Zodiac Academy 3: The Reckoning

MY HEAD WAS RINGING and my pulse was slamming into my eardrums loud enough to make me lose focus.

“Are you listening to me?” Lance asked and I realised I hadn’t been.

I blinked a few times and shook my head, trying to force the dizziness away.

“Say it again,” I asked, drawing in a deep breath and releasing it slowly.

Lance caught my arm and pulled me to a halt. We were at the top of the cliffs in Air Territory, walking along the path that led to The Orb. It was after curfew but that actually made it easier for us to meet. No one was around to see us.

“Did I push you too hard?” he asked, a trace of concern leaking into his voice.

“No.” I shook my head and took another deep breath of the sea air rolling over the cliff. “I skipped dinner though, so-”

“I’ve warned you about that,” he growled, concern shifting to anger easily enough. “You need your energy when we do this. If anything, you should eat more when you know we’re going to-”

“Alright, I fucking get it. I just got caught up talking to Xavier and the time got away from me.” I tipped my head back to the sky, looking at the black, star speckled blanket above us as I got my mind straight again.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on with him?” Lance asked.

I sighed. It wasn’t my secret to tell but I needed to talk to someone about it. And Lance had been keeping my secrets for as long as I could remember. If I couldn’t trust him with this then why the hell was I trusting him with my life every other night?

“His Order emerged,” I said, my eyes on the stars as I searched for the constellation which must have been responsible for my brother’s fate. “He’s… a Pegasus.”

To Lance’s credit he only swore once.

“Lionel knows?” he confirmed.

“He does. I think he would have killed him to cover it up but Mother stepped up. She’s put a plan in place to release the story if anything were to happen to her or Xavier so he’s… well I wouldn’t say safe but he’s not likely to die just yet.” I blew out a breath and forced myself to look at my friend.

“I know you want to protect him from this but it isn’t your job,” he began.

“It wasn’t your job to protect Clara either but you did all you could, didn’t you?” I asked.

Lance’s jaw ticked. “Not enough.”

“No. Not enough to save her from my father. And he didn’t even want her to die… what chance does Xavier have?”

I blinked a few times and found that the dizziness had passed. Lance assessed me through narrowed eyes and reached out to clasp my neck without bothering to ask. The heat of his healing magic slid through me and I waited patiently for him to finish.

“Better?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I admitted.

We started walking again, giving Aer House a wide berth in case anyone was looking out of the windows.

“You want to help Xavier hide what he is, but maybe that’s the wrong way to look at it,” Lance said as we walked. “Once the story is out there, it’s out there. If everyone already knew then what could Lionel do? He’d have to just front it out.”

“I thought the same thing but Xavier is terrified of what would happen if anyone found out. He thinks Father would punish Mother. He said he’s already accused her of having an affair.”

“Well neither of your parents have ever been faithful in their marriage but that’s hardly a secret,” Lance muttered. “And Catalina might be many things but she’s not an idiot. She would have cast the spells to prevent pregnancy.”

“I know. He knows that too or he would have ordered a paternity test. But you know how he is. The Acruxes are pure blooded Dragons as far back as anyone can count. That’s why he wants to marry me to fucking Mildred even though she’s his cousin’s daughter and looks like a warthog made love to a dishwasher to conceive her. He can’t bear the idea of us even risking bringing impure blood into the mix for this very reason. And poor Xavier… he’s like the cutest fucking Pegasus I ever saw.” I ran a hand over my face and groaned. “If it wasn’t so goddamn serious it’d be hilarious.”

We walked in silence for a few minutes as Lance stewed over that little nugget of shit.

“I take it Lionel won’t let him join a herd either?” he asked eventually.

I snorted a humourless laugh. “He’s pretty much shackled to the bed. I don’t even think he sees daylight half the time. They trotted him out for half an hour at that goddamn party with the Vegas just in case the press made note of his absence but aside from that he’s being hidden away.”

