17. Quill
Quill
My plan had been to get through the week without letting Aeron get any closer to me. I’d keep him at arm’s length just to appease him, to make him think that I’d given him a chance. And then, with a shrug, let him go.
And I’d lasted… what? Five hours before I was riding his cock? So much for perseverance.
I woke up the next morning tangled in Aeron’s arms, his chest pressed against my back, his breathing deep and even against the nape of my neck. For a moment, I just lay there, trying to process what had happened. What I’d let happen. What I’d actively participated in with enthusiasm.
The soreness between my legs was a constant reminder. Not painful exactly, but present. Insistent. Every time I shifted even slightly, I was hyperaware of the fact that Aeron had been inside me, that I’d let him stretch me out, that I’d wanted him to more than anything.
Goddammit.
His arm tightened around my waist, and I realized he was waking up. I felt him press a kiss to my shoulder, soft and almost reverent, and my stomach did that stupid flippy thing it kept doing whenever he was near.
“Morning, Red,” he murmured, his voice rough with sleep. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I made a terrible mistake,” I said, but there was no heat in it. How could there be?
He chuckled, the sound rumbling through his chest and into mine. “Liar. You loved every second of it.”
“That’s not the point,” I said, trying to untangle myself from him. “The point is that I have a week to figure out if this is something I actually want, and I’ve already compromised my objectivity by—”
“By what?” he interrupted, pulling me back against him. “By admitting that you want me? By letting yourself have a good time for once?”
“By losing my mind,” I shot back. “Which is apparently what happens when you get me alone in a dark room, since it’s happened twice now.”
He laughed again, and I hated that the sound made me want to smile. “I’m not complaining. Are you complaining?”
“Yes,” I said. “Vehemently.”
“Then why are you still in my bed?”
That was a good question. One I didn’t have a good answer for.
The logical thing would be to get up, get dressed, and put some distance between us.
The logical thing would be to remember that I was supposed to be observing him, that Professor Blackwood was counting on me to figure out a facet of what was going on at Widdershins Academy.
But logic seemed to have taken a vacation the moment Aeron kissed me outside my dorm.
“I don’t know,” I finally admitted. “I should go. Lysander will be looking for me.”
“Let him look then,” Aeron said, and there was that possessive edge creeping back into his voice. “You’re staying here.”
“I’m not your prisoner,” I said, though I didn’t move.
“No,” he agreed. “You’re my—” He stopped himself, seeming to catch whatever he’d been about to say. “You’re my priority though. And right now, my priority is making sure you get cleaned up and get some breakfast.”
There was something in the way he said it that made my stomach twist. Like he meant it. Like I actually mattered to him beyond the physical attraction. And that was somehow more terrifying than the possessiveness.
“I need to use your bathroom then,” I said, pulling away before he could say anything else that would make me want to stay. “And don’t follow me.”
He let me go, thankfully, though I could feel his eyes on me as I grabbed his shirt to cover myself and padded toward the bathroom. My legs felt a little unsteady, and I was acutely aware of every sore muscle. It was a good reminder of exactly what I’d done last night.
In the mirror, I looked wrecked. My neck was covered in hickeys, my hair was a complete mess, and there was a satisfied flush to my skin that I couldn’t quite explain away. I looked exactly like what I was. Someone who’d spent the night getting fucked senseless by a dragon.
I took a quick shower, trying not to think about the fact that I was using Aeron’s bathroom, wearing his clothes, sleeping in his bed. These were the kinds of things that happened in relationships. Real relationships. Not whatever this was supposed to be.
When I emerged from the bathroom, Aeron was sitting on his bed in a pair of black boxer briefs, clearly waiting for me. He stood up, grabbing his jeans from the floor.
“Ready to go get some food?” he asked, muscles rippling as he pulled his pants on.
“Yeah,” I said, pulling on my jeans from yesterday and trying not to wince at the sensation. “That sounds good.”
He grabbed a shirt and pulled it on, then held the door open for me like he was some sort of gentleman. Which, obviously, he wasn’t.
The hallway was mercifully empty as we made our way downstairs and across campus toward the dining hall.
It was still early, early enough that most students were probably still sleeping before their morning classes.
The few people we passed barely spared us a glance, which I was grateful for.
The last thing I needed was for word to get back to Lysander that I’d been seen leaving Aeron’s dorm in his clothes. He’d never let me live that down.
The dining hall was mostly empty, just a few early risers scattered throughout.
We grabbed trays and filled them with as much bacon, eggs, and fruit as we could carry.
It was amazing how much of an appetite you developed getting railed by a dragon.
Aeron led me to a quiet corner, and we sat down together.
And it felt natural somehow, which was deeply unsettling.
“So,” Aeron said, taking a bite of his eggs. “What’s the plan for today?”
“The plan?” I echoed, picking at my food. “I don’t know. Classes, I guess. Normal stuff.”
“I meant for us,” he said, and there was something vulnerable in his tone that caught me off guard. “What do you want to do after classes?”
I looked up at him, trying to read what was going on behind those golden eyes. “I take it you want me to come to your dorm room so you can fuck me again?”
“I mean, I’m open to that,” he grinned, picking up a piece of bacon and pointing it at me. “But I was thinking we could just hang out and get to know one another. Or maybe we could go on a date or something?”
