Page 32 of Sin

He snorts. “They all have girls sleep over all the time. Some of them have girlfriends practically living with them.” His expression grows stern. “But I’d rather you stay in my room as much as you can, especially at night. There’s always a party here, and I don’t want any of them getting handsy with you.”

It takes everything within me to keep from laughing. He knows for a fact that I’ve been to plenty of frat parties, including here. In fact, over a year ago, I fell in the toilet and took all my wet clothes off. Several of his frat brothers have seen me naked.

Ethan didn’t like that. He didn’t like it at all. Aside from yesterday when Mason grabbed me, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so angry.

I clear my throat. “Deal.”

His whole face lights up like fireworks in a dark sky. Wow. He’s really happy that I said yes. The guy who can’t stand me is excited to share his personal space with me for an entire week. My stomach does a little turn. What does it mean?

He reaches out his hand to shake mine. “I expect a commitment of a full week from you.” His voice is stern. “That’s the deal.”

I smile lazily as I wrap my hand around his and shake. “Your wish is my command, oh lord and master.”

He grips my hand tightly as an unreadable emotion flickers in his eyes. “You haven’t called me that in a while.” His voice is husky. “I’ve actually kind of missed it. It’s such a Lily thing to say.”

My breath quickens. He’s missed it? He’s only become this softer version of himself over the last week.

Is it possible I misread him? What if he enjoyed my teasing from the very beginning—like Kinsley has always thought—and I just couldn’t see it?

Ethan lets go of my hand and stands up. “Okay, this is what we’re going to do.” He paces the floor in front of me. “I’ll plan a whole sleep routine for you, but this will be much more elaborate than what I’ve had you do this last week. We’ll go all out. Chamomile tea and melatonin. Strict bedtimes and times to wake up, and I’ll have you do activities during the day that’ll help you sleep at night, like going for a run?—”

“Oh, fuck no.” I shake my head sharply. “No running. If you’re planning on working me that hard, the deal is off.”

He scowls. “We just shook on it.”

“We sure did. You might take your promises seriously, but I don’t. Not when they ruin my life.”

A soft smile tugs at his lips. “Running would ruin your life?”

“I can only assume it would. I’ve never tried it for exercise, because it looks awful and un-fun. I get my workouts by walking on campus, thank you very much. And if that’s not enough, I’ll die early. At least I’ll go out happy.”

He chuckles. “You’re a truly ridiculous person.”

I inhale a sharp breath. Why was his voice so caressing? He called me ridiculous as if it’s an endearment. As if he loves that I’m ridiculous. A shiver of delight runs down my spine, and my cheeks flush. How nice would it be to find a man who cherishes my frivolousness?

It can’t be Ethan. He might be a little bit attracted to me, but he’d never want me long term. Even if Noah were okay with a relationship between us, Ethan wouldn’t date a woman who isn’t a Christian. From what Noah has told me, Ethan only ever plans to date his future wife when he meets her.

Bizarre.

How could I ever be with a man like that anyway? It would be like dating an alien.

“Your wrists are bruised.” Ethan’s serious voice startles me. “Can you let me take a look at them?”

My skin prickles at the reminder of yesterday. Fuck, why didn’t I fight harder? It’s humiliating that Ethan had to come to my rescue.

“Sure.” My voice is small.

Ethan nods before sitting down beside me. He picks up my wrists one by one and examines them closely, rubbing them gently with his thumbs. His fingers are big and rough, sending electric currents up my arms.

When he’s done, he sets my hands gently on my lap. “They aren’t as bad as I expected, but I want you to ice them again before you leave. You’re going to need to head to your sorority house to pack a bag for the week. I don’t want you stepping foot in that house while we’re trying this experiment.”

I nod. “Got it, Coach.”

“We also need to talk about what happened with Mason. I promised you a reprieve, but I’m not going to let it go after what I saw him do. If you don’t want me to go straight to the cops when you go get your stuff, you need to give me a damn good reason. Right now.”

My stomach plummets to the floor. “I already told you why.” My voice is strained. “I don’t want to rock the boat. I just want Mason to leave me alone.”

“Yep, and you could easily solve that with a restraining order. You’re going to need to do better than that.”

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