I frowned now. “No, you’re not, and if anything, that’ll just tell your colleagues you got game and please your girlfriend.”
“Or,” he stated, sliding me off his lap entirely. “My brothers will never let me live it down, and my father and uncles will give me shit the entire day. They might not even let me deal with clients, and I wouldn’t blame them. It’s not professional.”
“So having private sex with your girlfriend at her house is not professional?”
“You know that’s not what I meant. I just mean there’s a time and place.”
If at home with just him and me wasn’t that place, then I didn’t know what was. Scoffing, I got up from the couch, deciding to go to bed.
A heavy sigh instantly could be heard from behind me. “Where are you going?”
“Bed,” I called from my bedroom. “I got stuff to do tomorrow too. Classes?” In fact, my first day back. On top of being a student, I was a teaching assistant. I’d have classes as well, priorities just like him.
The less than dulcet sounds of a sports announcer coming from my living room could be heard again before another sigh. “You’re going to be funny about this, right? There’s not much longer on the game. I can come in after? Stay the night?”
Since he didn’t really do that, always pulling an early night to go to work the next day, I sat with the decision. Literally sitting on my bed.
“You’re thinking about it,” came in from the next room, a clear smile in his voice. He had me, and he knew it. “I’ll make it worth your while.”
“You better,” I cut, only a little pout before getting changed into a bed shirt and shorts and climbing into bed. His deep chuckle could be heard from the living room as I did, and shaking my head, I lay on the pillow. I waited, my thoughts lulling over my day tomorrow. I tried not to think about the whole situation with my dad and I did well, the soft sounds of the television gently playing in the next room drowning my thoughts out. I closed my eyes but decided to do so only for a moment. Sinclair said he’d be in soon, and he wasn’t getting out of his promise.
Chapter Two
Billie
My house vibrating basically blasted me awake later that night, the room pitch black and a body next to mine.
Groaning, I realized I had slept a lot longer than I meant to, and turning, I noticed Sinclair, hugged up on the opposite side of my bed. He’d fallen asleep too, shirtless and on the other side of my queen bed.
I growled. Had he even tried to wake me up? Shaking my head but too annoyed to do anything about it, I rolled over and curled back up on my end. House music charged through my bedroom like I was in the actual club, and gnashing my teeth, I tossed the blankets off my body. My nearest neighbor was across the street, but apparently that wasn’t far enough away to keep their music out of my bedroom.
I shot up, immediately pressing myself up against the blinds and peering through the window. The nicest property on the block stared back at me, a multi-level, modern style with pewter brick walls and crystal-clear windows. The entire structure had them, a looking glass of colorful lights that strobed across the street and the snow-covered lawn. People were out there too, young people smoking and bearing the cold to do it, and I rolled my eyes. These people would have a party in the middle of January like the day before classes began. Never too soon for undergrads apparently. At least, I assumed that’s who they were.
I hopped back on the bed, nudging Sinclair, and all I got was a pillow plopping over his head. He’d obviously heard the music too but was attempting to ignore it. I nudged him again. “Sinclair?”
“What?”
“You don’t hear that?”
“Of course, I hear it.” His voice muffled, he ripped the pillow off. “Try to ignore it and go back to sleep.”
Ignore that? I could feel that base in my heart. I nudged him again and he groaned.
“Billie. Stop. I gotta work in the morning.”
He’d made that clear when I’d asked, quite reasonably, to be fucked before bed and he’d decided to simply stay the night and ignore me. Frowning, I hopped off the bed, grabbing a pair of socks.
Sinclair growled. “What are you doing?”
I jumped into my socks, basically half awake. By then, Sinclair sat up on his elbows. I cut him a look. “About to go do something about my neighbors since you won’t.”
If he wanted to try to sleep through that racket, fine, but I wasn’t a heavy sleeper nor did I feel I should try. We were both living in this neighborhood and some respect needed to be had. Especially on my neighbor’s end, since outside of my own graduate classes, I was a teaching assistant. I couldn’t afford to lose out on valuable sleep, and upon getting on my socks, I stormed out of the bedroom. By the door, I got my snow boots on. I was so angry I didn’t even bother to backtrack and put a bra on or anything. I simply grabbed my white fleece off the coat rack and opened the door. The chill hit my limbs like a son of a bitch, but I worked the fleece on, then shot out into it. At least, I would have if not for Sinclair.
Tugging me back in, he had nothing but his boxers on, what I assumed he’d chosen to sleep in since he hadn’t brought any clothes to stay over. I assumed eventually, he’d keep some stuff here, but since he didn’t have anything now, that’s what he was wearing. He had his clothes in his arms, giving me a look of death as he pulled me back inside and closed the door.
“I’m going. Fuck,” he cursed, completely disheveled. He wasn’t one to lose his temper but being pulled out of his sleep to wrangle me, he wasn’t too happy. He jumped into his jeans like I did into my socks, working a shirt over of his chiseled frame before grabbing his coat. He shot arms through it before opening the door, and before he could stop me, I followed behind him. I only had on my fleece, a T-shirt underneath, and a pair of sleep shorts so I was damn cold as I sprinted after him. With the heavy music, Sinclair didn’t notice my trailing strides, but the moment I sidled up to him across the street on my neighbor’s big ole lawn, his eyes widened.
He got me by the arm again, tugging me a little too hard to the point where it hurt. “What the hell are you doing? I told you I was going to handle this.”
I jerked my arm away, letting him have that one since he was angry and clearly irritated by the situation at hand. I shrugged. “I figured you could use backup.”
Eyes lifted toward the heavens, his fingers shoved into his hair before he shot a finger across the street. “Go back in the house. I got this.”
“You’re right. You do. But you’re going to have me too.” My teeth chattering, I really wasn’t trying to continue this debate, and I think the only reason he did raise his hands at me was because I was half naked in the snow. Clearly washing his hands of me, he left, and I stalked him all the way past the folks puffing weed on the lawn up the steps to the house. Truth be told, I would have rented this property myself had it been available. It was sleek and beautiful, but I signed a lease late and it’d already been taken.
Hands shoved into his jacket pockets, Sinclair faced me. “If you’re here, you keep quiet. I told you I have this handled.”
His warning unusual, I stood there as he rapped against the door. I thought it weird he was knocking. Clearly, these people were having a party, but I guessed formality and all that. There were enough people smoking on the lawn for us to blend in, but I supposed I wouldn’t just want people waltzing into my house. The door breezed open and a wash of alcohol and more weed cut right over me, as well as the guy’s scent who opened the door. A fragrance, woodsy and nature-esque, breezed right over me, a guy who could only be described as a demigod filling the entirety of the door frame.