Smoke and Wishes (Best Wishes Book 1)

by A. J. Macey

  “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but...” Her voice was hesitant as she looked to her right towards the target down range. “How do you shoot the arrows, I know you said you can see through Grigori, but is that… I mean, I don't really…” I smirked as she struggled to ask her question, probably trying to not offend me.

  “It was challenging at first. I had actually gotten used to relying solely on my other senses before Grigori came to me. All of a sudden, I was able to see everything from an aerial view,” I explained, fiddling with the bowstring. I purposely ignored the burning in my throat as I talked. “Once I got used to the way he sees things, I was able to retrain myself in relation to his position.”

  “So you weren’t always blind?” Her face was soft as she looked at me. I felt my jaw clench, pushing the memories away before they could force their way out of the door I had managed to lock them behind.

  “No. I… I do not want to talk about it,” I ground out, trying hard not to snap at her. She did not mean anything by it. Standing quietly for a moment, her eyes unfocused, nibbling on her lip.

  “I’m afraid of the dark. Like really scared. I have a nightlight,” she admitted randomly. I was sure my confusion to her statement was apparent on my face.

  “What?” I had no clue where that came from. She shrugged in response before turning to face me.

  “We all have things we don’t want to talk about. Just know that if you ever do, want to talk about it I mean, I’m here.” I felt my body loosen, the tension of the past falling away at the sincerity in her voice. I held my hand out in her direction and pulled her to me once she placed her hand in mine. Holding her tightly I whispered into her hair.

  “Thanks, babe, it means a lot to me.” I have not spoken about that night in what felt like a lifetime. All of the guys already knew what happened, and I have never cared enough to give anyone else an answer. But the fact that she shared even that ostensibly small secret with me at this exact moment had to mean there was a deeper reason behind it. It was a show of trust, her willingness to provide me with a look into herself knowing I wanted to understand the meaning, but would not ask her to explain just as she had not pressured me. I realized I had just been standing there hugging her and released her.

  Grigori chose that moment to swoop out of the tree allowing me to focus on the target. I raised the bow till my arms were level with my face and pulled the bowstring. Determining the direction and strength of the wind, I focused on the angle Grigori was projecting to me. Once I had a feel for the variables of my shot, I took a deep breath. Releasing the arrow, it hit dead center. I heard Lucie gasp.

  “Wow, that’s amazing”—her voice was filled with awe—”do you think you could show me how to shoot? I’ve never shot a bow before.” I smirked in her direction, could she be any cuter?

  “I would love to.” Motioning for her to come stand in front of me, I handed her the bow and wrapped my arms around her to grab her hands. Her skin was smooth and soft under my rough fingers, her body was radiating heat against my chest as her hair brushed the bottom of my jaw. I explained as much as I could without hurting my throat, how to shoot as we pulled the arrow back. Leaning my head down, I whispered in her ear, her vanilla scent surrounded me.

  With Grigori as my eyes, I knew her stance was correct, focusing more on my sense of touch. I moved closer, almost flush against her and tucked her hair behind her ear, my lips brushing the top of it. She shivered in my arms, and I could not decide if I relished or regretted the decision to tease her as I felt the blood rush to my jeans. What are you doing? I questioned myself, unable to process why I was doing what I was. I had closed myself off from everyone in recent years. So, why her?

  Focusing back on the task at hand, I lowered my arms placing my hands on her hips, to make sure her position had not changed while I was lost in thought. It had not, you just want to touch her, Grigori pushed the observation to me. I was gentle in my movements, not wanting to disturb any of her injuries. She drew a deep breath, inadvertently brushing against me with her ass, as she released the arrow. Shit. I clenched my teeth as my hands tightened slightly on her waist. I heard the thunk and with Grigori’s help, saw it on the second ring.

  “Not bad, babe,” I teased softly, nudging her to lean against me. Lowering the bow with a chuckle, she dropped her head back onto my left shoulder. She sighed contentedly, molding herself to me. She wasn’t short by normal standards, so her ass was at just the right height to torture me. My jeans grew tight, I could only hope she would not feel my reaction to her.

