Heartless Read online

  Could this day get any worse?

  I wince.

  Asking the universe to continue screwing with me probably isn’t the wisest idea.

  With my fingers wrapped around the knob, I carefully twist the handle and push open the door. The less attention I draw to myself, the better. As soon as I step over the threshold, the professor pauses. My wide eyes shoot to the woman standing ramrod straight behind the podium. Her lips thin as she glares at me.

  And the hits keep on coming.

  Silence rains down upon us before she clears her throat. Loudly. “As I was saying,” her steely gaze stays locked on mine, “tardiness is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”

  I flinch as everyone swings around to stare.

  “Sorry,” I mumble, face radiating with heat.

  “Please take a seat.” When I remain rooted in place, searching the sea of occupied desks for an empty one, she snaps, “Quickly! We haven’t got all day. This is a fifty-minute class and right now, you’re wasting everyone’s time, including my own.”

  When my gaze lands on familiar brown eyes, I huff out a relieved breath before swiftly moving in that direction and sliding onto the seat next to Jaxon.

  “Hi,” I whisper. “I didn’t realize you were in this class.”

  He flashes me a grin. “Just transferred this morning.”

  I smile, grateful for a friendly face.

  “No talking! This isn’t high school, people. Don’t make me treat you like it is.”

  My eyes widen as I shoot Jaxon an alarmed look. One brow lifts as a smile hovers around the corners of his lips. Not wanting to be singled out again, I hastily pull out my laptop and fire it up.

  “In an effort to conserve paper and help save the planet from the overuse of sustainable resources, the syllabus will only be available online. You’ll find all tests and assignments listed in chronological order. Everything is to be turned in by email at the beginning of each class period. Late work will not be accepted under any circumstance.”

  I pull up the syllabus and peruse it as Dr. Bennet goes in-depth regarding key components of the course. CU requires a three-credit health class to be fulfilled before graduation. I had to scramble to fit it into my schedule. There were four sections available, but with everything I needed to cram in this year, this was the only one that fit.

  This woman seems like a hard ass, but the class itself should be interesting since it covers a variety of health issues that human beings face from birth to death. Plus, it should be fairly easy and will hopefully balance out the statistics course I’m taking. Stats is like a foreign language and I’m not looking forward to it.

  I glance at the professor again and realize I might have to readjust my thinking. At first, this class seemed like it would be a blow-off, but now I’m not sure that will be the case. I’ll reserve judgment until after the first assignment has been graded.

  Jaxon leans toward me and whispers, “Is there a reason why Hunter Price is staring at you?”

  That name has my head snapping up and I forget to keep my voice pitched low. “What?” A few people in the nearby vicinity turn and stare. Jax jerks his head to the left. Almost immediately I become ensnared by Hunter’s blue eyes. It’s as if I’m powerless to look away.

  “Skye?” Jaxon nudges my shoulder to reclaim my attention.

  I clear my throat and rip my gaze away from my ex. “Oh. Um, we know each other from high school.”

  Jaxon nods and says from the corner of his mouth, “That’s cool, but why is he staring at you like that? Do you two have a problem?”

  Yeah…you could say that. Although I’m not going to.

  I slouch further onto my seat, wishing I could disappear through the floor. Does Hunter have to make his hatred for me so obvious? Why can’t he pretend we don’t know each other? Would that be so difficult?

  Apparently so.

  “Ummm, something like that.” I made Lanie pinky promise that she wouldn’t mention my past relationship with Hunter to her boyfriend. It’s old news and not worth talking about. Plus, they’re teammates. Jaxon is a tight end for the Claremont Cougars.

  I refocus my attention on Dr. Bennet.

  “Since this course includes a twenty-page paper, I’ll be assigning partners today to ensure there is more than an adequate amount of time to compile research and complete the project. Even though it’s clearly stated on the syllabus, I want to remind all of you that this will be worth forty percent of your semester grade. I suggest you get together with your partner by the end of the week, decide on a topic of interest, and work diligently throughout the semester to complete it in a timely manner.”

