When Stars Burn

Chapter Five: The Red Flags In Those Green Eyes

A/N: Hope you're all enjoying the holidays! I know I am except that I might be paying for this afterwards because I ate way more than I should have. Don't get me wrong—I'm grateful for the privilege to indulge myself. It's on me to show some moderation!  Anyway, here's the newest chapter. Hope you enjoy it!

BTW, in case you haven't seen it and you're a big TMMM fan, I did post a short holiday bonus on TMMM. It was just fun to write.

Happy reading!

***

I blinked my eyes open and stared at the slightly sloped ceiling of my loft bedroom.

It was a little lower than the ceiling throughout the rest of the townhouse but being only five-foot-four, it was high enough for me. It added to that feeling of being hidden away which I felt the moment I came to the top of the stairs and saw the bedroom. There was no door but the staircase was tucked against a wall, hidden behind a three-foot stub wall, and there was a good three or four feet between it and the bed. It felt private and cozy and quite detached from the world.

I smiled, happy with my decision, not forgetting for a moment the compromises I had to make to get here.

I was one of those people who always knew exactly where I was and what took me to get there.

I woke up from a long, deep sleep and automatically recognized that I was no longer in the cramped dorm room with Kendra. I was living under the same roof as Prescott's most notorious playboy and I was alright with that.

Dragging my hair away from my face, I sat up, pulling the covers back up to my chin at the slight chill in the air. I wasn't wearing much except for a white tank top and a pair of cotton shorts. I sat cross-legged on the bed, tucking my feet under my legs to keep them warm, and spent a long time staring at the beads of water that clung to the windowpane. It was raining lightly outside—a rare thing in California these days—and there was something calming about the muted blur of images, shapes and colors through the glass.

I must've been staring off into space for a while, only interrupted when I heard a thump and a clang and a loud, male hiss.

"Everything alright?" I called out, not caring if he was in the middle of a threesome on the kitchen counter.

He didn't answer and I refused to move.

This was much too precious a moment, sitting here and not worrying about anything. It was a very rare escape for me.

Five minutes later, I heard a light knock on the wall from the bottom of the stairs.

"You decent?" Julian called out.

I smiled. "Always."

"Can I come up?"

"It's your house."

I waited as he slowly made the short trip up the stairs, smiling when his head peeked out to look at me.

He caught my gaze and grinned before coming all the way up. He was wearing a pair of faded jeans, and a thick cream-colored sweatshirt with sleeves he'd rolled up to his elbows. His dark hair was shoved under a light gray knit beanie.

Damn. Even with all his clothes on, Wilde is as hot as a wild fire.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked as he handed me one of the two large mugs he'd been holding. "I think you did. It's about ten in the morning on a Sunday. You went up here yesterday afternoon."

I've never slept that long before but I didn't admit it as I looked down on the cup and the frothy surface of what smelled like hot chocolate with small white marshmallows floating on top of it.