“Fae of the Pegasus Order need a herd just like Werewolves need a pack. He needs to come to terms with who he is and embrace that part of him. He needs to meet others like himself,” Lance said.

“It doesn’t even look like he’ll be allowed to attend the Academy next year. I honestly think Father is just planning to lock him away forever more and hopes the world will forget he exists. I don’t know what I can do to help him and I just feel so… useless.”

“I’ll try and think of something,” Lance said. “Perhaps a herd could be paid off and we could come up with some cover story for them spending time at you family’s manor-”

“Can you really see Father allowing that? Think of the glitter on the lawn. He’d shit a brick.”

“I’d like to see that,” Lance laughed. “I’ll think on it some more. Did Xavier happen to mention anything about Lionel’s movements this week?”

“He said he’s been away from the manor a lot but he had no idea where. He didn’t know anything which might help us figure out who he’s planning to use on the Lunar Eclipse for his shadow magic. I considered asking him to dig around but if Father caught him…”

“I understand. It’s better not to put Xavier in the firing line if we can avoid it. Is there any chance you can come up with an excuse to visit the manor this week instead then? We need to find out who he’s planning to use before it’s too late.”

“I already have actually,” I said with a smirk. “I’ll head there tomorrow night and try to find out more. He’s got a big council meeting that night about the Nymph situation so I should be able to search his office. With a bit of luck it’ll give us the answers we need. At the very least I should be able to get something of his that’s personal enough to let us use it for a reading.”

“Good,” Lance replied and I could see the relief weighing on him. “We need to figure this out before the Eclipse.”

We walked on in silence for a while, both of us considering the repercussions if we failed to figure out Father’s plans. But I couldn’t let myself get caught up in what ifs. I had to presume we’d stop him before he got that far.

We reached a fork in the path and paused to say goodnight.

“Get something to eat before you head back to your House. And if you get caught then I’m not covering for you. I already had that FIB asshole sniffing around, asking questions about us,” Lance said.

“Anyone would think you were embarrassed about luring students out to sneak around after dark with you in your secret cave,” I teased.

“I’m mostly embarrassed it’s you,” he replied scathingly. “You’re not even hot.”

“Bite me,” I joked.

“Don’t tempt me.”

I looked at him a little more closely and noted the bags beneath his eyes. “Maybe you should go get your Vega out of bed,” I suggested.

“What do you mean my Vega?” he asked, shooting me a sharp look as we paused where we were due to part ways.

“Gwendalina,” I reminded him with a frown. “You know, your Source. Unless you really are planning on biting me tonight?”

“Oh, right. No, I’ll just catch her in the morning,” he replied, looking out into the trees. “If I bite you before I sleep I’ll end up fucking dreaming of you again.”

“Oh come on, Professor, we both know you dream of me anyway.” I flexed my muscles at him as I began to back away and he rolled his eyes.

“You wanna lose two hundred and fifty House Points for disrespecting a teacher while breaking curfew?” he asked.

“You wanna tell me if that’s a dagger in your pocket or if you’re just excited to see me?” I taunted.

He flipped me off before turning away and shooting off towards Asteroid Place.

I grinned to myself as I took the path to The Orb. If I headed there now I could grab some food before going back to the House and make up for the meal I’d missed while talking to Xavier. Although I didn’t feel like I needed it so much now that Lance had healed me. He was right though, it was stupid of me to take extra risks like that unnecessarily. I’d be more careful to eat before the next time we met.

I shouldn’t really have risked being seen by any more teachers after curfew like this, but being an Heir bought me a lot of leeway and it was doubtful that I’d incur any punishment even if I was caught.

The Orb appeared ahead of me through the trees but as I stepped out onto the path, a shadow peeled away from Lunar Leisure and moved into my way.

“Tut tut, Mr Acrux, breaking curfew? You naughty boy.” Washer waggled a finger at me as he moved closer and I stopped before him.

