Chapter thirteen
Camelia couldn't keep her mind off of James and the way that he had looked at her no matter how hard she tried. She choked down some pasta that she could barely taste and answered Aria's chatter in one-word answers. And no matter how many times she pulled out her phone, she couldn't text Ian, no matter how good her intentions were.
She couldn't shake the sense of impending betrayal on her part, if she did. Which madenosense.
By the time Camelia was walking along the dark pathway towards the library and ignoring the few chattering students that still lingered on campus, she was in a horrifically grumpy mood. She knew that she needed to go to the library and study, but a big part of her wanted to go home and lock herself in her dorm room to mope. To mope, and not at all to think about a certain sullen blonde who seemed to live rent-free in her head more often than she wanted him to.
Him and his stupidly pretty dark-haired friend.
But shewasn'tgoing to think of them anymore. Nope, she was just going to go into the library, and she was going to study for her midterm in socio-political ethics, and she wasnotgoing to think of James and Evan, or the intense way they both looked at her even though Evan seemed to be going out of his way to be extra nice to her lately...
A shuffling sound alerted her to someone nearby as she rounded the brick corner of the library near the entrance, but before she walked under the glow of the building lights, a firm hand slapped against the brick just over her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks with a barely-restrained yelp.
"What theactualfuck..." Whatever else Camelia had been intending to say dried up as she turned to see who had managed to crowd her up against the wall without her even being aware that she was being followed. She swallowed hard as she met James' gaze. His hand flexed against the brick by her head, his eyes unblinking as he looked at her, and his other hand joined the first on the other side of her head, effectively trapping her with his arms and his body.
Camelia swallowed, unable to look away as James looked down at her. Not that she would have wanted to, even if she could. James' eyes were captivating, even in the dark; dark gray with flecks of gold, his pupils wide in the dim light as he watched her every movement, and she couldn't stop herself from shivering when said eyes flicked down to her lips when her tongue darted out to wet them.
"James, what..." she whispered. Her entire being thrilled at being the sole focus of his attention, and goosebumps raised on the back of her arms despite the warmth of her coat as he pressed a little closer. He didn't touch her, not beyond their clothes brushing together a little bit with the movement, but even that little movement was almost enough to tear a whimper from her throat as her body strained towards James.
"Who was that," James whispered, interrupting her. "That you were speaking to, earlier."
His voice was low and intense, almost a growl, and Camelia shivered. She licked her lips again before she whispered, "Just...some guy. Why..."
"Why were you speaking to him?" James asked, interrupting again. His gaze burned into her, hotter and more intense with each passing second, and Camelia frowned, a flash of irritation making her plant her hand against his chest and give him a shove.
"What the fuck is it to you who I speak to, James?" she bit out. She ignored the way her skin tingled where her hand was planted on his chest, and the way that her shove didn't make him move even an inch. She let out a soft growl of frustration, before continuing, "He's just a guy. Jesus Christ, I didn't think that I had to explain myself to any man who decided it was his business to know my fucking personal life..."
James' eyes flashed, and a low growl rumbled through his chest, vibrating against the palm of her hand. He leaned a little closer, his voice low and intense as he spoke. "Not just any man. Any man looks at you, and they’re as good as dead, sweetheart."
The smart retort on the tip of Camelia's tongue faded away as she swallowed, and the steady thud of James' heart under her palm almost distracted her from the terrifying and intense words that he had spoken. He meant every syllable, she could tell, and a shiver of delicious fear ran down her spine, pooling warm in the base of her stomach and making her pussy clench between her legs. "What do you mean?" she whispered.
A smile touched the corners of his mouth, flashing his white teeth at her as his gaze continued to bore intensely into her. "I mean," he said slowly, enunciating every word. "That if any man on this campus thinks that they can handle you, they're wrong.If you think that just anyone can give you what you need, thenyou'rewrong, Camelia."
Camelia's pussy clenched again at the possessive words, and she forced herself to shake her head. "And who can, then?" she shot back. Her hand trembled where it was still planted against the firm muscles of his chest, and his heart rate jumped against her palm as his smile widened.
"You know the answer to that question." His voice rasped, and the warmth of his breath against her face, a complete contrast to the frigid night air, made goosebumps rise on the back of her neck. They were so close, so fucking close, and shedidknow who he was talking about. Who he was telling her could take care of her, what she needed, what only he and Evan could give her...
She forced down a small, desperate whimper as her pussy clenched again, already wet and desperate and aching to be touched. In the back of her mind, alarm bells were flaring. The way that he spoke, the casual way that he loomed over her, the possessive words and the way that heknewhow they would worm their way under her skin and live in her head more than he and Evan already did...
There was no way that heknew, was there? Camelia had been so careful...And every experience that she'd had with Alphas when her status was public had been way more aggressive, way pushier...
James wasn't trying to force her. He was staking aclaimon her, for him and Evan, in a way that resonated deep down into her bones. Resonated down to the very soul of who she was...
"I..." Camelia's voice was a desperate squeak, and she couldn't stop herself from whimpering a little when he pressed closer to her, closing the gap between the two of them. His chest pushed against hers, her nipples aching at the contact under her bra, and his eyes darkened as he looked down at her. His lips parted a little, his tongue flicking out to the corner of his mouth as hewatched her, and Camelia was tempted,sotempted to close the distance between the two of them. To press their lips together and find out what he tasted like, what all that suppressed rage and anxiety and anger turned into when it was externalized...onher.
Get away. Move, now. Before you make a mistake.
For once, Camelia listened to the voice inside of her head, swallowing and forcing her mind away from the filthy path that her thoughts had started to wander down. "I have to go," she breathed, desperately trying to force her voice to be strong. Failing dismally.
James didn't respond, his eyes flashing at her again as if he was displeased by her answer. He eased away a little, though, just enough that Camelia could duck out from under his arm and hightail it away from him without saying another word.
She didn't trust herself not to do something that she would regret if she had said anything else, like beg him to come with her and show her exactly what he meant when he said that he couldhandleher.
Chapter fourteen
Studying...was not going well.
Two hours. Two hours since James had pinned Camelia against the wall, and she had accomplished jackshit. All because her stupid, traitorous mind was too concerned about James, too concerned about what he had said, what he hadimpliedto her...
