My Fake Boyfriend Is the School Bad Boy novel Chapter 19

Chapter 19 Then He Sat Beside Me

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“Liam’s right, Jenna chimed in, her tone shifting from gossipy to condescending. “It’s just… so out of character for you, Raisa. You don’t date. You study. And to start with him? People are talking. They’re saying he’s blackmailing you, or you’re doing his homework, or-

I’m not doing his homework!” I cut her off, my pulse roaring in my ears. The accusation hit too close to the actual truth. “We went out

for coffee after the bookstore. We talked. We… clicked. That’s it. It’s nobody’s business but ours.”

“It’s everyone’s business when he walks you down the A-wing like he owns you,” Jenna retorted, her eyes narrowing. “Come on, Raisa. He

looks at people like he wants to break their necks. How can you even sit next to him without shaking?”

I opened my mouth to defend myself again, the panic rising hot and thick in my throat. They were tearing the story apart. They were

poking holes in the fragile fabric of the lie, and I didn’t have enough social armor to fight them off. The entire cafeteria felt like it was

shrinking, the walls pressing in, the noise amplifying until I thought my skull might crack.

Then, the temperature at our table plummeted.

The ambient roar of the cafeteria surrounding us didn’t stop, but the immediate vicinity around our plastic table went dead, suffocatingly

quiet.

Jenna’s mouth snapped shut. All the color drained from her face. She stared at a fixed point just over my right shoulder.

Liam swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing sharply. He slowly pulled his hands off the table and dropped them into his lap, shrinking

back into his chair.

The scent of worn leather, cold wind, and sharp peppermint washed over me.

A heavy, calloused hand clamped down on the back of my plastic chair.

My breath caught in my lungs. The sheer physical heat radiating from the body standing directly behind me was overwhelming.

“Are we having a study group,” a rough, gravelly voice murmured right next to my ear, “or is someone sitting in my seat?”

Ryder.

He didn’t yell. He didn’t raise his voice. He spoke with a low, bored drawl that carried an undercurrent of absolute, terrifying authority.

Jenna scrambled backward, the metal legs of her chair screeching harshly against the linoleum. She practically tripped over her own feet

as she stood up.

“N-no, Jenna stammered, grabbing her salad container with shaking hands. “I was just leaving. Actually. I have to go to the library.”

Liam didn’t say a word. He just grabbed his heavy chemistry textbook, kept his eyes glued to the floor, and hurried away after her.

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12:39 Fri, Jul 10

Chapter 19 Then He Sat Beside Me

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Within five seconds, the table was entirely empty, save for me and the massive, dark shadow looming over my shoulder.

Ryder didn’t watch them run away. He pulled the chair out from the empty spot beside me. The metal shrieked again, a harsh, abrasive

sound that made a few kids at the next table jump. He didn’t have a tray of food. He just slouched down into the seat, his long legs

stretching out beneath the table, the heavy toe of his combat boot deliberately brushing against my sneaker.

He rested his right arm along the back of my chair, his large hand dangling dangerously close to my shoulder. He claimed the space. He

claimed the air. He claimed me.

I sat completely frozen, my hands resting in my lap. My heart was pounding so hard I was certain he could see the fabric of my blouse

vibrating.

“They were asking questions,” I whispered, keeping my head down, staring at the untouched turkey sandwich on my tray. “Jenna didn’t

believe the bookstore story. She said it was out of character.”

“Jenna is an idiot,” Ryder stated flatly.

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He leaned in closer. The heavy leather of his jacket creaked. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his bruised, scraped hand reach across the

table.

He didn’t ask. He just reached down and picked up the small green apple sitting on the corner of my plastic tray.

He brought it to his mouth and took a bite. The sharp, wet snap of the crisp apple echoed in the quiet bubble he had created around us.

It was an incredibly small action, but it was profoundly intimate. No one ate off my tray. No one invaded my personal space. The casual,

thoughtless way he took something of mine and made it his own sent a massive, terrifying jolt of heat straight to my core.

I finally turned my head to look at him.

He was already looking at me. He chewed the apple slowly, the harsh, bruised lines of his jaw flexing. His hazel eyes were dark, entirely focused, stripping away the cafeteria, the staring students, and the suffocating panic I had been drowning in just two minutes ago.

“You’re shaking, Petrova,” he murmured, his voice a low rumble meant only for me.

“I’m fine, I lied, my voice cracking humiliatingly on the second word.

Ryder didn’t argue. He just shifted his arm on the back of my chair, dropping his hand until his rough, warm fingers brushed against the

nape of my neck.

I gasped softly, the sound swallowed by the noise of the room. His thumb stroked a slow, deliberate line against my bare skin, right at the

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