“Just had a little business to attend to,” I said, layering my voice with enough friendliness to get him on side.

“Of the female persuasion?” Washer asked knowingly, throwing me a wink.

I gave him a smile which let him believe that.

“Well, perhaps I can let this little transgression slide if you offer up a taste of that lust for me. I’m sure a peek at your exploits would see me through the night,” he purred, slinking closer.

As if I’d give you a look at my sex life to jerk off over.

“Not tonight,” I said firmly. “I’m a little low on reserves myself.” Not true but he could fuck off if he thought he was getting into my head.

“Ohh come now, a taste to buy my silence. You’ve been having fun while I’ve been out here patrolling. We can keep it between us boys.” I felt a wave of his power flowing towards me, trust and friendship mixing with some lust as he tried to twist my emotions to his desires.

I slammed a wall of heated energy up around me and squared my shoulders at him.

“That was a no, Professor,” I snarled and he backed up a step, fear flickering through his eyes before he could hide it.

A tense beat of silence passed between us and then he tittered a laugh. I dropped the wall of heat and he visibly relaxed.

“Ah well, you can’t blame me for wanting a piece of your power,” he said, dipping his head to me just a little in deference. I didn’t often have to pull the power rank on a teacher but a little reminder of who I was didn’t go amiss every now and then. And I certainly wasn’t going to be prey to any of the parasitic Orders outside of the other Heirs and even then it was only with my agreement. 

“Scamper on back to your House then you scallywag and I’ll wave the punishment for breaking curfew this once.”

“Thank you, Professor,” I said brightly, like we hadn’t just had a face off which ended in my favour.

I walked around him and Washer headed off into the trees to continue his patrol with a slight pout on his face.

As I strolled into The Orb to grab my late meal and a few beers to take back to my room, my mind focused on the conversation I’d had with Xavier again.

He’d overheard Father saying he might have a way to fix him and I was just as concerned about that idea as Xavier had been.

I glanced around as my skin prickled, sensing someone close by without actually seeing anyone. I frowned, drawing on my magic as I pushed back at the strange sensation and suddenly a glamour fell away, revealing three figures at the back of the huge room.

Raucous laughter drew my attention and I looked into the far corner, spotting Roxy Vega clambering up onto the table while two of her powerless little friends watched excitedly. She still had her uniform on and I wondered how long they’d been here, hiding themselves with that spell. It was a pretty clever way to avoid the Hell Week chaos going on back at the House even if they were being stupid by staying out after curfew. But then I could hardly talk on that front

“Far be it for you to not go through with the… for me to not to go through to do the daring…” Roxy was slurring and she stumbled, almost falling from the table even though she was only wearing flat pumps.

The guy leapt up and caught her waist to steady her and my gut lurched irritably as his hand skimmed her ass. I bit my tongue, turning away from them as I crossed the room in search of my drinks. I didn’t think I’d seen her that wasted before and a Tuesday evening in The Orb seemed like an odd venue to choose for a bender. But that was her business.

“I only came up with that dare because I didn’t think you’d actually lose!” the girl protested.

“I am not usually one for losing, Sofia,” Roxy agreed. “But I will never back out of a dare and you ordered a strip show.”

I paused a few meters from the ice chiller, fighting against the urge to look back over to them again. Roxy Vega might have been the most irritatingly rude and stubborn girl I’d ever met but she was fucking hot. And with the stupid games we played together while I was tutoring her in her fire magic I had to admit that I’d imagined her stripping for me more than once.

The guy muttered something in Spanish and the tone of it made me think she’d started to pull her clothes off.

I fought the urge to turn with clenched teeth then continued my mission for beer, deciding to skip the food in favour of sleep. I snagged a six pack from the chiller and turned back, meaning to head for the exit.

Of course my goddamn dick wasn’t going to let me leave without looking over at Roxy again, it didn’t care that I had to get rid of her or that she irritated me more than any woman ever born.

