Heat trickled down my spine and pooled between my thighs. My fingers teased my plump lips, sliding up and down through their wet crease.

Luke chuckled as his mouth brushed against my fingers. His thick tongue flicked at my clit and my back arched. Two fingers dipped, sliding between my wet folds and stroking me from the inside.

Blood boiled in my veins and fueled the release his fingers sought. His knuckles curled, and the tips and both fingers stroked, drawing the coil tighter and bringing me closer to the edge.

The bed moved, and a croaky moan mumbled. I grinned and opened my eyes, looking for Luke's green ones.

Cold replaced the heat and every muscle in my body stiffened. I looked at the fingers snuggled between my thighs. My fingers. Not Luke's.

My head flicked to the side. Ben was fast asleep beside me. Ben. Not Luke.

I shut my eyes tight and my head smacked back into the pillow. Damn it, Luke. He was even haunting my dreams now.

I pulled my fingers out, and my body groaned in protest. I growled internally at my libido. As much as I’d tried to put Luke out of my mind last night, almost every orgasm was linked to the memory of him. That sort of attraction was dangerous and not something I needed. I had to finish medical school and my residency before I had time for a distraction of that magnitude. Luke had done me a favor by hooking up with someone else. Now I just needed to rid myself of the sexy distraction lying next to me.

Ben had made up for his premature attraction to me more times than I could count and made me forget more than once that he wasn’t the reason I hooked up with a stranger. The sheet rode low on his hips and the thick outline of his morning wood taunted me. My clit pulsed at the idea of climbing on top of him and riding his cock until we both collapsed. But I had a paper to write and a life to live.

I inched toward the edge of the bed, slipped one leg out, then the next. The rest of my body rolled off the mattress in one smooth movement. I wanted to be in a cab and on my way home before Ben woke up.

I slipped the little black dress, crumpled from a night on the floor, over my arms and down my hips. I picked up my shoes and crept from the room before Ben's next breath.

I tiptoed to the couch and picked up my bag, fumbled for my phone, and booked a driver. I could hide in the bushes out front and pretend I wasn't doing my first ever walk of shame at twenty-three. I didn't know whether to be proud of myself for my restraint or horrified that I had no life outside of school.

The pleasant hum between my thighs told me that I was a teeny bit proud.

The front door handle clicked and creaked open. Shit. Ben had a roommate! So much for hiding in the bushes 

“Avril.”

My body jolted. The same green eyes that haunted me since last night and made me orgasm more times than I was proud of stared at me. A silly excitement buzzed in my veins. “Luke.”

He stood before me in sweaty gym shorts and glistening skin. The urge to crawl over to him, wrap my arms around him, and bury my nose in his scent was strong. That is gross, Avril.

The same excitement pumping through my veins seemed to widen his eyes as he pulled the headphones from his ears and stepped toward me. “What are you doing here?”

He looked hopeful, like he wanted me to be a stalker waiting in his apartment for him.

His apartment?

My stomach dropped. Oh God, Ben and Luke must be roommates.

I licked my lips, trying to coax some moisture into the desert my mouth had become and form a coherent sentence. But my thoughts were a jumbled mess.

Luke seemed to hesitate. “Where did you go? I looked for you.”

Sweat prickled my palms and they started to itch. I rubbed them against my dress and tried to quell the panic rising in my chest. Ben could wake any minute, and Luke was going to figure out that I wasn’t here because of him.

Well, technically he was the reason. My stomach fluttered. Would Luke want to touch me after I slept with his roommate?

The image of another girl’s lips latched onto Luke’s neck, and her hand fumbling with his belt, flashed in my mind. “It must have been hard to see past your dick and the hands trying to grope it.”

I snapped my lips shut at the venom that spat out.

Luke's shoulders bunched and his brow furrowed like he couldn't figure out what the big deal was.

It wasn’t a big deal. We were just two random strangers who might have spent the night together. It's not like I had any ownership over him. But didn’t he feel that surge of energy between us? God, I sound whiny and jealous.

Luke's brow began to soften and his stance relaxed like he was replaying the night in his head. “That’s not what it looked like. I was trying to…”

Another door creaked open, and Luke's eyes flicked over my shoulder.

“Avril. Good. You're still here.” Ben ambled up to me, boxer shorts hanging low on his hips, eyes still half-closed but hopeful.

Luke’s lips pressed together into a thin line and his eyes darted between us. His jaw tightened. He had figured it out.

My throat thickened and my toes bunched, ready to bolt for the door. What was Luke about to say? Gah. The first time I agreed to go home with a stranger, and I ended up sleeping with his roommate instead. They were both going to think I played them.

