prove it to you when I can.”
She ignored him as she pulled out. Sometimes he
could be such a child.
***
Hara pulled into her parking space at home. It was
now Thursday and she still hadn’t turned much up in the library regarding the
Mokolios—she’d given up on the Internet; it was like someone with access was
making anything other than basic facts about them disappear the moment it was
posted or something. Not to say she had any proof anything other than that had
been on the Internet in the first place, but if they were that powerful, then
it had to be.
Maybe her professor was right and she should borrow
his book. Really, with how top secret they really did seem to be, she wasn’t
sure how Professor Sampson had even come across the book, or why he had thrown
them into the curriculum in the first place. Ugh, she couldn’t think of it just
now. Once she got up to her apartment, she only had a couple of hours to get a
huge list of things done before her study group came over.
She climbed the stairs, silently whining about all
she had to do. Next summer, she wasn’t going to take any classes at all. It
just wiped her out too much to work the crazy hours she did plus be a full-time
student all year long.
When she got to the last flight of stairs, she found
Inac patiently stooped on the top stair in his usual slightly baggy dark jeans
and T-shirt that was tight around his arms and chest, but loose at his waist.
He really looked good in them, too….
“What are you doing here?” she asked, unable to keep
an edge out of her voice even though she felt herself softening with how hot he
looked. She hadn’t seen him since yelling at him. Not to say that she hadn’t obsessed over him, though….
“I wanted to come and say sorry,” he said with a
humble smile. She hadn’t realized that he could feel that emotion.
“Well, now you did,” she said as she pushed past him
to her door. She had to stay strong. It seemed that she always sinned when he
was around. He just aggravated her so.
He put a gentle hand around her bicep, shooting fire
into her with it. She was going to collapse into his arms and beg him to kiss
her if she wasn’t careful….
To right herself, she grabbed her cross in one hand
and turned to meet his gaze. If anything could keep her thoughts nice and pure,
it would be her beloved cross.
“Please accept my apology,” he said, holding out a
bundle of pink, freshly picked lilies with his heavily tattooed right arm.
Lilies with dirty roots still attached that also looked strangely familiar….
“Where’d you get those?” she asked suspiciously.
He smiled; that charming wicked grin of his.
“Downstairs.”
She didn’t know why she laughed at him picking the
landlord’s flowers, but she couldn’t help it. Maybe it was because he was so
unapologetic. In any case, it achieved what he’d probably picked them for; she
was no longer angry.
“Thanks,” she said as she took them from him,
holding them out so the dangling roots wouldn’t dirty her clothes and skin.
“I’m sorry too for, well, you know….”
“For acting like a crazed lunatic?” he asked, his
rakish grin widening.
She laughed again. “Yeah. Exactly.”
“That’s okay. I can understand why you would get so
angry.”
“Really?” She looked deep into his eyes. They were
still black, but they sparkled today. At least he finally seemed to be feeling
some emotion….
“Really. I tend to bring out the worst in people.”
How he said it made her wonder if he actually thought that to be a bad thing.
It was like he prided himself in being able to get such a rise out of people.
“So, now that we’ve kissed and made up, how about I take you out to dinner?”
She almost pointed out that they hadn’t kissed, but was nervous that he’d take it as an invitation. Actually, now that
she thought about it, she realized that he had probably said it so he could kiss her.
Ugh! Why did his personality have to be
She ignored him as she pulled out. Sometimes he
could be such a child.
***
Hara pulled into her parking space at home. It was
now Thursday and she still hadn’t turned much up in the library regarding the
Mokolios—she’d given up on the Internet; it was like someone with access was
making anything other than basic facts about them disappear the moment it was
posted or something. Not to say she had any proof anything other than that had
been on the Internet in the first place, but if they were that powerful, then
it had to be.
Maybe her professor was right and she should borrow
his book. Really, with how top secret they really did seem to be, she wasn’t
sure how Professor Sampson had even come across the book, or why he had thrown
them into the curriculum in the first place. Ugh, she couldn’t think of it just
now. Once she got up to her apartment, she only had a couple of hours to get a
huge list of things done before her study group came over.
She climbed the stairs, silently whining about all
she had to do. Next summer, she wasn’t going to take any classes at all. It
just wiped her out too much to work the crazy hours she did plus be a full-time
student all year long.
When she got to the last flight of stairs, she found
Inac patiently stooped on the top stair in his usual slightly baggy dark jeans
and T-shirt that was tight around his arms and chest, but loose at his waist.
He really looked good in them, too….
“What are you doing here?” she asked, unable to keep
an edge out of her voice even though she felt herself softening with how hot he
looked. She hadn’t seen him since yelling at him. Not to say that she hadn’t obsessed over him, though….
“I wanted to come and say sorry,” he said with a
humble smile. She hadn’t realized that he could feel that emotion.
“Well, now you did,” she said as she pushed past him
to her door. She had to stay strong. It seemed that she always sinned when he
was around. He just aggravated her so.
He put a gentle hand around her bicep, shooting fire
into her with it. She was going to collapse into his arms and beg him to kiss
her if she wasn’t careful….
To right herself, she grabbed her cross in one hand
and turned to meet his gaze. If anything could keep her thoughts nice and pure,
it would be her beloved cross.
“Please accept my apology,” he said, holding out a
bundle of pink, freshly picked lilies with his heavily tattooed right arm.
Lilies with dirty roots still attached that also looked strangely familiar….
“Where’d you get those?” she asked suspiciously.
He smiled; that charming wicked grin of his.
“Downstairs.”
She didn’t know why she laughed at him picking the
landlord’s flowers, but she couldn’t help it. Maybe it was because he was so
unapologetic. In any case, it achieved what he’d probably picked them for; she
was no longer angry.
“Thanks,” she said as she took them from him,
holding them out so the dangling roots wouldn’t dirty her clothes and skin.
“I’m sorry too for, well, you know….”
“For acting like a crazed lunatic?” he asked, his
rakish grin widening.
She laughed again. “Yeah. Exactly.”
“That’s okay. I can understand why you would get so
angry.”
“Really?” She looked deep into his eyes. They were
still black, but they sparkled today. At least he finally seemed to be feeling
some emotion….
“Really. I tend to bring out the worst in people.”
How he said it made her wonder if he actually thought that to be a bad thing.
It was like he prided himself in being able to get such a rise out of people.
“So, now that we’ve kissed and made up, how about I take you out to dinner?”
She almost pointed out that they hadn’t kissed, but was nervous that he’d take it as an invitation. Actually, now that
she thought about it, she realized that he had probably said it so he could kiss her.
Ugh! Why did his personality have to be
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