“Do you and the chocolate need a minute?” Emerald asked. “Shall I book you a private room?”
I licked my lips with a satisfied smile; I wasn’t starving anymore like I truly had eaten a fry up. “I could ask you the same question.”
Emerald blinked. Then she glanced down at her hands, which had been rubbing between her legs like she was a moment away from hiking up her dress and slipping her hand down her panties.
“Your pleasure is more erotic than I was expecting.” She flushed. “But then, those chocolates are a special treat awarded to incubi bonded.”
My muscles became rigid, and I tightened my grip on the ribbon until it was pulled taut.
Bonded…?
Was this part of her courting ritual? Did she wish a bond the same as me?
I wanted it so badly that every one of my feathers burned as if on fire.
I plucked at the ribbon. “I guess that you have a whole harem of those incubi bonded loyally waiting for you back at Court?”
“If I had any,” my gaze shot to Emerald’s at the sharpness in her tone, “then they’d be at my side.”
I bit my lip. “Did you give Felix any of these special chocolates?”
When Emerald nodded, her tail whipped out. It tipped up my chin, as she in turned leaned closer. “I’ll meet your second friend, Lord Brooke, soon. Then I’ll offer him the chocolates as well. Do you think he’ll eat one? You see, I sense that all three of you should—”
“Eat you…I mean your chocolate?” I inquired with my pious face fixed on.
It didn’t convince Emerald, who now wore her stern face.
For the first time, I got role play tingles for bad student and strict professor.
“You’re using humor to distract from your feelings. You do that a lot. Don’t you want to be joined with your friends in love?”
“Really, is that what I do? Well, here’s some honesty. The Forest Fae and my own brothers died to be allowed to choose who and how many people they loved. The idea that I could have a bond with my friends has seemed impossible, but it’d be everything I’ve ever dreamed. So, don’t go dangling it in play or as a method to break me.”
Please, don’t…
Emerald’s tail stroked my jawline, as she kissed me, just once. It was so light that I thought I could’ve imagined it.
“I’m not playing or trying to break you, sexy wings.” Her breath was hot against my mouth. “If you feel…something…then I do as well. But I won’t take anything from you like I’m no better than the Duchess, just like you wouldn’t from me. We all have to choose this.”
She meant it.
“I do,” I murmured (on my wings, I’d never consented to anything so much in my life), “I swear what I feel is the will of the forest.”
She glanced at the stiffness tenting my pants. “Uh-huh. That forest has some large trees.”
“Fae are blessed.”
Emerald laughed, settling back in her chair. Instantly, I missed the touch of her tail, which twitched between us in the air. “So modest as well. Relax, this session isn’t over just because we’ve…you know…”
I couldn’t help the hurt coiling through me. I’d broken sworn oaths to my mates and risked dangerous punishments by approaching a staff member. But now Emerald was continuing the therapy like nothing had changed?
I furrowed my brow. “Nice to know that declaring bonds isn’t a big deal to succubi.”
Emerald’s lips pinched. “It’s a huge deal. But you and I are only just starting on this journey, and I have to at least have something to falsify my notes with, or do you want the Duke of Wells to choose a different method of reforming you this week?”
“I couldn’t take it if he kept us apart.” I didn’t mean to say it, but the words slipped out.
She had that effect on me. I’d bet she was a deadly counselor with the other students.
“I won’t let him,” Emerald insisted. “So, tell me why you ended up being attacked last night?”
I froze.
She’d made the question sound casual, but there’d been an edge to it like I’d provoked the fight.
Wait, I had.
Whoops.
I shrugged. “Brawling with bears isn’t my biggest problem.”
Emerald swiped her fingers through the air and across her magical notes again (I was beginning to really hate those). “Disobedience, defiance, refusal to reform, and last night a break out attempt. Care to explain?”
My role play was going into overdrive now.
