Part 1One Wild Night

I just got back from a business trip, and my boyfriend and I had a wild, breathless night.

But as the fog of passion cleared, a cold realization hit me. His rhythm was all wrong. The way he held me, the angles, the touch—it wasn't him.

I grabbed him by the shoulder, my eyes scanning his face for any sign of betrayal, any detail that would confirm he was cheating.

The next second, his eyes met mine, trembling.

"Hey... Elias's girl... I can't do another round..."

I froze.

He looked at me with puppy-dog eyes, completely exhausted. "I have a basketball game tonight. If we go again, my legs are going to turn to jelly."

My heart stopped. It was like a bolt of lightning had cleared my dazed mind.

I suddenly realized the man in my bed wasn't my boyfriend, Elias. It was his younger brother, Chase.

The college kid who hadn't even graduated yet.

No wonder his haircut felt slightly different when I walked in.

A cold sweat broke out across my skin, chilling me to the bone.

I yanked the sheets up to cover myself and let out a choked scream. "What are you doing here?! Why are you in my apartment?!"

Silence fell over the room, thick and suffocating.

His long eyelashes fluttered as he stared at me, his voice raw with disbelief. "What is that supposed to mean? You were so happy a second ago. Did you really not know who you were with?"

He looked deeply hurt, like a kicked puppy.

The explanation of my face blindness died in my throat. I couldn't bring myself to say it.

I took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to steady my racing heart. "Where is Elias? Why isn't he home?"

Chase lowered his gaze. "I came down for a game at the local college. The hotels were completely booked, so I had to crash at Elias's. He didn't want to wake me up when he left, so he stayed at the office. Neither of us knew you'd be back early."

His voice trailed off, his expression becoming softer, more helpless.

No. I couldn't let his innocent act fool me.

I gritted my teeth. "Then why didn't you say something before you took your clothes off?!"

Chase's shoulders slumped.

"You kissed me the second you walked through the door. I didn't even have a chance to breathe, let alone explain.

"I know you're worried about Elias finding out. I won't tell him.

"Let's just pretend today was a dream."

As he spoke, he slipped back into his clothes and quietly began stripping the bed, replacing the sheets with fresh ones to erase every trace of what we had done.

It was the perfect, clean resolution I should have wanted.

But watching him, I felt like the worst person on earth.

Finally, as he picked up my lacy thong to wash it by hand, I couldn't take it anymore. "I'll do that."

As I stepped closer, he flinched back as if burned, his eyes rimmed with red.

"I'm the one who dirtied it," he whispered.

God help me. I felt like a criminal.