by Coralee June
“Is this what you like, Void? A vampire sucking you dry?” he asked into my mouth.
“You’re not like them,” I insisted.
“Our power demands that we take from others. I’m a monster, just like you.”
“We don’t have to be,” I replied.
He hummed against my mouth, nipping me one more time, his fang piercing my bottom lip this time. He sucked it into his mouth, his tongue running over the blood and making me shudder.
“I want you to take from me,” I admitted, my voice breathy.
I was still weak, but I didn’t care. I needed this.
He cursed under his breath, and then his fingers deftly unclasped the button of my jeans before pulling my zipper down. “Rev your bike,” he told me.
I turned around and focused on the handlebars, revving it like he said. The vibrations ran up my legs, settling into the very sensitive part between my thighs, and I let out a gasp. “You gonna get me off on my bike?” I asked with a tease.
“Drive back to the feral cabin,” he rasped in my ear. “And don’t crash.”
With a smile, I revved again, peeling across the pavement as I started to head back in the direction we’d come from. He dipped the tips of his fingers behind the band of my panties before sinking his teeth into my neck.
“Oh gods.”
I wanted to close my eyes as red-hot pleasure coursed through me. This was dangerous but I couldn’t stop.
The hunger was like a lock, and he twisted the key of his fangs, making me feel his pleasurable venom everywhere. Part of me knew this was wrong. I shouldn’t entertain taking pleasure from a vamp that possibly still hated me. It was just another thing they’d all eventually use against me. It was just another thing to regret later.
But I was selfish enough not to care. I wanted him. It had been way too long since I’d had release like this. The fumbled attempts with humans were always lackluster and left me dissatisfied. I knew all along that I’d needed a super to sate my needs.
Vibrations from my bike and bliss from Render coaxed my body into a state of euphoria while I scorched the road with my speeding tires, pushing faster and faster to get back to the academy. Adrenaline mixed with the pulsing of his fingers, driving me to a place where who I was didn’t matter anymore. What I was capable of didn’t mean shit. I was just a girl stealing a moment of life on a roaring bike, and Render was just an instrument of pleasurable amnesia.
As I drove, his fingers continued to play with my clit, while his mouth staying on my neck. He wasn’t pulling blood, just alternating between pricking me with the tips of his teeth and infusing me with his venom before sealing it shut again. It created peaks and lows of bliss, but I wanted more.
I pivoted my hips up, granting him deeper access to me as the sounds of my revving engine overpowered the sounds of my moans. I went faster, cursing when I saw a bend in the road. Tilting my bike to hug the wide berth, I hissed when his hands stopped working their magic and the vibrations dulled. At the end of the curve, I could see the side road leading to the back way to my cabin. I turned on it, gasping with the bumps of the road littered with uneven dirt and rocks.
Render pulled his lips from my neck to speak. “Pull over, Void,” he ordered.
I did as he asked, only because I was right there. Right on the edge. After killing the bike, I hiked my leg over the seat and spun around. Render flashed off and was in my face in an instant, crushing his lips to mine as he guided me to a nearby tree, pressing my back against the hard bark. He went back to dipping his fingers into my slick heat while I writhed against his hand. It was filthy and wrong and yet somehow just right.
His hard cock rubbed against my taut stomach as his fingers toyed with me. I could feel its thickness through his pants and drug my hands down his chest and abs to get a better feel.
“Don’t touch me,” he growled into my mouth before sweeping his tongue along my bottom lip. I recoiled at his harsh words, surprised.
“Don’t want a nasty Void to touch you?” I sneered, while trying to pull away.
His hands flashed up to my cheeks, holding me in place, peering into my eyes so I couldn’t escape. I could smell myself on his fingertips. “That’s not it. I just don’t want to come in your palm...yet,” he explained. “You have me so hard I’d last an embarrassingly short amount of time, and I have a reputation to maintain.”
My face scrunched up. I didn’t want to hear about his reputation. “Hmm,” I said before shoving at his chest. He didn’t budge.
