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Blaire jerked her head around to stare at him in the moonlight, her eyes widening only a fraction. It wasn’t as if she didn’t know he liked her, but at the same time, hearing confirmation of it straight from the source shocked her.

“Blaire… I want to be with you,” he whispered.

She swallowed hard, remaining silent. Her heart skipped and pounded.

Aiden leaned forward, reaching up with his hand to lightly cup her jaw, then he pressed his lips against hers in a soft kiss, before going in once more for something deeper.

Blaire had been kissed before when she was younger. This felt different. The tingles she expected to feel when someone kissed her were there, but she felt something much more intense earlier tonight with someone she had never kissed. The contrast intrigued her.

When she didn’t push him away, he slowly guided her down until she lay on her back. He hovered over her body as he continued to kiss her deeply. A soft sound left her throat as she returned his kiss, testing how it felt to allow herself to be kissed by someone she felt attracted to. She wouldn’t lie to herself; it felt nice. When his tongue slid across her lips, she turned her head away. She wasn’t ready for that.

Despite how good his kisses felt, something was missing, something important. Her thoughts warred inside, and dread washed over her.

Aiden kissed along her jawline when she turned her head, undeterred, and she sucked in a breath as he pressed his body against hers, allowing her to feel the physical evidence of his interest.

This was too much, way too much, and with the wrong person.

Blaire’s mind became a jumbled mess, but one alarm bell clanged clearly inside; this was wrong, and she had to stop it before it got out of hand.

Aiden moved to her neck, where his lips parted, but before he could do anything more, she placed her hands against his chest and shoved against him. She didn’t want to hurt him, but she needed to be clear about her refusal. He was much stronger than her, but she had put enough force into the push to make him take notice and sit back. He hung his head back, face aimed at the ceiling, and closed his eyes.

Blaire couldn’t do this to Lukas. She felt guilty at the idea of leaving him and being with Aiden.

After taking a moment, when he seemed to finally have himself together, Aiden opened his eyes to stare down at Blaire. He found what he was looking for in her eyes and nodded in confirmation at her resolve, acknowledging the wall she had erected.

“I’m sorry… I thought you…”

Blaire shook her head. “I did… but I can’t. Lukas…”

He moved across the bed and sat on the edge, whispering, “It’s alright, just sleep now. I understand. I’m not going to try anything again if you don’t have feelings for me. I’ll back off.”

Blaire hung her head and twirled the ends of her hair. “It’s… It’s not that. It’s complicated.” She didn’t say anything more as she climbed off his bed and crossed the room to get into the bed with Riley.

Aiden clenched his jaw. “Of course it’s complicated. He’s my best friend. He’s your Korrena.” He sighed and then whispered, though Blaire could still hear him from her place next to Riley, “I knew it wasn’t going to be easy if you chose me, but at the same time, I was willing to try.”

She could say nothing to that. Apologizing would be insulting when an attraction existed between them. He knew it, she knew it. But she couldn’t stop how she felt overall.

She couldn’t help that something was missing.

Someone was missing.

That was the problem. She couldn’t shake how guilty she felt about even considering Aiden’s proposal with her growing feelings toward Lukas. But she didn’t understand what had happened with him tonight. She needed to talk to Lukas.

18

CONFRONTATION

After saying her goodbyes to Riley, Blaire went to the floor where she shared a dorm room with Lukas. She didn’t look forward to confronting him about locking her out after she thought they’d come to an understanding last night, but he needed to know that move wasn’t okay. At least she’d had the opportunity to calm down and wasn’t going into the conversation angry anymore. But she still didn’t want to deal with fighting with Lukas right now with her feelings all over the place.

Blaire tried the handle, and it opened without resistance. Lukas must have left it unlocked for her when he left for breakfast. Maybe this was a good sign he’d also calmed down.

Entering the dorm, Blaire found the main room empty. A small rush of relief swept through her. Sighing, she gathered a change of clothes and headed to the bathroom to take a much-needed shower.

As she reached for the doorknob, the bathroom door opened, and Lukas stood in the doorway. Blaire recoiled, stepping back a couple of steps.

Lukas glared at her and stepped forward as she clutched her clothes to her chest tightly.

“Where have you been all night?” he demanded.