Chapter One

Matthias Delgado

It is the first day of the school year, my second year of college, and already I'm bored out of my mind. I want nothing more than to just say "fuck it" and go home but my mother would shit a brick if I did that. So instead, I stay here and watch the masses as they mill around.

A flash of dark hair catches my attention and I turn to see where the woman went. It's been this way since she walked away from me.

Kaelie Carter.

I met her at the end of summer, just over a year ago. It was our last high school party, and she wasn't even supposed to be there. I was instantly drawn to her, and our chemistry was off the charts, but it ended just as abruptly as it started. We had two days together and then she walked away. No goodbye.

She changed her number, and I didn't know enough about her to find her. It drove me crazy for the longest time. Now I just long for her. It's been more than a year and I know I need to move on, but I didn't realize until it was too late that I was falling in love with her.

"How are you doing?" Ashe asks as he takes a seat beside me at one of the outdoor picnic tables.

"Fine."

I'm not really focusing on Ashe. I'm still scanning the quad for the girl I caught a glimpse of earlier. A commotion draws my attention and I see Amber, my girlfriend, being held back from attacking another girl.

"Shit," I mumble, nodding in that direction so Ashe knows what I'm referring to.

We both stand from our spots and make our way over. I know I need to step in and make sure she's okay, but my gaze is glued to the young woman lying on the ground. It's my girl, the girl I have been dreaming of and pining for—Kaelie.

But she doesn't see me, her gaze locked on a clearly enraged Amber.

"I'm going to rip you limb from limb," Amber roars while Ashe takes over from the man holding her back. "You are dead, you fucking bitch."

"What the hell, Amber?" she asks, confusion coating her words. "I didn't do anything."

"You aren't supposed to be here," Amber seethes. "I've had an entire year without you ruining my life."

"I'm just here to go to school," she says. She tried to get up but Amber kicked out at her, hitting her in the shoulder, and she fell once more.

"Go somewhere else."

Amber shakes with rage in my best friend's grasp and I wish I knew what the hell was going on. The one thing I do know is that I can't let Amber find out about our history. It would probably push her around the bend, and I know Amber is an unstable bitch on the best of days.

I help the young woman, the woman of my dreams, to her feet and that's when she finally sees me. Her eyes go the size of saucers before she rips her arms from my grasp. She stares at me for a long moment before turning back to Amber.

"I have a scholarship to this college. I'm not going anywhere."

With those words she turns on her heel and walks away, disappearing into the crowd of college students.

****

Kaelie Carter

I couldn't get through my first week of college before everything turned to shit. I need to stay focused on what is important—getting my degree. It's bad enough I had to take a year off between high school and college, I can't afford any distractions right now. Even sexy, dangerous ones that I want to rub up against like a cat in heat.

Matthias Delgado. The one person I never expected to see again is here at Birchleigh College. When I walked away from Matthias over a year ago, I never thought I would see him again but now he's here, and I feel like I can't breathe.

Our time together was the best two days of my life. I could feel myself getting in too deep, falling in love with him, and I had to get away. A clean break. It was only supposed to be a fun weekend, my last chance to let go before I had to put all my focus into studying and building a better life for myself.

The moment I knew who he was I knew it couldn't last. The Delgado cartel, his father's cartel, is my family's opposition. And even though they're trying to find a way to make peace and stop all the bloodshed, I swore I would get away from that life and start from scratch. Matthias would one day take over from his father, Nero, and I had to make sure I was as far away from him as possible when that happened.

So, I ran and changed my number. It was only a month later that my plans changed but by then I had convinced myself he had moved on. I never tried to find him.

It's been two hours since my altercation with Amber and my eye hurts like hell. It's swollen and discolored from the sucker punch she caught me with but there's nothing I can do about that now.

A knock sounds on the door to my dorm room and I don't even consider that I don't know anyone here before opening the door.

"Kaelie."

Matthias stands outside in the hallway staring at me. My breathing freezes as I take him in, just as gorgeous as I remember. Dark hair, olive skin, those damn dimples that have driven me crazy since the first moment I laid eyes on him.

"What are you doing here?" I hiss, peering out into the hallway.

"I wanted to see you." He smiles again and my heart breaks at his sincerity.

But I can't do this. Too much time has passed, too many things have happened. I can't let Matthias back into my life no matter how badly I want to fall into his arms and let him hold me.

"Go away."

"Kaelie," he starts but I cut him off.

"We had some fun. It was great but I've moved on. You should do the same."

I slam the door in his face and listen as he walks away. My legs finally give out and I slide down to the ground. Resting my back against the door I allow the sobs to finally break free. My heart hurts and I press my palm against my chest, trying to keep the pain away.

Seeing him here, being this close to him again, is my greatest dream come true. And my greatest fear.