Page 3 of Roommate Wars
He let out what sounded like a frustrated groan, then said, “What the hell, Elise?” He opened the bathroom door so fast I nearly fell onto his broad chest. “What is going on here?” His green eyes were darker than normal, and his full, kissable lips were set like granite.
My mouth formed a silentO. “What? Not everyone has a place as nice as yours.”
“Your apartment is a piece of shit. I wouldn’t let my dog live here.”
“You don’t own a dog.”
“And what’s the deal with the furnace? You didn’t just turn it down; you turned it off. It smells damp. Actually—” He looked over my shoulder into the small one-bedroom we San Franciscans called a “junior one-bedroom,” because it was essentially a closet we stuffed a bed in. His nose wrinkled. “Is that black mold?”
Shit, shit. I stepped backward and reached behind me, fumbling with the bedroom doorknob and trying to close the door. “It’s mildew. No biggie.”
He pushed past me and opened the door, where more of my single-lady paraphernalia lay haphazardly: undies drying on a drying rack, though they wouldn’t dry because itwastoo damp and cold in here, plus mounds of blankets to prove him right about the furnace.
He grabbed my hand and dragged me down the short hallway. “You can’t stay here. It’s toxic.”
I karate-chopped his hand, and he pulled back with a wince. “Don’t tell me what to do, Jack Townsend.”
He rolled his eyes. “Elise, people get sick from black mold. I’m surprised you haven’t noticed symptoms. It’s toxic to even be standing here.”
“Symptoms?” I said, as though I didn’t know what he was talking about. I was a registered nurse with a master’s in public health. I knew. I’d just been ignoring the chronic headache, brain fog, and weird metallic taste until a better apartment came along—which I was desperately working to find. No point in telling him he was right and that I’d slept with a mask at night since the day I moved in. Or that I’d been begging my new landlord to fix the furnace.
The place had been fine when I checked it out a month ago, but apparently things could go south fast. It didn’t help that my apartment had been occupied when I viewed it, with the mold situation hidden behind furniture and drapes.
“Like a chronic headache, that sort of thing?” he prodded.
Was he some sort of mind reader? He was supposed to be the easygoing guy my sister roomed with for a few months. When the hell had he become intuitive? Or knowledgeable about toxic mold?
I waved my hand. “I’ll buy bleach and take care of it.”
“You’d need more than bleach; you’d need a hazmat suit.” As though he’d just reminded himself of how bad it was, he looped his arm around my back and shuffled me to the front door.
“Hey!” I said and took a step back.
“We’re leaving, Elise.” His expression was pure masculine obstinance.
I planted my feet. “You’re leaving. This is where I live.”
He shot me a look that had my hackles rising. Because that look was calculating. “I have an extra bedroom now that your sister moved in with Max. You can stay at my place while your landlord takes care of this”—he looked around in disgust—“situation.”
Hell to theno. Had he lost his mind?
Jack’s apartment was only a floor below where my sister lived with Max. Not to mention theliving with Jackpart. I was trying to get over my crush, but I hadn’t quite succeeded. He was beautiful, and he’d been incredible in bed. These were temptations only the strongest of independent women could overlook, and I was determined to be one of them. “I’ll pass.”
His mouth twisted in annoyance. “Still thinking about that night, are you? It wasn’t that good. I’ve entirely forgotten about it.”
My face heated and a twinge of pain shot through my stomach.It wasn’t that good?
A memory flashed of Jack gently gripping my face and passionately kissing me, his tongue teasing my mouth while his hands roamed. I’d quivered at that kiss, and the sex had been explosive…and he’d just saidhe didn’t remember it?
Asshole!
“It’ll only be for a month,” he continued and checked the time on his phone, as though what we were discussing wasn’t the major upheaval I didn’t need. “Just long enough for you to find a decent alternative.”
A woman had her pride. “No.”
Bad sex? Was he trying to piss me off?
He lifted his eyebrow. “Not even rent-free?”
