Jason thought it was hilarious that, even though I hadn’t been able to talk her into coming back to the apartment with me yet, I’d kept it spotless ever since our first date in the hope that she’d eventually say yes. Apparently, my misfortune was a good thing for him because he didn’t have to lift a finger around the place—I was taking care of everything. But I didn’t give a fuck what he said because sometime soon she was going to say yes and I’d be prepared. Plus¸ I thought as I emptied the garbage, cleaning blew off some extra steam for me.

I heard the elevator ping as I carried the trash out to the garbage shoot. I glanced up out of habit, and there she was. She hadn’t called or texted. She’d just said no to coming back here earlier tonight, but I didn’t care.. All that mattered was that Aubrey was here.

I grabbed her arm, dropped the bag into the shoot, and pulled her into my apartment, through the living room and to my bedroom.

“Aubrey,” I groaned before gathering her into my arms. “Thank fuck you’re here.”

“But Luka,” she said quietly before I started to kiss her with all the hunger I was feeling.

Her lips were so soft underneath mine and her body felt amazing as I ran my hands over her clothes. I licked at the seam of her mouth, waiting for her to open so I could get a better taste. Her lips parted and my tongue swept inside, tangling with hers as I pulled her even closer to me.

I gripped the back of her head, her hair tangled in one fist, as I ate hungrily at her mouth. I wanted to devour her and make her mine. Now.

“I want you so much,” I murmured against her lips, grabbing her ass so I could hold her in place as I ground my hips against hers. “You finally came to me. Tell me I can have you tonight.”

“Oh, Luka,” she sighed before she pushed against my chest. “You’re making this so hard.”

“It’s only fair because you make me so hard,” I reminded her, suggestively rubbing against her again.

She laughed softly before shaking her head at me. “That’s not why I’m here.”

“Doesn’t matter as long as you’re here,” I said before leaning down to kiss her again.

“Luka, you aren’t listening to me,” she said a little more harshly. “I didn’t come here for you.”

What the fuck had she just said? I pushed her backwards until she was sitting on my bed, right where I wanted her.

“If you aren’t here for me, then who the hell are you here to see?” I growled as I towered over her.

“Lexi,” she answered.

“And you weren’t even going to stop and knock on my door?” I asked, relieved to know that she wasn’t here to see some other guy.

She looked at me oddly, and I realized that some of the hurt I’d felt at her words had crept into my tone. Only moments before, I had felt thrilled at the thought that she’d finally come to me, and now I felt guilty for having thought that maybe she was here for some guy. I was even a little bit jealous that she was here for her best friend instead of me.

“I guess if you put it that way, it sounds kind of bad, but I didn’t realized you guys were actually neighbors. I mean, I figured you all lived in the same building because I’d seen you before and Lexi mentioned running into you and Jason in the hallway when we were talking tonight. But not that you guys all lived so close that you shared a wall. Now that I think about it, I’m kind of surprised I’ve only bumped into you once since I’ve been to their place several times already.”

“You know how crazy my schedule is,” I reminded her.

“Yet you still make time for me,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, but you’re special like that,” I murmured, looking down at her and liking that she was on my bed even if she was still fully dressed. “So we’ve got a problem.”

Aubrey raised her eyebrows at me. “A problem?”

“You said you didn’t come here to see me, but now that I have you where I want you, I don’t want to let you go,” I admitted.

She beamed up at me at my words. “Maybe I don’t want you to let me go.”

“What about Lexi?” I asked. Aubrey pulled out her phone and sent a quick text. “No worries there. I just let her know I wasn’t coming over after all.”

“And she won’t mind?” I asked, not wanting to come between her and her best friend.

“Since I was on my way over to talk about you, I’m pretty sure she’ll cut me some slack,” she said softly.