When I came to, I was lying on the ground on something soft.
Macha said, “Hey. Welcome back. You gave me a fright. Why didn't you tap out?”
I wanted speak, but my throat was sore, and my voice was barely a whisper. I would have asked for water, but there wasn’t any. I tried again. “I didn't want to. I trust you.”
He stroked my hair and cupped my cheek. “I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. But this isn't how it works. We have to talk about it before we do this again. You really scared me when you passed out. Although,” and there was pride in his voice, “I never had a girl lose consciousness, going down on me.”
“Do you have many girls go down on you?”
He chuckled. “Not really. I had a few girlfriends, but nothing like this. I'm yours, Amber. You saved my life, and you let me choke you with my cock.”
My laugh turned to a cough. When I'd recovered, I said, “Glad to be of service.”
Macha’s voice came from above me to the side, as if he were kneeling. He reached out with one hand to pinch my nipple, and with the other, he cupped my pussy through my jeans. “If you're up for it, I’ll repay the favor.”
My mind went blank for second. “Yes, please.”
He whistled. “You're so wet. Did you come?”
I blushed, even though he couldn't see me in the dark. “No, but it felt amazing. It was like having an orgasm without actually coming. Does that make sense?”
Now it was his turn to laugh. “Not really.”
With deft fingers, he pulled my zipper down. In the dark, it sounded so loud, I was sure somebody in the other room would hear us. Then my legs were lifted as my jeans were pulled off. I couldn't anticipate what he was doing in the dark, but I sure as hell felt him. He grabbed my legs and pushed them against my chest, opening me up to him.
“I can smell you,” he whispered. I squeezed my eyes shut with shame. But maybe he could see me after all. “Don't be embarrassed. You smell delicious.”
And then he lowered his head and got to work. First, he pointed his tongue and played around my clit. I was swollen and wet, even without Macha confirming it. Just as I felt my orgasm creep up on me, he stopped. Instead, he broadened his tongue and licked over my folds, making noises of enjoyment.
For a moment, my embarrassment returned. It didn't last long. Macha pushed my legs a little higher and shoved his tongue against my butt hole. It felt amazing, wet, and slippery.
He wasn't a quiet lover. The slurping sounds, his contented growls, and the constant purring made the scene as vivid as if the lights were on. My orgasm coiled in my center, building up in a languid way. This was very different from when the other boys had gone down on me.
I’d loved that as well. They’d made me come quickly and multiple times. Macha was different. He seemed to know exactly when I nearly reached the point of no return and then backed off. He was edging me in the best possible way, and with him, I was comfortable enough to fully relax into the experience.
I lost all track of time, drifting through a dark universe of sensation. My muscles were so relaxed, when my center tightened again, it came as a surprise. I threw my head back and groaned as Macha kept his leisurely pace.
I knew there was no holding back this time. He never sped up, he never concentrated on my clit, yet all the muscles in my lower body tightened, ready for release.
And then, just as I was tipping over the edge, he used the flat of his cat tongue to rasp over my clit. It wasn't hard, and it didn't hurt. But the roughness knocked me out. My entire body erupted in an orgasm so strong, it didn't seem to stop. I undulated under his tongue, gripping his shoulders, my back arching off the ground, as I readied myself to scream.
His hand shot up and covered my mouth. My eyes rolled back, and I wailed against his palm. When it was finally over, I was drained. I couldn't move. Yet there was heat inside my magical core. Somehow, sex with Macha had refueled some of my mojo. Which was odd because I’d always assumed Macha was human, caught in Farkas’s crossfire. Could it be he was magical as well?
A noise caught my attention. Steps, walking calmly and steadily towards the secret room.
“Can you hear that?” I whispered.
“Yes.” But instead of helping me get dressed, he went back down and licked my pussy clean. Only then did he pull up my panties and my jeans.
“Thank you,” I said weakly.
“You’re welcome.” I rolled my eyes at his self-satisfied tone. He pulled me off the ground to a standing position, grabbed his shirt I’d been lying on, and slipped it over his head. Then we waited.
