Trapped by My Brother's Crush

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I woke up with a skull-splitting hangover, only to find my black lace bra draped right over a strange man's face.

Last night, I was supposed to play wingman for my brother and hit on his untouchable crush. Three shots later, the night derailed.

My entire body went rigid. The unfamiliar, sharp scent of pine and heavy male pheromones swallowed me whole. The sheer oppressive weight of this territory screamed one thingthis was not my brother's room.

Chapter 1

The day after my brother begged me to get his ultimate crush's numberalso known as the day the biggest misunderstanding of my life kicked off.

"Did you get his number?" My brother had blown up my phone with at least fifty missed calls.

"I got it." I kept my face buried in the heavy duvet, my voice rasping like gravel.

"Then why aren't you home yet? I've been losing my damn mind waiting for you!"

Was he really that desperate? I peeked through a slit in the blankets at the god-tier man lying next to me.

"Um hey, bro could you maybe switch to a different crush?" I forced the words out.

"Why?"

"I just think like isn't he a little old for you?" I stuttered, failing to come up with a solid excuse.

"Older is better. What the hell do you know?"

Older. My heart flatlined.

Was there something seriously wrong with my brother's brain?

"Bro, please tell me you're out of your mind."

Un-fucking-believable.

My brother, single for his entire twenty-something years of existence, actually sent me to get a guy's number for him.

[ Query: Is my brother a little you know? ]

[ Top Comment: He's definitely 'you know'. ]

I was so screwed.

I only came for his number, but this guy practically took my life.

"Cut the crap. Do you want that new iPhone or not? Send the contact!" he barked through the speaker.

I bit the inside of my cheek hard and forced out a single word. "Yes."

The second the word left my mouth, a large, knuckle-heavy hand clamped around my wrist. He yanked me back, pulling me and the heavy duvet straight against him. A scorching, hard chest pressed flush against my spine. His low, gravelly voice brushed against the shell of my ear, thick with raw aggression. "Your voice is wrecked, yet you're still talking?"

"No" My fingers slipped, instantly severing the call with my brother. "My voice is fine!"

"Right. Fine." He let out a low chuckle, his breath hot against my skin. "Little girls shouldn't be so stubborn."

I swallowed hard. "What what's your name?" The blood drained entirely from my face.

His dark, heavy gaze locked onto mine. He paused for a beat before a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. "You didn't memorize it last night?"

My stomach dropped into a bottomless pit. "Be serious please."

"Harrison."

"Harrison, back up." The moment the words hit the air, I realized my voice was trembling.

His lashes lowered, his gaze trailing down my body. His chest expanded as he dragged in a breath. "Shy?"

I shoved hard against his solid chest, rolled out of the bed, snatched up a handful of my scattered clothes, and bolted straight for the bathroom.

I scrambled to pull my clothes on with shaking hands. My phone screen lit up againmy brother.

I rejected the call immediately and swiped through my contacts, looking for Harrison. I spotted a pitch-black profile picture saved under the name: Hazel's 1957. My pulse skipped a brutal beat.

Jesus Christ.

I'd actually numbered the guys I scoped out up to the thousands?

A second later, a new text notification popped up on the screen, nearly giving me a heart attack.

[ You forgot your underwear. It's ruined. Need me to buy you a new pair? ]

I gripped the edge of the sink. Who else could it be but Harrison!

[ No! I mean don't worry about it! ]

My scalp tingled with pure mortification. I was typing pure nonsense. I quickly followed it up with a pleading emoji.

And then he actually went dead silent.

I stood there alone on the cold bathroom tiles for a few minutes, forcing my breathing to level out. Finally, I pushed the door open and walked out, wearing nothing but my slip dress. It was fine, just a little drafty.

I inched toward him, clamping my hands down over the hem of my dress, and sat on the edge of the chair. "Last night? You hold ninety-nine percent of the blame for that."

He looked completely drained. His eyes, which he had just closed, barely cracked open into a narrow slit. "Mhm."

I pressed a hand tight against my chest to keep my heart from pounding straight through my ribs. "The remaining one percent is on me for poor supervision."

A dark chuckle vibrated in his throat. He just watched me, fully indulging my bullshit. "Mhm."

Did he suddenly lose his damn vocabulary? I dug my nails into my palms.

Chapter 2

"So, we're both adults. Let's just pretend nothing happened. You are not allowed" I choked on a breath, forcing my lungs to work. "to tell anyone. Especially my brother!"

He didn't say a word. His gaze simply dropped, locking heavily onto my lips. "An adult?"

"Hell yeah! I'm twenty!" I wanted to smash his head in. What a creep. What exactly was he staring at?

"Twenty?" He let out a slow breath, reaching over to the nightstand to pull out a cigarette. He lit it, pressing a thumb against his temple. "So damn young."

"You aren't exactly ancient yourself. Big deal, you've got a few years on me" Panicked and pissed, the reckless words spilled out before the heat rushed straight to my face, cutting me off entirely.

He paused. A dark smirk broke through around the cigarette clamped between his teeth. "Feisty little thing."

I dug my nails into my palms. God, he was looking down on me.

I shot up straight, clenching my fists. A draft blew in from the window, instantly sweeping up the hem of my dress. His gaze made zero effort to hide as it dragged up the line of my legs. That raw, invasive stare burned so hot I immediately slammed my hands down to pin the fabric in place.

He didn't get mad. That dark smirk only deepened, making my stomach hollow out.

"Don't hit me. You're terrifying the old man." He sat up, the cigarette still wedged between his fingers. The heavy duvet slipped down, and I squeezed my eyes shut.

Old man? Was he really that old? What the hell did my brother even see in him?

By the time I cracked an eye open a second later, he had already pulled on a pair of sweatpants. Honestly, my brain was already running full X-ray vision. One look, and the explicit HD memory from last night auto-played right behind my eyelids.

"You!" I glared at him. "Someone sent you a friend request. Accept it."

His footsteps stalled on the way to the bathroom. Through the thin curl of smoke, he turned his head. That sharp side profile hit me so hard my brain short-circuited. "Who?"

I stood there frozen, swallowing hard and cursing my own shameless eyes. "My brother."

"Your brother?" His brows pulled together.

"Yeah!"

Two seconds of dead silence stretched out. "Fine." He turned and walked into the bathroom.

I clamped a hand over my mouth. He didn't even ask why. He just accepted it. Oh my god, he really was into guys.

I brutally shoved every single memory of last night down into the deepest vault of my stomach.

The sharp hiss of the shower turned on. The frantic pounding of my heart easily drowned out the running water. I shot to my feet.

