Page 16 of Dragon's Unwanted Love
Cursing under his breath when he saw that the courtyard was full of students. “You’re all here today because this beautiful old building was almost turned into ruins just a few nights ago,” Abby continued. “We can stop something like that from happening again. We just have to band together and stand up to the bullies. We’ve got signup sheets up here in the front. All you have to do is put your name down and someone will contact you about how to help. We’ll start with student patrols, and see where it goes from there. Help us help you. Come sign up right now and show your support for Parkhurst College and all the students here.”
He lost sight of Abby for a few minutes as the crowd surged forward, but he pushed his way through, his anger carrying him. When he got to her, he grabbed her arm and dragged her away from the table, ignoring her protests and demands that he let her go. Away from the crowd, he had a chance to look at Abby, saw the red spots on her cheeks and the sparkle in her eyes, and wanted to kiss her and then throttle her.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he demanded. “Have you lost your mind?”
“I’m trying to do something to stop the Kappas,” she barked at him. “Which is more than you’re trying to do.”
“This is crazy. Everyone knows you were there the other night, including the Kappas,” he growled. “You already had a target on your back. You’ve just made it bigger.”
That shut her up for a second. “But I didn’t see them,” she finally said. “I can’t identify them or anything, and I’ve been careful not to say that it’s them.”
“They don’t know that, and you did hear one of their names,” he said with a sigh. “I didn’t think that I had to explain to you that you’re in danger, I thought you’d figure it out.”
“Stop being a jerk,” she said, then sighed. “I didn’t think about that, I mean I did, but I thought it would be okay. I can’t just stand by and do nothing. It’s just not the way I am.”
“Just promise me that you’ll stay out of the spotlight,” he said, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. “And no patrols for you.”
“But I have to go. The whole thing was my idea,” Abby said, shaking her head. “How would it look if I stayed behind? There will be at least three of us at all times, maybe more if we get enough volunteers. I’ll be fine.”
He studied her for a second, taking in the tilt of her chin and the spark in her eyes and knew he’d never talk her out of going on patrol. “Fine, but I’m going with you,” he said. “Sign me up for shifts with you.”
“No way, that’s not happening,” she said, backing away from him. “I won’t have you babysitting me.”
“Call it what you want, but I’m going to be right there with you,” he said, taking a couple of steps toward her. “I’ll follow you if I have to, but it would be so much easier if you’d just cooperate.”
Abby stared him down for a few seconds, then gave up. “Fine, you win this one, but you’d better not get in the way,” she said. “And don’t even think about kissing me again; that’s off-limits.”
He closed the distance between them, his eyes straying down to her plump lips, and a smile slowly spread across his face as anticipation gripped him and wouldn’t let go. “Youknow, I wasn’t thinking about it until you brought it up,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “But I think that’s an excellent idea.”
Before she could protest, he brought his mouth down on hers and kissed her until they were both breathless, then gently let her go. “I’ll expect to hear from you about our shifts,” he said. “I’m actually looking forward to it.”
He turned and walked away before Abby could say a word, his body throbbing with need, but he wasn’t about to give her the satisfaction of seeing just how deeply she affected him. He was playing a dangerous game, but there didn’t seem to be any way out of it. His only hope was to stay in control, something that Abby and her blue eyes made very difficult.
***Abby***
Abby stopped in front of her locker outside the dissection lab, opened the door, and shoved her backpack onto the shelf, relieved to drop its weight from her shoulders. It had been another long week, and she was looking forward to the weekend when she’d have some time off to recover from the hectic schedule she’d set for herself. Adding the nighttime patrols had tested her endurance, especially since she felt like she had to be on her guard when she was around Jackson, and they spent far more time together than she would have liked.
If she could just get through the next three hours in the lab, she’d have two full days without having to see him, and she needed it. They reached some kind of an impasse, a stalemate of sorts, that left them being entirely too polite to each other when they weren’t working in stony silence. Before Jackson had kissed her, she would have been fine with the arrangement, but there was no ignoring the desire that racedthrough her at times. The worst part was that the smallest thing could set it off: an accidental touch of their hands, the sparkle of excitement in his eyes when they made a new discovery in the dissection lab, or nothing at all.
It was making it increasingly difficult to concentrate, the constant sense of anticipation running through her a distraction she didn’t need, but she had no idea how to reverse what had already happened. Her crush on Jackson wasn’t going away. Time hadn’t helped at all; if anything, she was more deeply attracted to him than she’d been before. With a sigh, she slipped off her regular shoes and put on the pair she only wore in the lab, then slammed the locker closed with a groan and locked it.
It's only three hours, she told herself, squaring her shoulders and walking into the lab. Just make it through today, and you’ll have a nice long break from the man. But that didn’t stop her heart from fluttering when she saw him or the thrill that rushed through her when he looked up at her, and their eyes met. Breathing through her body’s reaction as she’d taught herself to do, she put a smile on her face, got dressed in her protective equipment, and then joined him at the table.
The next three hours flew by, and she was able to forget their attraction for that brief time. But when Dr. Simmons called out that their time was up, she braced herself for the onslaught of feelings she knew would come. They cleaned up mostly in silence, careful not to touch one another, and then, with a "see you on Monday," she escaped from the lab as quickly as she could.
Breathing a sigh of relief when she made it through the doors alone, she walked the short distance to her locker, looking over her shoulder to make sure Jackson wasn’t following her. When she finally turned to the bank of lockers, what she saw didn’t register in her brain for a second,and she stood staring at the locker door, the splashes of red paint so out of place what they said didn’t make sense at first.
Then it finally hit her, and she staggered back a couple of steps, her heart beginning to pound with fright, the threat written all over her locker finally sinking in. Trying to suck in a deep breath, she could only stare at the locker, noticing for the first time that the door was cracked open a couple of inches. Shaking her head, she started to take a step toward the locker, afraid of what she might find inside, then froze, remembering the bomb.
She didn’t notice the small crowd gathering behind her, but the sound of Jackson’s voice broke through the confusion in her brain. “Abby, what’s wrong?” he asked, rushing over to her, his face full of worry. “What happened?”
A second later, he saw the locker. “Shit, those bastards have gone too far,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “They must have done this when we were in the lab.”
His strong arms around her helped ground her, but she couldn’t look away from the words painted on the door of her locker. When she began to shake, her breath coming in short gasps, Jackson turned her face into his chest, then held her tighter until the tremors passed and she could breathe normally again.
“Come on, let’s go sit down,” he said, guiding her over to the benches on the opposite wall. “We’re going to have to call the police, Abby. Will you be okay waiting for them here, or should we go someplace else?”
“The door is open a little bit. There could be a bomb in there,” she said, pointing to the locker. “Maybe we should all get out of here.”
