Eternal Longing ✓

Prologue

Prologue

JAYA

One Year Ago

His eyes are the color of the deepest parts of the ocean.

These eyes, his eyes, the very same eyes that are currently trapping me, are the very same ones that have driven countless girls in our student body to fall hard and fast never to be caught.

And right now, the same eyes are focused on every single detail of my panicked face.

"Not one inch, Jaya." His strong arms leaning against each side of the wall make it impossible for me to escape. To run. To hide. "Don't you dare move one inch."

I gulp. How the heck did I get myself into this situation?

"Why are you running from me, little artist?" He twirls a long braid of mine around his lean finger, taking another step closer to me.

I must look like a fish out of the water, staring at him with my mouth agape and my eyes wide and glazed. I don't answer his question but he doesn't seem to mind much, the low chuckle that leaves his lips a clear indication that I'm the only one in distress.

He leans his head down, watching me like a predator watches its prey-with a deep longing to feed an innate need.

He's not donning the mask of respectability and properness at the moment. The popular, well-liked lacrosse player of Hilltop Prep is not the man whose eyes are capturing each movement of my face.

"F-Finley?" I'm not sure why I call out to him. Maybe it's because I'm aware that he's seeing me, the real me, not the version I show to the world, and I'm scared of that fact.

Or maybe, it's because he's allowing me to see him, the unadulterated him, and it's scaring the crap out of me.

See, this is why I keep my ass at home.

The thing is, I did not have to be at school today. Fridays at Hilltop Prep are optional attendance. Yet, at the last minute, I chose to come to school.

With his thumb, he traces my bottom lip. His touch is light as he gazing into my eyes. "Are you ready to stop running from me, Jaya? Are you done being a little brat and finally let me kiss you?" He growls the last part and I flinch.

No. My immediate response is hell no. But . . . I can't deny the curiosity. The gnawing need that has been festering inside me for the longest. This desire to just let go and see where the current takes me.

Caged against the secluded wall of the Art Wing, currently abandoned by students and teachers alike, I have the choice to finally let myself breathe. To be free and do this one thing that, secretly, I've been dying to do.

With one last deep breath, I nod at his question.

His eyes flash. "Good girl."

Then in the next second, his lips are on mine. Demanding and relentless, he takes and takes and takes until I have nowhere to hide. Until every last fiber of my mask and my thousand defenses are down.

Kissing him is like wading through vast waters without any fear of drowning. Like dreaming endlessly without the fear of waking up.

I kiss Finley Barton, and for a moment, I am me.

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A/N: It's been about a month since I completed Eternal Obsession but I'm back. 😈