I had to run. But I didn't have any underwear on. How the hell could I step outside like this? I wanted to smash my skull against the wall.

My breathing hitched as I started tearing through his room, ripping drawers open. A few minutes in, reality hit me. Why would a single man have women's panties in his closet? Obviously, he didn't.

So, the exact second he walked out of the bathroom, fully dressed, he caught me red-handed. I was standing there like a thief, pinching the waistband of his boxers between two fingers, sizing them up against my hips.

"What exactly are you doing with my boxers?"

He was standing right behind me. I whipped around, instantly colliding with his six-foot-two frame. The sheer physical dominance rolling off him suffocated the air right out of my lungs.

I dropped the fabric like it was on fire and practically collapsed onto the floor, instantly confessing. "I don't have any I was just going to borrow"

The air in the room went terrifyingly dead. I could physically feel his stare boring a hole straight through my skull. He didn't say a word. He just leaned down, picked up the boxers from the floor, and deliberately lowered his head to trap my gaze.

"You couldn't wear mine even if you tried. Your waist is too damn small."

Too small? I instinctively wrapped my arms around my waist.

What the hell was wrong with this guy? Who talks like that? Why was my brother into such a dangerous, borderline-predatory guy?

Before I could even open my mouth, a loud knock pounded on the door.

We both snapped our heads toward the sound.

Oh, I was dead. There was no way my brother tracked me down here, right? My life was officially over.

Chapter 3

He tossed the boxers aside, unbothered, and pointed a long finger toward the armchair in the corner. "You have a thing for the floor, or are you just part golden retriever?"

My jaw snapped shut. "I was born in the year of the Rooster, actually."

A low, raspy chuckle vibrated from his chest. He turned, still visibly amused, and walked over to answer the heavy knock at the front door. Heat crawled straight up my neck.

"Building Management and the Health Department."

I crouched uselessly by the bed, spying on the doorway. The voices were muffled, but I caught one distinct, terrifying phrase: "Mandatory twenty-eight-day lockdown. Do not leave this unit."

Twenty-eight days? Trapped in Harrison's apartment? I was screwed. Pacing the floor didn't help the cold sweat breaking out across my palms.

"What the hell is going on?" The heavy front door clicked shut. I stared at him, desperately needing him to tell me I was hallucinating.

"A severe positive case was flagged in the building last night. CDC locked the place down. We can't leave. Not for a while." The amusement bled out of his expression, leaving behind a sharp seriousness. "Call your family. Let them know."

I stared at the floor, my pulse erratic. Then, a horrifying thought slammed into me. "Show me your exposure app."

"You didn't seem to care about health protocols when my tongue was down your throat last night. But now you remember?" He took a slow seat on the edge of the mattress, locking his dark gaze on mine. A faint smirk tugged at his lips. "It's flagged."

"Flagged?" My brain flatlined. Rule number one of modern survival: check their status before jumping into bed. How could I be this stupid?

"Yours is probably flagged too by proximity. We aren't going anywhere. It's just twenty-eight days. You'll survive." He was actually trying to comfort me.

I didn't want to hear a damn word of it. "I'm going home." I pushed off the floor. I moved way too fast.

The room spun, and my knees gave out. I collapsed sideways.

I crashed directly onto his solid chest. The impact knocked him flat against the mattress. He simply raised both hands in a mock surrender. "The door is right over there."

"I know." I gritted my teeth. The position was humiliating, but black spots were dancing in my vision. I needed a second to breathe.

A sharp hiss of air sliced through his teeth right next to my ear. The low, pained groan sent a violent jolt through my system.

I shoved off him instantly. My vision cleared just enough to see his features tightly drawn in pain.

"What's wrong?"

He didn't answer immediately. His eyes squeezed shut as he rode out the pain for a few agonizing seconds. When he finally opened them, his voice was tight. "Are you unaware of how heavy you are?"

Heat scorched my cheeks. "I'm sorry," I managed to force out. "My blood sugar crashed. I got dizzy."

A heavy sigh expanded his chest. "Stop fighting it. We can't leave. Make a list of what you need, and I'll have management drop it off."

"How the hell am I supposed to explain this to my brother?" Hot, uninvited tears burned the back of my eyes. This time, they were painfully real.

"You care that much about your brother's opinion?" He slowly propped himself up on his elbows. He paused, considering it for a second, before picking up his phone from the nightstand. "Want me to text him?"

"No!" My reflexes kicked in before my brain did. I slammed my hand over his, snatched the phone straight out of his grip, and tossed it onto the empty side of the bed. "Do not say a word to him. Do not contact my brother."

"You're that terrified of him?" The teasing smirk was back, unapologetic.

"I'm not terrified. I just" I gripped my own phone tight against my chest. "don't want to cause any unnecessary misunderstandings between the two of you." I slowly started backing up toward the balcony sliding glass door.

"Sure." He arched a dark brow, leaning back against the headboard. Unbothered.

I slipped out onto the balcony and shoved the glass door shut. I glanced back over my shoulder just to make sure he wasn't following me, then dialed my brother's number.

"Bro, I got locked down," I practically whimpered into the receiver. "I'm stuck at someone's place for twenty-eight days." I kept it as vague as humanly possible, praying he wouldn't dig too deep.

"Whose place?" Of course. My brother's radar was horrifyingly sharp.

"Just you know. Him." I stammered, the absolute certainty that I was about to be caught wrapping tightly around my throat.

Chapter 4

"Tell me you didn't!!" My brother was probably losing his mind on the other end of the line. "I sent you to get his number yesterday, and you ended up in his damn apartment?"

Wow. It took him long enough to put the pieces together.

"Yeah." I pressed my lips together. There was no running from this.

"You Hazel, listen to me pull your weight around his place, okay? Don't just lay around like a dead log the way you do at home. Leave a good impression. Your brother is counting on you"

Excuse me?

"Bro, you don't mind that I'm with him?" I tested the waters.

"Of course not. You're my sister."

Right. My brother was oblivious. If he knew his most trusted sister had practically tackled his ultimate crush to the mattress last night, he would pop a blood vessel.

"So are you still buying me that new iPhone?" Honestly, I had zero shame. My life was falling apart, and I was still focused on the phone.

"Yes! The second you get out, I'm buying it." His voice buzzed with hyperactive energy.

"But seriously, be useful while youre there. Be on your best behavior. Don't cause trouble, and maybe" He hesitated. He actually sounded shy. "take good care of him for me. You always bully me at home, so consider this making it up to me. I owe you."

Un-fucking-believable.

He was literally treating me like a maid for the guy he had a crush on. I was officially stripped of my favorite sister status.

I ended the call and slipped back inside the apartment, keeping my steps light.

