I look up and freeze.
A familiar tall Lust is towering over me. His skin is golden, hair a mess of dirty blond curls, wild and perfect. And his lips—plush and maddening. The universe is a deeply indulgent entity for creating him.
Heat. Pull. Gravity.I feel all of it as his bright green eyes gaze down at me. Putting me in a trance… until I realize his hand is still over my mouth.
Alexi Zevalli. The Lust Holly pointed out on my first day. He’s my unknown fourth bond…
My stomach drops. My pulse races.
“I knew it wasyou,” he says.
He tilts his head like he’s figuring out how to eat me alive without using his teeth. “Felt it the second you walked past me.”
I step back, creating space between us. “You shouldn’t have pulled me in here.”
His grin spreads, slow and deliberate. Oh, great. He thinks this is flirting.
“Would’ve said hello in the hall, but… I figured this needed privacy.”
“Privacy?” I echo, already regretting being alone with him.
His fingers brush my arm, and it’s like lightning races up my skin. I flinch.
He notices my reaction and smirks. “So… you’re real.”
I nod, jaw tight. “Yeah. I felt it too. The bond. But…”
I take a breath. “I already know that citizens from Lust Factions don’t bond. We don’t have to do anything about it. I’m sure it’s just a strange anomaly.”
He continues skimming his fingertips along my arm, luring me into a haze. I continue before this can go any further.
“Look, whatever this is—it can’t be anything. And it won’t be. I’m the sinless you’ve probably heard about, and I’m from Wrath. If anyone finds out, one of us will get kicked out of the academy. Please. We can pretend this never happened.”
His grin fades, just a little. His gaze sharpens. “Pretend?”
“Yes, that’s what I said.”
He steps closer again, slower this time, and I can feel his heat radiating through the air. My heart’s beating so loud that I swear he canhear it.
“You want to pretend this—” he brushes his fingers against my collarbone “—doesn’t exist?”
I swallow. Hard. “Y - Yes.”
He exhales, a soft sound of disbelief. “I’ve been starving for you.”
His bright green eyes look more like poison as he gets frustrated. “Do you know what it’s like for someone like me to feel actual passion for a bond? Real, raw need—born from a connection, not my power? I’ve had everyone, Arwen. But none of them has made me feel like this.”
I hate the way my name sounds in his mouth. Like a promise and a threat all at once.
And I hate the way he says he has had everyone. My bond struggles to break free from my control and claw his eyes out.
“It’s statistically impossible to have had everyone,” I grit out.
Definitely not saying that to comfort my bruised bond.
“And I don’t even know you,” I say, backing until I hit the desk behind me. “And I don’t want to. Not like this.”
His eyes flicker with something darker. “Alexi,” he says, low and smooth. “You should at least know my name before you break my heart.”
