Read Online My Night Breeze (The Breeze Series) by M.L. Newman - Free Book Online Page A

everyone else. She looked at the difference between the notes from class and today; it was like all the puzzle pieces finally matched and clicked together. She glanced up at him with a smile. He smiled back in return.
    “How did you learn science so well?”
    “ It just comes easy to me,” Mateo responded.
    “Lucky me then. I’d fail without your help. Thanks.”
    “Don’t worry about it,” he said.
    She fe lt warmth start to collect in the pit of her stomach. His eye gazed intensely into hers, causing the warmth to rise up into her chest. She hadn’t felt anything like this before—this anxiousness and excitement all wrapped up in one. Mateo picked up the highlighter and handed it to her, letting the tips of his fingers lightly graze her palm. She could feel her heartbeat speeding up rapidly, trying to find a way out of her chest.
    Audra bit the inside of her cheek as her hormones clashed with reality. Where did all this intensity come from? She barely knew him, but she wanted to know him more. She wanted to be closer to him. Mateo leaned back against the chair allowing his shoulder to touch hers. She wasn’t sure if it was deliberate or not, but she couldn’t stop her mind from hoping it was. She took slow, deep breaths with pursed lips, hiding how much he was affecting her. It almost pained her to realize how much she was feeling all at once. It didn’t make sense.
    Mateo’s phone start ed to ring, and he pulled it out of his pocket. When he read the name of the caller, his friendly demeanor changed in an instant. She could see his eyes darken as he hit answer.
    “Yeah.”
    Audra noted how much deeper and rougher his voice sounded. It shoved her back into the present mindset, the warmth a distant memory leaving goose bumps upon her skin. It was all happening so quickly she couldn’t understand what happened in the first place.
    “Coming now ,” he said.
    He hit ‘end’ and slipped the phone into his pocket as he stood up. Audra piled her book on top of her notebook as he pushed his chair back up to the table. Without a word, he walked toward the front door and slipped into his shoes. She had a horrible feeling that he would just leave and not say good-bye. She walked up behind him, silently flustered.
    “Thanks again ,” she said.
    Mateo look ed at her from over his shoulder, the stillness in his eyes making her want to take a step back. His mouth pinched along with his forehead. A slight shiver of fear ran through her, but she couldn’t move. She could barely breathe as it was. He reached out, clasping their hands together and tugged her a step closer. A strange sensation started to overcome her senses once again. Was it okay to want to be touched by him? She looked intently into his eyes, but there was no sense of calm there. He rubbed his thumbs back and forth against her hand before nodding and leaving.
    Audra , rooted in place, watched his back walk down the walkway from the door. He gripped his hands into fists, keeping his head down. She realized that she was right; he had no plans of stopping once on his way out. She couldn’t pull her eyes away from him as she worried about the look he gave. Who called putting him in such a bad mood?
    “Who was that?”
    Audra dragged her eyes away only to realize Jim was standing in front of her. Even she couldn’t deny that she was staring after him, no matter how much fluff she used to buffer. This was one situation she would have to deal with.
    “ My tutor,” she replied.
    “Tutor? For what?”
    “Science. Why?” she asked.
    “You know how Dad feels about having people over.”
    “Mom met him, watched us study. Why are you trying to make this a big deal?” she complained.
    “Are you that selfish that you don’t care what happens to me?”
    Audra glared at him. “I saw what you were doing on Friday. And I kept my mouth shut.”
    Jim fr oze on the spot. She knew that if she gave any details she’d be caught in the lie, but it would get him