The first thing I saw was Harrison walking out of the kitchen, a glass of milk in one hand and his phone pressed to his ear.

"Yeah, women's clothing. Size" His heavy gaze dragged over me, doing a slow, deliberate sweep from head to toe.

Pure predator.

I instinctively crossed my arms over my chest.

"A B-cup?" He arched a dark brow. Combined with those devastating, heavy-lidded eyes, my knees actually weakened.

"What the hell are you talking about? How would you even know my" I glanced down at my chest, my competitive streak flaring up. "It's bigger than that!"

His calm facade cracked. He lowered his head, a dark chuckle vibrating in his chest. "Just buy a looser fit."

"Pink? Does that work?" He was about to step into his bedroom, but he stopped and glanced back over his shoulder. His voice dropped an octave lower. "Little girl?"

Who was he calling a little girl? I was a grown woman.

"Black. Lace. Underwire-free. Thank you." I locked eyes with him, keeping my jaw tight.

A soft scoff hit the air. He stared at me for a long beat, that smirk returning before he dropped a single, gravelly word. "Done."

"Two sets of pajamas, size medium. Five sets of loungewear, some workout gear" He kept rattling off the list into the phone. But with every word, he took a slow, deliberate step toward me.

I put my hands up, backing up step for step as he advanced. The air in the room thickened into something suffocating. What exactly was he trying to do?

"Keep your distance." I forced the words out the second his broad chest boxed me in.

"Oh?" He stopped right in my personal space. The smirk stayed. "You learn fast."

"What?" My brain was misfiring.

"Using the exact words I taught you last night." He shoved the warm glass of milk into my hands. His gaze dropped, heavy and unreadable. "Drink. Didn't you say your blood sugar was crashing?"

He was an absolute menace, but he noticed the details. I gripped the glass and chugged the whole thing.

He immediately took a step back, slipping his mask of perfect indifference right back into place.

"I have work to handle in the study. Make yourself at home." He gave a lazy wave and disappeared into the room.

Chapter 5

The heavy oak door clicked shut behind him, and the suffocating tension instantly drained from my muscles. I looked down. The glass in my hand was slick with cold sweat, and my knees were literally trembling.

My fingers shook as I typed out a text to my brother.

[ Bro, you need to seriously reconsider. There is something off about this guy. ]

His reply came through almost instantly.

[ Hazel, what could possibly be off about him? Honestly, I think you're the one who's off. Your pure sibling affection has mutated. You're secretly in love with me and coveting my god-tier looks, aren't you? ]

I stared at the screen, speechless. The sheer, delusional magnitude of his ego was genuinely terrifying.

[ You're my brother. Why the hell would I have a crush on you? ]

[ We aren't blood-related. That's why you sabotage my love life every single day. ]

He wasn't wrong about the blood part. His dad and my mom got married, immediately packed up, and moved to Europe, leaving the two of us behind to fend for ourselves.

But for the record, I had zero interest in sabotaging his love life. It wasn't my fault his ex-girlfriends either cheated on him or dumped him the second their tragic first loves came crawling back.

Apparently, having his heart shredded by women was the final straw. He aggressively pivoted and decided he was exclusively into guys now. God help me.

I took a deep breath, deciding to just drop the bomb and tell him what actually happened last night. Before I could type a single word, a voice memo popped up on the screen.

[ Hazel, even when I get married, I'll still be your brother. You'll find someone eventually. Be a good girl and stop obsessing over me. I know I radiate pure charisma and most girls can't resist, but you need a reality check. I don't go for girls like you. I like guys like him. ]

I rolled my eyes so hard they actually ached. The mystery of why he was still single at twenty-six was fully solved. He had the absolute brain capacity of a golden retriever.

I stared at the ceiling for a solid three seconds before firing back the only appropriate response.

[ Drop dead. ]

It worked perfectly. The delusional texts instantly stopped.

I finished the glass of milk and crashed onto the sofa. Desperate to burn off the lingering adrenaline, I booted up a ranked match on my phone. The exact second the matchmaking lobby pinged, a notification from my class rep flashed across the top of my screen.

[ CDC lockdown in effect. All lectures are migrating to Zoom starting today. ]

Zoom lectures?

[ Everyone get in the meeting room ASAP. Professor is starting roll call. ]

You have got to be kidding me. My ranked match had already loaded in. Ditching the game would tank my ranking, but skipping roll call would tank my GPA. I gnawed on my lower lip and hatched a desperate survival plan.

I crept over to Harrison's study and knocked lightly on the heavy wood.

"Harrison?" I kept my voice low.

Dead silence.

"Uncle?" I tested the waters, hating the way the word tasted. He specifically said he had critical work to handle and told me to make myself at home. Invading his space felt incredibly risky.

"Yeah?" The door finally clicked open, leaving a narrow gap.

My gaze slammed directly into the sharp cut of a slate-grey suit. The tailored fabric stretched tight over his broad chest. My eyes dragged upward, tracing the dark silk of his tie right up to the sharp, devastating column of his throat. The slow slide of his Adam's apple as he swallowed short-circuited my brain.

I stood there frozen, my pulse hammering a frantic beat against my ribs.

"What do you need?" He leaned lazily against the doorframe, his massive frame blocking any view of the room behind him. He threw a quick glance over his shoulder before fixing that dark, amused stare on me. "I'm genuinely tied up right now."

I forcibly rebooted my brain. "Do you have an iPad?" I asked, keeping my voice down.

"I do." His voice was low, laced with a dangerous amount of patience. "What do you need it for?"

"A lecture. Zoom lecture." I dropped my gaze, staring hard at his polished dress shoes while my heart hammered a chaotic rhythm.

"Oh? A Zoom lecture?" He let the words hang in the air for two agonizingly long seconds. That heavy, penetrating stare burned straight through the top of my skull.

"Don't you have your phone?" His gaze flicked down to the device gripped tightly in my hand. "My iPad isn't exactly set up for guests."

I swallowed hard. The phone in my palm was vibrating violently. It was definitely my class rep spamming me to get into the lobby before the professor locked it.

I bit the bullet.

Chapter 6

"Just let me borrow it for a second, please?" I held up my index finger, giving him my best pleading look. "Zoom lectures are agonizing. Everyone uses their iPad for the stream and their phone to scroll TikTok or play games. Otherwise, I'll literally pass out."

"Oh?" The single syllable dropped from his chest, suddenly heavy and sharp. The shift made the hairs on my arms stand up. "Is it really that boring?"

"You've obviously never taken a Zoom class. It's so mind-numbing that I instantly mute it. The professor just drones on and on, making it impossible to focus on my game. I swear, I want to duct-tape his mouth shut."

