Chapter 24 Mara
TWENTY-FOUR
MARA
I’ve managed to avoid Talon Reed for forty-six hours.
Blocked every number he tried to dig up, including his frat brothers’, Jasper’s, even Dredyn’s. After the insane orgasm that Dredyn gave me and then the whirling kiss Jasper left me with… I just needed time to think.
Jasper spoke. I think that’s what shocked me most about the entire encounter. Someone who I know hasn’t spoken in almost five years, at least not publicly, spoke.
But he said, “You’re my girl.”
I’m Jasper’s girl. Which also means I’m Dredyn and Talon’s girl. And the whole thing is very overwhelming. So, I just needed a tiny break.
I slip into the second-to-last row just as class begins, pretending to take notes, jotting down words I already know by heart. The hum of the projector lulls me into daydreams, the professor’s droning voice dull in my ears.
My phone buzzes.
Unknown Number:
I don’t like being ignored.
A shiver runs up my spine and I shove the phone deeper into my bag. I’m not doing this. Not thinking about Talon. Not about Dredyn. Not about Jasper. Dredyn finger-fucking me on their dining table with Jasper walking in—that was enough. Enough to swear I was finished letting them take pieces of me.
I hate all men at the moment, and they should fear me.
The door slams open with a crack. Every head swivels toward the sudden light flooding the lecture hall, and my stomach plummets. Ripped jeans. Long legs. That cocky, careless stride. And then, the fiery red hair.
Talon.
Fuck me.
“Mr. Reed,” the professor frowns. “We’re in the middle of—”
“Oh! My bad,” Talon cuts in, grinning wide. “Just looking for Ms. Black.”
I sink low in my chair, praying his gaze skips right over me. But my classmates’ eyes flick straight to my corner—traitorous little beacons. By the time I lift my head again, he’s already locked on to me. His grin widens.
Of course it does.
He strides down the row without hesitation, ignoring the professor’s weak threats. When he reaches me, I open my mouth.
“Hey—”
But his arm snakes under my shoulder, hauling me up before I can protest.
“Hello, Princess, we’ve got some things to discuss.”
“No, I don’t think we do.”
He just chuckles, and in the next second, I’m over his shoulder like a sack of laundry. The class erupts in laughter as my legs knock into desks and chairs. My cheeks burn hot.
“Put me the fuck down!” I kick, fists pounding uselessly against his back. Every ounce of me is mortified. Every ounce except the dark curl of heat low in my belly.
Talon pats the back of my thigh. Smug bastard. “Relax, sweetheart. You like the attention.”
Mortification scorches me, but the way my thighs clamp tighter makes me hate myself more.
He bursts out of the lecture hall, the door slamming against the wall so hard the frame rattles. Laughter and whispers echo behind us as he strides down the fluorescent hallway with me slung over his shoulder like some ridiculous prize.
Finally, Talon sets me back on my feet. My hair falls in my face, my bag nearly slipping off my arm. I smooth myself down with shaky hands, trying to salvage what little dignity I have left.
“Seriously?” I hiss, glaring up at him. “Was that necessary?”
He just grins, unbothered. Like dragging me out of class was the most natural thing in the world.
I roll my eyes, grab a fistful of his sleeve, and yank him down the hall with me before anyone else can catch another glimpse. My steps are sharp, echoing. “Thanks for the public humiliation, Talon. Really appreciate it.”
“I had to do something since my girlfriend is ignoring me in my time of need.”
“This… whatever this is, it’s done, Talon. We’re done.”
Talon blinks in the dim light, his amber eyes narrowing.
A half-smile quirks at his lips, like he can’t take me seriously.
God, he looks almost amused. He lets out a short, disbelieving laugh.
“Got it. Thanks for the memo. But do you maybe wanna tell me why?” He steps closer, forcing me back against the wall.
I swallow, glancing toward the door to make sure no one followed. The corridor remains empty. Good. I need privacy for this.
“Milo’s got an eye on me now. He’s watching, Talon. And Dredyn…”
Talon’s jaw ticks. “Ah. So that’s what this is.” His grin fades, a harder look replacing it. “Dredyn makes you come for the first time in your life and you cut me out too? Seriously?”
I lift my chin. “That’s not even what this is about.
But while you’re bringing it up… he took it too far—way too far.
I can’t do this anymore.” My throat tightens at the admission.
I can’t do this. The words taste bitter, and part of me hates saying them.
But what choice do I have? “All of you… you’re going to get me killed, or worse. I’m done.”
