“Ash,” he whispers. “You don’t get it.”
“Then, tell me. Talk to me about what you’re going through. If you want me to go all-in with you, then I have to know what I’m getting myself into.”
“I thought I heard you come in,” Sloan says from the end of the hallway.
His voice sends chills down my arms. Why is he awake? I thought he went to bed hours ago. In the time I have lived here, Sloan has never come down to visit Dylan this late at night.
“Fuck,” Dylan whispers, using his body to shield me from Sloan.
Sloan will kill both of us when he sees me in my skimpy pajama top and shorts with Dylan practically on top of me. I turn my head, so Sloan can’t see my face, keeping my fingers crossed he won’t come down here.
“Stall him,” I whisper.
“I’m kinda busy right now,” Dylan says. “Can we talk in the morning?”
“Yeah, sure. It was nothing anyway. I was wondering why you changed your mind about the Exact Match deal.”
Why would Dylan give them his algorithm?
Dylan reaches between us to push open his door. “Get in,” he says, shielding me as I stumble into the room.
I do as Dylan instructs, and he closes the bedroom door. From inside the room, I can hear their muffled voices. Sloan sounds like he’s in a good mood, while Dylan seems a little angry with each response he gives. Earlier, my brother said they were backing out of the deal with Exact Match.
From the sounds of their conversation, they are going to be out there for a while. I climb into Dylan’s bed, wrapping myself in his warm, silky sheets and rest my head on a stack of pillows.
After a while, I don’t hear Dylan or my brother talking, but I’m too tired to move. Dylan’s bed is comfortable, like sleeping on a cloud. His sheets mold against my body, and I curl up, taking in the scent of his laundry detergent.
Not long after I close my eyes, the other side of the bed dip from Dylan’s weight. I’m dreaming. He’s too mad at me to wrap his strong arms around me. So, why does it feel so real?
My eyes snap open when his lips graze my earlobe.
“How does Max know about us?”
His hand is on my stomach, dangerously close to the waistband of my shorts. I can’t think straight with him this close.
“What are you talking about?”
“Max is blackmailing me into selling him my algorithm. So, I want to hear it from your mouth that you sold me out.”
I roll onto my back, and his fingers slide lower, right beneath my shorts. “I didn’t tell him anything. You know I wouldn’t. I would never…”
I attempt to sit up, and he pushes my back to the mattress. He strips off my pajama shorts and panties in one fell swoop and then runs his long fingers along my slit.
“Don’t lie to me, Ash.” Dylan shoves his fingers inside me with a loud grunt. “What did you say to Savanna?”
“We had lunch,” I choke out. “Willow might have mentioned that we don’t do much talking when we’re together.”
“And you told her about us?”
“No, I told her that Willow was joking.”
He quickens his pace, adding another finger. “If Sloan were on the call with me, he would have found out about us. And now, Max is forcing me to go through with the deal to keep our secret.”
My eyes slam shut as he thrusts deeper inside me, hitting all the right spots. “Stop talking about my brother and make me come.”
Dylan stops moving, his fingers still inside me. “What do you want, Ash?”
I blow out a deep breath. “As in what are we doing?”
“Yeah.”
“How female of you.”
“Don’t get cute,” he snaps. “I need to know what you want. Give me an answer. No more games.”
Covering his hand with mine, I help guide his fingers in and out of me so painfully slow every part of my body tingles. “I want you, Dylan. Is that what you want to hear?”
“It’s a start.”
We move in unison until his fingers bring me to the peak of my climax, and right before I’m about to come, he withdraws his hand.
“What are you doing?”
“Patience,” he says and then slides his fingers along my bottom lip, shoving them into my mouth.
He rakes his teeth along my neck, and tiny bumps run down my arms from the intense wave of pleasure that sweeps over me. Within seconds, he’s on top of me, spreading my thighs apart with his knee.
“I hate myself,” he admits.
“You said the same thing seven years ago.”
“The guilt never fades,” he says with heat in his eyes. “Sloan could have found out about us. I could have fucked up everything we built together.”
“We should tell him the truth,” I suggest.
“About everything?”
I nod. “I don’t want to be your secret anymore.”
He shifts his weight on top of me, leaning on his elbow for support. His hand starts moving again, his fingers inching into me. “You drive me crazy, Ash. You always did and probably always will.”
Dylan thrusts inside me, sliding my shirt over my breasts. He sucks my nipple into his warm mouth, peeking up at me with the tiny bud between his teeth. When my body trembles, heat sweeps over me in waves.
He was always good with his mouth, his hands, his cock. Dylan craves perfection. He wants to be good at everything, and that part of his personality has always extended to our sex life.
For a moment, I forget that Dylan is my older brother’s best friend and business partner. He’s still my first crush, first kiss, first love. No matter how much time has passed or what we endured together, those are three things I can never take away from Dylan.
After he makes me come, Dylan kisses me so hard and fast my head spins. “I love how sensitive you are,” he whispers. “The way you respond to even the slightest touch.”
“You have a gift,” I joke.
Dylan laughs, and then his tongue sweeps inside my mouth, tangling with mine. Starting at my shoulder, he runs his fingers down my arm, and when our lips separate, I miss the closeness to him.