Just thinking about that class made my jaw clench.

Wait. Why was his expression suddenly so intense? He was actually hanging onto my every word. Clearly, he had never experienced an online lecture and was genuinely curious.

"Today is Advanced Physics. Do you have any idea how awful that is? Physics is already a nightmare, and this guy makes it a hundred times worse. It's unadulterated torture." I dragged a hand down my face, laying the misery on thick.

"With that strategy, are you actually going to pass the exam? Aren't you worried your professor will find out?" His face remained completely unreadable, perfectly calm.

"Why would I be? When the time comes, I'll just copy off a classmate or beg the professor for mercy" I let out a heavy, dramatic sigh.

He stared at me in silence for three agonizing seconds. Finally, a heavy sigh expanded his chest. He turned around.

A moment later, he walked back and shoved a sleek iPad into my hands. "Password is four sevens."

"Thank you!" See? He wasn't evil.

I hugged the cold metal against my chest and practically skipped back to the sofa. I logged into the Zoom lobby, checked the attendance box, hit mute, and happily fired up my ranked match.

Right in the middle of a heavy firefight, my brother's caller ID flashed across my screen, blocking my view.

"What?" I snapped into the receiver.

"What is he doing?" my brother asked.

"He's working!" I rubbed my temples, fully exasperated.

"What kind of work? Do me a favor and snoop around. Figure out what he does for a living. And why isn't he replying to my texts?"

"What exactly did you text him?" My base was literally getting destroyed on screen, and he was out here playing middle school romance. I was losing my mind.

"I just sent him a quick text. 'It's getting cold, wear a jacket, drink some hot water'"

Jesus Christ.

"And what did he reply?"

"He just texted back, 'Don't worry, I'll take good care of her.'"

Wait, what? 'Her' definitely meant me, right? So that was why Harrison had ordered me clothes and poured me that glass of milk earlier?

What kind of messed-up game was this guy playing? Keeping my brother on the hook while playing the perfect caretaker for me?

I turned it over in my head until the logic finally clicked. He was trying to win my brother over by treating me well. He was definitely into my brother!

"Relax. I'll take good care of him for you," I declared, my chest puffing up with absolute confidence.

"Hazel, I knew I could count on you. You've really grown up." My brother sounded like he was on the verge of actual tears.

"I have to get back to my lecture. Bye." I didn't have the patience for his emotional breakdown. I ended the call and dove straight back into the digital bloodbath.

The match finally ended. I stood up, stretching my stiff shoulders until they popped. I glanced over at the iPad screen to check on the lecture, only to see a massive "20-Minute Recess" slide displayed.

With time to kill, my brother's desperate plea echoed in my head. I needed to hold up my end of the bargain. I walked into the kitchen, filled a glass with ice water, and headed toward the study.

Honestly, I was just nosey. He was wearing a full, tailored suit inside his own apartment. What exactly was he secretly doing in there?

I cleared my throat and tapped lightly on the heavy wood. "Harrison? Are you thirsty?"

No response.

"I'm bringing you some water."

"I'm coming in."

The latch wasn't fully clicked. I pressed my palm flat against the wood and pushed it open just a crack.

I stepped forwardand slammed face-first into a solid wall of muscle.

"What are you doing?" The gravelly voice dropped directly from above my head.

My spine snapped entirely straight. "Water." I shoved the cold glass toward his chest.

Chapter 7

His gaze flicked down to my hands before he took the cold glass. "Thanks."

I took advantage of his distraction to peek past his broad shoulder. My eyes locked onto his glowing laptop screen. The interface looked terrifyingly familiar.

The second I got a dead-on look at his monitor, a bomb went off in my skull. Row after row of familiar names from my lecture. I stood there, paralyzed.

"What are you staring at?" He leaned against the edge of the mahogany desk, clearly amused.

"Nothing!" I snapped my gaze back to the floor.

"Nothing?" He pulled the door open wider with his left hand. A faint plume of grey smoke drifted out. I hadn't even realized he had a cigarette wedged between his knuckles. "Don't you have your own?"

He didn't wait for an answer. He turned sideways, deliberately leaving the path clear for me to walk right in and get a front-row view.

I stepped inside cautiously, my mind still stuck on his words. Don't I have my own what?

"Did you understand it? The material from the last lecture?" He leaned his hips back against the heavy desk, took a slow drag from his cigarette, and watched me with suffocating calm.

My blood ran freezing cold. How the hell was he the Advanced Physics professor? I had been too busy carrying my team in ranked to even look at the Zoom stream.

My bottom lip actually trembled. "I don't know."

He tapped his ash over a crystal tray. "What does 'I don't know' mean? Did you grasp the concept or not?"

"No!" I instinctively yanked my hands behind my back, staring hard at the floorboards.

He took another drag, letting a slow exhale of smoke drift into the space between us. His voice dropped, smooth and dangerously patient. "Which part didn't you understand?"

Which part? I was a dead woman walking. I racked my brain, frantically trying to piece together a single word he had said on that stream, but it was completely blank.

Hot panic burned the back of my throat. "I I didn't understand any of it."

He stared at me for a long beat before a dark smirk broke across his face. It made my stomach drop entirely. "None of it? Does that mean you want a private tutoring session right now?"

"No! Definitely not!" The words spilled out in a panicked rush.

"My brain is just fried right now. I can't process it. I'll just ask a classmate later."

"Right" He didn't blink, fully indulging my pathetic scramble.

"Uncle I mean Professor, you look busy. I'm going to go text a friend. I won't bother you anymore." I pivoted on my heel, ready to bolt.

He didn't try to stop me. I scrambled toward the door, my pulse hammering in my ears. But right at the threshold, the toe of my shoe caught the edge of the thick area rug. I pitched forward and face-planted hard into the floorboards.

The impact knocked the wind out of me, but the sheer humiliation burned a hundred times worse. Two seconds later, a heavy grip clamped around my bicep, effortlessly hauling me up off the ground.

"Why are you running?"

"I I'm in a rush to get back to the lecture." I lied right through my teeth.

He dragged me over to the doorframe, steadying my shoulders until I found my footing. A low scoff vibrated in his chest. "You weren't exactly this dedicated ten minutes ago."

"I just suddenly felt a wave of academic motivation." I stood frozen in absolute mortification as his large hand brushed a streak of dust off my shoulder.

His hand stalled. He looked down at me, that dangerous smirk returning. "You're a very eager student."

"I try." My limbs felt like lead. My heart was practically attempting to violently escape my ribcage.