I curled my wings around myself like I could hide how turned-on I was, but since Emerald could gain power off my pleasure, she knew. Her eyes sparkled with amusement, before she fixed on her stern face again.
“You’re making me blush.” I smirked. “Those aren’t even in my Top Three Favorite Failings.”
“And what are?”
“Is this your famous method?”
The corner of her mouth slipped into a smile, before she was able to control it. “Depends. Is it working?”
“Depends. Do you know why I did that long list of wickedness?”
Emerald studied me shrewdly. “I know that last night wasn’t a true escape attempt. You’d have been sent to Dean Aero if it had been. You weren’t being wicked; you were being the noble leader.” My head jerked back, and all of a sudden, it felt swelteringly hot in the candlelight. No one apart from my two Hostage Lord mates had ever considered me a true leader, even though I’d spent the last decade trying. “Lord River was frantic about the safety of his shifter yesterday. Seriously, tell me: why did you decide to risk so much for a shifter?”
I raised my chin. “Because if I can’t be free, then someone deserves to be.”
“That kind of honesty deserves a chocolate.”
Why were my hands shaking?
I selected a lemon-scented white chocolate, imagining my perfect lunch if I hadn’t missed it: fish and chips. When I bit into its crisp outer layer it was like the first bite into crunchy batter, before the soft cod inside melted on my tongue. I wrapped my wings more tightly around myself and rolled side-to-side on the chair, as the next chew brought the taste of perfectly fried chips with just the perfect amount of salt and vinegar.
When Emerald opened her mouth to speak, I held up my finger. “Just give me a second.”
In the feathered heavens, no wonder succubi used these chocolates like declarations of love and also doggy treats for their bonded. I’d sit up and beg for another box like these.
“Are you done making love to the chocolate?” Emerald’s eyes were glazed, and she was panting. But this time, she’d managed to keep her hands to stroking her tail, rather than her pussy. “Because I need to ask you something serious. You could be free as well. All you have to do on Saturday is to say that you’re reformed. Then you’ll be freed into the Court’s custody. At least you’ll be alive. If you want to escape after that…then why not do it?”
Instantly, I sobered.
With reluctance, I placed the box of chocolates on the floor. “I’ll never be free and neither will my people. The choices aren’t between freedom and death: they’re between slavery and death. Up there on the stage, it’s a public shaming. To demand that one tribe of fae renounces their heritage and joins another forcibly will forever dishonor them. We wouldn’t be equals with the Court Fae: we’d belong to them. On my wing, a life like that in a forced bond isn’t worth living.”
Emerald clenched her jaw. She took a careful breath. “Yet when you’re back in England, couldn’t another tribe help you escape?”
I snorted. “Wow, you really respect the bravery of the fae. Do you think that after the example the Queen made out of the Forest Fae any of the others would have the courage to rise up against her? In her Court, we’d be alone and trapped in a worse prison than this one for the rest of our long lives. I wish that I’d simply been executed alongside my brothers. At least then we’d all have died together.”
“Don’t ever say that again
.” Emerald yanked me out of my seat, and I swayed on my stiff legs. “A succubus doesn’t allow her bonded to die. I’ll find a way to help you. I just…don’t know how yet.”
I gripped her arms; my pulse was beating too fast.
Did she really mean it?
Yet why had that haunted look crossed behind her eyes? Why was she so frightened?
Tremors ran through me. This was the plan. It was precisely what Felix, Radley, and I needed to work any rescue attempt. Yet it felt wrong. My role as leader was to save my people, yet my role as Emerald’s lover was to protect her.
“It’ll be dangerous,” I warned. “I’d rather cut off my own wings than risk your life…”
Emerald stopped my words with a kiss.
I gasped at the intense heat of her lips. When she drew back, ruby sparkles passed from her mouth to mine. They tasted like fiery ginger. I snatched her closer, devouring her and the magic like I’d hungered to since the kiss in Hope Forest. The chocolates couldn’t fill the hole in me that starved for her.
