Clash (Academy of Unpredictable Magic Book 6)
Page 12
“Hey,” I say softly, so I don’t startle him as I approach.
Roman glances up as I come around the chair to face him and starts to get to his feet. “Hey, how’s—”
Before he can stand, I crawl onto his lap, straddling him as I wrap my arms around his neck and hug him tightly. He jerks slightly in surprise, but his arms go around me too, hugging me back.
“What’s up, Reckless? Is everything all right?”
I don’t even know how to say all that I’m feeling, so I don’t try to stumble my way through an explanation. I just kiss him.
His grip on me tightens, and he kisses me back. I can still feel the lingering confusion in him, the uncertainty about where this is coming from, but it doesn’t stop him from responding to my touch.
The masculine, leather and whiskey scent of him seems to saturate the air around us, filling my senses with Roman. I press myself closer to him, already feeling him harden against me as we both give in to the connection that flared between us the first time we ever met and has only grown stronger over time. A deep, bone deep, soul deep craving.
It was almost like my body knew, that night we met at The Den, that this man was perfect for me.
I’ve never really believed in fate or destiny. But I do believe in luck.
And I’m so goddamn lucky this man loves me.
His warm, firm lips move against mine, and when he dips his head to trail them over my neck, his stubble scratches the sensitive skin, making pleasurable goose bumps rise up. My fingers find his hair, threading through the soft, thick strands as I tilt my head, arching my back to offer up more of myself to his touch.
The loft has no door. It’s open to the living room below, connected to it by a staircase on one side of the room. Everyone at Liam’s compound is busy doing other things, so no one is downstairs, and they couldn’t really see us at this angle even if they were. But we’re not exactly in the most private spot.
Still, when has that ever stopped me and Roman?
He nips at the place where my shoulder meets my neck, and my clit throbs as my hands clutch his head harder.
God, I want him. I want to show him how good he makes me feel, how happy I am to be with him.
Tightening my grip on his silky black hair, I haul his face back up to mine and kiss him until I’m gasping for breath. When I finally pull away, I’m sure my cheeks are flushed, and Roman’s hair is perfectly mussed. I like him like this. I like to make him come undone a little.
And that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
It may be a little reckless, but hey, I gotta make sure I keep living up to the nickname he gave me, right?
Sliding off his lap, I stand in front of him, still holding his gaze with mine. He watches me carefully, his expression intense and unreadable as I drop to my knees in front of him. I press his legs open a little wider and slip between them, running my hands up and down his thighs, using my nails to scrape gently over the fabric of his pants. His legs tense beneath my touch, the firm muscles becoming rock hard as his eyes shift, the vivid blue deepening and the sparks of silver glinting like stars in a night sky.
“Reckless…” he murmurs, his voice rough as he runs a knuckle over my cheek.
I expect him to tell me we shouldn’t do this, to at least put up some resistance before he caves to his desire. But he doesn’t. He doesn’t try to stop me at all as I reach for the button of his pants and then work his fly down. I shove the fabric down a little and then reach inside his boxer briefs, palming his cock.
He lets out a noise somewhere between a growl and a groan, shifting his hips upward into my touch, and it spurs me on. I pull him out, adjusting his clothes just enough to give me access to what I need, then I wrap my fingers around the base of his shaft.
Roman has a beautiful fucking cock, and maybe it’s weird to say that, but it’s true. It’s long and thick, a little darker than the rest of his skin, and softer than silk. It’s a damn work of art, and the fact that he knows how to use it only makes it that much better. I run my hand over it, my touch teasing and light, and Roman grunts again.
“Put your mouth on me.”
The words are quiet and gruff. I can hear the strain in his voice already, and I fucking love it.
And he doesn’t have to tell me twice. I lick at the broad head of his cock, then wrap my lips around it and swirl my tongue over the smooth skin. I can taste the salty tang of precum, and I hollow my cheeks as I bob my head up and down in a slow and steady rhythm, trying to take a little more of him each time.
Roman’s thigh muscles shift under my hands, and I know it’s taking all of his restraint to stay still, to hold himself back from thrusting up into my mouth.
“Fucking hell, Reckless. What are you doing to me?”
Well, if he hasn’t figured that out yet, I guess I better try a little harder.
Instead of answering him with words, I attack him with my mouth, coating him with saliva as I work up and down his cock, running my tongue along the pulsing vein until I hear his breath catch.
One of his hands fists my hair, but instead of using the grip to control my movements, it seems almost like he’s using it to anchor himself, to survive what I’m doing to him. I grin around his shaft, then release it for a second to glance up at him through my lashes.
The look on his face is both tender and fierce, soft and dominant all at once, and it makes my core clench and my clit throb in time to my heavily pounding heart. I’m tempted to put my hand between my legs and take care of the growing ache building there, but I’m enjoying driving Roman crazy too much. I want to focus on him entirely.
Still holding his gaze, I flutter my tongue across the tip of his cock and watch as his nostrils flare. When I draw him into my mouth again, he throws his head back, the muscles of his neck standing out as he bucks his hips.
“Fuck. Oh, fuck.”
