Twisted Hate: An Enemies with Benefits Romance

What the hell is happening to me?
Instead of giving in to the urge to take care of my situation downstairs, I
finished my shower and changed into sweatpants.
I couldn’t jerk off to Jules, not when she was sleeping in the other room
and I didn’t even like her. Then again, lust and like weren’t always a package
deal.
I climbed into bed, making sure to stay as far away from her as I could,
and tried to fall asleep, but my damn brain wouldn’t shut off.
Jules. Alex. Michael’s letters. Jules. My fucking erection that won’t
fucking go away. Jules.
My cock pulsed harder, and a low groan rose in my throat.
This was going to be a long night.

---

14

---

JULES
I 
WOKE
UP
TO
THE
FAINT
SCENT
OF
LAVENDER
AND
THE
HEAVY
WEIGHT
OF
A
muscled arm draped over my waist. I couldn’t remember the last time I woke
up with a guy in my bed. I usually didn’t do sleepovers.
The arm was nice, though. Strong, solid, and comforting, like it could
protect me from anything, and it belonged to someone who smelled amazing.
I issued a soft sigh of contentment and snuggled closer to the owner of
the arm. I kept my eyes closed. I wasn’t quite ready to leave my comfy nest
and face reality yet.
The arm tightened around my waist and pulled me closer to him until my
back pressed flush against his torso. My lips curved of their own accord when
he let out a drowsy masculine rumble and buried his face in my neck.
Meanwhile, heat bloomed low in my stomach at the way the hard, sculpted
lines of his body molded against my softer ones.
Who was he? Did we have sex last night?
My brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders yet, and sifting through my
memories of the past twenty-four hours seemed too daunting of a task this
early in the morning.
I stretched and grazed something soft and fluffy. I cracked one eye open
out of curiosity and spotted a folded hand towel on the bed next to me.
What was I doing with a towel in—
Vermont. Room mix-up. Ski lessons. Period. Josh. Massage.
My brain finally woke up, and the highlights from yesterday bombarded
me at breakneck speed.
My eyes fully popped open. If Josh and I had to share a room, that meant
the arm…

---

“Aaaah!” I threw him off and scrambled out of bed, banging my shin
against the nightstand in my haste.
One day, I would look back and wince at my undignified scream, but all I
could focus on right now was the fact that I’d slept with Josh Chen. Only
literally, thank God, but still.
“Jesus.” He groaned and covered his eyes with his forearm. The sheets
slipped down, revealing his bare, muscled chest. “It’s too early for your
banshee impressions, Red.”
My breaths puffed out in rapid indignation. “You were cuddling me,” I
accused. “And you don’t have a shirt on.”
I forced my eyes to stay on his face instead of the way his muscles flexed
with each movement. Lean and powerful, they were the muscles of someone
who honed them through sports and the outdoors, not the gym.
Broad shoulders, defined pecs, a sliver of his six-pack abs peeking out
from the rumpled sheet around his waist…
Stop it.
“You were warm and there. It was instinct.” Josh yawned and stretched
his arms over his head. “It’s nice to see you alive, I guess. You were barely
functioning yesterday.”
Despite his blasé tone, he scanned me with sharp eyes, like he was
searching for traces of my discomfort from last night.
Thankfully, my periods were excruciating only for twenty-four hours or
so. After that, the pain subsided to normal cramps. I’d dealt with them since I
was eleven, and I’d learned how to fit my schedule around my estimated
period start dates. This month’s had started four days early, though, which
was why I’d been so caught off guard.
“Yes, well, you can’t get rid of me that easily.” Some of the aggravation
left my voice when I remembered what he did for me last night. I didn’t
know whether it was his technique or the mere fact of having someone
comfort me, since I usually hated being around people the first day of my
period, but his massage had eased my pain more than anything else I’d tried
over the years. He must’ve also made the hot towel compress after I passed
out.
He didn’t have to do any of those things, but for some reason, he had.
“Thank you.” My gratitude came out equal parts grudging and sincere.
“For…you know.” I gestured at my stomach.
I waited for Josh to gloat over my thanks—the first I’d ever given him—

---

but he responded with a simple, “You’re welcome.”
Silence hummed between us. I pushed a lock of hair behind my ear,
suddenly self-conscious. I was bloated as hell from my period, and I must
look like a mess with my face all groggy and my hair mussed from sleep.
Instead of looking away, Josh stared at me with an intensity that
burrowed beneath my skin and kindled a fire low in my stomach, similar to
the one that’d burned through me before I fell asleep last night.
I’d been floating on the verge of unconsciousness, but the combination of
his strong hands, warm eyes, and the relief over my eased pain had sent my
fantasies traveling down untrodden paths. Fantasies of what his touch would
feel like on other parts of my body and whether his tongue was as talented as
his hands…
A knock startled me out of my inappropriate musings.
Josh and I tore our eyes away from each other. The visible tension in his
shoulders matched the rigidity of my muscles. We weren’t doing anything
inappropriate, but that didn’t stop me from feeling like a kid whose hand was
caught in the cookie jar when Ava’s voice floated through the thick oak door.
“You guys up? Breakfast ends in half an hour.”
My gaze shot to the clock on the wall. Shit. We’d slept in later than I
thought.
“Yeah,” I said. “We’ll be right out.”
Josh and I didn’t speak again while we got ready. There was no way I
was skiing today, so I pulled on a pair of soft yoga pants and an oversized
sweater. When I was on my period, my desire to dress up plummeted to zero.
“How are you feeling?” Ava asked as we walked to breakfast.
“Much better.” Thanks to your brother. “Thanks, babe.”
She looped her arm through mine. “How do you feel about hitting the spa
after breakfast instead of skiing? We have that gift card we still need to use.”
Oh, thank fucking God. “Ava,” I said. “Don’t tell Alex, but you’re the
real genius in the relationship.”
She laughed.
The rest of the morning passed in a blur, with Alex and Josh skiing and
me and Ava enjoying the spa’s massage and facial services. But even though
my massage therapist was professionally trained, she didn’t hit the spot the
way Josh had.
“A little to the left, please…to the right…just a bit harder…” I tried my
best to pinpoint what was off about my session.

---

“Like this?” The therapist followed my instructions to a tee, but it still
didn’t compare to Josh’s touch. “How does this feel?”
“Great,” I mumbled, giving up. “Thank you.”
Maybe it was the oil Josh used. It smelled better than the floral ones at the
spa.
By the time Ava and I met up with the guys for lunch, I was more
irritated than relaxed by my constant thoughts of a certain doctor.
I wouldn’t put it past him to mix some sort of sex potion with the
massage oil before he used it on me. That was the only plausible explanation
for why I kept thinking about him.
There had to be a catch for why he’d been so nice.
“How was the spa?” Alex rested his hand on the back of Ava’s chair and
brushed his lips over her cheek.
“It was great.” She smiled, her face glowing with so much love it made
my chest ache. “How was skiing? Did you guys do the triple black again?”
“Yes,” Josh said at the same time Alex replied, “No. I went
snowboarding.”
“Oh.” Ava’s eyes darted between them. “Okay.”
Awkward as fuck.
We settled into silence as we flipped through our menus. Josh sat next to
me, and every time either of us moved, our legs brushed against each other.