Wild Nights With My Brother's Ex-Best Friend novel Chapter 6

NICOLE I wake up with the sun in my eyes, and my heart automatically skips a beat when I realize where I am. Fuck. I can’t believe I let this happen. Roman shifts beside me, and my heart sinks right before I turn my head to look at him. Relief swarms me when I realize he’s still fast asleep. Flashes of last night occur to me. Our bodies so close I couldn’t tell where mine ended and his began. His mouth over my throat. His warm breath over my skin. The things he said to me…all the dirty things that set me on fire. I blink and it’s all gone. It occurs to me suddenly what I have to do—what the right thing would be. Carefully, I slip out of his bed, and I gather my dress and my heels before heading to the door. I get dressed in the living room, feeling so exposed and dirty now that the sun is up. The soreness in my muscles and particularly between my legs is a dirty reminder of what I’ve done. What I allowed to happen. God, I didn’t even tell Mason that I’d spend the night elsewhere. I never do this. But I told them I’d be spending the evening with Esmeralda, so maybe I can get away with this. It’s not like he’d ever guess where I truly was. I’m an adult and I can do what I want, essentially, but I know he worries about me, and I just hope he didn’t call the police because I’ve never done this. When I was spending nights away, I’d let him know. I slip out of the apartment, and then I realize I don’t have my purse with me. It’s not in his living room, so where could it be? Suddenly, I remember I must’ve dropped it in the elevator because I didn’t have it with me when he carried me inside. Thankfully, I’m right. I have this soreness in my chest as I make my way through the lobby. The porter barely glances at me as he greets me, and I wonder how many women Roman brought here. Why do I feel this twinge of jealousy twisting my insides? Why do I care? Out on the sidewalk, I feel filthy. I hurry to my car, where I can be with my thoughts in private. God, I can barely walk. Shame makes my face hot as I unlock the car and slip inside. I’m in a hurry to get out of here, so I start the car and speed down the road. I can’t stop thinking of what happened last night. The worst part is I enjoyed every second of it like some needy little w***e. And hell, maybe that’s exactly what I am. It shouldn’t have been as amazing as it was. My knuckles are white as I grip the steering wheel. I’m so lost in my thoughts that shock washes over me when I realize I’m already at home. I park my car, thankful that I don’t see Mason’s because he probably left for work, and I stare at my reflection in the rear view mirror before climbing out. Crap. My hair. I try to smooth it down as best as I can, then climb out and head to the front door. I unlock it and call Haley’s name. Usually, she’s at home. She’s a freelance graphic designer, so she works from home. Thankfully, she’s not in. Without checking my phone, I head straight to the bathroom. Once I’m standing under the spray of water, that’s when I allow myself to think about last night. I can’t get Roman out of my head. It doesn’t help that every time I look down at my body, I see the physical reminders of what transpired between us. My wrists are covered in faint bruises. My chest is covered in bite marks. I can’t take a step without feeling that delicious soreness right between my legs. His scent is still clinging to my skin. My heart tightens in my chest. I wonder what will happen when he wakes up and realizes I’m not right beside him. Will he care? Did I make the right decision? Did he call me to his penthouse just so we could have s*x? I have so many questions and zero answers. An hour later, I feel more like myself, but there’s guilt lingers still. My phone rings as soon as I get some clothes on. It’s Haley. “Hey, Hales. I’m so sorry about last night—” “I just want to know that you’re okay,” she cuts in. “I’m fine.” “You don’t have to apologize for not sleeping in, Nicole. We get it. Or rather, I do.” I sit on the edge of my bed. “Was Mason worried?” “You know how he is. But I assured him that you’re a big girl and you can take care of yourself. Honestly, you’re twenty-five. We shouldn’t even be having this conversation. But I take it you had fun?” “I guess you can call it that.” She laughs. “Well, I’m just grocery shopping, but when I’m done. I’ll be there, alright? How far along are you with the preparations?” Haley thinks I’m at the office. I forgot that she offered to help me with the planning for our upcoming event. “Oh, I just started. Don’t worry.” “Great. Oh, I almost forgot! Mason will be out of town for a week.” I frown. I don’t even allow myself to dwell on just how guilt eats at me when I hear my brother’s name. What would he think of me, his sister, sleeping with a guy he seems to hate so much? A guy who probably betrayed him in the worst way possible? “What? That’s so random. Where’s he going?” “Yeah. He found out yesterday, but you were in such a hurry that he didn’t have time to mention it. It’s work-related. He’s been getting a lot of attention from his boss lately.” “That’s great. We’ll have the house to ourselves.” “I’m thinking we can do something together, but we can always decide later. See you soon, alright?” I hang up, spare myself a few minutes to take deep, invigorating breaths, then stand up and get straight to business. I push Roman to the very back of my mind, dry my hair, then grab my purse and get going. I don’t have time to think about Roman and what happened. I bet he’ll wake up, be glad that I’m gone, and go on with his life, hunting the streets for the next woman to get in his bed. Hell, I don’t think he’ll even have to hunt. Maybe they all run to him the same way I did. God, I need to stop thinking this way. And I’m still thinking about him. Now that the opportunity of having him as a sponsor has gone to s**t, I’ll have to come up with a new plan and fast. My initial plan when I invested all my money in the charity was with the hope of it getting more exposure and in that way, I could’ve gotten my money back. But I’m starting to lose hope. A lot of it. I park my car and step out. I fish the keys to the small office out of my bag, then head inside the building. Hopefully, by the time Haley shows up, I’ll have something concrete on paper. I take the stairs to the third floor, keys in hand and a mind struggling to think through all the chaos. I look up and halt when I see the person who’s standing by the door, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets, his dark eyebrows pinched together as he watches me. My mouth goes dry immediately. I think I forget how to breathe. “Roman?” What the hell is he doing here?