Chapter 30 Avery #2
The voice startled me out of my lazy people-watching.
A guy I recognized as one of Allen’s peripheral friends leaned against the railing, his back toward the pool and his dark-blue eyes focused intently on me.
He was at least five inches taller than me and had shaggy dark hair and an intense five o’clock shadow.
Julian, maybe? A black bear shifter, but his beast was closer to the size of a smaller black bear found in the wild, which made him ordinary rather than Prime.
Bear shifters, unlike wolves, were more likely to be Primes, but smaller bears weren’t that uncommon.
This guy played on the school’s club lacrosse team, if I recalled Allen’s hasty introduction from weeks ago correctly.
I’d learned that shifter-only schools did not participate in national collegiate athletics for obvious reasons, but they did have their own club leagues.
I shrugged and gave him a polite smile. “Didn’t bring my suit. Should’ve expected a place like this to have a heated pool. Two, even.”
Julian laughed under his breath. His wet swimsuit clung to strong, meaty thighs, and he’d thrown a jacket over his top half.
On the jacket’s left chest was the Proteus College logo, two lacrosse sticks bisecting it like crossbones.
“Fair enough. I forget it’s your first time at a Crimson party.
” He took a swig of the beer in his hand, and then he slanted an apologetic look my way.
“First and last, I guess, since those rich fuckers are graduating.”
“Surely another one of these power quads has a five-story lake house and will pick up the mantle,” I said wryly.
He laughed again. “We can only hope. The big pre-break party is always a highlight. A chance to let loose. Maybe find an excuse to talk to a very interesting and very hot girl on the quiet corner of a balcony.”
The tentative, hopeful smile he gave me just then might’ve fooled one of those bright-eyed freshmen, but this wasn’t my first rodeo.
Julian was smooth, and he was here to get laid.
At his core, he was a predator, and he hadn’t had the pleasure of seeing me skewer large violent beasts, both real and conjured, so I probably looked like tasty prey.
I didn’t hate it. He was attractive, and Allen didn’t let bigots and assholes into even his wider circle of friends.
But the intensity of that pretty blue gaze, which had politely never strayed from my face, didn’t create sparks under my skin. There was no exciting flutter in my belly. My beast hadn’t even rolled over and opened an eye at this guy.
It hit me that I’d stumbled over the “I’m fucked” line, after all.
“‘Interesting’ is the polite way of putting it,” I replied with a self-depreciating chuckle. “More like controversial, wouldn’t you say? A pot-stirrer? A drama queen?”
His gaze finally strayed down to my chest and then to the sliver of exposed stomach between my top and my jeans. He leaned in to whisper in my ear, his pine scent surging. My beast huffed irritably. “I like controversial. It’s sexy. Intriguing. I want to know more—”
“Step away from her, Julian, before I rip out your spleen and throw it in the pool.”
He stiffened, and I blew out a resigned breath. My beast’s ears perked up, her pleased rumble echoing deep within me.
Definitely fucked.
Wyatt stood in the wide doorway, a lazy smile on his face that did not match the red sheen rolling over his eyes.
He’d either just arrived or wasn’t planning on partaking in water activities, because he wore his usual dark, distressed jeans, boots, and a white V-neck T-shirt that showed off the tattoos that decorated his neck and chest.
Julian shifted a bit, but he didn’t abandon his spot next to me at the railing. “What’s this, Gale?” he said, lifting his chin, his tone hostile. “Are you pissing a circle around the new girl? Since when does a Prime bear from a fancy quad have any interest in a shifting female?”
You know, with all the beatings I’d taken this semester because I refused to shift, it was tragically funny that everyone had declared me a shifting female anyway.
Wyatt’s smile slipped. “Fuck off before I make you.”
Julian tried valiantly to hold Wyatt’s wild red glare, but it was no use. He dropped his stare to the floor and swore loudly. “See you around, Avery,” he muttered, and then he slunk off.
I crossed my arms over my chest and reclined against the railing. I lifted a brow, inviting Wyatt to explain himself.
