“Okay.” I nod, exhaling again, then square my shoulders and lift my chin. I plaster on a smile and say, “Hi. I’m Rory.”
Cillian grins. He lifts his hand and extends it for me to shake. When I slip my shaking palm in his, he holds it for a second, letting it linger longer than I would with any stranger without it feeling awkward. But with him… it feels exactly the way that it should. “Rory. I like that.”
Jesus, four words in and I’m already blushing. I can’t imagine actually being the recipient ofrealflirting with a guy like him. This is just pretend and I’m already feeling flustered.
“Get out of your head, Rory.” He leans in slightly and I swear he’s so close I can feel his breath fanning across my lips. “Can I be honest about something?”
I nod wordlessly.
“I’ve been thinking about walking over and talking to you all night, love.” The way the word rolls off his tongue, deep and thickly accented, it’s possibly the hottest thing I’ve ever heard.
He smells so good it should actually be a sin. Like fresh sandalwood and cedar. Clean. Delicious. The combination of how close he is, how good he smells, how his voice is a velvet seduction has me completely overwhelmed. In the best way.
“H-have you?” I stutter.
His grin widens into a crooked smile, and his hazel eyes seem to darken. “Yeah. A pretty girl like you shouldn’t be alone at a bar. Do you go to university around here?”
“Yes. I’m a junior at Prescott. Um… what about you?” I ask as my head swims.
“I just transferred to Prescott from London, actually. I’m still trying to find my way around campus.” His shoulder lifts in a shrug. “Maybe you could show me around sometime?”
When he leans in and tucks a stray piece of hair behind my ear, I hear my own breath hitch. The moment his fingers brush against the sensitive shell of my ear, a shiver dances electrically down my spine.
I know that we’re only pretending, and that this is just practice for the real thing, but honestly, I’m having trouble remembering that fact right now.
God, he’scharmingwhen he wants to be.
Now I’m starting to really understand why all the girls on campus are losing it over him. If this is how he acts with them?
I’d be down just as bad.
Calm down, Rory. This is all for show, and you’re playing the same part he is.
“Definitely,” I whisper back, my lips tilting into what I hope is a sexy smile. “W-what did you have in mind?”
Where’s this charm when it comes to the team? Granted, they’reguys and he’s not trying to sleep with them, but still. He’s too busy being grumpy and broody to give even a sliver of this away.
You’re not thinking about the team right now, Rory.The hottest guy I’ve ever met is touching me, and my brain isn’t entirely working correctly right now.
But you know what is? My nipples, which are currently taut and pressing almost painfully against the cups of my bra.
I’m irrationally turned on by a game of make-believe right now. I should probably feel ashamed of that since I went into it knowing this was just for practice, but my body has a mind of its own.
“You’re in your head again,” Cillian says, his dark brow lifted. “Where’d you go?”
“Yes, sorry, but I was just thinking about how…” I trail off, unable to pull myself together. There’s no way I’m telling him exactly how much this affected me. How much it turned me on, so I pivot. “Charming you are. I mean… I know we’re just practicing, but I still got a little flustered,” I tell him honestly. “And I was thinking that maybe if you used some of that charm with the team, they may open up to you a little more. You know, instead of the selective-mute thing?”
He sighs as he pulls back, straightening his spine against the couch. “Not talking about me right now, St. James. This is about you.”
“I know. I know. Okay, sorry, carry on.” I flatten my palm and then wave it down my face as if I’m in theater class and attempting to get back into character, which only makes Cillian roll his eyes and shake his head.
“Yeah, I couldtotallyshow you around,” I say, waggling my eyebrows.
“Stop that.”
Nerves be damned, I grin and lean forward, ready to give him a taste of his own stupidly charming medicine. Well, the Rory St. James version of it. I place my clammy hands on his knees, slowly trailing them higher, watching as his eyes go wide.
“I know you’re new to campus, and I could show you all of the best places… Where to hang out, where to hook up, where to…” I trail off, leaning even closer as I peer up at him through my lashes and pull my lip between my teeth. “Gettacos.” My voice is so low and sultry that I hardly recognize it.
