13. Quill
Quill
Idon’t think I slept. But then again, dawn came much faster than I anticipated.
Outside the window pink light was starting to fill the sky, but all I could think about was Aeron’s massive form curled around me.
He was so warm, and he smelled faintly of smoke.
Not to mention, I could feel his huge soft cock wedged perfectly between my cheeks like some sort of weird dragon-shaped hot dog.
It irritated me how much I loved it, loved this, being in his arms in his room with nowhere to go.
I wanted to stay there forever, to just ignore that voice inside me that said I shouldn’t have put his dick in my mouth.
But I did. And I liked it. And I wanted to do it again.
Goddammit.
I had to get out of bed before I did something stupid. Like wake him up and ask him to do it again.
Carefully, so carefully, I extracted myself from his embrace.
Aeron stirred slightly, his arm reaching out like he was searching for me in his sleep, but he didn’t wake.
I grabbed my clothes from where they’d been scattered across the floor and padded quietly into his bathroom, closing the door behind me as softly as I could.
The mirror showed me exactly what I didn’t want to see. My red-swollen lips, a hickey blooming dark on my neck, and a look in my eyes that screamed I’d just had the best blowjob of my life. I groaned, pressing my palms against my eyes.
This was bad. This was really, really bad.
I’d spent two weeks telling myself that Aeron Pyre was an insufferable asshole.
That his confidence was annoying, his arrogance was insufferable, and his constant attempts to get into my pants were harassment.
And then what? One ward breach and a moment of vulnerability in the dark, and suddenly I’m on my knees with his cock in my mouth like some easy slut?
The worst part was that I’d enjoyed it. More than enjoyed it. The taste of him, the weight of cock on my tongue, the way he’d said my name when he came…
I shook my head hard, turning on the shower. Cold water. I needed cold water.
As I stood under the spray, trying to get my head on straight, my mind kept circling back to what Professor Blackwood had asked me to do. She wanted me to spy on him, to watch for inconsistencies and report back. And instead, I’d just blown him.
Some spy I turned out to be.
But then there was the crystal ball communication with his grandfather.
That had been real. That had been exactly the kind of thing Blackwood wanted me to notice.
Elder Thaddeus telling Aeron to keep quiet about what we’d seen, to make sure I kept quiet too.
Asking him not to report details to security.
That wasn’t normal. That wasn’t transparent leadership.
And having a crystal ball that could pierce the wards? That seemed suspicious too.
So why did I feel like a complete asshole for even thinking about reporting it?
I got out of the shower and dressed quickly, trying not to think about the fact that I could still smell him on my skin.
Smoke and something I could only describe as dragon stink.
I ran my fingers through my damp hair, trying to make myself look less like I’d just gotten my mouth fucked in the dark.
When I emerged from the bathroom, Aeron was still asleep. He was sprawled across the bed in all his naked glory, one arm thrown over his face, his chest rising and falling steadily. His cock was soft now, resting against his thigh, but even flaccid it was impressive. I forced myself to look away.
I needed coffee. And distance. And probably therapy, if I was being honest.
I was reaching for the door when his voice stopped me.
“Where are you going?”
I turned to find him propped up on his elbows, those golden eyes half-lidded and sleepy. He looked rumpled and content and absolutely beautiful.
“I need to check on my roommate,” I said, which was technically true. “And get some clothes. And think.”
“About what?” He sat up fully, completely unselfconscious about his nakedness. Of course he was.
“About this,” I gestured vaguely between us. “About last night. About what happens now.”
He studied me for a long moment, and I could practically see the wheels turning behind his eyes. “What do you want to happen?”
That was the question, wasn’t it? What did I want? Because the answer was complicated and messy and involved a lot of things that probably weren’t smart.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “This is... I don’t usually do this.”
“Neither do I,” he said quietly. “Not like that, anyway.”
There was something in his tone that made my chest tighten. Something that suggested this meant more to him than just getting his rocks off. And that terrified me more than the ward breach had.
“I need to think,” I said again, firmer this time. “Alone.”
He didn’t like that. I could see it in the way his jaw clenched, the way his hands flexed like they wanted to reach for me and pull me back. But he nodded anyway.
“Okay,” he said. “But we’re talking about this later. And Red? Don’t go blabbing to your roommate about what happened here.”
I almost laughed. “Trust me, Lysander is the last person I want knowing about this.”
“Good,” he said, and there was that possessive edge again. “Because he’s not getting anywhere near you.”
“You can’t claim ownership of me, Aeron.”
“Watch me,” he said, but he was smiling.
I left before he could say anything else that would make me want to crawl back into bed with him.
The hallway was mercifully empty as I made my way back to my dorm.
Campus was still under lockdown, which meant most students were confined to their rooms. I saw a few security witches patrolling, but they barely spared me a glance.
They probably assumed I was some slut heading back to my room, because that’s exactly what I was.
When I pushed open the door to my room, Lysander was sitting at his desk, apparently doing homework despite the ward breach. His usual cohorts were nowhere to be seen. He looked up at me with an expression that immediately told me he knew exactly where I’d been.
“So,” he said, leaning back in his chair with a shit-eating grin. “How was the dragon?”
“Nothing happened,” I said flatly, moving to my closet to grab a clean shirt.
“Your neck says otherwise, buddy.” He pointed at the hickey I’d forgotten about. “That’s quite the souvenir.”
I felt my face flush. “It’s not—we didn’t—”
“Relax,” Lysander laughed, holding up his hands. “I’m not going to tell anyone. Though honestly, I’m a little hurt. Here I am, offering you the time of your life, and you go straight for the dragon asshole.”
