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“Oh!” She narrowed her eyes, not sure whether she wanted to burst out laughing, smack him hard on the shoulder, or throw herself into his arms. “Well—alright! Good!”
“Why are you shouting at me?” he demanded.
“Because I love you too, you idiot.”
“Oh!” He covered his mouth with his hand, eyes glowing. “Oh. That is good, isn’t it?”
“I hope this wasn’t the level of intellect you were running on for the exams,” Morgan muttered, half-tempted to leave the room right then and there … but only to see if he’d give chase. In the end, she didn’t get the chance, because before she could so much as roll her eyes at him again he was on top of her, his momentum sending both of them flying to land in a tangled heap on his bed. Kissing him felt like taking a blowtorch to every lingering worry that was still draped over her mind like cobwebs, leaving nothing but a clear, burning focus in its place… a focus that was locked on the man who was even now doing a surprisingly skillful job of unzipping her dress and peeling it from her body. She obliged, amused by the way he insisted on pressing a kiss to each newly exposed inch of skin, and once the dress was gone she made short work of her shoes and underwear, too. There was something about the way he kissed her that made clothing seem not only pointless but an active detriment to society.
Why was he still wearing his? She sat up, ready to give him a piece of her mind, but he pressed her back down to the bed with a kiss and suddenly she was too busy kissing him back to tell him off for still having his shirt on, and besides, by the time her eyes slid lazily open once more, he’d made short work of his shirt. She lashed out with one hand to grab him by the belt buckle, yanked him close hard enough that he nearly overbalanced, grinned as he caught himself in time, on his hands and knees above her with his head thrown back as she caressed the hard length of his manhood through the fabric of his trousers. He was so easily undone… and so beautiful to look at when he was, breath coming quicker and quicker in his throat as she quickened her strokes, his eyes half-shut and golden hair falling in his face…
And then, much to her surprise, he caught her hand and pulled it away, pushing her firmly back against the bed for a third time. Her outrage was quickly ameliorated when he lowered his head to kiss her throat, her collarbone, the swell of her breasts… and then she was whimpering with need and pleasure as he teased at each hard nipple with his lips and tongue in turn, making her whole body shudder with delight each time he moved from one to the next. He replaced his lips with his fingers, and she was so distracted by the ongoing sensations in her nipples that she barely noticed that he was kissing a path lower down her body until she felt his hot breath against her sex and had to bite back a squeal as his tongue parted her folds and caressed the whole length of her in one exquisite stroke.
Morgan moaned into the pillow beside her head, not sure whether his roommates were home but not wanting to risk being overhead in any case… but that concern quickly faded from the forefront of her mind with what he was doing to her body. He didn’t let up with the exquisite teasing of first one nipple, then the other, but at the same time his lips and tongue were doing such divine things to her that she could hardly decide where her focus should be. Each source of pleasure seemed to magnify the other until she was gasping, whimpering, thrashing helplessly beneath him and grinding her hips helplessly against his face. He didn’t let up, urging her on relentlessly, taking every gasp and moan into account as he planned his next move. His other hand trailed teasingly up her thigh, and when his fingers began to slide inside her she couldn’t stop the sound that ripped itself out of her. Well, if his roommates were home, they were going to know exactly what was going on in this room.
And why should she care? What possible reason could she have to care, when she was in bed with the love of her life? The future disappeared, the past disappeared, everything outside of the room disappeared, then everything outside of the bed… and when she knew that she was inches from the point of no return she gasped his name, reaching down to draw him up so she could kiss him deeply, tasting the tang of her own body in his mouth. He was breathing hard, his eyes dark with desire, a slightly puzzled look on his face. Why had she stopped him, this time? He’d brought her to her climax that way a dozen times before, and she’d always reveled in it—but right now, tonight, she didn’t want to reach that peak alone. Was he going to make her say it, she wondered? But no—the faint smile on his face told her they were on the same page.
When he slid inside her, she felt her eyes roll back in her head, suddenly dizzy with the intensity of her own arousal … and for a split second, she was convinced that she’d let him bring her too close, that she was about to fall over that edge without him despite her best intentions. But she dug her hands into his shoulders, and he froze, his body trembling… and when the edge had receded enough, she breathed his name into his ear and felt him thrust himself deep inside her with a groan he muffled against her throat.
The pace he set was frenetic, and it wasn’t long before both their bodies were slick with sweat, their breath mingling in the close heat of the bedroom. Morgan wrapped her legs around him and rocked back against every thrust, desperate for more of the pleasure that split through her like a thunderbolt every time he slammed himself into her, one fist clutched in the blankets beside her head and the other holding onto him for dear life. He was groaning her name against her throat when she knew that the point of no return had well and truly arrived, but that was fine, because she could tell he’d been holding himself back for at least a few minutes now and she was tempted to see just how easy that resolve would be to break.
Very easy, it turned out. All it took was a strangled gasp and a whispered plea in his ear, and he was gone, his body shuddering with ecstasy under her hands as she felt her own climax rip through her body, too. They spiraled down slowly, wrapped in each other, each aftershock of pleasure drawing new sounds from them both, their soft moans eventually giving way to breathless panting… and then, as their breathing steadied, a familiar drowsy contentment that nevertheless felt deeper this time, more complete.
“Same aura,” she heard herself murmur, half-asleep and hardly aware she was even looking at the world through that lens. It was true, though. A golden arc surrounded the bed, shot through with bright sparks… and behind it, somehow, like a halo, there was a deep glow of blue.
“Same…?” He propped himself up on one elbow, and she laughed a little as she ran her fingers through his sweat-damp hair.
“Yours and mine. They merge, sometimes.”
“Huh.” He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but she had a feeling she could tell what he was about to ask from the way the sparks shifted and twirled. Sure enough: “Is that… a soulmate thing?”
“I think so.” His arms were so warm… she knew, distantly, that they couldn’t stay here all night. She had to get back to her sister and Cato, who were probably wondering where she’d gone. They had to figure out what was happening with Archer’s enrollment… not to mention the rest of his life, of course. They simply couldn’t stay in bed like this, no matter how delightful it felt, no matter how gently he was kissing the damp strands of hair at her temple…
“I’m such an idiot,” she heard him murmur. She huffed laughter, coming back from the edge of sleep to nudge him with her elbow.
“Not disagreeing. Just asking for clarification.”
“Just… I let my ego get in the way of this for so long.” He kissed her again. “Never again, alright? I swear. I’m never going to be anything but honest with you, ever again.”
“Good,” she said softly. “Because I’ll know. Scorpio powers, remember?”
“You won’t need them.”
Well. The world couldprobablywait another five minutes…
Chapter 28 - Archer
“I can’t believe we’re still technically first years,” Morgan grumbled as they waited impatiently for their little ship to dock at the pier. “I feel like we’ve been here for a thousand years.”
“Absolutely not,” Callan protested, looking at her as though she was mad. “I feel like we got here yesterday. I can’t believe it’s the second semester already.”
Both of them looked at Archer, and he raised his hands in surrender. “I’m just happy to be here at all,” he said, winning a chuckle from both of them. Then, at long last, they felt the boat bump against the pier… and all three of them were finally on their way back to Brisant after the semester break. Had it really only been a month? It felt like he hadn’t set foot on Sanguine in years.
It was probably because those four weeks had been the most eventful of his life.
First had been the nerve-wracking experience of meeting Morgan’s sister. Acantha, he knew from Morgan’s stories, was a highly trained swordswoman and one of the most decorated soldiers from their home insula. It was frightening enough to weather her withering stare, and it didn’t help that she had a mage standing at her side, a man whose face was oddly familiar. Morgan promised that Acantha would warm up to him eventually, but he had his doubts. Still, as long as she didn’t murder him in his sleep, he’d be grateful. And she didn’t express any objection to the invitation Morgan had extended to him to stay with them over the break, at least until he could figure out what was happening with his enrollment.
It had been a very long time since he’d visited a new insula for the first time. The Valley’s climate was colder than the tropical Sanguine weather he’d grown accustomed to, but it was still an absolute joy to explore, something that likely had a lot to do with the woman exploring it with him. It was almost enough to take his mind off his worries about his upcoming meeting with the Dean. They scheduled it for midway through the break, enough time for the Dean to gather information and reflect on the best course of action.
