Supernatural Academy: Year Two

by Jaymin Eve

  48

  “Baby, open your eyes.” A growl followed. “Maddison James, open your damn eyes.”

  I groaned, rubbing my hand against my head. “Ash?” I whispered, hearing his relieved groan.

  “Fuck, love, you scared the hell out of me.”

  I groaned again, because everything hurt. “Pun intended?” I joked. Providing we were out of the underworld, of course. “Where are we?”

  Lips brushed across mine, and somehow, I felt marginally better. “The Academy,” he said. “We’re back at the Academy.”

  I jerked up, wincing at the light burning through my retinas. Asher’s beautiful face filled my vision and I drank it in for a few seconds. I kissed him before he could answer, and he groaned into my mouth, wrapping his arms around me and gently pulling me onto his lap. We were in his room at the mansion, and I’d never been so happy to wake up.

  Asher pulled back just as the kiss was getting good. “No,” I cried, jerking him closer.

  He laughed, pressing kisses down my cheeks and across the sensitive skin on my neck. He knew exactly where I liked to be kissed. He knew how to play my body like a master. But apparently today he was not going to give me what I wanted.

  “Tease,” I huffed.

  This time when he laughed, he threw his head back, and I could have cried to see such joy on his face. “You’re injured, baby, and I don’t want to cause you one second more pain.”

  Rocking my hips against him, I stifled my moan. “Pain is not finishing what you just started.”

  Stubborn bastard wouldn’t be convinced though, and I tried not to pout as he wrapped me even tighter, lying back on the bed with me sprawled across him. We stayed like that for so long … I wasn’t even sure how much time passed as we lived in that moment, but eventually I had to know.

  “What happened? Is everyone okay?”

  Asher nodded. “Yes. All of us are back at the Academy. Only minor injuries.”

  A mental image of his blood hitting the walls … I’d never forget that. But … minor injuries? Dude had been holding his own with the gods, which was kinda scary … and mega hot.

  “Do you know how we got out of there, Maddi?” Asher asked suddenly.

  I squeezed my eyes closed, trying to remember all the details. “It went dark, and then … I fell. Something caught me in midair, and…” It was all blank after that.

  Asher shook his head. “I don’t know what happened after the lights went out. The darkness was impenetrable. I couldn’t see or sense anything.”

  That’s exactly what it was like … Sonaris hadn’t just turned out the lights, he’d almost stolen our senses. But how could he do that? It didn’t feel like a god of the ocean ability.

  Asher ran his hands over my back, stroking it soothingly, and I closed my eyes, resting in his comforting presence.

  “I love you,” I said.

  “I love you so much,” he returned. “I know I have a lot to make up for, Mads, and I promise, I’m not going to stop trying.”

  We kissed for a while, and just when it was getting good, he pulled away. Pouting, I said, “Are we sure the gods are still in the underworld?”

  Had Sonaris held up his end of the deal?

  Asher nodded. “It’s the only thing that makes sense, because no one has come after us. But I still don’t know how that happened. Who saved us?”

  Shit. It was finally time to admit what I’d done. “It was me,” I whispered. “I made a deal with Sonaris. I promised him a favor if he would save us.”

  Asher’s hold on me tightened. “What favor?” he asked, his voice rumbling.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. I was desperate, Ash. We were outnumbered. Outpowered. I had no choice.”

  It wasn’t really the truth and we both knew it. There was always a choice, but…

  “I won’t watch you die again,” I said, this time less apologetically. “I’m sorry, there’s only so much my sanity can take. I figured I’d just make the deal and worry about the consequences later.”

  Asher squeezed his eyes tightly closed, and when he opened them again, gold was dripping through those beautiful irises. But he didn’t yell or get angry, he just pressed his lips to mine.

  “He will never touch you,” he said softly. “Never.”

  “What about your mother?” I added. “She clearly knows now that you’ve chosen my side. I’m sure she won’t take that well.”