Her blazer already lay in a heap on the floor and she was fumbling with the buttons on her shirt, her inebriation obviously slowing her down. But the way she was swaying her hips and tossing her long, black hair still made her look sexy as hell. Her pleated skirt fell to her mid thigh, giving me a look at several inches of bare flesh between it and the top of her knee length socks, but the elevated angle of looking up at her on the table made it seem like her bronzed legs went on forever.

“Why don’t you do another dare?” the boy protested. “Go for a run in The Wailing Wood?”

“Don’t be crazy,” Sofia objected. “There could be a Nymph out there!”

“Stop doubting my amazing stripping skills, dude,” Roxy teased as she continued to struggle with her buttons.

I was about to force my eyes away from her when she cursed and yanked on her shirt hard enough to rip every button off of it.

Beneath it she was wearing a gold push up bra which accentuated her perfect tits and made her look like something out of a Dragon’s wet dream.

She tossed her head back with laughter, taking a playful bow for her friends but her foot slipped and she tumbled off of the table instead.

I took a few running steps towards her before I could stop myself but the guy had leapt up to catch her before she could hit the ground.

“Tory?” he asked as she slumped against him, seeming to have fallen unconscious. “Oh, shit! Help me.”

The girl Roxy had called Sofia scrambled to help him with her and they struggled to move her towards one of the cushioned chairs close to where they’d been sitting.

I shook my head to clear it of the image of her in that gold bra and spun on my heel, striding towards the exit and quite possibly a cold shower.

Just as I made it to the door, a loud scream halted me. I turned back to see Roxy’s friends backing away from her in a panic as a thick sheet of ice spread across the ground away from her, tinting everything in its path a frosty blue.

“Wake up, Tory!” Sofia yelled desperately.

“Maybe you should run for a teacher,” the boy said. “I’ll try to get through to her.”

Sofia turned to run for the exit and her eyes widened in panic as she found me striding towards her instead.

“What’s wrong with her?” I asked, my tone clipped.

“She err…” Sofia hesitated, clearly not wanting to trust me with her friend’s condition while battling against the inclination to do whatever I told her. “She passed out and now she’s using magic in her sleep and we can’t get close to help her.”

Roxy whimpered behind her and I stepped around Sofia to inspect the damage for myself. I’d dealt with this kind of thing with the other Heirs once or twice when our powers had first been Awakened. We were just so powerful that if we got too drunk, sometimes we’d lose control over our magic in our sleep and Roxy had seemed wasted to me.

“It’s fine, we’ll look after her,” the boy said firmly but I ignored him as I walked closer to Roxy where she was slumped in the chair.

Ice crunched loudly beneath my boots while the temperature around me plummeted and I hadn’t even gotten close to her yet.

I drew on my fire magic, pushing it against the ice and melting some of it but Roxy’s power fought back as she whimpered again.

“Roxy,” I growled as I made it to stand before her. The ice was still spreading and thickening. She was trembling in the chair and I noticed a few tears sailing down her cheeks.

“Not again,” she breathed, her fists balling as she curled in on herself.

“Roxy, wake up!” I snapped, moving forward to grab her arm and shake her.

She didn’t wake but the ice around me thickened even more and her friends cried out as they were forced to back up again. My breath rose before me and I dropped the six pack beside her chair, crouching down before her so that I could shake her more firmly.

She started coughing and water burst from her mouth like she’d been drowning. I pulled her forward, slapping her back to help her get it all up and the tremors rocking her body reverberated through mine as she pressed against my chest. More cold water flooded from her, drenching her as she cried out in panic and I pulled her against me more firmly.

“You need to wake up,” I commanded.

“I don’t want to die like this,” she breathed and my heart lurched as the ice thickened around us again.

This wasn’t a dream she was having. It was a nightmare. And I got the sinking feeling that I knew exactly what it was about.

