School of Broken Wings

by C. R. Jane

  “Fuck me, Alexander. Please,” I plead.

  “When you ask me like that, I would do anything for you.”

  My heart squeezes at hearing his dedication. Alexander is always the strong one, the leader, the serious one. But to see this softer, romantic side of him breaks me. Only now do I realize how much of an impact they’d had on me. How much I am utterly entwined with my men.

  He pulls me close, and our mouths clash. I taste and smell myself on his mouth and love every bit of it. His hands settle on my shoulders and he turns me around, breaking our kiss. A few quick steps forward, and he has me pressed to the cold tiled wall face first.

  His breath is on my neck, his hand cupping my ass and sliding down to my drenched core. “Spread those sexy legs for me, beautiful.”

  I obey him while that delicious arousal surges through me once again, rising like a storm about to claim me. The tip of his cock finds my entrance, and I slip my lower lip between my teeth, gnawing with the anticipation.

  A hand curls around to my body and reaches for my breasts, squeezing them in his large grip. He plucks at a nipple.

  “I fucking adore every inch of you. From your gorgeous tits to that tight little pussy.” He slaps my ass, and I startle at first, but euphoria buzzes through me from the sting. “Do you still want me to leave?” he asks lustfully, leaning against my wings to reach my ear.

  This is the Alexander I know, the Alpha, the dominant man I fell for…the vampire who has a softer side, but rarely shows it. He is an addiction in my blood.

  “If you keep talking—ahh,” I cry out as he drives his cock into me, stealing my smart-ass response.

  He slams into me, shoving me up against the wall, his body pinning me in place as he fucks me hard.

  “Make me hurt,” I say, hands splayed to the wall, my cheek flush with the tiled wall.

  His hands grip my hips as he thrusts into me, groaning his own pleasure.

  My heart is racing in my chest. I close my eyes and let myself drift on the clouds, lost in utter bliss. As if struck by lightning, another climax collides into me, shuddering me violently. My muscles spasm, my inner walls sucking on his cock.

  I scream with abandon as molten white light erupts behind my eyes.

  He grunts as he pulses inside me. Both of us bursting with pleasure together. Those few moments are perfection. He places his hands against the wall over my shoulders, his body pressed behind mine, holding me in place while still buried deep inside me.

  “You are my everything,” I murmur, barely able to catch my breath.

  “I know,” he responds arrogantly.

  I laugh, but it quickly morphs into a moan as he slips out of me. He grips my hips as he turns me around to face him.

  He leans down and slides one arm under my knees, another behind my back and stands with me in his arms. I can’t help but stare at him in awe.

  He takes a step to the rear of the bathroom where there’s a large shower. “We’re not close to finished in here,” he whispers wickedly in my ear.

  Sucking in a breath, I raise my chin and meet his gaze. There is an entire world flashing behind those gorgeous blue eyes. And I am part of it…part of his world.

  And this is everything I’ve wanted.

  This glorious man, this dangerous vampire, this horny lover is all mine, and he craves me as much as I desire him.

  Chapter 5

  I wake up alone in bed. Sunlight is drenching the room and male voices drift in from another part of the house, along with laughter, so I’m guessing they’ve been awake for a while.

  The last three days we’ve trained endlessly. My body aches all over from being pushed to train and control my wings. On the bright side, I am winning the battle on the wings, but fighting is proving harder than I anticipated. I’m not built to be a warrior, but I sure as hell am not going to give up.

  Climbing out of bed, I push my legs out from under the blanket and scrub a hand over my face. I glance out the window. Another perfect day by the beach where I wish we were living, not where we are hiding from the world. Maybe one day we’ll live in a place like this… I almost choke on my thoughts, because I have no idea how that can happen. I’d given my heart to vampires. I’m an angel with no idea why I am on earth. And the council wants me dead for what I am.

  Footsteps close in behind me, and I glance over my shoulder to see Nyx sauntering into the bedroom. I shared the room with all five men last night. The bed is super king size and easily fits us all comfortably.

