Page 39 of A Curse So Cruel (Fated Mates of Shadowbone Academy #1)
Chapter Twenty-Six
~ Raith ~
T hat bastard.
I smell Galen on her the instant Shade enters the amphitheater.
Her sweet, irresistible scent mixes with the smoky musk of Galen, and it makes my senses go crazy.
How the fuck could he taste her without me?
I hadn’t expected Galen to follow Knox’s orders, but I don’t remember receivin’ my damn invitation.
Pair that with her new outfit, and it takes all my concentration to teach the class, and not simply get Kazer to whisk her away for me.
My creature prowls the sand, sensing my agitation as I dutifully act like a professor who has his shit together, but when lesson time is over, I stalk toward her. Giving her a wolfish grin, I send Kazer to guard the amphitheater entrance so we’re not interrupted by any uninvited guests.
When I reach her, there’s a pink blush across Shade’s cheeks, but she beams at me and digs into one of her pockets. Outstretching her hand, she holds a small object on her palm.
“Before you start nagging me to work on finding my creature again, Galen told me to give you this,” she says brightly, even as her pulse flutters at my proximity. “It’s a present. He says it’ll help fix a problem you’ve been dealing with.”
I eye the paperweight in the shape of a rock skeptically. Galen has even drawn a little smiley face onto the polished stone. The fucker is mockin’ me, but her words snag my attention.
“A present?”
She nods, though by now even she looks doubtfully at the small rock. Her hand lowers a little like she realizes Galen was messing with her, even though I don’t say it.
My gaze slides over her, and I appreciate the way the leather clings tight to her body in all the right places. I guess I can forgive him for not waitin’. Even if I make him pay for it later.
“The paperweight isn’t the present,” I rumble, though I still take the rock and pocket it just to put the poor girl out of her misery.
“I— But he said?—”
I smirk, giving her a look, and when she realizes what I mean, her expression flattens.
“He was talking about me, wasn’t he?” Despite her unimpressed tone, her pulse races even faster. I’m hopeful that it’s because of excitement, though fear will do just as well.
Her throat bobs. “He can’t just—” She stumbles over her words. “I mean, it’s not like I’m some kind of prize.”
When I step closer to her, extinguishing the distance between us, I expect her to flinch, but she doesn’t.
Usually, the students are quite happy to flirt, but when we’re in close quarters and they realize just how big I am up close, it’s Galen who softens them up for me.
Intimidated by my size, they have a habit of shying away, but Shade simply stands there, craning her neck to peer up at me.
The human is small, tiny really, but she stays there, watching me.
Instead of her messy braid, her hair is pulled back into a high ponytail that tugs tightly against her scalp, just the way Galen knows I like it.
I don’t think about what I do next. Reaching up, I grab her ponytail, wrapping her hair around my hand, and tugging it so that her head tips back further.
Her eyes flare wide, and the small gasp that comes from her makes my cock harden and strain against my pants.
I stare down at her delicate face, imagining what wicked things Galen has already done to her.
I can still smell her release between her legs, and the scent is driving me wild.
That fucker made her come without me. I would be angrier if her arousal hadn’t started permeating the air.
“What are you doing?” she rasps, and my attention is drawn to her pouty lips as she forms the words.
A present. Is that what he said? I’m not sure what Galen is thinking.
The little human smells delicious, there’s no denying that, but I have a fuckin’ lot of problems. We all do.
Bedding the new student isn’t goin’ to solve the mess we’re in.
Still, Shade’s words from earlier stick with me.
He says it’ll help fix a problem you’ve been dealing with.
Knox isn’t going to like this. He’s right about Shade bein’ a distraction.
I wonder if Galen means that I need to taste her to get her out of my system.
It’s the only thing that makes sense. And maybe he’s right, too.
Maybe it is what I need. To taste her and realize she’s simply another student we can have fun with, even if it is fleeting.
I keep my fist tight around Shade’s ponytail, liking the way it exposes her delicate throat.
Fuck Knox.
