Chapter 31 #2
I pushed against the hard chest in front of me, my gaze traveling upwards to look right into the ocean eyes of River Mac.
“Let go of me,” I whispered harshly, though part of me was hoping he wouldn’t let go, which was…I didn’t have time to examine that.
“No,” he said, pushing me back against the wall.
And that was…bad. Really bad. My arms felt unusually hot where he was holding me, and something deep inside me stirred.
“River,” I hissed, trying to dart a glance around him and keep my head level. “Not now.”
“You got me a fucking detention,” he growled.
I clenched my thighs together. “What? No I didn’t! I got a detention too!”
River blinked a couple times, then scowled. “I could get you in so much trouble right now,” he said lowly.
“Or I could scream and get you in trouble,” I shot back, though there wasn’t any heat behind it.
“Sure. I’d like that,” River growled.
I fucking shivered, but didn’t scream.
As confusing as his comment was, I didn’t really care to get River in trouble, but I did need to get the fuck out of here.
I didn’t want to see Rafe’s dad again for the rest of my life if I could help it, and I’d be sent straight to his office if we were found.
Maybe Rafe could banish him when he became king one day.
For some reason, right there in the hallway, pressed up against a hot douchebag, I again had the stunning realization that I was now in a fucking. Royal. Chain.
And Rafe would most certainly be naming me as a princess, because he was a stickler for titles and would probably demand everyone used whatever ridiculous name he came up with for me.
I was not ready for that at all. It was a good thing the Crown Princess wasn’t very old–
“Daydreaming about him again, are you?”
A record scratched in my mind, and I blinked furiously. I’d completely forgotten I was pressed up against a hot douchebag.
Again.
“Wait, what? Daydreaming about who?”
River sneered before backing away from me. “You’re so obvious, it’s kind of pathetic.”
“Fuck you,” I snapped even though I had no idea what he was insulting me over. “You’re the one following me like a creep every time I turn around.”
River’s gaze darkened, his expression changing from disgust to something a little…scarier.
But I held my ground when he leaned into my face.
“Mr. Craig doesn’t want you, Aria. Leaving little love notes in his office won’t catch his attention any more than your sexy little crop tops.”
My jaw dropped at the fucking audacity of this man, and then I almost laughed, and then my brain screeched to a halt.
Sexy little crop tops?
Realization crossed River’s face at the same moment, as if he hadn’t meant to say that much.
“You think my crop tops are sexy?” My smirk grew as his scowl deepened.
What the hell was happening to me? Why did I keep prodding this man?
River practically growled at me, and I was almost a goner. Angry men did something for me, and no, I did not want to examine that either.
Thank God Wyatt had never actually counseled me last term.
“I think you’re trying to be sexy,” River said, though his usual sneer was gone. “But it’s not working.”
“I don’t think you believe that,” I said. “And since when do you care what I wear? Why do you look at me at all? We just met.”
Although it didn’t feel that way. I felt like I’d known River a long time.
“I–” River cut himself off, clenching his jaw hard like he had to physically stop himself from speaking. “Whatever. It’s like a train wreck, I can’t look away.”
“Sure,” I said slowly. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
“It only fuels my nightmares,” River said.
I snorted. “Same.”
He sneered. “You don’t know anything about nightmares.”
“Yeah, I do,” I said, rolling my eyes. “You’re not the only person in the world to have suffered, River.”
River’s glare softened just slightly, and he looked a little confused.
“Whatever,” he said, then pulled back. “Stay away from me.”
“You stay away from me!” I snapped. “You got me that fucking detention!”
River snorted. “Is that the reason for the love note? Hoping he lets you off the hook?”
“Oh, my God. Look, I barely know you. We’ve seen each other like three times, and you’re always pissed at me. What the hell did I do to you?” I hissed.
River moved, and I backed into the wall again. This time, his expression was different, and my affinity itching in my palms confirmed it.
“You’re a Telepath,” River said, and I blinked. He wasn’t wrong…but…what? “I’m only going to tell you this once: get out of my head.”
“I’m not in your head, River.” I replied honestly.
“Stop,” he growled. “I know you are. Get out, or I’ll…”
He trailed off as I shook my head. “I’m not in there, River. I’d never go in there unless you wanted me to.”
River’s face changed again, his expression appearing confused, and then it hardened.
“Stop lying to me. I know it’s you. You’re fucking with me.”
“No, I’m not,” I snapped. “Trust me, River, if I was in there, you wouldn’t fucking know.”
River looked confused again, then he dropped his gaze and took a step back. Just as I opened my mouth to say something rude, River flinched, and my affinity reacted, pulling me a few feet away.
River’s fist slammed into the fire alarm where my head had just been.
I gasped as a piercing alarm blared. I slapped my hands over my sensitive ears just as every light in the hall flipped on at once. The overhead sprinklers turned on, and I gasped again as I was soaked with freezing cold water.
I stumbled, falling to my knees while my affinity cushioned my fall, then scrambled to get back to my feet.
My hands were shaking, and I was torn between teleporting the fuck out of here or losing whatever was left of my hearing. I focused on keeping my ears covered as I staggered to the end of the hall, the door leading outside seeming to shrink like it was at the end of a tunnel.
“What’s your problem?” River’s voice filtered past the alarm and my hands, and I only shook my head.
He was completely dry, using his water affinity to keep the water from soaking him.
I slipped, crashing down to my knees again. I squeezed my hands into fists as I trembled, fighting every urge to teleport. I could not fucking do that in front of someone like River. Especially not after he’d just been accusing me of being in his head and messing with him.
Suddenly, River grabbed me. His strong arms reached under mine, and he pulled me up, easily carrying me down the hall.
We were outside a moment later, and the sudden silence after the alarm was so jarring, I collapsed into the grass, feeling like I was about to throw up. I even coughed a couple times..
Mortifying.
“What’s your deal?” River asked, sounding irritated, but I detected a bit of concern behind that, which was weird because he was a fucking psycho who’d just punched the wall next to my head.
“Loud,” I panted, putting every bit of my focus into not throwing up in front of this hot asshole that hated me for no reason. “Ear damage. Massacre.”
“What?” River snapped.
“I was in the Gulf Capitol Massacre,” I gasped, my nausea finally waning. “I was near the bombs, it blew out my eardrums. I can’t do loud shit now.”
Silence greeted me, and when I finally glanced over my shoulder, River was gone.
I blew out a heavy fucking breath.
Dick.