Touch Me Not (Manwhore, #1)(65)

“Okay,” she whispered, and he lay back down. When he didn’t say anything else, Lily turned over and stared at the wall. Her mind felt fuzzy. She was so tired, and now it was full of thoughts and questions about how she felt, about everything.

Why the hell had Adam decided to spring this on her tonight?

And what was she going to do when they both woke up?

***

Nikoli whistled as he walked down the hallway to Lily’s dorm room. It was nine, and he figured she’d had enough time to sleep. He told himself he was here because he wanted to hear her thoughts on the game, but honestly, he just wanted to see Lily. He knocked on her door and shouted, “Wake up, Lily Bells!”

The next thing he heard was a loud thump and Lily cursing worse than a sailor. He laughed, just thinking of her face. She must have fallen out of bed. When she wrenched her door open, his smile faded. Adam was passed out on the floor.

“Shhh,” she whispered and pulled him inside. “He’s still asleep.”

“What’s he doing here?” Nikoli demanded, the caveman inside yelling mine.

“He showed up drunk early this morning, and I let him sleep on the floor,” she said, her voice weary. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to take you to breakfast,” he said, looking at her face. She looked tired, like she hadn’t slept at all last night. “Did you sleep?”

“Some,” she said, yawning. “I was playing your game all night, and then this one woke me up less than an hour after I went to sleep.”

“Come on,” he said, “let me take you to breakfast, and then you can go sleep at the apartment.”

She yawned again and then glanced at Adam before nodding. “He’ll sleep most of the day. He sleeps like the dead when he’s drunk. Let me go to the bathroom, and then we’ll leave.”

Lily grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste before leaving. Once she was gone, Nikoli studied Adam. He couldn’t figure out what Lily saw in Boy Wonder. He was average, generic. He also had bad taste in women. Sue was an empty-headed shrew with a care for no one but herself. Nikoli had had the chance to f*ck her in his sophomore year, but even he had standards. Sue was a real piece of work, and he’d nipped her in the bud before she could get past hello.

Adam, unfortunately, was beginning to understand his feelings for Lily. Nikoli wouldn’t be surprised if he dumped the Barbie for Lily. Just the thought of Adam and Lily together set his teeth to grinding. Adam and Lily would be good together, though. They’d get married and have the traditional two kids and a dog, the white picket fence. Lily would have everything she ever wanted. She’d be happy. She deserved to be happy.

She deserved better than him.

Not that she wanted him. Oh, she wanted him sexually, but she didn’t want him. He knew what she thought of him. Granted, her opinion may have changed a little over the last months, but she still thought of him as the manwhore of Boston University. She would never see him as anything else. And that was okay. He didn’t want her to see him as anything other than that. He needed her to think of him that way so it would be easier when they broke up. For both of them.

“Hey,” Lily interrupted his thoughts. He turned and saw her smiling. How had he not heard her come in?

“Hey, my little stealthy ninja,” he said and pulled her to him. “You smell all minty fresh.”

She laughed, and he couldn’t resist leaning down to sweep her lips with his. He felt the sigh go through her and pulled her closer in response, increasing the pressure of his kiss. Every time he kissed her, he lost more of his desire to let her go. This was getting to the point of no return. He needed to end it soon. After Miami. He’d end it when they got back from Miami.

He pulled back and stared down into her blue eyes, sparkling with laughter and warmth. Miami. Well, f*ck, now he was dreading Miami. The dread slammed into him with all the force of a sledgehammer.

“You okay?” she asked, her eyes becoming concerned. “You look like you’re gonna puke.”

“I’m fine,” he said. “Ready to go?”

“Sure.” Her eyes remained worried, but she grabbed her purse and followed him out the door.

The ride to his latest hole-in-the-wall discovery was quiet. He kept glancing at her, and she kept staring out the window. She had something on her mind, something that wasn’t good. Nikoli couldn’t explain how he knew this, but it was like an itch right at the base of his neck. It wouldn’t go away.

Once they were seated in the dinky diner with their orders placed, he asked, “What’s wrong, Lily Bells? Something’s bothering you.”

She turned confused and frustrated eyes to him, and he sucked in a breath. “Adam said some stuff this morning.”

“Did he hurt you again? I swear I will beat him this time.”

“No, no.” She shook her head. “Nothing like that. He was drunk, and I don’t think he meant what he said, or maybe he did because he was drunk. I don’t know.”

A sick feeling settled in Nikoli’s stomach. He knew what was coming. “Then what, Lily?”

Lily sighed and looked into Nikoli’s eyes. They were darker, almost angry. If she didn’t know him better, she’d say he was jealous, but the manwhore never got jealous. He didn’t love her. She reminded herself of that forcefully. He might want to have sex with her, but he would never want her.