And that would suck some serious ass.
With each step he took, his apprehension grew in tenfold. Lexi was damn lucky it was her who stopped him, anyway else would have gotten their head bashed in. As it was, he wasn’t entirely please she stood between him and the lunchroom.
She put a hand to his chest, realizing he was fighting control. His normally turquoise eyes were bright topaz.
Oh brother, she thought. He already knows. “You heard?” she asked, bringing those gleaming eyes to her.
“Heard what?” he rumbled. There was a growl texture to his voice.
“Nothing,” she quickly tried to cover-up her blunder. He was already apparently in a mood.
“Don’t play with me Lex. Spill.”
She sighed, knowing he wasn’t going to let up. He could be relentless when he wanted. “I saw Chase a few minutes ago and he told me that Craig had cornered Emma in gym today.”
She watched as he processed her words. Then he turned around and stalked off. Not good. This was going to be a freaking blood bath.
“He’s crazy!” Lexi yelled to her brother’s back, not that it was going to do a smidge of good.
Oh yeah. He was going to show Craig seven different kinds of crazy.
He planted his ass on the seat in front of her and watched those bright green eyes glance up then shoot him down. It hurt, and he missed her smile. “We’re you going to tell me?”
“Oh, you’re talking to me now?” she responded, not bothering to raise her head. She feigned keen interest in her uneaten lunch. Who was she kidding, she wasn’t fooling anyone.
Fine. He deserved that and much more. He had acted like a douche. God he had acted like Chase. “I totally had that coming, and I’m sorry,” Travis apologized.
“I just don’t understand what I did,” she spoke softly.
Her big eyes looked at him with all the hurt in the world swimming in those irises. He wanted to kick his own ass. “Em you didn’t do anything. I swear.” Grabbing her hand, he leaned in as close as the table would allow.
She let him take her hand. When it came to Travis, she didn’t really have a choice. There was a link that sparked on contact, more powerful than anything she’d ever felt.
Her hand was so tiny in his. “I don’t know what I can say to make it up to you. It might not seem like it but I’m trying to protect you.”
She frowned. “Protect me from what?” He wasn’t making a lot of sense.
“It’s complicated.”
Of course it was.
“Do you trust me?” he asked, searching her face.
She didn’t even hesitate. “Yes, though right now I am not sure why.”
“Then trust me when I tell you that the less you know the better.”
She stared at his face trying to read what was going on behind those secretive turquoise eyes. “For now,” she finally conceded.
He nodded. It was more than he had hoped for. With that out of the way he had something else consuming him. “Were you going to tell me about Craig?”
She sighed. Chase.
“He was just being a jerk and your cousin did a bang-up job of scaring him off,” she shrugged.
“Did he hurt you?” His fist clenched painfully together under the table.
She must have taken to long to answer.
“I’m going to kill him,” Travis pledged with slaughter in his golden eyes.
Golden eyes?
That’s not right, she realized. Travis has turquoise eyes.
“Your eyes–” she muttered.
He closed them from her scrutiny and flexed his fist tight. Hard lines of concentration ceased on his forehead.
When he opened them, they were crystal again like the sea.
What the hell?
This had to be part of the secret he wasn’t telling her. Maybe he was right, the less she knew the better.
Chapter 8
“Ditching classes again cuz?” Chase asked as Travis strolled through the front door looking moody as hell.
Travis glared at his dark cousin. He might be a badass but Travis was definitely in the mood to take him. “What is your problem?” he barked back. Someone was going to give him a fight today, and it looked like it was Chase’s lucky day.
“You. And whatever you think is going on with Miss Twinkle toes.” Chase wasn’t about to stand by as his cousin risked everything for a slip of a girl. Over his dead body.
Travis growled low in his throat. “Watch what you say. Lex told me what you did today.” His eyes flashed.
Chase propped up against the wall like he didn’t have a care in the world and smirked. “Lexi needs to learn to mind her freaking business. I took care of it. Just drop it.”
“It wasn’t your problem to take care of,” Travis rumbled.
“When it comes to you and Lexi, it is. You are just pissed I stole the glory from you beating the pulp out of Craig.”