Chapter 7 #2
“Well, she’s all you’ve got. Easing my bond into our world will take time and careful planning.
I foresee a significant step back once she learns my identity, no matter how close we grow before.
Our family is massively responsible for the death of her kind as well as the open hunts on her and her family. ”
“That ruling was made generations before you or I were even born.” This time I let her see me roll my eyes at her overused argument. “Don’t give me that attitude, Kaiden. You know our family worked hard to reverse that law long before a nightmare was seen as your bond.”
It was true. My grandfather was the first to notice their near-extinct population and recognize what a complete loss of their magick could mean for the rest of us.
Times were changing, and humans were becoming more of a threat to supernaturals than the silent war for power between the factions.
A healthy population of nightmares could be the turning point if our existence ever became widespread knowledge.
“It doesn’t matter, Mom. We haven’t done nearly enough. Her people are still gone. Her soul and body are still scarred, and that’s on us.”
The argument with my mother made it hard to fall asleep. Three cups of chamomile later, and I was still wide awake. It had only been a few hours since I dropped Eryn off, and I wondered what she was doing right now.
It’s the middle of the night. She’s sleeping you obsessive fuck.
The door to my room burst open and slammed against the wall loud enough to wake me if I wasn’t already up. Ezra stood in the hall, a sphere of white quartz in his palm. It pulsed with a harsh glow that cast shadows over my cousin’s panicked expression.
“Something’s breached the wards on her dorm.”
The entire population of Midnight Hall lingered outside, beneath the blinding red lights of the fire engine.
The shrill alarm still blared inside the old building, but it was easy to ignore all the way out here.
My anxious gaze scanned for that familiar head of curls…
there. My bond and her roommate stood huddled together at the back of the crowd, close to the wall of the neighboring dorm.
Ez moved before me, eager to check over the redhead whose eyes narrowed at his approach.
It was a glare of displeasure, and one I mirrored as I watched Eryn standing there in a little pair of sleep shorts, some slippers, and my fucking hoodie.
What had we just discussed? I stalked over to her, my anger only growing as realization dawned on her face. She was caught.
“I told you to put something else on.” I stopped in front of her, stepping so close she had to crane her neck to look at me. “Your fucking lips are blue.”
I shrugged off my own jacket and threw it around her shoulders. Grabbing one hand, I directed it through a sleeve. Her other hand, however, was covering her eyes.
“What are you doing?” I asked when I couldn’t pry her fingers off her face.
“I’m avoiding eye contact.”
“I can see that.” I tried again, but I didn’t want to hurt her and gave up. “Why?”
“Because you’re yelling at me, and I’m tired of seeing it.”
Ezra’s laugh turned into a subtle cough beside me.
I glared at him. He had his arms tightly wrapped around Rani, his hands vigorously rubbing warmth into her back over the blanket she had wrapped around her shoulders.
The scowl on his face told me he was just as upset at the redhead’s lack of survival instincts. Instincts she shared with my bond.
I turned back to my own little spitfire. “You can still hear me.”
She shrugged, not moving that hand. “Next time, I’ll wear headphones.”
Smart-ass. There wasn’t going to be a next time.
“I wouldn’t yell if you took better care of yourself.
” Did she not realize the restraint it took to see her make the same unhealthy choices and not lock her away in my room until she learned how to properly take care of herself?
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, gently tugging on her hand again.
“Please open your eyes. I’ll try to do better if you promise to stop pretending you’re immune to the elements. ”
Her answering laugh was followed by the reveal of the most beautiful green eyes I’d ever seen. It was a punch to the gut, one I welcomed.
“Hi,” she whispered shyly.
I shot her a gentle grin and helped her now free arm through the other sleeve just in time for the students to start making their way back inside.
We still needed to figure out what had triggered the alarm, both the one to the dorm and the general one that caused the evacuation.
But first, I needed to escort my bond back to her room.
