[warning: nsfw content ahead]

The prospect of me possibly liking Noah is a bit terrifying, if I'm being completely honest with myself. At the same time, it could also be that I am confusing my feelings of liking him only as a friend with that of liking him as more than a friend. And I hate myself for not knowing what I really want. So, to say that my mind is a mess would not be a wrong statement.

And I definitely do not need Theo to add on to my confusion. Not to mention the fact that I still haven't forgotten about our encounter from that night. The night he was wrapped only in a towel. The night he had me caged to the wall. The night where I was so damn close to kissing him because he is that irresistible. God, I really need to get rid of the mental picture of him half naked.
 
Which is why my number one objective right now is to avoid Theo. Yep, ignore him and his teasing looks. Ignore him and his ridiculously handsome face. Ugh. I can't even look at him now without getting a flashback of his solid chest and those impeccable abs...

And Theo knows it. Oh, he knows it. Because he always has a knowing smirk on his lips whenever we make eye contact. It's like he can read my thoughts. Just thinking about him sending me a teasing look makes me want to slap that stupid smirk off his face.

However, my plan of ignoring Theo was not going very well. I didn't plan much, or anything at all, about how I will be able to avoid crossing paths with him, since we live under the same roof. It is even more so impossible when his room is right next to mine. Hell, I have to face him everytime I have breakfast and dinner.

So I have been skipping meals at home lately, ordering takeouts or eating outside, instead. I mostly make the excuse of not being hungry whenever Adrien asks me to join them. I know it isn't the smartest idea, but it is what I can pull for now. I just hope Theo doesn't catch on to my lies.

******

I wake up at night from my sleep by the sudden feeling of my throat feeling very dry. I turn to my side and blindly reach for the switch of my bedside lamp. Turning it on, I sit up and look for water, only to find the bottle empty. Rubbing my eyes to get rid of the sleep, I remove the blanket from me and reach for my phone that was kept on charging. 3.12 AM, it read.

Grabbing the empty water bottle from the table in one hand, I get up from my bed to head downstairs. I glance down at my clothing, which is an oversized black t-shirt that barely reaches upto my mid thighs and an underwear beneath it. Everyone is asleep right now so I don't think much about my choice of clothes.

Everything is so quite at this hour of the night that I almost ditch going downstairs alone, thinking to myself that I'm not that thirsty. But, my need to drink water overpowers my fear.

When I reach downstairs, the only sound that was filling the area is the soft hum of the refrigerator. Entering into our kitchen, I place the empty bottle on the counter before grabbing a glass and filling it with water. I take one sip out of my glass but it doesn't taste nearly satisfying.

I walk towards the fridge next, and open the freezer section to grab a tray of ice. As I turn around to get back to my glass of water, a horrified shriek leaves my mouth. 

"Y-you scared me," I say to Theo, who is now standing in front of me. I place a hand on my chest to calm my racing heart. 'When did he get here? Is he a vampire or something?'

Theo narrows his blue eyes and looks at me pointedly. "You've been ignoring me," he says, his voice sounding accusatory.

'Well, shit.'

"What?" I attempt a fake laugh. The look in his eyes is scaring me a little bit. He seems so mad right now, beyond pissed. But then again, why does he care? "I don't know what you're talking about," I say, avoiding his eyes.

I move past him and walk towards the counter, mentally praying that he leaves. And hopefully, he wouldn't bring this up again. I pick up two ice cubes from the tray and drop it in my water. I can feel him moving towards me but I refuse to acknowledge it.

"Yes, you do. And you have been ignoring me in the past few days."

His voice sounds closer to me now. Irritation lacing his tone. And something else. Yet, he sounds kinda hot when he is mad. Instead of being worried about his weird change of attitude, it almost makes me feel a bit... excited.

I set the glass down after drinking and take a deep breath. I turn around to look at Theo and find him staring at me with his arms folded across his chest. His eyes roam the length of my figure and my cheeks warm at that.

