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It’s much too late for that.
His ridiculously long lashes flicker open before settling on me.
My muscles tense, making movement impossible. If I were hoping to employ some sort of invisibility shield as a last resort, it fails epically.
The moment his gaze collides with mine, I feel the zip of electricity straight down to my toes. For a second or two, there’s confusion in his sleepy blue eyes, and the edges of his lips bow up into a lazy smile. The expression hits me like a punch to the gut, nearly stealing my breath away.
No man should look this good so early in the morning.
Especially when I feel like roadkill.
And when he stares at me with that sexy look as if he’s happy to see me, it weakens my knees. It takes every ounce of strength I have to keep myself upright so that I don’t melt into a gooey puddle at his feet.
“Hey.” He stretches, raising his arms overhead before making a growling noise deep in his throat. The cotton of his shirt slowly rides up his abdominals, revealing a perfectly chiseled six-pack.
My lady parts twitch in appreciation.
All right, fine…they do way more than just twitch. Riverdance might be taking place down there. From here on out, I will no longer be able to feel superior regarding the girls on campus who moon over this man.
And make no mistake, he’s all man. While I’ve been doing my best to pretend Ryder McAdams doesn’t exist, he’s filled out to be a perfect specimen of one. Who needs to stare at the cover of a romance novel when you have the real thing in front of you?
“Umm, hi.” I shift from one foot to another as embarrassment licks at me. The laundry list of reasons why is at least a mile long, and I will never—not in a million years—be able to live them down.
His drowsy gaze slips from my face before settling on my breasts. I feel the heat of it as if it’s a physical caress. That’s all it takes for my nipples to tighten into hard little peaks at the silent scrutiny. A quick glance down has me realizing that they’re poking through the thin fabric of the tank top. My face goes up in flames as I cross my arms over my chest in an attempt to cover them.
I clear my throat, hoping to draw his attention away from my breasts. “What are you doing here?”
He blinks and jerks his gaze to mine. His expression becomes shuttered as he drags a hand over his face. This is exactly the kind of reaction I’ve come to expect from Ryder, and a little prick of sadness blooms inside me at the wall that has slammed down between us.
I’ve never understood what his problem was with me and have spent years telling myself that I didn’t care. He could be besties with Mav if he wanted, all the while barely acknowledging my presence.
It's yet another lie I spent years trying to convince myself of.
“I drove you back to the apartment last night. Carina wasn’t home and I didn’t want to leave you alone after you’d been drinking.” He shrugs his massive shoulders. “So, I crashed here.”
When he stretches again, the book on his chest tumbles to the floor. I immediately bend over to pick it up. He does the same. Our movements stall as our hands brush and our gazes collide across the inches of space that separate us. Air gets trapped in my lungs for a second time in a matter of minutes. Heat sizzles in the air between us before his attention drops to my chest. His eyes darken and I realize that he can probably see my bare breasts as the tank gapes in front.
I snatch the book from the carpet and stumble back a few paces.
Silence settles over us as Ryder continues to stare. Hunger grows in his eyes, darkening them. The black of his pupil swallows up the ocean blue. It’s not a look I’ve ever seen directed my way.
It’s as thrilling as it is scary.
I hold up the book and blurt, “Were you reading this?”
The intensity of his stare sets my nerves on edge. My skin feels hot. Tight. As if I’ll burst out of it any second.
“Yeah.” His voice is shades deeper than it was only a few moments ago. “I got about halfway through it.”
Before I can find my tongue, he adds. “Last night, you mentioned that it was pretty sexy.”
My eyes widen. “What?”
His heated gaze pins mine in place, making it impossible to breathe. “You told me that you’d learned some stuff and I was interested in what it was.”
Heat slams into my cheeks. “I…did?”
Someone needs to put me out of my misery before this gets any worse.
