He looked at the clock. Two hours since he got here. He’d missed a class. Hell, he’d miss every class if this was the reward. For once, his dirty mind had been right. She’d wanted him. And she’d had him. Almost from the moment he entered the house. Which hadn’t been what he’d expected, both the house and the reason she had asked him over. It was dirtier and smellier than he would have thought, the house that is, even with all the incense. But that was likely the roommates’ fault. Those three were scummy dirtbags. Not sure why Lilly was sharing a house with them, other than her explanation that she’d waited too long and had to answer a Craigslist ad to get this room at the last minute.

The voices rose again, mainly just Lilly’s. She was reading someone the riot act, as Mack’s dad used to say, by the sounds of it. Couldn’t make out the words but her voice was deeper than normal and she sounded pissed, beyond pissed. Maybe the roomies objected to how much noise they’d made. He had to admit… it had gotten loud. But that girl was a surprise. Way more adventurous in bed than he would have guessed. Crazy even.

The yelling stopped and the house went quiet. A minute later, he heard her coming. He thought briefly of closing his eyes, but he wanted to see her enter the room. The messy, smelly room.

She was suddenly at the door, standing in it, wearing just a t-shirt. Hmm, must have been difficult to get reamed out by her with all that long, dusky, muscular leg exposed. She studied him, no expression.

“Hey. Everything all right?” he asked.

She frowned, very prettily, then glanced back over her shoulder, realization flooding her expression.

“Oh, you heard?” she asked, her frown now focused on him. He felt a sudden chill, not liking her expression.

“Not really, just loud voices,” he said.

Her frown evaporated. “Oh. Just straightening out those idiots. They sometimes lose their minds and feel that my… possessions are theirs.”

“You disabused them of that notion?”

She smiled. “Disabused. Good word. I promised monumental abuse if they laid a finger on… it.”

He wondered what it was. “No offense, but they look like drug addicts to me.”

Her smile changed, becoming something that made him vaguely uncomfortable. “Yes, they do have their addictions.” She frowned again, studying his expression. “I have to go to class, Mack. And I am loath to leave you here, with them.”

“I can handle myself.”

She smiled again, this time with real humor. “Really? You feel the need after the last hour and a half?”

His mind shifted gears instantly, coming alert like a hound finding prey.