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She had to force herself not to look at hilances his way Not to stare at hiiven to her last night It was i into her palm, her knuckles ached froht that she feared it would snap Her body crackled with electricity Her pulse pounded in her ears, her heart slaainst her ribs
She hadn’t heard a word Mr Maddox had said since class started Unwillingly, her gaze drifted slowly over to Devon He was sitting casually in his desk, his long legs stretched before hiht ahead Those hands that had touched her so reverently last night were splayed before hih his posture was relaxed, she sensed a current of tension and power just beneath his sh hie boy in history class
She was co that he represented, though she didn’t knohat that was
See to sense her focus, he turned slowly toward her She knew that she should look away, that she should be e, but she couldn’t break the ed to touch hi she had not to reach across the short distance between them, and seize hihtly forward, shifting with an easy grace His eer that left her breathless The slow ripple of his les of electricity She felt like a volcano bubbling beneath the surface, ready to explode in a torrent of molten lava that would certainly destroy her But she was certain that for a few briefburied beneath the heat
Her world, her entire being, was focused upon hiht, and the absolute certainty that accohtened But this time, she could not bolt, and she could not run She could not turn away from him in order to do so
Soer in her hand, her hand was no longer clenched, and it was no longer upon her desk Her hand was now in thetoward hi out of the brief trance that had enshrouded her Her face flamed red, heat burned down the back of her neck as the realization of what she had been doing crashed over her He did not grin at her, did not look at all disgusted by her strange behavior as he leaned even closer
She wanted nothing ain, to feel hiesture once more She could not believe she had done it in the first place It was not within her to make the first move, especially not with soht that she was crazy The few boys she had dated had always approached her first
The loud ringing of the bell caused her to juround Cassie groaned, disgusted with herself, and the entire situation She needed to get her act together before she coer disturb her life in such a way She couldn’t afford to be so badly distracted, so coet hurt if she was
She shoved her book into her bag and bent over to retrieve her lost pen But it was no longer where it had fallen upon the ground Instead, it was held in a long fingered, strong hand that she recognized instantly Her gaze traveled slowly froht eyes clashed with hers There was a fierce need radiating from him that caused her toes to curl, at the sa back after this If she took that pen fro would ever be the saain
She could not move; she was frozen in place like a deer trapped in the headlights A small smile curved the corner of his hard er spurted through her in the face of the challenge he see a deep breath, Cassie steeled herself She was probably overreacting anyway, nothing was going to happen
Though she knew she was lying to herself, she also knew that she could not si slowly across, her heart haers curled around the top of the pen, h they were not touching, electricity shot through her, stunning her, leaving her breathless and shaken Vivid ih her He did not release the pen to her He did not move as the smile slipped fro need she had seen in hihtly up the pen, breaching the s inside of her locked into place, it froze her muscles and kept her i in it beca, their ether in a sensuous dance that was soothing and beautiful Everything suddenly ht All of the loss, and ache, and loneliness did not hurt as much as his touch becaht had been wonderful and beautiful, but the reality was far better than anything she could have ever iined In that moment, she knew she had found her hoed, where she would always belong Her life would never be the sahtened by the realization She was exhilarated by it Everything would be ok now that he was a part of her
His eyes darkened, his fingers tightened around hers as he clung to her; a tremor shook his powerful frame A tremor that melted her heart and ed to soothe the fear and confusion radiating from him It did not make her feel better that he seemed just as mystified as she was by all this No, it only et closer to him, to ease the pain in him, to soothe the torment she sensed deep inside hiuish came from, but she suspected it ran even deeper and further than her own And somehow she knew that she could help him with his pain, just as he helped with hers She could feel the strength running through hiht control he exerted over his as they were the sa her too
He released her suddenly, the loss of contact leaving her shaken and hollow inside Leaving her broken and lost once s of hurt and confusion were not as consu inside her, somehow his touch had put back some of the pieces of her broken soul
For adark shifted behind his intense gaze A small srace that was breathtaking and stunning Staring down at her, he was unable to suppress the sh him, a tremor that warmed her heart It was apparent that she affected and rattled him just as much as he shook her, and he hadn’t even had the saht He reached his hand slowly out to her, a hopeful expression on his face that tugged at her heart
She stared at his hand, her heart ha fiercely as she took note of the perfection of his strong fingers Heaving her bag onto her shoulder, she took a deep breath as she decided to throw her life over to fate There was no stopping fate after all, and she was surprised to realize that she no longer wanted to Sliding her hand into his, she clasped tightly hold of it, surprised to note the slightly cooler feel of his skin She didn’t have long to contee sense of co her within the warth and power that he exuded
He would keep her safe, keep her protected from the hurt and pain of the world; she knew that with every cell of her being Although, given that she was not entirely huer and far h, with him, she did not feel as if she were less than human, she did not feel abnormal and freaky With him, she felt human and fe time