  “Too bad we can’t pick our own partners,” Jaxon murmurs. “It would be so much easier if we could work together.”

  I nod in agreement.

  That would be ideal.

  Jaxon is always hanging out at our apartment. Finding time to work on this project wouldn’t be an issue. Plus, from what I’ve learned over the past week, Jax is a pretty smart guy. He has the brains to match all that brawn.

  Dr. Bennet rattles off the first couple of names and I realize with a sinking heart that she’s going in alphabetical order down the class list. Jaxon and Tasha Adams, a girl a few rows away from us, get partnered up. She turns and flashes him a full-wattage smile. It’s like she just won the lottery. Jax lifts his chin in acknowledgment.

  By the time Dr. Bennet makes her way to the P’s, there’s a swarm of angry butterflies that have winged their way to life in my belly. It feels as if they’re trying to flee by any means necessary. My body breaks out in a cold sweat as I wait. Roughly a third of the class still remains and Hunter is one of those students.

  “Hunter Price.” Dr. Bennet’s gaze fastens on him and she does the unexpected. Her lips lift into a smile. It’s the first one I’ve seen this woman crack in the twenty minutes since I walked through the door.

  Why am I surprised?

  If there’s a guy capable of thawing a woman’s cool demeanor, it would be Hunter. For as long as I’ve known him, women have been putty in his hands. Even when we were in high school, they would stare at him with lust-filled gazes. And I’m not just talking about the girls, but the female teachers as well. They would eat him up with their eyes and find reasons to graze his arm or shoulder with their hands. I used to tease him about it all the time and he’d reassure me that I had nothing to worry about.

  I still worried.

  Anxiously I glance around the lecture hall. At this point, I don’t care who I’m paired up with as long as it isn’t my ex-boyfriend. That empty desk in the corner would be more preferable than—

  “Skye Sinclair.”

  Damn.

  Reluctantly I glance in Hunter’s direction to gauge his reaction. His expression darkens as his lips sink into a scowl. My hand shoots into the air.

  The smile Dr. Bennet had bestowed on Hunter disappears as she glowers at me. “All partner assignments are final. There will be no altering them. Nor will you be allowed to work independently. Welcome to the real world, people. Deal with it.”

  My hand drops back to the desk with a heavy thud.

  I’ve only been home for a week and already I’ve had a run-in with him at a party and now we’re partnered up for the health project. There’s no way we can work together. Nausea churns in my stomach as I consider my options. Perhaps if I explain the situation to Dr. Bennet, she’ll take pity on me and make an exception.

  I glance at her in contemplation. The woman is buttoned up to her chin and her hair is scraped back into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. She holds herself so rigidly that it wouldn’t surprise me to learn she has a broom shoved up her ass.

  This woman is the very definition of repressed.

  I could probably tell her Hunter Price murdered every person in my family, and she would refuse to reassign me a new partner. My shoulders slump at the realization that Hunter and I are stuck working together for the duration of this semester.

>   I flick another glance in Hunter’s direction. His brooding gaze pins mine in place. An unwanted shiver of awareness slithers down my spine. If time and distance haven’t softened Hunter’s disposition toward me, then it’s doubtful anything will.

  Once class is dismissed, I shove my computer in my bag before Jaxon and I get swallowed up by the flow of traffic in the corridor. I need to put as much distance between Hunter and myself as possible. The less our worlds collide, the better off we’ll be.

  Jaxon fills me in on the upcoming football game this weekend. It’s the first one of the season. When I was in high school, football on a crisp autumn Friday night was a given. I would have died before missing one of Hunter’s games. It didn’t matter if it was at home or away, my ass was glued to the stands, rooting for my man.

  Even though I was halfway across the country in Wisconsin, I couldn’t bring myself to attend any of the college games. They reminded me too much of the guy I’d left behind in North Carolina. Breaking up with Hunter had been one of the hardest things I’d ever done. It was like severing an appendage. Even after the relationship had been cut off, it continued to throb with phantom pain.

