by Marie Mistry
I was nearly panting, my eyes wide with arousal as I stared into those wicked yellow eyes. “What are you waiting for?”
He groaned, his hard length pressing against my thigh as he picked me up, mouth claiming mine in another scorching kiss. My legs wrapped around his waist and I peppered tiny kisses along the strong line of his jaw as he checked we were alone before slipping out into the corridor.
Our journey to his office was short, but fun. Aeron was on alert for anyone who might come across us and I made it my mission to be as distracting as possible. I laved and sucked at the skin on the base of his neck and ran my hands through the short length of his dark hair and down to his chest.
“Baby Girl,” he groaned, finally pushing open the door, sending us tumbling through into his office. “Fuck, I missed you.”
With one arm, he swept everything from his desk before letting me slide down his body and onto the cold wooden surface. His mouth reclaimed mine but the kiss was different now, more desperate than before. Our lips crashed with almost bruising intensity as his hand disappeared beneath my skirt and ripped my panties from my body. His mouth moved from my lips to my ear, then trailed kisses down my exposed throat, whilst his fingers teased at the juncture of my thighs.
“Aeron, I want you.” I tried to drag his face back to mine but he simply twined his free hand back into my hair and dragged my head back.
“I've waited too fucking long to have you again. Let me have this.”
His hand moved from my thighs and I mewled at the loss, only to gasp as he ripped my shirt open and roughly shoved my bra cups to the side. His hot mouth descended on my hard nipple, nipping and licking in circles designed to drive me crazy. All my attention narrowed on that spot and my breath came in little pants as I watched his dark head move across to my other breast.
My back arched and his hand finally moved back to the place I wanted it most, fingers rubbing just where I needed them to. At the same time, I felt his power stroking along my horns. I could see the edge of my orgasm approaching. Just a little more, a little harder and I would tip over.
I squirmed beneath him but instead of giving me what I wanted, Aeron released me completely.
“Aeron,” I complained.
But he was busy pulling out his chair and settling into it. “Lean back on your elbows, Baby Girl. I want to see those gorgeous tits as I taste you.”
I complied and his hands pressed my thighs wider, holding them open as his head descended where his fingers had been.
Long, languorous licks sent pleasure arcing through my veins. He licked me like I was his favourite ice cream, pausing every few strokes to let his tongue delve into me. His thumbs traced slow, seductive circles on my inner thighs and my head fell back under the onslaught of sensation he was causing. When his focus narrowed and his tongue began swirling around my clit, I moaned. He smiled against my sex and one of those hands released my thigh, the fingers joining in with his tongue, slowly slipping between my folds and into my liquid core.
It was only one finger but the fullness felt incredible. When he slowly started to pump it inside of me, I was a goner.
I fell over the edge with a scream but he didn't stop. A second finger joined the first, pumping and curling within me over that perfect spot. At the same time, his lips sealed around my clit and delivered a short, sharp suck.
My second orgasm wrung me out and left me as boneless as a limp noodle. I might have screamed my release but I couldn't hear anything over the pounding in my veins as I looked down at Aeron with lazy eyes.
“Flip over.” His eyes had turned from that bright yellow to a deep, molten gold as he looked over my exhausted body.
But I wasn't letting him boss me around tonight.
I flowed off the desk like the boneless creature he'd made me, sinking to my knees before him on the chair and attacking the fastenings on his trousers like a woman possessed.
His hands slipped to my horns, fingers grasping them as I drew out his cock.
I was too wound up to use any kind of finesse as I took him straight into my mouth, my tongue swirling as I bobbed as deep as I could go over his lap. I drew back, my hands cradling his balls as I lovingly licked at the head of his dick. His coffee and sandalwood scent was becoming tinged with the muskiness of his arousal and it wasn't long before I tasted the first, salty-sweet drop of pre-cum on my tongue.
It hadn't been long since my last orgasm but already, I ached for more. I wanted Aeron inside me where he belonged but that desire was tempered by excitement at the possibility of making him come undone in my mouth. I bobbed down again, taking him so deeply that I couldn't breathe and then, I hummed.
With a roar, Aeron made the decision for me. He lifted and flipped me, pressing me face-first into the desk, the cold wood pressing into my breasts as he shoved my skirt out of the way and forged his way inside of me.
I cried out at the invasion and he instantly stilled.
I whipped my head around to find him struggling for control behind me, lust and concern warring in his golden gaze.
“Move!” I ordered.
He didn't need to be told twice, drawing out of me in a wave of delicious friction and then thrusting back in.
“You are so fucking perfect, Baby Girl. You feel like lava, clenching around my cock.”
His hands went to my hips, then, after a moment's hesitation, they travelled to the point where my wings fused to my shoulder blades. The feeling of pressure on that sensitive skin, combined with his thrusts into me made me mindless.
But still, I wanted more. Feeling wicked, I turned around and grinned. “Is that all you've got … Professor?”
Aeron growled, his speed increasing till I could feel him hitting my g-spot with each thrust. He jackhammered into my greedy core, making me vibrate with pleasure beneath him.
It was raw, powerful, unashamed fucking, and I gloried in every moment of it.
