by Wendi Wilson
“Can you stay with me tonight?”
His voice held a note of vulnerability that told me, despite our heated kissing, his need to have me near went much deeper than physical desire. His aura glowed gold with the barest hint of pink around the edges. Hope that I’d say yes, mixed with a flash of love or desire.
I nodded, and his aura flashed yellow with relief and happiness.
“Let me just go leave a note for Shaela, and I’ll meet you there,” I said, giving him a soft smile.
At the top of the stairs, he brushed his lips against mine and squeezed my hand before releasing it. Then he turned and headed toward the boys’ wing as I walked in the opposite direction toward my room. My head was in the clouds, thinking of spending the night in Easton’s warm embrace. Then, about halfway to my door, the anxiety set in.
I wasn’t sure what his expectations were. I’d slept in his bed before, but only when we’d been exhausted and thinking of nothing but sleep. This was different.
Easton needed me. Needed to feel secure in the embrace of my affection. But…did he need more? Were we ready? Was I ready?
By the time I scribbled out a note for Shaela, fed Blossom, and ran to the bathroom to brush my teeth and change into something more comfortable, I was a nervous wreck. I tried to even out my breathing and get my anxiety under control as I walked back to his room.
I stood outside the door, my heart pounding in my chest, weighing my options. I’d nearly decided to run back to my room and wait for Shaela to get back so I could hash it out with her when Easton’s door swung open, revealing a very firm, very naked chest.
Heat flared inside me as my eyes roved over the hills and planes of his torso. He was so beautiful, I could hardly take it.
“What are you doing out here in the hall?” he asked softly, and my eyes snapped up to meet his.
“Trying to decide between fight and flight,” I admitted.
“You don’t want to stay?” he asked, but there was a twinkle in his eye that told me he knew very well I’d been practically drooling over the sight of all that bare skin.
When I didn’t answer, he stepped to the side and motioned for me to enter. I slipped through the opening, knowing that the conversation we were having was better had inside, rather than out in the hallway where anyone could overhear us.
Or record it on video, which had happened more than once. Tiana Avery relished catching me on camera and spreading anti-December propaganda around the school.
“I do want to stay,” I said, continuing our conversation once he closed the door firmly behind him.
The click of the lock engaging echoed through my ears, and I flinched. Easton noticed, the knowing smirk falling from his face to be replaced by lines of worry. His aura faded from a light pink to a bright blue.
“What’s wrong, D?”
I knew I was being contradictory, telling him I wanted to be there but acting like some kind of skittish animal. Positive he could see the anxiety in my aura, I took a deep breath and forced my muscles to relax. I stepped closer to him, wrapping my arms around his waist and pressing my cheek against his chest. His arms closed around me, holding me to him.
“I’m just nervous,” I mumbled into his chest.
“Because you think I want to have sex tonight,” he finished for me, saving me from having to say the words.
My face heated with a blush. Keeping my cheek pressed firmly to his skin, I nodded. I was too embarrassed to look him in the eye. I squeezed my eyes shut, mentally berating myself for being so self-conscious. I’d learned to be so strong, a force to be reckoned with, but…
“Hey,” Easton said, pulling me out of my own head.
His fingertips slipped under my chin, lifting my face toward his. He brushed his lips against mine, a whisper-soft touch that calmed me like nothing else could. My arms tightened around him of their own volition and I tried to deepen the kiss, but Easton pulled back to look into my eyes.
“I do want to be with you that way,” he whispered. “God knows I want to. But not until we’re ready. Not until there’s no uncertainty, no fear, and there will be no regrets. I have no doubt that when that time comes, we’ll both know it.”
He smiled then, a smile so sweet and filled with love, there was no room for even a hint of disappointment. His aura glowed pink around his head, and I was sure mine matched it. I lifted onto my toes and pressed my mouth to his as my arms unwound from his waist and slipped up around his neck.
A groan vibrated in his chest when my tongue brushed against his, and he walked me backwards toward his bed. I fell back onto the mattress and pulled him down on top of me, my legs locking around his hips. I’d forgotten my nerves. Forgotten his vow to wait until we were both ready. Forgotten everything but the feel of him in my arms, his mouth ravishing mine before moving down to press hot kisses against my throat.
Heat scorched my veins, making me itch all over. I groaned as Easton’s mouth moved up to the sensitive spot behind my ear, and he echoed the sound back to me. My nails scraped against his back and I bucked beneath him, unable to control the movements of my own body.
Easton’s mouth moved back to mine, his movements slow and measured. The kisses softened, diminishing to light pecks before he rolled to the side, pulling me with him so we lay face-to-face. I stared into his eyes as our breathing slowed, their color more molten silver than ice-blue as his aura raged in the dark pink of desire around him.
He wanted to take things further. It was written all over his face. But he’d stopped. He knew that, despite my raging hormones telling him differently, I wasn’t ready. Not mentally or emotionally. And he wasn’t going to let me make the decision when I was blind and deaf with lust.
His eyes flicked up to the space around my head before meeting mine. “I love you, too,” he said, his smile showing a row of perfect white teeth.
