Page 26 of Firestorm
“What?” I challenged, and Aiden faltered.
“I should be callingyoufireball,” he muttered with a grin. “What’s your name?”
I snorted, which is exactly the sound I wanted to be making when speaking to a crush.
Not a crush. Not a crush at all. I don’t crush.
Aiden looked at me like I was an unexpected delight, though. His whole face lit up as he studied me, his warm brown eyes tracing over my face and down my neck, which had me flushing.
“Skye,” I murmured.
“Skye?” Aiden repeated, mimicking my voice in a way that was sweet, not teasing. “What’s your affinity, Skye? Let me guess…water.”
I shrugged, but then Aiden was jostled from behind, and he bumped into me. He muttered an apology that had me pausing and chewing my lower lip as I caught a smokey, wildfire-y scent from him.
“And air,” I added on.
“Water and air,” Aiden said. “It suits you.”
My lips twitched but I resisted a grin. “What are yours?”
“Fire,” Aiden said with a boyish grin, and I almost grinned back again. The dimples were killing me.
Also,of coursethe kid with red hair had an affinity for fire. That was predictable as fuck.
We came to a stop in front of my dorm, having made it across the quad. It was lunch time and I had a break before my next class. Aiden shifted from foot to foot like he was anxious, and my stomach dropped because if he asked me to go eat with him I would definitely say yes.
Instead, he reached out and took a lock of my hair, twisting it between his fingers while he studied it.
I blinked, my breath stalling in my throat. This close to him, I was completely covered in his smokey scent. Could he smell me, too? What didaireven smell like?
Though, I knew better. I wouldn’t smell like air. I wouldn’t smell like water, either.
Aiden breathed out slowly, like he was trying to calm himself before speaking, and that only sent the weirdest burst of desire through me. Besides Wyatt, I hadn’t been around a man this interested in me in a long time, and for some reason, I couldn’t remember why I’d been so against the thought of a boyfriend. Or getting laid. Or maybe…two boyfriends?Fuck, not supposed to be thinking about Wyatt.
Aiden’s eyes flashed up at mine, like he knew what I was thinking. The warm brown looking back at me was filled with heat laced with an unmistakable hunger, and my legs almost wobbled. Aiden was a sex god. He was clearly experienced with chasing after girls and getting them into bed. That much was obvious from what I’d seen just going down the hallway.
Something about a man who could have anyone, deciding he wanted me was…
Weird.
I took a quick step away from him, letting my lock of hair fall from his fingers and severing the weird connection that’d been growing between us.
Aiden wasn’t offended that I’d pulled back. He inhaled slowly and then offered me a shy, dimpled smile that only endeared me to him further.
“See you tomorrow?” he asked sweetly, completely at odds with the predatory glint in his eye.
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak, and then I bolted for the dormitory door. I didn’t stop running until my room door was locked behind me.
Chapter 8
Skye
“Whoa. Where’s the fire?”Willow’s voice greeted me, and I opened my eyes. I flushed as I realized I’d stormed into the room, then slammed the door shut, right in front of my two new friends.
Also…har har. Where’s thefire. After I ran fromAiden.Aidenwhoseaffinityisfire.
Mia raised her eyebrows while I choked on nothing.
