by Malone, M.
Back Cover
Trevor
After getting dumped, the last thing I need is to take on my advisor’s niece as a new roommate. For starters, she’s hot. Like, sexy librarian hot. But I need my advisor’s recommendation for a job after graduation, so I’m going to keep my dirty little fantasies to myself… and stay far away from my sexy little roomie.
Natalie
I’m done with men. After my last dating disaster, I can’t afford to get derailed again. So when my aunt claims to have found me the perfect roommate, I’m willing to give it a shot. He’s one of my aunt’s best students, so how distracting could he be?
Then Trevor opens the door to my new apartment, muscled, shirtless, tattooed, and so… arrogant. How can one guy be such a dick? He’s bossy, and annoying...and scorching hot.
Wanton
M. Malone
Nana Malone
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Excerpt of WICKED
Excerpt of Shameless
More from The Malones
About the Authors
1
6 Weeks Ago…
I turned on the lights in my apartment and threw my keys in the small bowl on the entryway table. I sighed. It had been a long day, and I still had about three hours of studying left to do. But at least I could do it at home with Courtney. I was tired of being in the library, surrounded by all the other students who looked as manic about exams as I felt.
“Court? Are you here?”
It was dark in the back, so she must not have gotten home yet. That was strange. Courtney worked part-time at the bookstore, but she never worked this late, not even on nights when they were restocking. I checked my phone, making sure I hadn’t missed a text from her. While scrolling absently through my messages, I walked into the kitchen, and pulled open the refrigerator for a bottle of water.
When I closed it, my eyes remained glued to the door. There was a note attached with a magnet.
My throat went dry as I recognized Courtney’s distinctive loopy handwriting. She always curled her r’s in a dramatic way and looped her j’s, g’s, and y’s. My mind was stuck on those inconsequential things as I started to read.
Dear Trevor,
I know it’s a cowardly thing to leave a note behind instead of facing you. Maybe I am a coward, but this was the only way I could tell you without chickening out. So here it is.
I’m not happy. God, I feel like such a bitch, but I’ve tried for two years to make it work and I just can’t. I love you so much, but every day we grow farther apart. I don’t want to drag this out until we hate each other. We want different things and that’s okay.
I wish you nothing but the best.
Love,
Courtney
I held the note carefully as I read it again and again. My mind was trying to find something in her words to explain how I could feel so blindsided. When I looked up, the room was slightly blurry, and I couldn’t figure out why until a tear fell onto the paper.
I swiped my damp cheeks and crumpled the paper in my fist. Suddenly, I saw myself going on about the rest of my evening, heating up some dinner, studying until the wee hours, only to wake in the morning and do it all over again. Maybe I hadn’t been the best boyfriend. Working long hours at the bar, coupled with a grueling school schedule, didn’t leave a lot of time for being a romantic. But I’d thought that Courtney got it and supported me. Instead, based on that letter, she’d just been tolerating me for the past two years.
Anger replaced grief, and I pulled out my phone. What was I going to do, call her and scream? Yell? So we could have another fight just like all the others we’d had over the past few months? She’d always leave in a rage and stay out late deliberately to provoke me. Lately, she had been so different. Distant. I’d even started to think she was cheating on me.
My phone vibrated with a text. My heart lifted, until I saw that it wasn’t Courtney. It was my sister, Talia.
Arrived on campus. TTYL
Thinking of my little sister always could make me smile, even when everything else in my life was shit. I couldn’t call her right now. She’d be able to tell something was wrong. But thinking of her made me remember another phone call I needed to make.
As if I’d conjured it, my phone rang. When I saw my best friend Cage’s name on the screen, I shook my head. Exactly who I wanted to talk to. Before I could even say hello, Cage was talking.
“Dude, you were right about Jenna. She just had another fucking tantrum about the L.A. thing. This time, she hit me in the ear with a shoe, and accused me of cheating just because I didn’t do what she wanted and move with her.”
Under other circumstances, I would have found the situation hilarious. I forced a laugh, since my friend would be expecting it. I’d tried to warn Cage about screwing around with those crazy chicks. I’d always told him to look for the more sensible types, like Courtney. Look at how that had turned out. Oddly, my friend’s situation did make me feel a little better. I wasn’t the only one going through shit, at least.
“I won’t say I told you so. But only because I’m so happy you finally ditched her. She was hot, but no sex is worth dealing with that bullshit.”
“I agree. So I’m going home to my apartment. The one I still have, thanks to you. I totally owe you for talking me out of moving in with her.”
“You do owe me one. And I’m going to collect soon.” I took a deep breath. “Remember my sister, Talia? It’s been years since you’ve seen her.”
“Of course.”
“Well, she’s transferring to NYU this year because they have the program she wants. I need you to keep an eye on her.”
Cage was quiet. I hung my head. I knew this was going to be a hard sell. My friend liked to party, and babysitting someone as studious as Talia wouldn’t exactly be a fun time for him.
