Hard to Resist (Sexy Nerd Boys, #3) Read online

  “Oops.” Chase’s voice is followed by a chuckle. I look over to see Chase and Matthew looking awkwardly between Kashi and me on the couch. There’s really nothing for them to look so uncomfortable about, we have a respectable few feet of space between us and none of the tell-tale signs of a recent make out session, or anything else for that matter.

  “Sorry Rav, didn’t know you had company.” Chase starts to back out of the room and that’s when I notice Matthew glaring at me like I kicked his puppy.

  “No, it’s cool.” I wave them back in. Chase looks unconvinced and Matthew continues to look like he’s biting back a few choice words for me.

  “I could really use a beer. Come with me for a second, Ravi?” Matthew says.

  My brow furrows but I get up and follow him to the kitchen regardless. Maybe this is finally about the blowjob. Was he lulling me into a false sense of security this morning by acting like he didn’t care?

  “What kind of game are you playing with Hadley?” Matthew asks as soon as we’re alone in the kitchen.

  “What?”

  “You bring some girl over here to make her jealous? Are you trying to hurt her?” His voice is laced with warning.

  “No... Hadley and I are just friends and roommates. She wouldn’t care about who I have over here,” I lie.

  Matthew cocks an eyebrow at me, clearly calling me on that bullshit.

  “Look, not that it’s any of your business, and you’d better not repeat this; Kashi and I aren’t really dating, my mother really wants me to see this girl so that’s the only thing that matters right now. She has a boyfriend and everything. It’s nothing more than a mutually beneficial agreement”

  “I get it,” Matthew finally says. He pushes past me to head back into the living room and I swear he mutters something along the lines of ‘too many fucking beards around here’. What the fuck does that even mean?

  Chapter 9

  Hadley

  When I get back to the apartment around midnight I’m surprised to find Matthew, Chase, Ravi’s beautiful girlfriend, and Ravi all hanging out in our living room.

  “Hey, Sis,” Chase greets me with a smile.

  I smile weakly and do my best not to glare at Kashi. She’s even more beautiful than I remembered from yesterday.

  “Where were you all day?” Ravi asks in a tight voice.

  I shrug and stare him down defiantly. Like it’s any of his business where I was all day. His jaw flexes and he turns to stare at the television. Matthew, sensing my mood no doubt, gets up and pulls me into a tight hug.

  “You smell like onion rings,” He comments with a laugh.

  “Oh, yeah, I have news.” I perk up suddenly, excited to tell the guys about the one good thing that actually happened today. “The cook at Bad Wolf quit. I was lucky enough to be there when it happened so I told Abby I’m studying to be a chef and she offered me the job. They’re raising my pay substantially and they’re even going to let me add my own items to the menu.”

  “That’s awesome.” Matthew gives me a loud smack of a kiss on my cheek before Chase pulls me away from him and gives me a big hug as well.

  “So proud of you, Had.”

  My gaze lands on Kashi who is smiling and looking out of place.

  “Hi, I’m Kashi. Congratulations on the job” She says politely before turning to Ravi. “I’m going to head out, text me.”

  “Yeah, I’ll walk you out,” Ravi offers.

  I force myself not to stare after them as they walk down the hallway to the front door. And, when the image of them kissing at the front door enters my mind I try not to flinch.

  “Hey, let me take you out for some ice cream to celebrate,” Matthew offers, bumping his shoulder against mine. I give him a grateful smile. Of course he can see the pain etched in my features, he’s a good friend.

  “Thanks but I’m pretty tired, and I kind of feel like I’ve got a cold coming on so I’m going to head to bed.” I give him a kiss on the cheek and then give Chase one, too. “Night guys.”

  Ravi

  When I wake up the next morning I find Hadley looking sick and miserable. Her eyes are watering and her nose is running.

  “You look like hell.”

  “Why did I ever have sex with you?” She asks drily, her voice sounding tired and scratchy.

  “I mean you look sick,” I clarify. “Go get back in bed, I’ll go to the store and get you all of the things you like.”

  “No, I’ll call Matthew,” She argues, turning to head towards her room.