"Go out, grab the iPad, and bring it in here. Sit right next to me. Wouldn't you hear the lecture a lot better?" His dark lashes lowered, the corner of his mouth tipping up in pure, predatory amusement.

I had literally dug my own grave and handed him the shovel. I wanted to sink straight through the floor.

"I'll pass. Thanks, Professor." I shut that down instantly. Before he could react, I tore out of the room.

My heart was failing. I snatched up my phone and frantically hammered out a text to the class rep.

[ Why did our Advanced Physics professor change? ]

I held my breath, waiting for the typing bubble.

[ They announced it in the group chat. The old professor retired. We got a new one. What exactly are you doing during the lecture? ]

Are you kidding me? A new professor?

My screen suddenly lit up. The class group chat had already exploded with hundreds of unread messages. I tapped the notification.

[ Holy shit. The new physics professor is insanely hot. ]

Chapter 8

[ Yeah. Zero chance of falling asleep. His face is literally god-tier. ]

[ Was anyone else practically drooling the entire lecture? ]

[ Yes! It's an absolute tragedy we're locked down and can't see him in person. ]

[ If he taught in the lecture hall today, the doors would literally burst off the hinges from the crowd. ]

[ If I had a professor this hot in high school, Harvard and Yale would be fighting over me right now. ]

My stomach dropped. They spent the entire hour thirsting over Harrison, while I was oblivious, carrying my team in ranked.

I was a dead woman walking.

Not only had I completely ignored his lecture, but I had directly bragged to his face about how I muted his class to play games. And he caught me red-handed.

I was already practically failing Advanced Physics, and on top of that, I had dragged him into bed last night. Unfiltered disrespect to a superior. I dug my nails into my palms.

I snatched up my phone and dialed my brother.

"Bro, you have to drop this crush. He's actually a professor. It's totally inappropriate. Seriously, listen to me, find a new guy."

Dead silence stretched over the line. For a split second, I actually thought he had a breakthrough.

"Hazel, you still won't admit you're completely obsessed with me. You're making this really difficult for your brother."

I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Forget it. Pretend I never called!" I aggressively tapped the red end-call button.

I suffered through the rest of the agonizing lecture staring blankly at the screen, racking my brain for a way to do damage control. Getting caught by the professor was humiliating enough, but adding last night's disaster to the mix? I needed to make amends. Fast.

I finally settled on a plan: I would sneak into the kitchen, whip up a masterpiece, and win him over with food.

I stood in the center of his massive, high-end kitchen for three full minutes before a harsh reality hit me. I had absolutely no idea how to cook.

"Hazel, you're cooking?" My brother sounded genuinely horrified on the phone.

"Yeah."

"Can you just eat a cup of instant ramen? Please step away from the stove," he pleaded. "You're too lazy to even wash an apple at home. What kind of meal are you going to make? This isn't how you help me make a good impression. Be a good girl and let him handle the food."

"Sizzling oil is a nightmare. I don't want you burning yourself."

"If you really want to learn, I'll teach you when you get home, okay?"

"Don't do anything reckless. Listen to me, I don't need you to show off anymore. Just sit there quietly, okay?"

I gripped the counter. "People say I need to know how to cook for when I get married. Are you planning on cooking for me for the rest of my life?"

"I mean, I could. But anyway"

He just kept rambling. I hit end call and tossed the phone onto the island.

I pulled some raw shrimp from the fridge, pulled up a YouTube tutorial, and got to work.

"What are you doing?"

The low, gravelly voice dropped right over my shoulder. I violently flinched.

"Cooking." I instantly sidestepped, desperately trying to block his view of the sink, which I had already turned into a chaotic disaster zone of shells and water.

"Hungry?" He had changed into a dark grey, loose-fitting loungewear set. He stepped right into my personal space and reached a large hand up over my head.

"Mhm." My breath hitched. I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for contact.

A second later, the cabinet door clicked open. He was just grabbing a coffee mug.

"You actually know how to cook?" He glanced over my shoulder, taking in the wreckage. One dark brow arched in pure skepticism.

"Obviously yes." I forced my chin up, lying through my teeth.

His expression didn't change. He poured himself a cup of black coffee, a faint smirk touching his lips as he lifted the mug. "Right. Don't push your luck."

He was totally looking down on me again.

"I know what I'm doing!" I snapped back.

"Mhm." Right before he turned to leave, his dark gaze dropped, landing pointedly on my hands.

I looked down. Blood was dripping down my index finger. The damn shrimp shells had sliced right through my skin. Humiliation burned the back of my neck.

I was starving. I dug through the back of the cabinets and found a few cans of instant pasta. I tossed the metal cans straight into the microwave and punched the start button.

Thirty seconds later.

BOOM!

The microwave blew up?!

A deafening explosion rocked the kitchen. My ears rang. My brain flatlined.

Adrenaline-fueled survival instinct kicked in. I practically bolted for the door.

Chapter 9

By the time my brain finally rebooted, I realized my entire body was plastered against Harrison's chest. My arms were locked in a death grip around his neck.

"What the hell was that?" His large hands gripped my waist, steadying me. His dark brows pulled together in a sharp line.

"It blew up," I croaked.

"What exactly were you trying to cook?" He glanced over my shoulder toward the smoke billowing out of the kitchen, his broad hand rubbing slow, grounding circles into my back.

"Canned pasta." I squeezed my eyes shut, mortified.

He stared down at me. A heavy sigh expanded his chest. "Are you going to let go, or do you plan on hanging off me all night? I need to put the fire out."

I instantly dropped my arms and stepped back. The second my feet hit the floorboards, my knees completely gave out. I collapsed onto the rug. I was never stepping foot in a kitchen again.

He watched me for a few seconds, shaking his head slightly before leaning down. The world tilted as his arm swept under the backs of my knees. He effortlessly hauled me up against his chest. Knowing I had just nuked his microwave, I kept my mouth shut and went totally limp, letting him carry me straight to the living room and drop me onto the plush sofa.

He didn't pull back. Instead, he leaned down, bracing a hand on the backrest right next to my head. His dark gaze locked onto my face.

He slowly reached his other hand toward my cheek. My pulse started hammering a frantic beat against my ribs.

What was he doing? Was he seriously going to make a move right now?

"Can we eat first?" I whipped my head to the side, my breath hitching. "I'm starving."

"Eat first?" His knuckles brushed lightly against the skin of my cheek, stalling right by my jaw. "What exactly is going through that head of yours?"

My brain stalled. What was in my head? Explicit, flashing images of him, mostly.

"Professor Harrison, please" The word 'stop' died in my throat. I watched as he pulled his hand back. Pinched between his long fingers was a piece of pink shrimp shell. He tossed it casually into the trash can. Are you kidding me? He was just wiping garbage off my face?

