The teacher—Mr. Davis, if I remembered right—looked over at me with a slightly irritated expression. “Nice of you to join us, Miss Belmont. Please take a seat so we can promptly get started.”
Oh, he was one of those teachers.
I scanned the sea of students in pursuit of an empty chair far from Reid. Moments like this were the stuff of nightmares. The silence, staring, and anticipation of where I’d sit. At least I wasn’t naked.
Horror of all horrors, there was an empty seat directly in front of Reid, as if he’d saved it for me. I avoided eye contact, desperately renewing my search. There! In the back left corner, second from the last row, was another empty seat. I strode toward it without hesitation, making it halfway down the aisle before my gaze caught on the person sitting behind my targeted chair.
I slammed to a halt.
It was the guy from earlier in the hallway, the one with black hair that fell messily yet artfully around his face. He was coolly watching me, his lids lowered to half mast. The caramel-haired guy who’d winked at me sat next to him.
“Sometime today, Miss Belmont,” the teacher said, distinctly annoyed now. “We’re wasting precious time.”
My cheeks flamed hotter than the raging fever from this weekend. I fixed my gaze on my shoes while I forced both feet forward and slid into the seat. If dying from embarrassment were possible, then I was about to keel over.
From my peripheral, I saw Reid turn to look back at me. But his weren’t the only eyes I could feel. The stares from the two guys behind me penetrated my overheated skin like laser beams. My instincts went haywire, screaming at me to protect my vulnerable back. But I couldn’t. I was stuck here. And concentrating on anything else became impossible.
So when Mr. Davis said, “What do you think of that, Miss Belmont?”—putting me on the spot again—all I could do was blink stupidly as every single head in the classroom swiveled my way.
Yup. I was definitely dying from embarrassment.
“Um . . .” I managed, but my mind was blank.
Seconds that felt like years ticked by.
Heat pricked my eyes and I quickly pinched my thigh, staving off the tears. Don’t cry, don’t you dare cry!
“I think the people’s intolerance and prejudice was what instigated the war,” a deep, rumbly voice said from directly behind me. “If they had chosen to respect each other’s differences instead of exploit them, bloodshed could have been spared.” The words were spoken in a lazy drawl, flowing like molten molasses—practically slipping beneath my skin and warming my insides.
Holy fates.
I hadn’t realized voices could be sexy, but that right there was proof. It took all of my willpower not to turn around and thank my rescuer, because rescuing me was exactly what he’d done, intentionally or not.
“That’s an astute observation—Lochlan D’angelo, is it?” Mr. Davis said, finally taking his beady eyes off me. “But next time, please raise your hand before speaking.”
When he continued on, directing his attention to the rest of the class, my erratic heartbeats finally began to slow. Lochlan D’angelo, I silently repeated. I bet the name sounded heavenly coming from that voice of his.
Something knocked against the leg of my chair and my spine snapped straight. Without turning my head, I looked down to see a long, jean-clad leg extend beside my seat. Lochlan’s leg. As more heat flushed my skin, I forced my gaze upward. I needed to stick my head in the cafeteria’s freezer after this.
I managed to pull a fast exit and avoid Reid for the rest of the morning, but I knew this cat and mouse game couldn’t last forever. He cornered me in the lunch line, using his body as a wall so I couldn’t retreat. Gripping my tray, I tried my best to ignore him.
“We need to talk,” he said quietly in my ear, his breath teasing my hair.
I added a fruit salad to my plate.
“Kenna, I’m not playing around. This is serious.”
My pulse spiked. I was right. He did it. He attacked August and wanted to shut me up. I was so screwed.
“Back off, Reid,” I said, hating how breathless, how scared I sounded. Feeling like a trapped rabbit, I backed up with my tray, elbowing him so I could escape.
Before I could, his fingers dug into my upper arm through my leather jacket. “I’m sorry, but this can’t be ignored. You need to come with me.”
When he started to tow me away, panic leaked into my voice. “Let go, Reid. I don’t want to go anywhere with you.”
When he didn’t listen, I debated making a scene. Maybe smash my tray into him. That would hopefully give me enough leverage to yank free of his hold before he dragged me somewhere quiet—where no one could hear me scream. I was just about to make my move when he jerked to a halt, almost overturning my tray.
Confused, I looked up to see a muscle thrumming in his rigid jaw. His grip on me tightened, and I winced, more from surprise than pain. A low growl reached my ears, but it wasn’t Reid’s.
Someone chuckled darkly, and the growling stopped. “I would let her go if I were you.”
I peered around Reid, immediately understanding why he’d stopped. The two guys I’d sat in front of during history class were blocking his path. The caramel-haired one must have spoken, his broad mouth still twisted with wry amusement. The other guy, Lochlan, stood preternaturally still, his dark eyes fixed on something with laser focus.
I followed his gaze to where Reid still held my arm.
“Kade,” was all he said.
The amusement fled the other guy’s face, and he adopted a look nearly as menacing as Lochlan’s. “Seriously, man, let her go now.”
Reid’s hand immediately dropped to his side, then balled into a fist. “You don’t understand.”
“Oh, we understand perfectly,” the guy I assumed was Kade said, his amusement returning.
