Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
Those nagging worries still circulate when I’m under the shower the next morning. I lather my hair as yet another worry crosses my mind. How will Instructor Thorne…Sterling…react when I show up for my lesson, considering what happened between us last night? After everything we shared, will he put his walls back up and act like nothing happened?
Surely not.
But what will I do if he does?
I’m not na?ve enough to believe he’s in love with me. It’s not like he tries to pretend. Still, what we shared was open and honest. Real. For a short time, the world fell away.
Heaving a sigh, I rinse my hair and quicken my pace. Sterling may have treated me like a princess last night, but the last thing I want to do is tempt fate and risk his irritation by being late.
After I clean my teeth, get dressed, and braid my hair, I leave the dorm and try to steady my racing heart. When that doesn’t work, I steel myself for whatever comes next since I have little choice to do anything else.
The morning, at least, is perfect. A mild breeze glides past, stirring the scent of fragrant flowers and dewy earth. Given the early hour, no one is milling about.
My steps slow as I approach the alicorn stable. Sterling’s not waiting for me outside as he sometimes does, impatiently tapping his boot.
Anxiety swells in my chest.
Is he having second thoughts about last night? Ashamed he stooped to the level of fraternizing with a student? Decided not to waste time on someone so much less experienced than him?
Get a grip. You didn’t even sleep with him yet, and already you’re losing your damn mind.
As my uncertainty builds, I tell myself he has to be in the stable. Last night aside, we have a lesson, and he’s not one to shirk a commitment.
Resolve steeling me, I step inside the building.
Strong arms clasp my waist then tug me into the shadows of an empty stall. My back hits a hard, muscled chest. The scent of leather and soap invades my senses.
He’s here.
My heart pounds in my ears, so loud I’m certain he can hear it too.
Spinning me to face him, Sterling trails his fingers down the side of my face. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“It’s not like I had much choice.” I shiver as his thumb brushes the skin just under my lower lip. “If I’m late, there’s this grumpy instructor who’ll have my ass.”
“Grumpy?” A laugh rumbles in his chest. “I’d have said attractive, skilled, sexy, charming, intelligent?—”
“Did you just learn what an adjective is?” My lips curve up despite my best effort to hide my smile. “Add cocky to your list too.”
“I’m offended.” He lowers his head and whispers in my ear, his warm breath skating across my skin. “Like I said, that mouth is going to get you into so much trouble.”
I give in to a streak of boldness. “I’d like to get into even more trouble.”
He pulls back and searches my face, a predatory gleam in his eyes. “Keep talking like that, and your lesson won’t involve riding an alicorn.”
Tiny shivers dance down my spine as indecent images pour into my mind. I feign outrage, pressing a hand to my chest. “You’re so inappropriate.”
“You don’t seem all that bothered by my…inappropriateness.”
“Want to know something?” I pitch up on my toes, and when he inclines his head, it’s my turn to whisper in his ear. “I’m not.” I press a kiss against the faint scar on his jawline.
With a groan, he lowers his forehead to mine. “I swear you’re going to be the death of me.”
“Who pulled who into the stall? It’s starting to become a habit.”
“You’re a habit I don’t mind forming.”
For several heartbeats, we stare at each other, neither saying a word. Then I don’t know who moves first as his mouth covers mine.
The kiss is soft and sweet and relaxed, like we’ve got all the time in the world. He draws languid circles on my lower back that match the pace of his mouth. Winding my arms around his neck, I tunnel my fingers through his silky hair.
He skims his tongue across my bottom lip and groans. “Mmm. Just as sweet as I remember.”
Sweet doesn’t even begin to describe the act of kissing him. My body’s alive with sensations. One minute, I’m on top of a mountain. The next, I’m falling—spiraling—and if I’m not careful, I’m going to crash and burn.
With his left hand, he cups my neck. He presses his lips against the corner of my mouth, then my jaw, then the sensitive spot below my ear. Grabbing my wrist, he pulls me into the storage room next to the stall before flicking his wrist so that frost forms over the doorknob.
“There. Now you can’t complain about the stall.”
I giggle. “Yes, because a storage room is such a big upgrade.”
“It’s locked.” He loops an arm around my waist, tugging me flush against him. “Don’t have to worry about interruptions.”
When I consider the potential reasons for needing a lock, my breath hitches. “The room you sometimes use to sleep in in the stable was too messy?”
“Too far away.”
I’m about to say it’s only in the back of the same building, but then his lips brush mine. “Right. Smart man.”
“Thank you.” The laughter rumbling in Sterling’s chest vibrates through me. “You going to compliment me all day or show me how much you missed me?”
“That depends.”
“On what?”
I shrug. The movement causes the tips of my breasts to brush against his chest. “How nice you are.”
“We both know just how nice I can be.” His darkened gaze boils my blood. “But I know how much you like it when I misbehave.”
He’s not wrong.
“You’re so full of yourself.”
Sterling splays his free hand on my hip, eliciting tiny shivers all over my body. “Your ability to go from complimenting me to insulting me in thirty seconds amazes me.”
While his playful tone teases, there’s nothing teasing about what he does next.
His lips brush mine, tentative at first, like he’s waiting for permission. I wind my arms around his neck and kiss him back, giving him all the consent he needs.
Pulling me even closer, he angles my head back and begins a slow exploration of my mouth. Somehow, it’s just as hot as his other kisses…the ones where he devours me.
