Page 8 of The Chemistry of Us

He snidely chuckled. “You have no idea what I’m capable of. How about I show you just how much of a man I am? I have something right here”—he grabbed his dick—“for that sassy little mouth of yours that always thinks it knows everything.”

“You cocky son of—” His finger came up and pressed against my lips, silencing me, and I barely resisted the urge to bite it.

“Sticks and stones.” He playfully tugged the loose ends of my hair lying across my cheek. “I paid you a compliment. It’d do you some good to say thank you.”

I smacked his hand away.

“Touch me one more time, and I’ll?—”

“You’ll what? Last time I checked, you need me, or you’ll be out on your ass.”

“Yeah?” I countered. “Well, last time I checked, you need me, or you won’t graduate. Who do you think knows each other more?”

He pulled away, quickly realizing I was right.

“And the plot thickens,” I mocked. “Listen, I don’t want to live here any more than you want me to, but I already signed my leasing contract this morning and paid my first and last month’s rent. For the next year, I live here whether you want me to or not. And trust me, if I had another choice or an unlimited amount of funds, I’d find another place to live and say to hell with the money I won’t get back from the agent.”

It was obvious he contemplated what I was saying.

Adding insult to injury, I demanded, “Now, if you’ll point me to my room, we can end this unwanted conversation and go on with our day.”

I hated the way he was eyeing me as he led me up the stairs. It was as if he was scheming something volatile in his thick, stubborn skull.

“Fine. You want to live here?—”

“I don’t want to live here, Vaughan. I have to.”

“By all means.” He gestured beside him, nodding down the long, narrow hallway.

“Your bedroom’s next to mine.”

I let out a deep sigh, understanding what that meant.

“Don’t worry, Tru. I never let them spend the night.”

“You’re disgusting.”

He winked, walking back toward his room. I’d never forget his next words. They weren’t a statement.

They were a warning.

“Welcome to my world, Trudence.” With a devilish grin, he added…

“Let’s see how long you last in it.”

CHAPTER 4

VAUGHAN

She’d only been at my house a week, and I already wanted to kick her ass out. Her passive-aggressive stares were the kind of shit I’d lived with my entire life. That was the easy shit to handle, but did she have to constantly add something else to my place?

She bought paper towels, bathroom spray, and then when I was looking around wondering how I was theluckyone who got to share a bathroom with her and where it all went to shit—I opened up the cupboard and saw tampons, so many fucking tampons in such a variety of colors I almost had a stroke. I wasn't that much of a prick that I didn’t get it—it was just that they belonged to her. Just another sick reminder that she was living and sleeping next door to me. Naked at times.

Showering.

Changing.

Touching her luscious body.

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