Chapter 1

I wasn’t expecting the air to taste like freedom and sex.

But stepping into Dorm 309 at Westbridge University, with its twin beds, half-unpacked boxes, and the faint scent of vanilla body spray mixed with something much naughtier, I knew right away: this wasn’t going to be a quiet year.

“Finally,” a voice purred from behind me. “I thought you’d never show.”

I turned and nearly forgot how to breathe.

She was stunning. Tight black tank top, no bra. Shorts that were more like an invitation than clothing. Deep brown skin glowing under the light from the window, curly hair piled on top of her head like she couldn’t be bothered to try too hard and didn’t need to.

“I’m Liv,” she said, popping her gum with a smirk. “Roomie.”

“Lola,” I managed, dragging my suitcase in, suddenly hyperaware of my simple crop top and ripped jeans. “Nice to meet you.”

“Oh, honey,” she said, stepping close close enough that her perfume wrapped around me like a warm, wicked thought. “It’s going to be very nice.”

Before I could ask what that meant, the door slammed behind me. A loud, thudding sound, followed by a deeper voice.

“Liv, do you always have to flirt with the new girls?” he asked, walking in like he owned the entire dorm.

I turned.

Jesus.

Tall. Tattooed. Hair a mess in the way only a bad boy can pull off. Shirtless, of course. Sculpted abs, like a walking wet dream. And his eyes icy gray, locked on mine like he already knew the things I moaned about in secret.

“Name’s Jace,” he said, not offering a handshake. “Don’t fall in love. I bite.”

“Good,” I fired back, ignoring the heat already pooling low in my belly. “I’ve got sharp teeth too.”

Liv laughed, tossing herself on her bed. “Oh, I like her already.”

Jace raised a brow, smirked, then disappeared into the bathroom without another word.

The second the door closed, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

“Is it always this intense?” I asked, plopping down on the other bed.

Liv rolled over to face me, her smile a little wicked. “Babe, this is just the appetizer.”

By nightfall, the dorm was buzzing.

Literally.

The bass from a party downstairs pulsed through the walls. Someone was moaning two doors down. And I was lying on my bed in a too-thin tank top and shorts, listening to Liv hum along to her music while painting her toenails like this wasn’t the sexiest place on Earth.

I got up to shower, desperate to cool down.

The dorm bathrooms were shared, one at the end of the hall. But at this hour, it was quiet. I peeled off my clothes, stepped into the stall, and let the hot water rinse away the tension. My fingers drifted lower, trailing over my skin…

God, Lola, get it together. You’ve been here one day.

I was halfway through washing my hair when the door creaked open.

“Jace?” I called out, heart racing.

“Don’t mind me,” his voice echoed, smooth as silk. “Didn’t think anyone would be in here.”

I peeked around the curtain.

Yup. Shirtless again. His eyes dropped to my bare shoulder, lips twitching like he was barely resisting a comment.

“You could’ve waited,” I said.

“I could’ve,” he agreed. “But I like the view.”

The tension sizzled like steam.

He walked over to the sink, brushing his teeth slowly, his reflection catching mine in the mirror.

“You’re not like the other girls,” he said casually. “They usually blush. Or run.”

“Maybe I bite harder than they do.”

Jace smirked, then leaned closer to the mirror, his voice low. “You’re gonna be fun, Lola.”

Then he was gone, leaving me soaking wet for more reasons than one.

Later that night, just as I drifted off in my bed, there was a knock.

Not on the door. On the wall.

Three soft taps.

I sat up.

Liv rolled over, grinning sleepily. “That’s for you.”

“What is?”

“The knock. Ryan wants you to meet him.”

“Ryan who?”

She stretched, arching her back in a way that made me stare. “Ryan from 308. Golden boy. Captain of the football team. Big arms, bigger… ego.”

My heart thudded.

“Why would he”

“Because he saw you earlier and told me, and I quote, ‘she looks like trouble, and I want in.’”

I hesitated.

But curiosity won.

I padded into the hallway, heart pounding, and knocked softly on 308.

Ryan opened the door, shirtless, of course. Lean and tan and way too handsome. A dimpled smile that could ruin lives.

“I was starting to think you’d chicken out,” he said.

“I don’t chicken out.”

He stepped back, letting me in.

The room smelled like cologne and heat. His bed was rumpled. A candle flickered on the desk.

He closed the door behind me.

“No expectations,” he said. “Just wanted to… talk.”

His voice was low, smooth. His eyes weren’t subtle.

“You always light candles when you talk?”

He chuckled. “Only when I want to be remembered.”

He stepped closer. His fingers grazed my hip. I didn’t stop him.

I didn’t want to.

“Can I kiss you?” he asked.

I nodded.

And then his lips were on mine soft, warm, coaxing me open. His hands slipped to my waist, then my thighs. The kiss deepened. My back hit the door. I gasped against his mouth, and he grinned like a man who knew exactly what he was doing.

And he did.

When we finally pulled apart, breathless, I pressed my forehead to his.

“That was…”

“Yeah,” he whispered, brushing my lower lip with his thumb. “Welcome to college.”

I slipped back into my room an hour later, lips swollen, thighs aching.

On my pillow was a note.

No name. Just a scrawl of messy handwriting.

“You taste like secrets. Can’t wait for more.”

And underneath: