AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It hadn’t taken her much time to shower but her hair is already dry, most likely from her magic. My nostrils flare as I inhale her soft lilac scent and suppress the groan that begs to slip free. It’s so intoxicating there are times it teases my senses randomly as I walk past her, and I need to force myself to walk away. Desire stirs in me, having been lit just at the sight of her and now stoked by her delicious scent.
I suppress the urge to run my fingers through her silken locks and continue down to the top of her shoulder. A few buttons at the top of her uniform are left undone, revealing the black chokers she keeps around her neck. Of course they’re against the dress code, but I couldn’t care less. Not when they draw my gaze to that soft, supple skin I wish I could explore with my lips, letting my scent linger on her skin instead.
Crisp lemon clings to her clothes, washing out anything else that may have lingered on her skin. I sink down lower wishing I could run my fingers up her thighs, kissing the sensitive skin along the way, but of course like most things when it comes to Aria, I can’t.
Satisfied that the monster’s smell is gone, I take a step back, putting some much needed distance between us, and her scent of arousal permeates my senses, begging me to get closer. Her gaze follows me and I suck in a sharp breath as I see the same desire that’s burning through me mirrored in her eyes. I nervously slip off my glasses, and with shaky fingers, grasp the cleaning cloth in my pocket to wipe away the imaginary dirt, needing something, anything to break the palpable sexual tension.
She eyes me curiously as I slip them back on, a question seemingly at the tip of her tongue but she looks down, thinking better of it.
“Are you going to tell me now?” she asks, making no move to slide back off the desk, something that brings me both excitement and anxiety as I try to focus back on the important subject. “Are you part shifter?”
I take a deep breath and organize my thoughts, knowing I’ll need to broach this delicately. There’s more than just my ancestry to explain after all.
“I’m going to tell you everything, I swear,” I say, continuing as her eyes narrow on me with disdain, like she doesn’t believe me. “I need to know about the monster. Did they try to hurt you? Is there a risk to the other students?”
“There’s no risk to the others,” she grinds out, glaring back at me incredulously. “And he didn’t hurt me.”
Some of the tension eases from my chest, and I relax slightly. Judging by the scent of arousal that clung to her skin I was almost sure there wasn’t any immediate threat, but that worry had begun to creep up at the back of my mind.
“Good,” I breathe, wringing my hands nervously.
I’ve never felt so nervous in front of anyone before. I fought for everything I have in my life and studied my ass off to be here despite the forces that tried to keep me away.
“I could scent the monster on you because—I’m a monster too.”
Chapter Seventeen
Aria
“You’reawhat?”Iask incredulously, sure I must’ve misheard him. I grip the edge of the desk, and sweat pools in my palms. Nope, still don’t see anything that would suggest he’s a monster.
“I’m a monster, Aria,” he repeats, and exhales as though a weight has lifted from him at that admission. “Well I’m part monster, actually.”
I stare back at him as the information sinks in. Professor Pierce is half-monster. I scan over him again, unsure what I’m hoping to find, but there’s no sign of a tentacle or black smoke wafting up from his form.
“How?” The word slips out as my brain attempts to figure out the puzzle that is Landon Pierce.
“Do you really need me to explain how?” he huffs out on a breath of amusement as he nervously rubs the back of his neck.
My disbelief quickly shifts to annoyance as I narrow a glare on him.
“Okay, not a time to joke,” he murmurs, shifting uncomfortably. “Well I guess one thing I didn’t mention in my lecture is that there are other things that monsters crave ... sex being one of them.”
My cheeks heat as I remember how Kai had me pinned against the tree, and how he sent me hurtling over that ledge with an earth-shattering climax. I have first-hand experience with those cravings, I guess.
“Some witches and warlocks sometimes risk it for the thrill, as there are rumors within the hunters that the sex is like nothing we’ve ever experienced,” he explains, clearing his throat. If he could smell Kai on me he obviously has some clue as to what happened between us, which only makes this even more awkward.
My cheeks heat as he watches me intently. I attempt to at least keep my face a blank mask, but judging by the flicker of desire I catch in his eyes, I don’t think I’ve done a very good job.
“My birth mother was one of those witches,” he explains, his demeanor shifting. Pain and anger flash through his eyes and his face pulls down at the memories that are clearly replaying in his mind. “She slept with a monster and ended up getting pregnant with me.”
My fingers itch to reach for him, to hold his hand and reassure him that he’s here and he’s wanted, but I pull myself short as I remind myself that he’s my professor. Who knows if he would even want that from me.
“My birth mother wasn’t sure who the father was so her family kept me a secret, hoping to wait until I was older to introduce me into society,” he continues, rocking back on his heels as though revealing this information is both as uncomfortable as it is cathartic. “But it became obvious that would be impossible when I began showing signs of being ... more than just a warlock when I was five years old.”
“Landon,” I whisper, my heart breaking for a little boy who was ostracized by his own family—his own blood—because of a choice his mother made.
“Don’t feel bad for me,” he says, smiling weakly as he tucks his hands into his pockets. “A young couple adopted me and raised me as their own. They taught me to hide my gifts from the world and use my magic to cloak myself. For the first time I got to go out in the world, make friends, and play with children my own age.”
