by Sadie Moss
Well, fine. Fuck these bitches. They don’t want me here, and frankly, I don’t want to live with them either. If they think I’m going to cry or beg to stay, they really don’t get me at all. Besides, I know of a place where I will be welcome.
I start gathering my things and packing them into my bags properly, taking special care with the photographs. As I zip the last suitcase closed, I notice something is missing—they forgot to take my mom’s painting off the wall.
Steeling myself, I knock on the door. Alyssa opens it with a placid, triumphant smile on her face. The effect is only slightly dampened by the purple and blue half-circle under her eye.
“Yes?” she asks in a falsely sweet voice.
She’s probably expecting me to pitch a fit, maybe to attack her again. In fact, I bet she’s counting on it. She’d probably love to turn my eviction from our dorm room into a chance to get me booted from the whole school for fighting. But I won’t give her the damn satisfaction.
Instead, I just point behind her. “You forgot something.”
She turns to look, confused, and I slip past her.
“Hey!” she yelps.
I walk past Megan, Cristina, and Kendal, who gape at me. Then I take the painting off the wall. “Just fetching this,” I tell them.
A stunned silence fills the room as I walk past Alyssa again and finish packing up my things.
“Where are you going?” Kendal finally blurts out, a confused look on her face.
“Not sure why you care,” I reply. “But don’t worry. I’m going. You don’t have to live with me anymore.”
All packed once more, I lug my suitcases away, leaving the four of them staring after me in silence. Ha. That’ll take the wind out of their sails.
Cam answers the door to the room he shares with Dmitri and Asher, and his eyebrows shoot up to his hairline when he sees me. I must be quite a sight. My dark brown hair is still slightly damp from the shower, I’m going commando under the men’s clothes, and I’m awkwardly hauling three suitcases.
“Oh shit.” He bites his lip. “You look like you’ve had a day and a half, Sin.”
“Don’t ask. Thanks for the shirt, by the way.” I peer behind him. “Long story short, I’m out of house and home. Mind if I crash with you guys for a while?”
“Not at all,” Cam says, grinning.
“Yes,” Dmitri grunts from behind him.
“Overruled,” Asher adds.
“Great.” I nod at Cam in thanks as he helps take my bags and leads me into the room toward the empty bed. “You’ll hardly even know I’m here, Dmitri.”
“It’s against the rules,” the surly man replies, folding his arms and glaring at me.
I meet his gaze head on. “Do I look like I give a fuck about the rules?”
Something that might actually be respect flickers in his dark eyes, and he moves slowly toward me. My skin heats, but I don’t back down even a step.
“So long as you’re willing to accept the consequences,” he murmurs in a low voice.
Holy fuck. I know he’s talking about getting busted by the admins, but it sounds like something else—as if the consequences of living with these three men is going to be something very dirty. And like he’s got every intention of helping carry out those “consequences.”
I hope my voice doesn’t betray any of the thoughts and images racing through my mind. My damn overactive imagination is coming up with some very… interesting scenarios, and it’s making my whole body flush.
“I am.” Meeting his gaze, I keep my voice steady. “It’s hardly worth complaining to the school administration. More than likely, they’d give Alyssa a slap on the wrist and just make us keep rooming together. It’s a toxic environment already, and that would only make it ten times worse. If Alyssa and her flunkies aren’t happy with me, then they’ll do everything they can to make me unhappy. I’m not gonna play that game. I’m just removing myself from the equation.”
“I think it’s mature of you,” Asher says.
“We’ve got plenty of room,” Cam points out. “This room is meant to be a quad. It’ll be great.”
Dmitri’s jaw tenses, and I can tell he knows he’s outnumbered.
“Fine,” he says after a tense silence. “But don’t let anyone else know about it.”
That’s fine by me.
And hey, if my choices are between Dmitri being quietly cranky or those four stuck-up bitches going after me? I know which one I’d take any day.
As for the fact that I’m stupidly attracted to all three of my new roommates? Well…
I’ll just burn that bridge when I get to it.
Chapter 12
Alyssa and her crew don’t go after me again like they did in the locker, although they’re having a grand old time muttering about me and spreading stories whenever they get the chance. For instance, one week I have to deal with the fun rumor that I killed my mother.
Fucking great.
I guess Mom did kind of drop off the face of the earth after Dad left her, withdrawing from the magical community—and most people have no idea what even happened to her. From there, I guess Alyssa considers it a logical jump to tell everyone that my mom didn’t just stop interacting with magical society, she was murdered.
By me.
Jesus.
Not that I tell Maddy about any of this when she next calls me five weeks into the semester. I just tell her about the classes and the normal stuff. I’m not going to give her any reason to worry about me, especially when there isn’t anything she can do about it.
Maddy sounds like she’s having a blast at Neptune Academy. She’s made tons of new friends—I can’t keep all their names straight. She loves most of her classes, gushes about a few cool professors, and whines about some harder classes and the dining room food.
All in all, she’s getting the authentic “magic academy” experience. And she’s learning a lot more about her water elemental powers, which she never could’ve done in our tiny apartment in Portland.
