Ella's Masquerade: A Midnight Fae Academy Prequel

by Lexi C. Foss

  I kissed a path down her throat to her cleavage, my hand finding the zipper at her side to remove the fabric in the way of my exploration.

  She didn’t object, her nipples beading in anticipation as soon as I revealed them. I captured one between my teeth, nibbling and sucking and loving the way her back arched off the mattress. My name fell from her lips on a harsh sound that left me grinning against her sensitive peak.

  I fixed my attention on her opposite breast, giving her what she craved with my tongue while I pushed her loosened dress to her hips. “I love when you go braless,” I admitted on a whisper.

  “Only with dresses.” Her fingers combed through my hair, gripping my strands tightly. “Straps can be… a problem.”

  “Mmm,” I murmured. “A good problem.” I continued my path downward, my hands guiding the fabric along her legs as I went until I had her naked before me. “Spread your thighs for me, Ella. Invite me to devour you.”

  Her blue eyes smoldered, a challenge in her gaze as she slowly obeyed.

  It seemed the bedroom was the one place she didn’t argue.

  Good to know.

  I didn’t waste any time in introducing her properly to my tongue, her slick heat a flavor I intended to enjoy for eternity. And I showed her that with each slow, tender stroke, up and down, in and out, over and over again.

  She practically vibrated beneath my mouth, her pleasure mounting and expanding to a height I knew she’d yet to experience.

  All our previous sessions involved her pressing into my thigh, and a few times against my palm—over the clothes.

  This was something new.

  Her cries of approval telling me this would soon become a frequent activity.

  “Are you going to come for me, Ella?” I asked against her sensitive bud, my fingers sliding into her tight channel to prepare her for my much larger entry.

  “Tray…” She swallowed, her head tossed back in a sexy manner that invited me to bite her all over again. “Please, Tray.”

  “Oh, I do enjoy hearing you beg,” I mused, licking her again. “I think we’ll play more with that later.” But for now, I gave her what she needed, wrapping my mouth around the sensual point I knew would push her over the edge.

  She fell apart on a scream that put all my fantasies to shame.

  Because Ella in the throes of passion was the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen.

  She didn’t hold back.

  Didn’t shy away from her pleasure.

  No, she owned every damn second.

  “Wow,” she breathed, coming back down, her hair fanned around her in an illustrious wave that beckoned to my fingers.

  I crawled over her, kissing her soundly and allowing her to taste herself on my tongue.

  She whimpered in response, a needy little sound that had my cock throbbing against her wetness below.

  “Are you okay with this?” I asked her softly, my palms cradling her face while I held her gaze. “We can stop right now, Ella. It’s your decision.”

  She shivered, her pupils dilating.

  And then she wrapped her legs around my waist, placing me directly at her entrance.

  “Be gentle with me,” she whispered.

  “I’ll always be whatever you need,” I vowed, taking her mouth to seal my pledge to her.

  She moaned as I slid inside her, slowly expanding her inch by inch, and flinched when I hit the barrier marking her as untouched. I pushed through, knowing it would hurt and silently promising to make it better for her as soon as she finished adjusting.

  Her nails bit into my back.

  Her breath hitched.

  Her body locked around me.

  I paused, lifting my head to watch her expression, noting the beautiful agony and pleasure mixing in her features.

  When she swallowed and nodded, I continued, paying careful attention to her changing emotions.

  Concern.

  Acceptance.

  Confusion.

  Pleasure.

  Her lips parted, a soft gasp escaping her as I slid out and back in, allowing her to feel the fullness of my entry. Introducing her to a tender pace. Making love to her. Worshiping her. Claiming her. Allowing her to own me in return.

  It went on for minutes, maybe hours.

  Until finally she urged me to really move, her arousal mounting between us with each stroke. I felt it in the way she clamped down around me, her cravings lashing out at me through the scoring of her fingertips.

  I introduced her to our bond.

  Our mating.

  Our future.

