He shifts his stance but doesn’t say anything. His arms are corded with hard muscle. He’s all coiled raw power, and something in his eyes makes me think he wants to pounce.
“What are you doing here?” I blurt. I sound breathless, my heart speeding up, and that annoys me.
I refuse to be frightened by him. I’m not afraid of a big guy in a silly little mask. I’m more concerned about how wet I’m getting. Guess I have a mask fetish.
“Same as you.” His voice rumbles in a way that makes me want to squirm. “I wanted to look at the flowers,” he says, but he’s not looking at them. He’s staring at me intently. Studying me like he knows me.
He has beautiful blue eyes. Not that I care.
“What’s with the mask?” I ask before I think better of it. Maybe it’s rude to ask. Maybe he has a medical condition that requires him to keep his face covered. “Actually, never mind. It’s none of my business.” Unitas is a mafia university, after all. Maybe it’s common for people to disguise their identities. A fellow supervillain deserves my respect.
But now I want to know what he looks like. From what I can tell, he’s older than the students, closer to thirty than twenty. Is he faculty? Maybe, but he’s not in robes. He’s dressed simply in jeans and a black T-shirt that clings to his broad shoulders, and his longish blond hair hangs around his face.
My cheeks heat. I don’t know why he’s staring at me, but I kind of like it.
Except, I know I shouldn’t. It’s distracting.
“Do you mind?” I wave to the exit. “I’m communing with the plants.”
“Communing,” he repeats.
“Yes.”
“You talk to them?”
“Yes.”
“Do they talk back?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know.” I want to turn away and ignore him, but I know never to turn my back on a threat. And, even though he’s just standing there, this guy is a threat.
He does seem interested in the flowers, though, and points to the one I’m standing next to. “What’s that called?”
“Digitalis. Common name, foxglove.” I point to the unobtrusive sign on the ground next to the plant. The name is right there on the little sign, if this guy wasn’t so busy studying me. “Eat any part of it and you’ll become violently ill. But it’s also used in heart medication. The dose makes the poison, you know.”
He transfers his gaze to the flower, then back to me. How long is he going to stand here staring at me?
“There’s a labyrinth across campus,” I tell him. “It’s famous. Why don’t you go look at the flowers there?”
“This place is more interesting.”
I snort, because he’s right. “Anything is more interesting than a bunch of boxwoods. This is a poison garden,” I say, since he doesn’t seem to read signs. “Everything in here can kill you.”
“Everything?” His eyes crinkle in a way that makes me think he’s smiling under that mask. I can feel him sweep his gaze over me, and my insides quiver in response. I’m loving the attention… but I shouldn’t.
“Yes,” I tell him. I don’t have to convince him. Maybe he’ll eat something, pass out, and leave me alone. “Believe me or don’t. But I’d be careful about touching anything. Like that—” I point to the vine creeping up the hemlock tree. He’s planted his hand on the tree trunk mere inches away from it. “That’s poison ivy.”
He jerks his hand back and steps away from the tree. The sunlight blazes on his blond hair.
I’m tense like I’m going to run, but… I’d never outrun him. He’d catch me.
There’s a liquid rush between my legs, and I gulp, hoping my reaction isn’t obvious. My belly muscles have drawn up tight, and I can feel my pulse throbbing between my legs.
Why am I turned on by this guy who’s lurking in a poison garden wearing a skull mask? I should be creeped out, but I’m staring at him like a moonstruck idiot and acting as if he’s the hottest guy I’ve ever seen. Sure, his hair is pretty, but I’ve only seen half of his face.
I move closer to the tree trunk until I’m looking at him through a veil of poison leaves.
“That’s a weed,” he says.
