I blinked my eyes rapidly to adjust to the darkness of the room. There was a figure above the bed; a man's body sculpted in the darkness. He undid the buckle of his pants, then drew down the zipper. The metallic sound sent a chill down my spine, as I watched on dazedly.
He shoved the pants down his legs, stepping out of them as he dragged his t-shirt over his head. I shuffled back in the bed, my head pounding with the movement, as I grappled for a weapon to use.
I was in a stranger's bed and he was getting undressed in front of me.
My hand landed on a pillow and I swung it at my assailant as he crawled onto the bed, his muscles moving fluidly with the movement.
"Hey," he said in protest, right before I wacked him over the head with the pillow.
"What kind of sick," thump with the pillow "pervert" thump "tries to get with a girl" thump "when she's asleep!" thump.
A pillow is a pitiful weapon, I realised, when the guy's large hands grasped my arms and flipped us over so that he was on top, the pillow squished between our bodies. His body heat flooded through me, sending a shudder through my heart.
"Ness, cut it out," he said. "It's me, Charlie."
"Charlie?" I peered up into his face in the darkness, my hands unconsciously slipping from his hold and moving to caress the edges of his chiselled face.
Awareness washed over me and I pulled my hands away, face burning.
"What are you doing here?" I asked. Now that I wasn't so focused on my attacker I heard voices echoing in the hallway, followed by a creaky groan and the sound of a door slamming shut.
Charlie sighed, the mint flavour of his breath flowing over me. He must have brushed his teeth. He shifted slightly between my legs and I became uncomfortably aware of all the heat in my body rushing down to where he was touching me.
He smiled rakishly. In the darkness I could see the tips of his teeth gleam. "The real question is what are you doing here. This is my room, Ness."
I looked around the dimly lit space and discerned a sports bag on his desk, his sky-blue soccer jersey haphazardly spilling from the top. The coarse texture of the sheets underneath me a tell-tale sign that what he was saying was true. His sheets smelled like him: musk, sandalwood and a hint of apple.
I kind of wanted to roll around in them.
I squirmed underneath him, having all my senses embroiled in Charlie was too much. Hedonistic. With a low groan, Charlie ducked his head, his hands moving to still my shifting hips.
"Hey, you promise not to start hitting me if I move off you?"
I nodded, as I breathed an affirmative answer, not game enough to admit that I never wanted him to move off me.
Charlie relocated to the space beside me on the double bed. I immediately missed his heat and the feeling of him pressed against me.
He flung an arm over his eyes as he breathed shallowly, and I admired the way his chest rose and fell. His skin was tanned, with a scarce spread of light brown hair. I wanted to run my hands all over him.
Charlie took his arm away from his eyes and looked at me. We stared at each other in the darkness, there was a slight shimmering of light that came through his blinds, enough that I could make out his cerulean eyes. They glimmered in the darkness as they trailed over me. Every place his eyes touched felt like a warm caress.