“I’m going to get you off, Void. I think you could use the release. Have you ever come before?” he asked while tilting his head to the side, observing me with that cocky expression I was starting to find attractive. Damn asshole vamp.
I remembered him reading my diary, all the dirty loneliness that followed me everywhere I went. I was inexperienced, yeah, but that didn’t mean I wanted him to add it to his arsenal of reasons to bully me. So instead of feeling ashamed or embarrassed, I laughed. “I know how to come, vamp,” I said before taking my hands and running them down my body. His eyes flickered away from my face to follow the heated trail my fingers left. “I’m not afraid to get myself off. I guess the better question is, do you know what you’re doing? ‘Cause I’m still standing here unsatisfied.” His beautiful eyes flared with challenge.
He didn’t even give me a second to gather myself. Within an instant, he was yanking down my shirt, exposing the tops of my breasts and the plump skin there. He sank his teeth into my cleavage making me cry out with delicious pricks of pain, smearing blood along my skin before pushing his hand back between my thighs. And then his fingers started...flashing. Vibrating with pointed speed against my clit. Yanking his mouth away from my breasts, he gleamed at my parted lips and rasping breath.
“I know you hate flashing, but it’s not all bad, huh?” he teased, while stroking me even faster. It was better than my rabbit vibrator hidden under my mattress at Mrs. Coxcomb’s School for Troubled Girls.
“Nope,” I agreed on a hiss as he stroked me. “This flashing is freaking awesome,” I panted. I had no idea he could do this. His fingers moved so quickly that I came embarrassingly fast. My orgasm tore through me, ripping up my spine and down between my thighs. As I arched my back, he sunk his teeth into me when he saw me start to come down, making it last even longer.
He pulled his mouth back first, after licking all the blood covering my breasts. Then he removed his hand with a satisfied smirk. “How was that?”
I could barely breathe. Couldn’t even think. I wasn’t about to tell Render, but that was probably the best orgasm I’d ever had. I decided my mouth couldn’t be trusted, so I kept it shut. His orgasms were like truth serum, and I didn’t want to say something embarrassing. The asshole had a big enough head as it was.
“Why?” I asked instead. It was something I’d been asking a lot lately.
Render’s face softened for a moment then grew hard. “Don’t read into it. I just didn’t want you spending the rest of your life thinking vamps were only good for hurting. It’s bad for my people if the Void has a prejudice based on the ignorance of few.”
Anger flared up within me but then died on my exhale. That...was not what I’d wanted to hear. “Oh. Well...thanks for the demonstration,” I replied with a small smile. My nonchalance must have caught Render off-guard, because his mouth dropped open in shock.
“Go back to the cabin,” he ordered before nodding back toward my bike.
“Yes, sir,” I replied while rolling my eyes. I’d gotten the risk out of my soul and an orgasm out of my body. I guess things could be worse. Slipping away from him, I buttoned my pants then headed toward Betty. “Do me a favor though, will you?” I asked while straddling my bike.
“What?” he asked.
“Be sure to pass Gritt’s room so he can smell me on you. It’ll drive the bastard crazy,” I said with a wink.
He looked down at the ground and laughed before flashing away. Once I was sure he was go
ne, I let the cool disappointment sink into me before driving the rest of the way to the feral cabin.
But when I got there, someone was already waiting for me.
Banner was stretched out on the wooden porch, leaning against the dilapidated bannister. I parked my bike, kicking out the stand, and pulled off my helmet before walking over to him. He stood up to face me, and I regarded him curiously. Every time we’d been around each other lately, all he’d done was rush through lessons. We hadn’t connected at all since that first day, and I wasn’t sure why.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
He shrugged, his pale skin catching in the moonlight. “Wanted to make sure you were okay. I heard about the vampires.”
“Yeah. I’m okay.”
We stood awkwardly in front of each other, two feet of space between us that felt both too close and too far away. He regarded me with his dark eyes, and I wished so badly that I could figure out what he was thinking.
