Chapter 13
Archer
“Iknow I’m early,” I said, dropping my bag to the floor. I lifted my right hand, giving my fingers a flick, and the door locked behind me magically. “But I couldn’t wait any longer.”
Valen’s eyes widened further at my tone. There was no way he’d missed my meaning.
He swallowed hard. “Excited for your… history lessons?” he asked, his voice getting a little higher with each word.
I took a step toward his desk, feeling the familiar thrill of power that came from watching him squirm. “Actually, no. I’m done pretending this is about history, Valen.”
The papers in Valen’s hands crinkled as his grip tightened. “Mr. Quinn, I think you should—”
“Stop calling me that.” I moved closer, close enough to see the way his pupils dilated despite his obvious efforts to maintain composure. “You’ve had your tongue in my mouth, Valen. I think we’re past formalities.”
He shot to his feet so quickly his chair rolled backward and hit the wall. “You need to leave. Right now.”
“No.” I planted my hands flat on his desk and leaned forward, invading his space the way he’d invaded my thoughts for days. “I’m tired of this game we’re playing. I’m tired of pretending that Saturday night didn’t happen.”
“It can’t happen again,” he said, but his voice lacked conviction. His amber eyes kept flickering down to my mouth before snapping back up, and I could practically feel the tension radiating off him.
“Why not?” I straightened up and started walking around his desk, noting how he backed away with each step I took. “We’re both consenting adults. We both want it. And after the day I’ve had, I really need you to fuck me until I can’t think straight.”
His back hit the bookshelf behind his desk, trapped between leather-bound volumes and my advancing form. “Archer, you don’t understand the consequences—”
“I understand perfectly.” I stopped just inches away from him, close enough to smell that intoxicating cologne that had haunted my dreams. “I have no motivation to tell anyone what you and I do privately. My family can’t know. And I don’t think you want to be up in front of the school board.”
He stared at me for a long moment, and I watched something shift behind his amber eyes. The careful control he’d been clinging to was cracking, and I could see that familiar hunger underneath that matched my own.
“You have no idea what you’re asking for,” he said, his voice dropping to that low, dangerous tone that made my knees weak.
“Then show me.” I reached out and placed my hand on his chest, feeling the way his breath hitched at the contact. “Show me what I’m asking for, Professor.”
Something snapped in his expression. One second he was pressed against the bookshelf looking conflicted, and the next his hands were fisting in my shirt, pulling me against him with inhuman speed.
“You want to know what you’re asking for?” His voice was barely above a whisper, but it sent electricity racing down my spine. “You’re asking me to risk everything I’ve built here. You’re asking me to break every rule I’ve lived by for centuries.”
“Good,” I breathed, tilting my face up toward his. “So stop being a coward and break them already.”
His grip tightened on my shirt. “You’re asking me to claim you in ways your pretty little witch mind can’t even comprehend. To mark you so thoroughly that you’ll never be able to pretend this didn’t happen.”
The threat in his voice should have scared me. Instead, it sent heat pooling low in my belly. “Do it.”
“Fuck,” he breathed, and then his mouth was on mine.
It wasn’t like the desperate kisses we’d shared in that alley. This was possession, pure and simple. His fangs scraped against my bottom lip as he devoured me, his hands moving to grip my face like he was afraid I might disappear if he let go.
I moaned into his mouth, pressing closer until there was no space left between us. I could feel every hard line of his cock against mine, and could taste the hint of danger that clung to him like cologne. This was what I’d been craving, what had been driving me to distraction for days.
He broke the kiss abruptly, his amber eyes now flecked with gold that seemed to glow in the office lighting. “Last chance, Archer. Walk away now, and we can pretend this never happened.”
Instead of answering, I reached between us and palmed the obvious bulge in his pants. He hissed, his hips bucking involuntarily into my touch.
“I’m not walking away,” I said, squeezing him through the fabric. “I’m done following everyone else’s rules about what I should want and who I should be with. I’m tired of being the perfect Quinn heir.”
His laugh was dark and full of promise. “Perfect Quinn heir? Oh, darling, I’m going to ruin you for anyone else.”
