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“Damn you, Alex.” I groan as I pull on his arm. “Move your ass. Come on, buddy, work with me. Get up. Why the hell did you choose my door to fall asleep against? Why not yours, huh?”
No reply. No reaction.
Why do our room doors have to open outward, into the living room, instead of inward? Goddammit, this sucks ass. I drop down next to Alex, lean back on the door and sigh, exhausted.
See, these are my roommates, and this is how I live. Is it any wonder I am the way I am?
Don’t complain, J, I warn myself, fighting the crushing feeling in my chest. Don’t you dare fucking complain.
A year ago, you’d have killed for a roof over your head and the safety of this apartment, and yeah, even for these shitty roommates. Hell, you’d have sold your soul for it. God knows you owned nothing else when Zane found you.
Sleeping slumped against your own bedroom door is nothing compared to what you’ve had to do before.
Chapter Five
Amber
I’m in a narrow space, like the restrooms at the café where Megan and Jesse work. It’s warm inside. I place my hands on the walls, and they’re pulsing like a heartbeat.
“Embers,” a low voice whispers, and then he’s there, right behind me, his large frame covering me, pushing me into the wall. I can smell him—musk and cinnamon and salt—and feel him, feel how aroused he is pressed in the small of my back. His warm breath tickles my neck as he stars moving, sliding over my backside, a slow roll that feels like it’s been going on forever. His cock pushes into me, and I gasp, bending over more.
We’re naked. The realization is fuzzy, as if I should have noticed from the start. He’s inside me, and he feels so good, filling me up, stroking my center, building up pressure.
Then his hand snakes around my hips, finds my folds and slips between them, pressing, and—
A moan fills my ears, and I twist in my sheets, hot and out of breath. Who’s moaning? And where is Jesse?
The room is empty, light filtering through the window slats. My whole body is throbbing with pleasure, and the dream flashes through my mind like a movie. I still feel his hands on me, ghostly, their weight slowly fading.
Oh God. Oh no.
The one moaning was me. Moaning and writhing on the bed like a possessed woman. I just had a wet dream about Jesse.
Yeah, my name is Amber, and I want a boy who fucks anything that moves.
Shoot me now.
***
I’m walking down the street, returning to my apartment, a shopping bag in one hand and my cell in the other, talking to my mom, my mind a thousand miles away.
“How are you holding up, Ams?” Her voice sounds funny over the phone, small and squeaky.
“Fine, how about you?”
“We’re not the ones who moved to another town,” she singsongs, and I wince just a little. “Are you all settled in? How’s your roommate? What’s her name, Kiera, Kate?”
“Kayla.” I drew a deep breath as I cross the street. “I’m really fine, Mom, no need to worry.”
“How can I not worry?” Her voice rises an octave, and I wince again. “You’re my baby.”
Which is the reason I left and came back here… To stand on my own two feet. Now I only need to come through with my decision to beat the past.
“Your baby is all grown up now, Mom, so stop worrying so much. Was there anything else you needed to tell me?”
A pause at the other end of the line. I can imagine my mom’s face tighten, her lips flatten, and a prickle of unease touches my spine. I hate upsetting her. I hate upsetting anyone.
But before I open my mouth to apologize, she says, “I hope you’re going out more, meeting more people, honey. Be more sociable and self-assured. It’s the only way to be happy in this life.”
