Page 74 of Ashes and Lilies
“What are you doing here?” I hissed at him.
When had he become so quick and sneaky, anyway? There had been no forewarning of his arrival, no time to run away, like when I fled from Damen. And besides, this had been grating on my nerves for a while. But where were all the people?
How was it that every time Finn managed to corner me, nobody else was around?
“Stop glaring at me.” Finn leaned back in his chair. “I’m not here to bother you. I’m only here to protect you from them.”
My skin prickled at his words.
Them? Who was ‘them’? Why did I suddenly feel a sense of déjà vu?
“Oh, Finn! You beat me here!” An unfamiliar man poked hishead around the opening of my little cubical. “Why do you always need to be like this?”
My pulse picked up. Who was he? Sure, he looked respectable enough with his curly, brown hair and modest dress. But it was a fact that many people who looked nice weren’t.
Take Finn, for example. Even though he was attractive, he was also a liar.
Before panic could grip me, the stranger glanced at me, and our gazes met.
Time stopped. Sharp hazel eyes bore into mine, almost seeing through me. It reminded me of the first time I’d seen Bryce.
It was my first class, and I’d been nervous and alone. I’d wanted to avoid attention, so I’d sat in the middle of the lecture hall. Too close, and professors would notice you. Too far, and other students would try to socialize. Neither were options I preferred.
The class had barely begun, and he walked into the room. Tall, dark-haired, and handsome. He carried himself with a confidence I would never possess. It was like he knew he was the most important person in the room. As soon as I spotted him, I knew he was trouble.
Professor Hamway introduced him as one of her graduate students. He was studying for his doctorate. Bryce was a botanist; I should have found him fascinating from that information alone.
But it didn’t matter what he studied or the subject of his thesis. All interest fled when, as Professor Hamway spoke, he turned his attention from her.
And he looked directly at me.
It took me five seconds to hate Bryce. I was startled at first and then scared. But why would I feel afraid? Someone who liked plants couldn’t be all bad.
There was a challenge in his eyes. It was uncharacteristic, butI’d been hit with the sudden desire to defeat the graduate student known as Bryce Dubois. I wanted to show him I was a force to be reckoned with.
But I was a coward and looked away from him instead. It felt like I’d lost something important, and it was all his fault.
This person now—this experience—was similar to that moment.
Yet it was different this time. It was easier to hold my ground. I’d stopped breathing, but I wasn’t afraid. He was like Bryce, formidable. And not someone I’d usually challenge.
But I wouldn’t lose.
“Okay, I’m done.” The stranger blinked and glanced toward Finn. Finn raised his eyebrow but didn’t seem surprised. The man stepped into the cubical and leaned against the opening.
“Brayden!” Bryce peeked from the place that Brayden had abandoned. “How could you just give up?”
Brayden shrugged. “Because I’m not an idiot.” He looked between Bryce and me, and despite the situation, I couldn’t hold back my annoyed glare at my arch-nemesis.
My expression must have amused Brayden, who grinned at Bryce. “I’m not going to enter a challenge I can’t win. If you had an ounce of self-preservation, you’d submit.”
Bryce looked crestfallen. “But our plan—”
“It’s a stupid plan,” Brayden said, examining his fingernails. “Besides, I like her already.”
Did he already like me? That was interesting because, even though we’d just met, I liked him, too. He had no problem calling Bryce out. He didn’t stare at me in the same rude manner.
“Are we going to be friends?” I wondered, unsure how to take this bizarre turn of events. How could I be friends with someone related to that arrogant man? Were you even allowed to befriend your subordinates?
