Twice Bitten (Love, Lust & Magic #1)

Griff

The sound of ’s lanyard slapping the cement echoed through campus. “Fuck!” cursed the freshman as he quickly dove to the sidewalk to collect it. Snatching up his building key, quietly reprimanded himself for being so jumpy. What’s up with my nerves, anyway? It’s not like I ? —

“Hey there.” A voice from behind him was cause for surprise.

spun around and nearly fell right into the chest of the third handsome stranger he would meet that night. After finding himself all hot and bothered by a pair of peculiarly suspicious bad boys in the back alleys, it was a relief that his newest acquaintance looked fairly harmless. In fact, guy-next-door charming would be an understatement.

“Oh, god, sorry!” exclaimed as the man caught him in a cradle of biceps. “I did not see you there.”

“No worries at all,” the tall stranger responded with a wink. “I kind of missed most of move-in day, but I was wondering if maybe you could let me in the building. I’m Darcy Landon.”

quickly collected himself, the words of Pruitt Mondamin ringing out on high volume in his subconscious: “Sleep with the door locked.” However, Darcy’s friendly smile trumped any thoughts of caution.

With a backpack and suitcase in tow, the man certainly looked innocent enough. His uniquely green eyes, the warmth of his smile, and even his slightly crooked baseball cap would make melt on a normal day.

Not so fast, Darcy, thought as he worked to pull himself together. “What floor are you on?” he asked.

Fumbling through his pockets, the newcomer pulled out a piece of paper that looked to be his own class schedule. He flipped it over and carefully guided his fingers down a line of handwritten notes. “Looks like I’m in room five-thirty-two. So, floor five, I’m guessing,” answered Darcy.

“Wait, five-thirty-two?” asked as he grabbed for his own pocketed stash of notes. A room assignment paper mixed in with his planner listed his dorm location: Floor Five, Room Thirty-Two.

Darcy nodded.

Not only are hot men falling from the sky left and right, but one of them just has to be my roommate, too? could kick himself. “Well, under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t take the word of a stranger,” he finally responded. “Lucky for you, that’s my room number, too, so I guess you won’t be a stranger for long.”

“No way, man. Really?” Darcy’s face lit up. “I was so sure I was going to be stuck with some Dungeons & Dragons freak.”

Not sure whether to take offense to Darcy’s comment, unlocked the front door to the dorm building for the both of them. “Uh, yeah. You’re in luck, I guess. I’ve put my days of dungeoning and dragoning behind me. I haven’t seen our place yet, either, so let’s go check it out.”