“You really know your stuff, huh?” I rested my chin in my palm and looked at him, even more impressed than before.
“It’s a gift, what can I say.” He rubbed his chin, deep in thought. “So, nascent—to begin to exist. There is a nascent ache burning in my chest for you. Say that sentence three times.” His lip twitched, trying to contain his amusement.
“Wise-ass.”
“I’m serious.”
“Come on,” I whined.
He tapped his pen on the paper impatiently. “I’m waiting. I don’t have all day.”
I let out a puff of air. “There is a nascent ache burning in my chest for you.”
“Again.”
I rolled my eyes. “There is a nascent ache burning in my chest for you.”
He smirked. “One more time.” He inclined his ear in my direction and tapped on the lobe.
I rushed through. “There is a nascent ache burning in my chest for you.”
His hand covered his chest as he batted his eyelashes. “Why, Evangelina, I’m flattered.”
“Very funny,” I said sarcastically. But he was right—I would never forget that word again.
The next twenty minutes consisted of every word on that list being used in more unforgettable sentences. I never realized the word quell could be dirty, or any of the words for that matter. The guy had a talent.
Staring at my booklet, I was oblivious to the fact he’d inched closer to me during our testing session.
His warm breath at the soft spot below my ear made my belly clench. He pressed his chest against my side and pointed to the page in front of me. “Also, see right here where you keep using the same words over and over? That’s called an echo. You need to find other words and substitute them. It’ll flow better and be easier to read,” he whispered, burrowing his nose into my hair.
My head tilted into him, his pull on me as magnetic as ever. I swallowed long and hard, willing my lungs to cease their need for oxygen so I didn’t have to breathe in his intoxicating scent. “You’re in my personal space.” Damn my voice for sounding so shaky.
He brushed his nose down the side of my neck. “I just wanted to be sure not to disturb anyone else. We are in a library, after all.”
“I can assure you, you don’t have to be that close in order for them not to hear you.”
He chuckled, the sound deep and sensual. “True, but it was a good excuse to get close to you for as long as I could get away with it.” He dragged his lips up the length of my neck and nipped my earlobe.
I gasped. “What’re you doing?”
“It’s Tuesday.” He smiled and chomped down on his jaw, reminding me of when we’d first met and that he too bites on Tuesdays.
Although my body was reeling, I covered it up with a burst of laughter, then quickly stifled it under my palm. “Remind me to steer clear of you on Tuesdays then. Sheesh. I didn’t know I needed to take you seriously if I didn’t want to become your next meal.”
He leaned dangerously close, forcing me to bend back so far in my chair the top of it bit into my shoulder blades. “Angel, I would make you the appetizer, main course and dessert if you’d let me. You have no idea what my mouth is capable of. I would devour you inch by delicious fucking inch, and lick my fingers clean afterwards.”
I was wordless, unable to form a coherent thought. Even here, in a library, he had my heart pounding and my hormones raging. I itched to plunge my fingers into his hair and pull his mouth to mine. This attraction was all-consuming and it was becoming harder and harder to say no.
“You just let me know when you’re ready.” His eyes flicked to my lips, and my cheeks turned to flames.
“Why do you do this to me?” My voice gave away my weakness.
His serious gaze never faltered. He almost looked pained and the sincerity in his words shocked me. “I need you to know how I feel, Angel. I’ll try every chance I get to convince you you’re made for me. No regrets. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, and I can’t just ignore it. Whether you admit it or not, I can tell you’re drawn to me, too. You just keep fighting it.” He moved closer still, pinning me to the pressed wood at my back. “Give into it, to this.” He brushed his fingertips along my jaw and my eyes fluttered closed.
I took a fortifying inhale but didn’t move from his touch. “Why don’t you stop? You’re relentless.”
“I can’t, I told you. As long as you’ll have me around, I’ll never stop. Not until you’re mine. You should just accept that you want me already so we can move on from here.” With a confident smirk, he ghosted his fingers down my arm and squeezed my hip.