by Callie Rose
It was my own fault, really. Well, mine and whoever it was who’d lost control of the rebar way back at the beginning of the year. My display in the middle of Combat had already given me a reputation for being wild and unhinged, and the fact that neither I nor my guys had much interaction with anybody outside of our strange little group added mystery to the mix. People were primed and ready to believe any and everything they heard about us, and I wasn’t going to waste my time trying to correct them.
Hannah wasn’t satisfied, though. She scribbled a note and passed it to me. I glanced at it, and immediately saw red. Damn it.
They’re saying that you and Xero worked together to attack the school. They think Gavriel recruited you through Xero. They’re talking about jumping him in the library.
I rolled my eyes and wrote quickly, trying to keep my attention on Sven as much as possible.
Then they’re idiots. He’d kill them.
She started to write back but I gave her a warning look. I really, really needed to pass the next exam. She scowled but stopped passing notes. I could tell she was still listening in on the students’ whispered conversation, though. I made my notes a little more detailed so I could share them with her later. It was the least I could do.
I was completely prepared to continue our conversation in the hallway between classes, but as soon as we stepped out of the room, I was confronted by a group of girls. I’d seen them around, but they had never spoken to me before. A short woman with thick curly black hair and dark brown almond eyes twisted her mouth at me.
“Why are you even here if you hate it so much? Leave us alone. Go back where you came from.”
Goddammit. I was tired of this. All of it. I had no snappy comebacks left. “I don’t hate it here. I can’t go back where I came from, it’s against the rules. Please move, I’m late for class.”
“You shouldn’t even be in class!” a girl with blue skin and green hair hissed at me with her forked tongue. “You and your pet demons should walk away while you still have legs to walk on.”
“You’re going to take my legs?”
She growled at me. I rolled my eyes.
“Look,” a strawberry-blonde girl said. “I don’t know if what they’re saying is true or not, but you have to admit that it is really suspicious.”
“What is?” I asked tiredly.
“Well, you never wanted to be here in the first place, your first friends were an underworld reject and a sneaky bastard who doesn’t talk to anybody… except you, of course… and nothing bad ever happened at this school until you showed up. Nothing. For centuries.” She was ticking things off on her fingers as she spoke, which rankled me.
“You guys all first-years?”
“Yeah, so?”
“So nothing bad happened until you showed up, either. Maybe you let the sprites out.”
The girl gasped and recoiled as if I’d hit her. “Well, excuse me, but my boyfriend didn’t spend fifty years under Gavriel’s thumb!” She turned on her heel and stormed off. Her friends glared at me and followed her.
“Twenty years.” I sighed. “Not that it matters.”
The short curly-haired girl spun around with fire in her eyes. Literal fire. I hate this school.
“What the hell did you just say?” she hissed.
I snapped. “I said, who the hell is feeding you all this pile of crap?”
She smirked. “Sonja. She would know, wouldn’t she? After all, she’s the one who brought you in.” She flipped her hair as she spun around, and sparks flew off her fingers.
“God, why is she still doing this?” Hannah clutched her head in her hands, a gesture of such over-the-top distress that I would’ve chuckled if I didn’t feel like doing the same thing.
“Clearly she has nothing better to do. She’s obsessed with us—she’s hated me ever since the day I made her look bad in front of those Custodians by using persuasion on her. Come on, we’re late.”
I grabbed Hannah’s wrist and pulled her along beside me, placing my body between her and the other glares and whispers firing off in our direction. I wanted to know what Sonja’s problem was as badly as Hannah did, but I wasn’t going to let the bullshit ruin our day if I could possibly help it.
Because of the way our schedules were set up, I was on my own as I walked to Combat later that afternoon. I’d never minded before, but with the way things were going these days, I would have felt better with at least one friendly face nearby. I felt like a leper. People gave me a wide berth, and I swore I heard somebody actually hiss at me. I couldn’t wait to take out some of this pent-up aggression with some down and dirty hand-to-hand combat.
Before I could get there, though, Sonja’s friend Olivia stepped directly in my path and crossed her arms. “All alone, Piper? Without your little minions? What a surprise.”
“I don’t have minions,” I said patiently. “You’re thinking of Sonja. Which makes you the minion, cupcake.”
I did not expect her to laugh. It actually rattled me for a second.
“Shit, at least I chose my loyalty. You’re using those four men against their will. See you in class, cupcake.”
She smirked at me as she walked away.
Mother. Fucker. I was about one snide comment away from boiling over.
I stormed into the unisex locker room and inhaled deeply. Kingston was in here. Jayce had been, but was gone now. Kai hadn’t shown up yet. Neither had Xero. That bothered me, especially after the murmurs of potential violence that’d been floating around since first period.
“Oh, look, Gavriel’s mistress has decided to grace us with her presence.” Sonja’s voice cut through the last strands of control I had around my temper.
I whirled around to face her. “What the fuck did you just say?”
“Admit it,” she said through her teeth. “Only a trained demon would have been able to do what you did the day we brought you in. You’ve had this uncanny natural talent the whole time, haven’t you? You might have everyone else fooled into thinking you’re some kind of demon prodigy, but not me. I know the truth.”