Theo is wearing grey sweatpants and a dark green t-shirt. The biceps of his arms are flexing from where he has them crossed over his chest and I can see the visible veins running up his arms. I gulp audibly and remind myself to not check him out.

"Why would I ignore you?"

"You tell me, Princess." He uncrosses his arms and takes a step towards me, followed by another.

I try to take a step back at that, but my lower back hits the counter behind me. Within the blink of an eye Theo gets so close to me that I can feel his hot breath fanning across my face. I open my mouth to say something, but a gasp leaves my mouth, instead.

I look down to see Theo holding an ice cube against my arm and slowly dragging it upwards along my skin. A soft whimper leaves my mouth at the cold sensation. Theo hums softly and continues to drag the cube.

Then he lifts the cube and drags it across my collarbone next. I hiss at the feeling and clutch his t-shirt tightly in my hand. I should be stepping away from him, push him away. Instead, I continue to enjoy the sensations he is providing to me.

Theo drags the ice cube a little lower, over the exposed part of my chest, nearing the neck of my t-shirt and I close my eyes instinctively. I feel him move closer to me, practically pressing me against the counter. I am still clutching onto his t-shirt for dear life because the warmth radiating from his body pressed against mine and the cold ice cube is making my head spin.

Goosebumps cover my entire body and I can feel my nipples harden under my t-shirt. Theo removes the ice cube from my skin and my breathing turns shallow. I feel him bend down and kiss the skin below my ear. It makes me shudder and I feel my knees starting to feel like jelly. I might have just toppled over the floor beneath me if it wasn't for his other arm that he wrapped around my waist.

He then places feather light kisses along my neck while my eyes remain screwed shut. My breathing grows erratic and my heart is racing at miles per hour. This is wrong. This is so wrong. Being with Theo at 3 in the morning while my brother is sleeping upstairs. If Adrien comes down right now and catches us, he is going to kill Theo first. Then he'll kill me. Probably. Nope, definitely.

"Theo," I gasp when I feel him lightly biting into the skin of my neck.

"Mmm?" He then licks the area to soothe it and continues to pepper kisses on my neck and over my pulse point. "Your heart is beating too fast."

Theo pulls me closer to him by my waist and moves his lips to the other side of my neck. "Do I make you nervous, Princess?" He whispers into my ear and kisses the tip of it.

"I..." My mind is a puddle in this moment. I was dead set on avoiding him and all it took him to crush my resolve was to leave a couple of neck kisses. Thoughts of Noah were far away from my mind right now. And how can I be attracted to anyone else when Theo makes me feel this way?

"...yes." I finally manage to say.

"Good." I feel him smile against my skin as he kisses my neck. He sucks onto my neck and a soft moan escapes my mouth. He hums in satisfaction and continues his assault on my neck. His hard on presses against my bare thigh and it makes me whimper at the feeling.

Suddenly, I realise that he is leaving a mark on my skin which will be very much visible in the following days to come. How could he do this to me? I open my eyes and push him by his chest slightly.

"Theo, you can't..." I say breathlessly.

He moves his face away from my neck to look at me and I stare into his hooded gaze and lust blown eyes. His pupils are so dilated that the blue in his eyes look almost black.

"What?" Theo looks at me in confusion. His eyes flick down to my lips and at the same time I stare at his lips that were kissing me just seconds prior.

Theo starts to lean in slowly and I want to kiss him, too. I truly do. I've never wanted to kiss someone so bad before. But I can't. Because this is wrong. Because I can't have a fling with the son of my Dad's friend who is only here for a while. So, right before our lips could meet, I do the right thing.

I push him away.

He steps back immediately and removes his hands from me. I immediately miss the warmth of his hand that was holding onto my waist. But I push that feeling aside. "I'm sorry. I... I can't."

Theo furrows his brows and clenches his jaw. He exhales sharply through his nose and looks at me for a long time, not saying anything. Then he finally says, "Right. Of course," in a clipped tone and walks away.

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A/N: if you liked this chapter then don't forget to leave a vote (☆⁠). Also, 1k reads already??! I still can't believe it! Thank you for the support so far :)