Page 1 of Not Quite Roommates

CHAPTER1

Three months.Jonah Sinclair tried to focus on that fact instead of the fine ass swaying before him. He walked down the hallway to the apartment he’d agreed to sublet for three months. The longest he’d been in any one place since college. New city, big enough to get lost in. Northeast coast in autumn. New job, only one office. No travel. At twenty-eight years old, it was time for no more fucking hotel rooms.

The petite blonde leading him was legit hot. Any man would willingly follow that ass showcased in denim anywhere she led. But he wasn’t following her to fuck her. He didn’t plan on doing anything with his new roommates, let alone fuck either of them. This one definitely qualified as completely fuckable. If the other one was as gorgeous, he’d have to make arrangements to get laid on the regular to stop himself from making a mess of his living situation.

If things went south, he couldn’t leave. He’d keep his hands to himself. This had to work out. The last few years of constant travel had worn on him. He wanted something less nomadic.

“Did Brenda tell you much about the apartment?” Sophie, the hot blonde, turned toward him for a second. Her big, blue eyes tracked up his entire body before meeting his gaze. Interest lay in those eyes, but no heat.

She liked what she saw. Hopefully she had a man and it wouldn’t become an issue. He didn’t need to deal with a roommate who decided he would be her next snack.

“Don’t need much.” He kept his tone gruff and his eyes blank.

He wasn’t here to make friends. Maybe at work, but not in this apartment. These roommates were temporary. Three months and he’d figure out if he needed to find his own place. He hadn’t wanted to commit to a year-long lease when his new job might not work out, but he couldn’t imagine living out of another goddamn hotel room. Thus the sublet.

She stopped at the door and glanced at him again. Her lips pinched and her eyes narrowed. Her mouth opened but then she closed it again with a small shake of her head.

He stood still and let her evaluate him however she needed to. He wasn’t a threat. He didn’t plan to interact. He just needed a place to lay his head at night and occasionally fuck.

Blowing out a breath, she opened the door. He followed her through.

“I’m in love with Logan O’Connell and we’re going to live happily ever after,” someone in the room professed.

Sounds like this other roommate wouldn’t be an issue.

Sophie moved to the side and his gaze landed on the woman sitting on the couch with her back to them against the arm of the couch and her iPhone facing them. The couch sat in the center of the open kitchen/living room, with the back toward the kitchen but in line with the TV sitting on a low stand. The woman reclined against the arm with her bare feet up on the cushions in front of her. The woman on the other end of the iPhone pointed at him and Sophie.

“Wha—?” The roommate on the couch glanced to the side without turning around.

“And this would be your other roommate, Lacy.” Sophie stepped slightly behind him.

“Call me back.” The woman on the screen winked and disconnected.

His new roommate, Lacy, took a deep breath and set her phone on the coffee table as she stood. She brushed popcorn crumbs from her kitten pajamas while she turned. Her brown hair was pulled up in a messy bun. Her pink-painted toes peeked out from beneath the oversized pajama pants draped over them. He’d never been a foot guy, but something about those toes. . . .

When she straightened, she barely reached his chin.

Her brown eyes started on Sophie, but as soon as they landed on him, they widened. Where Sophie’s gaze had been assessing, Lacy’s seemed intense and innocent. As a good-looking man, Jonah was used to attention, but Lacy took her time raking her gaze over him. While she was distracted, he took in more of her small frame. Her smooth, golden skin peeked out where the bottom button of her cotton pajama top had come undone. As she took a deep breath, her chest rose and fell, drawing his attention to her decent-sized breasts. She stood with confidence as her eyes caught his.

She had a pretty face, with a dimpled chin, button nose, and large eyes. As he studied her, her pink lips slightly parted. Her brown eyes were wide and unassuming.Soft and sweetfloated through his mind, but that didn’t stop his thoughts from wandering down naughtier pathways.

Not a woman he would normally look twice at, but also not someone he’d kick out of bed. That hint of innocence drew him, begging him to corrupt her.

“Lacy Hatcher, Jonah Sinclair. He’s subletting Brenda’s room.” Sophie’s voice broke the stare-off. Lacy’s gaze jerked to Sophie. For a second, he wanted Lacy to return those eyes to him. She wasn’t sex on a stick like Sophie, but he couldn’t deny she tempted him.

Shit, this situation had gone from bad to worse.

Lacy smiled and held out her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Her voice was bright and welcoming. His fingers ached to touch her, but he flexed them. Touching her was not a good idea. He glanced at her hand and gave her a brief nod of acknowledgement before turning to Sophie. The less he interacted with either of these women the better.

“Where’s the room?” The sooner this tour was over, the sooner he could crash for the night. He’d have to put out some feelers for tomorrow night though. He needed to get this urge out of his system. Obviously, it’d been too long if pink toenails fascinated him. He knew a few women in this city who were usually good to go whenever he came to town.

“Um, right this way.” Sophie led him down the hall. “This is our shared bathroom. Your room is here. Lacy’s and mine is over here. Since I travel a lot for work, it’ll mostly just be you and Lacy here unless you travel too.”

He glanced Lacy’s way without a smile and no comment. At least Sophie would be out of sight and out of mind, but that left him alone with Miss Fuck-me-toes. His gaze ran over her. He couldn’t resist. Her frolicking kitten pajamas consisted of loose pants and a button-down shirt. Tilting her chin up, she crossed her arms and tightened her lips. She might have been trying for fierce, but those pajamas and her bare toes ruined the effect. When his gaze finally met hers, the corner of his lips crept up slightly before he managed to go blank again.

She had a guy and he didn’t mess around with taken women. Besides, being here was temporary, like everything in his life. And she didn’t seem like the type of woman that did temporary. Like she said, she wanted happily ever after. A fairytale. True love and all that bullshit.

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