When the door opened, I was ready to use what little power I had available to fight our way out. What I didn't expect was Whitehall, staring at me in surprise. “Amber. What are you doing here?”
He sniffed the air and pulled a face. “On second thought, don’t answer that.”
17
Amber
How had he discovered us? And what would he do? At least he hadn’t run off to hand us over to the FBMA, but we’d run out of luck. It would only be a matter of time before we were captured. Stepping in front of Macha, I challenged him. “How did you find us?”
Whitehall kept his expression neutral, although I could have sworn he struggled to keep a smirk off his face. “Denholm called me and told me how to find you. There are agents all over the library. Denholm is keeping them busy, but we don’t have much time.”
I couldn't believe my ears. I'd always assumed Whitehall was Farkas's ally. I’d never trusted him and wasn’t sure I could now. “Are you going to hand us over?”
Whitehall grimaced. “God, no. I don't know what's going on, but we’ve become suspicious with all the kids being withdrawn from the academy.”
“Who’s ‘we’?”
“Me and some of the staff. Castle. Denholm. Anyway, I've been here for three years, and it's been getting worse. At the beginning of the term, I have a full class, and a few months later, half of them are gone. I had a parent track me down before Christmas, wanting to know where his daughter was.”
He ran his hand over his hair, visibly agitated. “I couldn’t tell this father what had happened to his child. And now the FBMA is on campus, asking questions about Farkas and you.”
“Shit,” Macha muttered.
I glanced back at him, then asked Whitehall, “What now?”
“I’m getting you out of here.”
Holding out his hand, he conjured a small fire ball, just big enough to illuminate the room. He looked us up and down. “Kids. You can’t keep it in your pants for a second.”
Macha snickered, but I bristled. “You're not that much older than us.”
He grinned. I’d never seen him smile, but the expression did make him look much younger. “There’s an exit at the other side of the room through an underground tunnel. It’ll take us beyond the gates. I’ve arranged with an old friend to pick you up.”
Whitehall walked past us, crossed the room, and opened a door at the far side. He led the way as we entered the passage. I followed him with Macha bringing up the rear. The darkness was suffocating, and the air smelled earthy and damp. It reminded me a little of Kiernan's scent. Thinking of him hurt so much, I pressed a hand against my middle to hold myself together.
Macha noticed, of course, and reached for me. Feeling his large, warm hand enclose my fingers made me feel better. At least I wasn't alone in this. We walked in silence for a while.
My mind whirred with unanswered questions. This might be the only time I’d get an answer from our former teacher. “Mr. Whitehall.”
The teacher didn't stop but responded over his shoulder, “Yes?”
“I always meant to ask you. What was the point of doing all these Tech-Mag exercises in class? We wondered if you were training us to be magical spies or assassins.”
Whitehall stopped. There wasn't enough space for us to walk next to each other, so he turned around and lifted the ball higher until I could see his face. “I wasn't hired to be a Tech-Ma
g teacher. The class was only established last year. Don’t get me wrong, I love teaching the subject. But there were aspects of the curriculum that made no sense to me, either.”
He hesitated. “Remember the day you nearly blew yourself up?”
That was something I wasn't ever going to forget.
“That shouldn't have happened. I’d primed that hard drive to explode with at least a fifteen second delay. It going off so quickly wasn’t right. In fact, it made me think somebody was targeting students at the academy.”
“And what about the time you made Julian nearly kill me?”
He shrugged. “You were never in any danger. But yeah, sorry about that. I just didn't like you. I thought it would do you good, taking you down a peg or two.”
He turned around and walked off, leaving me open-mouthed. Macha pushed me gently to get me moving again. As we walked, he whispered, “That was funny. I remember you telling me about it.”
The blood rushed to my face, and I was glad it was so dark in the tunnel. Yes, of course, I’d told Slug. I’d told him everything. And now I'd be spending hours trying to recall what exactly I’d told my cat and how much I'd embarrassed myself.