His long fingers slowly wiped the grime from his fingertips. He leaned in, his massive frame instantly casting a heavy, suffocating shadow over me. "You call me 'Uncle' when you're terrified, but the second you don't need me anymore, you switch my title?" His voice dropped into a low, dangerous coaxing tone, his piercing gaze locking me completely in place.

"I I didn't know you were a professor at my university." My stomach dropped.

He was definitely coming for my throat over the Zoom lecture. I frantically scrambled for an excuse.

"If I had known you were teaching, I would have paid total attention. Your lecture was incredible. Seriously"

He stared at me for one agonizing beat before a dark smirk finally broke through his calm facade. "Oh? Which part exactly?"

Which part? My jaw snapped shut. I had literally handed him the shovel to dig my own grave again. It was all high-level physics jargon; I hadn't understood a single damn word.

"Stay here." He finally let me off the hook, pushing off the sofa to stand up. "There isn't much left in the fridge. I'll throw something together."

"Okay." I nodded fast.

"If you don't understand the material, ask. Don't wait until exam day to copy off your classmates."

I swallowed hard. The shade of it all. My face burned hot, and I stared intensely at my lap.

About half an hour later, he walked back out carrying two steaming bowls of garlic shrimp pasta. It was ridiculously good. But he had severely underestimated my appetite. I inhaled my portion in less than three minutes, then sat there, my eyes glued to his bowl.

He ate with infuriating, deliberate slowness. My stomach gave a pathetic rumble. Even though his eyes were on his food, it was like he had radar.

He picked up a napkin and slid it across the coffee table. "Wipe the drool off your face."

"Oh." I snatched the napkin and wiped my mouth. God, I was pathetic.

"Are you going to keep staring at me like that?" He dropped his fork, giving up entirely. The pasta in his bowl looked like a masterpiece, practically taunting me. I let out a soft burp.

"Like what?" I couldn't tear my eyes away from the bowl. I swallowed hard.

"In-sa-tia-ble." The low, gravelly word drifted right into my ear, sending a sharp shiver racing down my spine.

His long fingers gripped the edge of the ceramic bowl and slid it directly in front of me. "Eat." He stood up and walked over to the armchair, completely removing his heavy gaze from me.

"Thanks." The hunger hijacked my brain. I didn't care about the humiliation anymore. I grabbed my fork and dove straight in.

Chapter 10

After finishing the pasta, I collapsed onto the adjacent sofa, rubbing my overly full stomach as my brain went into overdrive.

The more I thought about it, the tighter the knot in my chest grew. I couldn't tell if the things he said were intentionally loaded or if my brain was just corrupted. No. If I let this slide, the consequences would be catastrophic. I needed to draw a hard line.

"I'm taking the guest room tonight. I lock my door, so don't come looking for me after ten," I announced.

He paused, his gaze lifting from his screen to stare at me like I had just spoken an alien language.

I shifted uncomfortably. "I just think we should keep a professional distance. Don't you?"

Plus, he was the guy my brother was obsessed with. And honestly, professors terrified me.

"Whatever you want," he replied, his face blank as he tapped a stylus against his iPad screen.

"Since I'm stuck crashing here for a month, we need to set some ground rules."

"Go ahead." He didn't even look up.

"Rule one: You can't tell anyone I'm here. I'll keep my mouth shut too. Mutual assured destruction."

"Mhm."

"Rule two: You absolutely do not enter my room without permission."

"Mhm."

"Rule three: Keep your hands off my stuff. My clothes, my everything."

He finally locked his tablet, lifting his dark, heavy gaze to mine. "Anything else?"

My breath hitched. He was so incredibly composed, sitting there radiating unbothered control. Were older guys always this suffocatingly calm?

"That's it." I swallowed hard. "Do you have any rules?"

"No." He paused, gesturing lazily toward the kitchen. "If you need anything, tell me don't be shy."

"I don't need anything!" I fired back instantly.

A slow smirk spread across his face. "I meant household supplies. Why are you so defensive?"

Total social death. He was baiting me again. I clamped my jaw shut.

I spent the entire afternoon cycling between napping and grinding ranked matches. He sat there silently reading complex academic papers on his tablet. The domestic silence was agonizingly dry.

By the time night hit, I dragged myself to the guest room. Surprisingly, my usual insomnia vanished, and I crashed the second my head hit the pillow.

The next morning, I woke up and blindly kicked the heavy duvet off my legs. A fresh start.

A sharp hiss of breath sliced through the quiet room, right next to my ear.

I forced my eyes open, blinking through the morning haze. This was definitely not a dream.

I scrambled backward, snatching the heavy duvet and yanking it up to my chin. Harrison was lying right next to me.

His dark lashes fluttered. His eyes opened into narrow slits before dropping shut again. "What?"

"What? Are you out of your mind? Why the hell are you in my room watching me?" I gripped the blankets like a shield.

I was completely defenseless. I never pegged him as an absolute predator. He actually snuck in while I was unconscious?

I lashed out, kicking my leg hard under the covers.

A large, calloused hand clamped instantly around my bare ankle, trapping my leg in a brutal, immovable grip. He slowly turned his head.

His dark pupils were slightly dilated, holding the heavy, raw intensity of a predator waking up. His voice dropped into a rough, grating rasp. "Don't kick."

"Let let go." The scorching heat radiating from his palm burned straight through my skin, sending a dangerous jolt up my leg.

His fingers didn't budge. He just stared at me, pinning me down with that suffocating gaze.

"You're hurting me." I practically whimpered.

"Then stop moving." He shot me a dark warning look. "Be a good girl and scoot over."

"Why? What are you doing?" I pressed my hands defensively against my chest.

"I need to get up to wash my face." His heavy gaze dragged slowly down my throat.

I followed his line of sight. My blood ran cold. My entire body weight was pinning down the edge of his sleep shirt. Had I been sleeping on top of him all night?

I practically threw myself backward, scrambling off him in sheer panic.

Chapter 11

He tugged his shirt back into place and smoothed out the fabric.

"Did you sleep with your arms around me last night?" My throat went dry.

"You should be asking yourself that." He dropped back flat against the mattress, exhaustion etched into his features.

"Excuse me, I'm the one asking the questions." I jutted my chin out, trying to look intimidating.

"Then take a good look around. Whose room is this?"

My eyes darted across the space. The dark wood, the minimalist setup This wasn't my room. It was his.

"Figure it out yet?" A slow smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

My brain completely stalled.

"You brought me to your room?" I accused.

He shot me a look and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You seriously don't know how you got here?"