My hand joins my mouth, working together to cover his entire length as I bob my head up and down quickly, sucking and licking. I can feel him thicken inside me as he lets out a stream of low, guttural curses. His hand leaves my hair, and he grips the arms of the chair as his thighs tighten around me, trapping me between them.
When he comes, I feel it in his whole body. His cock pulses and jerks, his stomach contracts, and his hips rise up to meet me as I swallow the salty cum that hits the back of my throat. His orgasm seems to go on forever, and I keep swallowing around him until I’m sure I’ve gotten every drop.
The built-up tension drains from him completely, and feeling him relax beneath my touch like this is one of my favorite things in the world.
Drawing back, I let his cock slip out of my mouth. It juts out from his body, hardly softened at all. Heat pools in my lower belly, and my clit still aches—but watching Roman come undone was enough for me.
I rock back on my heels and stand up, and when I lean forward to press a kiss to his lips, he meets me greedily, sweeping his tongue inside my mouth with such skill that my knees actually go a little weak. I give him a satisfied smile as we break apart.
He shakes his head, still looking a little bemused. “What was that for?”
“Just wanted to show you how much you mean to me,” I murmur.
I kiss him once more and then move to step away. But before I can make it far, his hand whips out and grabs my wrist, stopping me.
“Uh uh, Reckless.” Heat and dominance flash in his eyes, and his voice is low. “You think you can just suck my cock like that and then walk away?”
“Well, yeah.” I arch an eyebrow, smirking at him.
His grip on my wrist tightens a little, and before I know what’s happening, he hauls me back down onto his lap. My knees end up on either side of him, straddling his waist again as his lips curl up into a slow, hungry smile.
“I don’t think so.” He shoves his hand down the front of my stretchy workout pants, cupping my pussy before sliding one large finger inside me. “My girl needs to come.”
Oh, fuck. I think I just d
id.
As if he can read my thoughts, the ravenous smile on his face widens, and he slips another finger inside me, grinding the heel of his hand against my clit as he fucks me with two thick fingers.
I got myself so worked up giving him a blowjob that I’m already close to the finish line, and I’m so wet I can feel myself coating his hand as he works me toward an earth-shattering climax.
My breath is coming in sharp gasps, my heart pounding like it’s trying to escape my chest. I imagine his thick cock stretching my inner walls as he plunges his fingers inside me, and when he presses his lips to my ear and growls, “Come for me, Reckless,” I do.
I jerk in his arms, dropping my head and pressing my body flush against him, trapping his hand between us as pleasure crashes through my body.
“God, Roman!”
He barely has room to move his hand anymore, but he works the heel in rough circles over my sensitive bud, drawing out my orgasm until I’m as limp, sated, and relaxed as he was.
I guess I really should’ve known I couldn’t “suck cock and dash” with him. Because Roman takes care of me. Always.
We stay like this for a long time, and even though I knew we’re tempting fate with every minute we linger—someone could still come up to the loft anytime, and even though we’re not naked, they wouldn’t have to work hard to figure out what we were just doing—I can’t quite bring myself to move.
Not yet.
Chapter 17
Over the next few days, Liam routinely kicks my ass.
Okay, that makes it sound like he’s more of a hard-ass than he is. And he is a hard-ass, don’t get me wrong. It’s no wonder Roman’s so damn tough, if he was raised by this guy. And Roman had Liam whipping him into shape from the time he was six or so.
I’m exhausted though. Not just physically—using magic feels like a damn workout—but mentally, just completely drained. At the end of the day I can barely eat dinner because I just want to sleep, although I’m so starving that I wolf down whatever’s put in front of me.
But it’s worth it—because I’m making progress.
We check in with Tamlin and Brodie using the magical jury-rigged setup that Roman’s managed with some help from Justin, whose specialty is the combination of magic and technology. He’s apparently designed some apps for magic users’ phones.
We put Tamlin and Brodie on speaker and everyone gathers around. Even Liam listens in from the back of the room, although he pretends to be reading a book—but I know his attention is focused on us because his eyes aren’t moving across the page, and he’s been staring at the same spot in the book for five minutes.
“You wouldn’t believe what Hardwick’s been doing,” Tamlin tells us, a mixture of pride and worry in her voice. “While we’ve all been trying to keep a low profile, recruiting others to join us in secret, he’s been openly campaigning in support of Unpredictables, taking the spotlight.”
“He needs to be careful.” Roman’s brows draw together, and he leans a little closer to the phone as if that will somehow get the message to Hardwick, wherever he is. “That’s dangerous. He’s making himself a huge target for Agustin.”
“I’m sure he knows that.” Tamlin sighs. “I mean, how could he not? But Hardwick doesn’t give a fuck about that kind of thing right now. He’s on the warpath. Or, well, the warpath by Hardwick’s standards.”
“It’s working,” Brodie adds, his voice practically vibrating with energy. “He’s gathering more support for our community, reminding people that silence is complicity. People are starting to speak out because of him, you know? Non-Unpredictables, I mean.”