  “That was fun.” I could hear the smile in her voice. Turning towards me, her nose brushed against my jaw. Her hands squeezed mine where they rested on her hips. “Thank you for this, Nik. I really needed some time away. I liked having you to myself, maybe we could, I don’t know, hang out like this again.” She leaned forward and pressed a lingering kiss to my jaw. I stood stunned as she shuffled away quickly, picking up her messenger bag as she left. She kissed me, my jaw dropped as my pulse raced. I checked my phone, plenty of time. There was no way I could get through class with the way I was feeling. I quickly packed up my stuff, messaging Cam to meet me in our dorm.

  Camden

  Pushing open the door to our dorm room, I tossed my bag onto the chair to the left. The door was nearly closed before I felt a muscled body slam me into the door closing it behind us. Within a heartbeat, Nik’s left hand cupped my jaw, his right fisted my shirt against my chest. I felt his lips slant against mine moving hungrily as his hard cock pressed against my thigh. The show of dominance and urgency surprised me, but I couldn’t bring myself to be disappointed. Blood pumped forcefully through me at the feeling of how he ground against me.

  Matching Nik's forceful claiming, I grabbed his hips roughly, nipping at his bottom lip before placing a soft kiss on his lips to soothe the sting. I pulled back expecting Nik to say what had come over him, but he wasn’t done. Far from it. Nik's tongue ran along the seam of my lips, urging me to open. Breathless at the display of assertive need, I found myself inexplicably drawn to it. Unable to deny him, I opened my mouth, allowing him to sweep in. Our passionate kiss had me moaning against his mouth. His tongue met mine stroke for stroke. Letting him take the lead, he guided us back towards the bedrooms.

  “Such a good boy, aren’t you, treating me to such a nice surprise,” I murmured against his lips, my fingertips tracing the line of his waistband. He whimpered in response, his assertive front fizzled out to near begging beneath my touch. Despite my pressing, he stayed silent, keeping whatever set him off to himself. Guess I’ll just have to push him a little further.

  I smirked, wrapping my other hand around his neck. His pulse jumped at the contact, aching for the pressure I could bring him if I wanted. My heart leapt at the power I felt at his need to be dominated. Barely squeezing, I slid my fingers from his waistband up under his thermal. The hard dips of his muscles met my fingers, tremors shook his abs as I traced them with a single finger.

  Gripping the edge of his shirt, I released his neck and ripped his shirt over his head. His perfectly styled hair mussed in the process. I growled deep within my chest at the sight of his sculpted body. Unable to wait, I hungrily moved my lips against his. I trailed rough kisses and bites across his jaw to his ear. Wanting to please me, he angled his head back and bared his neck to me. I yanked my glasses off and dropped them without care onto his desk before pressing a hot kiss to his thundering pulse.

  “What do you want?” I whispered, my breath bringing goosebumps to his sensitive skin. “Tell me,” I commanded forcefully.

  “I want you to feed from me.” His gravelly words were even rougher than usual, thick with heat. Threading my fingers into his hair, I gripped at the roots holding his head still.

  “Beg, Nikolai.” His pulse thundered in my ears. My cock ached at his submissive act, wanting to dominate and fill him. Beg, I mentally urged, needing to hear it.

  “Bite me, King, please.” I shuddered at my nic
kname on his lips. Without further delay, I sank my fangs into his neck. As soon as they pierced his skin, his moans grew frantic. The coppery tang of him exploded on my tongue and I couldn’t stop the moan that escaped me at the exquisite taste. I removed my hand from his hair to rub him over his jeans, his thrashing body jerking against me. Making sure to not take too much or lose control, I focused on massaging the bulge cupped in my hand.

  After a few long pulls, I licked the puncture wounds to start the healing process. When I released him, his hands immediately shifted my shirt up my chest. The calluses of his palms deliciously rough against my nipples as I removed the article of clothing the rest of the way. I grabbed his jaw bringing his face to mine again, his mouth opening under my relentless nips to his bottom lip. Fire burned through me as he unbuttoned my jeans dropping to the floor on his knees. Kicking off the denim, I threaded my fingers through his thick hair. His hands clasped behind his back, waiting patiently submissive for me to fuck his mouth. When his lips opened obediently, I thrust in slowly reveling in the wet heat of his tongue on the bottom of my shaft.

