by River Ramsey
He brushed past the other tom and barely made it to the middle of the stairs before Mr. Bryant’s words stopped him cold.
“It’s about Ella.”
Axel turned around, taking a second to assess the knowing look on Mr. Bryant’s face. Either the man was psychic, or Axel had been far worse at keeping his feelings under wraps than he’d hoped.
Hell, he wasn’t even sure what his feelings were. His desire to get revenge on her for rejecting him had morphed into something else he neither understood nor cared to define somewhere between their first kiss and their last fight.
Same thing, really.
“I assume that is where you were going,” Mr. Bryant added in a smug tone.
“Whatever it is, make it fast,” he growled.
Mr. Bryant walked over to the bottom of the stairwell, resting a hand on the railing. “I know you wish to court her, and I know she turned you down.” He smirked as Axel’s eyes widened in surprise. “Teachers are not immune to gossip, and more often than not, it involves you. Especially the juicy bits.”
“What can I say?” Axel shrugged. “I’m a polarizing figure.”
“Indeed,” Mr. Bryant snorted. “As of late, Ella has been just as prominent. I’m sure you’re aware that Bishop Meyer is courting her.”
Axel bristled at the mention of the other tom’s name, but he tried to feign indifference. “She is a stray. They’re not known for having good taste.”
Mr. Bryant raised an eyebrow. “I suppose that would account for her infatuation with you.” Before Axel could respond, he continued, “If you continue being such a pushy idiot, she’s going to lose whatever interest in you she has left.”
“Sorry. How exactly is this any of your fucking business?” Axel snarled.
The man had balls, he’d give him that. No one else would’ve dared to talk to him like that.
At least, no one besides Ella.
“It isn’t,” he admitted. “But we share a common foe, and you know what they say. ‘The enemy of my enemy…’”
“‘Is my friend,’” Axel muttered.
“So you have been paying attention in philosophy,” Mr. Bryant said in a wry tone. “Will wonders never cease.”
“Saw it on a T-shirt once,” Axel shot back, giving him a crooked sneer. “And who’s this common enemy we share?”
“Bishop Meyer,” Mr. Bryant answered, taking him off-guard. “Your current rival for Ella’s affections, it seems.”
“Guy’s nothing more than sentient slime,” Axel said with a shrug. “I’m not worried about him.”
Mr. Bryant cocked his head, watching Axel closely enough that he started getting uncomfortable. Not an easy feat to accomplish. “You really are a terrible liar. And they say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
Axel felt an immediate surge of rage. He wasn’t sure if Mr. Bryant was talking about his mother, his father, or both, but as much conflict as there had been between all of them, he wasn’t going to let someone else shit talk his blood.
“If you think that faculty badge in your pocket will keep me from knocking out a few teeth, you’re wrong.”
To his surprise, the teacher’s response was a smirk with a hint of admiration. “I would expect nothing less. Tigers are not known for their restraint.”
Axel clenched his jaw. He hated the fact that the one cat above his kind on the totem pole was a lion, which just happened to be the form the man in front of him assumed. Probably why he stalked the damn halls like he owned the place.
“If you can put your ego aside for one moment, you’ll see that I’m trying to help you,” Mr. Bryant said, his arms folded.
“Right,” Axel scoffed. “Pretend I need your help. Why do you give a shit if Ella chooses me or not?”
“I don’t,” he answered nonchalantly. “What I care about is making certain that she doesn’t choose Bishop, and after what I saw last night, I believe you need all the help you can get.”
Axel’s eyes narrowed in disbelief. Then again, what reason would Bryant have to lie to him? If he just wanted to fuck with him, he already controlled his grades, and there wasn’t any particularly bad blood between him or their families. At least none that he could remember.
“You saw them?” he asked, hating how interested he sounded.
Desperate.
What the hell had she done to him?
“They seemed quite cozy when he brought her to a party at the Felidae House,” Mr. Bryant said pointedly, as if he knew just how much that would get under Axel’s skin.
Axel’s heart started pounding and he wasn’t sure if it was rage, concern or both. “Are you fucking kidding?” he spat. “She’s an outsider. He barely even knows her.”
“Which is why you may be able to understand the urgent nature of the situation.”
Axel frowned, watching the teacher for a moment. “What is it you hate about him so much? I mean, there are plenty of reasons. He’s a spoiled brat with a god complex and he’s slimier than pond scum, but seeing as how you two belong to the same club, I’d think that would be a good thing.”
“Bishop is a child of Felidae, that much is certain,” the teacher murmured. “It’s been my experience that not all members of the Meyer family are as worthy of admiration as our Empress.”
“You mean his dad, don’t you?” Axel asked. He knew his father had been a mentor figure to Mr. Bryant when he was a kit, which was reason enough to mistrust him in Axel’s book.
“In Bishop’s case, the apple never left the branch,” Mr. Bryant answered. “If there is one thing we can both agree on, it’s that Ella doesn’t belong in a place as corrupt and ruthless as Felidae, and she certainly doesn’t belong with someone like Bishop.”
