“Don’t you have a girlfriend? You’re such a hypocrite. Aren’t you at Heather’s place when you don’t come home until late at night?”

His brows angled, digesting what I had just said. Even I couldn’t believe what I was saying, but I couldn’t take it back. I was furious.

“Is that where you think I’ve been?” He looked disappointedly surprised. “Were you dancing with Nolan because you were jealous of Heather?” His lips protruded out, trying to hold in a smile or a laugh. I couldn’t tell which one.

“No. I’m not jealous. I was just having fun dancing,” I retorted and looked away. Shit! I couldn’t help being jealous, but I didn’t want him to see it. That didn’t last long. I peered up since he hadn’t said a word. He kept on staring, studying me.

“Are you done now? I’m cold. I want to go back in.” I really wasn’t, but I didn’t want to stand there any longer.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly when I started to head back. That made me stop.

“For what?” I asked. My back was still to him.

“For wanting to protect you.” His tone was tender and it broke my heart. I could feel how much he wanted to protect his brother and his mother and he couldn’t, but this was different.

“You don’t have to feel like you have to protect me. I want you to be my friend, Elijah.”

“A friend,” he repeated, but it sounded more like a question. “I’m not sure what that means anymore.” His words came out fast but soft. I wasn’t sure if I had heard him correctly. When he walked away, I knew our little spat was over and everything would be fine in the morning like it always was, pretending that nothing ever happened between us.

Lexy and I didn’t stay long since we had to work the next day. After she dropped me off, I went straight to bed, but I couldn’t sleep. My mind wandered with thoughts of Elijah and Liam. I knew I wanted to end things with Liam, but what about Elijah? He never told me straight out that he was interested in me.

It was strange to have feelings for the type of guy I would never have considered dating. I swore I would never date a guy who smoked, although he hadn’t smoked around me since he knew my dad passed away from lung cancer. Still, I couldn’t help the way I felt. Every time I saw Elijah, my heart jumped and my sex drive had a mind of its own.

I must have dozed off for just a little while, because when I woke up it was still dark out. The need to quench my thirst was what woke me since the air from the heater made my throat dry. Groggily heading to the kitchen to get a drink of water, I walked out with barely anything on. Elijah was asleep since he came home shortly after I did. The lights were off, so it wasn’t as if I had to worry about anyone seeing me.

My eyelids were so heavy that I was squinting as I tried to find the refrigerator handle. I’m pretty sure if anyone had seen me, I’d have looked like a zombie with my arms extended out as I opened the fridge door. Laughing at myself, I ended up grabbing the carton of milk since it was the first thing my fingers touched. As I was reaching for a cup, a shadow passed over me. The carton of milk went flying out of my hands, and ended up pouring all over me when I jumped up screaming bloody murder.

Chapter 24

Elijah

Whiteboard:

I cleaned the bathroom

since you vacuumed.

-Alex

Unable to sleep on my bed, I decided to lay on the sofa, hoping I could fall asleep there. I was thinking about Alex and what I could do to distance myself from her. I knew that I was probably the cause of her fights with Liam, which wasn’t right, even though I couldn’t stand the dick. I had to do something about the situation since I could never give Alex what she needed and wanted.

When I saw a light from the kitchen, I tossed my blanket aside and headed in that direction to see if Alex needed anything. Whoa! I was surprised to see her wearing nothing but her panties and a plain white T-shirt. Hot damn! She was beautiful.

I didn’t mean to scare her. In fact, I didn’t say a word. I was going to walk away¸ but when I saw that she was half-naked, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. The fridge door hadn’t closed all the way, so there was just enough light for me to get a clear view. When Alex jumped and screamed, the milk carton went flying and the milk spilled all over her, from her chest to her toes, pooling around her.

Her shirt was soaked and I could see her hardened ni**les through it. The sight of her had my dick stirring in my boxers. I was going to have this image burned in my mind forever, and I know that I’ll be dreaming of this moment for a long time to come. I grabbed the kitchen towel and reached out to hand it to her. Looking horrified and embarrassed, she slipped on the puddle of milk when she moved away from me.

Trying to stop her from falling, I slipped myself. It happened so fast, I didn’t even know how we both landed on the floor with me on top of her, the same positions we were in on the ice. Only this time we were wet from the milk that was all over the floor.

My left hand was supporting her neck while my other hand had a mind of its own, and so did my dick. It did not help that I was only wearing my boxers.

“Alex, are you okay?” I whispered in her ear breathlessly, feeling my heart pound rapidly against my chest. It took every ounce of my willpower not to bury myself deep inside her, but I couldn’t stop myself from rubbing my hand in a circular motion on the side of her breast.

“Yes,” she breathed softly. Her breath quickened as she lay stiffly, and she did not make a move to get up. Her eyes bore into mine in surprise and something I couldn’t describe, but I was pretty sure it was the same look I was giving her. The look that screamed…I WANT YOU NOW!