Chapter 2Not Your Typical Romance

I swirled the wine one last time.

Behind me, the lock clicked shut.

I whipped around to find Julian leaning against the doorframe, a smirk playing on his lips. “There you are, Andy. I was looking for you.”

“What for?” I asked, my heart starting to pound.

“To catch up, of course.” His voice was as smooth as ever, but there was an undercurrent of something sharp, something… displeased. His gaze dropped to the packet in my hand. I shoved it into my pocket, but it was too late. A low chuckle escaped his lips.

“Planning on spiking my drink? No need to be so shy about it.”

“…”

Damn it. My brilliant plan, busted before it even began.

Julian took a step forward, plucked the glass from my hand, and drained it.

I just stood there, my hand still hanging in mid-air, completely stunned. This was not part of the plan.

“Julian, are you insane? Do you even know what that was?”

“I have an idea,” he said, his eyes lifting to meet mine. There was a flicker of something wicked in their depths, something I’d only seen glimpses of before.

He smiled, a slow, dangerous curve of his lips.

“Aren't you going to run?”

“Any longer, and it’ll be too late.”

“…”

My eyes went wide. I lunged for the door, twisting the handle frantically. Nothing. It was locked from the inside.

Son of a bitch.

I spun back around. Julian was slowly, methodically, unfastening the buttons of his shirt as if the room had suddenly become too warm. “Julian, where’s the key?”

He just smiled and started walking toward me, his steps unhurried. My back hit the cold wood of the door, and a bead of sweat trickled down my spine. Oh god, I’d put in extra.

“The key…” he murmured, closing the distance between us.

He took my hand. I thought he was going to give it to me, but instead, he guided my palm to his chest, resting it just above his collarbone. The skin there was already burning up. He slowly dragged my hand downward, over the hard plane of his pectoral muscle. My ears burned. I tried to pull away, but his grip was firm, guiding me lower…

…and lower, until my fingers brushed against the waistband of his jeans. He pressed my body flat against the door, his breath coming in ragged pants.

“It’s right here,” he rasped, his voice thick.

“If you’ve got the guts, come and get it yourself.”

Shameless bastard!

Before I could even process the words, his mouth was on mine. It wasn’t a kiss; it was a conquest. My world tilted, my mind short-circuiting. I tried to push him away, but he pinned me easily. Wasn’t Julian a pre-med? Where the hell did he get this kind of strength?

The lights of the lounge seemed to blur and spin. The next thing I knew, he had me sitting on the wide windowsill, his body pressing me back against the cool glass. He bit down on my shoulder.

“Ow!”

His breath was hot against my ear, but his voice was chillingly cool. “You deserve this, Andy.”

His words were a low growl. “Didn’t we promise to go to the same university? You’re the one who broke your word first.”

…