Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Gideon
My fingers rubbed together, remembering the feeling of her. The slippery velvet of the skin between her legs. The way she’d gasped my name as she’d clawed at my jaw, grabbing on to anything, trying to ground herself as I made her green eyes roll to the back of her skull.
When I’d carried her back to my dorm, her cheeks turned the sweetest shade of pink, her freckles shining golden against the hue of her skin. Her eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks as she’d tried to keep her eyes open. I’d worn her out.
She was in my room, lying next to me in my bed, sleeping off the exhaustion I’d caused her. Lying on my side, I watched her chest rise and fall with each of her breaths. She looked peaceful, the worry lines typically pinched between her eyebrows absent.
It was obvious she was inexperienced, the way she’d been embarrassed when I dipped my fingers between her legs, bringing them to my lips wet with her arousal—the arousal she’d created just for me.
Her naivety had only intrigued me further.
The witches at the Academy all talked, so they knew, or at least pretended to know, what happened during sex.
Dafni didn’t know what to do with me and didn’t pretend like she did.
She was mine to teach. I could help her explore her body, demonstrate the way I liked mine to be explored.
“How long have I…” Dafni looked adorable as she woke up from her long sleep next to me.
Pieces of her hair stuck to her forehead.
Her lips were dry, and her tongue darted out to lick them.
She’d slept hard through the rest of the day and through the night.
Part of me wondered if her body was still feeling the effects of her injuries.
“It’s morning,” I said, scooting in closer to her. I’d kept my distance while we’d slept, the bed the Academy provided me large enough to afford some unfortunate space between us.
“Urgghh,” Dafni groaned, her arms raising above her head in a stretch before her hands reached down to smooth her hair. “I’ve missed three days of instruction now.”
“And…?” I questioned.
“And I need to be there practicing with everyone else,” Dafni said.
I rolled over, wrapping my arm around her waist. She stilled. “I already told you what the task was.”
Dafni wiggled out of my grasp, crawling to the end of the bed. I lay back against the wall, admiring the view.
“You said it yourself—that rage was the hardest potion to make.” Dafni’s feet hit the floor, and she began searching for her skirt.
“I was teasing you about it being the hardest…”
“No, you were right. It is hard. I need practice.”
“Okay, I’ll let you go,” I said.
She paced around the room, looking for her clothes. “Oh, you will?”
I smirked. She wouldn’t find them. I’d dressed her in one of my undershirts last night. Her uniform was so far under my bed she’d have to get on all fours to find it. “Only because I want you to win.”
Dafni paused, pulling the shirt down over her freckled thighs.
I looked at her until she met my eyes. “I want you to be mine.”
Like a mouse in the kitchen, she squeaked, pulling the shirt further down her thighs before opening the door of my room and scurrying away.
I tucked my hands behind my head, leaning back into my pillow, waiting for the click of the door closing. She already was mine. I had the proof on my fingers. I brought them to my nose, smelling her scent. My dick twitched in my pants as I inhaled. The scent was still there—even hours later.
The door to my room blew open—had it closed?—a gust of wind hitting my face.
“Gideon?” The woman I recognized from the television screen in Robinson’s room strolled into my bedroom, her heels stomping, sending dust into the air.
Petunia Fox.
I got out of bed quickly, throwing on the jacket that was hanging from the door of my wardrobe.
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” She slammed the door, mortar dust from the brick walls raining down. “I didn’t know my air magic was so…powerful.” Petunia stepped close enough that she reached the top of my head with her hand, running her fingers through the strands, smoothing it down.
I took a step back, out of her reach. “What are you doing here, Petunia?”
She rested her hand on her chest, right on top of her breasts, her eyes twinkling when she saw my eyes had followed her hand. “You remembered my name?”
Petunia took a step forward.
I took a step back.
“What else do you know about me?”
I stared at her, trying to keep my face as blank as possible.
“Did you know that I’ll be competing for you today?
” She flicked her fingers at my wardrobe, closing it with a burst of wind.
“I’m planning on winning.” Petunia took another step toward me, and when I tried to retreat, my back hit the brick wall.
She pulled up the waist of her skirt, revealing more of her thigh. “Wouldn’t you like that?”
Petunia didn’t see me shaking my head because she was too busy looking around my room…probably visualizing herself living here with me.
“It’d be so much easier for me to win if you tell me what the task is.”
“I don’t know what the task is,” I lied.
“I know you know.” She snapped her head to me, her eyes squinting. “You have to know. You probably chose the tasks yourself to vet potential partners.”
Slowly, I side-stepped along the wall, trying to put some distance between us.
In an instant, Petunia closed the distance I’d gained, her fingers wrapping around the lapels of my jacket, pulling my chest against hers. “Please?” she whispered, her lips brushing my ear.
My body tensed as her hands traveled up my chest, wrapping themselves around the back of my neck.
Her touch didn’t feel right—it felt harsh and exacting.
She was touching me to get something from me.
It felt so different from the way Dafni had touched me, her hands soft and her touch gentle when she’d wrapped her arms around me when I’d carried her back to my room.
I grabbed her wrists, removing her hands from my body, pushing them back toward her.
“I don’t know what the task is,” I said. “I’d like you to leave.”
“You want me to leave?”
This time I took a step toward her, and Petunia instinctively backed away. “Yes, get out of my room.”
“Dafni was just in here…you didn’t kick her out,” Petunia spat.
I refused to bait her further. Telling her I’d already chosen Dafni would only further enrage her.
Petunia continued backing away toward the door. “I guess I’ll just have to impress you at the air task today…show you how powerful I am…prove to you that I’m better than Dafni.” She opened the door. “Is that what you want? Do I need to prove myself to you?”
A growl escaped my lips.
“Fine. That’s what I’ll do,” Petunia said as she exited my room, letting the door slam closed as she left.