His new stepsister His biggest threat (Claire and Elijah) novel Chapter 178

Chapter 178

Claire’s POV

I always felt him before I looked at him.

That awareness slid under my skin first, sharp and intimate, like my body had already registed his presenter and was only waiting for my mind to catch up.

When I finally lifted my eyes, Elijah was standing exactly where I’d left him, his shoulders squared but ins posture just loose enough to betray the tension he wasn’t pretending not to feel.

The hallway buzzed around us, voices overlapping, lockers slamming, soincone laughing too loudly down the corridor, but all of it felt distant, muted, like the world had taken a respectful step back.

He didn’t smile this time. His expression was careful, restrained, but his eyes kept flicking to my mouth like he was trying not to notice where I was breathing from.

“Are you going to keep looking at me like that,” he asked quietly, “or are you planning on saying something?”

The corner of my mouth twitched despite myself. My fingers tightened around the strap of my bag, grounding me. “That depends,” I replied, tilting my head just slightly, “are you asking because you’re curious, or because you’re nervous?”

His breath hitched. Not dramatically. Just enough.

“I don’t get nervous,” he said, then paused, exhaled through his nose, and corrected himself. “Okay, that’s a lie. I do. Just not usually about… this.”

I stepped closer without fully deciding to. The space between us shrank until I could feel the warmth coming off him, the faint scent of ice and soap and something undeniably him.

“That makes two of us,” I said, softer now. “If I say the wrong thing, I don’t get to pretend this is just background noise anymore.”

His gaze dropped, following the movement of my lips as I spoke, then lifted again, steady and intent. “You haven’t been pretending for a while, Claire.”

My pulse thudded in my ears. “Neither have you.”

A flicker of a smile crossed his face, quick and almost shy, which would’ve been laughable if it didn’t undo me every single time. “I keep thinking I’ll get over it,” he admitted. “That if I give it enough time, the feeling will calm down. But it just…. doesn’t.”

I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. “You say that like it’s a problem.”

“It is,” he said, gently. “Because I don’t want to stop it. It’s been like this even since before your accident.”

The honesty in his voice landed heavier than any confession. I looked away first, dragging in a slow breath, feeling the tension coil tighter instead of easing.

“Not tonight,” I said eventually, forcing steadiness into my tone. “If we keep going like this, I won’t be able to stop myself. and that scares me more than I want to admit.”

He nodded immediately, relief and disappointment tangling together in his expression. “Okay. We pause. For now.”

“For now,” I echoed.

By the time the hockey game rolled around the next afternoon, the school felt charged with anticipation, like everyone was

20

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collectively Kolding thelf breath.

The bleachers were packed, the air buzzing with excitement and shouting and the sharp scrape of skate napet tre estante through the arena

I spotted Elijah the moment he stepped onto the rink

He looked different out there, shoulders relaxed in a way they never were in hallways, conferentine verkon lee second skin.

The captain’s band hugged his arm, and something in my chest tightened painfully at the sight of if

Jessica leaned closer, practically vibrating. “Tell me you’re seeing this.”

“I’m seeing it, I murmured, unable to tear my eyes away..

When his gaze flicked toward the stands and landed on me, the connection snapped into place instantly. His mouth carved just barely, not a full smile, but something warmer and more personal.

My stomach flipped.

The game itself was fast, brutal in that controlled way hockey always was. Elijah moved like the ice belonged to him. shouting commands, pivoting sharply, slamming into opponents without hesitation.

Every goal, every clean pass, every sharp turn pulled cheers from the crowd, but all I could think about was the way his focus never wavered.

When they won, the noise was deafening.

I found him afterward near the lockers, his hair damp, his cheeks flushed, breathing still uneven from the adrenaline.

“You came,” he said, like he hadn’t been completely sure I would.

“I wasn’t going to miss it,” I replied, crossing my arms, suddenly hyper-aware of how close he was standing. “You played like the captain that you are. But it also looked like you were trying to prove something.”

He laughed softly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Maybe I was.”

We walked home together under the dim glow of streetlights, the silence between us no longer awkward, but heavy with things waiting to be said.

“I have another appointment tomorrow,” I said eventually. “Dr. Adrian wants to tweak the treatment again.”

Elijah slowed, his hand curling into a loose fist. “Does that worry you?”

“A little,” I admitted. “He keeps warning me about stress. About… attachments.”

He stopped walking entirely then, turning to face me fully. “And?”

“And I told him I’m managing.” I said, meeting his eyes. “I didn’t tell him why that might be a lie.”

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