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Hope flairs in his smoky irises. I know I may live to regret my words, but I can’t handle the pain and vulnerability on his normally smug face. “I don’t want anyone butyou.”
My words hang in the air, making it crackle with static electricity, the hairs on my arms standing up despite the humid temperature.
The way Evan stares at me is not the typical predator watching his prey but with something more… Complex. Obsession brightens his eyes. A sense of relief washes over him, and he closes his eyes.
When he opens them, his smile is so bright it makes my body overheat. “You’reallI want, Lexi.” The wistful tone in his voice, so damn full of longing, is doing crazy things to my heart, which I swore to myself I’d keep out of this. “I meant what I said in my office. You’re everything to me. The sun and moon, lighting up my skies, lighting my way in the darkness.”
I blink back tears, his words wrapping around my heart and squeezing. “That’s really sweet, Evan.”
But then I remember who I’m dealing with. I can’t let him off the hook that easily.
“You can’t intervene and act crazy, Evan. People will start to wonder… What happens if your father gets wind of us?”
Evan lifts one shoulder. “If it’s a rumor, he likely wouldn’t care. Only if it becomes a scandal. Then he’d get involved.”
“He’d cut off your funding, too, right?”
Evan nods, looking as though he wants to say something more, but he doesn’t.
“You’re so close to fulfilling your goal. Don’t jeopardize it.”
“Some things are worth it. And you, Lexi, are worth jeopardizing everything for.”
Shit.I close my eyes, trying to prevent the urge to throw myself in his arms and kiss him until we forget what day of the week it is.
But I can’t.
Opening my eyes, he’s all I see. The entire campus falls away as I stare at him, our breaths in sync. There’s a magnetic pull between us, drawing me to him, binding me to him.Magnetic forcefield. There’s no escape.
Clearing my throat, I give him a soft smile. “We’ve gotta be discreet, okay? And you need to trust that I can handle Bennett and anyone else who tries to hit on me.”
Hope brightens his eyes. “You’re loyal to me?”
I can’t help the laugh that comes from me. “You don’t know me if you’d think otherwise.”
His hands clench into fists. “God, I wanna touch you so bad. I fucking ache to hold you in my arms and kiss you.”
“Later, okay?”
Stepping forward, he looks around before tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “I’m holding you to that promise.” His soft eyes are locked on mine, drowning me in the emotions shimmering there. I never would have thought Evan Whitmore was capable of feeling so much.
He flashes but a grin as his gaze travels to my feet, then back to my face. “I loved you in that dress, but this outfit is so much better.”
“I’m wearing a T-shirt and jean shorts.”
“And you’re still more stunning than all the girls flaunting their assets at every person on this campus.” His thumb grazes my cheek before he drops his hand. “You look like you in these clothes. The genuine, bright eyed girl I first met.”
My heart bangs inside my chest, my whirling thoughts preventing me from speaking.He accepts me for who I am?
As if he can read my thoughts, he adds, “I feel for that girl the second I laid eyes on her. She was unabashedly herself and I was instantly hooked, though I denied it.” His thumb lightly brushes over my quivering lip. “Save that dress for my eyes only.”
“Okay,” I whisper, falling further under his spell.
“Lexi. We need to go. Huntley will hang us from the pole in the quad if we’re late.”
Sophia’s voice brings me back to reality. I worry my lip between my teeth.
Evan’s growl permeates the air and I breathe it in, swallowing his darkness, along with the fire burning in his eyes.