“He’s not an asshole,” I found myself saying, then immediately regretted it.
Lysander’s grin widened. “Oh wow. You’ve got it bad already.”
“I don’t have anything,” I snapped, pulling off my shirt and tossing it aside. “We just... it was just a thing. A one-time thing.”
Even as I said it, I knew it was a lie. And judging by Lysander’s expression, he knew it too.
“Sure,” he said, turning back to his homework. “And I’m the King of the Faeries.”
I ignored him and headed for the bathroom, closing the door behind me.
I took another quick shower to try and wash away the lingering scent of Aeron.
It didn’t work. If anything, the hot water seemed to make it stronger, more embedded in my skin.
I kept catching whiffs of smoke as I dressed, and each time it made my stomach flutter in a deeply annoying way.
When I finally came back out, Lysander was sitting on his bed, clearly waiting to interrogate me some more.
“So are you going to tell me what happened, or do I have to guess?” Lysander asked, patting the space next to him on the bed.
I stayed where I was, leaning against the wall by the bathroom door. “There’s nothing to tell.”
“Quill,” he said, his tone shifting from teasing to something more genuine. “I saw him run into those woods after you like you were a princess in a tower that needed to be rescued. I saw the look on his face. That wasn’t just casual hookup energy.”
“Yeah, well, looks can be deceiving,” I said, but my voice lacked conviction.
Lysander studied me for a moment, and I could practically see him deciding whether to push or let it go.
To my relief, he chose the latter. “Okay. But for what it’s worth, I think you two are kind of perfect for each other.
He looks at you like you hung the moon.” He paused for a moment. “Is that it? Are you like super hung?”
“He looks at everyone like that,” I said, ignoring his question. “It’s called arrogance.”
“No,” Lysander shook his head. “I’ve been around enough dragons to know the difference. That one’s got it bad for you, too.”
I didn’t respond. Instead, I flopped onto my bed and stared at the ceiling, trying to process everything that had happened in the last twelve hours.
A ward breach from some creepy figures I couldn’t make out.
Aeron rescuing me. The way his mouth felt around my cock.
His grandfather’s cryptic instructions to keep quiet.
And Professor Blackwood’s request to spy on him.
That last thought made my stomach twist into knots. How was I supposed to spy on him now?
“You’re thinking very loud over there,” Lysander observed.
“I’m thinking about the ward breach,” I said, which was partially true. “About what those things were trying to do.”
“Things?” Lysander asked. “What things?”
Ah shit. I wasn’t supposed to say anything.
“N-Nothing. Forget about it,” I said quickly.
“You saw what tried to breach the wards?”
“I…” I searched for a lie, anything that would work, and came up empty-handed. “I’m not supposed to talk about it. I was told to keep it quiet for now.”
“By who?” Lysander scoffed. “The Dean?”
I didn’t answer.
“Was it a professor?” he pushed. “Did Aeron tell you not to say anything?”
I let out a long sigh. Lysander wasn’t going to give up. He never did.
“Aeron’s grandfather,” I said at last. “The Elder Council leader. He told me not to say anything because he doesn’t want people to panic about nothing. So stop asking me, okay?”
Lysander’s brow furrowed and for a split second, he looked far less carefree than I was used to. But it only lasted a second or two before he seemed to shake it off. With a shrug he flopped back on his bed, seemingly bored as usual.
“Whatever,” he grumbled. “But at least tell me about that dragon’s cock. I’m very curious about what it looks like.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Did it taste good?”
“Leave me alone.”
I threw a pillow at him, which he caught easily and tossed back.
It hit me square in the face, and I couldn’t help but laugh despite my frustration.
This was Lysander in a nutshell. He was annoying as hell, but somehow always able to pull me out of my own spiraling thoughts whether he meant to or not.
“Seriously though,” he said, his tone shifting back to something more curious than lewd. “Are you going to see him again? Like, is this a thing?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted, staring back up at the ceiling. “Maybe? I probably shouldn’t though. He’s an asshole.”
“Well, you better figure it out soon,” Lysander said. “Because that dragon is absolutely going to expect you to. He’s not being casual with you. And you know how they love to hoard the things they cherish. And I have a feeling that you just became his new favorite toy.”
I wanted to argue with him, wanted to say that Aeron was exactly the type to do casual, to move from conquest to conquest without looking back.
But the truth was, I didn’t know anything about him.
Not really. I knew he was arrogant and possessive and made my skin prickle with heat whenever he looked at me.
I knew he had a connection to the Elder Council and that his grandfather was very powerful.
I knew he could taste my arousal in the air and that he’d run into a forest full of unknown creatures to save me without a second thought.
But I didn’t know if any of that added up to him actually caring about me as a person.
“I’m going to the cafeteria,” I said, standing up abruptly. “I need to eat.”
“I’ll go with you,” Lysander said, hopping up from his bed. “I’m starving.”
“Please, by all means, invade my privacy.”
“I’d rather invade your privates,” he grinned, giving me a nudge. “But I’ll settle for breakfast instead.”
“Can literally one less person try to get in my pants today?”
“What can I say, Quill?” he laughed. “You’re a hot commodity. And that dragon isn’t gonna share you with anyone.”
Out of all the things Lysander had said, that was the one I believed to be true. Aeron had already claimed me as his own. Even if he said he was joking, I knew he wasn’t. In his mind, I belonged to him.
And goddammit if that didn’t make my dick twitch.