Accidental Roommate Read online

  I felt somehow relaxed and agitated all at once. I stripped down to my boxers and did some sit-ups and pushups to try to clear my head. Afterward, I grabbed a bottle of water from the mini-fridge and sat down in a chair beside the window. There was a stack of magazines on a little table and I started thumbing through them.

  I looked at all the advertising. The guy in the outlet mall spread had a full beard and a build similar to mine. It was an early-career-arc spread. He was probably about twenty. A few pages later I saw a cologne ad. The guy in the ad had a look similar to mine. He was wearing a suit, tie undone, and shirt unbuttoned. He was probably twenty-eight or twenty-nine. Next, I saw an ad for a luxury sedan. Holy shit, that was Sebastian.

  Sebastian and I had been represented by the same agency since I first got into the business. He was a good guy and a real professional, and he stayed away from the bad stuff. We had done some sportswear spreads together early in my career. Here he was in an ad for a fucking luxury sedan. He was thirty-one. Four years older than me. I threw the magazine across the room and decided to take a shower.

  As I let the hot water wash over me, I slowed my breathing to try to get some of my stress in check. I looked down and noticed the oversized shower in the hotel room had a bench in the back, just like my shower at home. My mind immediately went back to Grayce and the thought of her body went straight to my cock. I remembered her showing me the apartment, and thinking how I’d like to fuck her in my shower.

  I pictured her perfect little hands with those neat little red nails, wrapped around my cock. I grabbed the little bottle of conditioner that was in the shower and put some in my palm before grabbing my already throbbing cock. Closing my eyes, I imagined her here with me, those toned legs wrapped around my body. I imagined her screaming my name as I pounded into her. It didn’t take long for me to groan with relief.

  As I lay in bed, I thought about how little I knew about this buttoned-up lawyer I lived with. For all I knew, she had a boyfriend. Hell, or a girlfriend for that matter. I knew this much, though. Unless she flat-out rejected me, I had to try to get in there. I had never met a woman who could make me give up a sure thing when I didn’t even know if sex with her was on the table or not.

  My best friend was married, my modeling career was circling the toilet, and I was making compromises to be with one woman over another. Fuck, maybe I was growing up. It sucked.

  Chapter 11

  Grayce

  I had barely seen my new roommate since he’d moved in. Well, technically, that wasn’t true. I had seen quite a bit of him when he’d returned from his run on Saturday in nothing but those running shorts. He had gone to his friend’s wedding, and I had been out for dinner when he got back on Sunday. When I got in that evening, I knew he was home because his keys were in a bowl on the little table by the front door, but he was already in his room.

  It was probably just as well. Between almost cold-cocking him with a kettlebell and embarrassing myself repeatedly on Saturday, there was no telling what humiliating thing would’ve happened if I had seen him on Sunday. He was already out the door by the time I was headed to work on Monday morning.

  As I passed by the spot in the hallway where the kettlebell incident occurred, I noticed the dent in the floor. Damn it, I’d have to get that fixed. I was already running a few minutes behind schedule, so I darted out the door and headed to the office.

  When I arrived, Ella had coffee waiting for me, bless her. “Your calendar is clear for the next ninety minutes,” she said, following me into my office. “Spill it.”

  She sat in the chair across from my desk and raised her eyebrows, waiting.

  I shrugged. “Well, yeah, so the gorgeous guy from Flex showed up for the apartment, like I said. I wasn’t going to rent it to him, but he had better references than anyone else I had talked to, plus he had already moved out from his last place, and he had no place to go. I thought about what you said and finally decided to give him a chance.”

  “Yes, because you know what they say about New York. It’s nearly impossible for a beautiful godlike man to find a bed to sleep in.” She laughed.

  “You’re hilarious. Aren’t you the one who told me to open up to people?” I asked.

  “Yes, but I was thinking more of you opening up your legs, so when is that happening?”

  “Ella! There is something seriously wrong with you, you know that?” I replied.

  “I’m completely serious. You have a gorgeous, man right under your roof and you’re going to what – do nothing?”

