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Jaxon held me tight. “Fairly big.”

“Well, then you should definitely include me. I’m the romance expert, the campus Casanova,” I lied. I sure as hell wasn’t, but he’d said he wanted my help and I didn’t want to be left out, or pushed aside, like he didn’t need me anymore. He did still need me, right? Aaron wouldn’t take my place. He couldn’t. Could he?

“You are.” Jaxon snuggled me close. “This is nice.”

My heart quaked. “It is.”

“We should just stay like this, not be around people.” He said the last word like it was something foul.

“Oh no, by the monster god, there will be people there? How utterly horrid. Why, of course we can’t go now.”

“Asshole,” he snarked at my teasing, but his tone and tight hold let me know he wasn’t serious.

I leaned back into his embrace, melting honestly. It really was nice. He was so much bigger than I was; he swallowed me almost completely. Kept me secure. Sitting on Jaxon was better than lying on the floor and reading, quite shocking but true. Starfishing and zoning out on the floor were one of the few things that calmed me down when I was completely overwhelmed.

Taking a deep breath, I turned so I was sitting across Jaxon’s lap and could settle more firmly into his grasp. I muttered, my eyes closing, “This isn’t me conceding. I’m just resting my eyes.”

“Sure.”

“I am.”

Jaxon ran his hand over my arm, his warm skin soothing me. I snuggled in, feeling myself get heavier and more relaxed until darkness took me.

“What’s going on?” I asked, bolting straight up. Solid arms wrapped around me and settled me against a broad chest.

“Careful.”

I blinked, looking around. I was still in my dorm room, but the light had shifted, growing darker and the shadows longer across the room. I shifted slightly, and whatever I was sitting on moved as well. A flush rose to my cheeks when I realized. Well, fuck. I’d fallen asleep on Jaxon, and he’d held me. The thought of him continuing to hold me while I was napping set my heart racing. Why hadn’t he put me down or pushed me off his lap? Why would he just continue to keep me in his arms?

“Are you alright?” Jaxon asked, and I could feel his voice vibrating against me.

I nodded. Where the hell had my voice gone? Like, it had vanished like a fart in the wind.

Jaxon tightened his hold, keeping me squarely on his lap, and I rested my cheek on his shoulder, looking at him. He was focusing on his desk and writing, probably working on homework. He was studious like that. I rubbed my chin on him and closed my eyes once more as I simply breathed in his musky, earthy scent.

“What time is it? Did we miss the party?” I asked, my voice thick.

“You slept, like two hours, so no, we definitely didn’t miss the party,” he replied.

Too bad, I thought as I tucked my face against him. I didn’t want to share him, but I didn't want to be selfish. Jaxon had always been there for me, put me first. I needed to do the same for him.

“You clearly need more sleep,” he commented.

“What?”

“You’re always up early, working out. You need to rest, baby.”

“I’m fine.”

“Are you?”

I shrugged. It was what it was. Besides, if I worked myself into exhaustion I didn’t have to think.

“Chris…” Jaxon drew out my name.

Nope. I wasn’t doing that. Also, we had a party to get to. Taking a deep breath, I pushed myself off his lap and stood. A loud groan ripped out of me as I stretched my arms above my head. A symphony of cracks and pops sounded. I’d slept hard. I needed to up my stretching game, clearly.

When I faced Jaxon, I paused, my arms still half up. He was staring at me, his teeth sunk into his full lip. Something burning in his golden eyes set something equally ablaze within me. I swallowed, quickly looking away.