I was pulling materials out of my bag when I smelled the cologne and heard the smooth British accent: “Harper Bennett. We meet again.”
I looked up. Orion Mercer and his megawatt smile beamed down at me.
Shit.
Chapter 2Orion
Harper’s eyes flared in alarm. “What are you doing here?”
She hit me with the question like she wanted to shove me off my lab stool, but I didn’t miss the little flicker of…something in her eyes. A tiny spark. And while I was used to girlssparkingaround me, usually I didn’t spark back.
Usually.
I tapped my chin, pretending to consider it. “What am I doing here, what am I doing here… Ah, I remember now. I’ve been assigned third-period chemistry with Dr. Langford.”
Harper faced forward stiffly. “I meant, why are you sitting next to me?”
“Shouldn’t I?” I glanced around. “Too late now, love. The tables are full.”
The wordlovemade her blink.
“You’re stuck with me,” I continued. “And to avoid further nasty surprises, I’ll share that I have History with Callister next, and then Advanced Piano with Wolfe to finish off the day.”
“You’re joking.” Harper had beautiful brown eyes. They softenedfor a heartbeat, then hardened again, as if my class schedule was both the best and worst news she’d heard all day.
“No,” I said. “If I were joking, I’d have said, a priest, a nun, and a whore walk into a bar…”
She shook her head, soft dark curls falling around her shoulders. “Ialso have History with Callister and Advanced Piano with Wolfe.”
Despite the sour look on her face, the news made me surprisingly happy.
Spark, again.
“Do you?” I mused. “Isn’t that lucky?”
“Luckyisn’t the first word that comes to mind,” she muttered.
“Not luck? So it’s on purpose, then? Are you stalking me, Harper Bennett?” I heaved a dramatic sigh. “Story of my life.”
She tried not to smile but failed. “You’re a lot, aren’t you?”
“I’ve been told.”
“I can see why.”
She faced forward again with a distinctlyconversation overmanner.
“Have I offended somehow? I seem to recall heroically securing not one, buttwoprotein bars from Bandit’s claws just a few hours ago.”
She laughed a little—almost against her will, but her gaze was wary and untrusting.
“Sorry,” she said. “It’s my first day here, and I’m out of my element.”
For a brief moment, her walls came down, and I saw a flash of uncertainty. Vulnerability. The kind I liked to pretend didn’t exist in me whenever I stepped into a new classroom. When I didn’t yet know the teacher’s methods or moods, the workarounds I’d have to deploy, the shit I could get away with…
“I understand,” I said.
Harper’s expression softened. “You do?”
