This Is Where I Sleep Read Online Free

worth getting to know. I’d been fucking since the age of fifteen and college now offered a new world of random pussy to get lost in. I was up to the challenge.
    “Damn, who’s that?” I heard Damon ask behind me, with awe in his voice.
    I turned to see where he was looking, and my breath caught. At about five-six, rich mocha-colored skin, a heart-shaped face, made less innocent by intense hazel eyes, there she stood. At eighteen, I still had yet to get used to my physical reactions towards the opposite sex, and I was surprised by my immediate physical response to her. She was dressed in the same ROTC sweat pants and shirt we all were in, but I could see those sweats hid a body made for sin. I heard Damon mumbling about wanting to get to know her and before he got the chance I cut him off and strolled over to her.
    “Aww, man, you can’t handle that.”
    I tossed him a middle finger and continued on. I was a cocky son of a bitch. I knew my height, tanned skin courtesy of many days spent underneath the Texas sun, and green eyes left women a decade older than me stuttering. I moved up close to her and reached for a lock of her hair. Don’t ask me why I did that; I just had an insane urge to touch her.
    “Today might just be your lucky day,” I murmured low in her ear, twirling her hair in between my fingers.  
    Stunned, she jumped back and glared at me. “Excuse you?”
    Her voice sent shivers down my spine. Not taking heed of the fire blazing in her eyes, I took a step closer. “I said…today is your lucky day, sweetheart.”
    She paused and looked me up and down. “And why is that?” she asked.
    I chuckled and gave her the most seductive wink I’d perfected. “Because you just caught my eye.” 
    She looked me up and down again, scornfully, and in pure Coral fashion handed me my ass.
    “If today is my lucky day, I should have stayed in bed. Don’t ever touch me again.” And then turned and walked away.
    The snickers from behind me alerted me that Damon and our other friends heard the entire exchange. I tucked my proverbial tail between my legs and returned to my group, but continued to stare at the first girl to ever reject me and turn me on at the same time.
    ****
    After that initial encounter, my estimation of one Coral Coleman went up exponentially. With each PT and ROTC assignment, she and I always seemed to come in as the top one and two. Sometimes she bested me. Other times I bested her. I never tried to hit on her after that, and we managed to gain a mutual respect for one another. Our friendship didn’t develop until a few months later, but once it did, we were inseparable. I came to know her as deeply as I allowed her to know me, which was also why I knew, my next move was one of my dumber moves. When she turned to walk away, I felt a piece of my soul leaving, and I had to stop her. I grabbed her arm from behind. I immediately felt her stiffen, and I braced myself.
    “You of all people know better than to touch me like that,” she gritted out through clenched teeth.
    She was right. I did know better. Grabbing a woman from behind who experienced a childhood of abuse and had been to war was not the smartest idea. Especially not when this particular woman knew three different forms of martial arts. I’d seen her in hand-to-hand combat. Hell, she’d saved my ass as many times as I’d saved hers. I knew what she was capable of.
    “Don’t walk away.” I released her arm and stepped back. I knew when to give Coral space.
    “What?” she asked tersely.
    I sighed, running my hand through my hair. There was so much I wanted to say, and even more, I wanted to do, but I wasn’t free to do it for more reasons than one. I stared at her for a few moments, taking in the fact that we were in the same space after five years.
    “How have you been?” I finally asked.
    “Seriously?”
    “Coral, I—”
    “There you are,” a familiar voice sounded from behind me.
    I turned to see an unwelcome sight; a