Page 25 of Foul & Fake
“I just think it’s better if we don’t complicate this,” I say firmly. “I’m not backing out. Just laying some thicker ground rules since the first ones didn’t stick.”
“Sofuckfuck the rules? That sentence came from your lips first.” He reaches out and touches my bottom lip, then braces his weight on my bed. “I’ve already been inside you, baby.”
My stomach flips violently. “I know that. We… we needed to get it out of our systems, that’s all.”
“And did it work?” he has the audacity to ask. “Am I out of your system, cupcake?”
All I hear in my head is that stupid vampire telling me to lie. Because that’s what it is — a lie. “Yep.”
Eli stands up straighter like I slapped him. “Alright.” He looks around the room like he’s lost, then buckles up his pants and backs away from me. “I lost my shoes.”
He trips over them and falls onto the bottom of my bed, making me giggle. I stifle it quickly. “There they are.”
His head snaps toward me before he turns to stare at my ceiling. “This is bullshit. Did I say that yet?”
“You did.”
“And did I say no? I don’t remember agreeing to this. I liked how it was.”
“Of course you did,” I say softly. “You had all the power.”
“I don’t remember you complaining when we were in bed. Your pussy loved giving me the power.”
Rolling my eyes, I yank the blanket up a little higher. “The sex was good, I won’t say it wasn’t. But that’s not the power I was talking about.”
Eli groans, moving to stand up abruptly only to find himself right back down. “Fuck this. So what? We’re still fake dating just only in public. I’m not allowed in your room anymore?”
“Pretty much.” Sighing, I reach out to touch his arm. “I just need some boundaries. That’s all.”
“I don’t like boundaries, but fine. You’re going to have to really play it up around the team. They’re believing us right now because I keep disappearing to be with you, but if we’re not even friends anymore I’m going to be around more often. You’re going to have to pretend you’re in love with me.”
Which will have the opposite effect of what I’m going for.
Are crabs in my dorm really that bad?
“And if I can’t?”
“You can. Just keep calling me cute when they’re around… and I’m gonna stay the night.”
I’d argue with him, but I genuinely don’t think he’s in a fit state to go anywhere alone. I’d have to either walk him home and explain to Vito why I’m not staying, call his sister and explain why Eli can’t stay here, or risk him passing out and waking up in the middle of the quad.
“Fine,” I relent. “You can stay, but I’m sleeping in Samira’s bed.”
“No.” He pins both of my legs down and curls onto his side to hold them like a pillow.
It’s hard not to reach out and play with his hair. “What’s your tattoo? The soundwave on your ribs.”
“Sleep Token,” he slurs. “Aqua Regia.”
His deep breathing reaches my ears not even a moment later, and I realize I’m pinned.
Not the cute kind of pinned, but the kind where there’s a hundred and eighty pounds of drunken, passed out weight crushing my legs. A hundred and eighty pounds of obsessed man making sure I don’t go anywhere.
The perfect start to a perfect war.
This is gonna be a long night.
Chapter 10
