Page 21 of Origins
Who was overbearingnow?
“But there’s something else to discuss first,” he said, his breath warm against my ear.
I tried to ignore the shivers that shot down my spine as I focused on his words. “What?”
“How do you know Ms. Protean?” he asked. “Why would she need to talk to you?”
His questions caught me off-guard, and I glanced back at him in confusion. His face was both intense, and worried.
“What does that have to do with anything?” I asked.
Damen sighed, releasing my backpack, before turning me to face him. I hadn’t even realized before now that I had backed up to the end of the narrow aisle, and was trapped between the edge of the bookshelf and his larger frame.
It should have been intimidating; but instead of being scared, I was only flustered. I couldn’t imagine why, because the only other person who ever made me feel this way was Finn…
Damen didn’t seem to notice my dilemma. “Ms. Protean,” he repeated. “What does she want with you?”
What was it to him, anyway? Did he loathe grandmotherly figures or something? But he seemed so concerned that I couldn’t get offended at the question. “She said she was going to help me. I was looking for some information.”
Damen gave me an appraising look. “Without me?”
Why did he have to seem so smug about this? It was as if he knew the effect he had on me. I opened my mouth to respond with something witty—which would probably have been embarrassing anyway—when the sounds of laughter drifted over from the next row.
The noise shattered the enchantment that had been cast over us, and my face burst with heat. There was no question as to how ridiculous we’d look to any passerby. The library was no place for games!
Damen’s grey eyes glinted mischievously—he must have had the same realization.
“Damen, let me go,” I hissed at him. But this only encouraged him and he smiled, causing my heart to beat faster. “Someone is going to come down here and see us!” I insisted.
“Really?” My words made his grin grow wider. “So it’s alright then if we don’t get caught, baby girl? Consider it noted.”
“No!” My mind screamed even as my words were a hiss. “You can’t play games with students. This is inappropriate. You are basically a professor.”
“Ah,” he ran his finger down my cheek, “but you aren’t my student.” His mouth dipped slightly as he watched me in confusion. “There’s just something about you.”
“Why are you so annoying?” I gritted out, trying to save face. Plus, was he kidding me with this? That sounded like a line from a cheesy romance novel. How many times had that worked for him in the past?
Finn’s stupid, horny brother. He could go flirt with someone else. No matter how much I wanted to lean into his touch, or melt under his scorching gaze—I wanted to poke him in the eyes that much more. What a quandary.
The sound of my name being called by a familiar voice saved Damen from getting hit where it hurts.
My eyes tore from Damen as I glanced up in panic at the end of the aisle. This was the worst possible thing to happen. Finn couldnotknow that I was talking to his brother.
Finn called my name again, closer now. He was going to find us…
Damen, in the meantime, was looking over his shoulder—toward the direction of Finn’s voice. He frowned, muttering, “God, he still sounds like a douchebag.” But didn’t seem all that concerned.
“Will you stop saying mean things?” I couldn’t stop the hysteria. “This is a disaster. Finn can’t find out that Iknowyou!”
“Why?” Damen’s eyes returned to me, flashing with something new. “Because you think he’d get angry?”
I didn’t think—I knew. And my heart raced in fear at the thought.
There was a note of challenge in Damen’s voice in his questioning, but there was something else too. It was almost as if he was hurt. It made me feel guilty on top of my fear. I had never wanted to hurt his feelings.
What was wrong with me?
I was just about to apologize, when he continued speaking—his eyes studying mine. “I’ll have you know that mylittle brotherdoesn’t scare me.”
