Falling For The Playboy

EVA

Vaughn caught me before I could hit the floor- although I could tell he would have preferred the latter-throwing me to the side and away from him with an annoyed grunt.

I righted myself before I could make contact with the floor. Again.

These guys treated me as though I was a rag doll.

Henri walked in from an adjoining room just then. Their room was bigger than ours, very much so, in fact, that I knew that it had to be a suite. At first, he didn’t seem to notice I was there, but then he did a double take and he froze.

“Ah, the owner shows. ” He drawled lazily.

I wasn’t surprised that Axel had discussed the incident with them. They were his close friends after all and they shared the same room. They were definitely going to ask.

“Go on, then. ” He prompted, cocking his head in the direction of the room he just exited. “We’ll be waiting for you to tell us what you had to do to get your phone back. ”

It was the light amusement in his voice that stopped me from panicking-and also the fact that I knew Axel would never ask anything of me in exchange for my phone. He would never take advantage of me.

The realization made my breath catch and had me turning around and without a word to the guys in the room, making my way to the person I was here for. The one I was supposed to be staying away from.

He lay slanted on the bed, half under the covers and half on top. As far as I could see, he wasn’t wearing a shirt.

Eyes above his head, Eva. Eyes above-

He got up from the bed in one swift motion, the duvet sliding from his body like a caress, slowly, like it, too, was reluctant to leave him. He finally realized someone was in the room with him at the exact same moment I realized that he wasn’t wearing sweatpants like I expected-which made me wonder why I had been expecting him to wear them in the first place.

All he had on were briefs.

He screamed. Actually let out a feminine high pitch scream and I was torn between laughing and being embarrassed for him. The latter won out and I turned around with my eyes pressed close because I couldn’t get the sight out of my head.

Wide, muscled shoulders that tapered down to a narrow waist. His strong chest and well defined abs, all results of his regular work out and exercising. His golden skin, smooth and unmarred like that of a statue. A statue made flesh.

“How the fuck did you get in? ”

“Through the door. ” I attempted a snarky response. Breaths came easier now that my heart was starting to calm.

A muttered curse. Then, “I wasn’t expecting you. ”

“Yes, you were. ”

“I wasn’t. I didn’t think-fuck. ” he cursed again. “Turn around. ”

I did. He was still in his briefs.

My eyes slammed shut again, in a weak attempt to block out the view, as if I hadn’t already looked my fill already.

“Put on some clothes. ”

“Open your eyes. ”

“Put on some clothes. ” I repeated, my eyes still firmly shut.

“I will if you open your eyes. ” he sounded close.

“Liar. ” I ignored the goosebumps breaking out on my skin.

He breathed out a laugh and I felt it on my skin. He was in front of me now. I could smell him as much as I could feel him.

“Please. ”

Perhaps I had simply grown tired of closing them, or, perhaps it was the tone with which he said the word that had my eyes falling open without hesitation.

“I’ve missed them. ” he said softly, in a voice laden with emotion. “I’ve missed you. ”

I hardened myself against the onslaught of emotions he was starting to make me feel. It was a lost battle. I just couldn’t be in his presence and not be affected.

“Why-”

“Where’s my phone? ” I pushed past him, wanting to put as much distance between us as possible. Maybe I would be able to think more clearly if I wasn’t standing so close to him. But that was even worse.

Of their own accord, my eyes dropped and I ogled his legs. This time, nothing obstructed my view. The entire length of his legs were bared for my hungry eyes and I took in the sleek muscles almost desperately, before he covered them up, because there was no way I was going to have a coherent conversation with him if he didn’t.

He eyed me warily, like I was a dangerous animal and he wasn’t sure what my next move was. “You don’t even want to talk? ”

“What’s there to say? ”Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

I thought it was utterly miraculous that I could easily find my words with Axel. I talked back, stood my ground and sassed even . Things I had not been able to do with anyone except Omar.

I wasn’t sure why I could be myself around him and I didn’t want to ponder on it. Not now.

“You’ve done your best to avoid me for weeks, Eva. Weeks! ” He spat the word like it offended him. “And for what? No reason. You didn’t respond to my texts, you didn’t pick up my calls. I kept thinking, wondering why you were behaving that way, if maybe I did something to piss you off -cause I seem to do a great job of that- and I kept coming up with nothing. It’s been driving me crazy. ”

He was panting now. “I was fortunate enough to come across a phone that turns out to be yours and now I have you here and all you want to do is collect your phone and leave? ”

Eva. He called me Eva.

That I took note of it irritated me.

So that was it? He had no problem tossing my given name aside and calling me Cg when he had been all over me, seemingly unable to stay away from me, and now two weeks with no interaction between us and I was back to being Eva?

It annoyed me, probably more than it should’ve, and I wanted to hurt him. The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

“Maybe if you were less of a manwhore, I wouldn’t be avoiding you in the first place. ”

And the thing with words was that once they were out, you couldn’t take them back.

His face fell. “What? ”

I shook my head, turning away from him. I shouldn’t have said that. I should have had more control over my words. Now he was going to think that I was jealous -or worse, that I had feelings for him.