“I’m not one to refuse a gift,” I mutter, and I know she sees the darkness in my gaze.
There’s a flicker of doubt in her eyes, like she’s not sure whether she should be excited or fleeing for her life.
My lips kick up at one side, and I whisper, “Run.”
She stares at me like I’ve lost my mind, and she can’t quite understand what I’m saying. I lean even closer, until my lips are a hairsbreadth from hers. “Run, sunshine,” I tell her. “If you can get to the entrance before I catch you, I might just let you skip your extra lessons.”
She still looks confused, desire clouding her eyes, but she starts runnin’ all the same.
At least, I think she’s running. It’s a clumsy gait, and she looks like she’s in a constant state of almost falling over.
Either way, my gaze locks on her, the need to hunt making my blood pound.
I let her have just long enough so she thinks she’s goin’ to make it, then in a few easy strides, I pluck her from the air.
In a blur of movement, she’s on the sand with my huge form pinning her down. “You weren’t even tryin’,” I growl.
Her chest heaves, and a slow smile crawls onto her face. “Wasn’t I? Oh, oops.”
“You’re ruinin’ it by grinning so hard,” I rumble at her with amusement.
“Shut up and kiss me already,” she mutters, and I chuckle before my lips collide with hers. My body settles lower over her, and there’s not an ounce of fear in her as she kisses me back, her tongue stroking against mine.
Fuckin’ fates. She tastes like sunshine and caramel, and no one has ever tasted this good. I’ve always loved the thrill of the chase, but this woman could simply sit on my face while I slept, and I think I’d still be satisfied.
She moans into my mouth as I stroke my tongue against hers, my knee opening her thighs and pressing between her legs. Her breasts are almost spilling out of her top, only just remaining strapped in by the tight leather, and grains of sand sink into her hair.
“Are you sure you aren’t the present?” she murmurs.
I’m caught off guard and not prepared for the way my heart throbs at her words. “Now why would you say that?”
She gives me a sly smile. “Because you taste just as good as he does,” she whispers.
This time, she’s the one who kisses me, and I’m so surprised by her words, that it takes me a moment to react.
Somethin’ that’s been dead inside me for a long time, slowly surfaces.
A suppressed memory of sunshine and soft flesh pushes to the front of my mind, and I kiss her hard, pushing her head back against the sand.
My cock strains at my pants so fuckin’ hard it’s painful. All I want is to sink into her soft flesh. To watch as her face contorts with pleasure as I drive into her, but I won’t fuck her. Not yet.
I lower myself, kissing a trail down her neck and over her breasts until I come to her pants. She lifts her head, panting as she watches me, and I fumble at the straps, pulling the leather from her until she’s bared for me. Bared and fuckin’ beautiful.
Just a taste, I tell myself, but as my tongue slides through her folds, I understand what Galen’s plan was.
The human tastes sweet on my tongue, and I can’t get enough.
More than that, I don’t think I could ever get enough.
I turn fuckin’ wild, devouring her like a bloody starved animal.
I swear this pussy was made for me, and her whimpers are sweet in my ears as I pleasure her, lifting her ass from the sand as I enjoy every second my mouth is on her.
“Raith,” she gasps, her breathing ragged as I bring her close to her release. “I swear to god, if you don’t make me come—” She doesn’t finish as my tongue dives inside her, and she cries out, her fingers scrabbling at the sand and struggling to find purchase.
“Please,” she whimpers, and I love the way she begs as I devour her.
I know this is a big fuckin’ issue. Galen had implied she would be the answer to our problems, and in a way she is, but it also creates a different set of issues.
I choose to only focus on the good right now, and I push a finger inside her as I suck on her clit, driving her closer to the edge.
She squirms on the sand, but I hold her still as I add another large finger, pumping them in and out of her.
When she comes, she cries out my name, and her whole body shudders at the force of her orgasm. My instincts are wild as I prolong her pleasure, making it last as long as possible. Fuck, I’ve never wanted a female this badly. And there’s no more denying what she is.
Somehow, the little human is my mate.