Chapter 1

The heavy bass from the speakers vibrated through the sticky wood of the coffee table, traveling straight up Juliette's arms and rattling her teeth.

She sat in the darkest corner of the Alpha Sigma fraternity living room. Her knees were pulled up tight against her chest.

A plastic cup of untouched soda sweated onto her jeans.

She pressed her palm hard against her right ear, trying to block out the noise. Her eyes never left the glowing screen of her tablet. The third paragraph analyzing tuber mutations was blurring together.

A massive roar of laughter erupted from the center of the room.

The sound shattered her focus completely. She let out a sharp breath, dropping her hand from her ear, and looked up at the crowd gathered around the Texas Hold'em table.

Adrian Castillo leaned back in a cracked leather armchair.

He looked entirely out of place in the sweaty frat house. His crisp button-down shirt didn't have a single wrinkle. His long, calloused fingers lazily spun two hole cards face down on the felt.

His dark, piercing eyes cut right through the chaotic crowd. They landed with pinpoint accuracy on Juliette in her dark corner.

Jax slammed both hands on the table, shoving a massive pile of plastic chips into the center.

"All in, Castillo!" Jax yelled over the music. "You gonna call or what?"

The girls standing behind Jax shrieked in anticipation.

Adrian slowly pulled his gaze away from Juliette. The corner of his mouth twitched upward in a cold, barely-there smirk.

He flipped his cards over, pressing them flat against the table. A straight flush.

"Fold," Adrian said. His voice was quiet, but it somehow cut through the heavy bass.

The room went dead silent for exactly one second. Then, the crowd exploded into deafening whistles and groans.

Jax stared at the folded winning hand, his jaw practically hitting the floor. He blinked, realized he had just won by default, and immediately jumped onto his chair.

"I set the penalty rules tonight!" Jax roared, pointing a finger at the ceiling.

He scanned the room. His eyes swept past a dozen girls in tight dresses who were practically vibrating with hope.

His finger stopped. It pointed straight at the corner. Straight at Juliette's baggy cargo pants.

"Castillo," Jax shouted, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "You have to get a ten-second French kiss from the potato freak in the corner. Or you're doing my lab reports for the rest of the semester."

The crowd parted like the Red Sea.

Suddenly, there was a clear path of sticky floor between the poker table and Juliette's sofa.

Juliette blinked. She looked up from her screen. The bright diagram of a russet potato was still illuminating her confused face.

Adrian stood up. He casually adjusted his cuffs, the silver links catching the strobe lights.

He stepped over a spilled red cup and walked straight toward her. His strides were long, purposeful, and terrifyingly steady.

Juliette watched the campus god approach. Her heart kicked against her ribs. Her brain scrambled, calculating the distance to the back door. Blocked by three linebackers.

Adrian stopped right in front of her.

His tall frame entirely blocked out the spinning disco lights. He cast a heavy, warm shadow over her.

He leaned down. He placed a hand on the back of the sofa, right beside her head, trapping her.

"I need a favor," Adrian murmured. His voice was a low rumble that vibrated right into her chest.

Juliette pressed her spine hard against the sofa cushions. Her lungs felt tight.

"Absolutely not," she said, her voice shaking slightly. "Go do his lab reports."

The crowd started chanting. "Ten! Nine!"

The sheer volume made Juliette's stomach churn. She squeezed her eyes shut, her head pounding.

Adrian tilted his head. His mouth hovered inches from her ear. She could feel the heat of his breath on her skin.

"Professor Alistair Frye's latest CRISPR potato breeding data," Adrian whispered.

Juliette's eyes snapped open. Her pupils dilated.

Her body, which had been coiled tight with panic, froze completely. She turned her head, her nose almost brushing his jaw, and stared straight into his dark eyes.

Adrian watched her reaction. A flash of dark satisfaction crossed his face.

"Help me out," he said softly, his gaze dropping to her lips. "And the data is yours."

Juliette's brain ran the math. One kiss versus top-tier agricultural technology. The panic warred with her academic greed for a frantic second, and greed won. It took her less than a second.

She reached up, grabbed the collar of his expensive shirt, and yanked him down.

The crowd's chanting cut off into a collective gasp of shock.

Adrian let himself be pulled. As his face descended, Juliette quickly turned her head a fraction of an inch. She slammed her thumb flat against his lips, pressing it between his mouth and hers.

From the crowd's angle, it looked like a desperate, heated kiss.

Jax blew a loud whistle and started screaming the countdown. "Five! Four!"

Adrian felt the rough, calloused skin of her thumb against his lips. His eyes darkened.

He didn't pull away. Instead, he slid his free arm around her waist, his large hand gripping her hip firmly, pulling her flush against his chest to deepen the fake embrace.

"One!" Jax yelled.

Juliette shoved Adrian's chest like she had just touched a hot stove.

She scrambled backward, grabbing her tablet with shaking hands. Her cheeks were burning.

Adrian took a half-step back. He slipped one hand into his pocket. His face was a mask of cool indifference, completely unaffected by the physical contact.

"Your number," Juliette demanded, holding out her phone. "For the data."

Adrian let out a low chuckle. "Phone's dead."

Juliette glared at him.

"Meet me at the campus carnival shooting range tomorrow," Adrian said smoothly. "Noon."

Before she could argue, he turned around. He walked toward the front door, leaving the stunned frat house behind him.

Juliette stared at his retreating back. She ground her teeth together, shoved her tablet into her backpack, and stood up.

She was getting that data tomorrow, even if it killed her.