“Hey, Luke.” Ben lopped an arm over my shoulder, oblivious to the tension in the room.

Ben yawned, stretching his arms above his head and drawing my attention to the line of hair trailing beneath the elastic in his shorts. My stomach flipped.

“This is Avril. Avril, this is my brother, Luke.”

My head whipped to Ben’s face. “Brother?”

A spasm clutched my chest and threatened to shatter my ribs. Ben's curly hair and green eyes seemed so familiar now. No wonder it was easy to pretend Ben was Luke.

I shifted from one foot to the next, wanting to run far, far away, or scream at Luke. If he had waited for me, then it would have been him introducing me to Ben. This entire situation sucked.

Luke tilted his head at me. His eyes seemed to be reading me, trying to figure out if I had done this deliberately. “Nice to me you, Avril.”

I blinked, unsure how to respond. Was he really going to pretend we had never met? Did he forget that his cock had rubbed against my ass or his fingers grazed the edge of my clit through my dress?

My shoulders dropped and a weight settled in my stomach. I was disappointed. Disappointed that Luke hadn’t lain some prior claim to me, that he didn't fight his brother to win me. I rolled my eyes internally. That would mean he felt something for you. The fact that he’d let another woman maul him after he asked me to go home with him showed what type of man he was. The playing kind that I needed to steer clear of.

“So you two?” Luke's finger flicked between me and Ben.

I felt my skin notch up another shade on the embarrassment scale.

Ben rubbed a hand through his hair and grinned. “Avril practically dragged me home.”

Luke's eyes flared and darted to me.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked for that hole I could dive into. This situation was getting more awkward with every second.

“What happened with you and that chick? Did you find her?” Ben asked Luke.

My head jerked up, and I found Luke's green eyes burning into me. “No. I figured she changed her mind. She didn't seem like the type to go home with a stranger. But I could be wrong. She might have ended up warming someone else's bed.”

Guilt churned in my stomach. Had I read the situation wrong? Was he pushing the girl away instead of pulling her close?

“Ah, sorry, man.” Ben clicked his tongue. 

Luke licked his lips and shrugged, his cocky smile back in place. “My bed was warm enough.”

His eyes lifted to the hall as footsteps padded toward us. Two curvy figures sauntered up to Luke. They wore last night’s clothes like badges of honor with their morning bed hair. “Bye, Luke.”

One winked. She had the same rich chocolate hair as last night, and those red lips had been latched on to Luke’s neck while he was “waiting for me.”

My jaw clenched. Looks like there was more pulling than pushing at the bar.

They ran their fingers over Luke's shoulder and disappeared out the front door.

Anger burned off all guilt. Any raging, hormonal need for Luke evaporated. There was no chance he could induce any future fantasies or orgasms ever again. Luke was a womanizing playboy who I wanted nothing to do with.

My phone buzzed. The driver was waiting for me out front. I blew out a sigh of relief. “My cab is here.”

Ben curled his hand over my shoulder and stood in front of me. “You don't want to grab breakfast?”

Ben’s eyes were wide and hopeful. It made the guilt filter back in, guilt that I had let my need for Luke make this sweet, vulnerable guy invisible to me. I knew, without asking, that Ben wasn't like his brother. Ben was not the type of guy to promise one thing to one girl and give it to another.

I sighed. If it wasn't for this unspoken history between Luke and me, Ben might have been a guy I considered studying less for. “I have a paper due today. I can't.”

Ben frowned but nodded. “Can I have your number?”

My eyes flicked to Luke. He folded his arms across his chest, tight muscles bunching out of his shirt sleeve. My back had pressed against those muscles on the dance floor. How would they feel pressed against my chest with no clothes between us?

I pinched my lips together and tried to stop the blush. “I had fun last night, but my life is busy at the moment with school. I don't have time for a relationship.”

Ben's shoulders dropped but he nodded. “I get it. You go to Udub?”

I nodded. “Medicine.”

His eyes widened a little like he understood the crazy schedule. “Summer’s coming up. Maybe I'll see you around?”

My lips curved into a small smile and I walked toward the door. Luke's arm moved less than an inch, but it was enough for our fingers to touch and a current to ripple up my arm and stutter my heart. I would spend the summer searching the crowd for familiar green eyes, but whose?

I curled my fingers into a tight fist and walked out the door. I didn't have the energy to start a relationship with Ben while studying, and the thought of trying to navigate sleeping with Ben while wanting Luke was exhausting.

I walked down the steps and climbed into the car, driving away from Ben and Luke and the questions about what might have been if I had gone home with the right brother.