Page 179 of Bitten By the Fae

“Wh-what?” I stammered. “You never?—”

“Stop making out and get to work,” Zeph snapped. “Unless you need a more thorough demonstration of today’s sparring activities?”

“Seems to me you need a lesson on what making out means,” Shade drawled, rolling off of me and popping up to his feet. “Shall I go fetch Kols for you?”

“Cute,” Zeph replied.

I pushed off the ground and brushed the strands of grass—if it could even really be called that—from my pants. The razor-like edges sliced across my fingers, making me grimace.Definitely not grass.

“All right, Aflora. Let’s try again,” Shade suggested.

“No. You’re out. Go spar with Kols. I’m up.”

“You mean, you want me to make out with Kols?” Shade sounded surprised. “All right.”

Zeph snorted and shook his head. “Fuck off, Shadow.”

“You’re an amazing headmaster, Zeph. It’s a real wonder that you didn’t go into this profession right after finishing up at the Academy.”

“Now,” Zeph said through his teeth.

“I’ll see you later, little rose.” Shade winked at me and wandered off in the direction of Kols and one of the other Elite Bloods. Tray and Ella were training beside them, their cheeks pink from exertion. Or maybe something else.

Because I’d woken up with a similar look this?—

“Aflora,” Zeph snapped, his broad chest suddenly blocking my view as he stepped in front of me. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“I’ve not been sleeping very well,” I replied primly.

He coughed to hide a smile, but I caught the twitch of his lips. “Well, that’s not an excuse to slack off in my class. We fight even when exhausted.”

“Oh? Are you also having difficulty sleeping?” I asked him with false innocence.

His green eyes narrowed. “Stop flirting with me and get to work.”

“I’m not flirting with you.”

“You are,” he insisted, taking a step closer to crowd my personal space. His lips went to my ear as he whispered, “And if you continue down this path, I will punish you later.”

I shivered, my damn body thrilled by the notion.

Why was it so damn hard to control my reactions to these males? I hated them. Well, not really. Maybe. I wasn’t sure. Iwantedto hate them, but they’d been wearing down my defenses over the last week with their soft touches and?—

Zeph grabbed my ponytail and tugged it sharply to expose my neck. “Are you purposely being disobedient?”

I considered that. “Well, no. But sparring is still new to me. Elemental Fae don’t really fight unless it’s in the Powerless Champion arena.”

“Maybe ask her to go pick some flowers instead, Zeph,” Emelyn suggested. “She’s not really cut out for athletics.”

I frowned. “Fighting is only one form of physical activity.”

“Yeah, and it’s a crucial one that you’re terrible at,” she spat back. “Just like everything else in this realm. When are you going home?”

“Enough,” Zeph cut in, shooting her a bored expression. “Go back to your assignment. I’ll deal with this.”

Emelyn heaved a dramatic sigh. “She’s like a full-time job, constantly requiring a babysitter to hold her hand through even the simplest of tasks.”

I bristled at her condescending tone. “I’d like to see you try to perform with a collar around your neck.” I pointed to the thin leather choker sitting against my throat. It probably had Shade’s lip prints all over it from his date with my pulse a few minutes ago, but I didn’t care. “Maybe I should take it off and let you wear it for a day,” I suggested.