Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 121534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 608(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 608(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Sure, I lost myself for a few minutes back there in my room, my body reacting to her proximity in ways I still can’t explain. But there’s nothing like standing in front of a few hundred of your closest acquaintances to throw some cold water on a guy’s libido.
Not to mention watching her flirt with another guy.
I grit my jaw and angle around a row of chairs to get a better look at whoever has her so animated, then immediately recognize the driver who dropped her off on her first day. The same guy who stood too close when they said goodbye.
He looks about my age, but there’s no way he’s a student. The all-black three-piece suit says security detail, and the earpiece he’s wearing like some budget mall cop just confirms it. Rey keeps talking, but his eyes are scanning the crowd.
I keep walking. It’s not my business. Not my problem.
But when she tucks a piece of hair behind her ear and looks at him like she’s glad he’s here, I change course.
I don’t need a reason. I just do.
I get close enough to see his eyes flick toward me. He doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t stop smiling. Doesn’t take his eyes off her for more than a flash.
“Hey, Aric.” A short brunette grabs my arm as I pass. “Great speech.”
I glance at her, half checking her pupils. Has to be high. That was objectively the worst speech ever delivered in the history of orientation addresses. Reeve was the one meant to dazzle the crowd, but he pulled a vanishing act. So when Sigurd tapped me to fill in, I had nothing. No notes. No plan. Just a vague memory of Endir’s graduation rates and a bad attitude.
“Thanks, Becks,” I mutter, already moving.
“I was thinking—” she starts.
“Wonderful. Let’s circle back to that later,” I say, brushing past her.
Yeah, it’s a dick move. But I’ve got bigger problems. I’ve lost sight of Rey’s driver.
I weave in and out of clusters of students, their voices rising in bursts—griping about professors, trading rumors about class assignments. It’s the usual first-day-of-school buzz, and I envy how easy it sounds. Like none of them have anything to protect. Nothing to lose, while I’m over here hunting the driver of the girl I loathe, dealing with daily breakdowns, and wondering why ice keeps appearing randomly in her presence when I’ve always been able to control it. But sure, yeah, that Human Anatomy class is gonna be rough.
A few minutes later, I catch a glimpse of him again—this time in the far corner of the room. He’s peeled away from the crowd, standing near the exit, hands in his pockets, pretending not to be watching anyone in particular.
But I know better.
I shift directions and head straight for him. There’s a tension in my shoulders I can’t shake, and the sooner I figure out what this guy wants, the sooner I can get back to my day.
He’s already seen me coming. Doesn’t flinch. Just shifts his weight slightly, like he was expecting this.
Good. Let’s get on with it.
I walk up to him, arms crossed. “You new?”
Of all the things I could have said, that’s what comes out?
His jaw twitches like he’s debating whether to answer. “Something like that.”
The guy’s got a slight accent—can’t place it—but what really stands out is his size. Not just tall. Broad. Built like a security detail for someone important. Muscles fight for their life beneath his black suit, and I can’t tell if he wants people to know he works out or if he just doesn’t care that his suit is tight and has better things to worry about.
I’d thought he was just a driver, maybe two-bit security. “Bodyguard?” I fish.
He doesn’t answer right away. Just keeps his eyes on Rey, who’s moved to talk to someone else now. Finally, he says, “Not for her.”
“Kind of creepy that you’re watching her so intently then, right?”
That gets his attention. He turns slowly. Cold, unbothered blue eyes meet mine. “Who says I’m watching her?”
“I do.”
A pause. Then a shrug. “I guess not everything is as it seems.”
My knuckles tense. I ignore the cold prickling my fingertips. “You’re wasting your time.”
His blue gaze slides to mine finally. “That depends. On how much time you’ve got left.”
There’s no malice in it. Just certainty. Like he’s already read the ending and I’m too stupid to skip ahead.
“You Erikson?” he asks, like it’s a dirty word. God, how I want to punch the smirk right off his face.
“Aric.”
His mouth twitches again. “Right. The heir.”
I bristle. Not at the title. At how easy it comes from his mouth. Like I’m just another one of Sigurd’s artifacts.
“Whatever you think you’re doing here—” I start.
He cuts me off with a tilt of his head. “Relax. I’m just observing. For now.”
I don’t like the implication. I like even less that Rey trusted him enough to smile at him like that. What the hell is wrong with me? Who cares who she smiles at?