  A few girls do their best to catch Jaxon’s attention as we push through the glass doors of Hastings into the bright, late summer sunshine. He gives them a polite chin lift in response but not anything more. Certainly nothing that could be misconstrued as flirting.

  Now that I’m nowhere near Hunter, the pressure in my chest has loosened, making it easier to breathe. My lips lift into a smile as I tease, “It must be difficult to be so wanted.”

  He shakes his head and rolls his eyes.

  I hope Lanie realizes how awesome her boyfriend is. A lot of guys in Jaxon’s position would want to keep their options open. Jax is the total opposite. His focus is solely trained on Lanie. I don’t think he’s aware of other girls flirting with him. I try not to dwell on the fact that I had a guy just as devoted to me and I cut him loose.

  As we hit the last step of the building before hitting the sidewalk, a deep voice cuts through the chatter that surrounds us.

  “Skye.”

  Everything in me seizes up as I turn and reluctantly meet Hunter’s gaze.

  Chapter Five

  Hunter

  O nce Skye’s attention is locked on me, I jerk my head to the side, away from the busy pathway as people rush past, jostling us as they flee the building. “Let’s talk over here.”

  Jaxon’s feet stall as he stares at me with curiosity. Out on the field, Jax and I are always in sync. Clearly that’s not the case since he doesn’t budge from Skye’s side.

  Why that should irritate me, I have no idea.

  “Alone,” I add pointedly.

  Instead of taking his cue to leave, Jaxon pokers up and shifts his stance. “What do you want with Skye?”

  I’m not used to my teammates questioning me. Out on the field, I’m the one in command, calling the plays. Everyone else falls in line.

  “That’s not any of your concern, bro,” I snap. “Move it along.”

  His eyes narrow before he gives Skye a considering look.

  Tension fills the silence between the three of us before she clears her throat and her hand flutters to his thickly corded forearm.

  I glare at the place where her fingers settle.

  “It’s okay, Jax.” She gives him a tentative smile. “You should get to class.”

  “Are you sure?” Uncertainty flashes across his face. It’s like he’s leaving her alone with an axe murderer. “I don’t mind sticking around,” he flicks a hard look in my direction, “and making sure you’re all good.”

  I grit my teeth to keep from biting his head off. Jaxon is the last person I want to have an issue with. I don’t understand why he’s involving himself in this situation. It has nothing to do with him.

  “Yeah, I’m sure. Go ahead and take off,” she encourages.

  “I’ll see you later.” Jaxon jerks his head into a tight nod, giving me a suspicious look before reluctantly leaving.

  As he disappears through the thick crowd, I turn my back to Skye and head toward a large oak tree where there’s a little bit of relief from the sweltering sun. I swing around and find Skye hesitantly trailing after me. The moment I stop, she skids to a halt. It’s obvious from the eight feet that separate us that she wants to keep her distance.

  My gaze licks over her body before I can stop it. She’s wearing tiny white shorts that reveal far too much sun-kissed skin along with a tight navy shirt that hugs her generous curves. Her thick blond hair has been pulled up into a ponytail at the back of her head. I’m tempted to reach out and pull the band from her hair so I can watch the silky mass tumble around her shoulders. It’s something I’ve done a hundred times before. My hands tighten into fists, so I don’t do exactly that.

  How the hell did I ever delude myself into believing that I was over this girl?

  The thought is almost laughable.

  From the first moment I saw her freshman year of high school, I knew she would be mine. It’s disheartening to realize that nothing has changed where Skye is concerned even though everything is different. I want her with the same intensity I did when we were in high school. If there were a way to cut her out of my memories, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

  Unwilling to stand here and resurrect the past, I fold my arms across my chest and get down to business. “You need to drop this class.”

  Caught off guard, she inhales a sharp breath before forcing it out and straightening her shoulders. “No.”