“Lending me your body heat during a mild campus emergency does not mean you now get to tuck me into bed, you ass!”
Rani tried to speed walk ahead of my cousin, but he easily kept up with her.
“That part isn’t up for discussion, babe. Would you prefer your arms inside or out of the blanket?”
My body shook with suppressed laughter as Eryn and I watched from a safe distance. Rani spun around, righteous fury fueling her every move. She shoved Ez and screeched when he trapped her hands, pulled her close, and dipped down to throw her over his shoulder—blanket and all.
“Put me down, you weird fetish bastard!” Another shriek. “You’re not going within five feet of my bed!”
“These delusions of yours worry me,” Ez tsked, unbothered by her violent squirming. “We can discuss them once I’m sure this ass is nice and toasty and tucked in the bed that I’m now considering climbing into with you.”
Their bickering carried on across the courtyard.
We followed but stayed moving at a casual pace so they could work things out before we arrived at the room.
We were the only ones left in the lobby besides the last group of students waiting for the elevators.
Eryn slid my jacket off and handed it to me with a quiet “thanks.”
She moved to join the last stragglers of students, and I caved, not ready to let her go.
I tossed the jacket on a random couch and ushered my confused bond into the stairwell.
Crowding her against the far wall, we were tucked to the side of the stairs, invisible from the door.
I listened anyway. When no footsteps sounded from above, I looked down and was greeted with an adorable frown.
“What are you doing?”
“We didn’t finish our conversation,” I told her. “When I see you next time, do you promise to wear something heavier than my hoodie?” I plucked at the offending item of clothing in question.
She huffed, but it was paired with a shy smile. “I guess I should probably return it to you anyway.”
That would solve the problem, but when she reached for the bottom of the cotton and started lifting, I shook my head and pressed her further into the wall. Not even an inch separated us as I pinned her arms to her sides with my palms flat against the concrete.
“Keep it. It looks better on you.”
That fucking blush.
I licked my lips at the arousal I saw in her gaze before she ducked her head.
I couldn’t take it. I promised myself I’d wait for her to instigate anything, but if I didn’t taste her right now, I wouldn’t make it through the night.
I used a finger to gently lift her chin.
Her eyes flicked back and forth, taking in the scowl I knew I wore. I didn’t like losing control.
“What’s wrong?” she asked softly.
“I’m mad at myself,” I answered, bringing one hand between us and using it to tilt her head back to just the right angle.
Her gaze dropped to my mouth as her tongue dipped out to wet her lips in response. “Why?”
My fingers reached back into her hair and tugged, anchoring her for the storm I was about to unleash. She gasped and arched into my hold but didn’t close her eyes. She was daring me; meeting me head-on. Good girl.
“I should have done this earlier,” I said, our lips almost touching. “I’ll never forgive myself if I miss another opportunity.”
This wasn’t a gentle kiss, like the ones I’d planned to woo her with.
It was a barely suppressed need with a hint of obsession.
Her lips were soft and full and so warm as I touched them to my own with a soft slide that had both of us moaning.
Despite the urge to devour her, I kissed her slowly, a gentle nip, an easy friction that sent her wiggling against me.
My skin felt too sensitive—like one more scratch of her nails on my scalp would send us both up in flames.
I pressed as close as physically possible, my dick so fucking hard it was ready to bust with only a couple of thrusts against her soft belly.
Then she whined, and I couldn’t deny that plea.
Hooking my hands under her thighs, I lifted her and pushed her against the wall, deepening the kiss and languidly thrusting my tongue in imitation of that final act.
Her heat encompassed me, even through our layers of clothes, and I answered with a hard roll of my hips that pushed her up the wall with a squeal. I dragged her mouth back to mine and used it to cover my own groan.
Sweat dripped down my back, and the zipper of my jeans was so tight over the head of my dick it hurt, but I couldn’t stop.
I couldn’t get enough. In the back of my mind, in the small section still capable of coherent thoughts, I knew our intense reaction was fueled in part by our bond’s need to complete.
