a Hard

g. This couldn' t be happening. Every nerve ending in my bod

at my waist. His kiss was not a kiss of affection, but a desperate, clumsy plun

a strangled sound caught i

body heavy and insistent against mine. "Kamryn," he slurred,

ryn. The horror intensified, twisting my stomach into knots. He couldn' t

t dangled uselessly. He carried me, stumbling, out of my room and down the hal

ed. The mattress sagged under my weight. I scrambled backward, trying to put distance between us,

my voice raw with terror and disgu

froze. His body, which had been pressing down on mine, went rigid. His eyes, still bleary, slow

drawn. He pulled back, his hands dropping from my body as if I had burn

e silence deafening. The air crackled with unspoken

ning a hand through his hair. "Chelsea..." he mumbled, h

onfusion. "What are you doing in my room, Chels? And why are you... upset?" H

ird desperate to escape. He was going to prete

red, my voice trem

unk! And you were... you were just there." He gestured vaguely, as if my presence

The injustice of it

ou. I obviously thought you were Kamryn. It's late. You should go ba

hed out, pulling me back onto the bed, his arm going around my waist. "Just... stay," he mu

brace. Don't want to be alone. Not I want y

he scent of alcohol. I wanted to scream. To fight. To run. But I was paralyz

plea escaping my lips. Plea

ating, now rested innocently on my hip. He was alread

s tr

hythm against my ribs. I felt a wave of dizziness, my head sp

on blurred. I closed my eyes, willing myself to disappear. The exhaust

d into a restless, fitful sleep, curled against the ma

en was already awake, sitting on the edge of the bed, his back to me. He was fully dressed, impecc

yes were shadowed, a complex mix of emotions swirli

voice low and tight. "Chelsea.

d. The sheer audacity of his que

t happened," I said, my voice trembl

y bed. After I explicitly told you not to cause any trouble. What do you think Kamryn would say if she found out?" He jabb

on my tongue. What was the point? He would never believe me. He would nev

n my stomach. This was his pattern. His

ing like ash. A bitter, humiliating

w get dressed. And stay out of trouble. Kamryn's arriving s

ve, the click of the door

e, the dreams, the hope. All for a man who saw me as a problem, a burden, a

a few hours. I would leave. And I would never look back. He would

one. Fo

downstairs. What if they saw me coming out of his room? My hea

footsteps light and silent, like a thief in my own home. I made it to my roo

s, a voice from the hallway startled me. "C

a perfectly manicured brow raised, a knowing