  “Ready for breakfast? We’re making waffles,” he says as he takes quick steps around the base of the bed and comes closer toward me. His gaze inspects my naked body, because how else does one sleep with five guys, but in the nude. We were a jumbled tangle of legs and arms on the mattress, and I can't remember when I felt more loved.

  He takes a seat next to me, his hand on my thigh, sending ripples of excitement through me. “How did you sleep?”

  “Once I fell asleep, I was gone to dreamland. Now, I’m just sore everywhere from the training,” I admit.

  “Then it’s a good thing that today we are going to focus on angel lore and any abilities that you might possess.”

  “Abilities?” My thoughts fly to when I first started Raven Academy and Clarissa attacked me in the school corridor. Images of being her punching bag cloud over me, along with the explosion of my power or whatever it had been that slammed into her. I beat her easily, which should have been impossible, considering she has vampire strength. The whole ordeal left her scared and me a lot more terrified. Those are the only abilities that I ever felt, and it all made no sense…not until now. The reason I threw her off so easily unfolds in my mind. Something has laid dormant inside me…a power that I never knew. Obviously, what I need is to harness my ability. To no longer feel helpless, but be able to defend myself.

  “I’d like that,” I cheerfully say, knowing I won’t be straining my muscles today, pleased to hear the news that today would be a learning day. I still have so many more questions about my past and my angelic nature. Along with who my real parents were and why they abandoned me. Since discovering what I am, those thoughts have grown louder in my mind.

  Nyx leans closer, and my breath catches in my throat. “You’re so beautiful, you know that right? You never give up, and I love that about you.”

  “Trust me, I’ve given up many times.” I think back to the bullies at my last school and how I let them walk all over me. How I did nothing about it. I gave up then because I was too scared to fight back.

  Nyx’s hand squeezes my thigh lightly, drawing my attention to him. “I know that feeling too well, but you’re not that person anymore, babe. You’re a fighter like the rest of us. I fucking adore that about you.” He smiles with his eyes, and I lose myself in his gaze.

  At the same time, I can’t help but remember when he told me his mother worked as the housekeeper for Alexander and Dante’s family. Him and his mom struggled in life, just like I did growing up. Maybe that’s why I find it easy to relate to Nyx. We didn’t come from rich families.

  Our pasts shadow over us, but he’s right. It also makes us stronger.

  I reach over and run a thumb over his forehead to push aside the loose strands out of his eyes.

  He kisses my palm sweetly. He’s in my thoughts and how lucky we are to have found each other.

  “It’s us now against the world,” I say. “So damn right I’m going to fight.”

  His handsome smile widens, and he stares at me with intensified fire. His fingers trail along my thigh, and my skin immediately reacts to his touch. It tingles over my skin while desire rises through me. He moves closer and kisses me gently and suggestively.

  My heart is thumping loudly as his hand drifts to my waist. I’m naked and he’s fully clothed, but I don’t care if he takes me in this moment. I want him, crave him, yearn for him.

  I comb my fingers through his brown hair, holding him tight against me. His heavenly scent envelops me. It’s heady a
nd captivating. Heat spills from my soul for this man…he makes me feel things with a mere kiss. The fire curls inside me, swallowing everything until all that remains are my raw and primal feelings for Nyx. When had he crawled into my heart and claimed me?

  Our breaths merge, and he tastes of faint coffee and something else I can’t work out.

  When he finally breaks our kiss, he says, “You need to wear some clothes, or no one is getting any work done today. Let alone me. All I can think about is your gorgeous breasts and how much I want to eat you.” The corners of his lips curl upward into a wicked grin, yet he has more control than me to pull back. Though when I lower my gaze down his body, I see the erection pushing against his jeans.

  I’m breathing hard as I look at him and consider the option of dragging him back into bed with me.

  He walks over to the bench at the end of the bed. He pulls open up a bag of clothes Braxton had picked up for me on his shopping trip. Nyx pulls out a black thong and smiles seductively.

