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I couldn’t leave the dais fast enough, my heart beating so rapidly in my chest that I was worried it might sprout wings. When the bidding first began and Drew had not been the first voice I heard, I had legitimately questioned whether or not Marik had changed his mind.
I should never have doubted him.
No, you shouldn’t have. His mental projection came through as I exited the ballroom into the tiny corridor behind the dais.
Gods damnit, I would really have to work on controlling my mental projections if Mr Coppertone was going to pick up on them all the time. I’d have to ask Felix later if there was a trick to making sure I didn’t accidentally project certain thoughts over the newly forged mental pathways to them all.
Some of my thoughts really needed to remain my own. Especially the ones about Marik’s ass. Talk about awwwkward.
This time when I entered the hallway no giddy groups of students stood in clumps - all those whose fates had already been decided had gone to their respective guild common rooms to meet.
Sarnas had been given the furthest away rooms near the top of the western towers. My heart had continued to beat rapidly as I had nearly flown down the hallways and up the stairs to join them.
When I arrived, Marik was the only one waiting for me, leaning back against one of the burgundy wall hangings. His arms were folded over his chest as he raised his scarred eyebrow at me. Holy frick, but the Rock had nothing on his demon’s smolder.
His lips twitched into a full out grin.
“You’d think you were excited to see me?”
“Shut up.” I snarled, as I all but flew across the room into his arms and mashed my lips against his. I was far less nuanced than I probably should be, my overzealous attack resulted in a class of teeth. But Marik didn’t seem to mind, squeezing me to him tightly as he took control of the kiss. I moaned, pushing off his jacket and all but attacked the fastenings of his dress shirt, buttons falling victim to my less than smooth ministrations.
Hey - a girl has needs. Sometimes sacrifices must be made.
Marik pulled back enough to allow me to push off his shirt, before tugging me tightly back against him. He withdrew from my mouth, pressing a series of heated (literally, like, from his wrath) kisses down my throat and down to the top of my cleavage that just peeked over the now burgundy dress.
“Take it off,” I whispered, hoping he wouldn’t need a printed memo to undo the zipper at the back of my dress.
“Come with me,” he tugged my arm, leading me down the hallway that split the guest quarters into four. I expected him to take me to his room, but instead, he led me to the wide double doors at the end, leading to a stone balcony overlooking the red pines beyond.
“Marik, I know demons are looser with their affections than others, but I’m not ready for voyeurism yet.” I deadpanned, looking at all the other balconies that lined the western front. These towers were specifically for guests and staff, as students were not trusted with much more than a slit of a window in the risk that they might try to escape.
Marik spun me and swatted my ass playfully. It didn’t exactly hurt, but the slight sting sent a jolt to all the right parts.
And my inner demon loved it. Seriously, the bitch was becoming a sadist.
Before I knew what was happening, we had lifted off the ground, my heart flying up into my throat as we moved. I let out an undignified squawk as Marik laughed, rising us up in the air to land on a flat portion of the roof. Once my feet touched down I pushed away and spun, ready to scream at him for pulling such a stunt.
But that’s when I saw them. His wings. I’d never admit it out loud, but they were probably the most magnificent things I’d ever seen before. They were a sleek midnight black, as dark as Vitus’ had been light. They seemed to absorb all the light, casting a literal void around them. I reached out, running my fingers through the soft as silk filaments of his feathers that wrapped around us like a cloak against prying eyes. His eyes followed me with a studious expression, as if he were waiting on my response.
“They’re…beautiful.” I said running my hand up the arch at the top. Ever so gently I ran the tips of my finger across the hard ridge there, and he shuddered, taking a deep breath before gripping my hand.
“Does that hurt?” I asked in confusion.
He laughed. “No, no, certainly not. The exact opposite, in fact. It feels too good.”
I furrowed my brows. “I thought we were…”
“Listen, Ryn. I don’t want to take your virginity on the rooftop of your old school. Seems a bit trashy to me.”
“I don’t mind trashy. Trashy is good.”
He shook his head. “I didn’t actually bring you up here for that.”
“Then why…”
He pulled me close and spun me around, facing me out to look at the world surrounding us.
The full moon lay above us, bathing the world in a silver luminescence. I could see for kilometers around us, past the line where the red pines turned green and faded into the distant shores of Lake Moraine. The snowcapped mountains of the Rockies jutted proudly from behind us, standing century to the ever-changing world that surrounded them.