I brush a thumb over the base of his neck before tunneling my fingers through his silky hair. He groans, a low guttural sound that sends a rush of heat straight to my core.
“Fuck.” He nips at my lower lip. “I can’t get enough of you.”
Same.
My body responds to him no matter how much I tell myself to be careful. To guard my heart. There’s a hollow ache inside me that only he can satisfy. And still, no matter how much he gives me, I want more of him.
He slides his hand under my shirt and skates his fingers over the bare flesh of my lower back.
I gasp. “Sterling…”
Hands stilling, he slams his eyes shut and takes a breath. “You have no idea what hearing my name on your lips does to me.” He opens his eyes. “But if we don’t stop, I’m going to fuck you into oblivion in the storage room.”
Gods.
My entire body goes up in flames. “Why don’t you?”
“Thorne! Are you here?” Vice Commander Torno’s voice carries from somewhere outside.
Shit.
We break apart like we’ve been struck by lightning.
“That’s why,” he whispers while finger combing his hair into submission. “Follow my lead.”
He unlocks the door and walks out, motioning for me to do the same.
Once we’re in the aisle, Sterling launches into an explanation of the safest way to fly in strong winds.
“I never thought about that before.” I plaster what I hope is a studious expression on my face. “What should I do if?—”
“There you are.” Torno’s boots thud on the floor as she strides our way. Sunlight filters into the stable, glinting off her auburn bun. Shielding her amber eyes against the piercing morning light, she glances from Sterling to me. Her shrewd gaze rakes over me, taking in my flushed cheeks and rumpled shirt. An eyebrow hitches toward her forehead.
I want to burrow under a pile of hay. She knows. I swear she knows. I bet my impure thoughts about the man standing next to me are written all over my face.
Though I want to slouch and hide my face, I stand up straight, chin high, and stare at a point somewhere over her left shoulder.
Sterling, on the other hand, leans against a stall with one knee bent, studying his nails.
After scrutinizing me for a small eternity, she fixes her attention on him. “I was hoping to discuss arrangements for the upcoming trial.” Her eyebrow rises again, and her mouth twitches. “That is, if you’re free.”
A chill runs down my spine. She suspects. She must. What happens next? Does she report us to Bigley? Do we undergo a disciplinary hearing? Will I get kicked out? Will Thorne lose his job?
Uncertain whether I’m overreacting or not, I stay at attention, nails biting into my palms.
Torno drums her fingers against her thigh. “Am I interrupting a training session…at this early hour?”
His face is unreadable. “We were just finishing a lesson.”
Relief trickles into me, allowing my shoulders to slump the tiniest bit. If Torno had any idea what the lesson I just had entailed, surely she’d march us both to Bigley’s office.
Fighting some strange urge to laugh, I don’t dare move or speak.
“Axton’s finally caught up enough for our one-on-one training sessions to end.” His tone drips with measured indifference. “I’ve been going over a few additional safety issues with her this morning.”
My heart squeezes at how easily he switches off his emotions. But despite the mask of arrogance and aloofness he slips on, I’ve caught a glimpse of the real Sterling Thorne. At least, I think I have.
Torno’s lips set in a thin line. “And do you feel that she’s an asset to her unit?”
Seriously? I’m standing right in front of you.
“I do.” Sterling’s quiet for a moment, like he’s choosing his next words carefully. “I am confident that her flying skills will serve her unit well.”
My insides warm at his appraisal, surprise and satisfaction filling me. Even if he was trying to save his ass with Torno’s conversation-interrogation, I know he’d never say what he did unless he believed it.
So why does frigid disappointment freeze the warmth inside me? The extra training sessions had to end at some point since catching up with my unit was the whole point of the lessons.
“Axton,” Torno levels her gaze on me, “do you have a question?”
I’m not following. “A question?”
“Yes. Do you have a question about your training?”
Is this a trick? Am I supposed to have a question? I sneak a quick peek at Thorne, but his expression gives nothing away. “Um, no. Not at the moment.”
“Then why are you still here?”
“I—”
“You’re dismissed, Axton.” With the intensity of Thorne’s cold, cutting tone, I half expect to see ice crystals materialize on my skin.
His reaction is a ruse. It shouldn’t hurt my feelings. I understand this, and yet, my heart still twinges. This icy, impersonal version of Thorne is my least favorite. “Yes, sir.”
I reach the door as a commotion kicks up outside. Shouts, followed by a cry of pain. My legs launch into action without conscious thought, racing toward the ruckus as my heart beats double time.
Torno yells after me, but I don’t catch her words. I burst outside with my hand already reaching for my dagger and my head swiveling to locate the threat.
There. Between the alicorn stable and the dragon aerie.
Two large, cloaked men lead a third smaller man by a chain. The restrained man appears worse for wear. A rust-colored substance—maybe blood?—mats a lock of dark blond hair, which is longer on the top and short on the sides. Purple and blue bruises bloom on most of his swollen face. Wrinkles, dirt, and bloodstains compete for space on his gray tunic. He limps as he struggles with his captors, yanking on the chain that attaches to his cuffed wrists. The reek of acrid sweat, unwashed body, and vomit wafting from him makes me fight off a gag.
At this early hour before breakfast, the campus is quiet. No one else is nearby to intervene.
I perform this quick assessment as I race toward them. “Hey! What’s happening here?”