I twisted Emerald around, splaying her across the desk. I wrapped my hand in her hair, and her tail thwapped around my lower back, yanking me closer. Then my knees prickled, and I gasped.
Emerald’s power was healing me.
Panting, I pulled back from her, and she smirked up at me. “How are the knees? I could feel your pain all through the session.”
“You can do that?”
“Only for those I love.” She nipped at my lower lip. I wished that she wasn’t studying my face because I couldn’t hide my intense joy. She loved me. “Perhaps, try to stop getting hurt so often, huh?”
“Brilliant idea. Why didn’t I think of that? Oh yes, because this is the Wicked Reform school, and I was sentenced here to be punished.”
“Not anymore: now you’re mine.” Emerald’s tail curled possessively around me, tapping my ass. “I can sense desires and needs with my powers, and it’s been like being trapped in the middle of a nightmare, since I stepped into this school. But Lord River and you don’t fit.” Her lips curled into a smile. “Lord Brooke has his dark moments, on the other hand, even from a distance. But his strongest desire is to protect you. I can relate.”
“He’ll love you because I do. We’ll all love you.” When I traced my fingers down her throat, she arched. “I’ll share you with my fae and shifter lovers because you’re the woman who we’ve been waiting for.” I lowered my head to lick across her peaked nub through her dress, and she moaned. “Now we have you, we’ll never let you go.”
I slid up her dress, caressing her thigh.
Emerald reached for my hand, teasing my fingers towards her silk panties. But then, she stilled. Shuddering, I met her gaze in confusion.
“I’m not trying to run.” She pulled her hand away from mine, pillowing her head on her arms. “You’re the most beautiful creature that I’ve ever seen and those Nephilim are hot, even if they’re jerks.”
I drew circles on Emerald’s inner thigh, and her breath hitched. “Do you want to talk about jerks or…?”
I curled my tongue between my teeth.
“This is your first time with a woman, right? I’d rather that it wasn’t over a desk.”
My prick was so hard it hurt, and my balls felt like they’d burst. I forced myself to smile. “Dictate 852, remember? There are no complaints about over a desk from me. I’d be fine on the floor, against a wall, or pretty much anywhere right now.”
Emerald patted me on the back consolingly with her tail. “Aw, but I’ll manage so much better than a desk for our first time, I promise. Blue balls never killed anyone, you know.”
“Says someone who doesn’t even have balls,” I grumbled.
“So much for Dictate 852.” Emerald leaned forward, touching the rune on my belt buckle. “Have you ever found out how high this goes?”
I yipped, as a low-level wedgie made my underwear feel like it was riding up my ass and crushing my balls. Luckily, only at the uncomfortable level.
“What was that for? I’m not into that kink, and what happened to the no punishing the beautiful and noble Lord Spring rule?”
Emerald kissed the tip of my nose. “Sorry, sexy wings. Firstly, it’ll help with your little situation down there.” Less of the little and okay, my prick had definitely wilted in shock. “Secondly, along with my falsified notes, it’ll trigger to the other staff that I’m doing more than snuggling you in these sessions.”
Grudgingly, I nodded. “You’re forgiven.”
“How gracious, My Lord,” Emerald said in possibly the worst impression of an English accent I’d yet heard since arriving in America.
And I’d heard a lot.
Could I take back the forgiven…?
“Just don’t make a habit of it.” I attempted a haughty arch of my brow as if I was Beau, but Emerald only laughed. “And when will I see you again?”
She tapped her chin. “Honestly, you’re the wickedest case I’ve ever seen. You need daily sessions at least. I’d suggest group ones as soon as possible with your friends so that we can root out the causes of your rebelliousness.”
Emerald meant with our bonded mates, so that we could work out how to save the fae together...and hopefully screw.
Both the plan and Number One on the Wicked Bucket List was complete.
Emerald was smart, kind, and as special as I’d sensed when I’d first glimpsed her. Yet that just meant that I had more to lose because now the woman who loved me was also in danger.