  I hated the thought of him being in more danger because of me. Not to mention he’d spent months all but ignoring me to try and deflect his mother’s attention. All of that was blown out of the water now.

  Asher shrugged. “Seems we all have something we’ll have to deal with in the future. Thankfully, for now, she appears to be trapped with the others.”

  All the gods trapped, except Sonaris. “Maybe they’ll do us all a favor and kill each other in there.”

  Asher laughed. “Now that would be lucky, if only their energy wasn’t enough to level the world.”

  Ah, yes, that old problem.

  We chatted some more until eventually we drifted off together, and for the first time in a long time I slept without dreams. I woke to Asher’s hard body pressed along my side, and I groaned at the sensation of our energy mingling. He shifted, eyes still closed, but his lips found mine.

  By now my head pain was long gone, along with every other ache and pain, and I was desperate to feel him. “Please, Ash,” I begged.

  He was fully awake as he hauled me into his arms, my aching body grinding against him. There was a steady, pulsing thrum inside me that needed sating. His mouth captured mine, dominating, stealing my soul in a single kiss. Or at least it would have, if he hadn’t owned it from almost the first moment we met.

  Asher lifted me from the bed, and I had no idea where he was taking us until the warm water of the pool washed over me. If I hadn’t been on the edge of combusting, I might have cried at being back in the water with him like this.

  My clothes disappeared in a few skilled moves, and I magicked his pants off, because I had no time to waste. He entered me in one hard thrust—neither of us able to wait another second. I cried out, my head dropping back as my lower half arched closer to him, wanting to feel every single inch as he slid in and out of me.

  Asher held me with one hand, the other cupping my breast as he dropped his head to my nipple. Gods. His tongue…

  “Ash,” I groaned.

  I was going to come; I couldn’t hold back any longer. I’d been so ready for him. He moved faster, and I felt the tension inside of me ravel tighter and tighter, until eventually I shattered around him, crying out. We went under the water, and had I not been an Atlantean I would have drowned. As it was, finishing under the water only spurred my orgasm to the highest of heights, and I wondered if I was going to pass out from the pure pleasure of it.

  Asher’s mouth found mine as he finished inside me, coming with a groan.

  We stayed locked together, floating in the water. Asher remained hard, and we ended up fucking again, this time on the bottom of the pool. I was starting to think that sex underwater was the way to go.

  Just having this moment to even experience so much pleasure and joy was probably more than I’d expected I’d ever have. So I would take it. I would take it and not stress too much about the future.

  The only guarantee I had was right now. Asher and I were making up for lost time. The year of purple had more downs than ups, but ending like this … almost made up for the rest.

  49

  “Bitch, you owe me,” Ilia said, hands on her hips as she stared me down.

  I wrinkled my nose at her. “Come on, aren’t you going to give that a rest? You’ve already taken my breakfast, my favorite shifter romance book, and made me go shopping with you twice. How long will I owe you for?”

  She continued staring me down, and I was supe enough to admit it … she was intimidating. “You’re going to owe me until I tell you different. You’ve sacrificed yourself twice now to sa
ve the rest of us. That’s not okay with me.”

  I grimaced. I probably deserved her punishments, because she’d been a hysterical mess wondering if she’d ever see me again. They all had been. The only good thing to come from all of that was that Calen and Ilia were solid as heck now. In moments of comforting each other, they’d decided to have a real shot at a relationship, and I was so fucking excited for her.

  “You know Josh had his baby,” she said conversationally, and she didn’t even seem upset by it. “A little boy. He’s going to try and work it out with the mother. He wants to be in his son’s life.”

  I wrapped my arms around her. “Sorry, girl.”

  She shrugged against me, but she didn’t pull away. “It’s okay. Calen means more to me anyway. I think the only thing with Josh is the regret I feel at how it all ended. Otherwise, I’m happy it worked out this way.”

  I sighed as I released her. “Yep, fate has an interesting way of working the world.” Speaking of. “There’s no way fate would want me to wear this dress, and no amount of guilt is going to force me into it.”

