“He’s the only person who shows any interest in you. Don’t you think that’s strange?” My neck prickles with annoyance. “Think about it, Rose.”
I don’t want to and I’m struck by the realisation he’s never called me by my name before. “No, you’re what’s strange. Excuse me.”
“Your meal…” He gestures toward the stove.
“Move.”
“Don’t go after him.”
“For fuck’s sake…” I mutter and duck under his arm.
Alek steps in my way and I back toward the wall. Out of the two of them, Alek unnerves me the most. He places a hand on the wall, trapping me and anger seethes in my stomach.
“Move!” I growl.
Alek’s scent engulfs me, pushing out my need to follow Finn. No, it’s not his scent, something different. His eyes are fixed on my mouth and although we’re not touching, the physical pull to him is unlike anything I’ve experienced before. Strangely, his face registers the same. I close my eyes; sure, he’s doing this deliberately.
“Move,” I repeat.
Alek’s hair touches my face as he leans toward my ear. “Don’t trust him.”
I pull my head back, so I’m looking at his face, ignoring the same intense energy between us as last time. “And trust who? You? At least he’s nice to me!”
Dropping his hand, Alek steps back. “Oh, I am being nice to you. You have no idea.”
I am on the verge of telling him what an arrogant dick he is, but I’m still not a hundred percent sure of his mental state, so I don’t. I move away, deliberately avoiding touching him and head toward the front of the house.
As I reach the lounge, Lizzie appears through the front door. Her plucked eyebrows dart up. “You okay? You look pretty pissed off.”
“Ask your friend.”
Lizzie’s face pales and she looks behind me sharply. I’m aware of Alek in the room. “What’s going on? What did you do to her?”
Now, I’m more confused. If Lizzie is worried Alek is going to hurt me, what the hell am I doing living here?
“Nothing! We just had a…misunderstanding.”
I step to one side so I can see both of them and attempt to gauge what the hell is going on. “I brought a friend home, and Alek made him leave.”
“What friend?”
“A guy,” says Alek in the same low voice. “Blonde guy, blue eyes. He’s from the hospital.”
Lizzie rubs her nose. “Well, isn’t it up to Rose who she brings home?”
“Exactly! Tell him what a dick he’s being!”
“Are you going after him?” Lizzie asks me.
“I think maybe I should and ask him to come back and eat his meal!”
When Alek slams a hand against the wall, I tense, waiting for his next move. “Fuck this, I’m late for work.”
I catch his familiar scent of leather and spice as he pushes past me. Alek’s jacket brushes me, and even with no skin-to-skin contact, a shock trips along my arm.
Shaking my head, I change my mind about following Finn and turn back to the kitchen. Lizzie follows me in.
“Sorry about him.”
“Is he some kind of psycho? Won’t let other guys onto his territory?”
She laughs. “No. He’s just…funny about some people.”
A thought catches me. “He won’t go after Finn, will he?”
“No, not his style.”
I decide not to ask what his style is. “Do you want a glass of wine?”
“Sure.” Lizzie sits in a chair and I look at the wilting, cooling stir-fry in the pan as I pour her a glass. My stomach growls. “Do you want some of the food. There’s plenty since Finn was chased out by Alek.”
Lizzie’s unruly curls are pulled behind a thick headscarf, and she’s changed the colour to a henna red.
“Sorry if he freaked you out.” Lizzie twists the wine glass in her hands.
I decide bluntness is the way to go. “Is he dangerous?”
“No!” The vehemence with which she says the word suggests the opposite to me, but I nod stupidly. “He doesn’t have a lot of friends and has a bit of a thing about people coming here. He’s had a tough time in life and gets a bit possessive of his personal space.”
“But he seemed to really not like Finn.”
“Finn? Is that his name?”
“Yeah.”
“Boyfriend?”
I scoff. “No, a friend. I just got here; boyfriends aren’t on my radar.”
As Lizzie nods and sips her wine, it strikes me I hardly know anything about the people I live with and now one has shown himself to have alpha-male tendencies.
I’m planning on looking for a new place to live, but this place was hard enough to find.
Chapter 6
The next day, I head up to ICU to apologise. Seriously, Finn is my only friend and my dickhead housemate tried to scare him away. Chloe is working, so at least I can chat with her; and if Finn ignores me because of last night, I won’t seem like the desperate girl chasing him.