I shrug, putting on my most innocent expression. “What? Isn’t that the plan?”
She blinks at me, face so red it looks like she might actually pass out.
I laugh loud enough to draw stares from a few passing students. “So when are you gonna let him pop that cherry?” I continue, dropping my voice to a low purr. “Tonight? This weekend?” I lean closer, a smirk tugging at my lips. “Or would you rather it be me?”
She lunges to slap my arm, but I catch her wrist before she can land it, twisting her hand just enough that she has to step closer to keep her balance. Suddenly, we’re chest to chest, our faces inches apart.
For a second, I think she might actually swing on me. Instead, she just glares, eyes bright with fury.
“Let me go,” she hisses.
I lean down until I can feel the faint tremor in her chest. “I’ve missed this,” I murmur, licking my teeth. “Haven’t you?”
She rips her hand free with an irritated huff and storms ahead, pushing through the doors of the science building and disappearing into the rush of students. I let her go, counting the seconds until she looks back.
She makes it a whole ten steps before glancing over her shoulder.
Gotcha.
I catch up with her inside the lecture hall, tossing my bag down and slumping into the seat beside her like I’ve been there all along. Then I reach under the desk, hook my hand around the base of her chair, and drag it a few inches closer to mine.
Her fingers instinctively clamp down on the edge of the table. “What are you doing?” she squeaks.
“Gotta keep you close, pretty girl,” I say with a wink. “Can’t risk you wandering off again before you make good on that little promise of yours.”
She stares at me blankly for a second. Then realization hits, and the glare she levels at me is glacial. “Fuck you.”
“Only if you ask nicely,” I murmur, reaching under the table to squeeze her knee.
She jerks away, but not before I feel the heat of her skin welcoming me like an old friend.
The professor walks in a second later, dumping his bag on the podium and starting right in on his lecture. I don’t absorb a single word– not with Ava sitting right beside me.
The entire class becomes a game of how much I can get away with. Leaning over to whisper things in her ear just to hear the little gasps she tries to swallow. Watching the way her penwobbles every time she tries to take notes while I’m murmuring something filthy under my breath. At one point she nearly chokes on her own spit after I quietly suggest I might have to tie her to my bed and teach her anatomy the old-fashioned way.
Worth it.
By the time class finally ends, she looks like she’s been through a minor war, and I’m willing to bet her panties are soaked through.
Students start filing out, chairs scraping and backpacks zipping. As she stands to leave, I grab the back of her neck and pull her toward me, crushing my mouth against hers before she has a chance to stop me. The kiss is hard, messy, and over before she can even process it. When I let her go, her cheeks are flushed, her lips puffy, breathing gone shallow.
I grin, licking my lips. “Plenty more where that came from,” I say, reaching down to adjust the bulge in my jeans. “You’re sleeping in my bed tonight.”
She opens her mouth to argue, but nothing comes out. She just stares at me, dazed.
Perfect.
We head out with the rest of the class, exiting the building to find Raf waiting. He falls into step beside Ava without a word, taking over escort duty for her next class.
Before they peel off, he shoots me a look that’s equal parts amusement and warning.
Whatever. Let him try to beat me to the prize. The only thing I love more than winning is the chase.
CHAPTER 11
WES
The library’s always quiet,but the silence in the study room Ava and I are currently occupying on its second floor is thick enough to choke on. The table between us is littered with textbooks, highlighters, and loose pages of notes that she’s been steadily filling since we sat down. A half-empty coffee sits beside her elbow, long gone cold, but she hasn’t touched it in a while. She’s too focused on catching up on the week of lectures she missed.
