Page 56 of Embers in the Dark

“No one from school,” I tell them. “You don’t know him.”

“Ah, so a friend?” Jada asks. “Like a friend with benefits?” She waggles her eyebrows.

“I don’t think so?” I say, although it comes out more like a question.

“You better know for sure. I had something like that a while back, and it was definitely a sad state when I realized it was a friends with benefits situation, after I found him with one of my dorm mates a week later. Turns out we weren’t official. I learned my lesson,” Sydney tells me.

My coffee feels like a rock in my stomach. I’m not the type to date multiple people at the same time. I’ve always been a monogamous dater. Growing up, I saw Tucker date people in high school, but I know that’s not quite the case as he’s gotten older.

Fuck. Maybe I should have clarified this situation before we did anything intimate. I’m such a fool. I already had feelings going into this. I internally roll my eyes.

Jada and Sydney move on to another conversation; unbeknownst to them I’m reeling over here at the fact that I started something and I’m already in love with the person I just slept with. They have no idea how long I’ve dreamed of this with Tucker. Shit, they don’t know who Tucker is to me. They really have no idea what my life is beyond school; we’ve only known each other a few weeks.

Once we finish up our coffees, we disperse, and I walk to the library. I have a study group to meet up with. Jada has a shift at a bookstore down the street and Sydney has a date with Jacob. Apparently, he asked her out. Fucking finally.

I’m walking through the campus, the library in my line of sight, when I feel eyes on me. I look over my shoulder, my skin prickling with awareness. The campus is quiet this afternoon, students simply moving about from their dorms to random areas with friends. Because of the late hour, it’s pretty quiet on campus right now.

Still, that eerie feeling continues. I pull my phone out ofmy pocket, just in case I need to make a phone call. The moment I reach the door of the library, I breathe a sigh of relief. Something about being in an enclosed space brings a sense of peace.

I walk through the doors and make sure to ask one of my classmates to give me a ride home instead of taking an Uber home alone. Something unsettling about that short walk from the coffee shop to the library has set off alarm bells.

I’m sitting on the couch early the next morning, wide awake. After I got home, I passed out on the couch. Once my study session ended yesterday, I got a ride and crashed immediately when I got home. The apartment was so quiet without Tucker, and I’ll admit, he wiped me out with our sex-fest the night before.

He kept me up when he was off from his shift, not that I’m complaining. It was pretty memorable and I’m still pinching myself to make sure it wasn’t a dream. Now I’ve fallen down a rabbit hole on my computer, lost in a search of piercings that I can’t seem to get out of. This is fascinating.

I hear someone at the door and Tucker comes in quietly.

“Good morning,” I greet him.

“Hey. I wasn’t expecting you to be up.” He seems surprised to see me at the couch.

He walks over and grabs my chin and plants a kiss on my lips as if he’s done it hundreds of times before.

“Why are you awake already? You studying?” He juts his chin toward my laptop, unable to see my screen.

“Not in the way you think,” I say as I feel my cheeks heat.

Tucker walks over to the kitchen to fix himself a cup of coffee. He’s opening a cupboard for a mug.

“If you’re not studying at this hour, what are you doing?” he asks, his back to me.

“I got curious about piercings after the other night. I mean, your dick is mesmerizing, Tucker. How am I supposed to go back to a regular one after yours?” I bite down on my lower lip, knowing he’s going to react to my comment. That’s exactly why I said it.

I avoid looking up, keeping my eyes fixed on my computer. He slams the cabinet and stalks toward the couch, eyes locked on me, arms crossed over his chest.

Innocently, I look up at him, blinking as if I didn’t say anything offensive.

“What? Can I help you?” I say nonchalantly.

He grabs my laptop gently, knowing I need it for school, and places it on the coffee table. Then he proceeds to grab my ankles and pull me down so I’m lying flat on the couch. He cages his forearms on either side of my head, hovering his large body over me.

“Excuse me, but did I just hear you correctly? Did you just compliment my dick then proceed to discuss fucking someone else after me?” He pushes his half-hard dick into me and heat is already pooling in my core. Why is this so hot?

“Well, Tucker, I mean, you’ve sort of ruined it for me with other guys,” I push his buttons a little further.

“Are you fucking serious, Baylee?” He brings his lips into the crook of my neck and bites right below my earlobe. I feel an electrical current down to my pussy. This man is sinful and delicious in all the right ways.

“Am I saying something wrong, Tucker?” I laugh and bring my hands into his hair, loving that I can now touch him in this way.

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