He raised his head again, glowing eyes darting back and forth between mine in the dark. “Do you have any idea how stunningly beautiful you are? I find it hard to believe no one has gotten past your spikes to give you what you deserve.”
My nose tingled, and something deep inside me twisted in knots. “The only men who’ve gotten past did it by force.”
“Tiger,” he breathed. “Fuck.”
I found myself stroking his tight jaw, comforting him from the ugliness of my admission. I hadn’t really meant to say it, but there was something about being in the dark with Theo that had let it slip past my lips far too easily.
“You knew.” My fingers trailed down his throat. “If you grew up the way I did, you can’t be surprised.”
“I had an idea. An idea and the truth are two separate things.” He stilled, looking down at me. “Give me names.”
“No.” I would have never sent him to fight my battles, but why did it feel so good that he might’ve wanted to? “It’s over and done with. The last guy who touched me wrong got the shit beat out of him by my boys and then he died in a car accident last fall. But if you’re wondering why I am the way I am, why I have a bat next to my bed and chase boys out of my shop when they corner me, now you know. No one’s getting past my spikes unless I invite them. Not ever again.”
He stayed like that, watching me, jaw tight, shoulders bunched, for several long moments. I didn’t know what he’d say, or how he’d react, but when he exhaled a ragged breath and lay back down on me, pulling me tight into his body, I was taken by surprise. I guess I half expected him to brush me off and tell me I was too much for a casual fuck buddy.
“I know you can fight your own battles, Tiger. I’ve seen you in all your warrior glory, taking vengeance on my car. What I hope for you, is when you let someone past those spikes, they’re the kind of man who’ll be shoulder to shoulder with you in battle, and when push comes to shove, they’ll step in front of you and take the brunt of it.” I started to protest, but he covered my mouth with his fingertips. “Don’t argue with me, baby. That's what I want for you. You don’t need to say anything back.”
We quieted then, turning on another movie to fill the dead air. Theo fell asleep like that, and I was close to following when a sudden thought jerked me away from unconsciousness.
I’d spilled my guts yet again, while Theo had only given the smallest piece of himself. Pretty soon, he’d own all of me, and I’d still be right here, empty-handed.
My thoughts were still coalescing when the door swung open and Elena stumbled into the room, followed by a tall, lanky guy draped all over her. She flicked the light on, momentarily blinding me. Theo didn’t even stir.
“Oh no, my roommate is here with her little bubble-butt boyfriend,” Elena slurred, knocking her head back on her man’s chest. My horrified gaze jerked to his face, and when I recognized him, my stomach churned.
“Theo?” Daniel hissed. “He’s with her?”
“Mmhmm,” Elena confirmed. “Those two have been boning like bunnies for weeks. It’s so disgusting.”
“Turn off the light,” I barked.
“Get a room, bitch,” Elena responded. “And stop faking it so loud. Some of us don’t want to hear your fake ‘I’m coming’ cry.” Then she flipped off the light and dragged dirty Daniel to her room, shutting the door tight behind them.
That didn’t stop me from hearing her fake moans a few minutes later. Fortunately, after years of living in a tiny space with paper-thin walls with a mother who went looking for love in all the wrong places, I’d become adept at tuning out sounds I really didn’t want to hear.
I should have woken Theo up and sent him home, especially with Luc sleeping in my bed. But I really didn’t want to. Not with how good it felt to be held by him and how sweet the rise and fall of his chest was against mine. So, I let him stay, and I did what I’d been doing with him all along:
I fell.
Chapter Seventeen
Theo
My eyes were closed. The words were blurring. I jerked myself awake and tried to focus on the page, but it was no use. I was tired from Helen kicking me out of her dorm before the sun rose so Luc wouldn’t know I had slept over, and my sociology textbook wasn’t even close to interesting enough to keep me awake.
Daniel strolled into the study room just as I was contemplating whether I had enough time to take a nap before I picked Helen up from work.
“Hey,” I greeted.
He took a seat on the couch opposite mine, something brewing behind his sharp features. “What’s up, man? Have a good night last night?”
My head cocked. “Yeah. You?”
“Oh yeah. Spent some quality time with my girl. I told you about her. Elena…”
I rubbed my forehead, trying to jog that memory back around. “Oh, yeah. I think I remember.”
He leveled me with a serious stare that made me uneasy. “I saw you last night.”
“I don’t think so. I wasn’t out.”
“I know.” He chuckled. “I saw you when I went back to Elena’s suite.”
I pounded my forehead with the side of my fist. That was it. Elena was Helen’s roommate—the one who had called me Abby’s boyfriend. Jesus, I had completely forgotten, and I definitely hadn’t connected her to Daniel.
“I didn’t see you.”
“That’s because you were passed out. You had to be so wasted.” He raised his eyebrows, like he was waiting for a good story.
I shook my head. “No. Just tired.” I closed up my textbook and started gathering my stuff. “Speaking of, I’m still tired as hell. I’m going up to my room.”
“Wait, wait, wait. Are you actually with that girl?”
I shot him a glare. “What’s with the tone?”
He lifted his hands, palms up, like he was the picture of innocence. “I mean, if you’re with her, cool. She’s pretty. It’s just…I know how your dad is. I didn’t think he’d like you dating a stripper. Obviously, you know him better than—”
“Helen isn’t a stripper.”
Daniel chuckled again, this time giving me a look that was something akin to pity. “Hate to be the one to break it to you, but she is. She works at Savage Beauties.”
My eyes sharpened. “I know where she works. She serves drinks, not her tits.”
“Maybe some nights, that’s true. But I saw those pretty tits and that very fine ass with my own eyes, man. A bunch of the guys from the house were with me and can vouch if you ask. I get why you’re into her. She’s fine as hell. Very fine. That little heart-shaped birthmark on her right butt cheek is all kinds of sexy—”
My ears were ringing. I hadn’t wanted to believe him, then he mentioned Helen’s birthmark, and I didn’t hear another word that came from his mouth.
My girl had lied to me. She’d explicitly said she didn’t strip. I remembered being relieved I wouldn’t have to walk since that would have been a deal breaker. I’d wanted to believe her because I’d been so hard up for her. I’d liked her so much, I hadn’t wanted to be disappointed in her. But this...I was in too deep to call this disappointment. Finding out Helen had betrayed my trust, had been betraying my trust all this time…this was gutting.