The ice kept thickening and I was shivering now too. If she didn’t snap out of this soon she could really hurt herself and it would be my fucking fault.

“Shit,” I breathed, taking her hand in mine and squeezing her cold fingers as I pushed my magic into hers.

For once the well of her power didn’t burn with overwhelming magic and I thanked the stars that she’d obviously gotten through a good amount of her reserves today. The display she was currently putting on was clearly burning through her power and I’d only topped mine up after class so I was confident that I could wrangle hers under control.

I pressed my magic into her body, expecting the fight she’d put up when we trained together but to my surprise, her power welcomed mine like greeting an old friend. The surge of excited energy I felt when power sharing with her zipped through me but this was even more intense than usual because she wanted it. On some base level, at this moment in time, she fully trusted me.

I tried not to focus on how good that felt and shifted my attention to helping her reshape her magic instead. I had to fight to pull her away from her water magic which clearly wasn’t helping anything right now but she started to writhe in my arms, looking for an outlet for this panic that gripped her.

My natural inclination was to encourage her towards fire but if she managed to overwhelm my control with that Element then it could be disastrous. I’d had a little practice with the other Heirs in power sharing and had managed to help them wield the Elements I didn’t possess more than once even though it wasn’t as easy. Essentially as I wasn’t the one shaping the power, it was doable, so all I had to do was encourage her towards it. I decided that Earth magic was probably the safest bet while she was so out of control and fought to push her towards that.

My grip on her tightened and I ground my teeth as I twisted my power in the unnatural direction but all of a sudden, Roxy grabbed onto my suggestion and I felt the magic flooding from her.

I opened my eyes, glancing around to find the entire Orb springing to life with flowers of every colour imaginable.

I kept my leash on her magic intact as she slowly relaxed in my arms and released a juddering sob. She pressed her face to my chest and my heart leapt a little as she leaned into me like I was someone who could protect her.

Once she relaxed completely, the flood of magic stopped pouring from her and I pulled my own power back, releasing her hand.

Her hand shot out and caught my arm, her fingers gripping my bicep as I tried to pull away. 

“Don’t leave me,” she begged and I cleared my throat as I looked down at her.

Her eyes were still closed and she was pretty much unconscious. I very much doubted she had any idea who was holding her. If she did she would likely be telling me to get the hell off of her. But she asked me not to leave and I found that I didn’t want to. Besides, she’d only had that nightmare because of what me and Max had done to her in that swimming pool. So maybe I owed her my help with this if that’s what she wanted.

“I won’t,” I replied as I shifted her against my chest and scooped her into my arms.

I stood and headed for the exit. The Orb was absolutely filled with ice and flowers and I guessed that the faculty wouldn’t be overly impressed when they had to come and clean it up tomorrow so I couldn’t just leave her here to get caught. Besides, she’d be easy prey for a Nymph in this state too and even with the extra security in place after the attack we couldn’t be sure one wouldn’t slip past the defences. I hadn’t spent the last few weeks trailing her around campus to protect her from them just to quit now and leave her vulnerable. If the Nymphs managed to get hold of a power like hers it could be disastrous. And that was the only reason I’d admit to for getting her out of here. The way my heart was beating as I held her close had nothing to do with it.

Her friends had been forced to retreat all the way to the door by the onslaught of magic but they moved forward as they saw she was alright.

“I can take her now,” the boy said firmly.

I eyed his scrawny arms and raised an eyebrow at him in disbelief. There was no way in hell he’d be able to carry her any distance.

“Not necessary,” I replied dismissively. “I’ll take her back to our House. You’re not even from Ignis anyway so why don’t you trot along home?”

I made a move to pass them but Sofia stepped into my way, squaring her shoulders as she prepared to argue with me. I vaguely knew her from around the House and seeing her with the Vegas but her power was practically irrelevant to me so I’d never paid her much attention. She was also barely over five foot tall which meant I was looking down on her by over a foot and a half but she still didn’t back down.

