Chapter 1 #2
“Who said anything about draining our power?” Orion whispered in my ear, making me shiver.
Then I felt it.
Fuck, the bastard! “What are you doing?” I snapped as I twisted in his grip, only to find myself perilously close to his lips.
He grinned, showing no pity on me as his growing erection dug into my abdomen, turning me on even more.
“I’m not sure what you did to me, little star, but I know what I’m doing to you.
” He waggled his eyebrows. He knew that I loved his new nickname for me, even if I’d never admit it.
“I’m turning you on, which means I can feed off of you.
” He held me tighter when I tried to squirm away from him.
“It’s your own fault, really. You cast a spell that bound me to you, making it impossible to feed off of anyone else.
No more orgy parties to give the Demis the boost we need to stay at the Academy, leaving a void.
” He licked his lips, taking his time running his gaze over me as if he was ready to devour me.
“Which means I will take what I need from you.”
My body reacted to his lust, but my heart sensed it was only skin-deep. I wouldn’t take a Virtue who didn’t really love me. No fucking way.
I used my strength to rip out of his hold.
“What about that poem you wrote me? And the chocolates you sent the day before? Or the ‘puppy’ I found in my room with a red bow and a note it was from you?” And by puppy, I mean an undersized wolf shifter who had been frightened within an inch of his life not to turn human while in my presence and to pretend to be my new pet, Orion’s orders.
“What about it?” he asked as he took a seat at one of the desks with an innocent expression plastered on his face.
He leaned over the back of his chair, leaving no room for imagination when it came to every curve of his body that cut through his uniform illumined by his divine heritage. “I tried wooing you. Didn’t work.”
“So now you’re opting for force?” I bit out.
He shrugged, flashing me a panty-melting grin that sent my mind sprawling with a whole new set of things I wanted to do to him. “I’m not forcing anything. You’re the one lusting after me, and I’m feeding off of that, little star. I don’t even have to touch you.”
I turned to find the Demis a good deal stronger than a moment before. Ally’s muscle tone had definitely improved. Zero didn’t look quite as pissed off trying to stay corporeal, and Trevor had enough energy to dance a trail of water over his knuckles in a show of power.
Okay. Maybe not the best predicament to find myself in, but there was a solution. All I had to do was stop lusting after Orion.
I turned and settled my gaze over his utter perfection, my Virtue connection having a field day with all the ways I could seal my bond with him here and now.
Fucking annoying succubus libido. Well, I’m doomed. Death by sex drive. That’s what they’ll write on my tombstone.
A growl rumbled in my throat, part sexual frustration and part self-hatred, as I sat at the desk next to the wall.
“Hendrik and Miss Williams are going to hear about this,” I grumbled.
Even though Kaito was my main mentor, Miss Williams oversaw my Awakening progress.
Kaito said it was good for me to make an alliance with one of the most feared counselors on campus.
She was a real hardass, but I was growing on her, which meant she looked out for me when it came to shit the other cliques liked to pull.
“What’s Hendrik going to do?” Ally countered, drawing her weapon in a slow shift from its sheath. “We’re not touching you, and if you try to leave, well, that’s on you. Class isn’t over yet and we’re permitted to use force to keep you here.” She grinned. “Miss Williams’s orders.”
What, really? Fuck. And here I thought she was starting to like me.
“Next time you give someone chocolates, try one first,” Orion suggested.
“Why, did you try to poison me?” I snapped, but my stomach had dropped. What the fuck had he done to those chocolates?
Orion chuckled as he got out of his chair. As promised, he didn’t touch me, but he proceeded to torment me as he pressed one hand on the wall and blocked me between his chest and my desk. I wanted to turn into his warmth that radiated at my back, but I locked my spine and refused to look at him.
Nope. Not going to—is that cologne? Or just how a Demigod normally smells? Because it’s like he bathed in strawberries and… liquid sex.
I buried my face in my hands and groaned as Orion’s husky chuckles made my thighs clench.
“I don’t know what kind of spell you put on me, but it seems to be backfiring, little star. I can taste your desire like honey.” I peeked through my fingers, only to find he’d shifted in front of me and licked his lips for effect.
Ally’s sword sang through the air as she tested a swipe. The blade had definitely gotten longer, and maybe shinier. Because slicing people in half needed to be done in style, apparently.
“How long are you going to keep me here?” I asked, my voice having a strain to it that was hopeless to try and hide.
Orion leaned in closer, wrapping me in a blanket of heat and desire as he whispered his answer. “As long as it takes for you to undo what you’ve done to me.”
And there it was. My heart twisted in spite of knowing the truth all along. I couldn’t force Orion into a Virtue bond, not when he was more interested in hosting orgy parties to keep his buddies juiced up. I was just an inconvenience to him. He didn’t deserve me or my desire.
It didn’t change the fact that he was gorgeous, kissable, and very much in the palm of my hand right now.
His gold-flecked eyes watched me without blinking, taking in my every move.
I felt the beginnings of something more between us, if only he’d open his heart to me, but whatever part of him knew how to love was very much buried, and perhaps a bit broken.
That was okay. I was broken, too.
“I can’t undo it,” I snapped back at him, making him flinch. “It doesn’t work that way.”
He frowned. “You’re telling the truth.” He leaned in a fraction closer as his eyes dipped to my lips.
“This is a strange torment Hendrik has crafted for both of us. He’s made me want you more than I’ve wanted anyone, and I suspect you feel the same way, but neither of us are going to give in to this carnal desire.
” His gold-flecked eyes flashed up to meet mine.
“Because if you hate me as much as I hate you, sex is off the table.”
It was a good thing that Orion was so close to me, because it gave me just enough reach to kick him right in the balls.