  “Well, for a start, I seem to have embarrassed myself at every turn with him. He came in late, and I thought he was an intruder so I almost took a kettlebell to his skull, then he caught me barely dressed in the kitchen, then ass-up doing yoga, so, yeah, not a great start to all of that.”

  “Come with me,” Ella said, grabbing me by the arm. She pulled me into our tiny office bathroom.

  “Look in that mirror. Grayce, what do you see?” She pointed at my reflection with one hand on her hip.

  “Me.” I said.

  “Try again,” she insisted.

  “I’m not sure what the answer to this game is. A lawyer? A thirty-year old? A soon-to-be divorcée? I don’t know.”

  “Okay, dumbass, let me help you. I see a gorgeous woman with beautiful dark hair, big blue eyes I would kill for, a pouty little mouth, and a knockout figure. Seriously, your tits are great. Mine are spectacular, but yours are great.” She winked, then led me out of the bathroom. We walked back to my office.

  “But Ella, if you saw this guy,” I started, shaking my head.

  “Okay, so I’m coming over after work to see your new place. I’ll get to lay eyes on your new man candy then.” She smirked. “Now, get to work doing lawyer-y things,” she said. “We’ve still gotta eat, you know.”

  After work, Ella came over and I made us dinner. It was almost seven, and I suspected Tyler would be home any minute. I knew he didn’t do the bouncer work on Mondays, and his modeling gigs usually took place in the afternoons after he finished at Flex.

  We had just finished dinner when there was a knock at the door. “Maybe he forgot his key?” Ella shrugged, and I got up to answer it.

  I was stunned when I opened the door. This could not be happening. “Carter, what do you want?” I asked brusquely.

  “Lovely to see you too, Grayce,” he said, stepping inside uninvited. “Oh, and I see your trusty sidekick is here, too. Ella.” He nodded in her direction.

  She gave him a hand gesture that started as a wave and ended as the finger.

  “You can’t just come to my home and barge in, you know,” I said, infuriated that he would have the gall to come over uninvited. “Speaking of which, how did you even know where I live? I don’t remember giving you the address.”

  “Come on, Grayce. I’m an attorney, isn’t research what we do?” He smirked. “Besides, you weren’t exactly being civil on the phone, so I had to get resourceful.” He walked over and plopped down on the far end of the sofa from Ella. She made a clawing motion with her hand and hissed at him like a cat. It was at once disturbing and hysterically funny.

  “Get out of my house, Carter,” I said bluntly.

  “I’m just here about the papers,” he responded, pulling a legal-sized manila envelope from his bag. “You need to sign, Grayce. So we can put this past us and move on.”

  Condescending piece of shit. He didn’t get to tell me that. It was my decision, and we most definitely were not getting back together.

  I was still standing, too angry to take a posture as relaxed as sitting. I heard a sound behind me and realized it was the front door. Tyler. Oh. Fuck.

  “Hi, Grayce,” he said walking into the living room.

  “Who the hell is this? Is this the guy I heard on the phone?” Carter said angrily.

  “Yes,” Ella chimed in. “He’s Grayce’s new guy, Tyler.” She smirked. “So, what do you think of her upgrade, you dickhead?” she said to Carter.

>   Mortified, I looked at Tyler, but he was all smiles. “Sorry I’m late, babe,” he said, wrapping a hand around my waist. “I had a late client.”

  Suddenly, his mouth was on mine, his lips tugging, his tongue sliding along the crease of my lips until I granted his access. I wrapped my hands around his shoulders as our tongues slid against one another. The feel of his tongue thrusting into my mouth went straight to my core. I could feel the arousal growing between my thighs, and my body ached for more of him.

  He put both palms on my back, big hands flat, finger splayed, pulling me to him. Everything around us fell away. There was no Carter, no Ella, no apartment. Just he and I, floating, our bodies responding to one another with the intensity of desire.

  I heard something that I couldn’t quite make out. Tyler pulled his mouth away from mine, his lips tugging playfully at mine once more before he stepped back just a little. He kept one arm around my shoulders and stood next to me in a perfectly feigned couples posture. I felt almost lightheaded and tried to compose myself.

