One Night With You: A Fatal Series Prequel Novella (The Fatal Series) Read Online Free Page A

were free of the apartment and heading down two flights of stairs.
    “Why’s that?” Sam wondered if she ought to let go of his hand now that they were out of the scrum. For some reason, she held on, and he didn’t let go.
    “Parties like that one aren’t as fun as they used to be. Present company excluded, of course.”
    “Of course,” she said dryly.  
    “I just mean the crowds, the booze—”
    “The fake hookup bullshit?”
    “That, too. Once again, present company excluded.”
    “Ha! You’re very smooth.”
    “I try. So was it a clean getaway? With your sister, I mean.”
    “Sort of. She gave me the third degree about where I was going and who I was going with. Typical big-sister crap. She can’t help herself.”
    “It’s nice that she cares.”
    “I wish she cared just a tiny bit less than she does. What about you? Any siblings?”
    “Nope, just me.”
    “You’re so lucky.”
    He replied with a small smile, but there was something else to it.  
    No, not going there. It’s not like I’m ever going to see him again . She decided to keep the conversation focused on safer topics. “So what do you do?”
    “I work for Congressman Delehanty of Kentucky.”
    “Oh, that’s cool. I guess.”
    He let loose with a deep, rich laugh that made some of her most important parts stand up and take notice of what was going on.  
    Welcome to the party, girls .
    “What you’re saying is it sounds frightfully boring, right?”
    “I never said that. I never even thought that.” No, I was too busy thinking about my nipples to be bored. Sam wished she could find the off switch for the running commentary in her brain.
    “Believe it or not, it’s actually kind of fun. Most days. We solve a lot of problems for people who don’t have anywhere else to turn. I like that part of it. But I’m sure it’s nowhere near as exciting as being a cop.”
    “Is anything as exciting as being a cop?” she asked with a cheeky grin.
    “You did mention something about three hours in the sun…”
    She waved that off. “That doesn’t count. It was a detail.”
    “What does that entail, exactly?”
    “Extra duty directing traffic at a construction site. We do it for the money. In my case, to pay off beastly student loans that are going to hang over my head forever at this rate.”
    “Ah yes, the burden of the twentysomethings.”
    “You, too, huh?”
    “Um, well, not really. I had a scholarship, but it didn’t pay for everything, so there’s some debt. Not a ton like some people have, though. I’m lucky that way.”
    “Yes, you are.” She nudged him with her shoulder. “Egghead scholarship or jock scholarship?”
    “Ohhh, what a loaded question!”
    “So which is it?”
    “The school I attended doesn’t do athletic scholarships.”
    “Egghead! I knew it! You’ve got that whole buttoned-down smart thing going on over there. And what kind of college doesn’t do athletic scholarships?”
    “Um, how to say this…”
    Sam stopped short and turned to him. “The kind with ivy on the walls. Am I right?”
    “Perhaps.”
    She tipped her head to study him more closely. “Which one?”
    “There’s more than one?”
    Tossing her head back to laugh, she said, “Oh my God. Say it isn’t so.”
    “It is so. Is this a deal-breaker?”
    “We had a deal?”
    Nick put his arm around her. “We definitely had a deal. What do you feel like doing?”
    Sam was afraid if she told him, he’d think her a total slut. “Truthfully? Or should I go for socially correct?”
    “By all means, give me the truth.”
    She looked him dead in those incredible hazel eyes. “Your place or mine?”
    His eyes widened for a fraction of an instant before he recovered. “Roommates?”
    “Two. And a squatter brother. You?”
    “None.”
    “You win.”
    A smile stretched across his gorgeous face. “I was a winner the second I saw that guy dump beer all over you.”
    “There needs to be food at some point.”
    “I can do