Page 24 of King of Violence

Felix doesn’t make anything easy, not that I expected him to. He doesn’t flirt back, doesn’t react when I push his buttons, doesn’t give me even an inch. It’s infuriating...and fascinating.

It’s like trying to hold smoke in my hands, watching him keep his distance while I crave any excuse to close it.

We’ve spent time together—our usual tutoring sessions, grabbing coffee between classes, working out in the campus gym, even studying at the library. I’ve learned he drinks his coffee black, prefers facts over small talk, and carries a quiet intensity that makes everyone else fade into the background.

I’ve also learned that it’s possible to be utterly captivated by someone without ever touching them. And it’s driving me insane.

We’re in the campus library again, tucked into a quiet corner where the dim lighting and the smell of old books linger. Felix’s laptop screen glows faintly, the cursor blinking over a dense block of text he’s been reading for the past twenty minutes. I’m supposed to be doing my own work, but I can’t focus.

“Hey,” I say, leaning closer and resting my chin on my hand.

Felix doesn’t look up. His reading glasses sit low on his nose. “Hmm?”

“You ever smile? Like, ever?”

His eyes flick to me briefly, unimpressed. “You’re looking at my face all the time. You tell me.”

I grin. “I’m starting to think you don’t have the muscle memory for it. Should I be concerned?”

Felix snorts quietly, still not looking at me. “Maybe you should focus on your paper instead of diagnosing me.”

I sit back and stretch my arms over my head. “I’m just saying, it wouldn’t kill you to loosen up a little. You’d be even more handsome with a smile. Might even break a few hearts.”

He finally glances at me, his expression flat. “Are you done?”

“Not even close,” I say with a wink.

Felix sighs, rubbing a hand down his face. “Julian, I’m not one of your admirers. Go charm someone else.”

His words should sting, but they don’t. Instead, they only make me want to push further, to see if I can get past that wall he’s built around himself.

“But I don’twantto charm someone else,” I say, my voice dropping a little. “You’re the only one who interests me.”

For a second, something flickers in his eyes—surprise, maybe, or heat—but it’s gone just as quickly as it appeared.

“What should interest you is your paper,” Felix says firmly, returning his attention to his laptop.

I use my foot to pull his chair closer to mine. “I’m too distracted,” I mumble in his ear.

My hand grazes his thigh.

Felix pauses, his eyes still locked on his computer screen. He exhales deeply but doesn’t respond, and I take the hint…for now.

But as I settle back into my chair, I can’t help the small smile tugging at my lips. Felix may think he’s shutting me down, butthe way his jaw tightened when I got close tells me everything I need to know.

He’s not indifferent. He’s just resisting what he really wants.

And that’s fine. I can wait.

I tap my pen against the edge of the table, watching Felix pretend not to notice me watching him. He’s good at putting up walls, but I’ve spent enough time with him now to catch the subtle shifts—the way his shoulders tense when he’s trying too hard to act unaffected, the slight twitch in his brow when I get under his skin.

Felix’s phone lights up and he answers without waiting for a buzz. Who the fuck is he paying that much attention to?

“Hey, Mom.”

Immediately the jealousy building within me fizzles out.

Felix’s eyebrows suddenly crease with worry. “What happened? Are you hurt?”

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