  “I’m sorry, did you say something?” I asked Carter who was sitting there, staring at us with his mouth agape.

  I looked behind him to where Ella sat at the other end of the couch. She mouthed the words, ‘Fucking brilliant!’

  “I said, I think that’s about enough!” Carter stood up. “I mean really, I don’t think I even know who you are.”

  “Who I am? Oh, let me introduce myself. Hi, I’m Grayce Gladden. I’m the woman who caught husband fucking our legal assistant in our bed.” I crossed my arms, and Tyler rubbed my shoulder with his hand in a comforting gesture.

  “Sign the papers, Grayce.” Carter slapped the envelope down on the coffee table and walked out, slamming the front door behind him.

  “What the hell was that?” I asked, glaring at Tyler and shrugging his arm off.

  “You’re welcome. See, I think you meant to say thank you.” He gave me one of those charming, full-mouth smiles as he plopped down on the sofa.

  “I’m Tyler, by the way,” he said turning to Ella and putting his hand out. “And you are…”

  “In love! That was the best thing I ever saw! You’re my new favorite,” Ella gushed as she shook Tyler’s hand. “I’m Ella, Grayce’s best friend.”

  “And I take it that was your ex?” He looked back at me.

  “That would be him,” I said, slumping down into the chair closest to Tyler.

  “Well, gotta go!” Ella said grabbing her purse and standing quickly. “See you at the office tomorrow,” she said, blowing a kiss in my direction. “And you – you were spectacular!” She patted Tyler on the shoulder as she walked behind him toward the door.

  While his back was to her, Ella mouthed to me, yummy! Fuck this guy, and pointed to Tyler as she left.

  “So, you caught him with someone else? In your own house? Man, that’s just – that’s awful. I’m so sorry, Grayce.” Tyler looked at me with genuine empathy. He started toward the kitchen. “Hey, can I grab you a beer?”

  “Wine, maybe?” I replied.

  He returned a moment later with a light beer in a bottle, and a glass of white for me.

  “I bet you’ll be glad to have that guy out of your life.” He shrugged and took a chug of his beer.

  “You have no idea,” I replied, sipping my wine and putting the glass down. “Listen, about that kiss,” I started.

  “Yeah, about that.” He leaned toward me and rubbed the back of his neck with his palm. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a while, actually. I think it was pretty worth the wait, how about you?”

  I tried to think clearly as his lips moved, but all I could do was imagine them on me. On my lips, on my skin, on my…I sat up straight in my chair and cleared my throat. “No it wasn’t.”

  “It wasn’t? Are you kidding me? You were leaning into me pretty hard and your tongue was, well, you had some pretty nice moves of your own there. Are you really trying to tell me you didn’t enjoy it?” He leaned a little closer, raising an eyebrow as he gave me a look of disbelief.

  “No, I didn’t…I mean, yes, of course I did. It was great!” Shit. What was happening? “I mean, I appreciate you trying to help me, but that can never happen again.” I took another sip of my wine.

  “Hmm,” he said, taking another swig of beer. “So, you don’t want me to kiss you again?” He raised an eyebrow.

  “No, I don’t. You can’t,” I replied, my resolve seeming to return.

  “You don’t want me to tug on your lips with mine? Or push my tongue inside, letting it slide against yours?”

  I felt the red rise up to my cheeks, and my breathing rate increase. My panties were completely drenched at the thought of his tongue on me anywhere. “Yes,” I managed to eke out.

  “Yes, you want me to do that again? Great!” He grinned.

  “No!” I said emphatically, standing up, for some reason, as if I were planning to run away from him. He lived here too, after all. It wasn’t like I could get very far. “No, we can’t let that happen again. It’s too complicated. We both need this arrangement to work.” I drew in a deep breath. “I appreciate you helping me with Carter, but I can take care of myself. Really. And no more kissing…or, you know, anything. Do we have a deal?”

  “If you say so, Grayce,” he replied, grabbing his beer and standing. “But just so you know, I’m glad you dumped that stuck-up prick. He might be rich – he kind of seems like the type – but he’s a five at best.” He took a step toward me. “And you’re a solid ten, gorgeous.”

