Finally, my lust-addled brain kicked in. This wasn’t natural. Nothing of this was natural. Why did the air smell of flowers? Why did the scent make my excitement spiral higher, making me feel overheated? My fingers spasmed, and I had to stop touching myself. Immediately, I groaned in desperation.
“Oh my god, I need something inside of me,” I whispered. I rolled to my belly, grabbed my pillow, and pulled it between my legs. Then I humped and rubbed, feeling completely out of control. I kicked off my panties, wheezing and gasping for the feel of rough fabric against my most sensitive parts.
Somebody stood beside my bed. “Look at you. I knew you’d be ripe for me. I’m going to enjoy this assignment. I see Bethany isn’t here, but now that you know what I am, I have no choice. Hmmmm. Your frustration is so sweet on my tongue, I’ll let you come as often as you want before I kill you.”
I wanted to say, “I’m not Beth,” but all that came out of my mouth was another wanton moan. It was dark in the room, yet the man’s eyes were lit with an unholy amber fire. Sibelius. I knew there was something weird about the guy.
That was the last coherent thought I had.
His hand landed heavily on my naked ass, and where he touched, the skin burned. The sensation ran straight to my clit, and I shivered. My whole sex pulsed as I rubbed frantically against my pillow. I could feel how wet the fabric had become as I writhed on it, struggling against his hold.
Sibelius slapped me twice more, bringing me closer to an orgasm with each swat. Then his hand pushed down hard enough that I couldn’t move up and down anymore. I wriggled from side to side as his fingers found their way to my butthole. I’d only been touched there once, but there was no hesitation in my mind. I wanted him inside. I wanted him now. I wanted his fingers, his cock, whatever he would give me.
Distantly, I remembered he’d said something about killing Beth. Or me. Or both of us. I didn’t care. My clit was burning, and I needed to come. Right fucking now.
His fingers were slippery with whatever he’d coated them with. He pushed one into my hole, and I screamed. The slight burn spread across my sex, and that was it. I flew. My whole body lit up, my inner muscles contracted over and over, and I shivered through an orgasm. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t hear. Yet lights flashed across the inside of my eyelids, and the feeling of release was so powerful, I stopped breathing.
“That’s it. I want you to feel so good you can’t tell the difference between pleasure and pain.”
No. The rush faded, and my thoughts cleared. This wasn’t right. How could I have such a devastating orgasm from a finger in my ass? Something was wrong, wrong, wrong. I turned my head, wanting to protest, when he moved his second hand under my pelvis and grabbed my entire pussy. His strange eyes lit up his face so I could see the tension around his mouth. When he noticed me look, he smiled, throwing a kiss at me.
“Just enjoy it. As long as you’re conscious, you’ll feel pleasure. I’ll take care of the rest.”
Oh, my God. Creepy much? I wanted to protest, but he mumbled something while staring at my face. The smell of wildflowers became so overwhelming, the air thickened with it. I had no choice but to draw the scent into me. Something happened between his hands. A gentle hum connected his fingers, and the vibrations traveled from my pussy to my ass.
My eyes widened. Holy shit, what was happening to me? A wave of intense lust swelled. My entire body stiffened and my back bowed. The feeling grew higher and higher until I stopped breathing, and my eyes rolled back in their sockets. I threw my head back and came again. Except this time it didn’t stop. My clit and pussy and ass contracted again and again, and Sibelius moaned as loudly as I did.
I must have passed out, because when I came back to myself, my teacher was kneeling in front of me, staring intently at my face.
“One more, and you’re done,” he whispered before brushing my hair away from my sweaty forehead.
“Done with what?” I wanted to ask. Then I remembered. Done with life. Somehow, I didn’t mind. His face shone like the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. If I died at his hands, it would be the most glorious death. There was nothing worth living for after the orgasms he’d given me.
He put his hand back on my pussy and pushed two fingers into me. Wiggling them, he rubbed against that spot inside of me I’d discovered only recently. My fingers had never felt like that, though. While I was still pondering why that was, the penny dropped. Sibelius was the sex-demon who’d killed Beth’s dad. I’d always assumed it had been a woman, a succubus. But maybe Beth’s dad had swung both ways. I’d never be able to find out, because the last orgasm of my short life was growing under his ministrations.
