Page 16 of Colton

“Why do you like it, Avalon?”

My name on his lips is the sweetest sin I have ever heard. He’s not closing the distance between us, but he’s not pulling away, either. I’m not bold enough to try and take things further at this point, but I’m not ready to let it go, either.

Fuck, the fear that is creeping up in my body is holding me back from testing the waters. Perhaps, I’ve gone too far tonight, pushing his buttons. He doesn’t seem like someone who will outright say it, or complain, but I’m not confident enough to continue.

My mind drifts back to Artemis’ warning of not digging too deep into the things that shouldn’t concern me, and Sophia’s worried eyes when she told me that nothing good would come out of me involving myself with anyone from Saint Valley. But now, as I’m staring into the abyss that his eyes represent, I decide to throw all the caution out the window, and to follow my heart.

My stupid, reckless, and self-destructive heart.

Just not tonight.

“I’ll tell you next time I see you,” I respond, hiding my trembling hands behind my back. Slowly, I take a step backward, and that’s where the line is drawn. Colton understands it immediately, and returns to sit in his chair. He doesn’t say much more, and he doesn’t have to.

Within the next ten minutes, the power comes back on, and he’s the one to open the door for me. Without a word, I leave his office, my strides slow as I contemplate whether or not I should’ve continued probing.

I turn to look at him over my shoulder, only to see him leaning against the doorfame, his eyes glued to my retreating body. My heart, yet again, for what seems to be the millionth time since meeting this man properly, skips a beat. This is when I realize just how deep into this I am, and that there’s no way I’ll stop it until I’m wrecked.

And the worst part? If he’s the one to wreck me, I’ll welcome it with open arms.

◆◆◆

The door of the dorm bursts open, and I groan. It’s still too early, and I’m busy rolling around in bed, debating whether or not to sleep through the first class, or actually be an adult and deal with my responsibilities.

Sophia’s been MIA since last night, most likely cramming for exams in the library. Apparently, I tend to snore from time to time, and since she’s always pulling all-nighters, it’s disrupting her concentration. Honestly, she’s so high maintenance that I genuinely wonder how we get along so well.

I peel one eye open, wrapped in a blanket burrito. Grace enters the room like she owns it, grinning from ear-to-ear. That is absolutely never a good sign. Sophia might be a bitch, but this one? She’s the real trouble maker.

Once, she beat the shit out of a guy for looking at her the wrong way. The poor dude didn’t know what hit him, until he felt the sensation of Grace’s angry fists on his face. I’m not sure what happened after, though she, somehow, managed to get out of a punishment scot-free.

“Why are you being so loud?” I huff, sitting up. My eyes still half-closed, the sleep refusing to leave me. I spent the better part of the night thinking about Colton, and before I knew it, it was past three in the morning on a school night. Terrible time management, if you ask me.

“I stole something!” Grace says, the beaming expression widening.

My brows lift to my hairline, and suddenly, I’m wide awake, a bewildered look on my face. I’m silent for what seems to be forever, thinking, and silently hoping, she’s going to say it’s some sort of a joke. But, no. No response comes from her.

“What?” I blink, horrified. “Have you gone mad?! Since when are you a kleptomaniac?”

Grace rolls her eyes, then hops on the bed beside me. “Don’t be dramatic. It’s my first time stealing anything, and I have to say, it’s amazing I didn’t get caught.”

I suck in a sharp breath. “I know I’m going to regret this, but what did you steal?”

Grace’s grin turns downright wicked. She whisks out a black card from her pocket, and at first, I thought she robbed a billionaire or something. Then, I remember that she’s well off too, and wouldn’t have to resort to such drastic, and illegal, measures.

When I take a better look at the card in her hand, the engravement, the elegant color, and the high quality, my breath hitches. This isn’t a random, black, credit card. This is the entry pass to Saint Valley.

My eyes immediately flick upwards. “Where the hell did you get that?”

“Sophia’s bag,” she shrugs. “So, I’m thinking, we go tomorrow morning. We have two classes only, and come back the day after.”

“We’re not going!” I say, trying to act reasonable.

“Oh, come on!” She whines. “Don’t you want to see what they’re trying so hard to keep gated? To know all the secrets!”

“No!” Yes. “It could get us arrested! Or worse, killed! You’ve truly gone insane.”

“You’re actually going to let me go all alone, to such a scary place, without any protection?”

Oh, so she’s resorting to manipulation.