“I thought Talia was a straight-A student in high school? Why would you be worried about her flunking out of college?”
“It’s obvious you don’t have sisters. I’m not worried about her flunking, genius. She’s not like us. Talia will ace all of her classes without even trying.”
“Okay, well then, what do you need me to do? I’m sure she doesn’t need my help studying.”
I made a face, glad my friend couldn’t see me. Maybe it was just because I was in a bad mood already, but damn if it didn’t seem like Cage was deliberately misunderstanding me.
“I need you to make sure no one bothers her. Help her get to her classes and shit. She’s shy and has never made friends easily. If I was there, I could look out for her and make sure she doesn’t spend the entire year in her room with her textbooks. But since I’m not, I’m counting on you to make sure she has some fun, but stays away from the wrong crowd.”
Perhaps Cage finally heard the frustration in my voice, because when he spoke next, his voice had lost the attitude and sounded resigned.
“You got it, man. I’ll show her around and make sure she knows where everything is. Hell, I know some goody-two-shoes girl types. Maybe I can introduce her to some friends.”
I smiled. “Thank you. I’ve been really worried about this. I just want her to have a good time. She’s always been so serious. I don’t want her to study non-stop and never have any fun.”
“You know I’ve got this. She’ll have fun with me. Trust me.”
I hung up, c
hanging my mind about confiding in Cage. Surely, this was just some kind of temporary insanity from studying too hard for finals. Courtney was pre-med, and she’d been struggling with a few of her classes this semester. My friend had never liked Courtney, and if we ended up getting back together, I didn’t want Cage reminding me of this.
In the meantime, though, I needed to be practical about how to pay the rent. On a whim, I pulled up the university Facebook page and posted a message about seeking a roommate. To my shock, I got a private message almost immediately from my advisor.
My niece just transferred in and she's looking for a place to stay.
2
6 weeks later…
Natalie! I’m so glad you’re here, my dear girl.”
I was immediately swept up into a hug that reminded me of summertime and long hours spent baking together. I pulled back slightly and regarded the older woman currently strangling me with love. My Aunt Patricia was still the most stylish woman I knew, even in her early sixties, and she still smelled like lemons and sugar.
I soaked up the love and comfort of my Aunt like a flower seeking sunlight. After the events of the past semester, I felt like I was just coming out of the dark.
Fucking Brian, I thought bitterly. Why was it that beautiful men were such liars? I’d swallowed all of his lines without even a thought, especially the worst lie of them all: that we’d go public with our relationship as soon as I wasn’t his student anymore. After I’d finished the class, he’d simply made up another excuse: that he was worried about the backlash because I was still a student at the university.
I wished I’d wised up on my own and seen through his charade, but I hadn’t. Instead, I'd overheard another student crying over her boyfriend, the handsome chemistry TA named Brian. But at least I could say that once I’d seen the light, I'd acted quickly. Brian had claimed he didn’t know the girl, or that I must have misunderstood. But once the wool has been pulled from your eyes, it's extraordinarily hard to put it back.
Plus, Brian wasn’t as great of a liar as he thought he was. When I’d first told him what happened, I’d seen the fear in his eyes.
So, with a broken heart and completely smashed sense of trust, I’d put in for a transfer to Boston University. My Aunt Patty had taught in the information technology department at the university for the past ten years. It made me sad to leave Florida State behind, because I loved my school. The thought still made me a little grumpy. It wasn’t the school’s fault that they employed manipulative bastards.
“Hi, Aunt Patty. Sorry it took me so long to get here. Traffic was terrible.”
My Aunt waved away my excuses with a manicured hand. “It’s no trouble at all. I have your key and directions right here, just in case Trevor isn’t home when you get there.”
It was the first time my Aunt had referred to my new roommate by name. I was still surprised my aunt was okay with me rooming with a guy. When I’d mentioned it, Aunt Patty had just chuckled and said, “He’s not your type at all. Besides, he won’t even notice you’re there unless you speak in CSS.”
I figured out later that was some kind of computer code. My Aunt knew that I’d always gone more for the jock type. Growing up, I’d been way more inclined to talk to my aunt about boys than my own mother.
“Thanks again for finding me a place. I never would have had time after dealing with all the transfer stuff.”
Aunt Patty took my bag and placed it on the sofa. “Come have a cup of tea first. Sorry your Uncle Sidney isn’t here to greet you. He had a class he couldn’t cancel.”
“It’s no problem. Once I’m settled in, we’ll have to go out for dinner.”
After an hour relaxing over tea, I set out for my new apartment with my aunt’s list of detailed instructions and my new set of house keys. I felt a little tingle of excitement as I parked in space 601, per the written instructions, and grabbed my largest suitcase from my trunk. It hit me then that I should probably carry my least valuable things up first, so they weren’t sitting in the hallway. Luckily, I didn’t have much since there was no elevator. One big box, three smaller ones, and two suitcases. It took me five trips up and down the stairs before I got it all.
