I don’t say anything as the door opens, and I watch her walk inside. She doesn’t give me a second glance, but I give her one. I stand there and breathe in the scent of lemon left in the air. Then once the door is closed, I walk toward the elevator and remember that smell from another time.

I smelled her sweet scent the first time she approached me in the library, although I wasn’t sure what it was. The next time we ran into each other I knew for sure she smelled of lemon. Yellow, juicy, ripe lemons like I’d pick from the trees in my mother’s yard so she could make fresh lemonade. Her scent drove me crazy. It created urges in me no other girl should have been able to provoke. Seeing her made me feel like the devil was really trying to f**k with me. Especially when it seemed everywhere I went she was there—the library, the campus coffee shop, and even my own frat house. I did enjoy talking to her but knew our conversations would never be contained to a strictly friends level. I did my best to minimize our contact. I knew she wanted more than I could give—it was in her tone every time we spoke and the way she flirted with me. I had a girl that I loved so I walked away every time . . . until the night came I no longer could.

At the sight of the elevator doors opening to let me enter, I let go of the memory of how she used to watch me, like she knew me, like she got me. And instead I think about how her sexy little walk caught my attention—I liked it. And I still do.

Chapter 7

If I Never See Your Face Again

Long hair drapes over me, tickling my chin, my chest, my legs as she moves down my body—silky red locks that I could twist my fingers around. Soft flawless flesh, warm to the touch, that smells so delicious I wanted to taste her. Bright green eyes, like emeralds, peek up at me from under thick, long lashes—eyes I could get lost in. Lush full lips sear my skin with each kiss, so wet, so full, and always eager—a mouth that commands, demands.

Fuck. I wake up in a cold sweat. I’ve been dreaming of her, of our one night together in college, ever since I saw her in the hotel. It was a night full of passion, of my darkest desires being met, but I was in love with Dahl. I never should have slept with someone else while I was in a relationship. So why did I let her tempt me? Why had I given in to her? The simple truth was I wanted her beyond my willpower to fight that urge. For years I had tried to expunge that memory because I was committed to Dahl. But it was a night I could never completely erase from my mind and now it’s back.

The first half of rush night my senior year will always be a blur but the last part I’ll never be able to forget.

It was a wild party with kegs lining the room and bowls of food overflowing on every available surface. Easy girls made their way around talking to new pledges. Rush night—for a brother it was unlike any other night of the year.

“Pledging f**king sucks,” one new recruit had the nerve to say out loud as I passed by.

I turned on my heels. “Oh yeah. Why?”

“Dick sucking,” he said matter-of-factly, obviously not having any clue who I was.

I almost spit my beer out. “Dick sucking?”

“Well, not literally.”

I held my empty cup out for him but he didn’t catch on.

Someone grabbed it except it wasn’t the cocksucker I wanted to refill it.

“I’ve been assigned as your little sister,” the cute voice said gleefully.

My eyes went right to her chest. She was wearing a see-through top that drew my attention. But I quickly reverted my attention to the poor sap who should have walked away the minute he opened his trap. He stood there opened-mouthed, now ready to fulfill his role.

She disappeared and we both watched her ass in that tight skirt. I turned to him and clapped my hand on his shoulder. “I think it’s time for you to head out.”

He swallowed before trying to respond.

I moved my hands toward my pants and made as if I was unzipping them. “Unless you’d like to,” I dipped my chin.

He shook his head looking like he might vomit.

I laughed hysterically. “Hit it and come back when you have your sexual orientation under control.”

When I turned she was staring at me. “What?”

“That’s not really a part of hazing is it?”

“Fuck, no. I was just busting his balls.” I grabbed my beer. “Thank you. . . .”

“S’belle,” she finished for me.

“I know your name,” I said and then I excused myself to talk to some other potential pledges.

She refilled my beer so many times I lost count and before I knew it the night was over and I was sending the new boys out on a scavenger hunt to find a pair of pink lace panties. The house was unusually empty. It was just her and me and a few others. By that point I was so wasted I could barely see straight. I had propped myself against the wall, leaning forward with my legs crossed at the ankles to keep my balance. I’d just called Dahl and told her not to come over, that I was headed to my room to pass out. As soon as I slid my cell in my pocket she was standing in front of me taking my cup.

“I’m good.” I put my hand out.

She batted her eyelashes and I had to laugh. I knew the other girls must have given her tips on how to behave. I found it f**king ridiculous when girls started molding themselves to what you wanted them to be, but the other guys loved it.

With slightly slurred words she asked me, “Did you have fun tonight?”

“What’s not fun about naïve college freshmen?” My words were even more slurred than hers. I laughed. “What about you?”