Bloodspell (The Cruentus Curse, #1)(11)
The music faded into silence as the sounds of a stool scraping back filled the void and her eyes shot open. Christian Devereux was staring at her from across the dark room, his gaze impaling her to the wall. In the dim light, she knew he probably couldn't see who she was, but she guessed he knew that someone was there, and had been listening.
"You play very well," she said, then fled, the door swinging shut behind her.
In the hallway, Victoria pretended to stare at the floor as the door swung open, crashing on its hinges as Christian strode out. His brows were drawn together in a scowl and his lips were pressed into a thin, grim, white line. Annoyance emanated from every inch of him, yet even angry, he was as striking as she'd remembered. No doubt she was the cause of his anger, spying on him as she'd done. He looked furious ... and attractive in a way that shouldn't be attractive at all.
Her heart raced, jumping into her throat as his strange colorless eyes met hers for an instant, the beginnings of a smile on her mouth faltering and then disappearing altogether from the intensity of his flinty glare. His nostrils flared, his brow snapping together even more tightly, and he looked right through her as if she were not even there.
"Miss?" The assistant's voice was sharp as if it were the second or third time she'd asked, and Victoria turned distractedly. "Student identification card, please!"
"Um, yes sorry." She fumbled in her bag and handed over her ID.
"Fill these out." The girl thrust a pile of papers across the desk, which Victoria took mumbling her thanks.
Christian had gone without so much as a word, and his burning, ominous glare had left her shell-shocked. Swallowing the clogged knot from her throat, Victoria sighed and filled out the paperwork.
"Superb start," she said to herself, as she made her way out of the building and across the quad. She'd managed to somehow alienate two people in the space of three hours and it was only the first day. She couldn't begin to imagine what the rest of the day would bring.
Her history class was interesting enough though, and she met a few more people at the library prior to the class. Before she knew it, she was heading back to the parking lot utterly exhausted. Not really looking where she was going, and more than a little glad that the first day was finally over, she almost tripped over the pair of long denim-clad legs leaning against the side of her car. Her heart double-tapped as her brain drank in the way his gray rugby shirt clung to his shoulders and matched his eyes. His tousled blond hair shone gold in the fading sunlight.
Victoria berated herself for feeling any degree of pleasure upon seeing him after the way he'd treated her earlier but she couldn't disregard the sudden increased tempo of her heart or the sudden trill of her blood. Nonetheless, she tried to project a look of distracted boredom, as she stepped over his legs and unlocked her car.
"Oh, hello. Christian, was it? Are you lost?"
"I guess I deserve that," he said without rancor. "Here, let me help you with those books." Before she could protest, he'd placed her things in the backseat of the car, and then stood up to face her. "I really want to apologize for what happened in the music hall earlier today. I was upset and taking it out on the piano, and then you arrived. I'm sorry. It has nothing to do with you. I was just ... frustrated."
"Why?" she said, distracted by his absurdly luxurious lashes as she tilted her head to look up into his face. She was five foot eight inches and still had to arch her neck to look at him properly.
"There's been a change in the funding for my program, and there's a chance that it will be revoked completely," he said. "I'm a student here," he added helpfully.
"In music?" she asked before she could help herself. "I mean, I saw ... I heard you playing. You're not bad."
A smile. "Thank you. No, not music, cultural studies."
"Oh. Well, I'm sorry about your program."
"It's one of those wait and see situations."
"I hope it works out then," Victoria said politely, wanting nothing more than to escape his nearness as she reached back to close the passenger door of the car. He reached forward at the same time and their hands met. A jolt of electricity passed between them that made her want to wrench her hand away. Her blood raced as tiny pins and needles surged across her entire body from the one single touch. For a second, she forgot how to breathe.
Christian stared fiercely into her eyes, the warring emotions in hers reflected in his, and she swallowed, hypnotized by something completely outside of herself. She felt her body sway toward him. He took a deep, steadying breath and released her fingers, stepping back at the same time. A practiced, shuttered mask fell into place.
Victoria jerked back, mortified at her body's heated response. She swallowed, her distressed gaze drawn by an imperceptible movement of his mouth. A fleeting vision of what it would feel like to be kissed by him ran through her head and heat ballooned in her chest. Unbearably warm, she too stepped back, staring at his impassive, granite face. Every part of her wanted to read his mind, as she'd done so easily with others earlier in the summer.
What are you thinking?
As if the thought magically translated into action, a part of her subconscious leapt forward to obey the instinctive command. It was like hitting a brick wall head on.
Christian raised an eyebrow. He had felt it! He'd felt her trying to read him! Emboldened, Victoria accepted the unspoken challenge and pushed harder. The wall didn't budge. His mouth twitched, and for some reason, his amused arrogance infuriated her so much that without thinking, she gathered the already agitated energy swirling within her and hurled it toward him.