The question hung between them, loaded with meaning she couldn't explain.Instead, she turned back to the problem he'd assigned, determination setting her jaw.
Twenty minutes later, something clicked."Oh!"She sat up straighter, excitement flooding her voice."If you apply this theorem here, then..."
She worked through the solution, the pieces falling into place like magic.When she finished, she looked up to find Cole watching her with an expression that made her breath catch.For just a moment, his careful mask slipped, revealing something dark and hungry in his eyes.
She realized suddenly how close they'd gotten, both leaning over the same textbook.His thigh pressed against hers under the table, radiating heat through her dress.She shifted slightly, instinctively parting her legs, and heard his sharp intake of breath.
The answer was so close - she could feel it just out of reach.Frustrated, she leaned further over the textbook, deliberately pressing her breast against his arm as she pointed to the equation."What if we..."She turned her face toward his, letting her hair brush his shoulder, her lips inches from his jaw.The scent of his cologne made her head spin.Her other hand found his thigh for "balance," fingers splaying against the firm muscle.
His hand closed over hers on his thigh, stilling her movement.For a heartbeat, neither of them breathed.Then his fingers tightened, just slightly, before removing her hand.But instead of letting go, he turned her palm up, his thumb tracing one slow, devastating circle in the center before releasing her.
The subtle touch sent heat racing up her arm, spreading through her chest until she felt like she couldn't breathe.When she dared to look at him, his eyes were dark, fixed on where his thumb had marked her palm.The muscle in his jaw ticked once, the only sign that his iron control had slipped.
He leaned in, just close enough that his breath stirred her hair."Careful, Ashley."Her name was poison in his mouth, soft and deadly.His thumb pressed into her palm one final time before he released her hand as it burned."Don't mistake me for my brother."He pulled back just enough to catch her gaze, and his eyes winter-cold despite the heat she'd glimpsed moments before.
Heat rushed to her cheeks - not from desire now but from humiliation and rage.How dare he?The casual cruelty of it, the way he just assumed-
"Problem six."His voice cut through her fury, already back at his side of the table, precise and detached as if nothing had happened.As if he hadn't just set her skin on fire and then doused it in ice."Show me how you'd approach the velocity calculation."
"Are you serious?"The words burst out before she could stop them."You can't just-"
"The calculation, Ashley."He didn't even look up from the textbook, his pen tapping an irritatingly steady rhythm against the page."Unless you'd rather explain to my brother why you're not prepared for his research program?"
She opened her mouth to tell him exactly where he could shove his calculations, but he finally lifted his gaze to hers.The cold emptiness there stopped her cold.This wasn't her Cole - this wasn't even the nice version of Cole from this timeline.This was someone else entirely, someone with walls she was still too far away to climb.
Fine.If he wanted to play it this way...
She pulled her notebook closer, grip tight enough to crack her pencil."The initial velocity would be..."
"Your approach is wrong."He leaned over - keeping careful distance now - and circled something on her page."Start again."
The next three hours passed in excruciating slowness.The space between them crackled with unspoken tension, yet he kept his distance now, clinical and detached.Twice, she caught herself watching his hands as he drew diagrams, remembering how his thumb had felt against her palm.Each time, he'd pause just long enough to let her know he'd noticed.
By the time the library's ancient clock struck five, Ashley's head was spinning with quantum mechanics and frustration in equal measure.She'd learned more physics in these hours than all her life, but the victory felt hollow under his cool instruction.
"Problems six through twelve, chapters eight and nine."He began packing his things, movements precise and efficient."Have them done by tomorrow at the same time."
"Tomorrow?That's impossi-"
"Nothing is impossible," he cut her off, already gathering his things, movements precise and mechanical, "if you want it enough."His eyes met hers, and the challenge in them made her breath catch."Do you want it enough, Ashley?"
The way he said her name - like both a caress and a dismissal - made her want to scream.Instead, she lifted her chin."Yes."
A ghost of a smirk touched his lips."Tomorrow, then."
He was gone before she could respond, leaving behind only the ghost of his cologne and the burning impression of his thumb on her palm.
She remained long after he left, surrounded by equations she could barely see through her frustration.How could the same man who'd touched her with such deliberate intent dismiss her with such casual cruelty?The contradiction burned almost as much as her pride.
But pride wouldn't solve these physics problems.So she bent her head and worked, letting the exercises blur her confusion.
The library's shadows lengthened around her, afternoon fading to evening, time marked only by the turning of pages and the scratching of her pencil.When she finally stumbled back to her dorm, the moon hung high and bright, painting Yale's Gothic spires in silver light.Her palm still tingled where he'd marked her.
Save him?She almost laughed at the thought.First, she needed to figure out how to save herself.
CHAPTER13
Seven days.Forty-two hours of Cole Westwood drilling physics into her brain with ruthless efficiency.No more lingering touches, no heated glances - just pure, focused intensity that left her mentally exhausted and oddly exhilarated.