I roughly knew the distance from the academy to the front gate, but we were walking slowly, mindful of the narrow tunnel. There were places where the ceiling was so low, the men had to be careful not to brain themselves. This was one of the few times I was grateful for being so much shorter than them.
Eventually, the light in the tunnel turned from the orange of Whitehall's flame to the white of daylight. We’d finally reached the exit. There was an old, cast-iron gate sealing the passage. Whitehall pressed his hand against the lock, and after a few seconds, a click announced our freedom.
“I'd love to know how he did that,” Macha muttered.
Whitehall winked at him. “Tech-Mag. Anything mechanical or electrical, I can manipulate. You’ll learn it as well.”
“You think we’ll ever come back?”
“If not here, you should finish your schooling somewhere else.”
I didn’t answer. Whitehall probably wasn’t wrong, but I had other things on my mind. Like, how to get as much distance as possible between us and the academy. When we left the dank underground, I took a deep breath.
We were surrounded by trees, but the school was behind us, and in front of us, only a few hundred yards away, was a paved road. An old car with a square frame was waiting for us. Whoever owned it hadn’t been looking after it very well. Dark green paint peeled off the metal in places, and one of the mirrors was attached with duct tape.
“You’re going to be pleasantly surprised.”
I was still wondering what Whitehall meant when a familiar figure got out of the car and waved. “Amber. Great to see you again.”
My jaw dropped. Mrs. Palmer, who had accompanied my former roommate to Canada and never returned, was standing in front of me, looking just the same way I'd remembered her from my class.
“Mrs. Palmer,” I shouted, breaking into a run. I could have cried with relief. Of all the instructors, our Elemental 101 teacher had been my favorite. She was a warmhearted, intelligent woman, and everybody had loved her. We were all upset when she’d left so suddenly.
Mrs. Palmer hesitated for a second, then hugged me back. She smelled of lilac and spring, and for a moment, my heart soared with relief. Mrs. Palmer would fix it.
Of course, by the time I pulled back, I knew there was only so much a single person could do. But she would get us away from the Academy, and for now, that was enough.
Mrs. Palmer open the back door. “Hop in. Who's your friend?”
“This is Macha. He helped me stay sane through the last few months.”
Mrs. Palmer turned to Macha. “Thank you for helping Amber. I'm sorry you got caught up in this. I'm going to take you to meet some people who can help. Farkas's crimes haven't gone unnoticed in the magical world, believe me.”
I got into the car first, wrinkling my nose at the old, musty smell. Maybe the car had been in storage, but pew, it stank. Macha scooted in after me, his face as unimpressed as mine had to be. Mrs. Palmer got into the driver seat and adjusted the mirror so she could look at us. “I'm sorry, guys. I’d have gotten a better car if I'd had more notice. But I’m off the grid and had to borrow this rust bucket from a friend.”
I rolled down the window. “Don't worry about it. We’re just glad to get away from here. Right, Macha?”
I pinned him with a glare until he nodded reluctantly.
Mrs. Palmer beamed. “Great. Let's get moving then.”
I wanted to thank Mr. Whitehall again, but the car was already pulling away. When I turned to look out of the back window, there was no sign of my former Tech-Mag teacher.
Despite the car’s age, it was a smooth ride once we joined the main road. I dozed in the back seat while Mrs. Palmer chatted about how much she loved Canada and how nice Sharon's family was.
Macha was so tense next to me, it stopped me from falling asleep. His leg was bouncing up and down as he kept his head turned to look outside the window, ignoring Mrs. Palmer's attempts to pull him into a conversation. I put my hand on his knee to calm him. He flashed me a brief smile while covering my hand with his.
Mrs. Palmer's attention was drawn forward as we hit a patch of traffic. A green highway sign read ‘Roseburg,’ so we had to be traveling south.
I was about to mention it to Macha when Mrs. Palmer’s cell phone rang. She picked it up and listened. Nodding, she said, “Yes” and “Of course,” and hung up. Our gazes met in the rear view mirror. She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
“We’ll be there soon,” she said after an awkward pause.