  Driving her to the precipice of oblivion and sinking my teeth into her flesh to hold her there while I followed her to the edge.

  And tumbled into a world of dark ecstasy with her, our bond skyrocketing to another level as a result of my second bite.

  The source of our power reverberated its approval, swathing us in a sea of vitality and strength. Joining our spirits, our futures, and our hearts in a bond of eternity neither of us could ever break.

  Cemented together.

  Two hearts beating as one.

  Mates.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Ella

  My body tingled all over from Tray’s attentions.

  He’d made love to me several times throughout the night, and again this morning in the shower before begrudgingly returning me to Darlington.

  I couldn’t stop smiling, even through my chores. Which were substantial today, thanks to the snow that fell overnight.

  Shovel this, Ella.

  Shovel that, Ella.

  I chanted the words in my head, grinning the entire time. Because I finally felt alive. Like for the first time in my life, I belonged somewhere.

  By Tray’s side.

  It was hard to part ways this morning, but we still had a plan to carry out. However, I wanted to up our timeline. What was the point of graduating high school if I had to attend the Midnight Fae Academy next year?

  A human degree wouldn’t be worth much in Tray’s world. His kind were essentially homeschooled until a certain age, the parents or tutors within their communities providing their general education and magical instruction. Then they attended the Academy, where they all mastered their powers and decided their place within their designated sects.

  I would join the royal community, not just because of my mating to Tray, but because of my bloodline. That was where Elite—

  Something hit my back, shoving me forward. My knees hit the pavement, the thin fabric of my jeans ripping on impact. I just barely saved my face by catching myself on my palms. “Shit,” I hissed as a tinkle of laughter sounded overhead.

  Ryan.

  “Careful, Cindersoot,” she drawled. “Daydreaming can be dangerous.”

  Carmen’s booted foot appeared by my head. “I bet she’s thinking about wherever she disappeared to last night.”

  “Yes, where were you all night, Ella?” Ryan asked, coming to stand beside her twin.

  Scowling, I shoved off the ground, only to be kicked hard in the abdomen. I curled onto my side, protecting my now tender torso.

  “Sorry, slipped,” Ryan said.

  I snorted. “Right.” Now my body tingled for an entirely new reason—rage.

  “Well, where were you?” Carmen demanded.

  “None of your fucking business,” I retorted, scowling up at her.

  Both of her sculpted eyebrows shot upward. “Excuse me?”

  “Sorry, for the hard of hearing, that means fuck you.” I rolled away before Ryan’s foot could “slip” again and scrambled backward in the snowy yard.

  “Did she really just say that to me?” Carmen asked. Her shock would have been comical if Ryan wasn’t already stalking after me.

  I was so not in the mood for this game today.

  With a strength fueled by adrenaline, I came up to my feet and held up my hands in front of me. “Try it,” I dared her.

  Ryan threw back her head and laughed, the sound holding a touch of craze
d cruelty. “Wow. Now I really want to know where you were last night. Something, or maybe someone, has really lit a fire under your ass.”

  Carmen trekked into the yard, grimacing as the wintry mix touched her jeans.

  She’d likely throw them away tonight, claiming they were too soiled to wear again.

  Spoiled bitch.

  “Where were you?” she repeated, clearly not getting the message the first time.

  So I tried a different approach. “In England.” I mean, that was the truth. She just wouldn’t believe me.

  “Cute,” she snapped. “Tell us where you were, or we’ll tell Mom you snuck out for the night.”

  I shrugged. “Go for it.” What the hell could Clarissa do to me? I was eighteen and no longer needed her expensive education.

  Ryan reached for me and I grabbed her wrist.

  A shock of energy traveled between us, sending her several feet backward with a curse as she collapsed into the snow.

  Oh, shit…

  “What the hell was that?” Carmen shrieked, looking between me and Ryan.

  “The bitch just shocked me!” her sister cried, cradling her wrist.

  I rolled my eyes and said the first thing that came to my mind. “Sorry. I slipped.”