"No."

"No?" He caught my gaze from the corner of his eye.

"Did I do anything out of line?" I discreetly patted myself down. My clothes were all still firmly on. Thank God.

"Think about it." He pushed himself off the bed and headed straight for the bathroom.

I sat frozen on the sheets. My mind was blank. How the hell would I just wander in here on my own? Needing answers, I scrambled up and followed him.

"All that talk, and you don't even have the guts to own up to it?" He stood in front of the vanity mirror, picking up his razor.

"What did I do?" My stomach plummeted.

"Use your eyes." His piercing gaze locked onto mine through the reflection, pinning me dead in my tracks.

I followed his line of sight down to his neck. A cluster of bruised, reddish-purple marks stained his skin, impossible to miss.

I sucked in a sharp breath.

"M-mosquito bites?" I stammered, my nails digging into my palms.

He didn't say a word. The razor paused against his jawline. He tilted his chin up, resuming his strokes lower down, his voice dropping to a low drawl. "A giant, flesh-eating mosquito. One with a seven-second memory."

My jaw practically unhinged. I'd have to be an idiot not to catch that.

"I'm sorry I really forgot I'm so sorry." Heat flooded my face, practically scorching my cheeks. "Does it hurt?" I mumbled.

"I've survived worse." He dragged his eyes up and down my frame, let out a heavy sigh, and clamped his mouth shut like he was holding back.

"What?" I stood there, clueless.

"Are you going to step out?" He grabbed a towel, a wicked gleam in his eye. "Or did you want to stay and watch me shower?"

My eyes went wide.

"I'mI'm leaving." I practically tripped over my own feet scrambling out of the bathroom.

The second his bedroom door clicked shut behind me, my heart hammered against my ribs like a jackhammer. God, could I be any more pathetic? I smacked my forehead repeatedly all the way back to my room and threw myself onto the mattress, shutting down.

When he finally called me out for dinner, I immediately threw my hands up in surrender. "I swear last night was a total fluke. I am absolutely not breaking into your room tonight. You have to believe me."

"Right. I believe you." The sarcasm practically dripped off his words.

"If I step one foot across your threshold again, may lightning strike me dead"

"Just eat." He cut me off, that infuriating smirk still playing on his lips.

What was so damn funny? I was being dead serious. I ruthlessly stabbed my fork into my food.

I spent the rest of the day barricaded in my room, only emerging when it was time for meals.

When night fell, I didn't just lock my doorI dragged a heavy wooden chair and shoved it right beneath the doorknob.

There was no way I was sleepwalking. It was too bizarre.

Except, the very next morning, without fail, I woke up to find his hard chest pressed against my side, my head resting comfortably right on top of his arm.

What the actual hell!

Chapter 12

Day three, day four by the time the tenth day rolled around, I was once again clutching my throw pillow, doing the walk of shame back to my room.

He was leaning against the sofa, casually swiping through his tablet. "Still heading back to your own room?"

"What else am I supposed to do?" I shot back.

"Tossing and turning, running back and forth every single night aren't you exhausted?" A low, rumbling chuckle vibrated in his chest.

He wasn't wrong. My jaw clamped shut, out of comebacks.

"Could you maybe try locking your door?" I muttered.

"So this is my fault?" A slow, dangerous smirk crept onto his lips as he leaned back into the cushions. "If I lock the door, what happens when you wander into the kitchen or the bathroom and freeze half to death?"

Dammit. He had a point.

"Then what exactly do you want me to do?" I dragged a hand down my face, defeated.

"Just sleep here from the start." He tossed the tablet onto the coffee table and headed straight for his bedroom.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

"I don't is that a good idea?"

But my voice just faded into the empty hallway. My nails dug into my palms. After a few agonizing seconds of hesitation, I dragged my feet and followed him in.

I perched awkwardly on the very edge of his mattress, my face practically burning. "Does this make me a total creep?"

He paused, his gaze darkening. "I don't know about creep but you've kept me tossing and turning for half a month. I haven't had a decent night's sleep since you got here."

"You haven't been sleeping?" A cold shiver shot down my spine.

Was it because I was sneaking in every night, practically crawling all over him and holding him hostage in his sleep? Heat flooded my cheeks. I wanted the floor to swallow me whole.

"Try waking up in the middle of the night with a wildcat shoved against your chest, scratching and clinging for dear life." He shot me a dry look, pulling back the heavy comforter and jutting his chin toward the empty space beside him.

"Right" I scrambled onto the mattress, lying stiff as a board on my side, barely daring to breathe.

After staring at the wall for what felt like hours, the guilt over my brother started gnawing at my stomach. I carefully slid my phone out and ducked beneath the covers to text him.

[ Do I have a history of sleepwalking? ]

[ Yeah. You finally remember? ]

My eyes widened in the dark. I was just taking a wild guess. It was actually true?

[ Why didn't you ever tell me?! ]

I typed frantically, my thumbs flying over the screen. Something wasn't adding up.

[ Liar. I always woke up in my own bed at home. ]

[ That's because I carried you back every morning. ]

I shoved my fist into my mouth to muffle a scream.

[ Why the hell didn't you say anything?! ] He was absolutely going to be the death of me.

[ You only did it when you were super stressed. The night before a big exam, the night before Mom and Dad left Were you actually sleepwalking, or were you just looking for an excuse to snuggle with your favorite brother? I couldn't tell. ]

My brother was an idiot. He actually thought I was just being clingy.

[ If I accidentally slept with the guy you like, what would you do? ] I stared at the glowing screen and let out a long, heavy exhale.

So this was a lifelong habit. And my brother just let it slide, assuming I was just a needy little sister sneaking into his room. Unbelievable.

[ What does that mean? Don't tell me you're wandering into other people's rooms over there? ]

[ Yeah. ] My chest tightened painfully. I clenched my jaw, fully bracing myself for him to explode.

[ Is that so bad? ]

I stared at the text. That was it? Was my brother out of his mind? How was this fine?

I decided to push it. I was practically dancing on the edge of a cliff here.

[ What if I actually fall for the guy you're into? ]

[ Are you out of your mind? Hazel, snap out of it! ]

[ Honestly, I'm starting to think I might be. ]

[ No, seriously, think about it. Haven't I been good to you all these years? How could you do this to me? If you go down that road, how can you live with yourself? ]

A heavy groan escaped my lips. He was really pulling the guilt trip card to pressure me. Fine. Love really was selfish. Men were totally off-limits for sharing. Even with your own sister.