My mind emptied in preparation for eternal darkness. Sibelius pushed something bigger into my butt, but the pain added to the incredible stimulation of every single nerve ending in my body. My pussy and ass clenched, and the feeling grew, and—a hiss of pain erupted from my killer. He pulled his hands off me, but I was too far gone. Vaguely, I heard a cat scream while my final orgasm rushed through me until my synapses surrendered, and I blacked out from the ultimate pleasure a human could ever feel.
13
Something scraped my face. I kept my eyes closed, trying to take stock of what had happened to me. I hurt all over.
Worse, the incubus’s rough tongue was still licking along my jawline and irritating my skin. Instead of moaning, reliving the all-consuming passion meant to murder me, I shrieked in disgust.
Using both hands, I shoved the demon away from me. I wasn’t quite awake yet, but the indignant noise came from Slug as he scrabbled at my blanket to avoid falling off. His loud complaint woke me up the rest of the way.
I scrambled, pushing backwards with my legs until my back was wedged against the corner of the wall. Grabbing my cover, I pulled it to my chin, my eyes searching wildly across the room. There was no one there.
No one except Slug. He sat in front of me on the mattress, his head tilted to the side, and his intense eyes trained on my face. My heart was beating so fast, I was sure he must have heard the noise with his sensitive cat ears. I forced myself to take steady breaths, even though my body was flooded with stress hormones.
Slug waited for a moment before approaching me, and soon, a warm, furry body pressed itself into my arms. I grabbed hold of him as if he were an anchor, burying my face between his shoulder blade and sobbing harshly. I ached all over, my ass was sore, both where he’d slapped and penetrated me. I could still feel the remnants of lust and ecstasy coursing through me, but now I felt dirty. I needed to wash the incubus’s touch off me. But not yet.
Slug rumbled and dropped his head under my chin, as he often did when I was upset. I ran the events of the previous night through my mind. Something didn’t add up. Where had Slug come from? I’d locked him in the bathroom.
Could the incubus have let him out? But why would he have done that? I stared at my furry friend, who’d curled up in my lap and was about to nod off. I remembered hearing a cat, just as I’d passed out. Could it be…? Was Slug the reason the demon hadn’t finished the job?
As if feeling my gaze on him, he blinked, then yawned, his jaws opening as wide as they could go. Two seconds later, he’d gone to sleep, his weight heavy and comfortable on top of me.
“I love you,” I whispered at his motionless form. “You have no idea how much. Sometimes, it feels like you’re my closest friend.”
He opened one eye to give me an all too human glare before nodding off again. I watched him sleep, his bulk enough to make it hard to breathe. But I drew so much comfort from his little snores, I continued stroking his broad head while I tried to come to terms with what my teacher had done to me.
Mr. Sibelius is a murderous sex demon. He came to find Beth. Beth’s father was killed by an incubus. Is Sibelius the murderer? Sure looks like it.
I pulled my shoulders to my ears and pressed myself harder against the wall as the realization sank in how close I’d come to never waking up. So this is what sh
ock feels like. Chills ran up and down my arms. Nothing was substantial, and everything a dream.
If it weren’t for Slug anchoring me to reality, I’d probably be catatonic. As it was, the cat’s unpleasant body odor permeated the space as surely as his very solid, physical presence. I stared at him as I continued to stroke him mechanically.
What life did he lead before we met? He had some nasty scars on his head and one ear was torn. Clearly, he was a survivor. Ever since I’d found him, he seemed to give me strength when I most needed it. He calmed me down. I fed him and made sure he was looked after, but Slug had repaid me many times over.
I bent over and scooped him up to my chest as much as I could, given his bulk. His ears flickered, but he didn’t fight me. My train of thought continued, barreling down to the inevitable conclusion. The sex demon hadn’t meant to come after me. His job had been to seduce and kill Beth. Somehow, I’d drawn him upon me. I didn’t know why that would be. It wasn’t my looks or personality.
