by Tara West
They froze like deer in a broomstick’s high beams. When they shared dark looks, she knew they were telepathically speaking to one another, as was the way with most shifters if they were in the same family. She and her siren mother and grandmother had been able to telepathically speak, too.
“Only one other,” Teju answered, averting his eyes and pushing up his glasses.
Liar. Oh, well. She shouldn’t have cared anyway. It’s not like she was interested in anything more than a good time from these three studs.
No, Serah, she chided herself. You can’t sleep with them.
Yes, you can, Thelix argued.
Draque brushed his denim-clad leg against hers. “But she wasn’t nearly as pretty as you.”
“Oh.” She bit her lip, batting her lashes and feigning innocence. Carefully cultivated expression drove men wild.
What was wrong with her? Why was she capitulating to her siren so easily?
Because you need to get fucked, Thelix chuckled.
“What brings you to the Academy for Misfit Witches?” Draque asked, as he not-so-slyly draped an arm behind her.
She turned into him, “accidentally” brushing her knee across his thigh, though she knew she was playing with fire. “I got expelled from my other school.”
Draque’s full lips pulled back in a feral smile. “Us, too.”
“What did you do?” Laden asked as he returned and handed her a steaming cup of tea.
She was pleasantly surprised that he’d also included two sugar packets on the chipped, porcelain saucer. He wasn’t such a brute, especially for a dragon. Her grandfather had told her they were all fire and no finesse.
“Got caught in a compromising position.” She blew steam across her tea, looking up at him with an innocent air. “You?”
His nostrils flared and his gaze flickered to her breasts. “Burned down the boy’s bathroom.”
“Not on purpose,” Teju said. “Draque was trying to smite a rat.”
Ladon nodded. “The school was infested.”
“Why are you allowed to bring your wands to detention?” She glanced at the long stick poking out of Draque’s jeans.
“We’re not.” Draque slipped a wand from his pocket with a grin. “Teju knows every concealment and enchantment spell there is.”
“He’s the smart brother.” Ladon tapped his forehead. “His mind is like a Goldenwand.”
“Nice.” She shifted uncomfortably at the reference to her grandfather’s invention. People were always talking about the revolutionary wand that had the features of a cellphone (an electronic communication device used in the human realm) and the memory of a seasoned witch. It was the perfect blend of technology and magic. It was also seldom used by shifters, and she didn’t know if that was due to their animosity toward the Goldenwand or the wand’s hatred of them. Either way, she had a sinking feeling these shifters wouldn’t be impressed if they found out she was the Goldenwand heiress.
“What kind of compromising position?” Draque asked with a hint of mirth.
She watched the steam rising from her cup, feeling as if he could see into her soul with his penetrating eyes. Smiling softly at the memory, she said, “Me bent over my professor’s desk and him bent over behind me.”
Panting heavily, Thelix perked up to see their reactions.
“You screwed your professor?” All three brothers said simultaneously, their jaws dropping.
“Just one, but if you listen to the rumors, I’ve fucked between ten and ten thousand.” Though she was a siren, and naturally sexual, she did have standards. Even though he’d offered, she wasn’t about to sleep with Professor Slugstack for a passing grade. Periwinkle had been too tempting to resist, though. It was almost as if he’d cast a spell on her libido.
“Why did you sleep with him?” Teju asked.
Though she wasn’t always attracted to men in glasses, she couldn’t deny Teju looked adorably sophisticated. The round lenses kept sliding down his nose. She studied his eyes and saw no judgment there, just a sense of wonder.
“It was a lot more fun than studying.” She bit her thumbnail. “Professor Periwinkle wasn’t just my teacher; he was my tutor, and we spent a lot of time together after school.”
“Periwinkle, huh?” Draque chuckled.
She supposed his name was odd. There was once an infamous witch named Pressy Periwinkle, who’d been accused of shrinking her former lovers’ testicles.
