Page 82 of Caught Stealing

I shake my head, cutting him off before he can get the rest of the apology out. “Water under the bridge.” The corner of my mouth lifts, and I raise a brow. “Unless you want to fill me in on the details. That I wouldn’t mind rehashing.”

His head drops, and he lets out a low chuckle before looking back up at me. “You’re relentless.”

“It’s one of my more endearing qualities.”

“Says who?”

“I dunno. Someone, I’m sure.” Resting my chin in my free hand, I gaze at him expectantly. “So, you gonna finally spill the tea?”

His lips twitch, and I can tell he’s trying not to laugh. “Maybe another time. After you actually do some studying for a change.”

“Studying is for the weak,” I tell him, and this time, he can’t control the laugh from slipping free.

“How do you still have eligibility?”

“You really wanna know?”

He shoots me a dubious look. “Please tell me you don’t pay someone to do your work for you, because that’s illegal as shit.”

I squint, my lips rolling in a line as I let out a low hum. “Pretty sure it’s just frowned upon.”

“Oh, my God,” he says with a shake of the head. “And now you’ve just made me complicit by telling me.”

“Always expecting the worst in me,” I say with a playful scoff. “I don’t actually pay anyone. I have a photographic memory.”

Phoenix blinks at me, waiting for the punchline. But when none comes, his eyebrows shoot to his forehead. “You’re shitting me.”

“Not at all.”

He gapes at me ridiculously—literally mouth ajar—and I reach over and snap it closed playfully. But all light-heartedness vanishes quickly, and I realize touching his face is my first mistake. An epiphany made a tad too late to be helpful.

My skin flares, breaking out with heat where it brushed against his, causing me to reel my arm back to my side of the table. Only the damage is done, and now I can only think about touching more of him. Dragging him in for a kiss and devouring his mouth until we’re forced to come up for air. And if we’re feeling frisky, maybe even make damn good use of the soundproofing walls in these pods.

From the intensity crackling between us as we lock eyes, I’m pretty sure he’s thinking along similar lines.

“I, uhh…” He clears his throat and breaks eye contact in favor of the textbook in front of him, “think we should get back to work.”

Studying doesn’t last more than another twenty minutes, though not for lack of trying on Phoenix’s part. It’s the sexual tension filling the air of the tiny room with an electric charge set to ignite with a single look. Staying in there any longer would have only ended with the two of us naked and going at each other, so it was probably for the best anyway.

I’m amazed when he doesn’t say anything as I fall in step beside him, choosing to walk with him to practice rather than hop in my Jeep parked outside the library. Although at this point, I’ll take any spare minute I can with him, especially if it means tossing some snark back and forth.

Or better yet, stealing a kiss or two.

I might even enjoy the comfortable silence stretching between us as we walk side by side the most. Just being in his presence has this strange sort of calming effect on me. One I haven’t felt with anyone except my parents, honestly. And my Gran.

Our gazes collide every once in a while as we cross campus—more me catching him looking my way—and I smirk.

“Now who’s the one staring?”

I expect him to tell me to fuck off or shoot some variation of snark my way, but instead, he just sinks his teeth into his goddamn lower lip. Not in the sexy way he was in the study pod earlier. More in a nervous fashion, like he’s trying to keep errant thoughts from spilling free.

“What’s up?” I ask, canting my head to the side. “You look like you’ve got something eating away in that mind of yours.”

He nods, gnawing on his lips a bit more before asking, “I have a question to ask you, but I know I might not want the answer to it.”

I frown a little, wondering where the hell he could be going with this. “Okay.”

“I know it’s none of my business. I promise, I do, so you can tell me to—”

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