Chapter 3

My apartment was a tiny one-bedroom with only one bed. I didn’t even own a couch.

How were we supposed to sleep?

Bella looked around the room and seemed to realize the problem, too.

She spoke first.

“Jason, I can sleep on the floor. I don’t want to inconvenience you.”

“No way,” I said. “I’m not making a woman sleep on the floor. You take the bed. I’m a guy. I can handle it.”

Seeing how firm I was, she reluctantly agreed.

But when it was time to sleep, I tossed and turned.

Why was the floor so hard?

It felt like every bone in my body was being crushed.

Maybe I was making too much noise, because Bella still hadn’t fallen asleep either.

After a while, she spoke softly.

“Jason… why don’t you sleep on the bed? It’s big enough for both of us.”

“That won’t do,” I said firmly. “You have a boyfriend. We need to keep our distance.”

I rejected her with complete righteousness.

But after another hour of lying on the floor, I gave in.

“Ahem… Bella,” I said awkwardly. “The bed really is pretty big. Do you think I could lie down too?”

She didn’t answer. She simply moved farther toward the wall, leaving me a narrow space.

I quickly grabbed my pillow and climbed into bed, pressing myself against the edge as far away from her as possible.

What smelled so good?

A faint fragrance drifted into my nose.

I tilted my head, and my nose brushed against her hair. I took a deep breath.

She smelled incredible.

Honestly, who wouldn’t be tempted with a beautiful woman lying right beside them? Any man who could resist wasn’t a real man.

If only she didn’t have a boyfriend, I thought as I slowly closed my eyes.

Just before I fell asleep, I vaguely felt Bella moving closer to me.

In the middle of the night, I suddenly felt unbearably hot.

Something was pressing down on me. I struggled to open my eyes and saw a blurry figure straddling my body, rubbing against me.

Her chest swayed wildly, almost spilling free.

That woke me completely.

I could see her clearly now.

She wasn’t wearing anything.

“Bella, what are you doing?” I swallowed hard.

I wanted to push her away, but I was terrified of touching her skin in the wrong place. Every inch of her seemed dangerous.

I rolled out from beneath her and quickly wrapped her in the blanket, pinning it around her so she couldn’t move.

“Wake up. I’m not your boyfriend. I’m not Evan!”

Bella panted and whimpered. When she realized she couldn’t reach me, tears began streaming down her face.

The tears landed on my hand, hot against my skin.

“Jason, please help me. I feel so awful. Please…”

Something was seriously wrong.

Her eyes were unfocused. Her voice came in broken fragments. Sweat covered her entire body, and her muscles even began to spasm.

Was she sick?

Had she developed a fever?

I stared at her in disbelief, as if I were holding a burning piece of metal.

While I was distracted, Bella freed one of her hands and wrapped it tightly around my arm.

I was about to pull away, but her breathing slowly calmed. Her face was still pale, but her eyes had become clearer.

After a long silence, I couldn’t stop myself from asking, “Are you sick?”

She froze, then slowly shook her head.

Her next words left me stunned.

“No. I just… I just have an addiction.”