Talon’s eyes search mine. He’s so close now, I catch a whiff of his scent—coffee, leather, and spice. It’s distracting, making my head swim.
“Mara.” He lifts a hand like he’s about to touch my cheek. I flinch back against the wall, but his palm just lands flat beside my head. He doesn’t touch me, but he cages me all the same. “You think this is over? Princess, I’m having way too much fun to let you walk away now.”
I set my jaw, forcing myself to hold his gaze. “Maybe you’re enjoying yourself, but I never agreed to anything more than fake.”
“Bullshit.” That veneer of easygoing charm cracks, and I see the possessive heat beneath. “You think I can’t tell the difference? You think I don’t notice how you melt for me every damn time I get close?”
I scoff, though my heart is rabbiting in my chest. “Move,” I demand, pushing at his solid chest with my palms. It’s like trying to shove a brick wall; he doesn’t budge an inch. “Talon, I’m serious. No.”
He catches my wrists in a gentle but unyielding grip. The sudden contact zings through me, and I curse myself because, even now, even angry and scared, my pulse reacts to his touch. I feel heat blossoming where his rough calloused fingers wrap around my wrists.
“You’re saying no,” he echoes thoughtfully, as he brings my pinned wrists up against the wall above my head.
The motion forces me to arch slightly, my body drawn taut.
Talon slides in closer, his hips brushing mine.
A tremor goes through me at the intimate press of his body.
“But the way you’re looking at me right now… ”
“I’m glaring at you,” I grit out. I am glaring, or trying to, despite the flush igniting in my cheeks and the flutter low in my belly.
He chuckles, a low sound that skitters down my spine.
“You’re looking at me like you want me to fuck you stupid, Mara.
” His nose grazes my temple, inhaling. I feel his breath warm against my ear.
“You can barely stand it, can you? Being this close and not being able to be fucked. I can arrange it, if you’d like.
But you’d have to admit that you want this. ”
A soft whimper escapes my throat before I can stop it. Damn him, he’s right. My traitorous body tilts toward his heat, my resolve weakening with every passing second. “Talon…” I mean it as a warning, but it comes out as more of a plea.
His mouth finds the corner of mine—not quite a kiss, yet. My eyes flutter shut at the tantalizing closeness. No, no, no… This is exactly how I lose control. This is how he wins.
“We’re not done,” Talon whispers, and then he closes the gap.
His lips capture mine, and a lightning bolt of lust slams through me.
I suck in a breath—his breath—as he kisses me slow and deep, pouring all that cocky confidence and pent-up obsession into me.
His grip on my wrists loosens slightly, no longer holding me in place…
because he doesn’t have to. My hands stay obediently above my head, pinned by nothing but my own surrender.
A small, treacherous part of my brain finally sings. The taste of Talon’s mouth—mint and smoke—floods my senses. His tongue strokes against mine, coaxing a needy sigh from the back of my throat. Heat pools between my hips, an ache that has me pressing closer without thinking.
He kisses me until I’m breathless, until the world beyond this dusty closet corridor falls away. I drown in him for one blissful, terrifying moment. My mind blanks and it’s just want—sharp and sweet and searing through every nerve.
He breaks the kiss eventually, trailing it off with a playful nip to my lower lip.
I gasp softly, my eyes blinking open. The hallway tilts and I realize I’m clinging to his shoulders just to stay upright.
At some point my hands slipped from above my head to loop around his neck, my fingers now buried in his thick red hair. When did that happen?
I disentangle myself with a jolt, pushing at him again, more feeble this time.
Shame and anger war inside me. How could I let him do that?
How could I respond like that? I press the back of my hand to my tingling lips.
“This—” I struggle to gather my thoughts, my voice embarrassingly shaky.
“This was exactly what I mean, Talon! You can’t just… just do that whenever I say no.”
He’s still so close, towering over me, a satisfied smirk playing on his swollen lips. “Seemed like a good way to convince you to stop saying it.”
I scowl, trying to ignore the way my body is still humming from that kiss. “You can’t convince me of anything, that’s the point. I choose what happens to me, and I’m choosing for this to end. Now.”
Talon’s smile fades entirely. In a blink, the intensity in his gaze darkens into something molten and dangerous.
Before I can react, he reaches up and gently wraps his fingers around my throat.
Not squeezing, just holding—his thumb resting against my racing pulse.
The implication is crystal clear: He’s in control.
My breath catches. A thrill twists through me, equal parts fear and excitement. I hate that it’s not just fear.