CHAPTER TEN
Wicked Reform School, House of Fae, Sports Pitch
Tuesday 27th April
The last class of the day with thirty other students, just before it was time to be sealed into the dormitory with wards, Fae Ball. I trudged to the pitch, which was behind the orchard, where the brutal game was played. Rain drove from the stormy clouds, and I shivered.
I scanned the line of trees for a chalk-white smudge. When Apollo had tried to watch this class any closer than the tree-line, his wing had been broken by a stray ball. But it wasn’t safe that he was so far from us now either. I shot another glance at him.
What if Wells decided that the key to breaking us was through Apollo? He wouldn’t be wrong. I’d only been lucky so far that he treated his own shifter, Lincoln, more like a hissing fashion accessory.
The pitch was on higher ground than the rest of the House of Fae, and from up here, I could see beyond the House of Zombies’ dark roof to the main campus buildings and the Trial Area. It felt like my death on Saturday was so close that I could reach out and catch it between my finger and thumb, in that tiny patch of gray land beneath me.
Yet first, I had to survive the final lesson today.
I hated Fae Ball for two reasons.
Number One: No Marquess who’d been trained in elegant sword skills should be reduced to throwing balls like this was High School, even if it was a magic ball that read your mind to find its target.
Number Two: the balls were covered in a light sheen of iron, which hurt like being branded if it even caught a fae’s skin, despite the fact that fae healed rapidly.
There were no teams. It was simply a battlefield, where everyone fought for themselves. Once you were hit, you were out. The winner was the last fae standing.
Of course, Radley loved it.
“Let the slaughter commence.” Radley rubbed his hands together.
Well, he had to get out his psycho energy somewhere.
I wiped the rain from my eyes. “This is really very exciting. Being burned before bedtime always helps me sleep better than warmed milk or being sucked off.”
I eyed the glittering balls that hovered at the side of the pitch. Fae were eagerly selecting their one for the game. The balls would follow behind them like the worst ever familiar. I grimaced.
“I thought that I helped you sleep the best…?” Felix clasped my hand, dragging me closer. “You drop off as soon as we snuggle up, and I start reading to you.”
I ran my hand t
hrough Felix’s hair, loving the familiar feel of it, and the sparkle in his eyes that were such an unusual color. “That’s only because you use books with all those long speeches about love.”
Felix’s fingers tightened around mine. “Or is it just that you’ve found someone you’d prefer to fall asleep with each night?”
I didn’t understand the insecurity in his eyes.
Radley threw off his scabbard with his scimitar, before ripping off his coat and tossing it onto the ground as well (maybe I could just pretend that my muscles bulged in the same impressive way as his?). ““He means, short wings, did you unleash the kraken on Emerald?”
I’d been so caught up in wondering how I could make my own six-pack look as defined as Radley’s (his abs were a genuine work of art), that my unimpressed eyebrow wasn’t as convincing as it should’ve been.
Trust Radley to reduce long speeches of love to a single sexual line. It was a genuine talent.
“The kraken,” I insisted, “stayed in my pants.” A passing fae glanced at me, shocked. I blushed and then winked at him. Quinn, whatever realm you’re exiled in, I apologize for sullying the name of Spring. “Wow, there’ll be some weird rumors going around about me.”
“Like there aren’t already,” Felix muttered.
Wait…what?
I blushed again.
Felix patted me on the cheek, before pulling away to prepare for the lesson.
My lips thinned, as my shaking fingers dropped to the buckles of my scabbard just like Felix.
Fae Ball was played without scimitars, which went against Court Dictate, as well as fae heritage that a fae was never parted from their weapon. Taking my weapon off now and gently placing it next to my mates’ swords was being stripped of my manhood.
It was like standing on a hill in the rain with my prick out, waiting to be hit in the balls…with iron balls.
Rebel: House of Fae: A Dark Fae Paranormal Romance Page 12