The red in his irises cooled to his usual bright green, and his lazy smirk returned. He held my stare with all the authority of one of the most powerful and desired males in school for a few long seconds, and then he finally spoke. “You and I have business, Wildcat.”
My brow went higher. “Do we?”
He lunged for me and grabbed my hand, interlacing our fingers together. He began to pull me back into the house. “Come here.”
“Wyatt!”
“Just for a few minutes.”
I tossed a pleading look over my shoulder at Mal, who smiled and raised her glass.
She was draped across Allen’s lap, and he could only shrug helplessly at me.
No one on this balcony was going to tangle with Wyatt Gale, and Ian—who would have no such qualms—was inconveniently in the hot tub many stories below us.
Wyatt led me down a long hallway, home to what I presumed were a fraction of the twelve bedrooms in the mansion.
All the doors were closed, and my enhanced hearing allowed me to pick up a hint of the activities going on behind those doors.
Wyatt better not have been planning to invade any of these rooms because I didn’t desire to accidentally glimpse a classmate’s bare ass.
“Moondamn all these horny assholes,” Wyatt muttered.
“Where are you taking me?” I demanded. “And where are the rest of your overbearing band of brothers?”
He tried a door handle and swore when he found it locked. “Aiden doesn’t come to college parties anymore, babe. He and Heath went home to covertly chaperone another date Clara is being forced to go on tonight.”
“Oh.” My relief for Clara distracted me for a solid two seconds. “Good.”
“And Elijah’s around here somewhere. Last I saw, he was shooting the shit with the avians. The raptors are less afraid of him than most—ah, jackpot.” He shoved through an unlocked door and yanked me inside.
“Wyatt—”
He flipped the light on. We were in a laundry room that was damn near the size of my whole dorm room.
Pristine custom cabinets lined one wall alongside a sink and small refrigerator.
On the opposite wall sat a large washer and dryer, a white granite countertop fitted across the top of both.
A window overlooked the vast lawn that sloped down to the lake.
A plush rug covered the cold tile floor.
Real home-improvement-channel porn right here.
“Can’t believe no one’s fucking in this room,” I mused. “Look at all this space.”
“Their loss is my gain.” Wyatt grabbed me around the waist and hoisted me onto the countertop above the washer and dryer.
“Wyatt!” I yelped. “I am not going to fuck you. Obviously. Come on.”
“I know that, Wildcat.” He slotted his body between my legs and wrapped his big hands around my thighs.
I gripped the edge of the counter, frozen in place.
Fire burned in my belly at his nearness.
His eyes blazed—not red, but a bright, shimmery green—as he searched my face.
A lock of his dark red hair had flopped onto his forehead, softening the dangerous predator between my legs into something a little bit boyish.
“But I’ve decided,” he went on, “that I’m ready to collect on our bet.”
“What?”
He tutted. “Nice try. I never got that kiss you owe me from when my bear bested you.”
My stomach swooped. He was right.
Wyatt’s nearness had my beast purring like a chainsaw, which drowned out all my common sense.
He lifted a hand to brush my hair away from my face. That sweet gesture morphed quickly into something more as he threaded his fingers through my hair and gripped it tightly. I couldn’t turn away from him even if I’d wanted to.
“Say yes,” he whispered, his eyes darkening.
“Has anyone ever told you no?” I whispered back.
A deep chuckle. “Not a heterosexual female.”
Of course not.
“One kiss,” I said. I meant to sound firm, but my words just came out all breathy and stupid.
Another chuckle. “Sure, Wildcat.”
He cupped the back of my head possessively, and he pressed his lips to mine. I melted into his hold, the heat burning low in my belly, making my body soft and pliant for him. He growled his approval, and his tongue pressed against the seam of my lips, demanding and sure.
He consumed me then, and I let him. My arms found their way around his neck, and his hands wandered up under my shirt, rough fingertips skimming the skin over my ribs. He was leisurely with his kisses, exploring, probing, plundering. He took what he wanted, and I gave it willingly.
