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He tilted his head to the right. “We don’t want that. Be careful out there, zhizn moya.”
Unable to form words, I nodded and forced myself to step around him. All the way to class, I had to fight the urge to look back.
What if he was still standing there watching me?
The thought was exciting.
But what if he wasn’t?
My heart broke a little more, and I couldn’t bring myself to glance back, knowing that he wouldn’t be there. He was probably already inside the bakery getting his coffee. I was far from his mind. Or he couldn’t stop thinking about the idiot who had smelled him up like some perv. It was a toss-up of which would be worse.
Meanwhile, I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
I should have asked his name.
I shouldn’t have been such a dork.
Ugh.
That quickly, I’d fallen into a full-blown crush, smitten.
But I’d never had a crush. So, of course, the first time it happened, I’d turned into a freak.
CHAPTER TWO
vaughn
I watched her walk away, taking a part of me with her. Bumping into her wasn’t part of the plan, but I couldn’t restrain myself from getting close. One touch to see if her skin was as soft as it appeared.
Having her against me was more than I’d ever dreamed of. As soon as I’d felt her beneath my fingertips, I’d had to fight the urge to snatch her up and lock her away.
Mine.
From the moment I’d first seen her the day before, I’d known she was mine. But touching her only reinforced her claim on my soul. Every emotion I’d craved consumed me. Now that I’d experienced them, I didn’t think I could lock them away again. I didn’t want to either.
As Abi walked to her class, I noticed other people watching her. Jealousy snapped my spine straighter, and I took note of all the faces that turned when she walked by. The people who let their gazes linger on her would die first.
Jaw locked, I shut down those thoughts.
I couldn’t kill everyone who dared to look at her. If I did, I would spend too much time disposing of bodies, when I could be with her. That wouldn’t do. Every moment of every day would be dedicated to her.
For the remainder of the day, I kept a low profile, watching my wildfire as often as possible while still continuing to work from my many phones. It wasn’t smart for me to walk around in the open in the small town. My face was too recognizable. Yet, I’d found a pair of glasses actually did hide a person’s identity. Nine out of ten times, it was only the glasses they saw because they were too busy to look closer.
Clark Kent wasn’t nearly as stupid as he appeared.
Superheroes were useless, in my opinion. They never sought out true justice. If they did, Batman would have killed the Joker, saving countless lives. Villains, however, were relatable to everyone, but their supposed moral compass wouldn’t allow them to admit it to themselves.
Each glimpse I got of Abi sent a jolt through my body. A new wave of emotions would hit me, and I would spend the time between each one trying to digest and name what I was feeling. It took me hours before I realized that it was happiness I felt every time I saw her smile.
People seemed to gravitate toward her. She was kind to them all, but she didn’t easily shower them with affection. I liked that she wasn’t a people pleaser.
Once she was safely tucked into a corner of the library studying that afternoon, I let myself into her dorm room and installed a few cameras. Because I had to be so careful with my identity in Creswell Springs, it had taken longer than I’d liked to find out everything about Abi. Once I’d learned her name, it had been easy enough to find her online and discover all her hidden secrets.
She had a demanding class schedule, but from what little I’d seen so far, she had no issues keeping up. From her grades, I could tell she was smart. Except for her single test score in history. That had been an instant red flag.
Why was she struggling in that particular subject but at the top of every other class?
After the cameras were in place, I allowed myself a few minutes to bask in simply being in her personal space. Her bed was made, with a stuffed animal resting on the pillows. Picking it up, I sat on the edge of the mattress. It was old, with one ear missing and several awkward patches on its body. Was it something she treasured because she’d had it since childhood?