“Thank you for your help but Tory wouldn’t want you to be holding her like that,” she said firmly. “Diego and I will manage to-”

“I said I’m taking her back to the House,” I replied flatly. “Diego and you can try to stop me if you think you can.” I snorted dismissively and tried to sidestep her.

She shifted right back into my way and her skin began to glow a glittery pale pink as her Order tried to push its way from her skin with her anger. She had pretty big balls for a low powered Pegasus, I’d give her that.

“What is it you think I’m going to do to her?” I asked. “I’m not a goddamn monster.”

Sofia scowled at me like she didn’t agree with that statement and I released a breath of frustration before pushing past her anyway.

I set a fast pace back towards the House and their footsteps followed close behind me, punctuated with hissed fragments of conversation as they tried to figure out what to do. As we closed in on the glass building, the boy declared that he was going to seek out Darcy and left us, his feet hitting the path at a thumping pace as he ran. I ignored them both and kept going all the way back to the House, taking the stairs two at a time before striding through the common room.

I received several curious glances as we passed but most people had headed to their rooms already and the look I threw the others was enough to stop them from taking photographs or asking questions.

I made it to my bedroom door before Sofia caught up to me again and she was even brave enough to grab my arm to halt me.

“What?” I asked, lacing my voice with a bit of threat.

Sofia blanched at my tone but didn’t back down and I found myself equally surprised and impressed by the devotion of this nothing little Fae to the girl in my arms.

“Why are you taking her to your room?” she demanded. “I’ve got her bag right here with her key and-”

“And while she’s in this state she could lose control again and burn the whole House down,” I replied. “I’ll have to stay with her tonight until she sleeps off the alcohol you watched her consume.” There was more than a hint of accusation in my tone but the girl didn’t even flinch this time.

“And that’s all you’re going to do?” Sofia demanded. “You’re not going to play some trick on her or hurt her or…” She didn’t finish that accusation but her gaze flickered to the point where my hand was gripping Roxy’s bare thigh as I held her.

“I’m not a fucking rapist,” I snapped. “I can have any girl I want in my bed any night of the week, why would I want to molest an unconscious one who hates me?”

Sofia backed off instantly, seeming satisfied by whatever she’d seen in my eyes as her shoulders sagged a little.

“Okay, I didn’t mean to imply…just…look after her,” she said, frowning at Roxy again with concern as she passed me her bag and backed up.

I made to turn away from her then an idea occurred to me. 

“Wait…Sofia, right?” I asked, trying to sound vaguely friendly. It wasn’t something I attempted often and the frown she gave me said I was terrible at it.

“Yes…”

“I er, have this… cousin. Third cousin actually, who just emerged as a Pegasus…”

“Good for her. Why are you telling me this?” she asked suspiciously.

“It’s a him. He’s called…Phillip.”

“Phillip?” She looked at me like no one in the world was actually called Phillip and I had to admit I’d never met one. Dammit. Why did I pick that fucking name?

“Yeah. Well, as you can imagine in a family of pure blooded Dragons, Phillip isn’t coping so well with the shame of-”

“Shame of what?” she asked, a clear challenge in her eyes for me to dare to finish that sentence. And in hindsight implying her Order was shameful probably wasn’t the best way to get her to help me.

I shifted Roxy in my arms and sighed, wondering if I should just abandon this idea. But this girl had impressed me tonight despite her weakness and I didn’t really have anyone else to ask so I barrelled on.

“I’ll level with you. Me calling your Order shameful is about the closest to a compliment he’d get from a member of my family on the subject. He’s been locked in his house, hidden away from the world, his father has actually considered killing him to conceal his true nature. He’s…alone. And he could really use someone of his Order to talk to…” My throat felt tight, I didn’t know if this was a terrible idea but Xavier had sounded so broken on the phone earlier, so desperate, I just wanted to try and help him. And maybe having another Pegasus to talk to would help him see some good in what he was. 