When Aeron's thrusts started to falter slightly, enough to tell me he was close, he reached between us and pinched my clit. Hard.
We finished together, his roar of completion drowning out my scream. He clung to me like I was his anchor in a hurricane, both of us shivering as we rode out the waves of climax rocketing through us.
We ended up nestled together in the chair, his chest pressed to my back as he stroked my hair. Our mating bond purred between us at the soothing contact and I let out a little sigh of contentment.
“Fuck, I love you,” he murmured. “I don't know what I did to deserve you but I swear I'll spend every second of my life trying to be worthy of you.”
I looked up at that last part. “Where did that come from?”
His eyes darkened. “It's nothing.”
I raised a single brow.
He shook his head and sighed. “It's stupid.”
I didn't bother answering, letting my silence speak for me.
“It's just, I know it's difficult for you to be with me. I can't pop in and out of your room like the Assassin can and I can't buy you the moon like Kain. I can't even romance you without putting my damned foot in my mouth.”
Aww, Aeron was feeling inadequate? I shook my head at the absurdity. “I don't need any of those things. All I need from you is for you to be you. The growly, arrogant, possessive asshole I fell for. This, us...” I sent a caress down the mating bond. “We're unbreakable and unique.”
He smiled into my hair and pressed a kiss to my horn. “I swear we're going to find the bastards who poisoned you and make them pay. We won't stop till you're safe again.”
I snuggled deeper into him. “I know, Aeron. I know.”
But I didn't mention that my headache had started again.
Chapter 26
Only a week later and I was wishing I was back in Aeron's chair, rather than standing outside in the cold, dark, rainy night, staring at a house that looked like it was probably haunted. The storm going on around me only added to the creepiness as I huddled underneath a bush, staring up at a long, overgrow
n driveway of rhododendron bushes for a hint of motion.
A hundred yards down the road, Daron waited in the warmth of the van, his soft humming filling my left ear through the headsets we were all wearing.
Craven Hall was a towering art deco structure, surrounded by tall, stone walls that were topped with a spiked metal railing intended to poison anyone who touched them. And if the man had poisoned his walls, I was willing to bet there was a lot more poison on the inside. Right now, Bane and Aeron were somewhere outside that poison palace, doing reconnaissance to see what we'd need for our break-in later.
A twig snapped behind me and I whirled, only to see the two brothers peeling out of the undergrowth. Their matching grins made me pause but I didn't ask. Instead, I silently made my way back to the old van that Kain had somehow managed to get a hold of and rig full of tech for Daron's use.
Kain and Jin were at a lacrosse match, and Enzo and Blaze were still on the warpath, so it was just the four of us when we shut the doors of the van and crowded together behind Daron, who was still staring at the six screens in front of him.
“Well?” he asked, the glow of his monitors reflecting in his glasses as he tapped furiously.
“Acidic poisons on the railings, windowsills, vents and doorknobs. We're going to need full body protection, and probably masks, when we go in.” Aeron was peeling off his gloves as he spoke and I noticed the way that the palms looked a little melted with a grimace.
“What sort of person puts acid on their windowsills?” I grumbled. “He still has a skeleton crew of unshown working there, right? How are they not affected?”
“Craven must have given them immunity somehow,” Bane theorised. “Office is on the third floor, but I can get us up there pretty easily. The main issue is going to be getting past the alarms and the guards.”
“I hacked into the cameras and I'll short circuit the alarms when we come back,” Daron added.
Aeron shrugged off his black jacket and tugged me into a hug. Every time we were together now, he was as tactile as possible with me and I loved it. “There was a lot of security there for a man who's locked up. Makes me wonder what they're guarding.”
Bane grinned. “We'll find out.”
“Just, let's not get caught in the process,” I warned.
“Relax.” Bane climbed into the driver's seat. “I've been breaking into rich people's houses since I was thirteen.”
“None of those were the house of an ex-Prime with a gift for poison,” I retorted, leaving Aeron's embrace and claiming the seat beside him.
“Caution is prudent,” Daron added, as Bane started the engine and the van pulled out onto the quiet country roads surrounding Norwich. “But we're well prepared. Now, put your foot down. Some of us have a class in six hours.” He looked over his shoulder at Aeron. “Although, if the professor is late, are we excused?”
Aeron raised a brow in answer. “I can put you both in detention for cheek.”
Daron chuckled as he stood and grabbed a blanket from the corner. He tucked it over me from behind and I snuggled back, leaning up to give him a sweet kiss. “Thank you,” I whispered.
“Are you feeling alright?” he asked, hands still hovering over the blanket, as though he was wondering how to tuck me in even further.
I nodded. “I saw Rezinax again this morning and Enzo is coming by nearly every night. I think it's under control now, at least until we find a cure.”
“Have a nap anyway,” he insisted. “Your body is under a lot of strain. Sitting in the cold and wet under a tree for hours can't have done you much good.”
I smiled but nodded, shuffling slightly to get comfy. Daron's hands retreated, replaced by Aeron who gently massaged my shoulders till I fell asleep.
I must have slept through what should have been my combat lesson—stupid poison—because when I woke up in my room, it was halfway through lunch. I wasn't particularly hungry, so I headed straight for Saxon's Politics lesson.
