by Nikki Dean
It worked. The hardened strands of forced connection dissipated in her mind, disappearing from Matt’s side as well now that there was nothing to sustain them.
She could feel the instant that the jaguar was free as relief blossomed inside its mind, replacing the instinctive panic that had consumed it before. It heaved a sigh and put one paw over her shoulder, hugging her close in its sleep.
Nico reacted instantly, hauling her across the room and out of range.
“Nico, don’t!” Mallory cried. “It’s fine, it’s fine! He’s not going to hurt me!”
It growled, long and low as it lifted its head. Mallory was astonished to see it awake and reached for it again.
It wasn’t awake. Not even close, in fact. It just knew in some deep, primal place that she was the key that had made it stop hurting, and she was the only thing that mattered.
“Nico, stop. It has no idea what it’s doing, but it knows I helped. It’s bound to me now. Not Matt.”
He lowered her to her feet, but didn’t let go.
It sniffed the air, scenting her close by as its mind struggled to wake up.
“Trust me, Nico. This is a good sign.”
She could feel his disapproval as she walked back across the tiny space separating the beds and put her fingers in front of the jaguar’s nose. It huffed as it smelled Nico, but took deep, greedy breaths of her before it dropped its head back down, satisfied that she was fine.
“See? It just wanted to make sure I’m okay. You took me too fast.”
“Well, it was either that or watch your throat get bitten out, so you know.” He shrugged unapologetically. “Easy choice.”
“I love you, too.” The words rolled off her tongue without thought and she froze nearly as fast as Nico did.
Chapter 32
Holy shit, did I really just say that? Out loud? Like… I mean it? She couldn’t deny it, to either of them. He was the best thing that had happened to her not only at the academy, but in her entire life, and she would be damned if she let him go. The feeling that had consumed her when she saw him get hurt down in the lab, saw that asshole kick him while he was down, just proved it.
She loved him. She really, really loved him. And here she thought nothing good would come out of Dark Arts.
“Is this an ‘I love you’ like you love chocolate and red wine, or ‘I love you’ like…” he trailed off.
Her heart stuttered with dread and disappointment. Fuck me, it’s only been a few weeks and I’m scaring him. I can’t be saying shit like that yet, especially when we might get caught tomorrow and his life might get torn apart because I’m a student. Seriously, Mallory.
“Because I don’t wanna fuck this up if it’s ‘I love you’ for real, but I don’t wanna scare you if it’s chocolate and wine.”
She jerked her head up in shock, nearly hitting him in the nose. “What?”
His stormy ocean eyes bore into hers like he was trying to stare into her soul. Or maybe he really was, who knew.
“I love you, Mallory Serra. For real. You’re my light in the dark, and the only thing that makes me feel like me anymore. Better, actually.”
His lips were on hers before she could ask why he wasn’t himself, but then it didn’t really matter. He loved her, too, and that was all she cared about.
His tongue tangled with hers and he lifted her against him, both hands gripping her ass. Mallory wrapped her arms and legs around him, not trying to be sexy about it, but just trying to get as close to him as possible.
Nico held on to her just as tightly, shifting one arm around her back to press her hard against his chest.
“I love you, too, Nico. I love you, too,” she whispered against his lips between kisses, earning one of his quiet, soul-shattering smiles. It brought a warmth to his face that was only outdone by the warmth in her heart as she smiled back, resting her forehead against his.
They both jumped when someone banged on her old door.
“We got the stuff,” Alec called out. Mallory and Nico heard Damon’s muttered curse, then Alec’s as he undoubtedly got hit again.
“Oh, great, just the heroin we ordered,” Mallory said with a roll of her eyes. Nico laughed.
“I’d say let’s ignore them, but…” He nodded at the jaguar, who was twitching harder in his sleep than before, his claws extending and retracting as he flexed his legs.
Mallory slid down and went back to its side, letting it smell her hands before she stroked its head and neck. “It’s okay, sweet boy, everything is okay. We’re getting you something to eat.”
It relaxed beneath her hands, turning its head to lick her. She allowed it to taste her fingers, getting familiar with her before it fully awoke.
“Whoa. Careful that it doesn’t take a bite out of you, Bunny. I’m not sure you’d be as cute without a finger or two,” Alec teased.
“You’d think I was hot even if I was missing an entire arm,” she shot back. He shrugged, not bothering to argue. “I want all of you to come here. Nico, you first.”
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Alec said as he puffed out his chest, crossing the tiny room with a swagger. “It’s about time you admitted what you’re missing out on.”
“Shut up or I’m going to let him eat you,” she shot back. “Nico, give me your hand.”
He reached around Alec, shouldering him out of the way to do as she’d asked. Mallory laced her fingers through his and put them both in front of the jaguar’s nose.
It sniffed her first, then recoiled when it found Nico. Mallory shushed it, petting its neck as she put their hands in front of it again.
“Shush, baby, this is Nico. He helped you, and we trust him,” she whispered. Flooding their link with calm and affection, she tried to imprint friend on its mind as it smelled Nico’s skin until it calmed.