She eyed Draque coolly and then caught the thick scent of their desire. Thelix clawed at her, demanding to be sated. Serah refused to surrender to her siren, no matter how badly she wanted to bang the shifters.
Teju cleared his throat, shifting his legs and not-so-inconspicuously adjusting the bulge in his jeans. “The teachers are all women here.”
She instinctively licked her lower lip, instantly regretting her action. Before Grandfather had taken her from Siren’s Cove, she’d enjoyed the sexual company of two girls her age. They’d helped Serah unlock the secrets of her body. But she wasn’t about to sleep with a professor again, even though the girls she’d been with had pleasured her far better than Professor Periwinkle.
“Most of them are trolls,” Teju added.
She blinked at him, thinking of Lady Hoofenmouth with the unibrow, wide nose, and a face that had been struck a few times by a really big ugly stick. No offense to trolls, but they were the most unattractive race in the magical world. “Really? Most of them?”
“Everyone except for Miss Bubblebosom.” Ladon chuckled. “And they’re all loyal to Doublewart.”
Holy dragon dong! She didn’t think she could stomach sleeping with a troll. No wonder Grandfather had insisted she attend this school.
“If you need tutoring,” Teju said, “I’m happy to help.”
“Thanks, Teju.” Heat flamed her cheeks when she looked into his piercing eyes. She had a feeling his idea of tutoring would be much like Periwinkle’s. “But as soon as my detention’s over, I’m calling my grandfather to come get me.” He wouldn’t want her to stay here after he learned Goldenwands were forbidden. Sure, he was often hard on her and not very affectionate, but he cared enough to see that she got a decent education, didn’t he?
“You signed the contract, right?” Teju asked.
“Yeah.” She shrugged, but Grandfather could get her out of it.
Draque gave her a forlorn look as if he’d accidentally eaten her puppy. “It can’t be revoked.”
She sat up straighter. “Excuse me?”
“Dame Doublewart owns your ass until graduation,” he said.
She tossed long, wavy hair behind her shoulder. “I’m sure I can get out of it.”
“I’m sure you can’t.” Draque snickered. “Doublewart’s never lost a student. She prides herself on her record.”
She slumped in her seat. “Fuck.”
Ladon gave her a sympathetic look. “What year are you?”
“Twelfth.” She should’ve finished school last year, but she’d gotten a late start.
“You only have a semester to go.” Teju’s enthusiasm sounded forced. “You’ll get through it.”
“How long have you been here?” she asked them.
“Three years,” they answered simultaneously.
“We’re twelfth years, too,” Ladon said.
Merlin’s dirty buttplug! “How have you survived that long?”
The brothers shared sly looks.
“We’ve managed,” Teju said.
And by “managed” she suspected they’d seduced every wayward witch in the school.
“We had no choice,” Ladon said. “We should’ve graduated two years ago, but no other schools would take us.”
“How old are you?” she asked.
“Just turned twenty.”
Hmmm. Triplets. She thought she’d read once dragon eggs hatched in threes. They looked older. Then again, she’d heard dragons were usually mature beyond their years. These guys didn’t act too mature, though.
�
�You?” Ladon asked.
Thelix purred when he flashed those sexy dimples. Hot damn, he was cute. She wondered if he’d meant to turn her on or if he was genuinely sweet and sexy.
“Almost nineteen,” she said. “I’m a year behind.” Not that she was a dummy. Grandfather hadn’t taken her from Siren’s Cove until she was sixteen.
Teju puffed up his chest, looking far too sophisticated and sexy as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his Roman nose. “We’ll help you get all caught up.”
Yesss, please, Thelix begged. More tutoring sessions.
“Thanks.” She didn’t have the heart to tell him she wasn’t staying. Contracts could always be broken with enough payoff.
“Our pleasure,” Ladon answered, his cheeks flushing so red, she feared he’d catch fire.
“What is it, Ladon?” she asked.
He looked at her with big doe eyes, and her heart melted. “You’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.”
She swore she heard Thelix faint. “Uh, thanks.” She forced herself to look away.
