“You’re so beautiful.” He kissed me long and slow, while teasing my nipples until they hardened. The warmth from his body heated my skin. His erection pressed against my stomach. I felt light-headed.
By the time he released my mouth, I was panting. A dull ache throbbed between my legs.
He took a nipple in his mouth, caressing it with his tongue. I moaned, pressing into his mouth. With one arm around my waist, his free hand slid between our bodies, and into my panties. He slid a finger over my wet core. My knees gave out, but Jaxon held me in place.
“Please,” I begged. He was driving me wild with his fingers and mouth.
In one fluid movement, he peeled off my underwear and swept me into his arms. He sat down on the loveseat against the wall. Turning me in his arms, he positioned me so that I straddled him.
Jaxon took a moment to wave a hand over his crotch. Catching my quizzical look, he said, “Protection.” I was grateful one of us was thinking straight.
He held my hips, slowly lowering me onto his cock. I gasped as he slid me down his hard length. My inner muscles relaxing to accommodate his girth. All the way in me, he paused, leaving one hand on my hip while the other massaged my breasts.
Then he set a slow rhythm, up and down. Jaxon kissed me slow and sensual. He moved his lips to my nipples. As pressure and heat built in me, I tried to speed up, but he held my hips steady. I whimpered.
“Patience,” he said, taking my ravaged nipple in his mouth again.
I threw my head back, digging my fingers into his shoulders. My core tightened, promising release, but he wasn’t giving it to me.
He ran his hot tongue up my neck. A smug, masculine grin pulled at his lips. “You want to come?”
“Yes,” I breathed.
“Say my name.”
“Jaxon.”
He gripped my hips with both hands, holding my body in place as he pumped into me. My breath came in quick, shallow bursts as my core tightened.
“Say it again.” He groaned, thrusting faster. Those intense grey eyes focused completely on me.
“Jaxon!” I exploded in a mind-shattering orgasm.
His features twisted in sexual agony as a prolonged growl wrenched from his throat.
I collapsed against his heaving chest. His arms surrounded me, clutching me to him. I let myself float, eyes closed, listening to the sound of his heartbeat. The fine, golden hair on his chest tickled my cheek.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, his warm breath on my neck making me shudder.
“Mmmm,” I answered.
I could hear the smile in his voice when he said, “That good, huh?”
Jaxon slid me off of him. He settled back, with his long legs hanging over the side of the loveseat, and nestled me next to him. He took the soft, fuzzy blanket that was folded on the back of the couch and spread it over us.
I snuggled into the warmth of him. I could have stayed there forever and been happy.
* * *
A while later I was dressed, being nuzzled from behind by a shirtless Jaxon. I’d been trying to leave his office for at least the past twenty minutes. But neither of us could keep our hands off each other.
“I really need to go.” I tried for a stern tone, and failed because I couldn’t stop smiling.
“What’s the rush?” He lips seized my earlobe.
“I’m supposed to be confined to my room, unless I’ve been directly summoned.” I knew it was a lame excuse. The truth was I didn’t want to press my luck. Any moment we’d find something to argue about and it would ruin the memory of this time together. I wanted to preserve this in my mind—untainted.
“I did directly summon you,” he said into my hair.
Plus, my heart was still fluttering. I had to get some distance, and with it a bit of perspective. I had a feeling I was developing, well, feelings for Jaxon. Like real and intense ones. Or was that just the euphoria from sex?
“Why don’t you come upstairs—”
Two knocks sounded on the door. “Jaxon? You in there?” It was Angel.
“Shit!” Jaxon scooped up his shirt, trying to separate the T-shirt from the collared one.
“Dude, I need to talk to you,” Angel said through the door.
Jaxon was acting like a teenager caught with a girl in his bedroom by his parents.
“What are you doing?” I asked. “Should I let him in?”
“No!” He raked a hand through his hair. “Fuck. Yes, we’d better deal with this now.”
Anxiety flooded my veins at his tone. Did he not trust Angel to keep our secret? “Deal with what?”
“Just let him in.” He sounded resigned. But to what?
I opened his office door. Angel’s eyes widened at seeing me there, then he glared past me at Jaxon.
“You son of a bitch!” Angel charged into the office. He walked right up to Jaxon and punched him in the face. Then continued to pummel him, calling him all kinds of horrible names.
I clamped my hands over my mouth. What the hell was wrong with Angel? Or, rather, what the hell had Jaxon done to deserve this? He wasn’t fighting back, but taking each hit with a grimace.
Liam strode into the room. Immediately, he was pulling Angel off Jaxon. Once he’d managed to separate the two, he placed himself between them.
“What is going on?” Liam asked, bewildered. “What happened?”
Angel’s eyes glowed yellow, he growled. “That son of a bitch had sex with her. He thought he could prove that she’s all his. Sneaking around behind our backs—even after what we talked about.”
Whoa. What the fuck?
Clarity shone in Liam’s gaze. His lips tightened in a firm line. “Is this true, Jaxon?” His tone held both disappointment and hurt.
“I didn’t plan for this to happen. It just happened. I wasn’t trying to be sneaky.” Jaxon returned Angel’s glare.