  Gritting my teeth at the near painful levels of pleasure that flooded my body, I held him in place, shifting my hips back before pressing forward. My own moans and pants filled the air as I picked up my pace, his mouth perfectly molding to me at every thrust. A broken growl rumbled in my chest when Nik’s throat started to vibrate, his humming bringing me to the edge of release. Oh, fuck. Unable to hold back my cry, I emptied deep in his throat, his tongue lapping every bit of my cum as I pulled out.

  “Good boy.” My voice was foreign to my own ears, breathy and rough. He stayed on his knees, head tilted back towards me. Very good boy, I traced the sharp angles of his face with my fingertips before closing my fist around his throat. A rumbling emanated from his chest at the feeling, pleasure ripping down his body in a harsh shiver. Pulling up gently, he stood, my hand still wrapped around his neck. After another moment, I released the pressure and ran my palm down his chest and Kolovrat tattoo until I reached the rough material of his black jeans. He helped unbutton them, his throbbing hard cock springing out from behind the denim as soon as they were pushed down his lean hips.

  I gave him a small shove, and he landed onto his back in the middle of his bed. Crawling up, I wedged myself between his open legs and leaned over him. Shifting my thigh to press into his cock, I watched hungrily as his back arched, causing his chest to brush against mine. I bit his shoulder hard enough to bruise and ran my fingers ran through his disheveled hair. Pressing my lips against his ear, I moved my hand between us to stroke him.

  “Now, should it be your turn, or should I make you wait…” I squeezed tightly on his balls while my thumb brushes over his tip the way he loved it. Taking him to the brink of pain warped with pleasure, his moan broke with a strangled cry. Music to my fucking ears.

  “Please, King,” he whispered, his words barely audible through the hoarseness of his voice.

  “I’ll be nice, since we don’t have much time to play.” I loosened my hand, shifting down the bed and took him into my mouth. He was salty and warm as I slid my tongue over the bottom of his shaft, from base to tip. His breathing was heavy and fast as I tortured him, moving at a leisurely pace up and down taking him further into my mouth with each pass. When his moans hitched, I took my other hand and cupped his balls, gently rolling them in my palm and applying a light pressure just behind them.

  “Yes, King,” he ground out fisting the sheets. He pressed his head back into the bed as he came. His salty flavor was unique and familiar on my tongue. I pulled away from him and crawled up the bed to lay next to him, leaving my leg draped over his thigh. After a few moments for my panting breaths to even out, I prodded him, unable to hold back my curiosity any longer.

  “While I’m not complaining by any means about what just happened, what spurred this spontaneous need, Nik?” I asked softly, running my left hand over the bite mark on his chest, my head propped in my right palm.

  “Lucie.” His voice was low when he answered. My hand slowed when I realized what he had said. “She came out with me to the range.” My mind blanked out for a moment at the confession. Nik never took anyone to the range except me. Not since that day. I laid stunned for a moment before responding.

  “So, what happened?” I resumed my tracing. I wasn’t upset at his admission. I may not have been the one to spark this desire in him, but I would be more than happy to fulfill it. There was no jealousy present as he continued talking, just curiosity.

  “I flirted with her when I showed her how to shoot.” His voice cracked at the end of the statement. Reaching down he grabbed his water and took a quick drink to try and ease the discomfort of talking. “She leaned into my chest after she took her shot, rubbing against me. She kissed my jaw before leaving.” He ran his hand down his face. “She is just... ” His voice trailed off, too difficult to continue talking, but I knew exactly what he was attempting to say.

  “She’s just so damn perfect?” I supplied, humor lacing my question. He burst out laughing as he nodded. “I agree with you, something about her just fits. I like her,” I admitted out loud. “I was going to kiss her last night,” I confided in him, shrugging as I said it out loud. Our afternoon together had been so perfect, and when she looked up at me with those sapphire eyes, it was the hardest thing for me to walk away. Nik tilted his head, still gazing sightlessly at the ceiling.

