Page 126 of Stolen Summer

It had been, frighteningly so. What a bad idea it was to let my heart get screwed up again with Crew. Sex was never our problem. Trust was a big issue and one I hadn’t come to terms with. “Thank you, I think.”

Fuck, what have I done?

I’d made things a million times harder for myself. I’d come here for answers, not a tumble in his bed, and yet here I was naked and pleasantly satisfied, but as the tingles faded, confusion took its place.

I needed to think. Something I should have done before jumping into his bed. Hindsight was a bitch. I’d learned too many life lessons the hard way.

Rolling to the side of the bed, I sat up, searching for my clothes. I couldn’t even remember what I wore.

A hand traced down my spine, and those tingles I thought had dissolved returned. “Where are you going?” Crew asked, reaching for my hips, and I knew what would happen if he pulled me back onto the bed.

I tensed, glancing over my shoulder, but careful to keep my gaze on just his face. I didn’t trust myself to look anywhere else. “I should go.”

“Stay,” he murmured, a wolf-like grin curling on his too damn attractive face.

I sighed, knowing this could only go two ways. I didn’t expect to feel such an internal conflict about his reaction. “It’s not a good idea. I don’t want you to get the wrong impression.”

Crew’s jaw flexed. “And what would that be, Killer?”

Facing forward, I found my pants and slipped my feet into the legs, avoiding Crew’s eyes. “That what happened was nothing more than sex.”

“I see. And if I told you that’s bullshit.” His voice remained level.

Drawing on the last bit of bravado I possessed, I stood, tugging my pants over my hips, and faced him. “Crew?—”

He cut me off. “Say it again.”

My heart hit the ground, but I ignored it and firmed my chin. I knew what he wanted. For weeks, I’d called him by his brother’s name. “No,” I said.

It took a split second for Crew to slip into the detached jerk he was known for, and the shadows creeping into his eyes caused a chill to race through my veins. It didn’t seem possible I could feel this cold when minutes ago my body had been blazing. “You might not be ready to admit there’s something more between us than sex, but I’m telling you there is, at least for me. You’re not just some girl.”

I shook my head. “I shouldn’t have come here. It was a mistake.”

“Nothing about what we did was a mistake, Killer,” he said as I picked up my shirt, jerking it over my head. He could keep my undergarments. Finding them was the least of my concerns.

Crew wouldn’t let me walk away easily. I had to get out of here before I let him talk me back into his bed. “You used me. You lied to me. I haven’t forgiven you yet. I don’t know that I can.”

He sat up naked in the middle of the rumpled bed, raking a hand through his hair. A smidgen of hurt flashed over his eyes. “I get it. You used me tonight. We’re even.”

“Crew, that’s not what this was.” I hadn’t used him. I’d needed him. Had it been a moment of weakness? Had I been desperate to have a connection with another person after feeling so lonely since I’d walked out of his life?

Nothing in his face showed a speck of kindness or gentleness. It was difficult to believe he was the same man who’d worshipped my body. His glare cut through me like a knife, and I swore a stab of pain lanced my heart. “The next time you get the urge, go find my brother. He’s better at no strings attached.”

I picked up my discarded shoes, suddenly too angry to put them on, but anger felt better than vulnerable. “Get fucked, Crew.”

“Already did. By you.”

I’d reached the door and had been about to throw it open. Instead, I whirled and hurled my shoe across the room at him. And then the other. The first one missed, and the second would have connected if Crew hadn’t dodged at the last moment.

I slammed the door as hard as I could.

Chapter Thirty-Six

It was just sex. Two consenting adults. That was all. College students were having uncomplicated sex all over the place. We didn’t have to be any different. I didn’t need to overthink a moment of weakness.

Fuuuuck!

I’d had sex with Crew.

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