That, and his mother had cornered him in his dorm while he was alone. I would do everything in my power to make sure nothing like that ever happened again.
It was hard to believe I’d been so apprehensive about getting closer to Aiden. Now, I needed my ray of sunshine around as often as possible. He was probably the only thing keeping me completely sane right now.
The reason for my impending insanity nudged at me, and I barely resisted the urge to huff. Shadow Rafe was back to following me around, and being especially annoying now that I knew who he was.
“Please take another look at my Links,” I said lowly.
“That doesn’t make a difference–”
I cut her off. “Maybe I can make a phone call?”
Shadow Rafe approved of that. He was the one who’d suggested I get a new room, implyingallof my Links would be staying there frequently, but that was definitely not happening.
Eleanor gave me a strange look, but did as I asked. She typed on her obnoxiously loud keyboard for several seconds before pausing to read. Her eyes widened, then widened even further. She stood abruptly, almost knocking her large drink tumbler to the floor.
“My goodness!” She exclaimed, fanning herself as she flushed. “Of course I can get you moved into a new room. This won’t be a problem at all!” She rummaged around in a drawer behind the desk. “There is a penthouse available, at the top of your current building. It’ll need to be cleaned, then your things can be moved.”
I rolled my eyes at the air, sensing Rafe was full of smug satisfaction. I stood as Eleanor handed me a folder full of information related to my new penthouse.
Apenthouse. At awar college. Lord help us.
I thanked Eleanor, then made my way outside and across the quad. Shadow Rafe continued following me, poking and prodding at my mind like he wanted to speak with me. I refused to open up, deciding it was more fun for him to pout when he didn’t get his way. I’d liked playing this game with Aiden during first term, and Rafe was a perfect candidate for the game to continue.
I checked my phone, seeing a message from Willow wanting to meet up. I replied quickly, deciding I could afford some time to stop and say hi before heading to my new dorm. Aiden was still in the Health clinic with Dani, so I wasn’t waiting on him, and besides…I was going to miss Willow and Mia being around constantly.
I turned a corner, side-stepping to avoid a cold patch of shade, then gasped as a shadow swallowed me.
Moving through the shadows was a bizarre sensation. It wasn’t as fast as teleporting, and it left me with a lingering chill. It was not my preferred method of travel.
We reappeared at the back of the building, in an even colder patch of shade.
“You asshole,” I hissed as the dark form of Rafe took shape in front of me.
His lips curved into a wicked grin as he backed me against the fuckingfreezingbrick wall, planting his hands on either side of me to cage me in. I wrapped my arms around my middle, half to warm me and half to put some type of barrier between me and Rafe’s muscled torso.
“Don’t be like that,” he purred. “You have me all hot and bothered, watching you assert yourself in there. Threatening a phone call?” He pressed his face against my neck with a groan, and I shivered at the warmth.
“Whatever.”
“You know, I always wanted to kiss a girl back here,” he said.
“In the cold?” I chattered.
He went on like I wasn’t shivering. “In secret, hidden away.”
He kissed my jaw before moving to my neck, and I let him, because his face was warm.
“You’re trembling,” Rafe murmured in my ear, like it was because he was having an effect on me and not because I was developing hypothermia.
“Can’t your sh-shadows warm us up?” I asked shakily.
“Can’t you warm up the atoms around your body or something?” he countered, raising a dark brow.
I shoved at his hard, warm chest, then gave up, collapsing against him. Rafe immediately wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a beam of sunlight while his warmth bled into my bones.
“Willow is looking for you,” he said. “I can’t keep you for too long back here.”
“Pity,” my voice wobbled. “And t-to think, you almost succeeded in killing me from exposure.”