“A date? Four days after the ward breach?” I scoffed. “They won’t even let us leave campus.”
“We have our student ID’s,” he retorted. “We can go in and out of the wards whenever we want.”
“You sure about that?”
“Of course,” he nodded. “My grandfather told me that specifically.” He leaned forward in his seat, his voice low. “So… you want to sneak off campus for a bit? Just the two of us?”
I stared at him, my fork halfway to my mouth. “Your grandfather told you that you could sneak off campus?”
“Not in those exact words,” Aeron said, a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
“But he made it clear that the wards recognize students, that we can pass through them unharmed if we need to. He said it was a precaution, in case anyone needed to leave in an emergency. They just didn’t broadcast that to the students. ”
“And you think taking me on a date in the woods qualifies as an emergency?”
“I think getting to know my—” He stopped himself again, and I noticed it this time. Whatever he’d been about to say, he was deliberately censoring himself. “Getting to know you better qualifies as important. And I want to do it somewhere that isn’t my dorm room or the library.”
I should have said no. I should have reminded him that we weren’t in a relationship, that this was all temporary, that sneaking off campus was probably the dumbest fucking thing to do right now with the Purity Front on the loose. But instead, I found myself asking, “Where did you have in mind?”
His face lit up like I’d just told him he’d won the lottery.
“There’s this coffee shop in town. About twenty-five miles from campus.
Someone told me they make incredible pastries, and I thought we could go there, get some coffee, maybe walk around a bit.
No pressure, no expectations. Just us spending time together like normal people. ”
Normal people. The two of us would never be normal people.
A dragon and a witch, one ancient and powerful, the other still figuring out who he was supposed to be.
But I understood what he meant. He wanted something simple.
Something that didn’t involve us tearing each other’s clothes off or him being possessive or me spiraling about the complications of whatever this was.
“Okay,” I heard myself say. “After classes. But we have to be back without any incidents.”
“Deal,” he said immediately, reaching across the table and taking my hand. The contact sent that familiar spark racing through me, and I tried not to let it show on my face.
And I let myself imagine it, just for a moment. Walking through town with him, holding his hand, not worrying about who saw us or what they’d think. Having something that was just ours, separate from the drama of Widdershins and Professor Blackwood and the ward breaches and everything else.
It actually sounded… nice.
After breakfast, we headed back to campus to get ready for classes.
Aeron walked me to my dorm, and I could feel eyes on us as we crossed campus together.
People were definitely noticing. By tomorrow, the rumor mill would be in full swing, and everyone would know that I’d somehow managed to catch the attention of Aeron Pyre, grandson of the Elder Council leader.
That thought made my stomach churn.
“I’ll see you after classes,” Aeron said when we reached my dorm, pressing a kiss to my forehead before I could protest. “Don’t be late, Red.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I muttered, heading inside before he could see how flustered I was.
Lysander was wide awake when I got back to the room, sitting at his desk and looking like he’d been waiting for me. The moment I walked in, his face split into a knowing grin.
“Well, well, well,” he said, spinning around in his chair. “Look who finally decided to come home. And wearing yesterday’s clothes too. Very scandalous.”
“Don’t start,” I warned, moving to my closet to grab clean clothes for the day.
“Too late,” he laughed. “I’m already starting. So what happened? Did you finally let that dragon boyfriend of yours have his way with you?”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I said, though my face was burning.
“Sure he isn’t. And those new hickeys on your neck are from someone else entirely?”
I caught sight of myself in the mirror and groaned. The marks Aeron had left were impossible to hide. They covered my neck like a brand, a physical reminder of exactly what I’d been doing last night. I could even see the individual fang marks on some of them.
“I’m going to kill him,” I muttered, trying to figure out if I knew a glamor spell that would cover them up.
“I’d love to see you try,” Lysander snickered. “That dragon would probably enjoy it. So come on, spill. What happened? Did he finally convince you to give him a chance?”
I grabbed my shower caddy and towel, deciding that a shower was my best escape route even though I’d already had one. “I’ll tell you later,” I called over my shoulder as I headed for the door.
“You better!” Lysander shouted after me. “I won’t take no for an answer!”
The pounding of the water against the tile was just enough to drown out a good portion of my thoughts. And when I stepped under the hot spray, letting it envelope me for the second time that morning, I let out a sigh of relief. In here there were no questions, no demands, and no decisions.
I stayed in the shower until it was almost time for class, then forced myself out before I could waste any more time hiding.
By the time I made it back to my room, I had roughly ten minutes before my first class, which was just enough time to get there without being late.
Lysander was mercifully occupied with his own preparations, though I caught him smirking at me more than once as I got dressed.
“So, we’ll talk tonight?” he asked as I headed out the door.
“Nope,” I grunted. “Won’t be back tonight.”
He paused for a moment, that fae smile going wider than I thought possible. “Have a good time with your boyfriend, Red.”
“He’s not my boyfriend!”
“Did you pack your lube? I’ve heard dragons are pretty big.”
“Seriously?” I huffed. “Fuck off.”
The last thing I caught before I slammed the door shut was Lysander’s high-pitched laugh.
I needed a new roommate.