  Laughter pours from me as I curl under the bed sheet and watch him pick out an outfit for me. His color coordination with clothes is atrocious, but I love watching this ridiculously handsome man think he can dress me. His eyes glint each time he looks my way. Finally, he settles on tiny jean shorts and a black tank top with spaghetti straps. My bra is a deep purple, so it will work.

  “Here you go, now get dressed before I can’t control what I want to do to you.” He grins confidently.

  I don’t doubt it for a second that he is fighting the urges. Last night, I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow, so there was no action. But I can see what the men are thinking by the way they stare at me. How much they fight their desires. Alexander proved it the other night when he crashed into the bathroom as I lay in the tub.

  Nyx studies me for those long silent moments, like he’s deciding on his next action. We might be hiding out in this gorgeous house, but it feels as though our sexual floodgates have burst open as their cravings for me intensify. And I struggle to resist, so my focus remains on just training. I can’t believe I let myself be so easily swayed by my emotions.

  “Everyone’s waiting for you.” He takes a deep breath, staring at me. “Just so you know, holding back while you’re next to me so fucking beautiful and naked is killing me.”

  I believe every word, and I’m lost for words on how to respond to something that makes me feel incredible. To have such strong and powerful men struggle in my presence does things to a girl. Confident things that put filthy thoughts into my mind about me and them.

  He doesn’t wait for a response but heads out of the room and shuts the door behind him. Heat smothers me, and his words flood my head.

  But before I do something crazy like head out there and ask for their company, I drag myself into the bathroom for an ice cold shower to calm down my hell-crazy libido.

  By the time I’m dressed and heading for breakfast, I’m ready to tackle the world.

  The rest of the day goes by in a blur. I’m surrounded by six men, each one of them meaning the world to me. Today, even Connor joins the lessons.

  We are in the yard, the house in front of us, the beach at our backs. I draw my legs up and under me on the wooden seat I’m in and blink quizzically at Braxton.

  Then I reiterate the last couple of hours into two simple questions. “So, you’re saying my power comes from the angel family lineage I’m from? And the ability could be anything, as we don’t know what my angel lineage is?”

  “Well, not just anything,” Connor interjects. “It’s not like you’re a genie.”

  I glower in his direction at his comment, and he half grins at me, seeming to enjoy being an ass. I turn back to Braxton. “So, there’s no way to narrow it down even a bit?”

  “We’ve tried to draw out your power during training,” he explains. “And—”

  “And I failed,” I complete his sentence as my stomach tightens. “Alexander, you remember that power I suddenly had when I finally had enough of Clarissa pushing me? I didn’t even remember how I called on the power, but I was filled with adrenaline and a strange energy.”

  “That’s exactly it,” Alexander states alertly, leaning forward in his seat, bringing his face closer to mine. One of his thick eyebrows arches upward, and it takes all my strength to not push near and steal a kiss. It’s ridiculous what thoughts go through my mind when we’re discussing something serious. But I’ve always been a person led by my emotions.

  “You drew on a source that enhanced your ability to fight,” he says. “So that means your power can be triggered with high emotion.”

  “Perhaps,” I admit. “I can try to think of something that angers me and see if that brings out the power.” It’s a good thing I have enough things in my life to think back to angry moments. I almost laugh at how sad that sounds.

  “Doesn’t always have to be anger,” Braxton clarifies. “Any strong emotions.”

  “Does that include being aroused?” Dante asks.

  Why am I not surprised by the question?

  I meet his golden eyes as he smiles like the Cheshire cat, full of mischief. I poke my tongue out at him.

  “I say we try this out,” I murmur. “Let’s see if this works, then we build up the training from there.”

  “Yes!” Dante shoots to his feet from where he sat on the ground, his fingers pulling at the buckle on his jeans. I can practically sense the change in the air from his sudden enthusiasm.