The guy was a hired assassin, paid to take out his target. So what had made him attack me in the first place and then leave with his mission unfinished? Had Slug really driven him off? Because why else was I still alive, a witness to his identity?
I squeezed my eyes shut, so scared I wanted to throw up. I had to go and find the boys to tell them what had happened. Maybe they knew what to do next. I was way out of my depth with all these non-humans.
I pushed Slug away just enough to allow me to slip out from under my cover. Scanning the room carefully, I made sure there was nobody hiding under my bed or in the small bathroom. I grabbed a towel and crossed the few yards to the communal shower down the hallway, hyper-aware of my environment.
The hot water tank allowed most of the students in the dorm to take a quick shower. But if you got up late, you might have to contend with lukewarm water.
I felt so dirty after the incubus’s attack, I washed and showered in the hot water until my fingertips shriveled and the temperature dropped to below lukewarm.
I didn’t care. I stayed under the cooling shower until I shivered. Only then did I dry myself off, feeling halfway back to human. After I’d gotten dressed, I looked out of my window.
It was pitch-dark outside, but I had no choice. I could either stay here, trying to go back to sleep with all the lights on in my bedroom, or run to the boys’ dorm and hope to find safety in numbers. My first option wasn’t going to happen. There was a lock on the door, sure, but this guy was a trained assassin. A closed door wouldn’t stop him.
So I grabbed my coat and tiptoed out of the room before Slug noticed. I was sure Sibelius wouldn’t come back for the cat while I was gone. But if he found Slug outside, with no witnesses? No, he was safer locked into my bedroom.
I got as far as the exit of my building where I stopped. Looking through the glass pane to the campus outside, I planned out the safest route.
The odd lamppost was dotted across the area, but the square between the academy wings was not exactly well lit. Each of the overflow classroom huts created a large shadow where somebody might hide and wait for me.
The campus was completely deserted. All the students had retired for the night, it seemed. But there were guards outside. Originally, I’d assumed they were there to keep threats away from us. But Lawson was in charge of the campus patrol. That meant they weren’t our guardians, but our prison wardens.
I hated Lawson. I didn’t trust Farkas. An assassin was on the grounds to kill Beth, and as far as I knew, might already be on his way back to eliminate me as a witness. What the hell was I supposed to do?
I kept myself out of direct sight, pressed against the wall next to the door, and stared out. Nothing moved. After many long minutes, I breathed a little easier.
I thought of Kiernan and Lance and Julian. I imagined their arms around me, holding me safe. They would protect me as much as they could. Together, we were stronger.
I checked again. Still nobody outside. Now or never. I pushed the door open, checking one last time, and ran for it. I half-expected to be intercepted by Sibelius or Lawson, but I made it to the boys’ dorm in record time.
My heart was pounding frantically as I drove so hard against the entrance door that I lost my footing. I stumbled along the hallway, trying not to fall on my face. It took me two seconds flat to arrive at Kiernan’s room.
Banging my fist against the wood, I whisper-shouted, “Let me in. Please, let me in.”
It seemed to take forever, but it was only as long as it took Kiernan to get up, cross the room, and pull the door open. I broke into a relieved smile, which quickly turned into confusion. Instead of Kiernan, Lance stood in front of me.
“Lance? Did I get the wrong room?”
Lance shook his head, avoiding eye contact. Stepping aside, he allowed me to enter. I peeked past him, hoping to see Kiernan.
His bed was empty. Julian sat in the second bed, rubbing his eyes, his black hair tussled. Any other time I would have thought he looked adorable. Now I didn’t have the luxury to gawk.
“Where is Kiernan?” I asked.
Lance walked to the empty bed and got under the cover while I stared at him. He said, “Come here. Close the door. I’ll tell you what happened.”
A heavy feeling grew in my stomach. Something was wrong. I did as requested and sat down on Kiernan’s mattress. Lance scooted up and pulled the blanket around my shoulders. I hadn’t realized I was trembling. The warmth felt nice, but Kiernan’s scent was so faint, I could barely make it out.