She repeated the process with both Alec and Damon, ignoring the way Alec rubbed her knuckle with his thumb, and how Damon seemed unnaturally reserved when their skin met.
“It won’t bite,” she told Damon. “Just relax, and trust me.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
She shot him a glare, but kept going until the jaguar accepted each of their scents. It would probably take a few more repetitions before it fully woke up, but she was pretty sure it wouldn’t try to eat any of them on sight.
Mostly.
This was all new to her, so who was she to tell?
“All right, well, we brought him some boneless fried chicken, and a hamburger patty,” Damon said when it was all over. He unwrapped the food and left it on the desk at the head of the bed. “I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t really want to be around when Slice and Dice here wakes up and decides this isn’t enough.”
“Hmm, Dice,” Mallory repeated. “I think I like it.”
Damon rolled his eyes and grabbed Alec’s wrist to pull him from the room. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Come on, Alec, we’re leaving before it gets any more awkward in here.”
“What do you mean?” Alec protested, but Mallory knew that he knew. It was like they both sensed the private moment that they’d stumbled into, even if it had taken a while to sink in.
They left, leaving Mallory and Nico staring at each other in silence. He raised one hand and stroked her cheek.
“It’s really cute when you blush.”
“I’m not blushing,” she shot back. He just smiled, raising more heat in her cheeks.
His phone chimed as he got a text message. It was in his hand before the sound ended and he read aloud, “How’s Matt doing? We would have asked, but it was pretty obvious that you were about to get it on. So good, I’m guessing?”
“Your friends, Nico,” Mallory said with a shake of her head. “Let me check on him again, but I think I got everything when I cut the connection between him and Dice. He feels like he’s resting easier, at least.”
“What do you mean, feels? Can you really sense how people are feeling on your web now, or is it part of your new h
ealing ability?”
Dammit, I still haven’t told him. “Remember how I explained to you that I can sense everyone on my web?” she asked. He nodded. “Well, I can sort of see how they’re feeling, and what their general mindset is now,” she confessed. “I have to concentrate, but it gets easier the more I do it.”
“Like, reading their emotions?” he asked with lifted eyebrows. His forehead had these adorable wrinkles that she hadn’t noticed before.
“Yeah. I can’t read minds, but I can get a general sense of their mental state, if that makes sense.”
“Have you done it to me?” he asked.
She didn’t answer for a second. “Yeah. I’m sorry, I know it’s invasive, but I had to know early on if I could trust you. And the others.”
“Early on?” The surprise was even more evident. “How long have you been hiding this?”
Fuck. “A few weeks. It doesn’t work all the time, and it’s only reliable if I was really close to someone, or touching them,” she lied, desperately trying to mitigate the situation. “I didn’t know what it was at first. I guess I do it a lot with animals and it was slower to transfer to humans.”
“Oh. I guess that makes sense. Can you feel what Matt’s feeling?”
“Yeah,” she replied in relief, glad they were getting off the subject of her spying on Nico. Still, she had one more thing to confess.
“Matt’s doing better, resting a lot easier now that his mind isn’t being bombarded by Dice’s panicked instincts. He can finally sleep.”
“It looked like he was sleeping the whole time.”
“I know, but a lot of that was the sedative. His brain was still trying to process Dice’s, but it wasn’t working out well.”
“Then I’m glad you have this new power, so you could tell.”
He meant it. Mallory stood and went back into his arms. “So there’s one more thing about it that I need to tell you, even though I probably shouldn’t.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s that?”
She could feel herself blushing again, the red heat suffusing her cheeks as she pressed one against his chest. His steady heartbeat gave her courage.
“I can feel more when we’re touching. Like, a lot more when we’re doing a lot of touching.”
He was quiet. “Go on.”
Her throat was suddenly dry. “I can feel an echo of things that you’re feeling, when…” She couldn’t go on. Fuck this, I’m just never telling him.
“When we’re in bed?” he finished for her. His voice had dropped a little, and his arms tightened around her.
Mallory nodded.
“Explain. Or better yet, show me.”
Does he mean it? He’s not mad?
His hard cock pressed against her belly told her just how much he wanted to know more.
“Okay. Um, let’s go to my side and I’ll explain,” she said, glancing between Matt and Dice on their respective beds. “Or not, I don’t know if Pohler did anything weird over there.” Her anger at that asshole resurfaced.
“I already went through it to make sure there weren’t any cameras, or anything left behind. I couldn’t find anything.”
Nico’s thoughtfulness made her smile. “You really are the best, you know that?”
“Yep. Now come show me what you mean.”
He picked her up and carried her over at normal speed, savoring the feel of her in his arms as he kissed her. He set her down in the middle of the room and held her out at arm’s length. “Talk. Before I get too distracted.”
She laughed. “Okay then, but you’re going to get distracted anyway. Take off your clothes.”
They were gone in a flash, leaving him in nothing but his boxers. Mallory lifted an eyebrow and he shook his head.
“Too tempting.”