  My pulse quickened at the words, but I couldn’t find words to respond.

  He took a step closer, leaning in to my ear. “And one last thing. If you change your mind—or should I say when you change your mind—you just let me know.”

  His breath tickled my ear as he spoke. I didn’t need to turn around to see he had walked away. I felt the empty space left by the loss of his body heat from head to toe.

  As soon as I heard his bedroom door shut, I collapsed into a chair. I closed my eyes and tipped my head back. I rubbed my thighs together, enjoying the slick sensation there that Tyler’s touch – his lips on mine – had caused. At the same time, my pussy ached for him.

  While we were kissing, I’d felt his cock pressing into me. I knew from when I had seen him in running shorts a few days before that it was big, but the sensation of it pressing against my body as we kissed was a confirmation of its impressive size.

  I wanted to take him in my mouth, to have him fill me up and pound into me. My body wanted to give itself to him with wild abandon. My mind, though, knew it would be a disaster. Those wasted years with Carter had proven that my body – my heart included – was a terrible decision maker. I had to let my brain take a turn at calling the shots for once.

  I heard my phone buzz and grabbed it from the coffee table. Ella.

  ELLA: Hey. Hope you don’t get this msg until tomorrow because you’re under that amazing god of a man right now

  Seriously Grayce holy fuck that guy is hot

  The look on carter’s stupid face was priceless

  See you tomorrow

  I could always count on her for some perspective. I moved to the sofa, flipped on the TV, and turned it to a sit-com so I could unplug my brain. I needed to look at the papers Carter had brought over, but that would have to wait until the next day. I needed to go through them with a fine-toothed comb. In truth, I didn’t want anything from him, but New York was a spousal maintenance state, and since he was the one fucking our legal assistant, I wouldn’t turn down something that made my life easier. Especially if it chapped his ass to pay it.

  A few minutes later, Tyler emerged from the bedroom wearing a t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts. “Do you mind if I join you? I promise not to even try to kiss those sexy lips of yours…unless you ask nicely.”

  I rolled my eyes and patted the sofa next to me. “Sure,” I grinned up at him. “Not too close, though.”

  “Hey, I know that guy,” he said, p
ointing to the chiseled actor on TV. “He used to be with the same agency I’m with.”

  “Do you think you’ll go into acting too?” I asked.

  He chuckled, “Um, no. No, I do not.”

  “Why not?” I asked. “Sorry, I just don’t really know anything about what you do, or how any of that modeling and acting stuff works.”

  “Yeah, no problem. A lot of people want to make the leap from modeling to acting. I really just got into modeling to earn some extra money. Once I started doing it, though, I really liked it. A lot of people in the industry are really unprofessional. The photographers and art directors I work with know they can count on me. I take my work seriously. I take good care of myself, too. I don’t stay out partying, eating and drinking like shit, then try to make it up in a few hours at the gym.” He shrugged.

  “Wow, that makes sense. So, if you don’t want to act, what do you want to do?” I asked.

  He laughed and tipped his head back against the top of the couch. “That is the million-dollar question, Grayce.”

  My name sounded like velvet as it crossed his lips. I was trying not to get turned on, but not doing a very good job of it.

  “That’s why I wanted this place so badly,” he continued. “The types of jobs I’m getting are starting to shift. My modeling career has an expiration date. I need to figure out what I want to do. I’m thinking of going back to school, but I’m not sure what that will look like.” He looked at me, smiling. His eyes lingered for a moment on mine. “How about you? Did you always want to be a lawyer?”

  “Yes. Well, since high school, anyway.”

  “Listen, don’t take this the wrong way, but…you and your ex. You seem…very different.” He broached the topic carefully.

  “I guess we were. We met when we worked at the same corporate law firm. Carter is old money, though, and I’m just a lower-middle-class Jersey girl who worked her ass off to get where I am.” I shook my head. “Funny thing is, before my dad died, he begged me not to marry Carter. I was stubborn. I wouldn’t listen. Clearly, he saw something I didn’t.”