  I’m glad she’s facing away from me because I can’t help the frown of jealousy that spreads across my face. I should be the one to take care of her.

  *****

  Matthew shows up a short while later and sets a plastic bag on the kitchen counter before turning to the refrigerator.

  “Is that for Hadley?” I ask, nodding at the bag.

  “Yeah, she’s not feeling well so I brought her a few things.”

  I peek into the bag and can’t help but laugh at how wrong everything inside is.

  “No offense, but do you know Hadley at all?”

  Matthew turns back towards me, his eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

  “What? She asked for fruit, cold medicine, soup, and movies. And, that’s exactly what I got her,” He says defensively.

  I shake my head and start to pull each item out of the bag to explain what’s wrong with them.

  “She hates grapes; she says they remind her too much of eyeballs. Hadley won’t take Nyquil because she has a fear of being too drowsy if there’s an emergency like a fire. She doesn’t like tomato soup, don’t ask me why. And, although she does like comedies, when she’s sick she prefers sappy chick flicks. So, I’m going to go back to the store to get her oranges, Dayquil, and chicken noodle soup. The Notebook is in the living room, so go ahead and put that on for her until I get back.”

  “Um, thanks.” Matthew nods with a bit of a smug smile on his face. “She’s lucky you know her so well.”

  *****

  As I load up my little red shopping basket with all of my Hadley approved care items I can’t deny the warm feeling in my chest. Taking care of her like this it feels...right. It feels like taking care of Hadley is my mission in life. I let out a heavy sigh as I place a bottle of non-drowsy cold medicine into the basket. How is it possible that I keep falling in deeper with my best friend’s sister? I’m trying to resist her. How much harder can I actually try? Do I even want to resist her? The answer to that is obviously a resounding ‘no’.

  Hadley

  I’m snuggled under a bunch of blankets, cuddled up to Matthew, watching The Notebook.

  “Sorry I got the wrong stuff sugar, Ravi should be back soon with your cold medicine and everything.”

  I nod and close my eyes against the sinus pressure building behind my eyes. Who the hell gets a cold in the summer? Me I guess. It does warm my heart that Ravi went out to get me the right stuff. Is there anything he doesn’t know about me? Why does he have to be everything I’ve ever wanted in a man? Life is so damn unfair.

  “You okay sweetheart?” Matthew asks, rubbing my back comfortingly.

  “Do you think it’ll ever get better?”

  “I’m sure it will.”

  “Have you ever been in love?”

  “No,” he admits.

  “Then how the hell would you know?” I gripe.

  “I know because you’re amazing and you deserve everything in the world. If I was straight, I’d date you in a hot second. Don’t ever forget what a catch you are.”

  “I love you,” I mutter against his chest.

  “Love you too, sweetness.”

  Ravi arrives a few minutes later and glances awkwardly between Matthew and I snuggled together in my bed.

  “Want me to go and let the sexy roommate play nurse?” Matthew whispers in my ear. Ravi drops the bag of stuff on the foot of my bed and spins to leave, his shoulders tense.

  “Rav, hold up,” Matthe
w calls out. Ravi’s fists clench but he stops walking. “I can’t stick around. Can you keep Hadley company?”

  “Of course, I’ll always be here for Hadley.” Ravi’s tone is rough, his words clearly holding deeper meaning, but my foggy brain isn’t able to process everything at the moment.

  I close my eyes and feel the bed jostle as Matthew basically passes me off to Ravi. His clean, masculine scent surrounds me as I burrow against his chest. Ravi let’s out a long breath, and holds me tight.

  “You good man?”

  “Uh, yeah, I’m good.”

  “Thanks Ravi,” I murmur sleepily.

  “Shh, sleep sweetheart,” he whispers, his lips brushing against my forehead.

  In no time I drift off in Ravi’s strong embrace.

  Chapter 11

  Hadley

  I stand outside Ravi’s bedroom door feeling like a pathetic loser. Since the first time I crawled into Ravi’s bed and read his book, I’ve found myself with a new addiction. At first I told myself that I just wanted to read his book, which was true...it’s seriously an amazing book. But, now I’ve finished reading it and I still want to curl up in his bed every time he’s not home. It’s creepy and I need to knock it off...tomorrow.

