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Running got me out of my head. Muscles burning, concentrating on breathing and putting one foot in front of the other, I could cut off the rest of the world and shut off the fear, the gut-churning anxiety, even the depression that I couldn’t bring myself to admit lurked at the edges of my mind.
My playlist was a mixture of hard rock, nineties rap, and eighties hair bands with a dash of pop and the random country song tossed in. I even had a few songs from my dad’s band, Tainted Knights. I kept the music on shuffle, so I couldn’t predict which song would play next.
Hearing the familiar strings of a guitar, I huffed a laugh just as my dad’s voice hit my ears. It had been a few days since I’d called him or Mom. We texted every day, but it wasn’t the same. Reminding myself to take a few minutes to group call my parents later, I tuned out the music and focused on my breathing to get me through the rest of my run.
To my surprise, I passed another girl going the opposite direction. Her long black hair was up in a ponytail, her face pink from exertion. It was cold out, but all she wore was a sports bra and tiny shorts that clung to her curves. Her flat stomach quivered with each step she took, her belly button ring glittering in the early morning sunlight.
Every inch of her was the kind of perfection that made other girls jealous. Her hips. Her boobs. Hell, even the shape of her calves was divine. I clocked her as being a few years older than me. I saw something in her eyes as we passed each other that suggested she had more life experience than I did.
I’d caught a glimpse of her at Aggie’s the night before. She’d been with two guys I was vaguely familiar with because of Lyric—Reid Barker and Elias Reid. They were brothers who were in the local MC and owned the construction company that had an office on the opposite side of town from campus.
After my run, I had just enough time to shower and grab my books. My first class was across campus, and I needed to grab some coffee before then. Sipping my iced latte, I stepped out of the bakery and right into what felt like a brick wall.
My nose smacked into the man just as strong hands grasped my waist to steady me. My next inhale nearly had my eyes rolling back in my head. Holy shit. I never knew sandalwood could smell so good. It was subtle, making me think it was more his soap than his cologne. Amber mixed with leather and wood, with a hint of creamy sweetness. Sandalwood wasn’t a smell I’d considered sexy before, but suddenly, it was almost delicious.
I took another deep breath, and the hands on my waist contracted. My entire body reacted. A shiver ran down my spine. Goose bumps popped up along my arms and legs, while every muscle in my body seemed to melt into the hard wall that held on to me.
But walls didn’t hold people, and they definitely didn’t smell good.
It took another deep inhale before my brain rebooted, and I finally lifted my head. My breath caught when I looked into a pair of brown eyes that seemed to laser through all my layers, straight into my soul. They were behind a pair of black-rimmed glasses.
Blinking, I took in more of his face, but it only made me want to melt more. Dark brows. A slightly offset nose. Square jaw. His lips kept pulling my attention with their wide V on top that had a slightly higher tip on the left. It was something easily missed, but I was so close, I could feel his breath on my cheek.
Those brown eyes had a hint of amber in them. Like little specks of whiskey, intoxicating me. Making me dizzy.
Then I realized I’d held my breath after my last deep inhale in an attempt to trap his scent inside me for as long as possible. His fingers began to bite into me, almost to the point of pain, but I found myself wanting to be closer. I liked that bite. And how my body was almost like a puzzle piece against him. My soft to his rock hard.
A pleased hum vibrated out of me, releasing my breath and allowing reality to smack into me, along with embarrassment.
I stepped back. “I’m so sorry,” I apologized, my face heating. “I swear I’m not normally clumsy.”
His brows slashed downward for a moment before he slowly smiled. My heart stuttered as I watched his mouth move upward. Lucifer was supposedly the most beautiful angel. If that was true, then this man was his reincarnation.
“It’s okay, zhizn moya.”
For the second time in the space of a minute, I had to fight to keep my eyes from rolling back in pure pleasure. His voice. Deep, slightly gruff. With a hint of an accent. Russian?
Sexy as fuck.
His smile faded when I just stood there, staring stupidly up at him. My brain had checked out again, while my body was hyperfocused on him. All of him.
Of course he was older. Of freaking course. I couldn’t stand the thought of guys my own age looking at me, let alone touching me. Their immaturity alone was a turn-off. Maddie’s one experience with a guy years before had been enough to make me leery.
“Are you hurt?” he asked, his hands releasing my waist to stroke my arms.
I glanced down. Luckily, I hadn’t spilled my coffee, but I’d dropped my book. Because, priorities. But my attention was on his hands—and the faint scars across the knuckles.
“How did you get this one?” My voice came out breathless as I touched the deepest-looking scar with my free hand. “It looks painful.”
“A story for another time, I think,” he murmured. His chest heaved. Once. Twice. I licked my lips, a little nervous. A lot hungry. “You are unharmed?”
I nodded, my gaze going back to his lips, then his eyes. I wanted to memorize every feature, something inside me demanding it.
He dropped his hands, and my heart clenched, breaking a little from the loss. A mournful little sound escaped my throat, startling me. It was enough to make me realize I was making a fool of myself.
My brick wall bent and picked up my textbook. Straightening, he held it out. “Are you going to or coming from class?”
“Going.” Again, the breathless voice. Clearing my throat, I tucked the book to my chest. “I should go before I’m late.”
