around to brush her nipples. Her skin was warm, soft. Just teasing her like this made him hard, made him realize he’d have to convince her that “accidental” should also mean “frequent.”
“You’re not…oh…hmm. Harder,” she purred, head falling back when his hold on her nipple tightened. “You’re not defending a dis…diser…dissertation.”
“No,” he told her, giving up pretenses of leaving and planning accidental meetings, by pushing Gia to the bed and slipping her shirt over her head. “But Vince Fontenot needed someone to train him for the state trooper’s physical test. I offered. He gave me his study room.”
“Fair trade.”
“It was.”
“But if he…”
“Gia, you lolo woman,” he said, licking a path up her torso that left Gia shaking underneath him. “Never question a happy accident when it comes your way.”
She paused, scratching her nails against his scalp, moving her head to the side to watch Luka as he kissed her stomach, then moved across her ribs.
“And I guess you are my happy accident?”
Luka grinned, his gaze leaving her face, abandoning the explanation in a rush to descend over her. “Yeah, G…right now, I’m the happiest fucking accident you’ve ever had.”
6.
GIA
There was a small purple mark next to Gia’s hip and two larger ones on the inside of both thighs. Underneath the athletic pants and team hoodie, no one could see them. For that, she was grateful. She could keep her happy accident even as she walked through the team’s indoor weight room a full hour before practice began. There was equipment to prep and a meeting with her uncle about what he expected from her during the next semester’s internship, so Gia wanted to get into the building early. The truth was, she hadn’t had much sleep the night before.
Or, for the past week.
That happy accident of hers was relentless.
They’d nearly gotten locked inside the fourth-floor study room two nights in a row. Luckily, Luka invoked what he told Gia Keira referred to as Hale Demon Magic and sweet talked the night security guard into not informing university police about their misuse of the study room since it was never meant for more than one occupant.
But the library wasn’t the only accidental meeting. Luka seemed intent on that. Every afternoon when Gia came home from classes or returned to her car after working out, there’d usually be a note, always cryptic, typically tempting or funny.
Last night had been her favorite.
Nani – The women’s soccer tournament has been rescheduled to Tulane this weekend. First match is tonight, and the Field House will be empty. You have been moved to the top of my To Do list. 9:30? – The Happy Accident Maker
She hadn’t gotten back to her dorm until four a.m. Now it was nearing ten and her body ached, her head felt wooden and heavy and her limbs could use a lengthy soak in a steaming tub before at least four hours of uninterrupted sleep. Even from the very tempting and wholly satisfying happy accident that had consumed her life.
But that wasn’t going to happen. Not if she wanted to make sure her uncle was still willing to give his recommendation for next semester’s internship in the Athletic Department’s business office. Gia made sure every player’s helmet was polished and rested atop their lockers, that each practice jersey and fresh towels had been clean and folded inside. Every player had a bottle of water and a protein bar, something Gia did without ever being asked, and the entire locker room was cleaned a full hour before even the coaching staff had arrived.
She stared at herself in the mirror before leaving the bathrooms, sighing when she spotted the heavy bags under her eyes and the red streaks making her look hungover. She grabbed a small vial of eye drops from her bag and splashed them into each eye before she grabbed three extra towels she’d folded and glanced once more over the bench and locker area. Everything was set and maybe, if she beat Uncle Mike before he made it in, she might manage a twenty-minute nap on the sofa in his office. It was her only thought as she moved down the corridor and dropped the freshly laundered towels off in the storage room. But when she entered, not bothering with the light and turned to leave, ignoring everything but the linen rack set off to one side of the room, Gia’s scream of surprise got muffled behind a large palm as she was pulled away from the door when she