  “I’m sorry, what did you say?” It’s disconcerting when she doesn’t do the expected and fold under the heavy weight of my stare.

  “No,” Skye reiterates, her voice gathering strength. “I can’t drop this course. I need it for graduation, and this is the only section that fits into my schedule.”

  Her tongue darts out to moisten her lips and I’m momentarily distracted by the movement. Who am I trying to kid? I’m distracted by every damn thing about her. And that’s a fucking problem.

  “If you don’t want to be in the same class with me,” she continues, “then you’ll have to drop it.”

  I blink and reconsider the girl standing in front of me. The Skye I knew in high school was malleable and agreed easily with every word that came out of my mouth. This one…

  Not so much.

  I’m not going to lie, most people at Claremont quickly acquiesce to my demands, no matter how outlandish they are. It’s one of the many benefits to being a high-profile athlete at this university.

  The challenge in Skye’s voice has my cock stiffening. It’s perverse as hell and I damn well know it. I’m tempted to yank her into my arms and kiss her into submission but that’s not going to happen.

  It can’t ever happen.

  I need to keep this girl at arm’s length no matter how much I want to disregard the past and pull her close. She’s as deadly as swallowing a mouthful of broken glass. She’ll slice you up inside and not think twice about leaving you to bleed all over the floor.

  Maybe I’m being a bit melodramatic.

  But you know what?

  Once burned, twice shy.

  And the last time I was burned, it nearly killed me. So I’m not taking any chances.

  “I can’t move it around in my schedule either,” I ground out. “Everything for the year is locked in tight. There’s no wiggle room.”

  “Then it looks like we’re stuck together.”

  That’s not the answer I’d wanted.

  I move in her direction, expecting her to scramble back a few steps. We both know that deep down, her bravado is nothing more than a shaky house of cards. Instead, she holds her ground, refusing to budge an inch. There’s a stubborn tilt to her chin when she raises it, maintaining eye contact the entire time. The defiance flashing in her green eyes only makes me harder. My dick is throbbing in my boxer-briefs as hot licks of desire punch my gut.

  “I’ll make this class hell for you.” I h
ave no idea if it’s an empty threat or not. I haven’t gotten that far yet. What I do know is that seeing Skye for fifty minutes a day, three times a week for the rest of the fall semester is going to be hell. And then there’s the project…

  “I wouldn’t expect anything less from you,” she acknowledges quietly as if she’s already come to terms with my anger and the subsequent retribution I’m intent on doling out.

  The urge to kiss her roars through my blood. It takes everything I have inside to tamp it down. Without another word, I stalk away before I do something we’ll both regret.

  Skye Sinclair is a distraction I can’t afford.

  Chapter Six

  Skye

  L anie and I are parked at a table on the second floor of the library. We started out studying at the apartment but there were too many distractions. So, we relocated.

  It hasn’t been a full week of school and already I’m buried beneath an avalanche of reading material. This is what hitting the ground running looks like. Maybe it’s better this way. The busier I am, the less time I have to dwell on my dad’s prognosis.

  Or Hunter.

  Being at the same school is more difficult than I anticipated it would be. Everywhere I go, I catch sight of him. It’s like we can’t get away from one another. Maybe it’s only for a moment or two, but it’s enough to force him to the forefront of my brain.

  Lanie lifts her arms with a groan and stretches. “This chapter on carbon-containing ligands and molecules is going to be the death of me.”

  When I give her a blank stare in response, she laughs. “It’s for inorganic chem.”

  And here I thought statistics was hard. Inorganic chem sounds like the stuff nightmares are made of.

  She glances at the books splayed out in front of me. “What are you working on?”

  “Health.”

  “That’s the class you have with Jax, right?”

  “Yup.” The thought of facing Hunter three times a week without backup is enough to leave me shuddering. If it weren’t for Lanie’s boyfriend, I might have buckled under Hunter’s pressure to drop the class. It’s important I graduate this spring so Dad can see me reach that milestone. I don’t want to think about the ones down the road that he will miss.