Goddess Rising by Alexi Lawless

as he took a deep pull. Samantha Wyatt. Gorgeous, but not in an overt way like so many of the girls he knew. Smart, but not snotty about it. Quick on the draw with a dry sass. Damn, he liked her.
    And she wanted absolutely nothing to do with him.
    Wes smiled to himself. Was it wrong if that made him like her all the more? He didn’t realize he was daydreaming until Chris pulled the pen out of his mouth and chucked it at him.
    “Hey, you !” Chris called out. “Ground control to Major Tom. I’ve been talking to you for like two minutes, and you’re just standing there like an idiot.” He leaned back and crossed his arms. “What gives? Did you win some big money with the award too?”
    He had actually. A couple thousand bucks. Enough to cover photography supplies for a while, maybe pay off Ryke what he owed him for his portion of the fake IDs.
    “A bit,” he shrugged.
    “Congrats, man!” Chris grinned. “That why you’re so happy?”
    “Nah.” Wes shook his head. “Met a girl.”
    Chris’s brows furrowed. “How’s that unusual? You rotate girls like shirts.”
    “Yeah, well, not this one,” he admitted, shaking his head. “This girl shut me down so fast, I didn’t know if I was coming or going.”
    Chris’s brows shot up in surprise. “…And you liked that?”
    “Yeah.” Wes sipped his beer, smiling. “Yeah, I guess I kind of did.”
    “Well, I’ll be damned.” Chris barked out a laugh. “Hell—it’s frozen over.”
    Wes shrugged. “Threw me for a loop is all.”
    “Dude, we’ve been roommates for going on two years now.” Chris crossed his arms behind his head. “And never once have I seen you thrown for a loop by a chick.”
    “She’s the one in my photo,” Wes explained. “My muse.”
    Chris frowned. “But you can’t even see her face.”
    “It’s her. I’d know her anywhere.”
    “Figures the one girl you’ve been fascinated with the past few weeks won’t come near you.”
    “Oh, she came near me all right,” Wes replied, recalling the silky feel of her skin, her jasmine scent on the air like a whisper. “Just need to figure out how to keep her around for longer next time.”
    “Sounds like she knows better,” Chris teased, turning back to his laptop. “I got to get this paper done. I’ve got a meeting with Sam tomorrow to review what we’ve both written so far,” he explained as his fingers moved quickly over the keys.
    Wes crossed the room to sit down across from him, propping his legs on the table. “Thought you said this partner of yours was a girl.”
    Chris nodded. “Sam’s short for Samantha.”
    Wes felt his entire body stiffen.
    No. No way.
    Sensing his sudden tension, Chris glanced up. “What is it?”
    What were the odds? A&M was big. There were probably plenty of Samanthas… right?
    Wes shifted back. “Her name wouldn’t happen to be Samantha Wyatt, would it?”
    Chris blinked at him in surprise. “Yeah. How do you know her?”
    Wes slowly straightened, setting his beer on the table. “Shit,” he muttered, pushing his hair back with both hands.
    “Shit what?” Chris asked, befuddled. “Do you have class with her too?”
    Wes grabbed the back of his neck. “ Shee-it ,” he said again, drawing it out as it hit him.
    “Use your words, man,” Chris admonished.
    Wes looked at his friend square in the eye. “She’s the muse. Sam’s the girl I just met.”
    Chris paused a moment before the implication hit him. “Oh hell no , man!” he exclaimed, expression darkening. “You know I’ve got a thing for her—”
    “I know—” Wes shook his head. “I just didn’t realize it was the same girl.”
    “You are not going after her, Wes. She’s a good girl. And smart,” Chris pointed out, his face flushing with anger. “She’s not even your type!”
    Wes grimaced. “What does that mean?”
    “This girl has style, class, brains—”
    “The fuck you saying, Chris?” Wes asked, irritated. “That I only go out with brainless, slutty