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Orion intercepts me as I turn back to send her a look for abandoning me. She just gives me the all-knowing,Go Get Himeyes.

Sighing, I really can’t complain, not when I see the earnest emotion swimming in Orion’s clear blue gaze.

“Hey.” His voice is low and soft and far, far too intimate. We haven’t found time to be alone, although he’s snuck a few minutes of hand holding here and there, one small kiss.

He’s been pretty respectful by letting me think about this whole thing.

“Hey,” I say, swaying a little as he simply looks me over.

“Did you need a ride somewhere? Or can I walk with you?”

The attention makes me blush, but I nod. “Sure. Come on.”

Thank God for Jordan. My hang-ups have all but melted away as we walk in silence. We’re on campus, so he doesn’t try to touch me. I get it. But I’m more than aware of how close he is. Of how he watches me in ways that don’t seem obvious.

“Were you out for a girls’ night or something for your project?” Orion breaks the steady silence, and his pinky brushes mine. We’re back to these games, and I can’t say I’m upset about it.

I like how easygoing he is. How he can be young with me, even if he’s more serious than I gave him credit for previously.

“Both? The project dictated the activities, and it’s a girls’ night because Jordan is fun to be around.”

“Good.” It’s almost a good-humored chuckle disguised as a word.

I grin and don’t tell him that we were talking about him, but the tension between us is clear enough that I don’t have to.

Peeking at him catches his gaze, and I lose myself for a few steps before I have to watch where I’m going.

We seem to be meandering toward where I usually park, where Orion likely has his car. But he steers me toward the building instead of the lot. I don’t ask a single question. I could, and it would derail this forward momentum, but I don’t want to.

He’s pulled his keys out and lets me into a large, shared office. It’s packed with books and notebooks, props and cubbies of equipment. It’s otherwise empty.

The moment the door snaps closed, my back meets it, and Orion is nearly pressed against me. His hands bracket my head, and he looks like he’s debating whether or not to touch me.

My bag falls from my fingertips with a soft thump, and I smooth my palms up his back. He crumples into me, the entire line of our bodies meeting before his mouth lowers to mine. His kiss is intense but slow, like he’s not in a rush. Like he has all the time in the world to enjoy this moment.

So I make myself pump the brakes a little, running my hands over the tight muscles of his back and shoulders. It keeps us pressed together, surging in shallow waves as I grow hot. Orion tugs my knee up over his hip, and fuck, I can feel how hard he is—how affected.

I sink a hand into his soft golden waves, and our mouths break apart. We both pant for air, for control, for the awareness to remember where we are.

“If I thought that walk would end this way, I’d have steered you to my apartment instead. Much comfier furniture for this kind of thing.”

I laugh. It’s so easy for him, and I like how much he can make me laugh.

“How far of a walk is it to your apartment?” I trace my nail down the back of his ear, and he shivers, pressing his hips into mine a little harder.

“Twenty minutes.” The words are huskier than before. “Three-minute drive, though.”

I glance to the side where an analog clock hangs. It’s nearly eight.

My nail makes a trail down the underside of his perfectly cut jaw, and his head tilts back as his eyes flutter closed. I want to keep kissing him. But not here.

“I have another hour before I need to be home. We’d better drive.”

Orion searches my eyes for a second before he steps back and picks up my bag. We scamper to his car, and once it’s in motion, I reach across the small barrier between us and run my hand over his knee, making a slow glide up his thigh.

He lets out a sharp breath and his knuckles turn white against the steering wheel.

I’m in my element now, watching him sweat. I don’t stop my hand as I creep toward his erection. I smooth my palm over him and squeeze.