Liam turned to me. “You should leave, Caprice.”
“I don’t think so.” I folded my arms. “What’s going on?”
“We’re fighting over you,” Jaxon said.
I took in each of their expressions. He wasn’t joking. “That’s ridiculous,” I said. “Why would you do that?”
“Because we’re a bunch of jealous idiots.” Liam sighed. “You may have to choose one of us.”
My inner dragon lashed out, filling me with annoyance. This was so unfair. They could’t tell me what to do. Or who to love. Or even who to lust after.
I studied the three of them. Already, I was developing feelings for Jaxon, maybe ones beyond simple lust. A fluttering tickled in my stomach.
Then there was Liam, sweet and hot. My chest welled with longing for him. He’d avoided my advances before, but wouldn’t tell me why. Maybe he’d changed his mind?
Angel was still a mystery. So reserved, yet he made my pulse race. He’d nearly beaten Aimes to death—for me.
I couldn’t choose between them. It was impossible. And I shouldn’t have to, right? Being with only one man went against every instinct my dragon-shifter had. At the same time, it seemed selfish to have all three of them. If that was even possible. Was it?
I lifted my chin. “No. I’m not going to be some prize for one of you. And I won’t choose between you, so…you all will just have to figure out how to make this work.” Since we were apparently all going against the king’s orders. This was our secret now. I backed into the hallway, leaving Jaxon, Angel, and Liam in stunned silence.
25
Caprice
I walked the outer campus pathway with May. We were both bundled up in thick layers, leaving boot prints in the couple inches of snow that had accumulated so far that night. In a matter of hours the Academy had transformed into a winter wonderland.
We strolled in companionable silence. The question on my mind was…could I go through with my plan to kill the Tromara’s leader? Did he want me because I was unique, being a dragon-shifter? How powerful was I compared to other supernaturals? Did anyone know?
H
e could be afraid of me. Wanting to keep me close so I couldn’t pose a threat to him. Too many possibilities swam around in my brain. And a lot of hopeful thinking.
“Now that we know I’m a dragon-shifter,” I said, “do you think we can believe the theories in the books?”
May’s breath escaped in a foggy cloud. “I don’t know. When the Council Queen—Isabella—gets back to you, we’ll know more. I hope. In the meantime, Dean Wright has agreed to let you switch over to shifter classes. We’ll move you into the shifter dorm, too.”
I wondered what was taking Isabella so long. She did have to talk to the European Supernatural Council, then they had to find other dragon-shifters—if there were any. It could be months before they had any news for us. And unless I managed to get out of the Culling Club, I had less than five months before the Tromara took me.
Not losing hope was going to be a real challenge. I knew what I needed to do, but I was alone with my plan to defeat the Tromara from the inside. The guys would shut me down in an instant. May…I didn’t want to get her involved. Yep, I was completely on my own.
May eyed me. “Liam told me what happened between you and the guys.”
I snorted. “Yeah, that’s a mess.”
“It will be okay though. I have complete faith that they’ll work it out with you.”
I wasn’t so sure. The last thing I wanted to do was drive a wedge between them. They’d been friends since childhood. Who was I to endanger their friendship? I felt guilty about telling them I wouldn’t choose. Maybe I should take it back.
Jaxon was great. I really liked him. But if I chose him, would that really save his friendship with Liam and Angel? Or would it make the whole situation worse?
The bigger question was, could I go against my nature and be only his?
None of this would matter if I was enslaved by the Tromara for life. Learning how I could defeat them needed to be my number one priority.
“You’re quiet tonight,” May said. “Anything on your mind that I can help with?”
I shook my head. “I don't’ think so.” I glanced at the tall witch. “You’re quieter than usual too.”
She grimaced. “I know. But it’s nothing you or anyone else can help me with.”
“So we’re both screwed?” I kept my tone light.
“Pretty much. Come on. I’ll show you the Freeman Dorm.”
A staff member in the Dean’s Hall gave me the key to my new room assignment. May and I trudged through the deepening snow toward Freeman Dorm, where the shifter students lived. My room was on the second floor again, this time at the back of the building.
The first thing I noticed was the single bed. “No roommate?” I asked.
May nodded. “Yeah, um.” She sighed. “Honestly, Caprice, no one knows what to do with you. We don’t know what a dragon-shifter can do, how powerful you might be, or much else about you.”
“So, you’re afraid of me?”
“I’m not. But the other students might be. Dean Wright met with the shifter teachers, and they have mixed feelings about you.” She gave me a sympathetic smile. “Don’t tell them I told you any of this. I just wanted to give you a heads up.”
She was saying that the shifters weren’t going to welcome me. Even among my own kind, I was an outcast. Deja fucking vu.
* * *
My first class was Shifter Physiology. I sprinted up to the third floor in Fotia Hall, muttering curses at myself for being late. This Hall had the same layout as Gi and Aeras on the other side of the big lawn. Made from blocks of stone, with thick wooden doors, it held three floors of various types of classrooms.
