richellemead-vampireacademy01-vampireacademy-110824015328-phpapp02

His eyes looked levelly into mine as he held my wrists, but he didn't look as serious as he had
during the lesson. He seemed to find this funny. "The battle cry sort of gave you away. Try not
to yell next time.”
"Would it have really made a difference if I'd been quiet?”
He thought about it. "No. Probably not.”
I sighed loudly, still in too much of a good mood to really let this disappointment get me down.
There were some advantages to having such a kick-ass mentor—one who also happened to
have a foot of height on me and outweighed me considerably. And that wasn't even considering
his strength. He wasn't bulky but his body had a lot of hard, lean muscle. If I could ever beat
him, I could beat anyone.
All of a sudden, it occurred to me that he was still holding me down. The skin on his fingers
was warm as he clutched my wrists. His face hovered inches from my own, and his legs and
torso were actually pressing against mine. Some of his long brown hair hung around his face,
and he appeared to be noticing me too, almost like he had that night in the lounge. And oh God,
did he smell good. Breathing became difficult for me, and it had nothing to do with the workout
or my lungs being crushed.
I would have given anything to be able to read his mind right then. Ever since that night in the
lounge, I'd noticed him watching me with this same, studious expression. He never actually did
it during the trainings themselves—those were business. But before and after, he would
sometimes lighten up just a little, and I'd see him look at me in a way that was almost admiring.
And sometimes, if I was really, really lucky, he'd smile at me. A real smile, too—not the dry
one that accompanied the sarcasm we tossed around so often. I didn't want to admit it to
anyone—not to Lissa, not even to myself—but some days, I lived for those smiles. They lit up
his face. "Gorgeous" no longer adequately described him.
Hoping to appear calm, I tried to think of something professional and guardian-related to say.
Instead, I said, "So um…you got any other moves to show me?”