I rolled to my other side and his arm draped over me, pulling me back against his chest. His lips pressed against my shoulder, then his head dropped to share my pillow, his face nuzzling into my hair.
“Thanks for not burning down my room with a lustnado,” he joked, the sentence punctuated by a yawn.
I pushed my elbow back into his ribs, and he grunted before chuckling and squeezing me tighter. I snuggled back against him, finding our position extremely comfortable.
As my heartrate slowed into a relaxed rhythm, I remembered why Easton invited me to stay in his room in the first place. He needed me, needed my support, because of the dreaded news he received from his mother.
Easton’s father was coming to Oberon Academy.
Chapter Seventy-Three
4
“So, I got you something.”
I looked up from my seat on the floor where Blossom was nuzzling my thigh. Shaela stood just inside the door, two large white bags hanging from her fingertips. It was Friday afternoon and classes were done for the day, and I hadn’t seen her since my training session with my dad ended.
“Where have you been?’ I asked, climbing to my feet before picking up Blossom and placing her in her cage.
“That’s your surprise,” she said with a smile. “I had my mom send me some stuff from home, and I got word that it arrived. I had to go to the mailroom to pick it up.”
“There’s a mailroom here?” I teased, being intentionally obtuse.
Shaela rolled her eyes. “Yes, there’s a mailroom. Aren’t you even going to ask me what it is?”
I laughed. Messing with her was too easy. I held out my hands, palms up, and opened and closed them into fists.
“Gimme. Gimme.”
A bright, beautiful smile lit up her face as she hurried toward me. She dropped one of the bags on her bed and held the other up high before pulling down the zipper on the front. My eyes widened as she pulled the cloth covering away to reveal the gorgeous creation it hid.
“I’ve never worn it,” Shaela said, her voice laced with excitement at the sight of my eyes bugging out of my head. “The color just wasn�
�t right for me. But for you…”
She trailed off as my fingers reached out to brush against the delicate material. It was the most beautiful dress I’d ever seen. Of course, my life being what it was before Oberon Academy came calling, I hadn’t had much occasion to see fancy dresses, but somehow I knew it was special.
Made of a soft, silky material, it was an electric-blue color that nearly matched the shade of my eyes. Black gems glittered along the neckline and down the bodice, with a few sparkling here and there on the long, billowing skirt.
“I don’t know what to say, Shae,” I said, testing the shortened version of her name on my tongue. I liked the sound of it.
“Say thank you, Shaela and that you’ll wear it tomorrow night.”
“Tomorrow night?” I asked, still dazed by the sight of the magnificent dress.
“Oh my God, D. Snap out of it. It’s just a dress,” Shaela laughed. “It’s for the Valentine’s Day dance, dum-dum.”
She laid the dress on my bed when I didn’t take it from her and skipped back to her side of the room to grab the bag she’d deposited on her own bed. Unzipping it with a flourish she whipped the covering off to reveal a strapless gown in the softest of moss green. It sparkled all over with glitter with a full poufy skirt that was short in the front and long in the back.
Shaela held it against her chest and twirled around. “Isn’t it gorgeous?” she asked.
I nodded mutely with wide eyes. It really was beautiful. Then my eyes trailed back to the blue one, burning with emotion.
“Thank you, Shaela,” I choked out.
Easton had asked me to go to the dance with him, and I’d agreed, but any excitement I might have felt was dampened by the fact that I had nothing appropriate to wear. I’d resigned myself to wearing my uniform, or at the very least, borrowing a pair of jeans from Shaela. But every time I mentioned it, she’d brushed me off, changing the subject. Now I knew why.
“Of course,” she said, her own eyes a little misty. “What are best friends for? Now, try it on so we can make sure it fits without needing alterations.”
I gave her my back and started unbuttoning my shirt when her voice rang out behind me.
“Oh, wait! I almost forgot.”
I looked over my shoulder to see her rummaging through her bag. With a triumphant smile, her hand popped out holding a black lace bra with matching panties. She tossed them my way and my hand automatically reached out to catch them.
“You needed something strapless for that dress,” she said. “Can’t have your plain white bra straps ruining the effect.”
I nodded and turned back around, laying the undergarments on my bed. I studied them while I finished undoing my shirt. They were finely made with expensive materials, the bra padded and the panties not much more than a scrap of lace. I’d certainly never owned anything so nice, or expensive, according to the price tags still attached.
Or as sexy.
My mind went back to the night I stayed in Easton’s room and our frank discussion about being more intimate. About how we would take things to the next level when we were both ready. That discussion was never far from my mind, always popping into my thoughts when I kissed Easton. Or smelled his scent. Or saw him from across the room.
It was like my libido was running on overdrive.
“Maybe I should just do it and get it over with.”
“Do what?”
Keeping my back to Shaela and ignoring her question, I slipped out of my skirt and pulled the dress over my head. Once I had the material settled into place, she came over and zipped me up. I released the hair I’d held up and turned around to face her.
Her eyes rounded into wide saucers as she looked me up and down. She twirled a finger and I twisted around, showing her the back. When I spun back to face her, she clapped her hands together.
“It’s perfect!” she squealed.
