Page 9 of Ace My Heart

“Fuck, Mel, you are so damned sexy!” Pete groaned, pressing his hands against my hips. I was suddenly wide awake again.

“Well, you’re not so bad yourself,” I replied coyly, peeking at him through my lashes. He pulled me closer. I gasped, he was loaded and ready for round two.

“Do you think we can make it to the bed this time?” he asked, and I giggled, letting him pull me in that direction.

In the early hours I very quietly let myself out of Pete’s apartment and tiptoed towards the lift. I’d left Pete sprawled on his bed, snoring.

Swiping my card in the door, I eased it open as quietly as I could. The TV was off, but Joel had left the kitchen light on. I wondered if that was his way of apologising for being a douche earlier.

I sneaked up the hallway and into my bedroom. I really wanted a shower, but I was afraid to have another one in case I woke Steve. I pulled off my clothes and slid naked into the sheets.

It was two-thirty. I really needed to sleep.

I couldn’t.

God, did I just do something really stupid?I asked as I stared into the darkness. I didn’t get an answer.

I sat up, reaching for my phone to turn on the music quietly. But even the husky, romantic tones of Jace McKenzie, my favourite singer, couldn’t relax me. If anything, I felt more tense now than before being pounded twice by Pete.

The sex had been decent. Pete had moves, said the right things – he told me how sexy I was, how much I turned him on, how hard he was about to come.

But it just hadn’t felt right. How was it possible to feel like I’d used Pete, and like Pete had used me, at the exact same time?

“Did the trunk live up to its reputation, Stink?” Joel whispered as he opened the door. I slipped further down under the covers – if he found out I slept naked, I’d never live it down.

“Who invited you in?” I whispered through clenched teeth. He sat down on the edge of the bed.

“I invited myself. Was the Wookie sex as hot as you’d been hoping?”

I grimaced, overwhelmed by the need to unpack it with someone.

“I’m not sure … I mean the sex was fine … more than fine, but I don’t know. Something was missing,” I muttered.

“A foreskin maybe?” Joel asked cheekily.

I fought my twitching lips. “Are you telling me you have one of those?” I asked before thinking about how inappropriate that was.

Joel raised an eyebrow, his hands slipping to the tie of his shorts. A weird little sound gurgled out from the back of my throat.

Joel’s lips curled upwards, and he folded his arms. “I’ll leave you to ponder that one on your own, Stinky.”

“I really need to get some sleep now, Joel,” I grunted. He stood up. My stupid, traitorous eyes snapped straight to his crotch. He noticed and his grin widened as he moved to the door.

“Good luck with that.”

He left silently, and I squeezed my eyes shut to try and clear the vision of the more-than-friendly bulge in Joel’s pants.

Oh God, how was I going to be able to sleep at all with that vision stuck in my head?

Apparently I could.

I woke up what felt like minutes later to Steve thumping on the door.

“Get up, Mel!” I could tell from the tone in his voice that he had some idea about what had happened last night, and he wasn’t happy.

I felt hungover even though I hadn’t had even a sip of alcohol, and sore, not just between my legs. Not a good sign. Struggling out of bed, I padded my way across the hallway to the bathroom. Thedoor was locked. I banged loudly, rubbing at the sleep in my eyes with my other hand.

“Joel, hurry up! I need to shower!” I shouted. The lock clicked and the door swung open.

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