by Meg Xuemei X
I expected him to brush open my plump folds and nudge the thick head of his dick at my slick entrance, but instead he withdrew the towel and ceased his rubbing.
Then he spanked me.
I yelped in surprise. What the hell?
“Nice girls get fucked,” he said. “Naughty girls get spanked.”
I wheeled toward him, ready to give him a piece of my mind.
He wrapped the towel around my body and scooped me into his arms.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I demanded.
His turquoise eyes, once again molten gold, mirrored my urgent lust and frustration.
I thought he desired me. The hurt of rejection turned to anger, and I struggled to get out of his arms, but he only gripped me and pressed me against his chest.
“I want to take you right here, right now more than anything, Cass,” he said. “I want to bury my cock deep inside you and forget that the world is burning. But I can’t. We’ll have to wait until I can claim you properly.”
“Does a simple, quick fuck need some fucking ritual?” I asked.
“With you, it’ll never be a simple, quick fuck, my Cass,” he said, choking out a strangled laugh that held no humor. “I’m not the only player in the game. I have competition—four other competitors. I swore a blood oath. I have to honor the pact. You’ll meet them soon, and then you’ll decide.”
The dream of me entangled with four males under the sheet, including Reys and Lorcan, swirled back, heating my lower belly.
My heart stuttered. How could I be with all four of them? Reys said I was the one who’d decide. Must I choose one? My mind was made up. I chose Reys. But then Lorcan’s piercing gray eyes seemed to peek into my soul, and there was great need in them for me. My heart soared. I wanted him, too. I hated vampires, but I wanted their High Lord.
I stopped writhing in Reys’s arms as he carried me out of the bath chamber.
“I want to court you first, Cass,” he said. “Give me a chance to give this to you.”
I gazed into his eyes, and the tenderness and heat inside them warmed me. He wasn’t rejecting me. He wanted to treat me like I was valuable to him instead of just using my body. Being courted seemed more enticing than just having sex.
But my need for him raged on. I might have to tame this carnal beast inside me.
“I’ll compromise and let you court me,” I said. “Under one condition.”
His eyes sparkled with amusement. “I’m listening.”
We were heading up the stairs now, and I wrapped my arms tighter around his neck.
“Actually, under three conditions,” I amended, deciding not to limit myself.
“I’ll accept only one condition this time,” he said. “I can’t always be on the losing side.”
I glared at him, and he brushed a kiss over my lips. Just like that, I lost my train of thought.
When I recollected myself, we were in an upstairs hallway.
“Where are you taking me, Reys?”
“To your room,” he said. “After you’re properly dressed, we’ll dine.”
“But I don’t have any clothing here.”
“While you were taking a long bath, Boone sent his assistants out and got you the basics. They’re all in the closet.”
“That was fast.”
“There are stores inside the Academy.”
My eyes sparkled. The school really piqued my interest.
“Who are all the people showing off in the courtyard?”
“They’re our future elite army who will fight the gods,” Reysalor said, watching me closely. I kept my expression neutral, showing not the smallest hint of emotion. “They’re mostly supernatural beings: shifters, vampires, mages, fae, witches, valkyries, and the brightest humans who have a grasp of war strategies and human technology.”
My heart jumped. He and Lorcan had asked me to be their weapon to go against the gods, and they’d been training me. I wasn’t the only one they had recruited—they’d assembled an army. But Lorcan had said I was the only hope to save the realms, and to kill the gods. If that was the truth, why did they need an army?
“The gods of Olympus have their own minions, ones who betrayed their own races to seek safety under the alien gods,” Reysalor said in scorn. “The war between us and them is coming.”
I’d missed out on all the excitement while I’d been stuck in that damn cage. I was so glad that Lorcan and Reysalor had let me out. Or else I’d be rotting in there as the world ended. I shivered at that fate.
Reysalor must have spotted the dark glint in my eyes, because his gaze on me intensified.
“It’s not pretty in the mortal world,” he said quietly. “The immortals are hiding from the gods. Our ward and glamour still shield us, but when the gods tear down all human cities, annihilation will come to our realm.”
I had no realm, no land, and no home.
“So, the Academy is a military school?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Yes, but only for the gifted.”
I would fit in well with the gifted. But why hadn’t Lorcan and Reysalor taken me to the Academy instead of training me themselves?
Did they intend to isolate me because they only wanted me to be an assassin and not one of the soldiers in their army? The more I thought about that, the further my heart sank.
Even if they got me into the Academy, it would never be for my benefit.
I wouldn’t have fun there. I would be trained for the sole purpose of becoming a weapon.
On second thought, I probably wouldn’t be accepted in the Academy. I didn’t even know how to spell my own name.
I bit my lip and my eyes dimmed as reality rushed in.
Even out of the cage, I didn’t know where my place was in the world.
I might never belong anywhere.
But I was Cass Saélihn, a survivor. I wouldn’t let the unknown future shadow any moment of my day. Whatever came, I’d deal with it.
“I hope they got my size right,” I said. “I’m not picky, but I must maintain a certain style of fashion.”
Reysalor leaned against the wall near the door. “And what style is that?”