“That’s fair. Now, I’m going to sit on my bed and face the wall with my eyes closed, and I want you to touch yourself anywhere on your body. If I’m any good at this, I’ll be able to tell what you’re doing.”
“Anywhere at all?” he asked in surprise. “I can do anything I want and you’ll be able to feel it?”
“Maybe. Probably. Let’s see, shall we?”
He nodded and she sat on her bed like she’d promised, facing the wall. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on his spot on her web.
...Her toes tingled as something brushed across them. “You’re playing with your toes?”
“Huh.” He didn’t say anything else, but she could feel his surprise that she’d gotten it right.
Pressure on her ear was next. “You pinched your right earlobe.”
“You can even tell which one?”
Mallory nodded.
Her lips tingled, as though he’d scraped his teeth across them. “You bit your lip?”
Next was a pinch on her hand, in the vee where her thumb and forefinger met. “Pressure point. On your left hand, in the meaty part of your thumb.”
“Does it hurt, or can you just feel it?” he asked.
She thought about it for a second. “It doesn’t hurt, but I can definitely feel it. Is it hurting you?”
“Not yet, I didn’t know if it would transfer. What about now?”
A sliver of pain shot up her arm and she backed off in her mind. “Yeah, you did it harder. Don’t hurt yourself just for something silly like this.”
“I was curious. Besides, I don’t mind a little pain.”
The words were so innocuous, but had her reacting all the same. “Oh, yeah? You want me to spank you and pull your hair?”
“Fuck, Bunny. Let’s see what that does, actually.”
Tingles of pleasure ran down her spine, snatching her breath away as they coiled in her belly. Delightful pressure bore down on the back of her head, nearly making her moan as she realized what he was doing.
“You’re pulling your hair,” she murmured, running her hands up into her own short locks. “I never realized how good that feels for you.”
He groaned, his hands clenching for a second as he did it harder before letting go. “When else have you done this? You said it started a few weeks ago, so have you done it during sex?”
“Yes.”
He cursed, then she was on her back on the bed as he straddled her belly. His hard cock jutted out beneath his boxers, which had a wet spot at his tip.
Mallory wanted to taste it.
“So you feel this?” he asked as he ran his hands over his chest, tweaking his nipple piercings. The sight, combined with the phantom pull on her own nipples, made her squirm.
“Yes.”
He did it harder, eliciting a moan. The sensations were stronger this time, transferring more pleasure with every touch. Mal wasn’t sure if it was because he was doing it harder, or her powers were growing again.
“What about this?” One hand skimmed down his belly, over his boxers to cup his balls, rolling them as she watched. An answering shot of pressure hit her between the legs, somewhere on her mound. It wasn’t quite on her clit, or quite on her entrance, but somewhere in between.
“Yes.”
“Tell me how it feels,” he ordered, his breath growing ragged. He brushed against his erection and they both caught their breaths.
“It feels like you’re grabbing me. Not quite fingering me, or playing with my clit, but like you’re grinding against me, I guess,” she said.
He tilted his head back with a groan, then dropped it forward again so he could watch her face. She licked her lips as he slid the other hand down over his chiseled abs to the waistband of his boxers, then dipped it inside.
Mallory couldn’t help but lift her hips as he grabbed his dick, hard. He gave it a few slow pumps as he watched her from beneath hooded eyes.
“Tell me,” he growled, his voice low.
“Feels like a ghost is fingering me, sliding in and out of my wet pussy, but not really there. It’s like an echo, or a really strong memory, you know? But more intense.”
“Jesus, Mal.” He pulled his underwear down, hooking the waistband
beneath his balls as he continued to straddle her. His hand enveloped the sensitive end of his cock and she had to close her eyes to keep from reaching up and helping him.
She did anyway, and he grabbed both of her wrists, pinning them down. “Not yet. I’ll lose it if you touch me right now.”
“I love it when you come,” she admitted. “It feels like you’re pressing against my clit every time you do that to your cock.”
“You can feel it when I orgasm?” he asked in surprise.
She nodded. There was no holding back now. “It’s amazing. Your orgasm builds so differently than mine, but the way it feels when you bury your cock into me and I get to feel it from both sides is mind-blowing. Then when you pound against me, and I can feel my pussy squeezing you all the way from your tip to your hips is amazing. And when you come,” she had to stop talking and open her eyes. “Fuck, Nico.”
Nico had continued to stroke himself as she spoke, his hand moving up and down his shaft harder and faster as he listened. He was about halfway there, which meant she wasn’t far behind without him ever laying a finger on her.
“Let me taste it,” she purred, tugging against his hold on her wrists. “I love to suck your dick. Especially since it feels like someone’s licking me at the same time.”
“Oh, yeah? How about I actually lick you, then?”
She nodded greedily. “I can’t even explain how good it is when we sixty-nine. I wish I could show you.”
“Oh, you do, Bunny, you do.”
He had her clothes off in a second, then her thighs around his head in the next. “I’m already so fucking close, so be careful down there,” he said.
“You be careful,” she shot back. “I feel everything, so all of this has me pretty close, too. Wouldn’t want to accidentally drown the first guy I ever fall in love with.”