She slides her hands into my hair, pulling me in for a kiss that makes my head spin, and both of us shatter, consumed by a rush of pure, white-hot ecstasy. When I finally pull back for air, I cup her face, and she looks up at me through long lashes, her dark hair spilled across the white pillowcases, her mouth still parted in pleasure.
And when she smiles, radiant and beautiful and all for me, I realize she’s not the one playing with fire at all.
And I make a silent vow right then and there, a promise that runs deeper than any blood bond, deeper than any Arcana oath.
No matter what dangers await, no matter what horrors the Dark Arcana conjure, no matter how many armies break upon the walls of this academy, I willdiebefore I let this woman come to harm.
Twenty-Two
STEVIE
All too soon, sunlight chases away the last of the shadows in my suite, and I drag my happily exhausted body to the shower, fighting the urge to crawl back into my warm bed with the man who—true to his promises—spent the entire night making me forget how to form words.
There’s still so much more I want to ask him—about his past, about his story. But despite the horror of his childhood trauma and the loss of his family, I can’t help but sense that somewhere in that ‘so much more’ is where therealdarkness festers. I felt it last night, leaking out between his words and closing around him like ink spilled in water.
Whatever Baz went through, whatever games Janelle is still playing with him, it goes far beyond a murder and the cutthroat competition with his parents and the Kirkpatricks.
But it’s also beyond my business. I’m grateful he told me about his history with Carly, but I’m not going to force him to face any of those other demons, no matter how strongly I can sense them, no matter how badly I want to fix him. Some paths we just have to walk on our own.
After last night’s epic sleepover, I thought I’d be nice and let him sleep in while I got ready. But just as I’m about to turn off the shower, he’s stepping in there with me, dark hair sticking up in every direction, sheet marks crisscrossing his face.
“What are you staring at,” he asks with a lopsided grin.
“You’re kind of adorable when you’re half-asleep.”
“And you’re kind of sexy when you’re wet. And naked.” He pulls me close, sliding his hands down to cup my backside. “Did I say kind of? I meantvery.”
He kisses me, hot and deep, and for a minute I allow myself to get lost in the feel of his tongue sliding into my mouth, his hands caressing me. But as much as I’d love to dive into another sex-a-thon…
No. Bad idea. We have… classes… and… library stuff and...
Oh, Goddess, this man seriously knows what he’s doing…
“Baz, I’m… going to be late and you—”
“One minute.”
“What?”
“I can make you come in one minute.”
“I seriously doubt—”
He spins me around and pins me against the wall, tracing a hot path down the back of my neck with his tongue as he slides two fingers inside me from behind. With his free hand, he reaches around front, teasing my clit with slow, delicious circles.
My body clenches around his fingers, and he plunges in deeper, stroking me until I’m breathless, the dueling pleasure of his thrusts and teasing circles making me lightheaded. He nips my earlobe, his breath hot on my skin.
“Let go,” he whispers, thrusting in deeper, faster. “Come undone.”
I can’t hold back. I come hard and fast, pushing back against his fingers, riding the wave of pleasure until I’m so dizzy I’m seeing stars.
He pulls out slowly, embracing me from behind and resting his forehead on my shoulder as I will my breathing to go back to normal. When it does, I turn in his arms, pressing a kiss to his smirking mouth.
“That might be a new record,” he says.
“No idea. I wasn’t counting.”
“Normally I’m not one for quickies, but it’s like I always say. Never pass up an opportunity to start the day off with a proper orgasm.”
