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Even worse? She’d said yes. She could have said no, kicked me in the shins, and told me to grek off. It was what she should have done, especially when I’d told her that we’d see what else I’d require of her.
Why had I said that? Why had I given her the faintest hint that I wanted her for more than her easy understanding of Kronock?
I bit my bottom lip as I backed away from her. Jess was the last female who should be occupying my thoughts. She was a human, whom I’d always been taught were an inferior species. Not only that, but she also was not one of the sweet and biddable tribute brides. She was a member of Earth’s military who was tough enough—and smart enough—to make it into the Assassins. She was far from the type of female I was expected to take as a mate. She wasn’t even the type of female I usually pursued for a fun fling.
Then why was I fighting the urge to nibble on her ear, kiss my way up her neck, and then capture her lips and see if her mouth tasted as sweet as she smelled?
Her eyes were wide, and strands of her dark hair had unspooled from her neat topknot, reminding me that she was quite pretty when her face wasn’t buried in a book, and her nose wasn’t scrunched as she peered at holographic diagrams during class.
You’ve spent too long watching her during class, I told myself.
“Have a nice night, Jess,” I managed to say without my voice croaking. “I’ll see you soon.”
Once I’d backed a few steps away, she darted for the doors of the banquet without glancing back or responding.
I groaned and pivoted away from her. That had not gone well. I might have gotten what I wanted—more time with the human—but it was not what I needed. I needed to be focused on my upcoming work as a Blade. I did not need to distract myself with a female who could never be anything more than a diversion.
“Not that she wants to be your diversion.”
I couldn’t explain why she had captured my attention. It made no sense. There were more beautiful females. There were even more beautiful females at the academy now, but none of them drew me to them like the female who nibbled her lip when she concentrated.
Maybe it was because she was so different from me and from females I’d known that she fascinated me. She relied on her brains, while I’d always relied on a combination of physical strength and status. From what I could tell, she possessed neither, which made her the most tempting kind of forbidden fruit.
Instead of returning to the party, I headed down the stairs. There was nothing more for me in the banquet hall aside from a headache and even more regret. Blades might not be known for temperance, but I did not trust myself to be in the same place as Jess. A few more glasses of Drexian wine and I might tell her all the things I secretly wished to do to her, and all the places I wanted to take her to do them.
I slowed on the last two steps as my swollen cock strained the confines of my pants, and I paused at the bottom of the sweeping staircase, trying to think of anything I could to take my mind off the human. “A three-headed lizard, sour chidi berry juice, my brother’s smelly socks…”
“Interesting mantra, cadet.”
I almost yelped as my gaze focused on Kann standing in the shadow of the curving staircase banister. “What are you—?”
“Waiting for Volten.” Kann straightened and joined me. “Tivek told me he and Ariana were speaking to the admiral, and then he escorted her to her quarters. I thought I’d catch him here.”
“If he went to her quarters, do you really think he will return to the party?”
Kann frowned. “You make a good point. The odd thing is that neither of them have joined the celebration at all. It isn’t like Volt to skip something like this.”
I remembered how the flight instructors had looked at each other like no one else existed in the universe. “If I had a female who looked like the lieutenant…”
Kann barked out a laugh and threw a hand around my shoulders. “Another solid point, Torq. You’re starting to sound as logical as an Iron.”
“I assure you, I am no Iron.”
“Neither am I.” Kann walked us both across the wide foyer. “I would say we are both Blades through and through.”
I thought his statement would make me flinch, but it didn’t. After being initiated into the School of Battle around the eternal flame, I’d felt that I truly was a Blade. It hadn’t hurt that all the upper-class Blades had welcomed me warmly, making me feel like I’d been inducted into a family. A family that embraced me more than my own ever had.
We reached the far stairwell that led to staff quarters and cadet dormitory towers but hadn’t started up it before Volten bounded from it and almost knocked us over.
“I was starting to think you had abandoned the party,” Kann said, his grin faltering as he noticed Volten’s heavy breathing. “Wait, are you okay? Where is Ariana?”
Volten scraped a hand through his hair. “Packing up to leave.”
“Leave?” The word shot from my mouth before I could stop it.
“Why would she leave?” Kann’s question was calmer than mine. “I thought you two had worked things out.”
“We did.” Volten groaned as he sank to the floor. “I am not why she is leaving. Her sister is.”
