the roommates

Chapter Five

Two weeks later, Nesta was attending dinner at Rhysand and Feyre's. They'd all decided to dress up and spend the evening with one another since it'd been a while since they'd done so. Nesta was already dreading it, but knew there was no getting out of it. She wasn't even sure what she'd wear when she remembered that Feyre had stocked her closet for her before forcing her to move in.

The upside to the whole situation was that her sister had great taste. Nesta pulled out a black cocktail dress, looking at the built in corset and short, tight skirt. She bit her lip, imagining the response the dress would get from certain males in the house. Suddenly, the idea of going to dinner was appealing.

The lined her eyes with dark, sultry makeup, giving the illusion that her eyes were reminiscent of a siren's. She left her hair down and curled it, teasing and making it look sexy and messy before she put on her dress. She picked a pair of black heels with pearl ankle cuffs and looked herself over in the mirror. Suddenly, she was ecstatic about her evening plans.

Feyre showed up a few minutes before dinner time as Nesta was spritzing herself with a musky, vanilla perfume. She winnowed the two to their house, and they landed in the kitchen. Elain sat at the table with Lucien, chatting politely. The two were still quite stiff with one another, but at least they were speaking now.

"Nesta!" Elain gasped at the sight of her sister. "You look amazing."

Nesta smiled at her sister, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before walking to the counter and grabbing a long stem wine glass, pouring some of the dark red liquid for herself. She took a sip, noting how her red lips made a mark on the glass. She was feeling fantastic.

That was, until Azriel and Cassian walked through the door together, stopping in their tracks the moment they laid eyes on Nesta. She felt her mouth curve into a slow, seductive smile as she gave them a small wave, taking another sip of her wine. She felt powerful as her stomach heated under their lustful gazes.

They chatted among the group at dinner, keeping conversation light and happy. Rhysand served everyone and Feyre was ever the gracious host, constantly checking in on everyone and making herself helpful.

After dinner, Nesta excused herself to the bathroom. She looked in the mirror, fluffing her hair and reapplying her lipstick when the door opened. She gasped, realizing she must not have locked the door and being thankful she was only touching up her makeup when she saw that it was Cassian.

His jaw muscles flickered as he shut the door behind him, flicking the lock. Nesta's eyes widened as she saw the serious intent in his. She took a shallow breath as he stepped towards her until her back hit the counter top, and he stood, towering over her. She looked up at him, but he looked furious. His eyes were blazing with something she couldn't quite recognize.

"Cass?" She said, her voice barely a squeak.

He stepped forward again, arms leaning forward to press against the countertop on either side of her body, bracketing her in. She felt trapped. Her pulse quickened at his nearness and the intoxicating smell of his cologne.

"What are you doing?" She whispered, but he just kept looking at her like he wanted to absolutely devour her.