Page 15 of Begin Again

“How did the party end up?” I asked, just to change the subject.

Now he leaned back again and folded his arms in front of his chest. My eyes wandered to his many tattoos. They were beautiful, not clumsy looking like so many others I’d seen.

“After your performance, the mood kind of cooled.”

“Oh no,” I cried, looking up from his tattoos. “I’m so sorry.” I put down my coffee and ran a hand through my hair. “Really, I didn’t mean to hurt your girlfriend’s feelings. I just didn’t like the way she spoke to Monica.”

I held my breath as Kaden let his eyes travel over my body. Then he shook his head a bit, raising his chin to look me in the eye again. “She isn’t my girlfriend. And I didn’t like it either.”

“That’s why I’m sorry. I just had such a long week and lost control, and then there was the wine, and… ” I paused and blinked. “Huh?”

“I didn’t like the way she spoke to Monica, either,” he said. For a moment he seemed lost in thought, then folded his arms behind his head. “To tell the truth, I didn’t like anything that came out of her mouth. It was more what she did with her mouth.”

I gulped my coffee.

“Yuck, Kaden!”

He grinned. A sly, self-assured grin. I wished I could just pour my coffee over his head. “What? Since we’re roommates now we can talk about this stuff openly and honestly, right? That’s what I always did with Ethan.”

I grimaced. “No thanks. No need. Would you excuse me now? I’ve got to go brush my teeth,” I said, putting down my coffee and getting up to leave. But I didn’t get far.

Kaden had grabbed me by the wrist and turned me around. In a sweeping move he’d trapped me between his legs. I stumbled and had to support myself with the other hand on his shoulder to avoid falling into his lap. I felt his hard muscles under his thin cotton shirt.Mmm.

“Monica is the only woman I’d call a friend.”

His grip around my wrist was gentle. I could have freed myself at any moment. But I didn’t want to, not at all.

“So you didn’t violate any rules,” he whispered, letting go.

Confused, I stayed put and frowned down at Kaden. “So I did everything right?”

Kaden raised one eyebrow. “That’s not how I’d put it, actually.”

“Actually,” I mimicked, grinning broadly at him.

“Don’t get too cocky, Allison.”

The grin froze on my face.

“How do you know my name’s Allison?” I demanded.

It was as if that other moment between us had never been. Kaden had rolled a bit backward on my desk chair and was giving me this nasty, mean look I’d come to know so well. “A good guess? There aren’t that many possibilities with a name like Allie.”

“Ah.” I turned away from him. “I really have to go wash up,” I said, and dashed out.

Sighing, I leaned over the sink and supported myself with both hands on the cool surface.Everything’s fine.It didn’t take magic for him to conjure Allie into Allison. And that wasn’t even my first name, just my middle name. Everything was okay. No need to worry.

Just as I shoved the toothbrush into my mouth, I heard a knock. And of course Kaden opened the door without waiting for me to say, “Come in.”

I should have screamed.Why isn’t there a lock?What if I’d been on the toilet? But instead I tried to appear as undisturbed as possible, and said only: “Hmm?”

“Do you have hiking shoes?” he asked.

I shook my head and brushed my teeth a bit more vehemently than necessary.

“That’s not going to do you any good,” muttered Kaden.

I spit out the toothpaste and rinsed my mouth well before asking, “You want to go on a hike with me?”

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