  As soon as I’m between his sheets Ravi’s clean, manly scent surrounds me and zings straight between my legs. I moan softly, closing my eyes and imaging Ravi in the bed with me. My fingers develop a mind of their own and begin to travel slowly down my stomach and then between my legs. But, in my mind they’re Ravi’s hands, not mine. I bite my bottom lip and whimper softly as my fingers graze my swollen, achy clit. Ravi’s scent surrounding me is better than any aphrodisiac known to man. My underwear limits my motions so in one quick motion I shed them and abandon them somewhere in the bed. I buck my hips wildly, my fingers swirling frantically.

  yes, yes, yes, god yes.

  Heat explodes through my veins, leaving me shaken and sated.

  What would Kashi say if she knew I crawled into her boyfriend’s bed and fingered myself, while imaging Ravi’s hands between my legs? This thought causes me to bristle. I have more of a claim to Ravi that she does, so she can just bite me. God, I am so pathetic and creepy.

  I let out a huff of a breath and decide what I really need is to let off some steam. The gym it is.

  I scurry out of Ravi’s bed with lead in the pit of my stomach.

  Fuck my life.

  *****

  The rhythmic sound of my feet on the treadmill is exactly what the doctor ordered. Unfortunately, every time I get into a good rhythm my mind starts to wander to Ravi, so I have to keep turning the speed up. So now I’m in a full out sprint, sweat pour down my face, my lungs burning with the effort to breathe.

  “Hadley Parker?” A masculine voice interrupts my self-abuse.

  I turn my head but don’t break my stride.

  “I thought that was you,” The man gives me a megawatt smile and I try for a second to place him.

  “It’s...uh...Ryan. We met at the start of term party last year.” He blushes and I realize that ‘met’ is clearly a euphemism for something sexual. I briefly consider reducing my speed so I can look at him properly and try to remember anything about him, but ultimately decide against it. What’s the difference? He’s obviously approaching me for a repeat performance, which I am definitely not interested in.

  I cringe inwardly at how damn skanky I was last year. As if hooking up with anything with a dick was ever going to help me get over Ravi. I’m not even sure where I’d gotten such an idiotic idea, but I’d clung to it all year. Every time I’d go home with a different guy I’d tell myself ‘after this I’m not going to remember what it felt like to have Ravi’s hands on me’. It didn’t work and I’m done trying. I’m hanging up my hooker boots and closing down my twenty-four-hour vagina drive through. I’m not going to hook up with another guy until I actually feel something for him. Damn, I’m never having sex again.

  Ryan clears his throat and shifts awkwardly on his feet. Oh, right he’s waiting for me to say something.

  “I’m sure we did,” I respond dryly.

  Please realize that this is awkward and just walk away.

  “Oh, Hadley, there you are. I’ve been looking all over for you.”

  I cast my confused gaze over my shoulder to see who the feminine voice belongs to. Because, it’s not Eve and she’s basically the only chick I’m friends with. I stumble and catch myself on the handlebars of the treadmill. Amusement dances in the dark eyes of the Indian beauty standing next to Ryan. She raises her eyebrows and gives me a look that clearly says ‘just play along’.

  “Um...yeah, Kashi. Sorry I lost track of time.” I slow the treadmill to a walk and glance at Ryan out of the corner of my eye. I hope that my face is flushed enough from my intense work out that the fresh blush from seeing Kashi isn’t evident. Images of my behavior earlier in Ravi’s bed flit through my mind.

  “Well, hurry up we’ve got to get going,” She urges.

  “Um...okay.” I stop the machine all together and give Ryan an apologetic smile before skirting around him and following Kashi away.

  “I hope that was okay, you looked like you needed rescuing,” She says with a smile once we’re a respectable distance away.

  “Yeah I did, thank you.”

  I follow her towards the locker rooms silently trying to figure out why exactly she came to my rescue. She doesn’t even know me.

  “Kashi, why did you do that?” I blurt before she can head for the showers.

  “You mean the world to Ravi and he’s doing me a big favor. I figure I owe him one.” She flashes me one more beautiful smile before disappearing into the shower room.

