Page 10 of The Professor's Possession (Crystal River Billionaire Brothers)

Why did you do this, Olivia? Being so boastful that a little rain won’t hurt you. Ha.

I keep running. I don’t recognize this street at all.

Nor the next street.

Nor the one after.

And I start to panic.

My legs spin faster. I just want to get back. The rain hits me hard now.

I sprint around a corner...

And I run headfirst into someone. The impact is sudden and painful.

It’s a man.

I fall to the hard ground.

4

OLIVIA

I collapseto the wet sidewalk. My knee scrapes against the concrete. Blistering agony shoots through my body.

Ouch.

I scramble to balance myself, but my hands are covered in water, which makes everything a hell of a lot more difficult. I must look like a total fool; awkwardly scrambling around on the ground in the darkness like a spider in roller skates. Rain pelts at my face furiously as I try to reorient myself.

What an idiot, Olivia. This is all your fault.

It all happened so fast. I was sprinting around that corner – panicking from being so freaking lost - and then I ran straight into some man walking toward me.

And now I’m down here on the concrete.

I look up at the man I’ve managed to run headfirst into, expecting to find him also on the ground, an apology readying on my lips. I bet he’s angry with me; it would be pretty damn understandable.

Oh, great.

But the man is still standing, clearly unfazed by our collision. He looms above me, shrouded in the night's darkness. He holds a black umbrella above his head to shelter himself from the heavens; the heavy rain not touching him as if he doesn’t exist. I squint up at the mysterious, indecipherable figure, but I can’t see his face in the dimness.

He seems otherworldly.

A hand reaches down toward me to help me. I gratefully take it. His hand is surprisingly warm.

And firm.

He pulls me up with such power that I practically fly to my feet.

Oh, this man isstrong.

And that’s when I meet his eyes. Sky-blue. The same color as the water in a photo of a tropical island: a sharp blueness piercing through the rain and through me with a deadly stare, even in the darkness.

My breath is knocked out of me again as he penetrates me with those azure eyes.

He is, simply put,beautiful. So tall; definitely clearing at least six feet in height. It’s pretty obvious how actually towering he is by the fact I seem to only reach his elbow at my full height. A strong, straight jaw. Short, sleek, inky black hair that is the color of polished obsidian. Arched eyebrows and sharp facial features. High cheekbones that could cut steel and a clean, neat shave.

There’s something dark hiding behind those beautiful deep eyes, especially with the intense way he regards me. I realize I can’t tell at all what he’s thinking as he pulls me to my feet.

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