Under My Skin by Judith Graves Read Free Book Online

been around eye candy before. Looks and wolven were a given—all wild things had a natural beauty—but this guy was too refined, his features too perfect. Wolven were catastrophically sexy in a rugged sort of way.
    More like Alec.
    Rats.
    And I’d been doing so well at not thinking about him. Why did I always go for the road less traveled? Why get stupid over a guy who could only complicate my life and possibly want to kill me once he found out I was half paranorm? Did I need any more stress?
    My new friend’s glance flicked to my sketch. “Delacroix?” He read aloud, his brow furrowed. “Have those guys been sniffing around you?”
    My fingers squeezed my mechanical pencil, popping off the little white eraser. It pinged against the desk next to mine, earning me a glare from the girl sitting there. “Have they been what ?”
    He made a face. “I’m just saying, if I were you, new to town, not up on the gossip, I’d watch my back around the Delacroix. That family is dangerous.”
    How ironic, first Brit and now Redgrave High’s resident hottie warning me against Alec, but for entirely different reasons. Brit had wanted to save me from heartache. This guy seemed to want to save me. Period.
    Forget Alec.
    Forget everything.
    I took a slow breath and surrendered to the soothing balm of harmless flirtation.
    “So what are you? The Big Bad Wolf of Redgrave High? Protecting the innocent new girls in town from the Delacroix?” I spun around. My desk creaked, drawing more interest from the class than a fire alarm.
    “Exactly.” He shook his head to toss his dark bangs out of his eyes.
    “My, what big teeth you have.” I smirked, aware we had an audience. Play-by-play whispers snaked across the room.
    “All the better to bite you with, my dear,” he said. “Sadly, we know how that story ended. Not so good from the wolf’s perspective.” He leaned over his desk. “I’m Wade, and you are…?”
    A twitching mass of hormones at your feet . “Eryn,” I said over the bell’s harsh peal. For once, students didn’t bolt for the hall. Instead they wavered, watching us.
    Wade angled his chin. “What’s with the paparazzi?”
    I shrugged, then eyed the students shooting us furtive looks. “I’ve got New-Girl-itis. The doctors say it should pass any day. No lasting effects. I guess you don’t get a lot of newbies around here.”
    “Well, there was one new kid a few years ago. I think they ran him out of town. Angry mob. Torches. The usual. After that….” Wade stroked his chin, pretending to be stumped.
    I chuckled.
    “Ah, I made you laugh. And you, diseased and near death, an almost impossible feat. You must really like me.”
    I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from grinning like an idiot. He was over the top, but I liked his easy-going attitude, the way he lightened my mood. Plus, he was definitely not a hunter.
    “Have I been in a coma? Why haven’t I seen you in this class before?” I blurted.
    “And just like that, I’m busted,” Wade said, charmingly shamefaced. “I don’t have physics until next semester. The guys said there was a real hottie in this class.” He glanced at the girls hovering near the door, and his gaze lingered over a few pretty faces. “I thought I’d drop by and see for myself. Phillips has no idea who’s in his class.” His attention shifted to Mr. Phillips, still sitting at his computer. “His online girlfriend sucks up a lot of his time, as you can see.”
    While the scoop on Mr. Phillips and his cyber girlfriend was entertaining, I couldn’t help but feel let down. Wade wasn’t interested in me? The flirting killed time while he trolled for girls? Disappointment made me crabby.
    “Don’t be a sexist pig or anything,” I said. “Last time I checked, this wasn’t a harem. You might have more luck in chemistry. It’s down the hall.”
    I gathered my books and untangled my long legs from under the desk. The class, as if released from a spell, shuffled toward