Sofia just stared at me and I shook my head, turning back towards my door as Roxy mumbled something against my chest. 

“Forget it,” I muttered, my gut twisting as I failed him again.

“You know,” Sofia said softly behind me. “Everyone says Darius Acrux is heartless and cold blooded just like the Dragon he turns into. But you’re not, are you?”

I gave her a flat look over my shoulder but she carried on anyway.

“You actually give a shit about other people, don’t you? You want to protect them, look after them…” Her gaze fell on the unconscious girl in my arms like that was proof and I growled at her. 

“Is there a point to your inaccurate analysis?”

Sofia had the nerve to roll her fucking eyes at me. “I’ll message you my number. You can tell Phillip to message me whenever he likes.”

I raised an eyebrow at her in surprise and she threw a final look at Roxy in my arms before turning and heading away from us.

I unlocked my door awkwardly while still holding her and headed inside, kicking it closed behind me as I dropped her bag and crossed the wide space towards the bed.

Roxy’s head lolled back against my shoulder and her hair hung over my arm. She was still soaking wet and I hadn’t realised how much she’d been shivering as I’d walked here but now I could feel the tremors of her body where it was pressed to mine. I quickly used my water magic to pull every bit of moisture from her clothes and hair then pushed some warmth from my body into hers.

She drifted near to consciousness as she stopped shivering and shifted in my arms, mumbling something incoherent as she pressed her cheek to my chest.

My heart thumped a little harder than usual and I cleared my throat uncomfortably as I lowered her down onto the bed. Her brows pinched and she started mumbling something again as I released her.

I pulled her shoes off and tossed them on the floor and she kicked out at me, forcing me to step back.

“I can do it myself, Darcy,” she muttered, still slurring. “You shouldn’t have to look after me like this.”

Before I could stop her, she lifted her hips up, pulled her skirt off and threw it at me. She still hadn’t opened her eyes and I didn’t think she was really awake at all. The gold panties she wore matched the bra which I could still see as her buttonless shirt had fallen open.

I tried not to stare at her, I really tried but I couldn’t stop looking at her bronze skin, her narrow waist, the swell of her breasts as they rose and fell in time with her deep breaths…

Fuck it’s like someone picked apart my deepest desires and brought every fantasy I’ve ever had to life.

Why did it have to be her? Why did I have to lust after one of the only people in the whole of Solaria who I could never have? I knew I was going to have to marry a Dragon Shifter one day but that didn’t stop me from having other women. But this one would never be mine in any way. She hated me more viscerally than I thought anyone else ever had. And I couldn’t even blame her. I’d hate me too if I was her. What we’d done to her, what I’d done… it was necessary but I still didn’t like it. 

I was supposed to be working with the other heirs to get rid of them and instead here I was protecting her like I’d lost my fucking mind.

I took a step away, pulling my sheets over her and intending to take a position in the armchair by the fire for the night but she caught my hand before I could leave.

I looked at her in surprise and found her eyes open, her gaze locked on mine.

“Don’t go,” she breathed, her grip tightening.

“I don’t think you really-”

“Please don’t leave me alone,” she begged and the vulnerability in her voice broke down any further protests I’d been going to make.

She sat up a little and tugged on my arm, trying to pull me down into the bed with her. And I couldn’t really deny the fact that I’d thought about getting her in my bed more than once before. Not that I’d lay a finger on her in her current state but even seeing her here, surrounded by gold and half undressed was sending zips of turbulent energy right through me.

She pulled on my hand again and I gave up trying to talk myself out of it as I kicked my shoes off and got in beside her.

She smiled at me and it wasn’t sarcastic or taunting, the difference that made taking my breath away for a moment.

I settled back against the pillows and she rolled against me, pressing her nearly naked body flush to mine. I could feel myself getting hard just from that small amount of contact. I tried to prise her away from me but she wriggled closer, pressing her full breasts against me and giving me a clear view of them trying to break free of the confines of her bra.

