Page 236 of A University of Betrayal

What on earth had Miles done to the three of them?

Miles threw the ball to Julian and was about to return to his position when I stepped onto the field and grabbed him by the wrist.

It was cool, his skin tighter than expected.

He seemed a little confused as he turned to me, staring first at my hand, then at me, and I took advantage of his moment of puzzlement to let him know as quietly as I could, “Whatever you did to them, do it to me, and you’ll get to know a new kind of pain.”

The people around us were too excited and too loud for anyone to hear us. And in the corner of my eye, I realized that Nash and Mica were still preoccupied with themselves and didn’t realize how close I was to Miles. Only the other guys in the pack were staring tensely at me.

Miles seemed to regain his composure, and his intense stare turned into a laugh of derision. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Contemptuously, I stepped closer.

“We both know you don’t play fair.”

“Don’t you talk to me aboutfair play.”He came even closer than expected, speaking even more quietly. “Or do you still believe that anything in this town works by the book?”

My breath hitched, and I couldn’t take my eyes off his. There were so many unspoken words. And so many contradictions. But I just felt powerless to formulate my feelings and thoughts into words.

“Position!” Marten shouted, and with reluctance I released my hand from Miles’ wrist.

I had warned him.

He turned his back to me and continued walking the one hundred feet until he was right across from me, far away, but unfortunately not far enough to ignore the smug look on his face.

Soon he wouldn’t be laughing anymore.

“Interesting tattoo, by the way!”

I didn’t know why those words of all things had slipped out of my mouth, but before I could curse myself for it, I noticed that Miles looked surprised for a moment. It seemed to take him away from his concentration.

“Go!”

Miles stumbled forward, running, but visibly hesitant, and was only a few feet away from me.

“So that’s what you Ruisangors are doing all day long,” I whispered, knowing he could hear despite the noise around us.

The confusion in his eyes confirmed that I was keeping him from manipulating me, at least I didn’t sense any inner nervousness as I chose my next words carefully.

“Burning lilies.”

Bullseye.

Miles tried to get past me, but I grabbed his muscular torso with my arm at just the right moment. With all my strength, I yanked him to the ground, landing on top of him with a crash.

Only Love Can Hurt Like This

Paloma Faith

The first thing I noticed was the astonished cheering of the students, which faded further and further into the background. The second thing was his cold, hard body and a heart that was beating unusually softly. The pupils in his chestnut brown eyes – streaked with bronze fibers – widened. Something I had never seen happen to another person and which caused a mesmerizing rush in my chest.

Tiny beads of sweat dotted his forehead, where a vein stood out particularly clearly on the side. His dark brown hair had come loose from the undercut man bun, probably because it was too short for it.

My eyes were caught by his again, as if he didn’t want me to look at him like that... while he himself scrutinized every detail of my face. Something unusually searching, far too intense burned in his eyes...burned into me.

And only now did I realize where my hand was lying.On his chest.It wasn’t as cool as the rest of his body and I could feel the many muscles beneath me, but I didn’t move my hand at all. I couldn’t.Why couldn’t I?

Then someone pulled me roughly up and back, shooting past me toward Miles but being pulled back by Noah, Hunter, and Cody.