I blinked at her. “Really? Why don’t you tell me, then we’ll both know?”
She took a step toward me. “You were with Gavriel, weren’t you? Before we ever found you. You probably lured that stupid girl who follows you around everywhere into a trap to get her turned. Xero’s in on it, I know he is.”
Fury tinged the edges of my vision red. “You keep his name out of your mouth.”
She smirked. “That’s why you went to him the second you could, isn’t it? He was your contact on the inside. The rest of them? Nothing but slaves. You’re a twisted bitch. You’ve brainwashed those idiots to do whatever you tell them. You’re just using them to get what you want for your evil lover.”
Something snapped inside of me, and my body moved. I was throwing punches before I’d made the conscious decision to do so, blow after blow connecting with her smug, stupid face. I saw her knuckles a millisecond before they connected with my eye, then my fist was in her hair and I was bashing her face into the locker.
She roared and lashed out with nails that had turned razor-sharp. I dodged out of the way before she could spill my guts all over the locker room floor and aimed a kick at her gut. She doubled over, struggling for breath.
“Stupid bitch,” she gasped as she straightened. “Is fighting like a human supposed to convince me or something? Go fuck yourself.” She spat blood onto the floor by my foot and stormed out. The few students who hadn’t fled when our fight broke out filtered through the door behind her, heading to class.
I stood, breathless and trembling, still full of rage. I could have gone two more rounds with energy to burn. They all really needed to stop fucking with me before I lost control and killed somebody.
“Yo.”
I turned around to find Kingston leaning against a locker with his hands in his pockets.
“What are you doing in here?” I wiped the blood and sweat from my face and gingerly
touched my swollen eye.
“Watching you kick her ass. Thanks for sticking up for us. That was good of you.”
“Yeah, yeah. Ow.” I hissed a breath as I poked at the tender bruise on the side of my face.
“Sit down.” He waved at a bench. “I’ll be back with some ice.”
“You don’t need to—”
But he was already gone. I sighed, muttering after his retreating back, “Seriously, just kiss me or something and I’ll be fine. But you know, ice is better for boundaries, I guess.”
I slouched onto the bench and crossed my arms, knowing exactly how petulant I looked and not finding it in myself to care. I had plenty to be petulant about.
Kingston was back in minutes with an ice pack. I moved to take it from him, but he brushed my hand aside.
“Tilt your head back a little.” When I did as he’d instructed, he cradled my head in his left hand and applied the ice with his right. The cold felt good. His touch felt better.
“Didn’t expect you to be adept at first aid,” I teased. “Don’t you rich kids have people who handle that sort of thing?”
A little half-grin barely brushed his face. “Ha ha. And yes, usually we do. But I was very active in sports and adventure groups all through school. You wouldn’t believe how many black eyes you’ll get playing polo.”
I laughed. “Polo? Really?”
“What, you’re surprised? I thought you could sense things about people. Like a competitive spirit.”
I was quiet for a moment, studying his emerald eyes. My neck was warming where his hand cradled me, and that warmth was spreading, moving lower through my body like a trickle of pure pleasure.
Focus, dammit.
“I do sense some things about you. A love of money and power. Is that why you resent this place so much? Not really a whole lot of money making opportunities around here.”
He winced and looked away, and my brows pulled together. I couldn’t believe it. I’d actually hurt his feelings.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean—“
I touched his hand instinctively, and he gave me a wry smile.
“Don’t worry about it. I know it comes across that way. But it’s more than that. A lot more than that. The family business—it’s grown into an empire, and not because of dirty money or exploitation, but through a lot of hard work and luck and honor.”
I pushed the ice pack away from my face and sat up straight. He wore an expression halfway between shame and determination.
“Honor?” I moved closer to him, until I was tucked under his arm. He moved his arm slightly, like he was going to hold me, but he stopped himself.
“Yeah,” he said quietly. “That’s really what it’s about. It’s our family legacy, and I’m the only heir. If I disappear—er, for good—they’ll have no choice but to take the company public. And who knows what a board of directors will do with it? My father always, always pressed upon me the importance of honor and integrity in business.”
I was feeling a bit impressed myself, but I wasn’t wholly convinced. “Jayce seems to think that your plans for the company drift toward the dark side.”
He made a face and waved his free hand. “Jayce is a simple creature. He thinks if he just has enough money, he can save the world. What he doesn’t understand is that the whole game changes once you hit a certain income bracket. Money is liquid, ephemeral—very rarely is it solid. You can’t just buy apartments out from under a billionaire slum lord and turn them into eco-friendly condos with a handshake and a wire transfer.”
“Why not?”
“Like I said, money isn’t solid. It’s more like a language. When billionaires talk, money is chitchat. They don’t need more of it, so they can afford to be stingy. Does that make sense?”
“I think so,” I said slowly. “You have to offer them something that means more than money in order to make a deal.”
He nodded. “Which is why we invest in oil and politics. A major shareholder has more say about where a pipeline goes than an eco-terrorist. A campaign contributor has the politician’s ear more than their constituents. The system is corrupt, sure. But that doesn’t mean that all of the players in it have to be.”
