before—at least in bed—and it was fascinating and a little unnerving. A shadow of a beard made him look older, a little rugged. The pit of her stomach dropped, and she shivered with excitement. He was only thirty, but that felt so much older than her at the moment. He was a man.
Jared had the body of a man, unlike the graduate student guys in her classes. He was hot and dangerous looking, and every time she thought about that, her stomach quivered. She was in his bed, as he’d said the night before. She’d been helpless to resist when he’d gently commanded her to undress with that deep baritone voice of his. She glanced down at herself. His shirt and boxers were large and comfortable on her, and the intimacy of wearing his clothes had her heart thrumming like a hummingbird’s wings.
That other phone was buzzing again on his side of the bed. Suddenly he jerked, rolling away as he picked up the phone.
Had he been awake this whole time? Did he know she’d been just staring at him? Had he meant to be holding her so close when she’d woken up?
God, I’m such an idiot.
“Hell,” Jared muttered and fell back on his bed, eyes closed, his phone silenced. Two breaths more, and then he spoke again. “So you getting up? I’ll let you shower first.”
“What?” He was offering her his shower? Before she wouldn’t have thought twice about using it, but now that its owner was here, she’d figured she’d skip it until after her test. The idea of her being naked with just a door between them sent a little shiver through her.
“The shower. It’s yours. I’m still waking up.” He twisted to face her, propping his head on his hand to stare at her.
“Get moving, princess. Or else I might give in to my desire to kiss you. A man can only stand so much temptation.” He chuckled.
Felicity shot out of the bed like she’d been fired out of a cannon. Kiss her? Was he serious?
“I’m a good kisser,” he called out after her.
He was still laughing, probably because of the look she knew he must be seeing on her face. His grin hit her right behind the knees. She retreated, her back hitting his dresser.
“I…um…have a term paper due.” That was stupid. She was making it worse by opening her mouth. She mentally smacked herself and ran to the shower. Cranking the nozzle to hot, she picked up her bag from the bathroom floor and searched for her toiletries.
The water burned her skin, and she sighed. Her own apartment had hot water only when the water heater thought it could handle the building’s demands, which wasn’t often. And when it did bother to work, the pipes rocked inside the walls, creating a banging noise that drove her crazy.
Staying here at Jared’s apartment was like staying in a four-star hotel. Scrubbing her face in her hands, she let the water pour over her. The tension in her shoulders eased. Not once last night had she woken up. Where she’d grown up, she’d fallen asleep to the melody of crickets and other country sounds. But here in Chicago, with her apartment’s paper-thin walls, all she heard were the violent sounds of the city outside. Ambulances, shouting neighbors, banging pipes, slamming stairwell doors, and the endless creaks and groans as the elevator ground through its gears. Felicity was lucky to get even an hour or two of uninterrupted sleep. Last night had been amazing. Just silence and warmth. Ironically, sleeping with a total stranger—and a man, at that—had been one of the most restful nights of sleep she’d had in a long time.
Felicity’s skin tingled as she remembered the way it felt to roll over and see him so close. Shock aside, it had been nice. Layla must never find out. She’d try to hook her up with Jared. It would be a bad idea. Between school and work, she didn’t have time. Not to mention she and Jared were nothing alike and had nothing in common. He was a hotshot lawyer, and she was an art student. She doubted he’d even be interested in her, his jokes about kisses aside.
Rinsing the last bit of soap and conditioner away, she slipped out of the shower and pulled one of the large fluffy white towels off the shelf next to the shower. The towel fit around her body perfectly, and she was able to tuck the corner of it