Page 103 of Top Shelf

He’s closer now. Close enough that I can smell sweat and deodorant and something sharp underneath. Close enough that my lungs forget how to pull in a full breath. There’s something in his tone I can’t quite name. Something that makes the hairs rise on the back of my neck.

“He didn’t—” I start, but the look in his eyes stops me.

Isaac laughs under his breath. “You’re really close with those three now, huh?”

I go still.

“Silas. Ronan. Lucian.” He draws that last name out like it tastes bitter. “I ask you out—what, three times? Nothing. But you’re studying with them. Hanging out. Sleeping over?”

I bristle. “I’m not sleeping with anyone.”

He smiles again, but it’s sharp. Mean. “Didn’t say you were. Just noticing a pattern.”

Something cold curls in my gut.

He watches me for a second too long. His smile fades, replaced by something unreadable. Something flat. Blank.

“I used to think you were just shy,” he says, voice softer now, as though trying to lure me in. “But maybe you just like your men with sharper edges. The kind who couldbreak you.”

The room tilts. The lights hum too loud. My skin crawls asunbidden memories threaten to rear up and pull me under. My breath catches. The silence between us stretches. I’m acutely aware of the fact that we are alone in here.

And that I’m spiraling, losing control.

He leans forward slightly, head tilting.

“Just make sure you know which ones are holding you together…and which ones are pulling you apart.”

I flinch like he’s struck me.

It’s not his words that affect me, though. It’s his proximity. The dark room. The fact we’re alone, that no one would hear me scream...

My eyes dart to the door, to the rack of weights, to the narrow space between us that feels smaller with every breath I take. He hasn’t touched me. He hasn’t raised his voice. But I’m trapped all the same.

My breathing is ragged, my heart beating wildly in my chest.

I need to get out of here.

I don’t remember moving. One second, I’m frozen; the next, my legs are carrying me toward the exit like they’ve decided for me. The door handle is slick in my sweaty palm. For a second, I fumble it. I actually fumble it. Grabbing at it again, I throw open the door as I hurry into the hallway. The air feels thinner out here. Colder. I suck in a breath as I try to steady myself.

Before I crash right into someone.

Large hands catch me instantly, steadying me. The grip on my arms is solid and sure, fingers warm where they close around my biceps, like he’s bracing me against the world.

“Whoa—hey.” Ronan’s voice. Concern and surprise wrapped into one.

I blink up at him. His face tightens immediately when he sees mine, his gaze dropping to my hands. He takes everything in. My breathing. The way I’m shaking.

“What happened?” His hand is still on my arm, the other hovering like he’s not sure whether to touch my face or pull me into him.

“Nothing.” My voice is small. Shaky. I clear my throat. “I’m fine. Just…startled.”

His jaw flexes. “Did someone?—”

“No,” I cut in too fast. “I just—I’m okay.”

He searches my eyes, not believing me, but he doesn’t push.

He lets out a low breath, one arm wrapping around my shoulders and the other settling at my waist as he pulls me firmly into his chest like he’s drawing a protective circle around me.