  “Why did you not?” His rough voice was quiet, but I noticed it held the same inquisitive quality mine had, not a hint of jealousy.

  “I wasn’t sure if that’s what she wanted. Besides, you’ve seen how the twins are with her, I didn’t want to step on that.” I shrugged again. My eyes drifted to the ink on his side, my hand followed to trace over the intricate design.

  “Do you think she…”—he sighed—“I do not know, maybe she…” He trailed off again, his deep voice cracked, sounding soft and unsure.

  “Would she what?” I prodded, intrigued by how open he was right now. After everything with what happened when he was younger, he closed down. He refused to talk to others unless required, never spending time with anyone, but us. And now, Lucie.

  “I just, I really like her. But what we have together means a lot to me as well. Do you think she would accept this? That she could be interested in being…with us?” He gestured to the two of us tangled in his bed. He sipped his water as his voice started to falter once more. My cock twitched at the thought of him and her together with me. Fuck me, I hope so.

  “I don’t know. I think she’s dealing with a lot right now, but I wouldn’t write it off. There is one issue there, you know as well as I do that the others are interested in her. They’ve all shown it in one way or another, not just the twins” I pointed out.

  “True, but Dante and Hudson are seeing those two bimbos, so they do not get to be included.” He chuckled. “I feel like I am thinking too far ahead, maybe we should just stick to getting to know her, let her get to know us”—he gestured again between the two of us—“and see where it goes?” His quiet statement curved up at the end making it sound like a question. I nodded, agreeing.

  “I think that’s the best idea for now. We should probably get dressed for class,” I shifted to look at the clock, realizing we had fifteen minutes to get there. Nik nodded as I got up and collected our discarded clothing, tossing his to him and grabbed my glasses from the desk. We were ready to head out quickly, but before we could get into the hallway, I pulled Nik to a stop. “Regardless of what happens, you know you’ll always have me.” I gave him a quick, hard kiss before pulling open the doors. His laugh followed me as we headed out into the busy hallway of students, his hand on my shoulder. Once we got to the quad, Grigori flew down to join us. No wonder the bird was outside, I chuckled to myself.

  11

  September 6th

  Thursday Afternoon

  Lucienne

  I shifted in my seat, panic slowly setting in. Why did I do that? Am I insane? Se
riously, where did that provocative behavior come from? I couldn’t help, but worry that I had just made this awkward between us. He was just a friend. A really hot, sweet friend, who’s part of this odd family I’m also friends with, who are also hot and sweet. I felt my breathing pick up the more I thought about it. I’m close to all of them, what if things went south with Nik, the guys and I wouldn’t continue being friends, I’m sure.

  Hell, not to mention the fact that Nik isn’t the only one I cared about. The twins, Cam, even Dante and Hudson despite being with those girls. Oh, this is not good. They all somehow wormed their way to my concrete-surrounded heart and had started slowly chipping away at it. I wanted to tell them about him. Not now, but the fact I wanted to tell them at all was mind-blowing to me. What is it about these guys? Why do they make me feel this way?

  A tap on the podium at the front of the small auditorium pulled me from my internal worries. Professor Dorsial was a petite woman with greying hair and tan skin. Her hazel eyes scanned the crowd before speaking. While she was smaller, her voice was confident and carried easily through the room.

  “Hello, class. Today, we’re going to try our first practical run through of what we’ve learned in the last three classes. I have the Advanced Mental Defense class coming in to assist. I will have you pair up with one of the older students, and have everyone head into the surrounding booths to practice.” She walked to the door to the auditorium and opened it letting the students filter in.

  My heart almost stopped when I saw Cam and Hudson walk in the door. Cam noticed me first, walking away from Hudson with a warm smile. He’s looking good today, I noted. His pale cheeks were flushed ever so slightly, his hair more messy than usual and his strides were confident. The most noticeable difference though were his eyes, they were surprisingly dark at the moment. The normal kaleidoscopic coloring was saturated with an intensity I couldn’t quite place. He looked like a predator. It was a startling contrast to Cam’s usual quiet demeanor, I felt my cheeks heat as I realized I was staring and looked away. Really, really good looking today.