They hadn't talked since that invcident, but that was probably because Erin was trying too hard not be around him.
She hadn't spoken a single word to Xander since the kiss on the balcony.
It had happened that very morning—an intense, overwhelming moment neither of them had planned nor expected. She'd gone out to the balcony to call of the exchange because she only initiated it out of impulse. She also wanted to clear her head, only to get pulled into an entirely different storm—the kind that left her breathless and unsure of where the ground even was anymore.
That kiss… she hadn't been able to think clearly since.
And because of it, she couldn't bring herself to face him anymore.
So, she didn't.
She didn't announce breakfast like she usually did—just quietly set it on the table and left before he even came downstairs. When he called her name once, she pretended not to hear. When his footsteps echoed through the corridors, she turned the other way. When she passed by the study and heard his voice inside, she walked faster.
He didn't confront her. Not immediately. Maybe he was just as shaken. Maybe he was avoiding her, too. Which was a good thing.
By evening, Erin was beginning to think maybe she'd gotten away with it. Maybe he had decided not to bring it up.
And then, just as she stepped out of the library, she turned a corner —and ran straight into him.
She froze.
Xander was standing directly in her path, tall and composed in a dark button-up with the sleeves pushed up his forearms, exuding his usual quiet confidence. Except this time, there was something different in his eyes. A glint of something sharper. More amused.
Before she could take a step back, he moved.
Both his arms shot out, palms planting flat against the walls on either side of her, boxing her in. Erin's breath caught as her back pressed to the wall, her eyes wide with startled resistance.
"Going somewhere?" he asked casually, voice low and unhurried.
She schooled her expression into neutrality. "I was just—passing."
His brow lifted. "You've been 'passing' me all day."
"I've been busy," she muttered.
Xander leaned in slightly. "No you haven't. If you ask me I'll say you've been avoiding me."
"I haven't."
"Oh, really?" His voice dropped lower. "You didn't show up at breakfast. You vanished after leaving food like a ghost. You've disappeared from every room I've walked into. Pretended not to hear me when I call out your name. Walking faster so I won't catch up in the corridors. Should I keep going?"
She met his gaze with a glare. "You're imagining things."
A slow, knowing smirk touched his lips. "Is this about the kiss?"
Erin stiffened instantly. Her throat tightened.
"That kiss meant nothing. It didn't affect me at all." she said firmly, even though the lie scraped against her tongue.
Xander's smirk deepened. "Didn't affect you?"
"Not at all."
"Mm." He inched even closer, his lips hovering just beside her ear now. "Then you won't mind if I do it again."
Her breath hitched. Her hands fisted at her sides, trying to stay calm.
But her eyes betrayed her. They fluttered shut instinctively, and her lips parted ever so slightly. Her body went still, anticipating. Waiting.
Seconds passed.
Nothing.
Her brows knit. Her lips remained untouched.
Then—her eyes opened slowly.
He was gone.
Completely.
She looked around, stunned and breathless, her chest still rising and falling as if she'd just run a mile.
Her heart thudded in humiliation as it sank in. He hadn't even kissed her. He knew she was expecting it. And he walked away.
Her fists clenched. Her face burned red.
"That arrogant, infuriating, unbearable—" she hissed under her breath, storming off down the hall.
In another wing of the mansion, Xander leaned against a railing, hands still in his pockets, the tiniest smirk playing on his lips. He could still feel the way her breath had caught when he leaned in. Still see how her eyes had fluttered shut. She could pretend all she wanted, but he knew the truth.
And he wasn't going to let her forget it.
Not now.
Not when the line between them was starting to blur.