I walked over to the mirror and gasped. The dress fit me like a glove—snug on the top, loose and flowing from the waist down to my feet.
“It’s going to look amazing with your wings out.”
I spun on a heel, my mouth falling open. “What?”
“Didn’t anyone tell you?” she asked her brows furrowed. “It’s tradition. Everyone keeps their wings out during the dance. It makes it seem more…magical, I guess.”
My eyes drifted shut with dread and disappointment. “Maybe I shouldn’t go.”
“Don’t be silly, D. Everyone has seen your wings. It’s not a big deal anymore.”
“But—”
“No buts. Easton, Charles and I will be with you the whole time. If anyone tries to talk smack, they’ll have to answer to us. It’ll be fine. I promise.” She popped out a hip and tilted her head. “Now, get out of that dress and tell me what you were talking about when you said you wanted to get it over with.”
I grimaced, flipping around and lifting my hair so she could unzip the dress.
“I didn’t mean to say that out loud,” I murmured.
“Obviously,” she deadpanned.
I threw my uniform back on and hung the dress on the back of the door next to Shaela’s. Shuffling across the room to my bed, I slumped down onto the mattress and Shaela plopped down beside me.
“I was talking about sex.”
“Uh, okay,” she said drawing out the word like a question.
“With Easton,” I added.
“Yeah. I didn’t need the clarification. I got it. What I don’t get is why you think you need to just get it over with,” she said, using air quotes.
“That’s not how I meant it,” I said. “It’s just…I want to. I think about it all the time. I love him and he loves me and when he kisses me the whole world disappears.”
“So, what’s the problem?” she asked, her voice soft.
“We decided we weren’t going to go there until we were both sure we were ready. I mean, neither of us has done it before.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Easton hasn’t?”
I shook my head. “You, yourself, told me he hasn’t had a girlfriend in four years.”
“I know, but that doesn’t mean girls haven’t thrown themselves at him in all that time. I guess I just figured…”
“No, he never did,” I said.
I didn’t doubt for a second that Easton had told me the truth. I could tell by his aura he was always honest with me.
“Anyway,” I continued, “whenever we have plans to be alone, I panic. Then we kiss, and I think there’s never been anything in the world I’ve ever wanted more than to be with him in every way.”
Her head cocked to the side. “So, you think you should just do it, get it over with so you can stop having anxiety over it?”
I flinched. “Well, when you say it like that…”
“Easton is right, D. You shouldn’t rush into it. It’s your first time and you want it to be right.”
“You mean perfect?”
She shook her head. “Nothing is ever perfect and wishing for it only leads to disappointment.”
I arched a brow. “Are you speaking from experience? Have you and Charles?”
“No. No,” she said, waving off my question. “We’re taking things slow.”
“Then what are you talking about?”
“It’s not about me,” she assured me, “and it’s a story best saved for another day.”
“Okay,” I said, nodding.
If she didn’t want to talk about it, I wasn’t going to push her.
“Let me play with your hair,” she said. “I think we’ll pin it up tomorrow. That’ll look best with the neckline of that gown.”
“I bow to your expertise,” I said with a laugh, sitting up and giving her access to my dark locks.
“As you should,” she said, tugging on my hair with a chuckle. “Because, my dear friend December, I am always right.”
The Valentine’s Day dance was held in the gym and, much like the night of my birthday, the place had been cleared of all workout and sparring
equipment. Red, white, and pink streamers hung from the ceiling, twisting and turning to form intricate patterns even though there was no breeze in the room to move them.
Hundreds of fat white candles flickered on pink tablecloth-covered tables, casting a soft glow on the faces of students seated around them. The soft strains of music met my ears as we stood in the doorway.
“Are you ready?” Easton whispered in my ear, his fingers tangling through mine.
I sucked in a small breath. I knew he was talking about walking into the dance, but I had other things on my mind. I had made a decision early that morning as I tossed and turned, attempting to fall back asleep. A decision that affected the both of us.
“I am ready,” I breathed.
He didn’t catch my double meaning, but that was okay. I’d tell him later, after the dance.
“Then, let’s do this,” he said with a gorgeous smile.
He popped out his silver-blue wings and I popped out mine. I patted a hand against my hair which was, thanks to Shaela, twisted up into a fancy bun with soft tendrils hanging against my temples and nape.
“You look beautiful,” Easton said, pressing his lips against my cheek.
I smiled at him. “Thanks. You’re not looking too bad, yourself.”
I smoothed a hand over his chest, straightening the lapel of his jacket. He sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes darkening at the simple touch.
My own heart accelerated at his reaction.
Then he squeezed my fingers and stepped into the gym, where dozens of eyes landed on us. And stayed there.
My heart sped up again, this time for a completely different reason. I didn’t want anything to ruin our night. I wanted it to be right. Not perfect, but right.
Easton pulled me further into the gym and forced my chin up. I was not going to let hushed whispers and rude stares spoil the night for us. If Easton could ignore them, so could I.
Almost as quickly as it began, the tense moment melted away and people stopped staring. A few students even sent me tentative smiles. People called out greetings to us, and a couple of girls complimented my dress.