“It’s amazing!” she raves, her voice squeaky with excitement. “I can do so much, and I had no idea half of it was even possible!”
“I’m proud of you,” I tell her, grinning broadly. “And I can tell you’re having fun. That’s great, Mads.”
“What about you?” she asks. “Tell me more. How’re things?”
I fill her in on everything, including the fact that I’m actually making some new friends too. I tell her I moved in with the guys, but I don’t mention the chemistry that simmers between me and Dmitri or how I wouldn’t say no to hooking up with Asher or Cam. Maddy will just push me to make a move on one of them, and while sex is all well and good, I don’t need to set myself up to get my heart broken. Especially since none of them will understand why I am… the way I am.
Closed off.
Emotionally distant.
People don’t want to hear a sob story, and most of them don’t want to bother waiting around for me to warm up enough to trust them.
But my new roomies are good people, and they’ve been amazing friends to me so far. I’m beyond grateful that they’re letting me crash with them. Why worry or hope for something more than that?
I tell my sister about Raul too, since he reminds me of her. “It’s good to know I’m not the only terrified first year here,” I admit. “Everyone else seems to know what they’re doing, but Raul and I just buddy up and try not to get bulldozed.”
“You? Bulldozed?” Mads laughs. “I’d like to see anyone try that. But what about the girls? You’re making friends with some of them, right? Not just the guys?”
“They’re fine. I’m just… you know me. It just hasn’t worked out that way.”
I absolutely adore my sister, and I’d love to have a close female friend someday, but so far, I haven’t managed it. I don’t think I’m crankier to girls than guys—I like to think of myself as an equal opportunity bitch—but I sometimes have a harder time relating to them. I couldn’t name a fashion desi
gner to save my life, and the last time I painted my fingernails was when I was twelve. Not that all women are fashionistas with perfect nails. I just haven’t found my tribe yet, I guess.
But living with the guys has been great. They’re respectful, and there’s only been a couple awkward moments. I’m enjoying it, actually. I fit right in, Dmitri’s eye rolls notwithstanding. And when it’s just the two of us in a room together it’s… oddly comfortable, even though it’s usually silent. Being around him, I don’t feel like I have to put on a show or hide who I am, and I’m grateful for that.
Maybe it’s because he just expects the worst in me. Who knows.
“I’m all good here, Mads, I promise,” I assure her. “I have to run to class now—but I love you, and I’m glad you’re doing well. Let me know if anything changes, okay? Classes or no, I’ll be there in a heartbeat.”
“I know you will,” she replies. “But you don’t need to. I love you too!”
My Combat class is run by this terrifyingly sophisticated woman, Josephine. She’s everything I’m not, with her perfectly coordinated outfits, her hair always sleekly styled, eyeliner sharp enough to stab a man… she’s the whole package. She tends to wear bright colors, since they go so well with her dark skin, but she’s never gaudy. She’s so gorgeous and willowy that it’d be easy to underestimate her fighting ability, but she definitely knows what she’s talking about.
After saying my goodbyes to Maddy and slipping my phone into my bag, I run to get to Tamlin’s class on time. Raul saved me a seat, thank God. In this classroom, like a few others, all the desks are set up in a perimeter along the wall, leaving a huge mat-covered space in the middle for us to practice.
“Overslept?” he whispers.
“No, I was talking to my sister. Lost track of time.”
He nods understandingly before turning his attention back to the professor. I don’t actually know if he has siblings or not, but I’m guessing not since he’s never mentioned any. Or maybe he’s one of those people whose families don’t approve of their Unpredictable magic.
Josephine—sorry, Professor Tamlin—is only a few years older than the rest of us, maybe late twenties. She must’ve just been made a professor.
I mention this to Raul in a quiet voice, and he nods.
“Yeah,” he whispers, “rumor has it Roman put in a good word for her and that’s how she got the post. Not that she hasn’t earned it; she’s awesome.”
My brows draw together. “What? Why did Roman put in a good word?”
“Oh, didn’t you know? They dated for almost a year. A real power couple.”
Oh.
That shouldn’t make me feel anything. Roman and I have been keeping our distance from each other ever since I got here five weeks ago. And if he’s a little harder on me in class than he is on the others, that’s his business; I’m not going to cause problems by calling him out on it, even in private. Besides, we just had a one-night stand. Less than that, since we didn’t even spend the whole night together. I have no rights to him, and no reason to care one way or another about who he dated before or might date after our hookup.
And we can’t be together as teacher and student anyway.
So, there.
Raul also said she and Roman aren’t even together anymore. They just used to be.
But it makes my stomach churn all the same.
“All right,” Professor Tamlin says, clapping her hands once. “Today will be another sparring class. I’ll pair you off this time, instead of you choosing your own partners.”
Well, that’ll be nice. Raul’s great and all, but I think we were both a little tired of always being each other’s partner. I need a new challenge. He’s got sound dampening and telekinesis powers, so he’d probably be no slouch at magical combat, but so far, we haven’t fought with magic in this class.
I’m already out of my seat, anxious to get started. But my excitement about facing a new opponent dies when Professor Tamlin says, “Dmitri and Elliot.”
Well, fuck.
