Page 26 of Cruel Riches

The girl walked away. Then she stopped in her tracks, let out a sigh, and turned back around. “I was actually just heading to the library to work on the assignment, so I guess you could sit with me and borrow my copy for a while.”

My eyes widened. “Really?”

“Sure. Just hurry up. I want to get there before my favorite spot is taken.”

“Thank you so much,” I said, hurriedly stashing my other books in my bag. “I’m Alexis, by the way.”

“Laurel. Nice to meet you,” the dark-haired girl replied, even though her bored tone suggested it wasn’t nice to meet anyone at all.

I caught up and fell into step beside her. “I haven’t actually gone to the library yet,” I said, trying to make conversation. “Bad student, I know. I just haven’t had time to look around.”

“It’s only the first week. You’ll get used to it,” she said. “I can show you around the library, anyway. I know it pretty well.”

“Cool. Thanks.”

The interior of Blackthorne’s main library was large and Gothic with arched windows and carved cornices. A bronze plaque just inside the door announced that the building had been paid for by one of the university’s founders—Horace Lockwood.

Ancestor of a certain asshole I knew, no doubt.

Laurel led me up to the top floor, which was a labyrinth of dark mahogany bookshelves signposted by gold lettering. I loved the smell in places like this; that timeless musty scent of ancient books and dust motes.

“I have a really good spot on this floor,” Laurel explained as we headed past the first lot of shelves, toward an open area of tables packed with students.

My eyes skimmed over the tables as we approached. When my gaze reached the last one, I felt a small kernel of dread unfurling deep in my guts. Nate was there with a group of guys, and he’d spotted me.

His face was a steel mask, giving away nothing, but the blue depths of his eyes were stormy and turbulent. I’d seen that same look before, and it was right before he shoved me up against that wall in Redstone Hall.

As Laurel and I drew closer, the steely mask morphed into a look of contempt, like I was nothing but dirt from the bottom of his shoe.

My heart skittered as adrenaline rushed through my veins. What if Nate had told all of his friends what I did six weeks ago? What if half the campus knew I was a cat-burgling criminal?

I’d never live it down. I’d never be able to explain it, either. Not without revealing my true identity and intentions for the people of this island.

I swallowed hard and looked away as Laurel explained something about the photocopiers on this level. Then my head turned, drawn back to Nate like a magnet, and my eyes locked with his from across the room.

Some primal part of me froze, recognizing him as a predator. Please don’t say anything, I silently begged. Please just forget about me.

He stood up, still staring right at me. My stomach flipped. It was like he’d telepathically heard my pleas and wanted to make my life as miserable as possible.

He started walking over to Laurel and me. Every step was as predatory as the look in his eyes.

All of a sudden, a dangerous thought floated unbidden into my mind, making my skin tingle. I pictured Nate’s hands on me again, his mouth on my ear, his hot breath whispering over my neck.

My brain went foggy. At the same time, all of my senses were heightened. I could imagine exactly what it would feel like for Nate’s tongue to dart between my legs like a pleasant electric current, and I could practically feel his hard, taut muscles against my bare skin.

A memory flashed into my mind: the night Nate caught me in his father’s study. I remembered the way he pinned me against the wall, lips twisted in a smirk, and I remembered the way one hand gently caressed my arm as he questioned me, contrasting with the fierce grip of his other hand on my shoulder. The clearest part of the memory was the sheer heat of him; the mix of anger and lust radiating off him in waves. It made me throb, shiver, and melt, all at the same time.

I hated to admit it, even in my most private thoughts, but my treacherous body seemed to love this guy just as much as my brain despised him. Every molecule in me was vibrating with sexual energy.

I suddenly recalled something I read in a psychology book a while ago, when I was researching things for my dad’s case. The human body processed certain emotions in a similar way, and fear and arousal were a prime example.

In both states, your heart would beat faster to pump more blood around the body, and your cheeks and chest might flush. For a fear response, it was to prepare you to flee or fight. For a romantic arousal response, it was to increase blood flow to sexual organs. It often felt the same, though.

That was what I was feeling right now. My body wasn’t betraying me. I was just confusing two different emotional states.

Nate was only a few feet away from me now. My stomach began to churn, and I mentally prepared myself for a confrontation. I didn’t need to worry, though, because he stepped right past me, eyes suddenly elsewhere. Thank god.

I let out a heavy sigh of relief, and Laurel turned to me with furrowed brows. “Are you okay?”

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