Lance still couldn’t meet my eyes. I waited as long as I could before snapping at him. “Tell me. Where’s Kiernan?”
14
Lance still couldn’t meet my eyes. I waited as long as I could before snapping at him. “Tell me. Where’s Kiernan?”
Lance was visibly struggling to get the words out. I pulled the cover tighter around me, my shaking intensifying. What could possibly have happened to Kiernan that Lance couldn’t come out with it? While I was focused on Lance, I’d missed Julian getting up and joining us on Kiernan’s bed. He shuffled underneath the cover’s bottom end, pushing our feet out of the way and slotting his legs between ours.
But despite being bracketed by two warm bodies either side of me, dread surged through me like an icy tsunami. What weren’t they telling me? Had Sibelius gotten to him? My chest ached with growing fear.
Finally, Lance said, “He’s gone. He—”
I interrupted him. “What? What do you mean he’s gone? Where is he, Lance?”
My voice was rising in pitch and volume, and Lance looked like he wanted to sink into the floor. I remembered just in time I didn’t do hysterical and dialed it back. My fingers felt like ice, but it had nothing to do with the room temperature. Under my ribcage, a purple ball of energy churned and twisted.
“Where is Kiernan?” I was proud of how calm I sounded, but I couldn’t keep the menace out of it. If anything had happened to him, if Lawson or the demon had snatched him, I would burn the fucking place down.
“His mother came and picked him up. He won’t be returning for the rest of this year.”
Julian’s voice sounded as pissed as I’d ever heard him. I stared at him, my mouth dropped open. Not dead then. But gone nonetheless. This couldn’t be happening. Just when I needed him most, the boy I thought was the least flaky of the three had abandoned me.
Lance and Julian waited for my response. I couldn’t seem to focus on the next thing to ask. It took me a while as my thoughts were tumbling over each other. Eventually, I squeaked out, “Gone for good?”
Lance nodded. The wave that had been building up crested over my head and swept me away. He left me, just like my mom and dad before. I hugged my knees and buried my face. Sobs wrecked my body, shaking me so hard, the bed was moving.
In the back of my mind, I was dimly aware I was having a breakdown, but I couldn’t stop. It was all too much. Every day I was living in fear, the abductions, the assault, and now Kiernan’s abandonment.
/> Somebody manhandled me as if I were a child. Lance pulled me against him, holding me tightly. Julian scooted up, and together they maneuvered me as if I were a doll. There wasn’t enough space for three adults in the single bed, but somehow, we made it work.
I ended up on top of Lance, surrounded by his arms. Julian was wedged sideways between us and the wall. He rubbed my shoulders and head and whispered soothingly.
Eventually, my tears stopped and only the occasional hiccup escaped my sore chest.
Julian went to the bathroom, and when he returned, he wordlessly handed me a wet cloth. I took it and pressed the warm fabric against my eyes. My hands were still icy, but my face was burning. Taking a deep inhale, I pushed away from Lance into a sitting position. It was time to tell them why I was freaking out so badly.
“Something happened tonight.”
As I filled them in, I watched their expressions carefully. I told them our teacher was the assassin who’d killed Beth’s father. Lance’s face contorted in a murderous rage as I recalled what Sibelius had done. That he’d attacked me. And that I had no idea why I was still alive, given what he’d said to me before I passed out.
When I was finished, I was crying again. Julian had gone white as a sheet. His mouth hung open, and his eyes were wide and shocked.
“Oh my God,” he whispered. He ran his hands over my arms, his gaze intent, as if he wanted to check I was unhurt. His concern made me feel a little safer, cared for.
But after a moment, I became aware that Lance had stiffened. He sat upright, his entire body nearly vibrating with tension. His eyes were hard as pebbles, and his lips pressed so tightly together, they’d all but disappeared. I’d never seen anybody that angry.
My first instinct was to withdraw. Had it been a mistake to tell them? A searing pain tore through my heart as a thought occurred to me. Did he think less of me because of what Sibelius had done to me? Did he blame me?
Second Chance Hope: a paranormal reverse harem academy adventure (Second Chance Academy Book 3) Page 6