I take a deep breath, hoping the heat in my cheeks has dissipated enough to look him in the eyes and let the lie pass through my lips undetected. I liked watchinghim.
His lips brush the shell of my ear. “I think you’re lying. But I’ll let it slip… this time.”
Chills skitter down my arm. I’m letting him gain control. Take it back, Kins. Abort! Abort!“I’m not lying. And you know, you really shouldn’t be so nice. It hinders the asshole persona you got going on.”
He settles back in the chair. The grin on his face dismantles a fraction. “Hmm, we’ll see.”
“Why are you even here? To purposely torment me?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Just like you, I’m here to do some homework.”
I jot down a nonsense note to pretend I’m working. When, in fact, I can barely concentrate with him sitting right next to me, talking about sex, reminding me of the way I saw his body move, the rasp in his voice teasing me, suggesting the things he could do to me.
Resting one hand on his thigh and the other near the edge of my book, he says, “I also happen to have a free hour.”
Dear Universe, do you hate me?
My internal groan makes its way up my throat until it verbalizes itself.
“Are you silently asking if God hates you?”He chuckles. It’s deep and throaty… sexy as fuck.
I place my head on the desk. The cool wood gives me no reprieve from the sadist sitting only inches from me. “Something like that,” I mutter.
“Ah, you are capable of telling the truth.”
I ignore his sarcastic insight and make a mental note to remind myself to erect my walls higher so the fucker can’t read my every thought and emotion.
“Are you going to give the campus another eyeful of your striptease today?”
Apparently, I’m the only one who thinks getting comfortable was a big deal. It’s not like I exposed any of my lady bits. I raise my head to look at him. Although the question seems genuine, the corner of his mouth curves up slightly. The wicked smile hiding behind those perfect lips catches my attention. I would blame his ego for noticing, but I’ve been on Edge’s radar since I stole his parking spot.
He doesn’t miss the way my grazing eyes fall to his mouth. To prove it and to goad me further, he skims the tip of his tongue over his bottom lip. I tighten my thighs in a desperate effort to ward off the sensations building again. Fuck me into next week. But if I’m being honest with myself, they never entirely went away. He doesn't say anything if he notices the slight movement under the table.
“Did you hear me, little Ninja? Are you going to strip for me today?”
Those words wrench me out of the depths of the dangerous lair I’ve fallen into. I slide my gaze up to meet his lust-filled eyes, which isn’t much of a reprieve from his mouth. I clear my throat. “Trust me, if I were to put on a striptease, you’d know.” To say I’m surprised when he doesn’t reply is an understatement. He’s the opposite of Gunner. I turn my attention back to my book. “What can I say? I like to be comfortable.”
He nods, gets up, and politely pushes in his chair. Closer than necessary, he leans down and whispers, “I wouldn’t get too comfortable. You won’t be here that long.”
Then, without another glance my way, he strolls down the center of the library. As if waiting for the king himself, a stumbling guy opens the door from the other side. Edge strolls right on through as though the world is just waiting to bow at his feet.
Obviously, it was a warning of some kind, but I hope he’s right. I won’t be here that long. There’s a good chance that even if I didn’t walk in on them fucking like rabbits, he would have made it a point to seek me out.
It isn’t as hard to concentrate as I thought after he leaves. Figuring him out is the tricky part. He’s hot, cold, then nonchalant, and then quickly transforms again into being an asshole. I might as well take my chances rolling a twelve-sided die to see which side of Edge will appear next. If my luck in thepast two days is anything to go on, I’m not sure I have a chance in hell of catching a break.
Tapping the end of my pen against my lips, I wonder if I missed a crucial one-on-one moment to ask him about the underground fights and what he’d be willing to tell me, if anything. Too late now. I take a deep breath as I return to my essay, which is due tomorrow. I’ve neglected to start it, so I’m thankful I have this free time. I have a feeling this free hour will be a lifesaver, which means I'll have more time to spend onotherextracurricular activities, like planning my next move.
Then again, I hope Edge doesn’t usually spend his free time in the library.
My stomach growls, reminding me it’s time for lunch. As I exit the library, Brielle conveniently happens to run into me. I’m able to catch the few books in my hands before they fall to the ground.
“Hey, creeper, did you like what you saw earlier?” She makes a dramatic gesture of wiping the extra gloss from the side of her mouth, even though it’s perfectly applied and she knows it.
My immediate thoughts stomp right toward the images he planted in my head only a little while ago. Quickly snapping back to the present, I say, “If you’re talking about Edge using you to get off, then I have to go with a no on that one. I’ve seen better performances on Animal Planet.”
Her face is a blast of fury as I bump her shoulder to make my way to the courtyard to meet Bryce and Eden. From behind me, Brielle goes on about how I’m such trash or some other empty and redundant insult.
Once settled against the big oak trunk, I can finally relax a bit. I close my eyes and try to clear my head using the breathing techniques I learned from training. It’s more of a challenge than usual with all the shit Edge pumped into my head.