As strange as it was, in the last week, I'd grown to appreciate Politics. Not having two of my other four subjects made me more grateful for the distraction of Saxon's distaste for me.
Today's lesson was no different to any other. The instant I stepped through the door, I was greeted by her cold eyes and when I took my seat and got out my books, I was already braced for her to ask me the first, most difficult question of the lesson. Even the rest of the class seemed to expect it by now and they gave me pitying glances.
The door flew inward, banging against the wall as Saxon's assistant burst through.
“Headmistress, pardon the interruption, but there is something you really must see!” he spluttered, staring at us all with wide eyes.
Saxon narrowed her eyes. “Can it not wait? I'm about to start my lesson.”
“No, Headmistress…” He stared at us, obviously trying to figure out how much he could say before just giving in to his excitement. “A second-year student from Barren has just mated a professor there. It's all over the news.”
I felt the colour leech from my face at his proclamation and I saw the exact same thing happen to Professor Saxon. I'd forgotten that she had helped keep Leonie's mating to Kellert hidden, all those years ago.
The fact that it was a second-year at Barren meant that it had likely been one of the students who would have remained unshown without my help. If more matings happened in those year groups, people were eventually going to figure out that their mates were unshown.
The Headmistress silently turned on her heel and scribbled some page numbers on the board. “Class, read and discuss these pages of your books … Miss Carazor will answer any questions about the Assembly you may have.”
She was already gone, her words lingering as she hurried after her assistant.
The moment the door shut again, all five of the other students started talking over one another excitedly but I was ignoring them, reaching out along my bonds to Bane and Aeron.
“Professor Saxon just got called out of my lesson because a second-year at Barren mated with a professor.”
“Shit.” Bane's response was immediate. “I'll let mum and dad know and they can get word to the Resistance.”
“They were always going to figure out the unshown are their mates sooner or later,” Aeron said, resignation dulling his words. “At least the Resistance knew for years and could prepare for this outcome … Are you safe?”
I smiled and sent a hug down our bond. “I'm fine.”
His psychic kiss made me smile softly but I couldn't keep talking with them, because the rest of the class had finally finished gossiping and started to stare at me.
“So, what's the Assembly like?” one of the Pride girls asked.
She was so openly curious, her expression so honest, that for once, I didn't bother lying.
“It's absolutely beautiful but it's deadly. Everyone's only looking out for themselves and either want to use you or get rid of you.”
She grinned like she was excited by the prospect. “Sounds like my kind of party.”
The girl next to her rolled her eyes and I silently echoed the sentiment. Anyone who thought the Assembly was a party would likely be sacrificed on its gilded altar.
Professor Saxon never came back to finish the lesson but she was at dinner and the instant the last student sat down, she stood up to address us all. Beside her, Aeron was frowning at the table and further towards the end, Lulu looked like she'd swallowed something foul. None of it boded well for whatever the Headmistress was about to announce.
“Students!” Her voice demanded silence, and the chatter ceased instantly. Heads turned in a great wave, every one of them focusing on her. “By now, I have no doubt you will have been told that a student at Barren has discovered his mate. I can now confirm that it is true, and the first mating in several hundred years has taken place.”
Several gasps and whispers followed her proclamation and a low level of chatter spread around the room for a few minutes before Professor Saxon spoke again.
>
“The Elders wish me to remind all students that when a demon finds their mate, their power will not work on them. If any of you have experienced this phenomenon without knowing what it was, I invite you to step forward now. Your privacy will be respected but I cannot stress enough how important it is to our species that you do not keep quiet. Demons have been a dying race for years. Any sign that matings are returning should be celebrated and monitored.”
Her face darkened, as she swept her eyes over us all again, her gaze lingering on me for the briefest moment. “Because of the blatant problems this would pose for the college, any non-disclosed matings with staff members will lead to instant expulsion for the student involved and the immediate termination of employment for the staff member. I will be conducting faculty interviews using my gift, and the relationship will be discovered so I must encourage you to be candid.”
“What is her gift?” Rina whispered, from beside me.
“I have no idea…” I replied.
“Veritaskinesis,” Viv whispered. “The gift of manipulating truth. She can tell if someone is lying to her and force them to tell the truth if she touches them. My father threatened to ask her to read me once…”
My gut sank. The Headmistress was going to interview both Aeron and Blaze and neither of them would be able to stop her. I had no choice, once again, but to play this sick game. “Shit.”
“Do you trust me?” I asked, meeting the eyes of my mates.
“Always.” The response echoed from all seven.
I stood from behind the table, the action causing the wood to scape loudly against the stone floor.
As one, nearly everyone in the room turned to look at me.
"Lilith, what are you doing?” Aeron asked, his yellow eyes meeting mine in shock.
“We need to control how they find out about us. If we act like we're hiding it, people will be suspicious. Like this, we have the upper hand and no one can accuse us of anything.” If the Assembly had taught me anything, it was that as long as you played them right, the cards you held didn't matter. “Come and join us, Blaze.”
My Wrath mate sighed in my head. “Fucking finally.”
