above her bed provide the only color.
The door behind me closes and locks, and I prepare for a verbal lashing.
I turn to see her come up next to me and push me in the shoulders, sending me back an inch. Only an inch. Despite her athletic build, she’s still small compared to me.
“What are you doing here? You can’t just show up at someone’s place unexpected, disturbing the apartment peace.” Her voice is quiet yet stern.
“Technically, it wasn’t unexpected. I sent you a text that I was coming over.”
“Urggggg,” she screams . . . quietly. She paces the room, hand to her head. “Just tell me why you’re here.”
Knowing I need to hang up my sarcastic comments, I capture her with my hands and hold her still. Her dusky eyes stare up at me, searching for answers. I take a minute to observe her, and that’s when I notice she’s wearing a rather revealing tank top with nothing underneath. From the armholes, I can see her entire ribcage and from the front, I notice her hardened nipples poking through the thin fabric. My body heats up and the jacket I’m wearing almost feels suffocating. Needing some relief, I unzip the front and expose my bare che
st to the cool night air flowing through her open window.
Her breath hitches in her throat, and her eyes fall on my partially exposed chest. Satisfaction runs rampant through me from her reaction. She can’t be that mad at me if she’s still willing to show heat in those hungry eyes of hers.
Deflated, she asks again, “Reese, why are you here?”
I press my finger under her chin and force her to meet my stare. “Paisley, I want to apologize for the way I reacted at my house.” I take a deep breath and continue. “I’m a jealous fuck most of the time, and when I heard some other man talking to you on the phone, I lost it.”
“So you accuse me of being a cheater? Do you really think that poorly of me?”
Fuck, this is harder than I expected it to be, not because it’s hard for me to apologize, but because Paisley’s eyes are practically bleeding they look so upset. It’s killing me, one blink at a time.
“It’s the opposite, Paisley. I think too highly of you.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Gripping the back of my neck, I think of the right words to say to her. “The minute you walked into my life, I haven’t been able to get you out of my head. You’ve consumed me, in and out of the pool. I can’t focus, I can’t think of anything else but your sweet lips and your devastating body. All I want is to fuck you against a wall every time I see you, so much so my mind goes blank when you’re around. You’ve captivated me, Paisley. When I thought you were with someone else, I fucking lost it and jumped to ridiculous and hurtful conclusions. It was a dick move that I immediately regretted.”
“It was a dick move,” she says softly, looking down at her feet.
“That’s why I’m here. I needed to see you, to apologize and tell you how sorry I am.”
“You could have done that the next time I saw you. You didn’t have to come here.”
“I did.” I lift her chin to look at me again. “What don’t you get? I can’t stay away from you, Paisley.”
She shakes her head. “This can’t happen, Reese.”
“You keep saying that, but I don’t understand why. I know it’s not because of Bellini. Is it because I’m your boss? Fine, you’re fired.” I say it in a joking matter, but her eyes well up with tears and I immediately regret it. “Shit, baby, don’t cry.” I pull her into my chest, but she pushes me away.
“You don’t get it, Reese. I’m not some Olympic medalist with millions of dollars and endorsements. Nor am I a reality star who can blow money on things like Belgian chocolate-covered schnitzel. I am a girl, with a hefty college loan and one chance at redeeming myself in my chosen profession.”
“What are you talking about?”
Instead of falling into my arms like I want her to, she pulls away even more and sits on her bed, clearly in distress. “Remember a while back, that reporter on Good Morning Malibu who went off the deep end and swore on camera when she didn’t think people could hear her?”
“I think so,” I reply, thinking back to when it was trending on Facebook.
“Well, I was the one in charge of her mic. I was distracted and forgot to switch it off. Needless to say, one minor error cost me years in building up a career through interning and school. Now no one in the industry wants to hire me, except for this job. I don’t want to be an assistant to a reality star, but it’s the only option I have that puts me close enough to the camera that I can help out with production. I was able to offer suggestions to Jasper, and it felt amazing, like I was back in the game, but then you had to come along and ruin everything.”
“How am I ruining everything? Seems to me like you’re flourishing with your job and making strides.”
“You don’t get it. If I’m caught fraternizing with my boss, with someone on the show, especially someone who in the public’s eye is dating the most famous reality star of our generation, I can get canned and banned so fast from this industry that I should probably go back to college for another profession.” She takes a deep breath. “This job is important to me, Reese. Not only did my parents practically disown me when I left home because of my aspirations, but they’ve been waiting for me to come crawling back from not being able to make it in this industry. I can’t have that happen.”
She takes a deep breath and continues. “Jonathan, my roommate, got me this job, and he’s very adamant about me making a good impression. I can’t let him down. He’s already warned me to stay away from you, not because he thinks you’re bad news, but because he saw the way I lit up when you texted me. If he knew you were here, he would kill me.”
Damn, I had no idea. Here I am, looking like a giant dick who can’t keep it in his pants when all she wants is to prove to herself she can make it in the film industry. Knowing I will regret what I say in the morning, I walk up to her and squat down to her level. I pull her hand in mine and kiss the back of it.