  Yeah, so not following her in there. The last thing I need is to know what Ravi’s girlfriend looks like naked. And, what did she mean about Ravi doing her a favor? Also, damn her for being just as sweet as she is beautiful. How am I supposed to hate her now?

  *****

  When I climb the stairs to our apartment I’m not surprised to see the little orange kitten, or Xana as I’ve started to call her in my mind. Xana is the main female character from Ravi’s book. What does surprise me is that she doesn’t bolt as I draw close like she usually does.

  “Hey little one,” I coo.

  She lets out a little mew and holds her position.

  “What do you say to coming inside with me? I’ve got all kinds of cat food and milk for you.”

  She meows again and I can’t help but laugh. I reach for the door slowly, trying not to startle her. As soon as I have the front door open Xana bolts inside. I bite back an excited noise, still not wanting to frighten her.

  Once inside she darts down the hallway straight for Ravi’s room. Of course she would want to go in there. I chase after her, hoping she doesn’t decide to pee on his carpet the minute she walks through the door. When I catch up to her I find her sprawled out on his bed.

  “Nice choice Xana, it’s the most magical place in the whole universe,” I joke, slowly making my way towards the bed.

  The little ball of fluff rolls onto her back, exposing her belly, and meows at me once more.

  “Oh, you are too freaking cute.”

  Ravi

  I drag myself through the quiet apartment and head directly for my room. I’m in desperate need of a shower and a nap after that killer workout Chase put my ass through. I also wouldn’t mind doing some writing. Exercise always gets my creative juices flowing. Unfortunately, I’ve been suffering some major writer’s block over the past year, but I keep trying. I find my bedroom door half open. Weird, I thought I’d closed it before I left. I shrug it off and push the door the rest of the way open and step in.

  I stop abruptly, my breath catching in my throat. Hadley is curled up in my bed sound asleep with the scraggly orange kitten dozing on her chest. My heart stutters out an uneven beat. I look between the scene before me and the door, trying to decide what to do. I sigh at myself knowing I’m about to make the wrong decisi
on. I just can’t help myself.

  Hadley

  I blink awake with confusion. It would seem I’m part of a spooning train with the kitten curled to my chest, and a pair of strong arms wrapped around me from behind.

  “I thought I was imagining things when my bed kept smelling like you,” Ravi accuses in a deep, sleep laced voice. “Do you always nap in my bed when I’m not home?”

  “Maybe,” I mumble, blushing furiously at the memory of the other things I do in his bed as well.

  The kitten rolls onto her back and purrs loudly as I scratch her chin.

  “Are we going to keep it?” He asks, reaching over to scratch the kitten behind her ears.

  “She needs a home, and we need a pet. It’s fate.”

  “Do you have a name for her yet?”

  “I was thinking of Xana. She’s totally a cat version of Xana; skittish at first but then really warm and funny once you’ve earned her trust.”

  Ravi tenses slightly behind me, and I realize my mistake.

  “You read my book?”

  I wince at his cautious tone. Crap, I forgot that I was totally invading his privacy when I read it.

  “I’m sorry, please don’t be mad.”

  Ravi sighs and relaxes against my back.

  “What did you think?” He asks nervously.

  “I loved it.”

  His warm breath tickles the back of my neck and then I feel his soft lips against my skin. I whimper quietly and wiggle deeper into his strong embrace. Dammit, I need to get out of here.

  “I have to go to work,” I announce, bolting out of his arms.

  “Right...sorry,” Ravi murmurs.

  I practically sprint from the room before I can talk myself into crawling back into bed and getting lost in Ravi.

  *****

  In hindsight I shouldn’t have come on so strong with Hadley, but I can’t unscramble the egg now. She’s been avoiding me for three days. I know three days isn’t very long, but damn it feels like a lifetime.

  Today I spent the day with my mom and I’m emotionally drained. She says she’s doing well, but I can’t help but think she’s looking too thin and her normally dark skin has a gray pallor to it. I spend the short drive from my parents’ house to my apartment trying to convince myself that I’m only imagining my mother not looking well.