I walk over to Dmitri and shrug. “I guess now we can finally work out all that tension between us.”
He raises a dark eyebrow at me. “I think that’ll take more than just a practice fight.”
I know I’m probably reading too much into it, again, but damn if that doesn’t sound like an innuendo. “What, you think I’m not going to challenge you?”
Not all of our classes are mixed. Some are divided strictly by year, others first and second, but Combat class is the only one that encompasses all years. Dmitri probably feels, as a second year, that he’s eclipsed me in prowess.
Yeah, right. What I lack in actual training, I make up for with an extreme enthusiasm for ass kicking.
Dmitri grins, and I fervently ignore the way something flutters in my chest at that.
“Will you?” he asks, a taunting lilt coloring his deep voice.
Before I can answer, Professor Tamlin blows the whistle that lets us know to start, and I launch myself at him.
I’ve often wondered why they’re teaching us hand-to-hand combat or how to fight with blades and other weapons at a magical school. But I’m definitely grateful for the training, since it gives me the chance to kick Dmitri’s ass.
Not that I’m kicking it, exactly. Dmitri’s strong, and he’s better at this than I am. But I’m determined. No way am I going to let him win this fight easily.
We tussle, scrambling back and forth, and it’s exhilarating. Dmitri is laser-focused, all of his energy and attention turned on me, and it’s stealing my breath away. I’ve never had so much sheer intensity focused on me before, and I can barely handle it. But… in a good way. The best way.
It’s probably why he ends up winning. Well, sort of. He flips me, and I land hard on my back on the mat, just bringing my hands up in time to block him as he falls on top of me. We grapple as I try to throw him off me, and he tries to get a hold on me so I’ll have no choice but to tap out. His thigh slips between mine, and he presses down just as I arch up—
Oh God.
Sparks fly up my spine as my clit rubs hard against his leg, the shock of pleasure taking me by surprise. It feels so fucking good that I grind against his thigh without thinking, getting a good angle, making me shiver. Dmitri doesn’t notice at first, taking advantage of my distraction to grab my wrists and pin them on either side of my head.
We’re pressed together, breathing hard, and I realize I can feel…
Oh.
Shit.
Dmitri stares at me as we both absorb the position we’re in—and how the other person is reacting to it.
For a wild moment, I’m tempted to grind down on his thigh again, to rub against the half-hardness I can feel growing against me. But as soon as the thought comes, I tamp it down. We’re in public, in class, for fuck’s sake. This is not the place to give into whatever dangerous impulses we’re flirting with.
Dmitri scrambles to his feet like I’ve burned him, and I stumble to mine, my heart hammering. He’s all muscle, and feeling him on top of me like that, pressing me down, feeling the shape of him starting to fill and grow hard because of me…
Jesus, I need a cold shower. Or a bucket of ice dumped over my head.
“I didn’t say uncle,” I taunt instead, because antagonizing Dmitri is fun and easy and—safe. I know where I stand when I’m teasing him. I’m on solid ground. When other feelings rear up between us, it puts me off balance.
“Figured I’d let you off easy this first time,” he shoots back. His voice is rougher than usual, pitched a little lower, and his eyes are dark and smoldering.
We stare at each other for another moment, and then I hear the whistle signaling it’s time for us to switch to another sparring partner. As we all move, I feel a hand clap onto my shoulder and look to my left. Cam’s other hand rests on Dmitri’s shoulder as he glances between the two of us.
“Real intense fight you two were having there.” His eyebrow cocks slyly.
Dmitr
i glares at him. “If you were watching our fight, then you obviously weren’t paying attention to yours.”
“It was easy—took Seth out in thirty seconds. But watching you two…” Cam whistles. “That was one hell of a show. She gives you a run for your money, doesn’t she, Dima?”
I can tell he’s not just referring to my fighting abilities.
Dmitri shakes him off, avoiding my gaze. “I’m going to get some water.”
Cam rolls his eyes as his friend walks away, then turns to grin down at me. “Damn, Sin. You’re good. I’ve gotta say, it’s been a while since I’ve seen someone who can rile Dmitri up like that. And by a while, I mean, never.”
“Are you trying to compliment me?”
“Maybe. I’m just saying… Those walls he’s throwing up are going to come tumbling down at some point.” He winks at me before bounding off to find his next sparring partner.
Hmm. Maybe I am making progress with Dmitri after all. I’m starting to wonder if the reason he doesn’t like me has less to do with me and more to do with the reaction he gets around me.
I don’t know. Maybe I’m overestimating myself. It’s kind of arrogant to think a guy’s being all dickish because he secretly wants to sleep with me, isn’t it?
After class, the other students linger and chat while I make a beeline for the locker rooms, still thinking about what happened earlier. I’m not quite sure what to do. I see Dmitri all the time; we have classes together, and now we’re rooming together too. Should I say something? Ask him what’s going on between us? What his deal is? That was definitely his cock I felt in his pants, and it was definitely hard. Women don’t have such an obvious giveaway of their arousal as men do, but he had to feel how turned on I was too. I was squirming under him, practically humping his leg. Surely—
I open the door to the showers and freeze, all thoughts of Dmitri’s cock flying from my mind.