  Carmen spun around, pinning me with a harsh look, and made the mistake of trying to poke me in the chest.

  That mere touch put her on her ass, energy humming protectively around me.

  Is Tray doing this somehow? I wondered.

  “Mother!” Ryan shouted, drawing my attention back to the wicked stepsisters on the ground.

  Carmen was out cold.

  Huh. That’s new.

  I lifted my hands to examine them while Ryan continued to call for Clarissa. I ignored her, too busy gaping at the blue embers dancing between my fingertips.

  Holy crap…

  I barely registered Clarissa’s angry voice, the sound at my back as I began walking away from the house. They could finish shoveling, for all I cared. This was far more important.

  Because either my powers had just flared to life or Tray had put a protective spell around me.

  In any case, I had questions only my mate could answer.

  Fortunately, I knew where to find him.

  Unfortunately, it was a several-mile walk.

  With a groan, I turned back around to find my bike, only to be stopped by a very angry stepmother in the driveway. “Where do you think you’re going, young lady?”

  “Out,” I replied, pushing past her and smiling at her shocked gasp behind me.

  Another idea occurred to me, one that had my lips pulling upward as I headed into the garage.

  Why bother with the bike?

  I’d take a car instead.

  Finding Ryan’s keys on the wall, I twirled them around my finger and approached her prized possession. She bellowed from the yard, coming to her feet. But I already had the door closed and locked before she hit the semi-shoveled pavement.

  This would be a fun experience.

  I knew how to drive because Clarissa taught me—how else would I get groceries for the family on Sundays?

  But I’d never taken Ryan’s pretty baby for a spin.

  Her sporty little two-seater purred to life, drowning out the shouts of my monsterous stepfamily.

  Ryan had the brilliant idea to jump into the middle of the driveway as I hit reverse.

  I focused on her in the mirror and backed out of the garage, deciding a game of chicken could be fun. I almost hoped she called my bluff.

  But as expected, she jumped out of the way at the last moment, her curses lost to the rev of the engine.

  I gave them all a little wave, grinning at their flabbergasted expressions, and gunned it out of the neighborhood.

  Oh, there would be hell to pay later.

  So worth it, I thought, navigating the freshly plowed roads with ease.

  Tray stood waiting for me on his porch, a broad smile on his face as I parked Ryan’s car haphazardly in the street. Maybe I’d get lucky and someone would scrape along the side of it.

  “I sensed your magic,” he said as he sauntered toward me. “What’d you do? Other than steal the queen bitch’s car?”

  “I zapped her,” I said, holding up my hands to show him the still-flickering embers. “Is it a protection spell or something?”

  He took my wrist to examine the blue sparks. “A protection spell?”

  “Like something you did?”

  His amused eyes lifted to mine. “No, El. This is all you, baby.” He laced our fingers together, the hum of electricity sizzling between us and intensifying. “Your power is growing by the second.” He sounded excited, tugging me through the threshold into his house and closing the door with his foot.

  “It wasn’t doing that until you touched me,” I whispered, marveling at the current heightening between us. “All I did was grab Ryan’s wrist, and it jolted her. Then Carmen tried to poke me, and the same thing happened, only it knocked her out.”

  “Your inner fae is coming alive,” he said, leading me into the kitchen. “What did they do?”

  “Shoved me,” I muttered. “Kicked me, too.”

  His nostrils flared, his grip tightening. “That explains the spell you evoked. It’s instinctual barrier magic. Or protection, as you surmised.”

  “But you didn’t cast it?”

  He shook his head. “No, you did.”

  “How?”

  “Natural defense. Similar to the fight-or-flight response. Your fae chose to fight.” He cracked another smile. “Ryan and Carmen are lucky to be alive.”

  I told him how I almost hit Ryan with her own car.

  Which earned me a harsh laugh in response.

  “Too bad,” he drawled. “Wouldn’t have killed her, but I’d enjoy seeing that bitch in a wheelchair.”