“Fuck, Roxy, I cant sleep next to you while you’re dressed like that,” I said, rolling her away from me more forcefully.

She blinked up at me in confusion for a moment before pushing herself upright and looking down at her undressed state.

“Oh, sorry,” she mumbled before pulling off the unbuttoned shirt and throwing it to the floor. “Better?”

My mouth dried up and a growl escaped me as the Dragon writhed beneath my skin.

“You need to be putting more on, not taking things off,” I said tersely.

She huffed like I was the one who was being ridiculous. “Give me your shirt then,” she demanded, reaching out to pull at my black t-shirt.

“I don’t think it will help if I start taking off my clothes too,” I said, catching her wrist to stop her.

“You’re so fucking bossy,” she muttered, a bit of her usual fire rising to the surface. “Just do as you’re told for once.”

Before I could respond to that, she shoved my hand aside and moved to straddle me in one quick movement. I was so surprised that for a moment I couldn’t even react as she yanked on my shirt and pulled it over my head.

My hands found her waist, my thumbs brushing against her hip bones as she looked down at me with her dark hair tumbling around her shoulders and that sexy as sin underwear begging me to touch it.

She laughed as she waved the shirt at me triumphantly, doing a little victory dance which meant she was grinding right against my hard-on and sending my body haywire.

Before I could say or do anything, she pulled the shirt over her head and covered herself with it. I was so much bigger than her that it fell right down to pool around her thighs, trapping my hands beneath the material where I still held her.

Her gaze locked with mine and for a moment it was like none of the shit that had passed between us had ever happened and we were just us, alone…in my bed.

“Do you want to know a secret?” she breathed, her voice lowering seductively.

“What?” I asked, wanting to hear anything and everything she might ever want to tell me.

She leaned a little closer and her long hair tickled my skin.

“I think,” she breathed slowly. “That I’m going to puke.”

She leapt off of me so quickly that the bed bounced beneath me as she darted to the en-suite.

My dick was straining so hard against my fly that I thought it might actually burst and I had to rearrange myself before I could follow her.

By the time I got there she’d already emptied her stomach contents into the toilet and she flushed it before stumbling towards the basin where she washed her mouth out. She proceeded to steal my toothbrush like a goddamn animal and I leaned against the doorframe as I watched her, trying not to look at her ass too much as she bent forward over the basin but I was clearly failing at that.

I should have been pissed at her for intruding on my space like this but somehow I didn’t mind at all.

When she’d finished, she sauntered back towards me, pushing a hand into her hair as she fought to walk in a straight line. She failed.

I caught her as she almost face planted into the tiles and hooked her into my arms before returning her to the bed again. She tugged me down too and I was past the point of protesting.

The moment her head hit the pillow her eyes fell shut but she turned towards me, draping an arm across my waist.

I flicked the lights off and the room was only illuminated by the fire which was burning low in the grate.

“You’re unbelievable, you know that,” she mumbled.

“In what way?” I asked, wondering if she just might be about to admit that she felt this heat between us too.

She shifted nearer to me and I pulled her close as she laid her head on my chest. My heart was hammering wildly and I couldn’t quite believe the strange turn of events that had led us here. For the longest moment she didn’t speak and I began to wonder if she’d fallen asleep but then she carried on.

“You have the biggest goddamn jacuzzi I’ve ever seen in your bathroom,” she said and I couldn’t help but laugh at the way that conversation had gone.

“Do you like it?” I asked.

“No. It’s just unbelievable. Like you. You’re just… such… a dick.” Her breathing grew heavier and I was sure she’d passed out again.

A smile pulled at my lips in response to her comment. It might have been nice for my ego if she’d started declaring how attractive she found me, but in all honesty she just wouldn’t have been herself without her smart mouth.

And I was beginning to realise that I might like that, and a few other things about her, just a bit too much.