“Sorry.” He leaned into her, getting so close she could smell him, a blend of heat, magic, and tempting pheromones all his own. “I hope I’m not making you uncomfortable.”
She fought and the desire that coursed through her when she spied the bulge in his jeans.
Grab it! Thelix commanded.
“I’m quite comfortable, thanks,” she answered him while ignoring Thelix. She knew she was attractive, with her wavy, auburn hair, luminous violet eyes, and generous curves. She was built like a siren, after all. But even she knew the power of the siren’s call. Her mesmerizing voice was meant to lure sailors to their deaths, tricking them to fall so madly in love, they completely forgot their imminent danger. Kind of sucked for her at times, because she never knew if men were attracted to her or simply bewitched.
“I’m sure you get loads of compliments,” Teju said, leaning closer, too.
Rip off their clothes! Thelix wailed. Or let them rip off yours.
She should’ve been alarmed that she was being squished into a stud sandwich, but she gloried in it.
“I do,” she said, “and I’m sure you’ve met prettier girls.”
“We haven’t,” they said in unison.
They want you. Spread your legs, already.
She would’ve been flattered if not for the fact that her pheromones were so strong. She wiped a bead of sweat off her brow, knowing her glands were reacting to the scent of three virile men.
“Listen,” she said, clenching her hands into fists as she braced for their reaction. “I have to be honest with you. I’m part siren. You’re reacting to my pheromones. All men do.”
Don’t tell them that! Thelix scolded.
They froze like gnomes caught in a trapper’s net.
Draque shared wide-eyed looks with his brothers. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.” She twisted the end of her belt in her fingers. “My grandmother is the siren queen.”
Draque’s jaw dropped. “No shit.”
“D-do you eat guys after you have sex with them?” Ladon stammered.
She stiffened. Even though sirens had stopped eating men after the curse had been broken two thousand years ago, their reputation as man-eaters persisted. “No, I don’t.” She gave them each a direct look. “Sirens don’t eat people anymore. Get with this millennium.”
But we swallow, Thelix giggled.
All three brothers simultaneously sighed.
“Thank the stars.” Ladon clasped his hands in a prayer pose, licking his lips like a kid in an ice cream parlor. “Not that we’re afraid of you eating us. We’re dragon shifters.”
She glared at him. “Who said I was having sex with you?” So they’d already assumed she would spread her legs? Did they think her a whore? Was that why they’d rescued her from the dungeon? They’d already planned on getting laid? They made her horny, but they didn’t have to be so crass.
“Sorry.” Ladon dragged a hand down his face with a groan. “I don’t know what’s come over me.”
“We’re not usually like this,” Draque said. “You must think we’re cads.”
She pretended to be offended, but the nagging siren in the back of her head urged her to jump them, telling her she wanted it as much as they did. She smoothed trembling hands down her jeans. She needed a way to shut the siren up. Either that, or give her what she wanted.
“That’s okay.” She frowned at her tea, cooling on the coffee table. “Do you have anything stronger than beer and tea?”
Ladon jumped to his feet. “What would you like?”
Teju arched a brow. “How about a siren sangria?”
Something was going on here. “Never had it,” she answered.
They all froze again. “Really?” Teju asked, looking like a kid who’d gotten his hand caught in the cookie jar.
She shot him an accusatory glare. “I’m guessing it makes you horny.”
Let’s drink it, Thelix squealed.
As if she needed anything else to make he pussy throb and her nipples ache.
He scratched the back of his head, averting his gaze. “Uh... maybe.”
“What the hell, Teju?” Draque snapped and turned to Ladon. “Make her a pixie punch.”
“Okay,” Ladon said, casting a wary glance at her.
You want the sangria, her inner siren purred. Then you’ll have a good excuse for capitulating to their many charms.
“That’s okay,” she blurted. “I’ll try a siren sangria.” She should’ve regretted the words that slipped off her tongue, but she was well on her way past regrets.
