Showing Off Affection

I bit my lip, my cheeks flushing an even deeper shade, as I heard the groans from my friends and caught the envious stares of the girls around us the moment Ryder pressed his lips to my cheek.

I swear my jaw nearly hit the ground. Oh God. Ryder Knight—the Ryder Knight, the most eligible bachelor—was kissing me in front of the entire college.

Fuck. My brain short-circuited as I realized what this meant. Now, I’d undoubtedly land on the envy list of every girl on campus.

This had never happened before. Ryder never displayed PDA, not even with his girlfriends.

“How was your day, kiddo?” he asked, pulling back slightly but keeping one arm draped casually over my shoulder.

Kiddo?! Seriously?! 

“I’m eighteen now, Ryder. Not a kid anymore,” I replied, rolling my eyes in annoyance.

“Who knows it better than me, baby girl?” he said, his teasing tone laced with mischief. He flicked my nose with his finger, his eyes gleaming with that familiar mischievous spark.

I felt my cheeks flush as I understood the hidden meaning behind his remark. 

Jerk.

"What are you doing here?" I murmured, trying to push him away and put some distance between us.

"I'm here to pick you up for the weekend," he said, a furrow forming between his brows as if I'd asked the most absurd question. To be honest, it was a weird question—of course, he was acting normal, but I certainly wasn’t. Mentally, I slapped myself for behaving so awkwardly around him.

"I... I could have come myself," I whispered, my voice faltering as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

The small, sweet gesture sent my heart fluttering with excitement. If he kept doing things like this, it would be impossible not to look at him like some starstruck fangirl.

Ryder and his effortless charm were enough to make any girl swoon.

"Why would you come by yourself when I always pick you up on Fridays, and we go to my family home together?" he countered, his tone calm but carrying an unmistakable challenge. His eyes seemed to silently demand an explanation, but I chose silence instead.

I turned to say goodbye to my friends, who were still gawking at Ryder like he was a god descended to earth. Their dreamy expressions were borderline embarrassing, and when he flashed them one of his signature charming smiles and casually said, "Bye, ladies," they all sighed in unison, as if they’d just witnessed a miracle.

I rolled my eyes so hard it felt like they might get stuck. God, why did he have to be so irresistibly hot? It wasn’t fair. He couldn’t just exist looking like that and expect the world to function normally around him.

He led me to his car and opened the door for me. As I slid inside, he leaned in, grabbing the seatbelt and securing it around me. His face was so close—too close—and his piercing eyes locked onto mine while he buckled me in. My heart thumped wildly, betraying my effort to stay composed.

Oh God. This man was too hot and too dangerous to be around, and I was a mess.

"Why did you kiss my cheek in front of my friends?" I whispered, hoping to distract myself from the electrifying tension between us. "Everyone was watching us with... weird gazes."

My voice wavered slightly, and I prayed he didn't notice. His enchanting proximity was making it impossible to breathe normally.

His eyes dropped to my lips, and before I could react, he brushed his thumb lightly against my bottom lip, his touch sending a shiver down my spine.

"I wanted to kiss these putty lips," he said in a husky voice, his tone laced with something dangerous and intimate. "But I thought not to scare you by doing it in front of your whole college."

His declaration made my eyes widen in shock, my heart racing as if it were trying to escape my chest.

"You... you can't be serious, can you?" I gasped, my voice barely above a whisper.

His gaze darkened, swirling with a raw hunger that left no room for doubt. His eyes locked onto mine, and the intensity made my breath hitch.

"I’m very serious, baby girl," he murmured, his voice a low growl that sent a wave of nervous energy coursing through me.

I instinctively licked my lips, an unconscious gesture of anxiety, and his eyes followed the movement.

"Ah, don’t do that, baby girl," he warned, his voice dropping an octave, so low and menacing it made my stomach knot with apprehension. "Unless you want me to kiss you right now. So hard. And take you to my car’s back seat to fuck you in front of your whole college."

The dangerous edge in his tone sent a chill down my spine, and my lips parted involuntarily in utter shock.

Now, I was truly scared of Ryder Knight.