Before leaving for class, I peeked through my door’s peephole and saw…no one. The hallway was empty.

Yay!

The word sounded forced even to my own ears, but I told myself it was only because I was so used to being stalked. This was just another form of Stockholm’s syndrome, I told myself.

So Kellion Argyros had been walking me to school every single day of the entire week. It wasn’t like I had wanted it. Actually, the biker had been the one to force his company on me, not the other way around.

If he never showed up again---

I faltered in my footsteps.

Weird. My chest felt so tight. I glanced down at my blouse. Maybe it had started to shrink? Or maybe I had gotten even curvier?

Rounding the corner to reach the stairs, I was about to take the first step down when I realized someone was blocking my way.

“Good morning, terataki.”

“Aaaaaaah!” Shock at seeing Kellion Argyros had me losing my balance, and his hard arms wrapped around me as I stumbled against his strong, powerful form.

His body vibrated with laughter against me even as his hands spanned my waist. “You’re throwing yourself at me now?” he teased in a low whisper. “You missed me that much, eh?” Normally, Kellion spoke like any ordinary American guy but when he was with me, his Greek accent seemed to thicken, like he knew how I found it so secretly thrilling.

Red-faced at his words, I pulled away. Pulling out my board from my jumper’s pocket, I wrote. Go away.

But he only laughed and, covering my hand, he made me put my board back into my pocket. “You can just look at me, terataki, and I’ll know what you want to say.”

Weeeeeeird. My chest always felt tight around him. Maybe this was a posthumous symptom of my trauma.

Kellion was pulling my hand, and I knew by now there was no force on Earth that would make him let me go. He was supposed to be one of the most easygoing members of the Afxisi, so why was he so darn stubborn with me?

We were still playing tug of war by the time we left my dorm. Everyone still stared at us, but because he – we – had been doing this for days, they were no longer shocked. Now, they were just…puzzled.

What was Afxisi’s VP doing with a sick person like me?

Honestly, I wish I knew the answer to that, too.

Kellion was quiet as he dragged me to school. I would never admit it to anyone, but his silence was refreshing. He was one of the few people who really got me. Just because I couldn’t – didn’t – speak didn’t mean they had to fill the silence for me.

“I can feel your pretty eyes on me.” Kellion didn’t look at me as he spoke, but I could see the way a grin was tugging at his beautiful thin lips as he did.

Embarrassment flooded my cheeks with color, and I tried tugging away from him harder.

Kellion looked at me with a shake of his head. “It was not a complaint. You do know that, don’t you?”

Tingle, tingle. I hated the way he made my body feel so alive with just a few words. I felt so stupid around him. Those were all just lines, darn it. Why couldn’t I get my body to understand those were all just empty words to get me in his bed?

When we reached my building, I forced us to a halt by digging my feet.

Kellion stopped as well, reluctantly. “You don’t want me to go up with you?”

My eyes bored through him.

He gave me a hurt look. “You’re embarrassed of me?”

I nodded profusely.

Kellion laughed. “Too bad for you, I know you’re lying.” His grip loosened but before I could pull away, he brought my hand to his mouth and pressed a wet, warm kiss against my palm.

Aaaaargh!

He had done it again.

He always, always, always managed to take me by surprise with that.

Kellion released my hand, and I quickly rubbed my palm against the denim of my jumper, wanting to get rid of the feel of his touch. Over my head, I heard Kellion chuckle, the sound low and seductive.

Tingle, tingle, tingle – so many of them it was impossible to count, but I told myself it was because he grossed me out and not for any other reason.

“See you later?”

I shook my head without looking up at him.

“See you later or it’s not your hand I’ll kiss the next time.”

I quickly looked up at him and nodded firmly. See you later.

His lips twitched. “That’s my girl.”

And then he was walking away, like a beautiful elusive dream that I could only have at certain times – but never forever.