“You know, that’s the most sense you’ve made since I came to this Academy,” said Axel. “I take it you have an idea?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” said Mr. Bryant. “Ella isn’t like any of the girls you’ve used and thrown away. She won’t be wooed by your money and status, and even if that were the case, Bishop is more than an equal match.”
Axel wasn’t willing to concede that point, but he’d let it slide. “Then what do you suggest? You want me to enroll in your little charm school and learn how to court her like a gentleman?”
“Even if there were time for that, I’m an academic, not a miracle worker,” he quipped. “But you’re on the right track. I’ve recently had an opening in my tutoring schedule, and you could use all the help you can get.”
“You want to tutor me in seducing Ella?” Axel asked, raising an eyebrow.
Mr. Bryant shrugged. “For lack of a better word, yes.”
“Kind of like Cyrano,” Axel mused.
Mr. Bryant blinked at him. “Not one but two apropos literary references. If I didn’t know better, Mr. Hill, I’d think you were actually learning something.”
“Nah. I saw it on Wishbone,” he said dismissively, not willing to let the cocky bastard think he was actually paying attention. Most of the time, he wasn’t, but there was no point in actually trying. He’d made that mistake in grade school and learned all it meant was getting saddled with harder work. “So what’s your angle?”
“My angle?” Mr. Bryant asked warily. “What do you mean?”
“What do you get out of this?” he asked.
“I told you, I’m not doing it for you.”
“I know. You’re doing it for Ella,” Axel said, looking him over with greater scrutiny. “There’s not an altruistic bone in your body, so I know it’s not just a good deed. That’s why you’re not half as annoying as the other idiots who teach here.”
The other tom rolled his eyes, his hands slipped casually into his pockets. “Ella will be our Empress. As a member of the colony, and the last member of one of its founding bloodlines, not to mention her teacher, it is my duty to guide her down the right path.”
He sounded sincere enough. His voice was laced with just the right combination of indifference and ease. Nonetheless,
Axel wasn’t buying it. “Maybe you can teach me to lie like that while you’re at it,” he quipped, holding out his hand. “I think you’re full of shit, and I don’t trust you, but we’ve got a deal. For now.”
“Fair enough,” said Mr. Bryant. Axel was surprised when he actually returned the handshake. He turned and left with an apathetic wave. “Meet me in the morning before class. There’s no time to waste.”
“Isn’t that when you tutor Ella?” Axel asked.
The teacher stopped walking, but he didn’t turn around. “Don’t be late. I detest tardiness.”
That was all he’d say, and Axel muttered an irritated curse under his breath. “Weirdo.”
Axel didn’t believe for one second that the man’s motives were as pure as he claimed, but he didn’t have many options. Whatever had happened between Ella and Bishop the night before, it was a chance he couldn’t afford to waste.
Chapter 12
Ella
It had been a few days since Ella’s return from the club, but she still couldn’t get it out of her head. Sterling’s words kept rattling around in her skull, causing a terrible echo that filled her with the same inadequacy and despair she’d thought she had left behind when she came to the Academy.
She told herself it didn’t matter. He was far from the only one who thought her unworthy. Her position, her title, her sudden shift in fortune, Bishop’s attention. It didn’t matter. It seemed that the one thing everyone in the colony could agree on was that she didn’t deserve any of it, but what else was new? She’d been an outcast all her life, so why should this one man’s opinion cut so deeply while she had grown immune to all the others?
When she realized getting over it was a hopeless cause, she decided to suppress it, and it had been working. To a degree. She’d been able to get through her classes, and surprisingly enough, the other students were leaving her alone for the most part.
It felt like the target that had been on her back from the moment she was moonmarked was finally beginning to fade, little by little.
There was one more thing she couldn’t get out of her head. Bishop had texted her the morning after the party to ask if she was feeling better, but while he’d made an attempt to see her again, she kept finding excuses.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see him. His presence was comforting, and she needed it now more than ever, but Sterling’s words had made her doubt more than her own sense of belonging.
It was obvious there was more than just enmity between the two. They absolutely despised each other, but why?
She would have loved to dismiss Sterling’s opinion of Bishop, since it would make her feel better about the way he saw her, but she couldn’t. He was a man of character and class, and she felt that surely his low opinion of her reinforced that rather than contradicting it.
If he hated Bishop, there must be a reason. She just couldn’t figure out what that reason was.
Ella felt guilty for not coming out and asking him about it. He at least deserved the chance to speak for himself before she judged him on another man’s account, but the strange encounter had shaken her confidence in sleeping with him, if nothing else.
Until she knew what was really going on between them, she wasn’t going to be able to make any other decision in peace.
When Ella had finally made up her mind to ask him to meet her somewhere to talk, she started typing out a text only for his name to pop up on her screen. She was nearly in her dorm room, so she ducked in before answering and leaned against the door.
“Hello?”
“It’s good to hear your voice,” Bishop said in a silken tone that reminded her of his caresses and made her shiver in need. “I was worried you were avoiding me.”
“No,” she said with a soft sigh. “Not at all. Actually, I was going to ask if you wanted to meet up somewhere.”
“Tonight?” He sounded conflicted and she regretted assuming he’d be free.
