head. “That the only reason?”
He stifled a grin. “Maybe I want people to know you’re mine.”
I tried not to melt into a puddle of goo for fear of inflating his already massive ego. “Who said I’m yours?”
He grabbed my hips and pulled me to him. Okay. So I clearly affected his body. “I have it on very good authority that you are very much mine. And I want people to know it.”
I gazed up into his playful eyes.
Oh, he was good.
HAYDEN
I could see by Alex’s cute smile, as I helped her out of my truck, that she loved that I’d driven her to school. Loved that I had every intention of showing her off as my own. Especially after initially telling her we needed to keep us quiet.
My eyes raked over her tight jeans and long sleeve peach shirt that flowed when she walked, like the angel’s dress in my tattoo. Alex didn’t work overtime like other girls trying to snag a guy’s attention. Everything about her was so effortless. “Ready?”
“Ready.”
When I linked our fingers, Alex’s eyes shot to them. Her lips curved even more, but she didn’t say a word. She didn’t need to.
Given the turning heads as we crossed the quad, we were a huge surprise to everyone. Apparently, they hadn’t been paying much attention. I carried the girl out of the dining hall in my arms and threatened the life of anyone who had the picture. Did it really take a genius to figure out we wanted each other?
Alex needed to drop off a psych paper at her professor’s office before her first class, so I waited for her outside the building. I hoped Remy didn’t plan to drop by campus. I hadn’t heard from him or seen him since…well since the other night. I figured he’d be laying low for a while.
I stared out across the bustling quad at the people hurrying to their morning classes. The surrounding trees had begun to transform from green into dark hues of maroon, yellow and orange.
“Well how about that. A game of Russian roulette…Too bad your luck’s run out.”
“Ready?”
My body jolted as Alex slipped her arms around my waist from behind, resting her cheek against my back.
I took a deep breath, clearing the visions from my mind. I could do it. I could push it all away.
I twisted around, but Alex didn’t drop her arms. So I snaked mine around her, dropping a kiss on the top of her head as we stood in a relaxed embrace.
After a long moment, she lifted her head and gazed up at me with those dreamy eyes. But something in them shifted. Darkened. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. But it was a lie. A lie after I promised to be honest. My eyes shot away.
Alex sighed, a sigh I caused. “Well, I’m here if you need to talk. You know that right?”
My eyes focused on the door and the students passing through it en route to their next classes. I nodded again, knowing full well there were just some things I couldn’t bear to share.
After dropping Alex off at her first class, I didn’t see her again until lunch. I waited for her outside the dining hall, then we grabbed a couple sandwiches. I led her by hand to a table at the far side of the dining hall—the opposite corner from where I normally sat with the guys and Remy when he showed up. Thank God he hadn’t.
I sat down beside Alex and pulled her water from her book bag, handing it to her. “I saw the signs for the competition.”
“Yeah?” She twisted off the cap and took a sip. “It’s Saturday night. I thought I told you?”
I shook my head. “Where should I sit?”
I noticed her brows slant as she reached for her sandwich. “What?”
“Do you want me right in the front where you can see me or somewhere else?”
She laughed. “First of all, the spotlight is so bright I won’t see anyone. Thank God. And second, you don’t have to go.”
I reached for her chin, lifting her face toward me and leveling our eyes. “There is nothing that could keep me from being there.”
Her eyes searched my serious face for a long while. “You were the one who got me into this mess in the first place.”
I smiled, moving in before Alex realized I intended to kiss her. PDA had never been my style, but it definitely added a little something to the kiss as we lost ourselves in each other’s