Chapter 13

[ Got it. I'll try to control myself. ]

[ Not 'try.' Absolutely do not do it. If you keep this up don't bother coming back. I don't have a sister anymore. ]

[ Don't be mad, I'll listen to you. ]

I stared at the screen. My brother, who had spoiled me rotten for years, was actually threatening to cut me off. Over a guy. This world was officially insane.

I locked my phone, squeezed my eyes shut, and forced myself to try to sleep. But Harrison's body heat was radiating off him like an open furnace, practically setting my skin on fire. I turned my head slightly to look at him. Moonlight spilled across the sharp line of his nose and his slightly parted lips.

I swallowed hard.

No. He belongs to my brother. He is off-limits. I chanted the warning in my head like a mantra.

A few minutes later, my fingers were fumbling for my phone under the sheets again.

[ I don't think I can control myself. ]

[ What are you going to do? ]

[ I want to do things to him that you would murder me for. ]

[ Are you out of your mind? You're both girls. I swear to Just stop! ]

Wait a damn minute.

[ Who's a girl? ]

[ He? Not she? ]

We fired off the texts at the exact same time. My heart launched itself into my throat. A creeping, terrifying realization settled into my bones, making me shiver.

[ Didn't you say you liked my idol, the basketball team captain? Weren't you the one who told me to ask for his number? ]

[ When did I ever say I liked your basketball captain? Wait, whose house are you at right now?! ]

The breath left my lungs. I was too stunned to type. Before I could process the trainwreck unfolding on my screen, a large hand shoved under the covers and yanked me out into the cool air.

"Can't sleep?" His voice was a gravelly rasp in the darkness, sending a sharp wave of goosebumps down my arms.

"Just texting." I curled in on myself, keeping my voice down. "Did I wake you?"

His arm flexed, pulling my head firmly onto his bicep. He rolled onto his side, keeping his eyes shut. "Who are you texting in the middle of the night?"

"My brother." My brain was buzzing with white noise. I was still trying to untangle the massive misunderstanding we'd just uncovered.

His heavy eyelids fluttered open. The cold glint in his eyes under the moonlight sent a sudden chill straight through me. "Your brother?" He let out a dark, utterly humorless chuckle. His long fingers reached over, lightly flicking my forehead. "Lying in my bed, and you're chatting with another man?"

"No he's not just another man, he's my brother." I scrambled to defend myself, baffled by the sudden edge in his tone. "Besides, our situation right now is incredibly complicated. You really need to keep your distance."

"Complicated?" A scoff tore from his throat. His eyes pinned me down. "Then enlighten me. What exactly is the dynamic with this brother of yours? Texting in the middle of the nightdoesn't he know how to keep boundaries with his little sister?"

Huh?

"My brother is a great guy. Even though we aren't biologically related, he takes care of absolutely everything for me.

"He treats me like his real sister. What's wrong with talking at night? We do it all the time plus"

"Not biologically related?" His focus narrowed instantly, locking onto the worst possible detail.

"He's better than a real brother," I pushed back, emphasizing every word.

"Be a good girl and stop talking." The impatience in his gravelly voice was thick, practically vibrating with restrained tension.

"Fine. You go back to sleep. There's something massive I still need to figure out with him. I just need to send a few more"

Mmph

The rest of my sentence was swallowed whole.

His rough fingertips grazed my jawline, his scorching breath invading my space without a shred of hesitation. I instinctively brought my hands up to push against his solid chest, only for him to effortlessly catch both my wrists with a single hand, pinning them firmly above my head. His free arm clamped around my waist like a steel vice, nailing me to the mattress.

I might have kissed him before, but that was strictly while blacked out or sleepwalking. I had zero memory of what this was supposed to feel like.

Chapter 14

Being forcefully kissed by him while fully conscious scrambled my brain. I forgot how to draw air into my lungs.

"Harrison" The warning tumbled out as his large hand slipped dangerously beneath the hem of my sleepwear.

It didn't work. He didn't even pause.

"Professor" I breathed out the title, my voice barely a whisper.

That did it. The title snapped the tension. His hand froze against my skin, and he slowly lifted his head.

The air in the room instantly thickened. It was dead silent, save for the frantic, erratic sounds of our breathing and the heavy thud of his heart against my chest.

"Had enough?" He abruptly rolled off me, dropping flat onto his back to drag in a harsh breath. His voice was laced with a dark, unmistakable rasp of raw desire.

"Enough of what?" My face was burning so hot it could probably melt snow.

"Sneaking into my bed every single night isn't this exactly what you wanted?" He shot me a heavy look from the corner of his eye. "You've had your hands all over me. It's time to return the favor."

My jaw locked. Was I really that shameless? I still couldn't wrap my head around the fact that I was the one clinging to him and kissing him senseless every night. I swallowed hard, keeping my mouth shut.

"Quiet. Does that mean you want more?" He turned his head, his gaze pinning me to the sheets.

"No, I'm good. Totally enough." I shoved my face deep into the pillow. How the hell did we end up here?

He didn't push it. He just lay there in the dark, perfectly still. He wasn't asleep, but he didn't look my way again either.

After a long, agonizing stretch of silence, I finally forced the words out. "What we're doing this is completely wrong, isn't it?"

A low scoff rumbled in his throat. "Scared?"

He read me like an open book. A visible shiver wrecked my frame. "Yeah."

"Go to sleep." He rolled onto his side again, his heavy arm hooking securely around my waist.

I jolted in panic, my knee jerking up defensivelyand landing a solid hit squarely against his groin.

A sharp, pained hiss ripped through his teeth.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." I froze, the heat rushing straight to the tips of my ears.

He gritted his teeth, riding out the pain. Reaching over me, he snatched my phone from my hand, powered it completely off, and slammed it face-down onto the nightstand.

"Go to sleep," he ordered, the gravel in his voice thickening. "Because if you don't"

"If I don't what?" My voice trembled, betraying my fading bravado.

A dark, dangerous smirk curled the corners of his mouth. "You don't want to know."

That was all the warning I needed. "Goodnight." I snapped my mouth shut and squeezed my eyes tightly closed.

His heat enveloped me like a heavy, weighted blanket. Even with the absolute disaster of my brother's texts hanging over my head, I couldn't fight the overwhelming security of being held. Against all odds, the exhaustion dragged me under almost instantly.

When my eyes fluttered open the next morning, the space beside me was empty. A weird, hollow ache settled in my chest. Was last night just some fever dream?

So cold-blooded. One intense night, and I was left waking up to freezing, empty sheets?

I threw on some clothes and dragged myself out of the room, only to find him pushing a brutal pace on the treadmill in the living room. He caught my reflection in the window and didn't even break his stride.

"Breakfast is on the stove. Heat it up yourself."

"Got it." Talk about ruthless