My view of him is cut off, replaced with Archie’s face. Before I realize what’s happening his lips claim mine in a short but firm kiss. He cheers and the rest of the players at the card table release disgruntled groans. Archie must have won the game, but I hadn’t been paying any attention. Without shifting me off his lap, he leans forward and collects the handful of jasper chips and rounds—Solar Court’s currency—and pockets them. He grins at me, then kisses me again. “I knew you were good luck!”
I’m so stunned by the two unexpected kisses that I can’t form a reply. Thankfully, he’s already focused on the next game, as one of his mates begins shuffling the cards.
I slide my hand out from under Archie’s collar, feeling more self-conscious now.
William’s stare is like a gaping black hole from across the room, impossible to ignore any longer. Gathering my composure, I meet his eyes with what I hope is a proud look. The kiss doesn’t count toward our bet, as our intimacies must be exchanged in our own bedrooms, but it’s a step closer to securing Archie as my lover. With how comfortably he touches me and how readily he kissed me, inviting him back to mydormitory feels like a sure deal. My confidence flares, and I taunt William with a coy shrug of my shoulders.
Easy, I mouth.
His eyes narrow to a glare. Then a boldness takes over his expression. He pulls Jolene even closer to him now. Her back is facing me, but I can tell she was in mid-conversation with him. Probably a very one-sided conversation, from how preoccupied he’s been with me, but now she stiffens in his arms. He slides his attention to her, and he showers her with that stupid seductive grin. Her form melts against him, and she angles her head, giving me a slight view of her profile. Her lashes are closed, her lips parted in silent invitation.
William goes pale, his demeanor faltering once more. The grimace that tugs his features reminds me of everything he told me tonight. His struggles. His embarrassments. His inability to kiss someone he isn’t attracted to. I’m struck by the sudden urge to race across the room and rescue him. I shift in Archie’s lap, ready to launch myself out of it, when William’s eyes return to mine.
I freeze.
I arch a questioning brow, but that only makes his lips curl wickedly. Archie tugs me until I’m settled fully in his lap again, but I can’t take my eyes off William. There’s a dare in his cruel grin that makes me breathless. With some strange mixture of terror and elation, I watch as he lowers his mouth to Jolene’s, his eyes locked on mine all the while. He doesn’t close them, doesn’t so much as blink away from me as he gives her a slow and languorous kiss.
My fingertips move to my mouth before I can stop them, tracing where his mouth brushes against hers. His attention on me scalds hotter than any flame. My skin flushes as if burned by his hands, his lips, even though he’s nowhere near me. Even though he’s wrapped around someone else at the opposite end ofthe room. Our locked eyes tether us in a way that defies distance, reason?—
He breaks the kiss and finally looks down at his partner. Released from his gaze, I gasp.
What…what the hell was that? Why am I so short of breath? Why do I feel like I’ve been roasted over hot coals? And what is this fiery heat that pulses between my thighs?
William has been hidden from me now that another group has passed between us, and this one has decided to linger at the center of the room.
“Where are you staying tonight?” Archie steals my attention. Only now do I realize he’s no longer playing the card and dice game. He must have lost early in the first round.
I blink, clearing my head. “At the university dormitory.”
He leans in and whispers in my ear, “Can we stay the night together?”
I don’t know why, but I look for William again. All I see is the mantle and the clock that ticks closer to midnight. It’s after eleven now.
I rise from Archie’s lap and gather all the boldness I can muster. “Let’s go back to my room.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
EDWINA
The last person I expect to see outside my bedroom once we reach the dormitory is William. He leans beside the closed door, arms crossed, one foot propped against the wall behind him. He and Jolene reached the dormitory before us even though Archie and I left Somerton House first. It only took a matter of minutes to run into them. Or, more accurately, for William to come barreling after us, demanding to know why I would leave the party and my roommate without a word. After which I muttered we all knew Jolene wasn’t going to be my roommate tonight. Jolene beamed while William looked murderous. He probably hoped he could sabotage my attempt to secure a lover.
Afterward, Archie insisted on walking behind the other couple so we could have some privacy. After a few minutes, they were so far ahead I couldn’t see them anymore. I was certain William would be bedding Jolene in his room by the time I even reached mine. The thought made me irrationally angry all theway here, though I’m not sure why. It would have been foolish to hope I’d be the only one earning a point toward our bet tonight, considering Jolene’s determination.
But if that’s the case, why the hell is he outside my room? There’s no way my friend changed her mind.
“Where’s Jolene?” I ask.
His gaze shifts from me to Archie and back again but he doesn’t push off the wall. “My room.”
“Then why aren’t you with her?”
He purses his lips, jaw tightening. “I need to ask you something.”
“Then ask.”
“Alone.”
“Anything you can say in front of me?—”
