Page 20 of Blindside Me
“You’re not supposed to be here.” His words are pure seduction, sliding over me like a hot, impossible promise. My heart’s pounding so loud I’m sure he hears it.
I shrug, pretending the lack of space between us isn’t driving me crazy, and try to ignore how his sweat-slick skin glistens under the dim lights. Or how a single drop slides from his neck to his shoulder, tracing the line of his muscle like an arrow pointing straight at disaster. A huge fucking disaster.
“Then why aren’t you making me leave?” I lift my chin.
His eyebrows raise like he didn’t expect me to throw that back at him.
The silent challenge hangs between us. My stomach twists in a way I hate but can’t help it. The way he looms over me, his sweaty scent (should be repulsive, but it’s not), and that goddamn curiosity in his gaze is so tempting I’m one second away from doing something stupid and unforgettable. Like kiss him. Or worse, mean it.
“You like trouble?” he asks.
“What do you think?”
“I think I should stay away from it.”
He isn’t saying anything I don’t know, but for some reason, I hate hearing it. Why do I care?
“That would be smart.” I shift my weight, desperate to break the tension. My purse slips off my shoulder. He catches it before I can. Our fingers brush, sending a ripple of pleasure throughout my body. My eyes go molten.
This is bad. Seriously bad.
He hands the purse back, but his hand lingers on the strap, and everything inside me goes dizzy and hot.
His chest rises and falls. My breath catches, causing his gaze to drop to my lips. The air around us tingles with anticipation. There’s nothing but the sound of my heartbeat and the soft hum of the hallway lights. The world narrows to this one moment, this one breath before the fall.
For a second, I think he’s going to touch me. Close the distance. Bridge the gap with something so real it’s terrifying. And God, I want him to. I want to see where this goes.
I should be scared of how he makes me feel, but it’s too thrilling to be this close. To be right at the edge of something I can’t take back.
My entire body leans toward him, craving the touch I shouldn’t want. The touch I might not survive if I get it. One more second of this tension, and I don’t know what I’ll do.
I’m in too deep, and I don’t care. Not even a little.
His breath brushes my ear as he leans in. “Keep looking at me like that, and I’ll forget every reason I’m not supposed to touch you.”
A shiver jolts down my spine. I open my mouth to say … what, I have no idea.
Then, my uncle’s office door swings open.
“Jade?”
Coach Howell’s voice hits like a siren.
We jump apart, my arm knocking into the wall and sending the recorder clattering to the floor.
Caught.My uncle stands there, filling the doorway, staring. I can’t breathe. Drew straightens, his face unreadable.
“Nothing happened,” I blurt.
The silence that follows says everything else.
I grab the recorder and jam it back in my purse like it burned me. My uncle’s still watching. So is Drew.
I avoid both their eyes. “Just dropping this off. That’s all.”
But my breath won’t level, my legs shaky, and I can feel Drew’s stare like a bruise I asked for.
Nothing happened. But it almost did.