Macha leaned over and kissed my temple. As his lips brushed past my skin, he whispered, “She talked to a man. He asked if the pickup went without a hitch.”
His behavior was beginning to freak me out. Mrs. Farkas watched us, her gaze flickering from the road and back to us.
“He also said to not let us get away.”
I pulled back and stared at him. His cat hearing had picked up the conversation, whereas I hadn’t heard a damn thing. He moved closer and kissed me on the lips, stopping me from asking more questions. My thoughts were racing. I trusted Mrs. Palmer. But I also trusted Macha.
“Listen to the engine. Does that sound like an old jalopy to you?”
I closed my eyes, allowing his lips to sweep over mine as I paid attention. The motor purred without any of the telltale clanging or roaring I would've expected from a forty-year-old car. In fact, there were no sounds inside the cabin other than Mrs. Palmer humming tunelessly and Macha’s breathing in my ear. There were no car noises coming in from the outside.
An hour after we left the city behind, Mrs. Palmer flipped the indicator to leave the highway. She slowed the car down, and a mile past the turnoff, she took another turn onto a smaller road.
“Where are you taking us?” I asked.
She smiled reassuringly in the back mirror. “A friend’s place to plan our next steps. Don't worry. We’re nearly there.”
I was about to ask who her friend was, when Mrs. Palmer asked, “So how are your boyfriends?”
It was such an obvious attempt to change the conversation, I didn’t respond. The car took another turn onto a packed dirt road. We were back among trees, and Mrs. Palmer had to slow the car down to a crawl.
Macha whispered, “We need to get out.”
“And do what? We don't know where we are, other than at least an hour away from Roseburg.”
I wasn't ready yet to give up on Mrs. Palmer. After all, she'd always looked out for me. She’d defended me against the other students and teachers when they wouldn't give me a chance. I shook my head. “I’m not leaving.”
Macha inched to the door, pleading with his eyes, but I wasn’t budging. There was fear in Macha’s face, and for a moment, I expected him to jump out of the car by himself and leave me behind. But then resignation relaxed his face.
The tension drained out of him, and he slipped lower on his seat. Laying his head back, he sighed. “Okay. I'm with you. I promised I wouldn’t leave.”
I released a breath I hadn't even noticed I’d held. He was still here. We were together as a team, all the way. I placed my hand on the seat, palm up. Macha threaded his fingers through mine.
We held hands, drawing strength from each other, until Mrs. Palmer pulled up at a military checkpoint, and a dozen guns were pointed at the back of the car.
Macha muttered, “I knew it.”
I closed my eyes and swallowed hard. “Mrs. Palmer. Why? Why would you do that?”
My former teacher was about to get out of the car, but stopped and turned. “Just do as they say. They won’t hurt you. I’m sorry I couldn’t warn you, but this is far bigger than you think.”
I shook my head. I’d trusted her, and she’d betrayed us. How stupid was I? I briefly considered fighting back, but the bullets would've pierced us before we'd even had a chance to lift our hands. Two soldiers pulled Macha out of the car.
I screamed. My door was torn open, and hard hands grabbed my shoulders and dragged me out of the car. Before I could act, they’d slammed me to the ground, winding me.
One man had his heavy boot on my head, pushing my cheek into the ground. The barrel of a gun pointed directly at my face. Somebody kneeled painfully on my back. The muscles spasmed under his weight, and I squeezed my eyes shut, trying not to sob. A man pulled my arms behind my back, wrenching my shoulders, and placed zip ties on my wrists. Within seconds, we were helpless, trussed up like turkeys.
18
Julian
The place looked so high-tech, for a moment I wondered if there were machines that could detect my presence. But no alarm sounded, and after the boys were locked into a cell together, I easily floated through the glass wall at the front.
Second Chance Heat, a reverse harem magical academy HEA paranormal romance: Book Four of the Second Chance Academy Series Page 10