Chapter 1: Sal Henrik
If I didn’t get some sleep soon, I was going to burn the world down. Staggering into my apartment at four in the morning after a thirty-seven-hour flight from hell, I dropped all my shit in the living room and headed straight to my pitch-black bedroom.
There wasn’t any point in turning on a light when I was three seconds away from crashing in my bed I had dearly missed while being on the road for our international tour.
I stripped on the way before crawling under the sheets. Exhaling a heavy sigh as I closed my eyes, I melted into a boneless puddle, more than ready for sleep to claim me for the night.
“Is there some reason you’re in my bed?”
My eyes flew open as I startled back with a noise of shock from the sound of a man’s voice that did not belong to my roommate. In the darkness, I could see the faint outline of a person next to me I had somehow missed earlier. My heart jumped into my throat as I fumbled for the lamp on my nightstand. In true me-fashion, all I did was knock the stupid thing onto the floor and break it.
The stranger sat up with a sigh and turned on the other bedside table lamp. I squinted against the sudden brightness. My mind reeled at the sight of a gorgeous god of a man in my bed.
Whereas my reaction was one of fear, he didn’t seem the least bit unsettled, which was amazing, considering I’d woken him up. He ran his fingers through the black hair that framed his face, looking freshly tousled by a good fuck that gave me dirty thoughts. The sheets dipped low, making me realize we were both naked. That really didn’t help me think thoughts that weren’t about fucking.
The man appeared to be older than me by quite a few years. His flinty gray eyes watched me with an intensity that made my heart pound. His handsome face had an annoyed frown on it as he studied me with disdain. “Again, I’ll ask: is there some reason you’re in my bed?”
My fear morphed into rage. “Your bed? What are you talking about? The better question is, what the hell are you doing in my bed?”
I may have been deeply flustered by the appearance of the naked stranger, but he was almost infuriatingly cool, calm, and collected. “I refuse to argue semantics with you at this ridiculous hour. Remove yourself from my presence at once.”
What kind of asshole used the word “semantics” at four in the morning? His authoritative tone rankled me. Who did this guy think he was? A prince who could order me around as if I was a peon?
My stubborn streak asserted itself. “I’m not going anywhere! If anything, I should call the cops and have you arrested for breaking and entering!”
“I have done no such thing.” He narrowed his eyes in a warning glare that made my heart skip a beat for all the wrong reasons. Damn him for being so attractive! “You seem to suffer from the delusion that I’m a trespasser when you’re the one who broke into my room.”
My temper flared as I raised my voice. I did not need that type of bullshit before 5:00 a.m. after a hard day of travel on the heels of a long world tour. All I wanted to do was sink into dreams. “Because I live here!”
