Do Not Fall For The Baseball Captains novel Chapter 30

Victoria’s POV

The yellow glare of my desk lamp was starting to make my eyes burn, but I couldn’t stop.

A half–eaten slice of cold, rubbery toast sat on a paper plate next to my elbow, completely forgotten alongside a mug of lukewarm coffee that tasted mostly like battery acid at this point.

Scattered across the small wooden desk were dense thermodynamics textbooks, complex circuit analysis manuals, loose–leaf papers covered in advanced engineering equations, and highlighted printouts of past examinations.

I let out a frustrated grumble, aggressively flipping a page so hard the corner ripped slightly.

Ever since Willow had come back into the country, looking so incredibly polished and successful, a quiet panic had settled into my bones. She had set the bar impossibly high.

Our parents weren’t wealthy by any means; they had stretched every single dollar, skipping vacations and wearing worn–out clothes just to ensure both of us could get a proper college education.

Willow had repaid that sacrifice by graduating with top honors and sliding right into a

massive corporate career.

Now, the spotlight was entirely on me.

I’d always been a good student, a dependable nerd who did the readings. But “good” wasn’t going to cut it anymore.

I needed to finish this semester with a perfect GPA to lock in my post–grad fellowship, which meant my life currently consisted of nothing but memorizing formulas until my eyes bled.

I was deep in the middle of a complex fluid mechanics chapter when a heavy, booming bang rattled against my front door.

I jumped in my seat, my hand jerking sideways. The sudden movement knocked my mug completely over, sending a small dark puddle of lukewarm coffee spreading rapidly across my neatly written notes.

“Damn it,” I hissed, grabbing a handful of tissues to blot the mess, but the pounding at the door only grew louder, more aggressive. It sounded like someone was trying to break the wood off its hinges.

My heart began to race. It was past midnight.

3/4

You’re Beautiful Victona

Eva was staying at her boyfriend’s apartment across town, and nobody ever came to

see me this late. The persistence of the noise made a cold sweat break out across my palms.

Setting the ruined paper aside, I crept quietly into the small kitchenette and gripped the handle of a small silver chef’s knife.

Holding it firmly against my leg, I crept toward the entryway.

I swallowed hard, leaning forward to peek through the tiny plastic peephole.

My brow furrowed in utter confusion.

Elijah was leaning against the doorframe, his forehead pressed directly against the wood.

His dark hair was damp from the rain outside, sticking to his forehead in messy clumps, and his broad shoulders were slumped in a way I had never seen before.

I quickly flipped the deadbolt and pulled the door open a few inches, keeping the chain engaged.

“Elijah? What are you doing-”

The moment the latch cleared, his entire weight shifted forward.

He didn’t even give me a chance to unhook the chain properly; he just slumped heavily against the door, forcing it wide open.

The sudden pressure made me drop the knife onto the carpet as I instinctively threw my arms out to catch him.

The force of his impact nearly sent us both crashing down. He was incredibly solid, packed with dense athletic muscle, and the sudden weight of him pinned my heels to

the floor.

“Elijah,” I breathed, my face buried in the damp fabric of his jacket.

He groaned, a heavy, uncoordinated sound, his face burying into the crook of my neck.

Using the back of my foot, I hooked the edge of the door, kicking it shut until the lock clicked into place.

Grunting under his weight, I managed to drape one of his massive arms over my shoulders, half–dragging, half–guiding his staggering body across the small room toward my small twin bed in the corner of the room.

With a final, desperate heave, I let him fall onto the mattress, my arms aching from the

exertion.

He landed flat on his back, a low groan escaping his lips as his limbs sprawled out.

The momentum of the fall caused his dark graphic t–shirt to ride up significantly,

214

You’re Beautiful Victoria

exposing the rigid, defined lines of his lower abs and the intricate black ink of the tattoos wrapping around his ribs.

I tried to look away–I really did–but my eyes seemed entirely glued to the smooth, tanned skin rising and falling with his heavy breathing.

Elijah’s eyes blinked open, the dark pupils incredibly dilated, glittering in the soft light of my desk lamp.

A slow, lazy smirk spread across his lips as he noticed exactly where my gaze was pinned.

“If you’re going to trace the ink with your eyes, you might as well use your fingers.” He rasped, his voice thick and dropping an octave as his eyes locked onto mine.

I froze, my throat going completely dry. The rain was drumming hard against my bedroom window, but that wasn’t the only thing falling; between my thighs, a sudden, heavy wave of wetness drenched my shorts.

My clitoris throbbed once, a deep, primal ache responding instantly to the raw arrogance in his tone.

Desperate to hide how easily he had unraveled me, I cleared my throat loudly and crossed my arms over my chest, taking a deliberate step back to put some distance

between us.

“You’re completely drunk, Elijah,” I scolded, trying to inject some stern authority into my voice. “It’s pouring outside, it’s past midnight, and you can barely even stand on your own two feet. What were you thinking driving like-”

Before I could finish my lecture, his hand shot out with terrifying speed. His long fingers wrapped tightly around my wrist, and with one fluid, effortless jerk, he hauled me forward.

A sharp gasp left my lips as my balance completely failed. I tumbled directly onto the bed, landing squarely against his solid chest.

The air knocked out of me as his other arm instantly snaked around my waist, pinning my hips down against his thighs.

Our faces were inches apart. I could feel the intense, radiating heat coming off his body, the scent of his breath washing over my cheeks.

“You’re so beautiful, Victoria. Do you know that?” he murmured, his dark eyes locking

onto mine.

My heart felt like it was going to burst right through my ribs.

I was one of those girls who had spent twenty–two years feeling entirely invisible, ordinary.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify