Zodiac Academy 2: Ruthless Fae: An Academy Bully Romance (Supernatural Bullies and Beasts)

by Caroline Peckham

  He finished his drink and planted the glass on the bar, rising to his feet. He didn't reply to what I'd said and I barely even remembered what it was as he started pulling his clothes off.

  “Err, what are you doing?” I half laughed as he shed his jacket and kicked off his shoes, pulling off his socks. Oh my god.

  “I hate parties, but I like swimming.” He started undoing the buttons of his shirt and though his back was to me, I was still captivated as he dropped it to the floor like a silken sheet. My eyes scraped down his skin to where his muscles etched an upside down v into his lower back, disappearing beneath his waistband. His shoulders were tanned and heavenly broad, making me long to explore all of those muscles with my hands.

  He dropped his pants and my mouth grew wetter as he stepped up to the edge of the pool in nothing but black boxers.

  Heat rode a wave in my belly and I clenched my thighs together as desire took hold of me. He leaned forward then dove into the water like a pro, disappearing under the surface with complete grace.

  I finished the end of my wine, placing the glass down and twirling the little umbrella between my fingers. When Orion didn't resurface, an uncomfortable feeling plucked at my gut.

  I dropped the umbrella, hurrying to the edge of the pool and searching for him. I couldn't see him anywhere and my heart started to race at the amount of time it must have been already. One minute, two?

  I knelt down, leaning further over the edge.

  Hang on a second, he has the power of air so maybe that means-

  He breached the surface right beneath me, catching hold of my arm and dragging me into the pool. My scream was swallowed by the water as he pulled me down down down to the deepest part of the pool.

  My chest was ballooning already and the panic of him yanking me under so fast meant I'd barely taken a breath. He suddenly pushed me from behind and I crashed onto my knees, air somehow flowing freely around me. I stared up in complete awe as I found myself in a large, rectangular pocket of air carved out by magic against the wall of the pool. I stood upright, pushing my sopping hair from my eyes as I caught my breath.

  I was alone in the space as I stared at the water rippling above me, the blue pool lights reflecting off of the surface. I was soaked through and I'd lost my heels on the way down, but I didn't care, the party had sucked anyway and this moment was too incredible to be ruined by smeared make-up and damp clothes.

  I stared out into the gleaming water to my right just as a shadow emerged from it. Orion walked through the wall of water as easily as if he'd been walking above ground.

  “This is amazing,” I laughed, my voice echoing back to me.

  “You're not mad I dragged you to the bottom of a pool then?” he teased.

  “This makes up for it,” I said with a slanted smile, gesturing to the beautiful magic he'd cast.

  I hope I can do things like this one day.

  His shining skin drew my attention and I became enslaved to the need to explore every inch of his flesh. His body brought on an ache in me I hadn't known for a long time. Since my ex had dumped me after I'd given him my virginity, I hadn't done more than fool around with guys. The desire to go further had never really risen again. Not until Orion. And I had never, in all my life, wanted anyone like I wanted him.

  His beard had been trimmed even shorter for the party, revealing the powerful cut of his jaw and that divine dimple in his cheek. He'd brought me here, alone, cordoning me off from the world. And the blazing intensity in his gaze made me hope that maybe he was about to drop the teacher act for one night and admit he was drawn to me too.

  He glanced above us and his brow furrowed heavily. “Up there are a thousand reasons why we can't be together.”

  I swallowed thickly, goosebumps rushing along my skin in response to his words. I pressed my back to the cool tiles of the pool and the goosebumps spread deeper, evoking a shiver across my body.

  “I'm bound by so many rules I could waste the rest of your evening telling you them,” he said.

  “Skip them then, sir.” A smile played around my mouth as a thrill danced in my chest.

  He moved closer and rested his hands either side of me on the wall. “I think the time for sirs and professors is over, don't you?”

  No answer came from my lips, but my body gave it to him as I reached out and did the one thing I'd dreamed about the most since this all-consuming crush had first started. I brushed my fingers across the stubble on his jaw, resting my thumb over the dimple in his cheek, feeling the tiny rivet in his skin.

  The distance parting us suddenly felt like too much; the air was racing over my exposed flesh, chilling me to the core. I needed the heat of his hands, the red hot press of his stomach and chest.

  “Lance,” I breathed and his pupils dilated as I met his gaze.

  He devoured the space between us and I experienced pure sin as his mouth crushed against mine. It was gunpowder meeting fire and the result was an all-consuming blaze which burned me up from the inside out.

  A desperate noise escaped me that would have made me blush if I’d had any scrap of self-awareness left. But that was all it took for him to slam into me full force, hitching my legs up around his waist so fast it made my head spin.

  My hands finally got their deepest wish and roamed down the plains of all that gloriously golden skin. But it wasn't enough just to feel the flex of his muscles, I needed more and I took it by scratching against his beautiful shell, wanting to break beneath flesh and bone and burrow my way deeper.

  I need more.

  One of his hands tangled in my hair, tugging it to tip my chin back and eliciting another moan of pleasure from my lips. He swallowed it up, his tongue sinking into my mouth and making my heart find a rhythm it had never beat to before.

  He kissed me like he wasn't allowed to kiss me, but if he didn't he'd die. I tangled myself around him with equal desire, the well of magic in my body spilling over and flooding my veins. A profound and unknown energy hummed within me, drawing to the edges of my skin. Orion seemed to sense it too as the hairs raised along my arms and static energy crackled everywhere our flesh met.

  I was entirely lost to the deepest and most carnal desire I'd ever felt.

  His hand found the slit in my dress and his fingers trailed onto my bare leg, making me gasp in response. Fire surged down my spine only to bounce back up again as he gripped my thigh and squeezed.

  With so little clothes parting us, I felt every inch of his arousal pressing between my legs and I started to wonder how far this kiss was going to go. My fingers slid into the verge of his hair as I ground against him and my thoughts scattered again. He released a rumbling growl filled with nothing but need and his hand shifted between us, roaming deeper beneath my dress until he found the top of my panties. I nearly lost my mind as his fingers brushed the sensitive flesh there and skimmed the line of my underwear. My back arched as I tried to bring his hand closer to fulfil the promise of ecstasy I knew he could bring me.

  Instead, he pulled his hand free and placed it on my hip with a heavy breath. It took everything I had, but with his fingers firmly away from the area of my body which was trying to run the show, I could think a little clearer.

  He pulled back almost the same moment I did and I swallowed hard as I felt the lasting sensations of that kiss everywhere. My mouth tingled and my cheeks stung from the scrape of his stubble. My thigh muscles throbbed where they were still locked tightly around his waist and my heart seemed to bleed from the loss of contact with his mouth.

  We remained breathless and silent, staring at each other like the reality waiting above us wasn't about to rip us apart. But I knew as well as he did, this was a one time only thing. Now I just had to convince my body of that.

  I unwound my legs from him, bracing my hands on his shoulders as I dropped down. He steadied me for a moment then the air between us changed. His eyes darkened and he didn't need to speak to let me know what he was thinking. A vow hung solidly around us. This won't h
appen ever again.

  He opened his mouth to speak but I spoke before he could, not wanting to be commanded into eternal silence. I already knew what would happen the second we left this magical place behind, I didn't need to be told. “Let's go.”

  “We can stay a little longer...if you want.” His expression was that of a wounded man but I knew whatever pain lay in his body, would never be mine to heal.

  I shook my head, lifting my chin to gaze up at the surface of the pool. “No, I think we should go back to reality now.” The longer I stay, the harder it will be to leave.

  “Are you angry with me for bringing you here?” he asked and I was compelled to look down, falling into the intensity of his eyes as a strained line formed on his brow.

  “No.”

  He reached out to skate his fingers across the line of my jaw, feather light. “You know how it has to be.”

  I nodded, leaning away from his touch which felt like forcing two magnets apart. “I know.”

