I should have known it was a trap.
But standing in the hallway, as the world seemed to fade into the background, it was too easy to get caught up in him. Too easy to forget that I hated him, that I had every reason to want to tear him apart.
Asher knew exactly how to play me.
His fingers still lingered on my wrist, the warmth of his touch seeping through my skin. His smirk was a permanent fixture on his face, like he thought I was some kind of toy he could control. And for a second—just a second—I almost let him.
“You know, Ava…” He leaned in again, his voice dropping into a lower, more dangerous register. “You’re always so eager to hate me. So eager to fight it. But I see the way you look at me.”
I stiffened, but my heart pounded in my chest, betraying me. “What the hell are you talk