I stepped into an auditorium style room where the teacher had already begun today’s lecture. He was an attractive, massive black-skinned man with short hair, dressed in the instructor’s uniform of trousers and white dress shirt. Behind him, on the chalkboard, was a name: Montrell Freeman.
Freeman. As in Freeman Hall, and the shifter family that sat on the Supernatural Council.
I took a seat in the back row. Mr. Freeman halted his lecture, staring at me with intense hazel eyes.
“That’s a five point deduction for tardiness, Ms. Sorrentino.” His voice was low and silky smooth.
I gaped at him. He was taking points away from me?
Without thinking, I said, “I’m already at the bottom of the points board.”
“That’s another five points for talking back.” Montrell Freeman launched back into his lecture. Which I was too annoyed to pay attention to.
I gritted my teeth. Obviously, this guy wanted me gone sooner than later. The Tromara would either take me at the end of this year, if I was culled, which was looking pretty damned likely right now, or when I graduated next year. I sucked in a deep breath, trying to settle my nerves.
My preference, of course, was to be taken after graduation. I needed to discover, and then master my dragon-shifting skills. I needed to learn how to defeat the king.
I looked hard at the teacher. He avoided my stare, focusing his attention on the front row as he spoke. I might also find time to figure out why Montrell Freeman, fellow royal and heir to the shifter council seat, disliked me so much.
To be continued…
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Get book two here: Academy Obscura: The Fiery Shifter.
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Ignite: An Academy Obscura Prequel Novella
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* * *
Attending university was supposed to be an exciting, liberating experience, not a threat to my life.
I was your average pre-law student, with a predictable and bright future. Until I meet the gorgeous, mysterious bad boy Tyler Chase. His intoxicating presence changes my whole world.
One night I see something I'm not supposed to, and Tyler’s actions resurrect a dangerous secret. That secret, hidden for generations, puts me and my family at risk of a fate worse than death.
How can I keep us safe in a suddenly perilous world teeming with deadly supernaturals?
Author’s Note: This is a prequel novella, following Elena and Tyler, that leads into the Academy Obscura series. Contains language, steamy scenes, violence, and possibly triggering situations. Recommended for mature readers.
Academy Obscura: The Fiery Shifter - Chapter One
I was sitting in my dorm room doing the first homework assignments for winter term when a knock sounded on my door. I scrambled off the bed and went to answer it. My brows rose in question as I gazed up at Liam’s handsome face.
“We want to talk with you about…us,” he said, searching my eyes.
I nodded, grabbed my coat and stepped into the hallway. “Do they always send you to get me, or do you volunteer?” It sure seemed like every time the guys wanted to talk to me, Liam appeared at my door.
His moss green eyes sparkled. “I volunteer. I use my fae emotion-sensing advantage as the primary reason that it should be me.”
“So you always know how I’m feeling?” That thought unsettled me.
He nodded.
“Doesn’t that get exhausting?” I walked with him into the cold night air, not having to ask where we were headed. We always met up at Jaxon’s apartment in Academy Hall, which was next door to where I lived with the rest of the beast-shifters and shapeshifters in Freeman Dorm.
Liam chuckled. “Sometimes.”
My heart fluttered at the warm sound of his laugh.
“But I couldn’t imagine life without it,” he continued. “Not sensing emotion for me would be the same as being blind or deaf to you.”
I glanced at him as we strolled along the well-lit pathway. His unruly red hair fell across his forehead. Below a faint smattering of freckles across his nose, were the most luscious ruddy lips.
He c
leared his throat, most likely getting hit with a wave of my lust. There wasn’t anything I could do about the lust, it seemed to go along with being a dragon-shifter. As did wanting more than one man. I hoped Liam, Jaxon, and Angel had worked out a way that I didn’t have to choose. I told them I wasn’t going to be some prize for one of them. If they wanted me, they’d have to share.
“I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to say this,” Liam said, “but I wanted to thank you for saving my life in the woods. Those Tromara took me completely off guard. Anyway, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” An embarrassed blush heated my face. “Though, I still owe you big for how many times you came to my rescue last term.” I owed all three of them.
Liam smiled down at me. “You don’t owe me. I like being your knight in shining armor whenever I can.”
I touched his bicep. “You’re sweet.”
He cringed.
“What? I’m sorry. I—”
He halted, turning to face me, his hands on my shoulders. He gave them a gentle squeeze. “No man wants to be called sweet.”
I had a feeling his reaction was more personal than that. Liam totally fit in the category of nice guys finished last. He was sensitive, sweet, and had no idea how attractive he was. The last thing I wanted to do was make him feel unmanly.
“Okay,” I said. “Sorry.”
“Don’t feel bad.” He caressed my cheek.
A shiver ran through me at his touch. I turned my head, planting a kiss in his palm. He sucked in a breath, those gentle eyes becoming hooded with desire.
“We’d better keep walking,” he said in a hushed voice.
The sexual tension between us was palpable, as we stood gazing at each other. I glanced at his lips, wanting more than anything to kiss them. But this wasn’t the right time. The guys and I needed to figure this out before more feelings were hurt.
Academy Obscura: The Flame Within Page 20