  What happens at the bottom of the pool, stays at the bottom of the pool.

  “Come on then, Blue.” He held out his hand.

  I took a shuddering breath, placing my hand in his. “I think it might be best if you don't call me that anymore.” I tugged at a lock of wet hair. “It's not blue anyway.”

  He glanced at me with shadows in his eyes, but nodded all the same. He stepped into the pool, tugging me after him and I took a breath before pushing through the magical wall. I felt it drawing in behind me, the water filling that private space which would never exist again.

  I pulled my hand from his grip, swimming to the surface and taking a breath as I breached it. I swam to the edge of the pool, pulling myself up onto the tiles and shivering as the night air blew around me.

  Orion resurfaced a second later, placing my shoes beside me before hoisting himself out and rising to his feet. I got up too, hugging my arms around my chest and trying to will heated air to my fingertips. It was like trying to get fire going in a storm, the kindling was there but the flame wouldn't take.

  “Here,” Orion said stiffly, moving closer and opening his palm. Hot air wrapped around me and he left me in it as he scooped up his own clothes and had himself dry within a few seconds. I turned away as he started to dress, a sinking feeling weighing in my gut. I'd stepped out of a blissful dream into a darker reality and I so wanted to go back to sleep.

  My dress dried out and my hair fell around me in loose curls. I slipped on my shoes which Orion must have dried already then moved to pick up my clutch from the bar, taking out a pocket mirror and checking my makeup. I looked miraculously okay. My mascara was waterproof and hell was it proving its worth right now. I used the powder in my bag to touch up the rest then placed it back. I eyed the damp band of hair on my wrist with a tug in my heart then slid it from my wrist and tucked it into my bag.

  I took a breath then turned to Orion, knowing I couldn’t put it off any longer. He was fully dressed, his back to me and his hands in his pockets.

  “My sister loved this place,” he said, surprising me.

  I moved to his side, gazing around the beautiful courtyard. “Oh yeah?”

  “We used to come here as kids. Back then things were so simple. We didn’t see anything but the good in the world.”

  “What happened to her?” I asked gently, stealing a glance up at him.

  His brows were drawn and the darkness in his eyes was back in full force. He didn't answer for a long moment. “She got caught up with some bad people.”

  “The Acruxes?” I guessed and Orion looked at me for the first time since we'd left the pool.

  “Don't go looking for trouble, Miss Vega.” His tone was formal and I was unsettled by how much it hurt considering I'd already known it would be this way. I said nothing and he released a low breath. “Would you like to see her?”

  “Clara?” I asked and he nodded, giving me a ghost of a smile. “Yes, I'd like that.”

  He headed back toward the glass doors and I followed him inside, relishing the warm air that heated the place. It was as if a constant fire burned behind the walls of this house, like we were deep in the belly of a volcano.

  Orion walked ahead of me, never looking back as we wound through the huge halls, the only sound between us the click of my heels and the pounding of his footfalls.

  He soon drew to a halt beneath the staircase Lionel had disappeared up earlier and a deep pressure weighed down on me. Photographs were dotted along the wall rising to the next level. Orion walked up the steps and plucked one of them from its hook. I followed him and he passed me the picture in its golden frame.

  My fingers tingled with expectant energy as I gazed at the formal photograph. It was a group portrait taken on the vast porch steps at the front of this house. The four Acruxes stood at the centre of it and from the looks of him, I guessed Darius was around fifteen. To their left was the other Councillors and Heirs standing in front of them. A few more people I didn't recognise clustered beyond them.

  To their right was Orion's mother, Stella, and beside her was Orion himself looking bored; he could only have been a few years younger than he was now. Beside him was a girl with hazel hair and stunning features and it was obvious who she was even before Orion leaned forward and pointed her out. She was leaning against her brother with a serene smile on her face that didn't suggest anything was wrong in her life.

  “This was the night she...vanished,” he said tersely, his eyes flashing with some memory. I glanced up at him in horror, pain stroking my heart at the broken look in his gaze.

  “What happened to her? Didn't you leave the party together?”

