Page 51 of The Hunt

Rhett took a step backward, blocking the door. “You’re not going anywhere,” he said in a low voice.

“It’s fine. Really. I’ll crash on Tessa’s floor until my new dorm is finally re—”

He stepped forward and grabbed my arm, cutting me off. “I said you’re not going anywhere,” he growled. “It’s not safe for you out there. Especially not in the middle of the fucking night.”

My breath hitched as I looked up at him. His jaw was tight, his eyes a storm of agitation. “Is it safe for me inhere?” I asked, arching a brow.

“Yes.” His fingers flexed slightly against my arm. “Do you have a passport?”

“Um… no. Why?”

“Never mind,” he muttered. “That wouldn’t work anyway.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked, eyes narrowing.

He didn’t answer right away. Just stood there, chest rising and falling in steady breaths that belied the tension rolling off him.

“Can you please let go of me?” I asked, wriggling in his grip.

Rhett’s hand stayed exactly where it was, thick fingers curled around my arm. His gaze dropped to the floor for a split second, and I could see his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed hard.

With him standing there, gripping my arm with that mix of frustration and intensity, my mind suddenly flashed to the day he broke into my old dorm.

All I could see was him in that skull mask, with that chilling air of authority as he stood there like a reaper deciding my fate. It had terrified me in the moment, but now?

Now the memory clung to me in ways that made heat rise in my chest. He’d looked so wicked that day, so ruthless… and I hated myself for the way some twisted part of me no longer hated the memory.

Then there were his words at the bonfire party about chasing me through the woods, still burning in my mind like the embers from that night.

The way he’d said it—half-joking, half-menacing—should’ve sent shivers of fear down my spine. Instead, it was something else entirely. Something that made my heart race for all the wrong reasons.

“Rhett,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “Why are you here?”

“I just wanted to check on you,” he said. The words were low and rough, like they’d been dragged out of him against his will, and as he spoke them, he finally dropped his hand from my arm.

My skin itched, suddenly craving his touch again, but of course I would never admit that. Not to him.

“That’s all?” I asked. “You came here at midnight just to check on me?”

His brows furrowed. “Is that not enough of a reason?”

“Not when it involves you creeping in here while I’m naked,” I said hotly.

Rhett released a sharp breath, raking a hand through his hair. “I’ve just been thinking. Maybe I should—”

He cut himself off, jaw clenching like he regretted saying anything at all.

I frowned and tilted my head. “Maybe you should what?”

His eyes met mine then, and the storm in them made my heart stutter. There was obviously something on his mind. Something he didn’t want to tell me. Or maybecouldn’ttell me.

Maybe I didn’t even want to know what it was.

Some part of me wanted to comfort him, given his clear distress, but at the same time, I wasn’t so sure about that. Did Ireallywant to comfort him? Or did I just feel like I owed it to him for all the help he’d given me?

“I checked the room charges,” he finally said.

Oh.

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