I felt it heavy in my chest, and I knew the longer we kissed, the more that bond would grow. Potentially to a level strong enough that Eryn would finally notice it. I didn’t care. I trailed my lips down her neck.
“Fuck! You don’t understand what you do to me, princess.” Another moan escaped her, this one a little more desperate than the last. “Make that sound again,” I demanded and reached between us.
Her thin shorts were damp and hot, soaked with the evidence of her arousal. I ran my thumb along the seam, adding more pressure at the top. She bit her lip, so I did it again, harder. On the next pass, she mewled against my mouth and tightened her legs around me.
“Kai,” she moaned. “Oh gods, please.”
“I’ve got you,” I told her, removing my fingers from that sensitive bud and laying my hand flat on her belly, near the top of her shorts. “Do you trust me?”
She panted and squirmed, searching for that missing friction, urged on by her need for release and the bond’s influence.
We were both lost to its spell, but I refused to let it go further than this.
Fuck, I’d stop right now if she told me to.
But she didn’t stop me, instead, she pulled on my arm to try and direct my hand back to where she ached.
“Princess,” I breathed, gently bumping my nose against hers. “Tell me.”
Her eyes fluttered open and met mine. “I trust you.”
Thank the gods.
My fingers slipped expertly through the slick mess between her thighs.
I ignored her nails biting into my skin and stroked with determination, teasing her opening before rubbing firmly against the swollen bud.
She was going to feel me for days after this.
I curled my hand, dipping the tip of a finger inside.
Her pussy greedily sucked me in, drawing me deeper until the heel of my palm rested on her clit.
She wasn’t going to last long. Not as I angled my finger to hit that spongy spot on the roof of her walls.
Her fingertips held onto my shoulders hard enough to bruise as she ground herself against my hand.
It was like holding a hellcat in my arms, the way she hissed and fought my hold, wanting what I had to offer but wary of its dangerous potency.
“Look at you,” I crooned as her inner muscles tensed. “Fuck my fingers, princess. Soak my hand like a good girl.”
The cry that left her throat was smothered by my lips.
I eased the thrusts of my finger but kept it inside her while my thumb helped her ride out her orgasm.
I pulled away from her mouth and let her legs fall, my finger never stopping its strokes against her core.
She cried out again as another wave of release rode on the end of the first one.
Her knees buckled and still, the bond in my chest demanded I take more.
It wanted her complete submission. It wanted her so weak she couldn’t even crawl away as we claimed her on the cold concrete floor.
With a pained roar, I forced myself away from her and put as much distance between us as the small room would allow.
“Eryn, you need to go.”
Her eyes flashed with shock as she sat slumped against the wall, her chest heaving with deep breaths.
“I—” She shook her head and stood on weak legs. “No one’s ever—you just had your—why?” A little anger leaked its way past her post-orgasmic confusion. “Why should I go?”
Every second she stood before me, looking so fucking edible I could die from the sight, was another second I lost control.
She couldn’t recognize the bond yet, so its hold on her waned now that I no longer touched her, but I remembered with too much clarity how slippery she felt against my fingers.
I wanted more. Without breaking eye contact, I lifted my hand to my mouth.
The musky scent grew stronger as I tasted the finger I had deep inside her.
A groan escaped. “If you don’t run up those stairs right now and lock your door, I’m going to fuck you all over this room.
On the stairs, against the wall again, with your ass in the air and bent over the railing until each of my thrusts make you feel like you’re going to fall.
But you won’t because I’d never let you go; not once I bury myself inside you.
” I took one step and clenched my fists to keep from lunging for her.
“Go, Eryn!” I growled, and she flinched. “Please,” I begged, softening my voice.
She worried her bottom lip, enough curiosity shining through her nerves to make her wonder if she could take what I offered. Thankfully, her sanity won out, and she disappeared up the stairs without another sound.