I rose from the bed and let the towel drop to the floor as I strode to the closet. I put an extra sway in my hips as I walked, baring myself to the fae prince. My scant pubic hair remained moist, and my pussy still pulsed with the need to be filled.
Though I liked the idea of being courted, my body was on fire.
Reys watched my every move, licking his lips, his eyes darkening with thick desire. He’d resisted me in the bath chamber, and now with the scent of my heady arousal in the air, it’d be hell for him to fight his own carnal need.
I was right in front of him, ready and ripe and available for him to take.
I palmed my pussy and rubbed a finger through my folds.
“I ache, Reys,” I whimpered.
He let out a curse and stalked toward me. “I won’t claim you. I won’t fuck you the way I want, but I can pleasure you and make you come.”
I clasped my hands behind his neck as he scooped me into his arms, pressing my heavy breasts hard to his chest. I wanted skin on skin. I wanted every touch I could get.
Fire coursed through me.
Reys slanted his mouth over mine, his tongue thrusting through my parted lips. Our tongues tangled in a mating dance, and a low moan left my throat.
He lowered me to the bed, his mouth never leaving mine, his tongue fucking mine with wild abandon. A low growl rumbled from his chest. His beast wanted to play.
His large, powerful hand added weight on my breast, fondling it. Pleasure rippled across my skin as he pinched my nipple, the sensation taking me halfway to heaven.
How could a man’s touch be so good?
His one hand cupped my head, tangling into my hair, while his other hand abandoned my breast, trailing an achingly slow path down to my pussy. He skimmed over the soft curls, his fingers dipping and sliding. His thumb circled my sensitive
nub, teasingly in the beginning, then quickened and rubbed it hard.
I cried out as pleasure pulsed through me. As he continued his torturous assault on my clit, he eased a finger, then another into me, stroking my center. I moaned, my walls clamping down on his fingers. Reys pulled out, then thrust back in.
“Babe, your pussy is so tight.” He pulled away from kissing me and groaned roughly. “I can’t wait until I can fuck your little pussy with my cock.”
“You don’t need to wait.” I writhed against his hand. “Fuck me now. I want your cock. It felt so good last time you were inside me.”
He growled, his beast unable to resist my pull.
“Your cock is so big and rock hard,” I breathed out. “It stretched and filled me to the brim. I want to feel it again.”
“Soon, I’ll give you my cock, little Cass. I’ll fuck your little curvy body in every way I can until you beg me to stop, then beg me for more.”
He fucked me hard and fast with his fingers.
Pressure and pleasure built up, sending me to the brink, but then he stopped and withdrew his fingers.
“No, Reys! I need—” I protested, but I swallowed the rest of my words when his tongue lapped at my swollen clit, flicking mercilessly over the peak of my nub.
My legs jerked as tiny electric shocks moved across my skin, and I lowered my hands to his head, gripping his hair.
I gasped. I hadn’t known a man’s tongue could bring such delight. Reys opened my legs wider, and his mouth enveloped my entire pussy. He licked and suckled before his tongue separated my plump folds and thrust into my heated channel.
“Your pussy tastes like honeysuckle.” He raised his head for a second to gaze into my eyes before thrusting his tongue into my heated channel again.
He thrust repeatedly and twirled his tongue inside me, his thumb and forefinger pinching my clit. When his tongue delivered another sequence of hard, merciless thrusts, the liquid fire in me leapt high and exploded into lava.
I arched my back and cried out as the first orgasm pulled me under.
The waves rocked me and rippled over me for a long time. After it all faded, Reys licked me for a few more seconds before laying me flat in the center of the bed, his panther rising to the surface through his golden eyes.
I knew he wanted to fuck me more than anything, but he still controlled his beast. He kissed me on the lips, both gently and hard, before withdrawing from bed.
“Wait until the day I can truly fuck you, my little Cass,” he said. “Get dressed. Come down and dine with me.”
He left the room and closed the door behind him.
I smiled to myself, basking in the afterglow of my orgasm.
I couldn’t wait for him to fuck me. I couldn’t wait to get his cock inside me, penetrating me, and screwing me senseless.
I wanted his touch again, but I would have to be patient and let him court me first, though I had no fucking idea how a man courted a woman.
18
It turned out that Reysalor had an excellent chef. While I stuffed my face, I dragged more intel out of Reysalor. He was cooperative, an attitude which must be part of the courting.
Before I finished the lunch—I’d soon have an afternoon tea and dessert, guaranteed by Boone, who also confirmed that he’d make chicken Panini with dried figs and tomatoes inside again—I had the Academy’s layout.
Geography was important to me. I had to know all the exits in case I needed an escape. I knew Reys would protect me, but I wasn’t going to put all my eggs in one basket.
The Academy lay at the edge of the mortal and immortal realms. Its land fell into the crack of time and space, according to one of the five warriors who joined Reys and me. Reysalor said that they’d always be around me and their job was to protect me, so I didn’t object to them sharing my food.
However, I piled the food high on three of my plates before I started eating.
The warriors shook their heads at me and chuckled.
