Questions and confusion swirled in my head, but I didn’t have time to dwell on Sterling’s words as someone grabbed me from behind and spun me around. My furrowed brows quickly morphed into utter shock as a scream surged up my throat, but before I could let it wail, a hand clamped over my mouth.
Everything about my captor’s movements was smooth. He managed to secure me without making any noise. The little beads of fear that had been trickling in the bottom of my stomach rose and became claws, raking down the inner walls. I’d felt true terror in my life, and this wasn’t quite on that level, yet adrenaline burst through while my brain figured out what its response would be—fight or freeze.
I froze.
My gaze lifted, seeing a familiar pair of light blue eyes. I loved that shade of blue, and somehow the color shoved my trepidation away in a single swoop. Micah waited until he saw recognition in my startled expression and felt my tense muscles go lax. He pressed a finger to my lips, and the message came through loud and clear.
Don’t make a sound.
He kept me pressed against the locker, trapping me with his toned body that I’d just noticed was only partially clothed. I didn’t have time to fully appreciate his bare chest or the sweatpants-material shorts, but it didn’t stop me from taking a quick glimpse.
His damp sandy hair looked as if he’d just come from a quick shower and had shaken the water right out, the ends curling and falling into messy disarray that made my insides purr.
Sometimes, his looks caught me off guard and made me completely forget about the world. Everything around me ceased to exist, and if he smiled at me, those dimples winking on his cheeks… fuck, it was over. Instant lust. Hell, I was surprised my panties didn’t drop of their own accord; that was the kind of power a true smile from Micah had over me. Not the cocky smirk—that did things to me as well, but that one I found the strength to resist, mostly because it could entice an array of emotions, from amusement to “I’m going to fucking kill him.” That pretty much summed up our relationship. No one else drove me absolutely insane and also instilled an animalistic hunger like I’d never felt.
I should be glad he kept the dimples under wraps.
“Hey, Boyd” came a voice I knew well from the other side of the locker wall—Brock Taylor running interference. I should have known he wouldn’t have been far away. Brock and Micah almost always worked together. “Sterling, right?” His tone hardened slightly. Anyone who didn’t know him probably wouldn’t notice, but I did.
Micah’s gaze remained on mine, and although they were chips of ice, I also noticed a flicker of something else in his eyes. It captured me, holding me prisoner as much as his hard body did.
“This is the guy I was telling you about,” Boyd jumped in. I assumed it was him. I didn’t know a Boyd, but he had to have been on the football team with the guys. “This man is going to take us to the finals. I’ll bet on it.”
“We just might have to do that. Quietly, of course. The school frowns upon gambling,” Sterling said with a slight sneering undertone.
Brock chuckled. “Let’s see how the regular season goes.”
Micah’s fingers came to rest at my hips, warm through the thin material of my white shorts. A thrill ribboned within my belly at his touch, at the pressing of each finger, not hard but not gently either, just enough for me to be fully aware of how close they were to my skin.
What is wrong with me?Now was not the time to get all hot and bothered, and yet I couldn’t seem to stop the flush that crept up my neck. I tried to focus my attention back on the conversation a few rows over.
“We might actually bring home a national trophy now that we have Brock and Micah on the team,” Boyd gushed. “Our biggest competition will be Dalton.”
Fynn and Grayson went to Dalton. How strange to think that the Elite would be playing against each other. They’d only ever been allies. I didn’t know how I felt about them pitted against one another. Who the hell did I root for?
Bigger problems, Mads. You have bigger issues right now, like the mindless circles Micah’s thumb is creating at your hips.
Sometimes I needed to slap my mind back on track when it wandered, as it often did.
No, what I needed was for Micah to stop touching me.
A shiver twirled over my heart as the hem of my shirt lifted with the rise of my chest and that thumb brushed over my skin. My sharp inhale followed, and Micah’s head dipped to the side of my ear. “Shhh,” he whispered so quietly it was almost inaudible, but I felt his breath, and that became an added distraction—atorture of its own.
“You should pledge for Chi Sigma,” Sterling said. “I think you’d be a good fit. We’re pretty selective, but something tells me you would be right at home.”
I snuffed a snort at the suggestion of Brock Taylor in a fraternity. The only way that worked was if he became president. He needed to be in charge.
Micah bit the lobe of my ear, a punishment of sorts for making yet another sound, except the pressure of his teeth on that sensitive part of my body caused a whimper to bubble up.
“I haven’t thought about a fraternity,” Brock admitted, sounding genuinely curious at the idea.
It took everything in me not to cough at the absurdity. Did Sterling have no idea he was being played right now? I guess it was a good thing he didn’t.
Micah’spunishmentwas far from over. Every reaction I made earned one from him. His lips had moved to my neck, and all I could think wasI’m in big trouble now.
“We’re having a get-together tonight. You should come,” I was pretty sure I heard Sterling offer, but I was having a difficult time listening.
Micah’s fingers at my waist trailed up along my sides, skimming my breasts. Little fires erupted all over my skin. My head fell back against the locker, eyes closing as my boyfriend’s sweet torment continued.He’s trying to kill me.