My eyes couldn’t help but trail down again, sliding over his chest, to the taut ridges of his stomach, to the sharp v-line leading to the towel slung low on his hips, and the hard bulge beneath it that made my throat tighten like I’d swallowed glass.
Before I could drown in the thought of what was budging underneath, he bent. His towel disappeared from view, replaced by his face, lowering towards mine.
He planted his fists on either side of me, denting the mattress and boxing me in. My head tilted back until I could go no further, his face stopping just a breath from mine.
His dark, bottomless eyes locked me in place, piercing through my green ones.
“I don’t care where the hell Winfred is or what happened to him. But hearing his name fromyourlips when you’re inmyroom, barely dressed and sitting onmybed while you stare atmybody is making me pray he isn’t dead.”
I would’ve blinked in shock, but my body felt paralysed, as though it suddenly understood what fear was meant to feel like. “Why?”
He didn’t answer, and to be honest, he didn’t need to. Those merciless eyes told me everything I needed to know, and damn if that threat didn’t almost had me clenching my thighs.
My gaze fell from his eyes to his lips, and then lower, to his chest.
Before I even realised it, my hand had risen, reaching for him as though he were magnetic. Thrax’s brows furrowed, his stare following the movement of my hand, body stilling, holding his breath.
I was half a centimetre away from tracing the tip of his scar when a soft knock sounded from downstairs. It shattered the air, making me gasp in shock. Thrax pulled back at the same time, straightening to his full height, chest rising once.
Blinking out of the haze, I curled my fingers into a fist against my thigh.
The knock came again, reminding us what had pulled us away in the first place.
I stood up. “I’ll go get it.”
Then I scurried out of his room and down the stairs. Before I reached the door, I paced back and forth, expelling all the lustful energy from my body.
The knock came again.
When I opened the door, Amelia was standing on the other side. She smiled when she saw me, and my brows raised in surprise.
“Hey,” I said, breathless. “Good morning.”
“Yes, good morning. Sorry to barge in here so early.”
“No, it’s okay.” My brows were still raised, surprised by her presence.
“I came to give you...” She dug into her arm bag, bringing out a phone.
My phone.“Oh, gosh.” I took it from her apologetically.
“You left it on the table last night. I thought I’d drop it off before heading to the library.”
Clutching it to my chest, I nodded. She must’ve pulled my address from the borrowing records. “I’m so sorry. Thank you. That’s really kind of you.”
She shook her head, flustered. “Actually, no. I’m sorry if that was too forward of me. It’s against the policy to use your address in that way. I should have kept it and waited for you to come for it.”
“No, Amelia. Honestly, it’s fine.”
Her gaze softened, then she studied me. “To be sincere, the phone is just an excuse. I was worried. You rushed out of the library so suddenly, I thought maybe it was because of the book I gave—”
“No,” I cut in quickly, shaking my head. “It wasn’t that. Not at all. I loved the book. It wasn’t you.”
She exhaled in visible relief...until her eyes drifted past my shoulder. Her body went rigid, her gaze widening.
My heart stopped. The only reason she was looking over my shoulder was definitely because she saw Thrax, and the only reason she was dumb struck should either be because he was so hot beyond natural.
Or he was half-naked.