“Are you going to tell my brother about us?”
“It’s about time we told him.”
“You want to do it together?”
“He should hear it from both of us.”
“We should tell him in a restaurant.”
He laughs. “So, he doesn’t kill us?”
“Pretty much. He might be less inclined to throw a punch if we’re in public.”
Dylan presses a kiss to my forehead, my nose, and then my lips. “Close your eyes, beautiful. You need your rest.”
“For someone worried about my sleep, why did you wake me? I was in the middle of a nice dream…”
“Was it about me?” He wiggles his eyebrows. “It was dirty, wasn’t it?”
“Get out,” I snort with laughter. “Your ego is taking up too much room.”
Dylan chuckles, his strong arms holding me against his chest. “Fine. Don’t tell me. I know you dream about me.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Dylan
I sit up and lean back against the headboard, attempting not to wake Ash as I watch her sleep. She purrs softly, and I swear I have never seen a more beautiful sight.
A while passes before Ash rolls onto her back. She rubs her eyes and then glances over at me.
“Were you watching me sleep?”
I brush a strand of hair out of her eyes and smile.
“Creeper,” she says, laughing. “Why do you do that? It’s so weird.”
“You look happy when you sleep.”
She smiles in response, her arms raised above her head to yawn. Her stomach growls loudly, and she covers it with her hand.
“I want pancakes,” she says, making circular motions over her belly. “Feed me.”
“Bacon?”
“Duh, as if you had to ask.”
I clasp my hands in front of me and jokingly bow lik
e a genie. “Your wish is my command.”
She laughs, propping herself up on her elbow to kiss my cheek. “Today is the day. Are you ready?”
Nerves shake through me. “Not really.”
Ash wraps her fingers around my wrist, peeking up at me with those blue eyes that gut me every time. “We’ll do this together.”
“It’s not the same for you. My life is about to implode.”
“Sloan will eventually get over it and forgive you.” She shoves her fingers through my messy hair and smiles. “It won’t be as bad as you think.”
“It will be worse than anything I could imagine.”
“You overthink everything.” She lightly taps the side of my head. “Turn that brain off.”
“I wish I could.”
“Everything will work out,” she says with genuine optimism. “Sloan will have a hissy fit, but he’ll learn to live with us being together. Our relationship doesn’t change the way he feels about either of us.”
“He’ll never trust me again,” I point out. “I wouldn’t trust him if he did the same to me.”
“You don’t have any siblings.”
“That’s beside the point. I did the worst thing I could have done to him.”
“Not even close,” she coos. “Sloan is protective of me because he’s afraid I will get hurt. So, as long as you don’t plan on breaking my heart, he’ll adapt.”
“I’m never letting you go.”
I kiss the top of her head, and she slides her arm across my body, hugging me tightly. We lay in my bed for another twenty minutes, enjoying each other’s company before we head into the kitchen. Sloan is outside on the patio, drinking coffee.
I drag Ash into the kitchen, mixing the pancake batter while she adds slices of bacon to a large frying. Ash hums a tune under her breath, shaking her sexy ass as she cooks.
When the food is ready, Ash pops her head out the door and tells Sloan to come in for breakfast. He enters the kitchen with an empty mug in his hand.
“You must be psychic.” He lifts the coffee pot and pours another cup. “I’m fucking starving.”
I add the last pancake to the stack piled high on the plate in my hand. “Thank your sister. Breakfast was Ash’s idea.”
She sets a plate of bacon on the table with a grin. “Thank my stomach. It wouldn’t stop growling.”
If I prime Sloan with food, he might be less likely to strangle me once we break the news. I can barely eat thinking about the aftermath of this discussion. Ash has nothing to lose with us going public, while I could lose everything. The money, the house, and the company mean nothing without Sloan in my life.
Rip off the Band-Aid and get it over with.
“We have something to tell you,” I say without further deliberation.
Sloan looks at me and then Ash, a curious look on his face.
“We both love you,” Ash says. “So, please remember that after you hear what we have to say.”
Sloan’s eyebrows rise. His mouth twists in disgust, and he drops the piece of bacon on his plate. I can tell by the look in his eyes that he knows. Before I even have the guts to say the words, he has it all figured out. But he doesn’t know the story.
“You fucked my sister?”
“Sloan, it’s not like that with Ash.”
He gets up, pushes his chair across the room, and then presses his palms to the table in front of me, his face inches from mine. “Then, what the fuck is it like?”
“Stop it,” Ash yells. She crosses the room, now at Sloan’s side, tugging on his shirt. “You’re acting like an animal. Can we talk like civilized human beings?”
Thankfully, he moves away from the table, his focus now on Ash. He crosses his arms across his chest, teeth gritted. “So talk.”
“We’ve known each other for a long time. It’s not like Dylan is a stranger.”
Sloan laughs, but it’s not a pleasant laugh, more like a cackle. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?” His eyes meet mine. “You fucking asshole.” He shakes his head. “How long has this been going on?”
I stand, though careful to keep my distance. “This time?”
He snickers. “You’re unbelievable.” Sloan closes the distance between us, and I don’t stop him when he grabs my collar, breathing in my face. “There were other times?”