  Ilia stared me down and I swallowed hard.

  “Ah, fuck. Okay. Whatever.” If it made her happy, then I would do it. She was right, I really did owe her.

  I slipped on the purple number that was loosely masquerading as a dress. It was mostly a few strips of material all clipped together with large gold brooches. Lots of my skin was on show, and Ilia clapped her hands in excitement. “You look smokin’ hot, bitch.”

  She’d been calling me bitch a lot, but I was still pretty sure she still loved me. “I can’t believe this is the last dance of the year,” I said softly, fluffing up my curls. “Year two is over … how did that happen? Feels like I was barely here.”

  Ilia joined me in front of the mirror. “Uh, maybe because you skipped half of it being an Atlantean god and saving the world?”

  I snorted, but I couldn’t exactly argue.

  Ilia winked then, looking all kinds of amused. “And somehow … despite deaths and mourning and gods almost killing us all, you still managed to top multiple classes.”

  I shrugged. “Yeah, and considering I almost missed the end of year exams…”

  We’d just made it back in time—Asher and I had to study our asses off, but we’d made it to every exam, and I’d marveled at how easy school was now compared to last year. Being a demigod supe definitely had its advantages.

  “One of the professors suggested I should graduate early,” I said softly. I hadn’t told anyone else that. “He said I already had the skills to finish up next year.” I was seriously considering it. Most of my friends and family were a year ahead of me, so that meant next year was our last all together. Unless I finished early.

  Ilia stopped primping. “What did you say?”

  A snort escaped. “Right now, I have no idea what next month will bring, let alone next year. Sonaris assured me the gods would not remain in the Underworld indefinitely, and I figure I might be dead before graduation, so I’m just going to worry about today.”

  Ilia threw back her head and laughed. “Right old ray of sunshine, aren’t you, girl.”

  I gave her a gentle shove but didn’t argue. I was a little dark and dreary these days.

  “Come on, we should get going,” I said, pushing the bad shit aside. “They’ll be waiting for us.”

  I opened the door and almost screamed. Asher and Calen were standing right in the doorway.

  “Fuck,” Asher breathed.

  “Double fuck,” Calen repeated.

  My heart was beating so hard in my chest as I took Asher in. He was dressed in worn jeans that hugged his muscled thighs, white high tops, and a black shirt that lovingly fitted to his body like a second skin. His dark hair fell over his forehead, the gold and silver in it brighter than ever. His eyes were my favorite sea-green and they were filled with heat.

  Asher snagged an arm around me, pulling me firmly against his body. “I probably shouldn’t let you out of the room,” he murmured into my mouth. “You look so unbelievably sexy.”

  His hands brushed down to my bare thighs. I wore heels, bringing me much closer to his height, and I pressed into him, taking another kiss. Ilia didn’t care; she was basically climbing Calen, and … nobody cared in the supernatural world, actually. We were all horny fucks.

  When we finally came up for air, Calen stepped toward me, brushing his thumb across my cheek. He released Ilia fully to lean over and press a kiss to the same spot. “You look beautiful, sweetheart.”

  The Atlanteans had all been very affectionate since we had returned. They touched and hugged me all the time. They showed me every single day how much they loved me. It didn’t seem to bother Ilia or Larissa—who was still hung up on Rone—and I knew that was because there was no jealousy in our friendship group. They knew and accepted that the six of us Atlanteans had a special bond, and even though Calen and Rone loved them too, they wouldn’t come between the Atlantean-six.

  Blessed. I was so blessed. That was the only reason the year of purple was going down as a favorite as well. All my relationships had deepened this year. We’d been through hell and back, almost literally, and despite the ups and downs, I was finishing this year with the knowledge that the bonds I shared with everyone were stronger.

  The dance this time was held out in the back field, where we’d been supposed to do sports every Wednesday. That hadn’t really panned out this year, but Princeps Jones was going to try again next. He was determined to foster unity among us, and I was all for it.