  “Keep your pants on,” Finn comes to my rescue. “She’s not talking about arousal. And I agree, we try this out with anger, since it’s what activated your ability last time.”

  “Fuck!” Dante clicks his tongue and glares at Finn. “Can’t we at least make this fun?”

  I’m on my feet and head over to Dante, every eye on me. I place a hand on his chest, which quiets him. I’m no fool and know every guy around me wants what Dante blurted. Hell, I do too, but Finn is right. Plus, when Alexander took me in the bathroom, I was aroused beyond belief and there was no flicker of power.

  “You and me, later,” I whisper, giving him my best seductive look. As much as I feel like I’m placating him, in truth, I crave Dante…I crave all of them and would love nothing more than to just have sex with them and have fun at this holiday home.

  The small fact that, one, I just thought those words, and two, I haven’t blushed, shows how much of an influence the men have had on me.

  Dante winks as the breeze ruffles his golden hair, making him look like a model who just stepped off the cover of a magazine with his rugged, chiseled look, and his tee pulling taut across his strong chest. Fresh desire tightens my belly, but I turn away because I am losing focus.

  “Take it easy, kitten,” Alexander says with a mocking tone. “None of us are going anywhere, so no need to rush to please us all at once.”

  His mocking words irk me. I snap toward him. He displays his grin and an expression fueled by mockery. I see exactly what he’s doing. The fury burning in my chest means he succeeded.

  “Touché,” I say and stare out toward the beach where there’s no one in sight, which means no one will see us if we try this out near the beach. I don’t want to somehow destroy this house, considering I have no idea what I am capable of.

  Alexander’s mouth parts with some smart-ass response I’m sure, but I don’t give him a chance to answer. “Are we doing this or what?” I toss over my shoulder as I head toward the beach.

  A figure steps out from the small wooden shed where water gear is stored. It’s about fifteen feet away. But it takes me several seconds for my brain to settle on who steps into view. Red hair flutters in the sea breeze over her shoulders.

  A strong cocktail of fear and disbelief punches me in the gut. I want to scream that we’re too late, that we are too fucking late.

  But the explosion of growls and the thump of chairs falling over coming from behind me tells me my men know we’re too late to train any further.

  Danger has found u
s, and the time for training ends now.

  Clarissa whirls in my direction, revealing her fangs, sharpened at the tips. Fuck! Why the hell is she here?

  She has never stopped hating me, and now she wants a piece of me before the council digs their claws into me. I throw a glance over my shoulder as my men are all on their feet, fangs out, posed to battle to the end. Seven large brutes drop down to the ground from the roof, making a grand entrance. It shows how distracted we all are around each other that they were able to sneak up on us and none of us suspected a damn thing.

  That’s definitely a problem.

  I don’t recognize any of them which tells me there are groups of vamps scouring the land for us. And it just so happens that the bitch of all bitches joined this group.

  I swing back to Clarissa, who prowls closer like a demonic shadow, her sights set on me.

  My heart thunders in my chest. I feel trapped, and the fear of what is about to happen wraps around me, squeezing the life out of my lungs.

  “What the fuck do you want?” I growl in my small voice, lifting my chin to make myself look bigger.

  “Do you really think Alexander and the others see you as anything else but food?” she purrs. “They’re feeding on you, and you think it’s love. How disastrously pathetic of you.”

  My legs refuse to move even if my head screams to run.

  “I should have known you’d be here,” I grit out, drawing backward. “You’re a rat that will always want what you can’t have.”

  “You’re not in a position to insult me,” she snarls. “Hand yourself over to me now, and your loves may be spared. Don’t be the cause of their deaths.”

  I clench my fists at her presence, at her words. All I see when I look at her is her ugly anger and jealousy. If she had a heart, it would be black as the night.

  Connor rushes to my side, an arm looping around my waist, drawing me against him. “We need to get out of here now,” he whispers protectively in my ear.

  Suddenly, Clarissa flies at me.

  Behind me, the commotion of battle shatters the air. My heart sinks through me.