“You sure all that food can fit into that tiny body of yours?” Dirty-blond Luke asked, eyeing my plates with interest.
Ambrosia snickered. She was nearly as tall as the men, and they were all well over six feet. I wasn’t thrilled about being short, but life was never fair.
I moved the plates closer to me. “I can eat all of this. I may not be built like a horse as you five are, but I am not tiny.”
There, I delivered my insults.
And I wasn’t ashamed of eating more than I could take. Anyone who had been starved for their entire life would do exactly what I was doing.
“We’re built like warriors, the best of the best, not horses,” said Rainer, the quieter one among the five. He didn’t have a sense of humor.
“I don’t see the difference,” I insisted.
“Cass baby,” Reys said. “You don’t need to hoard food. I’ll always feed you. Even if I don’t get to eat, you’ll eat.”
The warriors darted glances between their prince and me, as if they weren’t used to him calling anyone baby. Baby was better than little. I didn’t take kindly to being called little.
“So, explain this to me—” I stopped my mid-sentence. I shouldn’t ask them to explain time and space tech stuff. I wouldn’t understand it and they’d all see my weakness.
Never expose your back to anyone. Never show your vulnerability.
“So, the Academy is the most protected place on Earth.” I changed direction and summarized what they had told me. “It’s concealed from unwanted eyes. There are two leylines that lead to this place: one from the immortal realm, and one from human territory. And if we walk through the veil that separates the two realms, we’ll appear right under the Brooklyn Bridge in New York.”
“You can’t just walk through the veil,” snorted Victor, another of the five guards, the one with a pair of curious green eyes. “Only seven council members can open the leyline and only those they grant access to can enter it and leave Academy.”
Which meant it wouldn’t be easy if I had to flee again. “Who are the seven council members?”
“His Highness is one of the councils,” Ambrosia said. “You should’ve known. He brought you here.”
I wrinkled my nose at her. “I know he’s one of the powerful ones. I need to know who the other six are.”
“Why?” Luke asked.
“Why? How could you ask me why?” I said. “Use your brain. I don’t know about you, but I’m not comfortable with just anyone in charge of such important matter.” I drained the coconut juice and put the empty glass down. “Let’s go, Reys. I want to take a look at this leyline to the mortal realm.”
“It’s on the other side of the Academy,” Reys said lazily. He sank deeper into the chair, clearly not planning to move anytime soon.
“That’s even better,” I said. “You can give me a tour. I need to burn some fat, not that I have any, but just in case.”
I kicked the chair back to show I meant business.
“We can run around the garden to burn calories,” Reysalor said. “I don’t want anyone who isn’t in my trusted inner circle to see you yet.”
That was why he brought me here instead of to the fae realm across the shining sea. He planned to confine me to his estate, when I’d thought I’d have exhilarating freedom.
Anger flashed through me. “Then this is another cage. Only this time you want to lock me up in your house to have better control over me.”
“Cass,” he growled in warning. “I never want to control you.”
“Then prove it,” I said. “Didn’t you promise me that you wouldn’t let anyone cage me again?” My voice was thick with emotion. “Don’t you know you’re the one who’s doing it with all these limitations all around me? Why don’t you just send me back to the cage? It’s no different than being locked in your glass house.”
It was very different, but I refused to admit that to Reys while I tried to work on him.
“What cage?” Boone asked.
In my excitem
ent I hadn’t noticed him standing at the entryway.
“It’s a long story,” Reysalor muttered darkly.
I waved a hand at him. I didn’t want him to tell anyone about my humiliating past.
“You asked me not to run away,” I said, sounding even more indignant. “I can do that for you. All I want is some freedom.”
A muscle jerked on Reysalor’s jaw. It looked like I was stressing him out. Apparently no one talked to him that way, but hadn’t I warned him that I followed no one’s rules?
And I didn’t give a fuck whether he was a prince or a servant.
“All I want is to keep you safe, Cass,” he said. “You don’t know how treacherous and violent the outside world is. It’s full of unexpected perils.”
I spat. “That’s exactly what Jezebel said to me when she put me in that cage.”
A terrible, dark light flashed in the fae prince’s burning eyes.
“Don’t underestimate me, Reys,” I said, my tone softening a notch. “I’m not afraid of danger, but I can’t be caged.”
I laid a hand on the wooden table, black fire twirling beneath my palm, leaping through the space between my fingers. The five warriors all leaned back in their seats, a wary look in their eyes. When I removed my hand, the part of the table I had touched dissolved into ash. Boone had a pained expression on his face. That dining table must be expensive.
“You see, I can be a badass, too,” I said. “Don’t you want me to be your lethal weapon?”
“Cass, you know it’s more than that,” Reysalor said.
“I’m sure it is,” I said with a predatory smile. “But if you keep me in the glass house, I’ll never become the assassin you and Lorcan want me to be. Your little knife will be too blunt to cut into anything or anyone when the time comes.”
“We need to train you first and make sure you’re ready before we set you upon the world,” Reysalor said.
Men were full of contradictions, weren’t they?
“Do not measure me as you measure humans or other immortal races,” I said. “You can’t train me in a box.”
