Sheets, smooth and perfectly cool to the touch, lay on my exposed legs and my recently dried hair is fluffy and soft as I dip my face into a pillow that I've dubbed from the heavens.

Why?

Because it's coated in Tariq's scent.

The man I'm falling in love with the more I cling to him. This isn't good. But I don't care. Yeah, he sees me as a friend and I'll take it. I'll indulge myself in him as much as I can.

I get it now.

Why all the girls like him.

He's not only lethally gorgeous on the outside, but is on the inside too. It's not fair. I had never been so wrong about a person and part of me wants to go back and whack judgmental Elodie right upside the head.

Sighing in pure bliss, I stretch my limbs and snuggle deeper into my cocoon.

After I had finished my classes, I had gone back to my dorm to collect some things and brought some shower supplies back here, immersing myself in blazing hot water.

After a quick blow dry, I had put on some yoga shorts and gone to his closet and helped myself to something I'm going to have to get out of before he gets home, but for now, I'll be enjoying it immensely.

It's huge and exactly what I like. Fabric cool and silky against my skin, laying on my body like a second skin. I let another sigh breathe through my lips but it is quickly sucked back in when the door to Tariq's bedroom opens.

No Time!

NO TIME!

The fabric is now scorching my skin and my body goes rigid as I say a quick prayer that Tariq will leave, giving me enough time to quickly change. Luckily, I'm not facing the door and screw my eyes shut as I push up the covers and sheets to my face.

Pretend you're asleep. Pretend you're asleep. Pretend you're asleep.

"I know you're not sleeping."

Crap!

"Mmmmm." I fake a pathetic groan, burying my face in the pillow for extra dramatic effect.

He chuckles and the bed dips, his body leaning over mine as my grip tightens on the covers and sheets that cover up the scandal underneath. "Look at my little hedgehog rolled up in a cute defensive ball."

"Am not," I quietly whisper, forcing myself to yawn.

He chuckles. "It's really cute how you keep trying to trick me, little hedgehog."

"Leave me alone," I whine out, shoving my face into the pillow as I turn, pressing my stomach into the mattress.

"Can't do that, Blue." He leans in further, his magnificent body pressing into mine, and whispers by my ear, "I got pizza coming. Banana peppers all over it."

His hand pushes some of my hair back, causing my face to turn to him."You're being mean."

He cocks a brow, chuckling. "Am I now?"

"Yes," I say as I go back to borrowing my face into the pillow. I can't handle his eyes, dark, dominating, and gleaming at me with mischief that makes my toes curl.

Tariq shifts and I relax as he gets off the bed. "Nah, Blue, mean would be this."

The covers are ripped right off of me and I shoot up, my back pressing against the headboard as my arms try covering myself up. Tariq's eyes darken, and the mood turns from light to heavy, tension coating the air. Dark eyes zone in on me. His gaze, like an intimate embrace, stroking over me, moving along the shape of my legs, my thighs, traveling upwards, leaving goosebumps and scorching flesh in its wake. His eyes lock onto my wide apologetic ones as I bite down on my lip.

"Are you wearing my jersey, Blue?" His voice is thick, coated in a heat that sends a chill down my spine.

"It... looked really comfortable," I lamely lie.

He drops the covers and nods his head up. "Come here," he commands.

"Why?" I breathe out.

His eyes are demanding as he says with a husky voice, "Because if I come to you I'll be taking something very precious from you. So. Come. Here."

I do as he says. My legs, weak and wobbly as my knees somehow manage to take me from the headboard to the foot of the bed. My weight is on my knees as I straighten my posture until we're face to face.

His face is set in stone, his eyes blazing at me as intimidation sets in my stomach along with excitement. My pulse races as his gaze doesn't waver, it's strong and sensual.

No man has ever looked at me like this.

As if he wanted to devour me.

It's terrifying and getting me all kinds of frazzled.

I can feel his heat and soon I'm engulfed in it. His hands grip my hips and pull me into him. I gasp when one arm wraps around the small of my back making my belly tighten as he locks me to him. A deep, aching sigh from him blows on my neck. He slips a hand underneath my rambunctious hair, fingers pressing deep, massaging up my neck until he grips the roots of my hair, pulling my head back a little, all while his mouth trails up from my neck along my jaw until his peppermint breath mingles with mine.

He kisses me.

And it's everything.

My hands find his chest, gliding up until they're wrapped around his neck. My body melts into his and I'm drowning in the riptide, his taste, his well-cut body against my supple one, his lips moving sensually over mine.

"What are you trying to do to me, Blue?"

"I don't know." I kiss him back and I have no sense of time as his arm tightens our bodies together in a way I never could, molding us. It's slow and we explore each other lazily, our kisses deepening, tongues gliding along the others, our breathing becoming one.

This is more than two friends kissing.

At least for me.

The doorbell rings, signaling the end of kissing and time for devouring pizza. I pull away but Tariq's hold tightens. "Just a little longer, babe."

I smile into my next and last kiss, then move away. "I would but someone told me a guy wants what he can't have and I'm afraid you can't have anymore, Tariq."

His eyes are wild, dark, and devouring every piece of me. "You're right." Something hard drops in my stomach and I realize my playful banter isn't playful in Tariq's opinion. "I want you, Elodie, so much, but I can't have you."

My throat closes up and I do something brave. "What if I said you could?"

His gaze is heated, from lust or anger, I don't know. "If you knew me and everything I've done. You wouldn't be asking that."

My eyes drink him in, rumpled from our kissing, his lips full, scruff peeking out of his skin, the sharp edges of his exotically beautiful face pulled tight, his breathing much more steady than mine. But it's not just his gorgeous looks that pulls me to him.

My hand touches the spot on his chest where his heart beats, strong and rapid. "You're a good man. I wish you could see yourself the way I see you."

Our eyes lock and there's a few seconds of silence until the doorbell rings again. "I better go get that."

When he leaves the air is cold and my heart hurts. Not because I was rejected, but because Tariq has no idea how amazing he is. Whatever happened to him, whatever he's hiding and holding onto, I hope he someday tells me about it. Not to know the truth, but to be the comfort he was for me.

I slip on my leggings and grab the hem on his jersey. I bitterly pull it up and over my body and exchange it for a sweater of mine I had brought back from the dorm. My eyes glance to the jacket I still wear around and something tells me it's time to give it back.

I take it over to his closet and hang it up for him, my fingers sliding over the cool, worn leather material, saying their goodbyes. Wanting someone isn't the same as loving them. Tariq may want me, but he doesn't love me. And I love him. But I know if I push or try for more, he'll push me away, so I have to bury my feelings and be what he needs me to be.

A friend.

That's all.

And I'll take what I can get.

If you all want to know more about Tariq's past hit that star button for me :)

I really hope you all are enjoying this story and that you'll continue this journey with Tariq and Elodie

Lastly, I really want to thank you all for the 4K reads!!! I'm shocked with all the love this story is getting and absolutely thrilled! Your support means the world to me

Much Love,

LivingRed