“You fed?”
I nodded slowly. “Gritt took off my necklace after the attack. I fed from him.”
Banner’s eyes raised in surprise. “You fed from him? Without me present?”
“I know, it was dangerous. I told him he shouldn’t have.”
“No, he shouldn’t.”
“It was okay, though,” I said, feeling suddenly excited to tell him about the control I’d had. “It was muscle memory or something. Like my Void knew not to hurt him. Gritt was pretty cocky about it,” I said with a chuckle.
Instead of looking impressed or proud like I expected, Banner’s frown only deepened. “You can’t trust them, Devicka.”
My humor fled my face. “What?”
“The paragons, the headmaster. You can’t trust them. Maybe they’re tricking you into a false sense of security, pretending to like you, but don’t fall for it.”
His words were like a slap to the face. My father had told me not to trust anyone either, but this was different. “Do you know something I should?” I asked carefully.
He didn’t say yes, but he didn’t deny it either. “Work on your power. Appease the council. That’s what you need to focus on.”
“I am focusing on that,” I insisted, getting pissed.
“Good. Don’t let other...things distract you.”
I didn’t like the implication of what he was saying. But instead of drilling him on it, I switched gears. “You’ve been weird lately. Distant.”
He didn’t even try to deny it. His head dropped, and he kicked at the bannister with his shoe, making the wood thunk. “I apologize, Miss Cainson.”
The corner of my mouth tilted up. “Haven’t we moved past Miss Cainson yet, Mr. Selik?” I asked teasingly, hoping we could slip back into our easy banter that we’d once shared.
His lips parted in a smile, and relief flooded into me. “Well, I am your teacher.”
“Is that all you are?” I asked. I really wanted to know the answer to that question.
Instead of replying, he closed the distance between us and fingered the amulet hanging on my neck. His blood-red lips were pressed in a thin line. “You’re doing very well in your lessons,” he said quietly. “But the council will want more from you soon.”
I deflated a bit. The last thing I wanted to deal with tonight was more talk of the council’s expectations of me. “They always do,” I replied.
Banner let my amulet drop and then brushed my light blonde hair off my shoulder. A shiver travelled up my spine when he let his finger pause against the edge of my neck, his touch skimming up and down. “I’m glad you’re okay,” he said quietly.
Gods, the way he said that made butterflies swarm through my insides.
“Thanks,” I said lamely, too caught up in the moment.
He swallowed hard, stepping away from me, taking his cooling balm with him. “I’d better get back.”
I nodded, and he turned and walked away, leaving me behind with more uncertainty than I’d had before. “Fucking men,” I grumbled to myself as I turned to the cabin. I just wanted this day to be over and for it to take all of the confusing males with it.
Chapter 18
Loud banging on my door woke me up the next morning. Afuckinggain.
I slept well, thanks to my active night, and the cabin had even been cleaned up a bit while I was gone. I wondered if the quirky necromancer was responsible for my new chair and blankets. There was even a stack of new uniforms folded on the dresser, too. When I got dressed, I found that the clothes were actually in my size, instead of those ill-fitting second hand uniforms I’d been wearing. But looking down at my legs, it seemed like the skirt was significantly shorter than what was regulation for the school. Either way, it was better than what I’d had, especially considering it had gotten bloody and shredded from the attack.
I was also feeling good about my new outlook. I let Render get me off last night because I wanted it. I no longer cared if he thought I wasn’t worthy of his odd cravings and attention. If he didn’t want me, fine. But I’d take advantage of the fun while I could. I was also going to focus on my powers. Not for my mother, not for the council, not for Banner. For me.
I opened the door, wearing my new uniform that I’d hastily pulled on, and squinted at the moody shifter on my porch. “What took you so long?” he asked as I flung open the door.
“I was getting dressed,” I mumbled, pulling at the hem of my skirt as I walked outside. The words were barely out of my mouth before Gritt was suddenly in front of me, blocking my path.