“I’m sorry, Paisley. I had no idea this job meant that much to you.” Even though deep inside, I want to push her back against her fluffy bed and fuck her until the morning sun rises, I press one more kiss to her hand and stare into her soulful eyes. Fuck, I don’t want to do this. “I’m going to go. I’m sorry, Paisley, for pushing you, making losing your job a possibility. I’ll leave you be. We’ll keep this strictly professional.”
I stand, zip up my hoodie, and prop the hood over my head. With a sad smile in her direction, I turn to the door to leave. This is not how I expected this night to go, but then again, I wasn’t expecting her to show up at my door earlier in the first place. So if anything, at least I got to taste a little bit of her before it ended.
I reach for the doorknob but stop when I feel her come up behind me; her hands press against my back.
“Reese,” she whispers.
Turning, I glance down at her. “Do you want to make sure your roommate is not in the living room so he doesn’t see me?”
She shakes her head, and glides her hands up the front of my chest to my zipper where she snags it and pulls it down, exposing my chest.
I suck in a deep breath as my skin is exposed to her. “What are you doing?”
Without answering, she slides her hands up to my shoulders and gently pushes the sweatshirt off my body to puddle at my feet. Her eyes wander the expanse of my chest while her fingers delicately dance over my tattoo, exploring it, memorizing it. My heart is beating rapidly and my cock is hardening with every touch.
“Paisley,” I say in a rough whisper.
Pulling her eyes from my tattoo, she meets my gaze and licks her lips. “I can’t let you walk out that door.” Her voice is soft, yet husky, full of lust. “Despite why this is so incredibly wrong and the repercussions I could face, I can’t for the life of me let you walk away.”
Without thinking, or letting her change her mind, I scoop her up in my arms and take her over to her bed where she kneels down on it and props herself up so we are almost eye level. Hunger-filled eyes watch me as her hands gracefully stroke my body, running up my sides, over my pecs, and down my shoulders. I don’t move, just allow her to explore while I enjoy glimpses of her tank top spilling forward, exposing an expanse of cleavage.
“Why can’t I stay away from you?” she asks, more of a question to herself than to me. Her hand runs up my neck and cups my cheek. “You’re a fixation I can’t avoid. When you’re around, I’m drawn to you, tempted to make mistakes I’ve never even thought about making before. You make me want to rebel, Reese, to walk dangerously just for the feel of your lips against mine.”
“We don’t have to do this,” I say, hoping to fuck she doesn’t agree with me.
She shakes her head. “Impossible.”
Before I can respond, her lips press against mine, devouring the words on the tip of my tongue. Not able to hold back any longer, I bring her in closer and match the thrusts of her tongue with mine, tangling our mouths in the most intimate way.
Her thumbs run against my beard, leaving me wanting more of her touch, wanting more of her body, so instead of crush
ing her head to mine with my hands, I push her shoulders back so she is forced to lie on the bed.
Beautiful. Her dark-as-night hair fans across the pure white of her comforter, providing a stark contrast of heaven mixing with hellion.
“You’re so fucking gorgeous.”
She smiles brightly up at me, her eyes heady with lust. Needing to explore her some more, I prop myself over her body and play with her tank top. Since it’s open on the sides, I easily slip my hand in and feel the taut muscles along her ribcage up to the underside of her breast.
From my touch, her body wiggles, begging for more. With our eyes connected, I move the opening of her tank top until her breast is exposed. I glance down and take her in.
A sharp breath escapes me. Fuck.
Her nipple is pierced.
“Christ,” I mumble. “You’re so fucking hot.”
Not able to stop myself, my hand immediately cups her breast and my fingers play with the barbell of her nipple piercing, moving it ever so slightly, causing Paisley to writhe under me, little moans passing through her beautiful lips.
“Do you like that, baby?”
“Yes,” she answers without skipping a beat.
Needing to see if she matches, I move the other side of her tank top so both armholes are meeting together in the middle of her chest, nestling in her cleavage. Fuck. Her other nipple is pierced as well.
“Fuck me, this is so fucking sexy.”
Not wanting any article of clothing to get in my way, I grab hold of the hem of her tank and pull it over her head. She lifts her upper half to help me out, her defined abs flexing with her movements. Her chest is now completely bare and exposed to me. Taken aback by her heavenly body, I run my hand over my jaw and simply look.
How the fuck did I get so lucky?
I’ve been with a few women, but never one this gorgeous, never this open, never this perfect. It’s like she is made for me with her dark hair, steel-colored eyes, and inked frame. Everything about her makes me want to hold on tight and never let her go, even when she is flicking me on the forehead, or headbutting me for that matter. She’s feisty, sassy, all kinds of contradictions with her sweet personality but with a fiery attitude. There is also something dark about her—mysterious—that intrigues me, that makes me want to hold her in my arms and open her innermost secrets.