The endearment sent a shiver through me that had nothing to do with fear. “Promise?”
“Count on it.”
He smiled, all hint of that resistance melting away. “Then get on your knees.”
The command sent heat racing through my veins. I stared at him for a moment, taking in the predatory gleam in his amber eyes, the way his fangs peeked out slightly when he smiled. This was the Valen I remembered from that alley. Dangerous, commanding, and absolutely in control.
And I fucking loved it.
I sank to my knees without hesitation, my hands already reaching for his belt.
The leather was smooth under my fingers as I worked it open, then moved to the button of his pants.
I could feel his eyes on me, watching every movement with that intense focus that made me feel like I was the only thing in the world that mattered.
“Look at me,” he commanded softly, and I tilted my head back to meet his gaze.
The gold flecks in his amber eyes seemed to pulse with inner light, and I wondered if it was some vampire thing or just the effect of arousal.
“You have no idea how many times I’ve thought about this.
About having you on your knees in my office. ”
“Tell me,” I said, my voice coming out rougher than I’d intended. I freed his cock from his pants, wrapping my fingers around the thick length. He was already hard, the head flushed dark and glistening with precum.
“I’ve thought about bending you over my desk,” he said, his voice dropping to that low rumble that vibrated through my bones.
“About fucking you so hard the whole hallway would hear you screaming my name. About marking every inch of your perfect skin so everyone would know exactly who you belong to.”
I stroked him slowly, watching the way his jaw clenched with the effort of maintaining control. “Who do I belong to, Valen?”
“Me,” he said without hesitation, his hand moving to tangle in my hair. “From the moment I first touched you, you were mine.”
The possessiveness in his voice should have triggered every rebellious instinct I had.
Instead, it sent a thrill of satisfaction through me.
After years of being told what to do by my father, of having every aspect of my life controlled and monitored, there was something liberating about choosing my own chains, even if I knew they were only temporary.
“Prove it,” I challenged, leaning forward to run my tongue along the underside of his cock.
He groaned, his grip tightening in my hair. “Careful what you ask for, darling.”
I took him into my mouth without warning, relishing the way his hips jerked forward involuntarily. He tasted salty and musky, a combination that made my head spin with want. I worked him deeper, using every trick I’d learned over the years to drive him crazy.
“Fuck, Archer,” he breathed, his free hand bracing against the bookshelf behind him. “Your mouth...”
I pulled off just long enough to speak. “Better than you remembered?”
“Better than anything,” he replied honestly. And I believed he actually meant it.
I went back to work with renewed enthusiasm, taking him as deep as I could manage. It wasn’t long before I sensed his control was starting to crack. His breathing had turned ragged, and the hand in my hair was guiding my movements with increasing urgency.
“Stop,” he said suddenly, tugging my head back. “Not like this. Not the first time in my office.”
I looked up at him questioningly, my lips swollen and slick. “Then how?”
His smile was pure sin. “On my desk. Now.”
I scrambled to my feet, my knees protesting after the hard office floor.
My hands were shaking slightly as I watched Valen sweep his papers off the desk with one fluid motion, sending them fluttering to the floor without a care.
The sound of rustling paper filled the silence between us, and I realized my heart was pounding so hard he could probably hear it.
“Come here,” he said, his voice carrying that commanding edge that made my cock twitch in my pants.
I moved toward the desk on unsteady legs, hyperaware of every sound in the building around us.
Footsteps in the hallway, muffled voices from other offices, the distant hum of magical energy that always permeated the academic buildings.
Any one of those sounds could be someone coming to check on us, but I found I didn’t care anymore.
Valen’s hands were on me before I’d fully reached him, spinning me around and pressing me back against the edge of his desk. The wood was smooth and cool against my back through my shirt, a stark contrast to the heat radiating from his body as he caged me in with his arms.
“You’re sure about this?” he asked, though his hands were already working at the buttons of my shirt. “Because once we cross this line, there’s no going back.”
“I crossed that line days ago,” I said, arching into his touch. “In that alley in Pigeon Forge. Everything since then has just been foreplay.”
He laughed, low and dangerous. “In that case, let me show you what you’ve been missing.”