“Stop it,” Ash yells and then moves between us, clawing at Sloan’s hands. “Get off him, Sloan. Please. For me. He’s your best friend. You don’t want to do this.”
“Yes, I do,” he spits back. “He went behind my back. What kind of friend does that?”
“Ash, there’s no point in reasoning with him. Move out of the way, and let’s get this over with.”
Sloan glares at me, still gripping my collar.
“Go ahead,” I urge him. “Hit me. I deserve it.”
“Why would you do this to me?” His hands shake, and his grip loosens. “Of all the people to fuck me over, I never thought it would be you.”
“Sloan, please,” Ash says, yanking on his arm.
“I should have told you years ago… I wanted to tell you. I never wanted to hide my relationship with Ash.”
He grinds his teeth. “How long?”
“Since the night after Ash’s eighteenth birthday.”
Sloan releases his hold on my shirt and takes a few steps back, looking completely dumbfounded. The wheels are turning in his head as he does the math.
“You fucking bastard. Seven years?”
“Do you remember the girl from Zeta?”
“Yeah, what about her.”
“She was my cover for Ash.”
Sloan tugs at the ends of his hair and lets out an exaggerated groan. “So, what happened?” His eyes meet mine. “You dated my sister while she was at Boston College, and then you ditched her to move across the country with me?”
“Yes,” I admit. “But it’s more complicated than that. I didn’t want to leave Ash behind.”
She snorts as if she finds this amusing.
Sloan’s eyes find Ash. “Did he break your heart?”
Ash sits in her chair, unable to look up at him. “We had bad timing.”
Sloan is silent for a minute before he says, “Is this serious?”
“I love her.” Ash’s head snaps in my direction as I add, “I’m in love with her.”
Ash’s eyes widen.
Sloan fists his hair between his fingers and sighs. “Fuck.”
“I would never hurt your sister,” I confess. “At least not on purpose. We were young back then, but things are different now.”
Sloan’s anger has now turned to sadness. “How am I supposed to trust you?”
“This is the only secret I’ve ever kept from you.”
“Will it be the last?”
“Yes,” I say without hesitation.
“I need time to think.”
Sloan storms out of the kitchen and slams the front door behind him. I attempt to follow him, and Ash grabs my wrist.
“Let him go.”
“I need to talk to him.”
“There’s nothing left to say.” She slides her hands up my chest and wraps her arms around my neck. “He’ll come back when he’s ready to talk.”
“I hope so.”
Ash stands on her tippy toes, holding onto me like a koala. “You said you love me.”
“You better love me, too.”
She chuckles. “I love you almost as much as a chicken burrito with extra rice and sour cream.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ash
Dylan moves my feet off the coffee table and onto his lap. My eyes slam shut when Dylan rubs my foot, kneading my skin between his hands. He’s so damn good with his hands. Dylan is the type of guy who studies until he’s an expert, and when it comes to my body, he has a Ph.D.
Until a few seconds ago, I was pretty focused on Silicon Valley, a nerdy show about a startup company in Silicon Valley, no shocker there, but it’s surprisingly funny. Dylan had begge
d me to watch it with him, and I’m happy I did because my stomach hurts from laughing so hard.
“That feels good,” I groan as Dylan’s fingers move across my toes. “And now, I’m super horny.”
Dylan laughs. “Everything makes you horny.”
“Correction,” I say, holding up my finger. “Everything you do makes me horny.”
He drops my foot, and I open my eyes, watching him intently as he crawls down the couch and up my body. His mouth is inches from mine when he rolls the pad of his thumb along my cheek.
Our lips touch, and that’s when Sloan stumbles through the front door. Dylan slides off me, not wanting to add to the tension, and we remain on our respective sides of the couch.
I throw a glance over my shoulder at Sloan, who stinks of beer. His hair looks like he’s been pulling at the ends all day. He ran out of the house, still wearing his navy pajama shorts and a white tank top, looking as if he rolled out of bed drunk.
“I can’t believe you drove like this,” I shout as I get off the couch to approach him. “You could have crashed your car. You could have gotten into an accident and killed someone… or yourself.”
Dylan is right behind me, towering over me by the time I reach Sloan.
Sloan holds up his hand. “Don’t lecture me. And if you must know, I didn’t drive home. I left my car at the bar and took an Uber home.”
I let out of sigh of relief. “Where were you?”
“Nowhere important.”
He moves into the kitchen, and I follow behind him with Dylan in tow.
“We didn’t finish talking,” I say.
Sloan reaches into the fridge and grabs a beer. “I don’t feel like talking.”
“You can’t drink us away. We’re not going anywhere.”
He twists off the top with a bottle opener and throws the cap at Dylan. We stand there in awkward silence for a few seconds before Sloan sets his beer on the counter with a dramatic thud.
“You know what this means, right?” Sloan looks over my shoulder at Dylan.”
“No, you tell me.”
“You better fucking marry my sister,” Sloan says with venom in his tone. “Because if you break her heart, I’ll kill you. I’ll bury your body on the beach and piss on your bones.”
The Roommate Equation Page 15