The Room Mate (Roommates #1)(4)

Just standing near him made my heart pick up its pace. My fingertips tingled with the desire to reach out and touch him. Seriously, what the hell is happening to me? This was Cannon freaking Roth. Soon to be Dr. Cannon Roth. That had a yummy ring to it.

Shaking my head against the rush of desire to play doctor with him, I scolded myself. He was Allie’s brother, which meant he was practically family. And Allie would kick my ass if anything happened between us. She’d always been a mother hen, and although she was fiercely overprotective of everyone she cared about, her precious baby brother got the brunt of it.

“I know you spoke with Allie, but I wanted to come by myself and make sure you were comfortable with this.”

Just the act of standing near him made my mind wander to things like sheet-clawing sex, the smell of latex, and regrets the morning after.

My best friend’s little brother wasn’t so little anymore. And he’d just marched into my life, turning my girly bits into warm, aroused mush.

Fuck!

“Of course,” I lied.





Chapter Three


Cannon




Paige was lying.

There was something about having me here that made her uncomfortable. Perhaps it was the strong physical attraction I could feel radiating between us. Her scent was intoxicating, light and feminine and delicate. I didn’t have time for distractions, and I’d just promised myself there would be no more fucking around. But all of that went out the window the second I laid eyes on Paige.

The stolen sight of her tits when I was fourteen had inspired a lifelong love affair with breasts. Her honey-colored hair was the reason I’d always preferred blondes. And while I’d caught glimpses of her on my sister’s social media over the years, in person she was . . . wow.

“Come inside,” she said, opening the door wider.

I obeyed and followed her in.

Now that I was here in her space, watching her subtle reaction to me and feeling her discomfort, I wanted to flee.

I hadn’t seen Paige in years, and fuck if she hadn’t grown up into a beautiful woman. Toned legs beneath a fitted skirt, the tempting curve of a round ass, the soft swell of breasts hidden behind a silky top.

I’d had more dirty fantasies about her while growing up than I’d ever admit. She was my sister’s best friend, which meant she’d slept over at our house hundreds of times, gone swimming with us dozens. As a child, I’d chased behind her and my sister on my bike, and cried when they refused to hang out with me. As a teenager, even though I spent less time trailing after my sister and more around my own friends, Paige was never far from my brain.

All my raging hormones overflowed straight onto her. I’d hear her giggling through the wall of Allie’s room as they talked about boys, and wish I could make her laugh like that, be one of the boys she wanted. The sight of her in a swimsuit or a tank top or even a tight pair of jeans had never failed to give me an instant boner. Watching movies together on the couch, I had ached to touch her knee or press my thigh against hers, but I could only sit paralyzed with nervous need—and bite Allie’s head off when she inevitably teased me for being so quiet.

When Allie suggested I stay here for the rest of the semester, my cock had twitched with interest. Clearly those old, secret fantasies had only slept, never died. But nothing could have prepared me for actually being here, watching Paige’s pulse thrum in her throat, smelling her warm, feminine scent, feeling her reaction to me. Now a grown man, I knew the effect I had on women. I was tall, well-groomed, and never failed to turn a few heads. But this was Paige . . . I shouldn’t want this, right?

“Who’s this?” I asked, grinning down at the tiny pup at her ankles.

Paige looked down as if she hadn’t noticed the overgrown rat running up to us. “This is Enchilada,” she said almost defensively.

Weird-ass name for a dog, but who was I to judge? Maybe she was a Mexican food enthusiast.

She reached down and lifted the dog with one hand under his belly and held him at her side, stroking his fur with the other hand.

“So did Allie just spring this on you, or were you okay with the idea?” I asked, wondering how honest she’d be.

“She actually just called me when you were walking up.” Paige blushed a little at the admission, but I had no idea why she should feel embarrassed about that.

Dammit, Allie. My big sister could be so absentminded sometimes. But I guessed Paige knew that as well as I did, and we loved her anyway.

“So you’re between apartments?” Paige asked, setting the dog down beside us, where he sat with a huff.

I nodded, not wanting to advertise the fact that my ex had destroyed my place. A long history of unstable ex-lovers probably wasn’t a desired trait in a roommate.

“It’s just that, well, my place is pretty small . . .” She trailed off, her hands clasped together.

She had neatly manicured fingernails, painted light blue. In fact, all of her was neatly groomed, from her long shiny hair that I wanted to wrap around my fist to her full pink lips that I wanted to see around my cock, pulling me deep into her warm mouth. I knew I was supposed to be taking a break from sex, but she made me want to throw out all my rules and say fuck it.

“I get it.” I stuck my hands in my pockets and rocked back on my heels. “We haven’t seen each other in a long time. Living together would be awkward.”