Page 42 of If You Dare

But when I expect him to draw nearer, to brush his lips against mine, they part instead. “Chloe doesn’t want us together.”

“She doesn’t?” That’s the first I’m hearing about this. She hasn’t said a word about me and Wes since I first met him, when she confidently declared that I’m attracted to him and he doesn’t date. “Why not?”

“Supposedly, she doesn’t want us breaking up and getting caught in the middle.” Despite his words, he keeps his hand on my bare skin.

I can’t blame Chloe for her concerns. If Wes and I actually did date and break up, the situation would be, at best, incredibly awkward. At worst, she might feel like she has to choose between us.

Wes is family. She’d choose him. My chest aches at the thought of losing her.

“But I don’t believe it,” he adds.

I lift a brow in his direction. “You don’t?”

“Nah. She just doesn’t want me all over you every time we’re together. She knows if I get my hands on you, I won’t be able to keep them off. She’d be happy for us, but we’d annoy the hell out of her.”

I laugh, even as his words set me ablaze. Uttered with so much conviction and certainty. Like a promise.

I imagine Wes Novak’s hands all over me and hope it’s a promise he doesn’t break.

Chapter18

After

Violet

After midnight,three texts come through from Wes.

We need to talk.

Meet me outside the university center.

Now.

My heart gallops in my chest. Finally. The conversation Wes and I have been needing to have for months.

I’m not sure why he’s changed his mind out of the blue, but I don’t care. As long as he’s willing to talk to me, to hear my apology, that’s all that matters.

I slip on my shorts and vans, careful not to wake Aneesa, a sleep mask covering her eyes.

The University Center is named for its central location on campus. But at this time of night in the middle of the week, the campus is deserted and eerily silent. I wrap my arms tight around my middle, shivering more from nerves than the chill in the air. The occasional lamppost lights my way, and I stick to the sidewalk, head swiveling to make sure I’m alone and some creep isn’t lurking in the shadows.

When I finally reach the University Center, I don’t see anyone around. Is Wes standing me up? Or maybe this whole thing was just a ploy to get me out here in the middle of the night, alone and defenseless.

Panic bubbles up until someone moves in the shadows, where he’s leaning back against the building.

Wes.

I recognize his towering stature and swagger, even within the shadows.

When he emerges, the light from the lamppost behind me illuminates the solid white mask covering his face, revealing nothing but his piercing blue eyes through two large holes and the outline of his smirk behind a cluster of pinprick holes at his mouth.

Liquid heat pools low in my belly. Overwhelming terror mixed with an impossible dash of arousal.

He lured me out here. Not to talk.

For something far worse.

“Welcome to your nightmare, little flower.”

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