“If you’re busy, don’t worry about it.”
“No, it’s just… If it was anything else, I’d bail, but it’s a family thing and I can’t get out of it. It’s kind of hard to explain.”
“It’s fine,” she insisted. She knew he must have plenty of obligations as the current Empress’ son on top of his schoolwork and the soccer team. The fact that he made any time for her at all was flattering in itself. “Another time.”
“That’s actually what I was calling you about. I wanted to ask you in person, but since it’s tomorrow, I guess this is the only option,” he said with a laugh.
Ella froze, her heart pounding away in her chest like a drum. Was this it? Was he going to suggest they sleep together? The thought was as nerve-wracking as it was enticing, and she knew she had to speak with him more than ever.
“There’s a ball tomorrow night. I was hoping you’d make me the most envied man in the room.”
Her cheeks grew warm and she turned away from the phone, as if he could somehow see her. “Is this one of your secret society parties?” she asked wryly. “Am I going to need a masquerade mask and lingerie?”
His husky chuckle made her squirm more than any other man’s touch could have.
Anyone except Axel, perhaps, but he was another thing she was trying to forget.
“Now that would be a beautiful sight to see,” he purred. “But I’m afraid it’s just a boring old winter ball the Academy throws every year. There’s always a charity, but it’s just an excuse for everyone to get wasted and dress up.”
“Seems like there are a lot of those.”
“Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet. Am I right in assuming that’s a yes?”
“Of course. If you want me there,” she said, cringing when she realized how desperate that probably sounded. He was either oblivious to her awkwardness or simply kind enough to pretend like he didn’t notice. She couldn’t entertain the possibility that he actually liked her as much as she liked him, even if her infatuation had been tempered with doubt.
“Please. You’re the only thing that makes these dull parties tolerable,” he scoffed. “It’s black tie, but of course, if you want to go the lingerie route, I’m sure no one is going to complain…”
Ella groaned. “I’ll be wearing a dress.” She bit her lip. “But who’s to say what I’ll be wearing underneath it?”
His silence made her regret her attempt at sexy talk immediately, but before she could backtrack, he spoke in a voice ground raw with lust. “You know it’s downright cruel to torture me when I can’t touch you until tomorrow.”
Familiar heat flared up in Ella’s core and she pressed her thighs together as she leaned back against the door, letting his voice wash over her like warm rain. He had been capable of stirring her most primal instincts from the beginning, and it was so much easier those days. She was afraid at least part of the reason was how hard she’d already fallen for him.
“That does seem like a long time away, doesn’t it?” she asked breathily.
“Where are you?”
Ella blinked at the sudden shift in subject. Had he changed his mind about meeting up? “I’m in my dorm room. Why?”
“Take your panties off.”
Ella was frozen by the command, as arousing as it was confusing. “What?” she choked out.
“Take. Your panties. Off,” he said in a slow, deliberate voice that made her clenched thighs tremble.
She shifted the phone to rest on her shoulder and slipped her fingers beneath the elastic of her panties. She let the lace fall to the floor. “Okay,” she said, her voice frail with want and self-consciousness that was quickly succumbing to need. “I did it.”
“Put your hand between your legs and touch yourself.”
Ella gasped, but she shifted the phone from her right hand to her left. Slowly, her hand traveled down below the hem of her skirt, trembling with hesitation as she tried to overcome the mental hurdle. Of course she’d touched herself before, and Bishop had been the subject of her fantasies on more than one occasion, but
this… this was something entirely new, and even though she was completely alone, she felt vulnerable. Exposed.
It was the hottest thing she’d ever experienced.
Another gasp escaped her as she touched herself at his command, her fingers circling slowly against the throbbing flesh.
“Good girl,” he murmured, his voice dripping with satisfaction. It was a side of him Ella had never encountered before. Rough and commanding and unashamed. She wanted him all the more for it. “Keep going. I want you to tell me how wet you are.”
Ella bit her lip, already struggling to keep quiet. With every stroke, it felt like it was his hands that were touching her, and his voice was pushing her to the brink of desperation.
She must have taken too long to answer, because his voice had an alluring bite to it the next time he spoke. “I asked you a question, kitten.”
Ella licked her lips because they’d suddenly become dry. “So wet,” she finally answered, her breath faltering. She had to stop touching herself, pressing her thighs tight against her hand to stave off the orgasm she’d been on the edge of since he first started their little game. As unexpected as it was, Ella didn’t want it to end. Not unless it meant him showing up at that door and taking her the way she’d planned for him to that night.
She knew her apprehension was probably going to return when the lust faded, but she didn’t care. All she wanted was for him to keep talking, to keep commanding her and strumming that chord so deep within her that every vibration pushed her closer to the edge of sanity.
He gave a low hum of approval. She wasn’t sure if he was touching himself or not, but the thought was enough to drive her wild. “That’s a good girl,” he continued in a husky voice. “Now I want you to go faster.”
Ella pursed her lips, her thighs quivering as they parted to follow his next order. It was pure torture even with the light, circular motions she was making, and each breath became shallower than the last.