“Mmm, this is well worth all the holes you put in my bear when we sparred,” he purred against my cheek.
I stifled what would’ve been an obscene moan as he began to trail his lips down my throat, nipping and then soothing with his kiss.
“Wyatt,” I gasped as he yanked the straps of my top down my arms, taking the built-in bra with them and exposing my breasts to the cool air.
“Fucking perfect, Wildcat,” he rumbled, kissing down my chest.
“This is not one kiss!”
He paused and looked at me, green eyes blazing as he cradled my tits in his hands. “Do you want me to stop?”
“I—”
The door clicked open. I let out a tiny squeal, and Wyatt pulled me against his body, concealing my naked chest from the intruder. He whipped a look over his shoulder, his expression murderous.
A split second later, he relaxed, his chest rumbling against me as he laughed.
“There you two are,” Elijah said with a wicked grin. He wore one of his usual unbuttoned linen shirts, ratty jeans that molded to the taut muscles of his legs, and no shoes. He locked the door and leaned against it. “Dove, you look flushed and delicious.”
Wyatt narrowed his eyes at Elijah. “Can you keep it together near her like this?”
Elijah’s irises went molten gold, and his pupils narrowed. “Yes. I’ll stay over here,” vowed the sexy, terrifying monster, whose sole focus was now on me. “Is that okay, Dove?”
I swallowed roughly. “You want to… watch?”
He gifted me with a gorgeous, fangy smile. “Please.”
The need within me was a blazing inferno now. “Okay,” I whispered.
“Fuck yes,” Wyatt said. He stole another blistering kiss, feeding me his tongue, and I moaned into his mouth.
He dipped his head and wrapped his lips around my nipple, sucking hard. He rubbed his thumb gently across the other nipple as he licked and sucked. I gasped, shutting my eyes and reveling in Wyatt’s touch. His body was hot and hard between my legs, and he smelled like a crackling fire.
Wyatt switched breasts, groaning happily, and I opened my eyes, locking stares with Elijah. Those eerie, glowing yellow orbs drank in what Wyatt was doing to me like he needed every drop to survive.
“Gorgeous, Dove,” he said, his words ragged. “I think Wyatt should make you come.”
A growl ripped from Wyatt’s throat. “Fuck.”
“I said one kiss,” I moaned despondently. “Why can’t I think straight around you four?”
Wyatt licked my nipple one more time before bringing his lips back to my face and kissing along my jaw. “All four of us, huh? That’s convenient, baby.”
No, it wasn’t. It was so inconvenient, and it was starting to make me want things I couldn’t have.
Wyatt’s fingers went to the button of my jeans, and I had to decide if I was doing this.
Again.
I let out a tortured moan. “Wyatt—”
A loud knock sounded behind Elijah at the door. “Avery Baxter! I know you’re in there with Gale!”
Wyatt’s fingers froze. He heaved a frustrated sigh and dropped his forehead onto my shoulder.
Elijah, however, was unbothered. “I can send your brother on his way, Dove. I’ll be nice.”
“Avery! That bear better not be touching your bikini areas. I will go get my sword out of the car.”
“Why is your brother such a cockblock?” Wyatt muttered into my shoulder.
“He is normally very supportive of me getting laid,” I said. Elijah’s sly smile slipped, and Wyatt’s hand tightened where it was wrapped around my thigh. “But he thinks you guys are particularly bad news for me.”
Wyatt pulled my shirt up over my chest and secured the straps on my shoulders. He smoothed the fabric almost reluctantly, and then he stepped away, officially releasing me from his clutches. He shot me an apologetic smile. “He’s not wrong.”
Lust fog—cleared. I returned his tight smile. “Right.”
Another aggressive knock. “Aves!”
I hopped down from the counter and headed for the door. Elijah watched me curiously, opening the door to allow me to slip past him.
“Have a good break, Dove. See you soon.”
“Bye, Elijah.”
As he shut the door behind me, I met my brother’s accusing stare with my tired one. “Can we go home?”
His face softened immediately. “Yeah. Let’s go home.”