“Someone should’ve taughtyouthat no means no.”
Satisfaction pulsed through me as his expression twisted, morphing from wolfish to wincing, and I took advantage of his momentary shock to slip out from under his arms.
I hauled ass to my homeroom at the end of the hall without a glance back in his direction.
Heavy footsteps pounded on the linoleum, and the hair on the back of my neck rose before I reached my classroom. I grabbed the doorknob right as a meaty palm clamped onto my shoulder.
But another football player intervened, and as he stepped in front of me, a warm hand covered mine over the doorknob.
“Let her go, Owen.”
My heart rate skyrocketed.
But this time, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed god staring down at me had my adrenaline pumping for an entirely different reason.
“Blake,” I whispered.
He winked at me, and his smile sent the butterflies in my belly scattering in all directions.
Then his features hardened, and he averted his gaze from my surprised expression to his teammate standing at my back.
Blake straightened his spine, and my eyes widened as he stood at full height. Already two inches taller than most of the senior class, he intimidated anyone who didn’t know him. But even though I’d grown up with him, my breath still caught as he towered over me.
“Owen, isn’t your homeroom in the senior hall?” Blake cocked his head. “Pretty sure the bell’s about to ring, buddy.”
Owen slid his hand away and stepped back with a laugh. “Didn’t realize someone was already hitting that, Hawthorne.” Blake’s jaw tightened as the jerk said, “Not bad.”
I whirled around, my teeth clenched and an angry retort poised on my tongue, but Blake intercepted before I released it.
Spinning me back to face him, he tucked me under his arm and curled me toward his chest.
A squeak escaped my lips, and internally, I freaked out at the sudden contact.
But cool as a cucumber, Blake nodded at Owen as he opened the door behind us. “No harm, no foul, man. See you at practice.”
Tugging me inside the classroom, Blake disregarded how I struggled against him while I fought to ignore how much I liked it when his arms tightened around me.
Heat flared in my cheeks, and my body zinged with sudden electricity.
Mortified, I channeled it into rage.
“Blake, let me go.”
At my icy tone, he snapped his arms to his sides and took a step back. Taking in my scowl and flushed appearance, he chuckled under his breath, humiliating me further by ruffling my hair. As it flew into my face, I growled at him.
I swatted at his hand, and then I flattened my hair against my head, pushing back it behind my ears. “What the hell did you do that for, Blake? I had it handled.”
His eyebrows shot up, humor dancing in his eyes. “Did you?”
“Yes.” I huffed. “And now you’ve got him thinking you’rehitting this.” I gestured wildly over my body, catching how Blake’s eyes followed the movement.
Sky blue darkened to cobalt as he pinned his gaze on mine, and whatever thought ran through his head tightened his features.
But it vanished quickly, and by the time I planted my hands on my hips, his familiar half smile and the mischievous twinkle in his eyes shone back at me.
I tried not to be affected by it. Or his nearness.
But Blake Hawthorne’s every expression lived inside my mind. I’d memorized each one over the last ten years, studying his beautiful face from a distance both too close and too far away. Now, it was like a song only I knew the words to, with lyrics I’d never get out of my head.
