Yes, I’m a people person, but not in that sense.
As the music reaches a crescendo, I open my arms and twirl on pointe across the aisle.
Then, in that moment of excitement, I slam into a wall.
No, not a physical wall—a wall of muscle.
The music starts a slow descent, completely at odds with the chaos brewing inside me.
A merciless hand grabs my elbow to stop me from toppling over. I stare up at his ethereally gorgeous face, at the lips that rest in a line, completely devoid of emotion.
He’s a cold god whose only language is disapproval.
A predator whose sole purpose is trapping prey.
That’s currently me.
My breasts are smashed against the hard muscles of his chest. Our bodies have collided in a mesh of strength against softness.
In this position, the difference in size is too great to ignore. I’m so small compared to him that he could easily break and stomp all over me.
Leave me absolutely wrecked.
The skin where his fingers are touching my elbow sparks in a million fires, expanding all the way to my chest.
I’ve always heard about overwhelming tension, the type that lingers like a weight at the back of one’s throat and robs them any semblance of sanity and logical thinking.
But I never imagined it would be this…frightening.
This powerful.
And I need out of his orbit.Now.
I try to pull my elbow free, but it might as well be caught in a trap.
So I force my lips into a smile that probably looks awkward at best. “Oh, hi. I didn’t know you were coming today. You should probably go out and greet the fangirls and fanboy, Harry. They’ve been dejected thinking you wouldn’t be here—”
“Shut up.”
My lips slam shut in an attempt to actually stay quiet. Just two words are enough to stiffen my spine. All the anxiety from tossing and turning and staring at my balcony last night crashes back into me.
“You truly fucked up, Annika.” He pushes me backward with his commanding hold on my elbow. “I told you to give up on the fake boyfriend idea, but you went ahead and provoked me. You. Fucked. Up. You’re lucky I didn’t jump through your window and turn your skin red.”
A gasp echoes in the air and I realize it’s mine as my back hits one of the shelves. Creighton still has my elbow hostage, his body pressed against mine.
I’m sure he can feel my heaving chest and hear my choked breaths that rise over the sound of the music.
This is the first time I’ve witnessed this side of him, and it’s eliciting all sorts of emotions—fear, dread, but also thrill and anticipation.
The type I’ve never experienced before.
“What did I say would happen if you didn’t do as you were told?” His deep voice floats in the air and lands on my constricting chest.
I gulp the saliva that’s gathered in my mouth. For the first time, he’s the talkative one and I’m speechless, grappling for words and finding nothing.
“What the fuck did I say, Annika?”
I flinch at the whip of his commanding words and blurt, “That you would acquaint me with pain.”