Fever Dream by Annabel Joseph

for her, I saw you playing with her earlier. So save it.”
    Rubio glared at him. He hated when Liam got this way, prying into his business and giving him judgey looks. Liam was always the cool, collected one, the smart one, while Ruby was the fuck-up who swanned around in tights. He waved a hand at his friend. “I’m tired. I’m going home.”
    “You could go to her place instead, you know. Tell her how you really feel about her, instead of standing here pretending nothing happened downstairs.”
    “Why would I do that?”
    “Why wouldn’t you?” his friend answered. “I think both of you could use a good aftercare session. At the very least, you should check on her and be sure she’s okay.”
    He hated Liam. He hated him because he was rich and suave, and judgey, and almost always right.

Chapter Eight: Please
     
    Rubio knew where she lived. He’d walked her to her door a couple times, when rehearsals finished early and they didn’t want to wait for the car. He’d even picked her up here once, for lunch, in some fruitless attempt to thaw the frost between them. She’d certainly thawed tonight, and then frozen up again like a glacier. Why? Liam said Petra was tangled up with him. What did that mean? Why could he never understand anything where women were concerned? All he knew was how to turn them on, and how to hurt them so he didn’t really hurt them. Neither of those talents was proving very useful where Petra was concerned.
    He knocked on her door with a feeling of dread. “Petra,” he said softly. “It’s me.”
    “What do you want?”
    He stepped back. She was right on the other side. “Let me in.”
    “I’m in my pajamas.”
    He made an agitated sound. “I don’t care. Can I come in? Before your neighbors call the police?”
    He heard the lock turn and there she was, his sugar-vanilla girl, dressed in a cat shirt and pajama bottoms. She looked defensive, her arms clutched at her waist.
    “I wanted to make sure you were okay,” he said. “Are you okay? I didn’t hurt you?”
    “You didn’t hurt me.”
    “But you left so quick. Why did you run away?” Her pretty blonde hair was still wet from a shower. He liked her better this way, in her natural look. She still had the faintest shadow of dark lips. He wanted to kiss them. He almost did before he remembered himself.
    “I’m sorry,” he said instead. “I don’t know how to be like Liam. I don’t know how to be a good guy, for you to like, but I like you, Petra. I’m sorry Liam had to take you home. I would have taken you home.”
    She closed her eyes and hugged herself tighter. “Oh, Rubio. I just had to get out of there.”
    “If you stayed, I would have taken care of you. Aftercare, is called. I know you don’t know anything about BDSM, by the way.”
    She opened her mouth to protest but he stopped her. “Please, don’t lie to me anymore. Is okay. It was your first time to do it, yes?”
    “If you knew I was lying, why didn’t you say something?”
    “Why? Because...” Because I wanted you. Because the temptation was too hard to resist. “Because I didn’t know at first. Only after, I realized, but then it was too late. I wanted to show you. I wanted...”
    She pulled him inside and shut the door. “You wanted to embarrass me,” she said. “Admit it. You wanted to show me that you can control me and make me want you.”
    “Maybe. A little,” he admitted. He raised his eyebrows. “Did you want me?”
    “No, I didn’t, and I don’t. I don’t want you,” she snapped, turning away. “And I don’t want you to make me want you when I don’t want to want you. I don’t want you tempting me to want you just because you can, when I’ve already said I don’t want you.”
    He held up a hand. “Please, slow down. My English is not so good.”
    “I don’t want this,” she cried, backing away as he advanced on her. “And I don’t know why you’re here now, tempting me, making things worse. We don’t belong