  Orion's mouth pressed into a tight line and I sensed he wasn't going to tell me anything more. But that meant he knew something.

  “Lance?” I whispered and he stood up straighter in response to that.

  “If I can't call you Blue, you're not calling me that.” He snatched the picture and placed it back on the wall. Something about that cut deeper than any other promise we'd made tonight. But maybe that was the way he felt about his nickname for me.

  “Go back to the party,” he sighed, his gaze firmly on the picture. Before I could respond, his head twitched and he looked up the stairs, his face transforming as he clearly heard something.

  “What is it?” I asked, but he shook his head.

  “Go,” he growled then shot up the stairs, disappearing around the corner.

  I stood there, a little in shock at being left so abruptly, but I quickly regained my senses and climbed up a step, taking the picture from the wall again. That same burning energy rolled through me and my hands seemed to move of their own accord. I turned it over, removing the back pane.

  My heart hammered with excitement as I discovered what I'd somehow known would be there. One of Astrum's Tarot cards lay beneath it with a horned red beast sitting upon a throne. The Devil was printed at the base of it and fear crawled into my gut as I turned it over to read the inscription on the back.

  Do not underestimate the beast who shadows you.

  He is the ultimate power, ruling over your lives and the lives of many others.

  Beware of his lies.

  The answer to your question will be revealed on the lunar eclipse.

  But when finding the truth, don't let the shadows take you.

  - Falling Star

  My chest constricted and I hurriedly pocketed the card before rearranging the picture and placing it back on the wall.

  I turned and headed downstairs, walking back to the party with fear licking up and down my spine. I needed to find Tory and show her this card. The lunar eclipse was just a week away and coincided with The Reckoning. So whatever was waiting for us on that day, we had to be ready for it.

  My thoughts were in turmoil as I raced up the stairs, leaving Darcy alone and knowing that the next time I saw her things would be back to normal. And by normal I meant I'd be smothering the fiery pit of longing that raged inside me every time I was around her and she'd
be back to thinking I was the asshole teacher who treated her just like everyone else: a piece of shit.

  I rounded onto the landing, focusing on what I'd heard and trying to force the girl with blue hair from my head. It's not blue anymore, idiot. Wake up and smell the goddamn roses. This was never meant to happen.

  I slowed to a halt, entirely silent as I approached Lionel's rooms. No one was allowed in there. Not unless they were getting beaten or fucked. Luckily for the male gender, Lionel's tastes were firmly female.

  The voices that carried to my superior hearing made my gut writhe. It wasn't news to me that they were screwing each other, but it still made my skin crawl.

  The seductive purr of my mother's voice made me want to twist knives into my ears just so I wouldn't have to hear it, but I remained there because of what I'd heard Lionel say when I'd stood with Darcy on the stairs. “It's only a week until the eclipse.”

  My heart thumped an unsteady rhythm and I knew what it would cost me if Lionel found me here. But the one thing he hadn't banked on when he'd bound me to his son, was that I had to protect him from everything. Including his sadistic bastard of a father. So if standing here listening to Uncle Lionel nail my mother could help me protect him, then that was exactly what I had to do.

  “We chose poorly last time,” Lionel's harsh voice followed a grunt of pleasure that made me shut my eyes to try and wipe that noise from my memory. His words awoke a raging creature in my chest who wanted him dead and bloody at my feet. And mark my words, I'll see that day come, Lionel.

  “We should have used Lance,” Stella said bitterly. I'd stopped calling her Mom a long, long time ago. Mothers looked after their children, and she'd proved herself worthless in that department. The dismissiveness in her voice told of how little she cared for me these days. Back before I'd enrolled at Zodiac I was once her rising sun, now I was just a dog she kicked occasionally. Not that I had any regret over why she didn't like me anymore. If she wanted me dead, then I'd stay alive to spite her. Amongst other reasons.

  “You don't really mean that,” Lionel growled. “He's got some use and at least he's fulfilling his purpose without complaint these days. My son fights me at every turn.”