I put my hand on his chest and felt his heart beat. He was as passionate about this as Jayce was about—well, everything. Kingston’s arm tightened around me and sparks flew between us.
“Tell me something,” I murmured.
“Sure.”
“Do you feel the same pull I do?” My voice was getting husky.
“You should already know the answer to that.” His voice was like warm wine. I wanted to drink him.
“Then why have you been so resistant to it?”
He cracked a grin and looked down at me. “Maybe I hate being told what to do.”
“Maybe there are some things you can’t rebel against.”
We were moving closer together, as if drawn by some invisible force. He was pulling me closer and closer until I was practically lying across his chest. Every word we spoke brought our lips closer together. A hot shiver raced down my spine as the memory of our kiss at the pub popped into my head.
“That sounds a lot like you’re telling me what to do,” he whispered.
“You never do what you’re told?”
“Never.”
“Then… don’t kiss me.”
His mouth was hot and firm. I could taste the defiance on his tongue, and it was intoxicating. I breathed in his scent and ran my fingers through his hair as he crushed my body against his and molded my lips with his mouth.
We were still sitting side by side, but our upper bodies were pressed flush together. I needed more than that though—needed more contact. I had only kissed Kingston once before, and kissing him again was like getting a second dose of an incredible, dangerously addictive drug.
Not giving him a chance to push me away, I crawled onto him, straddling his lean hips and keeping my mouth firmly on his. The second I sank down onto his lap, I could feel exactly what our kiss was doing to him, and a thrill of victory and desire raced up my spine.
He wanted this.
He wanted me.
I probably shouldn’t have been surprised. I was a damned succubus after all. It was my demonic power that pulled him toward me just as much as it pushed me toward him. But he’d been so damn good at resisting—he and Kai both—that there had been times I’d wondered if my succubus bond was one-sided. A line of energy flowing one way and not the other.
But the line of Kingston’s energy right now? Given a physical shape in the form of his cock, that line was pointing right toward me.
Thank fucking God.
I ground against the hardness straining against the fabric of his pants, using it to tease my own throbbing clit.
His body tensed, his hand fisting my hair to drag my mouth away from his even as his hips rocked up into mine. His dark green eyes gleamed as he forced me to meet his gaze, and his expression hovered somewhere between awed and angry.
“How are you so fucking irresistible?”
“My charming personality,” I murmured, quirking a smile as I strained against his grip on my hair, darting my tongue out to lick his lips.
He groaned and released his hold on my dark strands, palming the back of my head instead and crushing his mouth against mine once more. I kissed him like I might never get the chance again—because who knew, maybe I wouldn’t—wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing my breasts flush against his chest.
I wanted him so fucking bad. And if the bulge working against my clit was any indication, he wanted me the same way—in the forget all about being in a unisex locker room that anyone could technically walk into at anytime kind of way.
I’d already fucked Jayce in a closet, so an abandoned locker room was the next logical step from there, right?
Reaching between us, I worked my hand down the front of Kingston’s pants until I found his cock, hard and hot and ready for me. My pussy clenched around nothing, demanding a
nd needy already. But there was something I wanted even more.
I pulled back, breaking our kiss, and rose from the bench. Kingston’s lust-hazed eyes widened in surprise at the loss of my body, my lips. But when I sank down to my knees in front of him, the forest-green of his irises darkened, and he bit his full bottom lip as he watched me like a hawk.
My face stayed tilted up toward his as I reached for his pants, loving the acceptance and raw need I saw in his expression as I worked the fabric down his hips enough to free his cock. He didn’t even glance toward the door, although he had to know as well as I did that our privacy wasn’t guaranteed.
When I held his thick, heavy length in my hand, I finally dragged my gaze away from his face and looked down at my prize.
Oh, God, he’s fucking beautiful.
I honestly didn’t know if it was because my succubus nature made me appreciate things like this more, or if I’d just been lucky enough to bond to men with amazing cocks—the ones I’d seen anyway—but the one I had my fingers wrapped around was truly stunning. The skin was velvety-smooth, the head was broad, and the vein that ran along the thick length was like a beacon calling to my tongue.
Damn, I want to lick it. I didn’t resist the urge, ducking my head and darting my tongue out to drag it over the pulsing vein. Kingston’s cock jumped in my hand, and he let out a low string of curses, fisting my hair again in a grip that was almost painful.
I liked it though. Liked everything about what’d just happened. So I repeated my action, sticking my tongue out and running just the tip over the throbbing, angry vein. Then I did it again, and again, flicking my tongue a little from side to side.
His hold on my hair tightened, and his hips shifted on the bench, like it was taking all of his self-control not to thrust toward my face.
“Stop licking it like a damn lollipop,” he finally grunted, his voice strained. There was a heavy dose of annoyance mixed with a touch of humor in his tone, and I tilted my head slightly, peering up at him through my lashes.
“I like lollipops.”
“Clearly,” he gritted out, and this time his hips did thrust forward a little, pushing his cock toward my mouth, toward the opening of my lips.
