Treachery Prequel

Luca

If anybody happened to get the license plate number of the bus that hit me last night, it would be appreciated.

Holy crap, I felt like hell.

The instant my eyes opened and I returned to the land of the living, my skull pounded like it would fracture.

It took a few minutes of blinking to finally bring the room into focus, my erratic heartbeat making the pain worse when I realized I wasn’t in my dorm.

My mouth - yuck - I didn’t know how to describe what it tasted like, but it was bad enough to make my stomach heave in a painful threat, the taste of bile coating the back of my tongue.

Moving took effort and focus, every bone and muscle rejecting the slightest shift in posture as I scooted my body up to lean against the headboard.

But none of that was the worst of it. Hell, the physical state I was in was nothing compared to the panic inducing realization that I’d not only spent the night in a strange house, I’d done so in Ta

Reminding myself to breathe, I blinked again and did what every stupid girl needs to do after drinking herself into oblivion and passing out among sharks:

I looked down.

And sure as shit, I was in nothing but a bra and panties.

What the fuck had I done?

It couldn’t be that bad, right? I wasn’t sore like anything sexual had happened. And considering how long it had been since I last slept with somebody, I convinced myself I would know if I’d been so dumb as to sleep with the man I hated most in the world.

So, why was I only half-dressed, and where the fuck was Ta

As if sensing my heightened emotional state, a knock sounded and the door swung open, Gabriel’s chipper green eyes meeting mine with humor dancing behind the color.

“Morning, sunshine.”

He wiggled a glass at me and held something up in his other hand.

“I thought you might need these after nearly giving yourself alcohol poisoning last night. I’m sure just the sound of my voice right now is like a hammer in your head.”

It was, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of admitting it. Closing my eyes against the glare of lights he flipped on, I pulled the sheet up to cover my chest.

“What happened last night?”

The mattress dipped next to me, Gabriel nudging the glass against the knuckles of my hand. Tucking the sheet where it wouldn’t fall, I accepted the glass and opened my other hand for him to drop two aspirin into my palm.

The cool water was heaven against my throat, soothing the burn while washing away the flavor of bad decisions.

“Well, you drank enough to qualify for attending an Alcoholic’s Anonymous meeting this morning, and then you passed out.”

“By myself?”

He blinked and smiled. “Are we ever really alone?”

“Cut the shit, Gabriel.”

Ow! My hand flew to my head as if that would stop my brain from digging its way out to run off.

Soft male laughter filtered in to mix with the banging of my pulse.

“You may want to wait for the aspirin to kick in before you begin yelling at me for something I remember warning you about.”

Asshole. He did warn me and that was the worst part of this.

“Why am I naked?”

He tugged at the sheet. I clutched the linen tighter to hold it in place and slapped at his hand.

“You can’t blame me for trying. I’m a healthy boy after all. And from what I can see, you’re not.”

Exhaling, I dared to open my eyes again and lock stares with him.

“Where are the rest of my clothes?”

His eyes darted to the floor and back up.

“There’s a pile by the bed I assume are yours.”

And now for the final question, the one I didn’t want to ask and I wasn’t sure I wanted the answer to.

“Did I have sex with Ta

His shoulders shook with a bark of laughter, head shaking just a bit before he settled back on his elbows and gri

“Not unless he’s a two pump chump. And judging by the rumors I’ve heard around campus, he’s not.”

Frustration flooded me. “What does that mean?”

“It means he’s known to have sex for longer than five minutes.”

My voice came out on a growl. “Gabriel...”

The dimples indented his cheeks and he cocked his head.

“I’m messing with you. You’re cute when hungover. And no. You didn’t. Ta

Then why was I only in a bra and panties? I mean, it wasn’t illogical to think I’d woken up at some point and stripped my clothes off. I’d woken up sweaty from alcohol, the stench getting to me even in that moment. I swore vodka was oozing from my pores with how much I drank. And again, I didn’t feel sore there.

Relief wilted my shoulders. At least until I realized I had a reason to thank Ta

“You owe me a free favor.”

I expected him to argue, but instead, he shrugged a negligent shoulder, as if owing me was no skin off his back.

“I know when I’m beat. Next time I enter into an agreement with you, though, I’ll be sure to close any loopholes. You’re a shark.”

He gri

My cheeks blushed at the compliment.

“Force Ta

Gabriel had pretty lips. They were shaped well and a muted color of pink. Not feminine, but not hard either. They were expressive and tempting, but didn’t have the same cruelty as Ta

“Not that I can force Ta

Pushing to his feet, he stared down at me. “Consider it done.”

I watched him stroll across the room, his casual stride stopping when he reached the door.

“Do yourself a favor, Luca, and get a shower and brush your teeth before leaving. Your scent is offensive. We have spare toothbrushes under the sink.”

It surprised me that I was able to laugh without pain. The aspirin must have finally kicked in.

Gabriel left me with a wink, the door sliding closed with a quiet click.

My head fell back against the headboard and I thought that, maybe, this hadn’t been all for nothing. I had my favor. My GPA would be saved. And I hadn’t done anything I would regret - except for maybe looking like an ass for getting wasted.

But that was fine. It was worth the mark against my good girl reputation if it meant Ta

I hated how my next thought was where Ta

Or maybe he just didn’t want to sleep with me. Which I was fine with...except I wasn’t.

All I could think about was the way he kissed me. He didn’t just kiss, he possessed, claimed, dominated until you couldn’t think past the way his lips felt and the hard body pressed against you.