Felix

Chapter 10 - Part 1

He kissed the lid of one of her eyes softly. "It'll be tough," he said, kissing the other lid next, "but I'm up for the challenge." Her eyes flew open and her entire body tensed. "What?" he asked, searching her eyes.

The change in her mood was so erratic, as he'd seen her do before, but this time he didn't like it. He'd obviously said something wrong. She moved away from the wall and him.

"What's wrong?" he asked, slipping his hand in hers because he was afraid she might actually walk away.

"Nothing," she said, quickly shaking her head, but it was completely unconvincing.

How could she go from looking as if she were still savoring the taste of his mouth on her lips one second to this? She shook her head again but was doing something so unlike her—avoiding looking him in the eyes.

Felix touched her chin gently, turning it to him. "Look at me." She did and he gazed deep into those troubled eyes. "Tell me. What is it?"

Their eyes met for a fleeting moment; then she looked up. Finally they were back on his but not before she exhaled. "One of the things Grayson said to me just now was . . ." She shook her head abruptly. "Never mind. I don't know why I'm putting any weight on anything he says about you. He doesn't know you."

"About me?" Felix furrowed his brows, feeling that instant ignition inside him.

She was right. What did that fucker know about him? But he was curious now. What had he said to her that would ruin the moment like it had? And what set her off? Felix wanted to make sure that never happened again.

He peered at her curiously. "What did he say?"

There was no hiding the frustration in her eyes. She was upset with herself now for having brought it up in the first place, but Felix still wanted to know.

"Just tell me. I promise there's not a single disparaging rumor that hasn't already been said about me." He smiled, making sure she kept her eyes on his. "I'm just curious."

She fidgeted for a moment then shrugged. "My class is waiting, Felix. I'm so late now." Felix lifted a stubborn brow, refusing to let her off the hook. He had to know now. "Okay," she finally agreed. "He said he was certain I was nothing more than a challenge to you."

He felt his eyes open as wide as hers had earlier. The bell to the start of one of his fights may as well have been going off like a clamoring alarm because that's how bad he suddenly felt like taking a hard swing at someone. Then it hit him.

"That's not what I meant," he said quickly, "when I said I was up for the challenge. I just meant I'd do anything you ask but not for the reason that asshole wants you to think. Look. I'll be honest with you. Up until just moments ago, when I asked you to give me a chance, I hadn't even thought about what I'd do if you did. This will be challenge. But the challenge will be to prove to you that I want more than what you're thinking. I've only ever even tried the relationship thing once before and . . ." He pressed his lips together for a moment, hating that he had to get into this right now, but he wanted to make sure she understood this. "Well, I guess everybody knows I blew that one. Trust me. I can understand why you'd be hesitant, but I will promise you this. That disastrous relationship I had with Bianca wasn't all for nothing. I did learn a few things from it, and I promise you if you give us a chance I won't be making the same mistakes again."

She stared at him for a few agonizing long silent moments. "Us," she whispered, her eyes displaying the tiniest bit of excitement.

He nodded, feeling exhilaration he never would've imagined feeling. But she lifted a brow quickly, her excitement turning into a warning look. "I need time, Felix."

"You got it," he said immediately but pulled her to him anyway.

He almost let it slip—the question on the tip of his tongue. What about Grayson? Would she still be considering him too? Then he thought better of it. It was definitely something he'd be addressing, but this was too soon. He'd give her time to let this sink in first before he started making what he knew would sound more like a demand than a simple question.

"So is this a secret?" he asked instead. "Or can I still do this?"

He pecked her softly again, only this time he traced her lips with tongue slowly, feeling her entire body shiver in response. He was about to devour her mouth like he had earlier, when she flattened her hand against his chest, exhaling slowly. "I doubt I'll be able keep you from doing that."

"Just say the word," he said, wanting to assure her he'd never force anything on her.

Her laughter surprised him. "Yeah, well therein lies the problem. My will to just say the word may not be strong enough to fight the urge to just give in."

He smiled, loosening his hold around her waist. "I'll try to behave," he whispered, pecking her one last time.

"As for keeping anything a secret," she said, squeezing his hand. "That's entirely up to you. You're the one on blast all the time. If the press sees us doing anything like . . ." She smiled timidly.

"Like this?" he said, taking advantage of the moment to feed his now insatiable craving for her, and kissed her just under her ear. "Or this?" he whispered against her neck, licking it softly because he loved feeling her shiver like she was doing already.

Giggling nervously and a bit breathlessly, she pulled away. "Or just this," she said, lifting their enlaced fingers. "You know it'll be all over the tabloids."

"In case you haven't picked up on this yet, I've never given a shit what the tabloids have to say about me." He winced playfully. "Kind of why my last publicist bowed out of his job."

She lifted a brow, and he was relieved that her mood had now taken a positive turn because she, too, smirked playfully. "I heard you fired him."

Felix shrugged. "Minor details. My point is I don't care what they say if they see us together; I just don't want you feeling uncomfortable. So for the sake of them not turning your life into a circus just yet, maybe we should keep this under the radar—for now." He gave her a warning look. "Because once you decide"—he squeezed her hand—"if you do give me a chance and you're in this all the way, then I want everyone to know, especially Grayson."

Oh yeah. He knew there'd be no way he'd hold off too long without at least mentioning it. Given her playful mood just moments ago, he expected her to laugh, at the very least smile; instead that seemed to wipe the playfulness from her eyes.

"You're right," she agreed too quickly and too seriously. "It probably is best if we're as discreet as possible."

She smiled, bringing an end to their fateful time in that stairwell. They started up the stairs to the door at the second floor hand in hand, but once they reached the top, she dropped his hand. Before she could open the door, Felix reached for her hand again and tugged at it. She turned back and he kissed her one last time—deeply. "I'll be dying to be alone with you again," he whispered against her lips.

The relief was instant. Seeing the twinkle in her eyes chased away the concern in them, making Felix feel a little better. But something gnawed at him even more now. She hadn't even tried to mask the fact that the mere mention of making sure Grayson knew about them had changed her mood considerably.

That Grayson discussion he thought could wait was going to happen a lot sooner now. The need to know exactly what her feelings were for the prick had just spiked tenfold. He'd get to it the very next time he got her alone again.

Highlights reel of what's next coming REALLY soon!