Afterward, I leaned against the wall outside my new apartment, panting. It might have been a bad idea to do all that alone, but I really didn’t want to start my relationship with my roommate by asking him for help. I wasn’t sure what strings my aunt had pulled to get this guy to agree to let me move in. If he was some kind of geeky computer nerd, then he probably was worried about having some party girl move in. So I was planning to be the best roommate ever. Easy. Quiet. He wouldn’t even know I was there.
I knocked once. The door swung open after a few minutes. The guy who stood in the doorway stared at me.
I stared back.
I could feel the moment my mouth fell open, but was powerless to stop it. This was my new roommate? My eyes scanned over him from head to toe, too overwhelmed to know what to take in first. The wild, dark hair that stood out randomly, like he’d just gotten out of bed, the chiseled jawline, or the moody green eyes currently watching me like I was prey.
Or the abs. Dear Lord, the abs. He had more dips and cuts in his stomach than I even knew was possible. Was that an eight pack?
At the last moment, I pulled my eyes back up to his face. But by his smirk, I knew he’d caught me staring. The beginnings of a blush heated my cheeks. Damn, I hated how easy it was to make me blush. I always wanted to act cool and confident, but that was pretty much impossible when my red cheeks gave me away.
Oh, you’re sexy as hell? No big deal, new roommate. I’ve totally lived with lots of half-naked sexy men before.
Right.
Resisting the urge to check if my dark hair was still contained in my usual ponytail, I gave an awkward little wave.
“Hi, I’m Natalie. I’m your new roommate.”
* * *
I was fucked.
There was no other way to put it. Just fucked.
I knew it the moment I'd opened the door. If this girl was what Professor Washington meant by mousy and quiet, then we had entirely different definitions of what mousy was. It also didn't help that she stared at me like I was a Christmas turkey and she hadn't eaten in years. Her big cornflower-blue eyes went wide and her pupils dilated
Focus, man. Now is not the time. My advisor had asked me for a favor. And, as she was helping me to find a job, I needed to get this favor right.
Besides, it would be a recipe for disaster if I started fantasizing about my new roommate. So I'd just have to shove the mental image of her full lips completely out of my head.
"Do you need a hand with anything?" I asked. Maybe if I had something to do with my hands, I wouldn't think about running them over every inch of her body. And through that thick chestnut hair, gently massaging her scalp as I angled her head to kiss her. No. None of that. "Here, let me grab that box."
"Thank you. I, uh—I really appreciate you doing this last minute. Letting me come and live with you. Seriously, are you some kind of saint?"
A saint? No. I was far from that. "Hardly. But I know what it's like trying to find an apartment in the city. Come on in." I grabbed one of the boxes and hauled it into the living room. Jesus, what the hell did she have in there? The way it jostled, I assumed books. But I couldn't be sure.
She dragged one of the suitcases just inside the door, and then took a look around. The apartment wasn't that big. But it had a spare bedroom, hardwood floors, was rent-controlled, and clean. I was a bit of a design nut, so the furnishings, while secondhand, were still stylish and eclectic. I'd been able to find cheap knockoff versions of the stuff I saw in magazines. Maybe it was my analytical mind, but I really liked smooth, clean lines.
Did she like it? Suddenly, it really mattered to me what she thought of the place. I wanted her to be comfortable here. It shouldn't matter what anyone thought, but I found myself wanting to make a good first impression.
"This is reall
y great. I had no idea what I was going to be getting, but this is nice."
A grin tugged at my lips. I'd been lucky to get this place at all, right in the heart of Brighton, of all places. I'd worked hard on his place and would almost be sad to leave it. But I'd be moving on to bigger and better things soon.
I had only gotten the apartment because one of the guys in my major had landed a big flashy job in Silicon Valley, and had asked me to take over the lease. That was probably how that guy had gotten the apartment, too.
This place had probably passed through a slew of grad students passing it off to people they knew and liked. It was the way of things. In the crazy world of Boston real estate, you had to have an in to find a place to live.
"Your bedroom's through there. You have your own shower. This is the common area. Not huge, but not totally cramped either. You're pretty much standing in the kitchen and dining room area. My room's back that way." I inclined my head toward the opposite side of the hallway.
As I helped to pull the rest of her things into the apartment, I couldn't help but feel her hot stare on my back. I considered grabbing a shirt and putting it on, but fuck it. I kind of liked her looking. Her eyes were striking, even more striking when they were intensely focused on me.
You are asking for trouble. Yeah, but I didn't care. Because I was sneaking glances of my own.
She had the whole studious-student get up going. Basic jeans, simple top. Cardigan and the glasses perched atop her head. I had the feeling she maybe needed them for reading, instead of for walking around and shit. The damned things would likely give me sexy librarian fantasies.
