Page 29 of When The Night Falls

‘Well, it makes me wonder how often you do this sort of thing. I realise it’s none of my business, but...’

I smirked. ‘Well, how often do you do it?’

‘Random one-night stands? Every leap year, maybe.’

I watched him disbelievingly, but there was no hint of a lie in his eyes.

‘I don’t believe you. I mean, with your talents, as well as stamina, you must be getting your fill somehow.’

He chuckled. ‘Right. If I answer, will you?’

I narrowed my eyes. Again, he drove a hard bargain. I was desperate to know now. ‘Yes.’

He looked away. ‘I have regular sex, but with the same partner’ – his eyes darted toward me – ‘usually.’

‘Elaborate.’

He scratched his stubble, looking contemplative. ‘I’m not in a relationship, but I’ve got an agreement with another woman. A sexual one.’

‘Right.’

We were in similar situations, then. I had Aaron for that. But, regardless of my arrangement with Aaron, I didn’t shy away from the occasional one-night stand. The only condition was that I used a condom so that Aaron wouldn’t have to, but I would have done it anyway. Collecting sexually transmitted infections was not a hobby of mine.

‘Your turn,’ William reminded me.

‘Well, same as you, I suppose. Though, when it comes to one-night stands, I might do it a couple of times a year, all depending on the person, really. I don’t go all out to sleep with a stranger.’

‘Like I did tonight,’ he said with a leer.

‘Right.’ I grinned, but my amusement quickly vanished when something occurred to me. ‘Is your partner going to mind?’

He scoffed. ‘She hasn’t got a right to know.’

‘That’s not an answer.’

He sighed. ‘I’m not sure. It’s implied that I’m allowed to do this sort of thing, but predicting a bruised ego can be difficult.’

Right. That made sense. In fact, that was exactly the reason Aaron and I had agreed not to mention other partners to one another.

Suddenly William frowned. ‘Wait, did you say “same as” me? You’ve got a regular partner?’

I blinked, surprised at his sudden display of disapproval. ‘Yes?’

Gripping my jaw, he glared into my eyes. ‘Then what’s the problem? Clearly, you do have time. Reject that wanker already – you can reserve that energy for me.’

My jaw clenched in his hold. ‘Of course I won’t do that. The arrangement I’ve got with Aaron is perfect. I hardly ever give him a thought. He’s so low maintenance that he might as well be air, and I have a funny feeling you won’t be, Will, but it’s not your fault. It’s just that you’re new. Aaron’s familiar. New, right now, is bound to mess with my head for a while, and I don’t want that.’

He groaned loudly and collapsed onto his back beside me. ‘You have got to be kidding me.’

His dramatic reaction made me pout. ‘I’m not, I’m sorry.’

‘How about this, then. Give me your number and I promise I won’t reach out to you till you’ve completed your exams, so in about two months.’

I frowned with frustration. It became apparent that I would need to be brutally honest with both him and myself. After drawing in a deep breath, I mustered up the courage to put myself in a vulnerable spot. I had never been this transparent with a mere stranger before, but William surely made it difficult to avoid.

‘William, I’m sorry, but you’re not casual sex material. You’re boyfriend material. I’m a bit too compelled by you. Meanwhile, Aaron doesn’t intrigue me that way at all. He’s just there, platonically.’

‘I can’t believe this,’ he moaned. ‘Are you seriously saying I’m too interesting?’

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