Meet James Washington, an ambitious and focused young woman who has always been determined to achieve her dreams of becoming a doctor. With a track record of academic success, James is dead set on staying on the straight and narrow, and not letting...
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The chain of events played out in a blur – the door clicked shut with a muted thud, the lock turned, and the blanket swiftly flew over her, concealing her naked, heaving chest.
She barely mustered the time to blink as Landon's figure advanced toward her, his eyes heavy and dark in the dimly lit room. His expression was impenetrable, a combination of emotions flickering over his face.
He stopped beside her, and she drew in a ragged breath, her gaze darting, her body stiffening. To say that Jamie was freaked out would be a massive understatement. She opened and closed her mouth without making a sound, frantically trying to come up with an explanation. To deny what she knew he saw.
Her hand had been down her underwear, for heaven's sake.
Caught in the charged silence, she could only stare at Landon as he moved closer and closer to her bed. Panic bubbled within her, demanding her to say something, anything! He drew closer, the invisible line she had drawn across the room approaching, separating their beds.
"What are you doing?" The words she intended to sound firm emerged instead in a breathy whisper.
His jaw twitched, the only sign he had heard her.
Not a word escaped his lips as each of his steps sent Jamie's heart into a rapid rhythm – thud, thud against her ribcage, each beat echoing in the quiet room. The rhythm of her heart blended with the sounds of her own heavy breathing and the deep inhales that Landon took.
Her gaze remained locked on his advancing figure, partially concealed in the shadows that enveloped him. The soft illumination from the falling snow outside their window cast a gentle halo on one side of his body. His hair, damp from the snow, clung to his forehead, strands falling over his intense eyes, which seemed to burn even in the dim light.
His booted foot inched forward, crossing the invisible boundary Jamie had established between them. Jamie's body reacted like a live wire, propelling her into an upright sitting position. "Stop," she managed to breathe out, her voice trembling. The single word had the power to freeze his entire movement, and Landon's head shook as if he were emerging from a dream. He quickly retracted his foot.
"James." His hoarse voice caressed the syllables of her name, and a shudder went through her. He lifted a hand to rub over his mouth, his eyes squeezing shut as if to gather his senses. "You're killing me," he murmured, his voice a tortured whisper.
"Wh—"
Landon's eyes snapped open and landed directly on her.
Jamie's breath stuttered and her muscles clenched, her mind spinning and desperately searching for words, any words. A protest, an accusation, an excuse. "I'm so sorry-" Jamie began, her words hurried.
She felt her insides melt beneath his gaze, her pulse racing.
"You're killing me," he repeated, his voice tinged with longing. His eyes bore into hers with an intensity that stripped away any pretense. "Fuck, Jamie." His hands rubbed along the stubble dusting his sharp jaw.
