Ignoring the way this banter was spiking my heart rate, I switched subjects. “Uh, can I grab some water from you while we wait?”
It was entirely possible that I needed to get out of this room before the energy between Ren and me made my clothes fall off. It was also possible that I didn’t want Mr. Paige to witness anything untoward.
“That’ll be five bucks,” he cracked, holding out an open palm.
I dug a five from my pocket and slapped it into his hand. “Fine. Lead the way.”
As my fingers grazed his palm, the short hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Blood raced south so quickly that I went dizzy. Ren rushed past me and headed down the hall toward the stairs. I stood outside the bathroom, watching him. He glanced back over his shoulder, and when our eyes met, my cheeks went hot at the hunger in his expression. I couldn’t maintain eye contact.
Maybe I wasn’t the only one who’d been waking up with inappropriate boners.
I lurched out of my frozen state and started to follow him, my footfalls heavy in comparison to his nearly silent barefoot steps. He stopped four stairs down, drumming his fingers on the banister.
“Ren?”
He turned and looked up at me, his head tilted to the side.
“Are you okay?” I asked, suddenly breathless. “I’m not actually thirsty.”
He examined the five-dollar bill in his hand before raising his eyes back to mine. Jesus, he could bring me to my knees with a look like that.
“Would you fuck me again?” he asked, his voice soft but steady.
My eyebrows shot up. “What?”
“You heard me. When will Leo be back?”
“Uh…” I scratched my head.
“Major? How long will it take for Leo to return?”
I snapped out of my confused trance. “It’ll probably take him an hour because he and Allie chat like there’s no tomorrow.”
“So we have enough time?”
Enough time for what?I was so lost.
Ren put his hands on his hips and took a deep breath, lifting his chin at me. “I have needs. You know how to meet them.”
“Ren, where is this coming from?” I asked, feeling like I was towering over him on the staircase.
“I don’t know. I’ve had a bad week, and I don’t want to get you a water. I want you to fuck me.”
“I know the anniversary?—”
“Yes. The anniversary,” he said, slashing his hand through the air as if he was sick of talking about it. “I’m in a lot of pain. Do you think you could help me?”
I opened my mouth, then closed it again.
“That was a yes-or-no question, Major,” Ren said in his teacher voice.
Stitching my brows together, I scratched at my beard. “I thought you said that was a one-time thing. I thought we weren’t discussing it.”
“That was that. This is this.” Sighing, he smacked his fist against his forehead. “Scholar of American literature, right here, folks.”
I took a deep breath, and his eyes caught on my belly and chest.
“Okay,” I finally said. “Do you have condoms?”
