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Memories of the night at the pond, his fingers tracing my imprints, my body still trembling from our imagined intimacy, filled me. I wanted more. I wanted it to be real.
Why couldn’t I fall in love and still achieve my dreams? Why couldn’t I have both? What I was feeling for Amadeus certainly didn’t feel like nonsense. Maybe I’d been wrong to keep him at arm’s length.
“What are you thinking?” Deus murmured, his warm breath ghosting across my lips.
“I’m smart. But at the same time, I’m not very smart,” I admitted.
One hand came up to cup the back of my head. His thumb brushed over my lip. “Yeah?”
I read the invitation and the question in his single word.
“Yeah,” I whispered.
Our mouths met.
This kiss was gentle, far softer than I’d expect from a guy who was made of lightning and storms. It was a heck of a lot softer than the savage kisses I’d experienced from the harpy boys.
Deus kept his hand at the back of my head, steadying me but letting me take the lead. I pressed in, letting our mouths meld together before brushing the tip of my tongue against his bottom lip.
As our tongues touched, a shock jolted down my spine.
I jerked back, breaking the kiss.
“Sorry.” Deus’s cheeks were red. “That’s something I have to work on.”
“Seems like something that practicing could help with,” I teased before reality slammed into me like a freight train.
Every minute I was around him, the more my walls crumbled. Unless I wanted to fail my clan, I needed to clear my head and put distance between the gorgeous man beneath me and myself.
Scrambling off Deus’s chest, I grabbed my backpack and his gift.
“See you tomorrow!” I called over my shoulder while rushing to the safety of my dorm.
It was a challenge, but I managed to make it several days without giving in to the urges that were pushing me to throw myself at Deus. For his part, Deus was making it harder to resist falling for him just by being his sweet, thoughtful self.
Once he’d discovered how much I liked mochas, he brought one for each of us every time we met to work on our project. He claimed it helped with concentration, and maybe he was right since our slides were quickly filling with information.
I just hoped our project wasn’t too basic for Professor Mackenzie.
Deus seemed just as invested as me and had reorganized every slide at least five times while also insisting I continue practicing my presentation skills.
“You can’t just vomit out the words written on the slides. They have to flow. Just like when you speak. Think of it in ocean terms. Waves roll to shore, pull back, roll in a little further.” Deus took a long swig from his water bottle.
I raised a brow. “Unless the tide’s going out.”
“It’s not meant to be an exact metaphor.” He gestured with a piece of sushi he’d snagged from the marine dining hall before meeting me on the lawn. “Come on. Presentations start tomorrow, and I want our slides to be perfect.”
“They are perfect. Quit worrying.” I picked at a blade of grass.
My skin was itching terribly. It had been five days since the last time I’d managed to sneak off to the pond for a swim. I felt grimy, and taking showers just wasn’t enough.
With Deus wanting to pore over every detail of the project a million times, I was afraid he’d insist we meet again after dinner. I loved every minute I spent with him, but that would also mean I’d miss my chance for a swim tonight.
“They are not perfect until Professor Mackenzie says they are. Listen, I know you hate people, but you have to actually talk to them while you are presenting. You know that, right? We need to be ready.” Deus’s voice was gentle.
I swallowed back a groan of frustration. Deus had exceeded my expectations as a partner, but I couldn’t wait until I obtained permission for independent study.
Not wanting to argue, I pasted a smile on my face and launched into the opening of the presentation. “We will be giving an overview of narwhal shifters, their habitats, feeding habits, and notable differences from both mundane narwhals and other paranormal marine life.”