“Okay,” Ladon practically roared, “siren sangrias for everyone.”
His brothers growled their approval, eyeing her like they were starving lions, and she was a choice cut of prime beef.
Ladon hurried to the tiki bar, but not before she saw the big bulge in his sweats. His brothers were also sporting erections. The heat radiating from their skin said they were ready for a night of primal passion.
She fought the urge to reach for them and free their flesh wands from their pants. That’s when she knew there was a good chance she was getting laid that night. Not by one, but by three dragon shifters. She’d regret it come morning, especially if Grandfather found out, but there was nothing to be done. She was so damned horny, she couldn’t conjure up a spell strong enough to suppress her libido, especially as her wand was currently locked away. Goddess save her.
LADON FIRESBREATH COULD hardly believe their good luck. He and his brothers hadn’t expected to rescue a beautiful siren when they were assigned detention. Honestly, they’d deliberately gotten kicked out of class because they needed a break from boring lectures and atrocious cafeteria food.
He inhaled her intoxicating scent from across the room, sending his libido into a tailspin. She smelled like honeysuckle and something else, strange yet familiar. He accidentally poured too much punch in the glass and swore when it overflowed. He knew siren pheromones were tempting, but her scent was far too alluring. Could she be their destined mate? Goddess, he prayed she was.
With her luminous violet eyes, wavy auburn hair, mile-high legs, and alluring curves, she was the definition of temptation and he wanted a taste of her forbidden fruit.
He looked at his brothers, who were crowding her on the sofa. When they made eye contact, he sent them a telepathic message. You smell what I smell?
Teju gave a curt nod. I’ve never wanted a girl so much in my damn life.
We have to have her, Draque growled.
Teju shot Serah a sideways look. Don’t worry brothers. She wants us, too.
SATED AND SPENT, DORIS lay in her lover’s arms, cooing while Athena stroked her back and held her on the worn rug by the fireplace. Logs crackled in the hearth, the light from the fire flickering across the walls, creating for the lovers the perfect ambiance for a magical evening. If only it could be like this always. Perhaps Athena was right. Perhaps Doris should retire with the money and
close the school. The thought was tempting but her teachers and students needed Doublewart’s Academy, and so did she. It had been her passion these past twenty-five years, transforming misfit witches into productive members of society. How could she walk away?
With a resigned sigh, she sat up and kissed Athena’s forehead before slipping on her clothes.
Athena reached for her with a languid smile. “Don’t go yet.”
Doris took Athena’s large hand in hers and kissed her calloused knuckles. “I have to, my love.” It was almost time for light’s out. Doris always wished her students a goodnight.
Doris shook wavy brown hair over her shoulder and buttoned her blouse. How much she’d enjoyed this siren’s body she’d temporarily adopted. She was young and flexible, not to mention orgasms were so intense, she saw stars. No wonder sirens were promiscuous. Doris admired her perky breasts once more before fastening the last button, regretting she’d have to transform back into her old body before she was discovered.
Kneeling over her lover, she kissed Athena once more, then reached for her wand. When a loud crash filled her ears, she screamed, hitting the floor so hard, her head spun.
She gagged on acrid smoke and shielded her face with her hands. Dragon’s breath! Those mischievous Firesbreath brothers must have escaped detention. She would make them pay!
“Athena!” she rasped, sitting up and rubbing her dizzy head. “Are you okay?”
Her lover answered with a groan.
Doris’s heart seized. “Athena!” she cried, fanning her face. “I can’t see you!”
Peering into the smoke, she saw that the wall with the fireplace had crumbled, exposing them to the elements and giving her a glimpse of the nearby graveyard, illuminated by thin shards of moonlight. She made out the shadowy figures of three winged dragons. “You miscreants!” She shook a fist at them. “Look what you’ve done! I’ll have you in the dungeon for the rest of the year.”
When the tallest of the dragons moved forward, snarling, her breath caught in her throat. He looked familiar, but he wasn’t one of her students—not one of her current students anyway.