Startled, I looked up, and Gritt was staring down at me, nostrils flared, chest heaving, eyes flashing with reflective fury. “Did you touch yourself?”
I blinked at him in shock, my mouth dropped open. “What?”
He honest-to-demons growled at me, a noise so predatory that it made the hairs on my arms rise. He took a step forward, crowding my space. “I said, did you fucking touch yourself? Did you use your hands to rub your pussy until you creamed all over your fingers?” His voice was low, his breath hot on my face. He was every bit a dangerous predator. That, coupled with his dirty words, had my heart racing. “Because I could smell you all over the damn school. In the dorm corridors. In the dining hall. In the fucking library, which I’ve never even been to until today. Shit, I even smelled you in the godsdamned men’s bathroom, and you sure as fuck better not have been in there. So you need to tell me that you just like to get yourself off in public places, because if you’re fucking Selik all over the damn school, we’re going to have a problem.”
Outrage spurred to life inside of me, and I brought both hands up to shove him back. “How dare you. You don’t get to ask me questions like that, and you sure as shit don’t get to threaten me. Who the fuck do you think you are?”
He opened his mouth to answer, only to shut it again and let out another growl. He was obviously shocked by my new take-no-shit attitude, and it bolstered me.
“That’s what I thought,” I snapped. “We’re right back to where we started, because you can’t admit otherwise. So you have no right to talk to me like that. And for the record, I do like getting off in public places. But it was Render that had the pleasure of dipping his fingers inside of me, not Banner.”
I spun on my heel and started storming away, cursing the academy building for being so far.
“That fucking bloodsucker,” Gritt cursed before running to catch up with me. “When did this happen? Before or after you were nearly killed by his people yesterday?”
Leaves crunched beneath my feet as I continued to stomp away. I could feel him right at my back, furiously breathing his hot air down my neck. “After. It happened last night when I went for a joy ride on Betty.”
“Who the fuck is Betty?” he roared, and I turned around to see him dragging his hands along his face. I decided right then to torment him even more.
“Oh, she’s the best I’ve ever ridden,” I teased. “Practically purrs between my thighs.”
Gritt pushed ahead of me and stopped i
n the middle of the path. He braced both hands on my shoulders, forcing me to stop. “Do you have any idea how difficult this is for me? I have no control over the bond. The least you could do is not flaunt yourself with other males all over the fucking school.”
I seethed. “So now you’re going to admit there’s a bond? How convenient for you. You just whip it out when you get jealous and tuck it back in your pants when you remember I’m the Void and you don’t want me. Fuck that.”
“No. Yes. Fuck, I don’t know!” he yelled, throwing his arms up in frustration. “Maybe. Every fucking second I’m around you, all of my animals are pushing at me to claim you.”
“And what about you?”
“Me?”
“Yes. You. Not your animals, not some fucking bond you have no control over. What do you want?”
He narrowed his eyes. “I want to not have to smell your arousal all over the godsdamn school!”
“Sorry to burst your bubble, but I won’t be hiding away like a virginal nun until this bond is out of your system. Have you figured out what you’re going to do about this?”
“I’m still researching,” he said with a curse before taking a step back, as if reminding himself that he was supposed to be keeping his distance from me.
“Right. Well, while you figure out how to make your animals agree with your head, I suggest you stop acting like a jealous boyfriend.”
I made a mental note to thank Render for fucking with Gritt. Knowing him, he had probably been running laps around the school at all hours of the night. It was pretty savage.
We headed toward the school, Gritt growling and talking to himself most of the way. I only caught bits and pieces of his grumblings, but I had a feeling Render would be getting his ass kicked pretty soon. Gritt bypassed the cafeteria doors and led me down another deserted hallway toward a secluded classroom at the end of the school. I was hungry as hell, but I was grateful for the opportunity to miss out on seeing the vamps that tormented me yesterday. Luckily, I caught sight of a basket sitting on the teacher’s desk.