  “This isn’t an official dance, right?” I asked as the huge dance floor came into sight. Usually they hid away their underground dances, but this time we were right out in the open, with the floor, bar, and huge speakers blasting music.

  Larissa dashed up to us. “Dad’s turning a blind eye because he’s just so damn happy that none of us got killed at the god smackdown.”

  That made two of us. Rone was close behind Larissa, his eyes glued to her in the shimmery silver dress she wore. Dude was hooked. He looked away long enough to hug me though, pressing his lips to my forehead. “Hey, Mads,” he said. “You look like a wet dream and bad mistake all wrapped up in one purple package.”

  I snorted. “Yeah, you look hot too, buddy.”

  He did. He was dressed all in black, and his fallen angel beauty was breathtaking.

  Jesse’s strong arms wrapped around me and I sank into that familiar shifter scent. It was wild, earthy, and felt like home. “Gorgeous,” he said softly, “you’re a fucking sight.”

  I chuckled against him. “Thanks, Jess.”

  Axl was last; he was quiet as he held me tightly. He’d been a little reticent since we all returned—he wasn’t handling it well. His super-brain kept calculating the future, and apparently it didn’t look good.

  “Not everything is black and white, Ax,” I murmured as I pulled away. “Some things can’t be calculated. The future is one of them, so enjoy tonight.”

  He smiled—reluctantly, but it was a smile. “I’ll try, Maddi.”

  I patted his arm. That was all any of us could do.

  “Where’s Connor?” I asked, and all I got were some shrugs in return. He hadn’t really grown on anyone, but I still felt some responsibility to my sorta brother.

  The beat changed then to something with lots of bass and I found my hips and ass moving. It had been too long since I let loose. I was determined that nothing was going to ruin tonight.

  “I’ll get drinks,” Calen shouted before he tucked Ilia under his arm, and together they walked off.

  The rest of us headed toward the main dance space, and all too soon lost ourselves in the beat. The drinks flowed, and by the end I found myself more than a little drunk.

  Asher didn’t leave my side … or maybe it was me that wouldn’t leave him. We danced, his body pressed against mine, turning me into a hot mess of hormones and sexual needs. I wanted him to fuck me right here, but since that would be a little inappropriate,
I settled for long, hot kisses that kept me almost as intoxicated as the fey wine.

  A magical barrier above kept us dry and warm, and I was having the best time. After a few hours, I needed the bathroom, so I hurried over to pee, hoping to get back before the end of the song. It was one of my favorites. As I stepped out of the room, feeling better, I swayed on the stupid heels and a strong arm wrapped around me, keeping me steady.

  “Oh, thanks,” I said, throwing my head back to see who it was.

  My heart stuttered in my chest. Sonaris. Dressed in a charcoal-colored suit, looking like a dark nightmare.

  “Wha—? What are you doing here?” I choked out, stepping back. Now that I knew it was him, the energy connection between us sprang to life, and I wondered at the delay.

  The god’s eyes ran over me, lingering on all the bare skin, and I almost felt the heat that trailed after that look.

  Bastard.

  “Just here to say hi,” he said softly, power wrapping around me as he brushed a fingertip across my cheek. “I wouldn’t want you to forget…”

  The deal. Like I would ever forget that.

  Jabbing him in the chest, I went toe to toe with him. “If you want your favor, ask for it. Otherwise … fuck off.”

  I was done playing games. He was not ruining this night for me … unless he called my bluff, of course.

  Sonaris’s laughter was as darkly sensual as his face. “This is enough for tonight,” he murmured, his finger tracing across my lips.

  I slapped his hand away and closed my eyes tightly for a moment to get myself together. When I opened them again, he was gone.

  Fuck! Motherfucking fuck!

  This was not good, but he hadn’t asked for anything yet. I still had time. Time to figure out how to take him and those bastard gods down. I knew there was a way … the Hellbringers. I just had to figure out how to use that weapon while not ending the world.