“I bet he’s making himself this much of a public target on purpose.” Asher stares at the phone thoughtfully, but I don’t think he’s really seeing it. “Not just because it’s the right thing to do. But because he wants Agustin to focus on him.”
“What would that accomplish?” Cam asks.
“It draws focus away from the one person he’s been targeting this whole time,” Ash explains. “Elliot.”
My stomach twists. Fuck. I don’t want Hardwick to put himself on the line for me like that. I don’t want to be the big hero, and I don’t want to be Agustin’s big target.
But it’s not up to me. I don’t have a choice in this. It just is what it is.
“Is he going to be okay?” I ask.
“We hope so,” Tamlin says. “We don’t know. Nothing’s certain right now. He might be making himself more of an obvious target, but it’s not like any of us are really safe right now.”
“Agustin sees you as a threat,” Roman says, glancing at me. “He wants you out of the way or he wants to use you. We can’t allow either of those things to happen. Hardwick is smart and experienced. I’m sure he’s being as safe as he can with this. But he’s also smart to be putting himself out there. You’re the weapon Agustin wants, and we can’t let him have you. So we have to keep you away from him. If Hardwick can draw Agustin’s fire, at least for a little while until we can get you properly trained and prepared, then we have a better chance of winning this thing.”
“But what if…” I shake my head, biting the inside of my cheek as my eyes burn. “I just want him to be okay.”
Hardwick’s more than just my dean at this point. He’s not just a school administrator. Same with all of my professors. Not that being a teacher or anything is a little thing, but they’re not only teachers now. They’re also getting out there, taking an active role in all of this, putting their lives on the line to protect us and to stand up for what’s right, for themselves and for others.
I’m really proud to know them. I never would have expected this from Hardwick, or any of my professors, when I first met them. I didn’t know them that well then, and I only saw one side of them.
Now I’m seeing just how brave all of them are, and I feel honored to know them, honored and humbled that Hardwick especially is putting himself on the line for me. He and all the others could just say, “Fuck it, if Agustin wants to use her as a weapon, we need to destroy her first.” Harsh, sure, but logical. They could say, “We’re getting out of the way and looking out for number one,” or they could say, “Let Agustin attack Elliot, and we’ll work on destroying him in the meantime.”
But no—he’s putting himself out there, for me.
The next time I see him, I’m giving him a huge hug.
Our talk with Tamlin and Brodie does remind us, though, that we don’t have a lot of time. It will only be a short period—maybe even days—until Agustin finds a way to shut Hardwick up for good.
Asher, Liam, and I talk and decide that I need to learn how to mirror Ash’s powers. That will help me in keeping Agustin at bay, as much as the idea of having mind control over the people around me scares me.
“You can’t be scared of it,” Liam tells me gruffly as we set up later that day. We’re in the training barn, and I’m sitting across from Asher, only a foot of space separating us. “And I’ll be right here if shit hits the fan.”
That’s comforting, I suppose.
“Okay,” Asher says, as I focus on him. “The thing about mind control and seeing into people’s heads that people don’t often think about is that it’s a two-way street.”
I shift a little from side to side, settling into a more comfortable position. “What do you mean?”
“People tend to think of it as a two-way mirror. That I’m the cop in the viewing room looking into your head, and you’re the person in the interrogation room who can only see the mirror, see yourself. You can’t see me. But that’s not how it works. When I go into someone’s mind, I’m opening a door, and anybody can step through that door on either side. I can step into your mind, but you can also step into mine. It’ll probably be even easier for you with your mirroring powers.”
My mind immediately flashes to the visions I had of Agustin’s childhood when he invaded my mind back in San Francisco. As if he knows what I’m thinking—which, duh, he probably does—Asher nods.
Ha. I take a tiny measure of satisfaction in that, although it doesn’t make up for everything that happened after.
“So if someone were to come at you and try to control your mind,” Asher continues, “you need to know how to shield yourself, but you can also learn how to get into their mind and see what’s going on with them. Maybe you can’t stop their control of your mind, but you might actually be able to fry the circuits in theirs. And that goes the other way around too—you need to remember to shield your mind so that they can’t get into it while you’re in theirs, taking them over.”
Oof. That sounds like… a lot.
My concern must show on my face, because Asher smiles reassuringly. “It’s okay. Let’s start simple, all right? You try to get in my mind while I have no shields up. You have to tell me, out loud, what you saw me thinking about.”
It takes me a few tries, narrowing my focus and opening my mind at the same time—and if you think that sounds like a contradiction, congratulations, you’re one hundred percent right. I keep my eyes closed and work on mirroring Asher, reaching out, feeling for the spark that is his magic.
When I have Asher’s power, it’s like I’m aware of people on a whole new level. Like there’s a sixth sense I now have. You know how when you’re just walking down the street, you have a sense of the people around you, how far or close they are to you? This is sort of like that. I can sense the presence of people—another layer—like a glowing fire inside everyone.
Once I tap into that fire, reaching out with a simple thought—I can get into their minds. Feel what they feel, think what they think.
At first, Asher’s not shielding himself at all, so I latch onto his thought easily: he’s thinking about pancakes.