  As cruel as it sounded, I couldn’t exactly disagree. “We need to take them down, Tray.” Because once I was gone, they’d just find a replacement target. “I can’t let them pull this shit with someone else. The same goes for Dash and Charlie.”

  He palmed my cheek, his skin sizzling against mine. “We’ll destroy them,” he vowed, brushing his mouth over mine. “But first, we need to tame your power. Before you burn my house down.”

  I frowned. Yeah, I felt hot, but not that hot. “I’m hardly about to explode.”

  “No?” He cocked a brow and glanced over my shoulder. “Then why is my dining room on fire?”

  I spun around and gasped at the sapphire flames dancing over the wood table.

  And crawling up the wall.

  “Oh…” I covered my mouth.

  He circled my waist with his arms, his head touching mine as the fire slowly died, leaving scorch marks behind. “I need you to close your eyes, Isabella.”

  “Because that’ll help?” I scoffed, cringing as another inferno spun to life a few feet away.

  “Shh, trust me,” he whispered. “Close your eyes and picture yourself in the water, listening to the waves rushing the shore. Each cool, crisp drop touching the sand and drawing back, to rush forward again. Rhythmic. Soothing. Serene.”

  My breath raced out of me, his words seeming to calm some chaotic nerve inside me. I clutched his hands, holding on as I allowed the vision into my mind.

  “It’s flowing around you,” he continued softly. “All the water in the world, rippling beneath your fingertips, caressing your skin, blessing your spirit. Allow it to kiss you, Ella. Allow it to consume you.”

  I shuddered, my vision morphing into a whirlpool, swirling me in a violent circle, drawing me deeper into a black hole of madness and away from the sunlight.

  “Don’t fight it.” Tray’s lips were at my ear. “It’s not nearly as dark as it appears. I’m waiting for you there. Seek out our connection. Find me.”

  Inky ropes ensnared my waist, pulling me deeper. I whimpered, my heart jumping in my chest.

  This couldn’t be right.

  But I couldn’t open my mouth
to speak, the very real snakelike bands encircling my head and covering my lips.

  Yanking me under.

  Into a sea of perpetual magic.

  I blinked into my new oblivion, sparkling strands dancing beneath the surface and twining in glittering bands.

  One blinked brighter than the others, a beckoning of sorts, waving in the thick, dark waters.

  I swam toward it, my body suddenly free of the binds.

  Each stroke stirred a sense of rightness in my gut.

  Each kick awakened a new purpose.

  Until I reached the light and realized it wasn’t a light at all, but Tray.

  He welcomed me with open arms, his body a familiar warmth against mine, and spun me in a circle, his pride a kiss against my very spirit.

  I opened my eyes to find him gazing down at me with unshed tears in his eyes. “You’re beautiful, Ella,” he marveled, his expression radiating an emotion that warmed my heart. “The most beautiful Midnight Fae I’ve ever seen.”

  His mouth captured mine, his kiss igniting a tornado of sensations inside me.

  Heat engulfed me from head to toe.

  I threw my arms around his neck, no longer caring about the importance of breathing. He lifted me onto the counter, stepping in between my thighs and dominating me with his tongue.

  Somehow our clothes disappeared.

  Maybe I burned them off.

  Maybe he used magic.

  All I cared about was our joining below, which happened so suddenly and yet not fast enough. Tray drove into me, his lips catching my shocked cry, and his hands branding my sides.

  It felt so ethereal, as if we were making love in a dream and not in his kitchen.

  My body vibrated with need.

  Words fell from my mouth like a chant.

  He whispered my name in worship against my ear, my neck, my breasts.

  Every touch resembled a claim, every kiss a promise, every thrust an introduction to the future.

  I was utterly owned by Trayton Nacht.

  My head fell back on a scream, his teeth sinking into my neck.

  Smoky ribbons circled us, the ethereal energy a seal I felt to my very soul. My heart accepted the intrusion, allowing an anchor to settle against my chest—one I felt tied to Tray.