Page 20

19

Summer

I step into the bathroom and check the few stalls. Once I ensure they’re all empty, I stand in front of the mirror and touch up my lipstick as I wait for Connor. The door slowly creaks open, and I meet his dark eyes in the mirror.

“Hey, big guy,” I purr. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Connor steps inside and closes the door. I hear the lock click, and then he slowly walks toward me. He stands behind me, his hands sinfully gliding down my sides to my hips. His fingers close into fists, bunching the material of my skirt and slowly sliding the hem up my thighs. He keeps his eyes locked on mine in the mirror, the blue nothing more than a thin ring around the darkening center.

“I’ve never done anything like this before.” His normally unshakeable voice wavers with nerves, but the press of his cock against my ass tells me just how badly he wants this. My big angel likes this. Something about the forbidden appeals to him, and I wonder if the golden boy has ever toed the line of darkness.

“No?” I ask, my voice even.

His gaze strays lower in the mirror, and he groans at the sight of my bunched-up white wool skirt and the white lace panties beneath.

“Have you?” he asks, captivated. He slides his hand over my stomach and into my panties. The lace is already completely saturated from my arousal. “Fuck.” The curse slips from him, low and filthy, as he slides a finger through my core.

I moan. “Maybe…”

Connor presses his thick finger inside me, stirring it slowly, stretching me. I widen my stance, opening to him. He rubs his erection against me and slowly starts to push another finger inside me. I grab his wrist, and he pauses, his gaze linking with mine again.

“Rule one of sex in a risky place, big guy. We don’t have a lot of time.” I pull his hand free of my panties and spin around, slamming my lips to his in a desperate kiss. Connor groans and lifts me onto the counter. My hand flies to his belt, and I practically rip it open before shoving his pants down. Connor already has a condom ready, and he rolls it on while I shift and wiggle, pushing my panties off. He grabs my thighs and pulls me to the edge of the counter, plunging his thick cock deep. I gasp and wrap my legs around him, savoring the burn mixed with the pleasure. Desperation hums through us, infecting our bodies, and I kiss him again, using his mouth to muffle my moans as he settles into a steady rhythm.

I bite his lip and move my hands to his ass. I sink my nails into the heavy muscles and yank him against me. At the same time, I arch against him, taking him so deep I ache with it. Connor’s shout vibrates through me, and he thrusts faster, his pace turning frenzied as he responds to my silent demand for more. Harder. Brutal. Frenzied.

I need to be punished.

“Love that. Tell me what you want,” he pants into my lips.

I slide my lips over his jaw and to his neck, biting him hard. No doubt, it will leave a bruise, and I can’t wait to see it. I dig my nails in deep, pulling him harder against me. He stumbles forward, his cock pounding deep into my wet pussy. Connor curses into my ear, and I suck on his neck. The pleasure and ache are so overwhelming, and my need is so intense that my orgasm comes quickly and unexpectedly. I try to muffle my cry into his neck, but I’m not entirely convinced I’m successful. My pussy clenches around him, pulsing and demanding his release. Connor slams deep, and his body goes rigid, his shout of pleasure echoing mine.

Connor pants against my shoulder, clinging to me as his hips slow. “Hell of a way to start a date,” he says with a breathless laugh.

I smirk and bite his neck again before pulling back and unwrapping my legs from around his hips. Connor slowly pulls out of me, and we both hiss. A shiver goes through me at the loss of his heat, and I take a few deep breaths. Connor steps back, his massive chest still heaving and his eyes glazed. I jump down from the counter, hoping my shaky legs will hold me. I push down my skirt and glance in the mirror, blushing at my appearance. My lipstick is messy, and my lips are bruised and swollen. His hands have made a mess of my hair, and my eyes are overly bright from my orgasm. I quickly freshen my makeup and run my fingers through my hair, trying to make myself look less like I’ve just been fucked in the restroom.

Connor leans against the wall, watching me in the mirror. He fixes his pants and steps up behind me. Pressing a kiss to my shoulder, he whispers, “I’ll see you back at the table.” His hand lingers on my hip for a moment, and he squeezes as if loathe to let me go before leaving the bathroom.

I take a few more minutes to put myself back together, barely recognizing the woman staring back at me. Her smile is too genuine to be mine, and the flicker of hope in her eyes does not belong to me. The walk back through the restaurant is almost empowering. Maybe people know what we were doing, maybe they don’t, but I know what we were doing. I felt it, experienced it.

Connor is perusing the menu when I slide into the booth. He clears his throat, his cheeks still pink. “Well, that was…” He clears his throat again, his blush deepening.

I lift an eyebrow, waiting for the end of his sentence.

“Well, you wonder why I want to make you my girlfriend.” He chuckles.

I open my menu, lifting it so that I can hide the delicate little smile that’s lighting up my face, unsure if I’m ready to share it yet.

The rest of the meal goes by with lots of talk and laughter. Connor really is very charming and handsome. It’s a dangerous combination, and I know it, but an ease quickly develops between us. Too fast.

Connor takes my hand in his as we leave the restaurant. We start back toward campus, and the next part of our date, which he still refuses to tell me anything about. The air is laden with the comforting scents of food and coffee. The sounds of laughter, conversation, and music fill the late summer night. We walk through warm pools of light cast by streetlights, and the windows we pass glow with welcome.

“You know, I’ve never had a girlfriend before.” His statement cuts into the otherwise amicable stroll through Camelot.

I glance up at him. “That cannot be true.”

Connor looks at me, lifting an eyebrow. “Why not?”

“You’re the hot-as-fuck golden boy.”

He blushes again, another infernally endearing quality of his. “Well, I haven’t really been interested.” He smiles, looking ahead again. “In relationships, I mean.”

“Why?”

Connor shrugs. “Well, I’m busy. Not just with school but also with my brothers. It’s not easy being the oldest.” He’s not wrong. I’m sure his brothers are a handful, especially the terrible twins, and Rafe clearly has his own set of problems.

“So why now?”

Connor lifts my hand to his lips, kissing my knuckles. “Well, I saw this girl at this party, and all I could think was Her. She is the reason I didn’t date before. ”

I look down at the ground, that annoying smile pulling at my lips again.

“Alice gave me a tip for our date,” Connor says. “You know, for only having met like a week ago, you two are already like sisters.”

“What tip?”

He shrugs. “She said that your past is off-limits.”

I look away again, something like shame twisting in my stomach, but there is also a deep gratitude.

“She also said that she’d have fun finding out what my insides look like if I hurt you.”

I look up at him, happy to see a glimmer of humor in his eyes. “You like her? Alice?”

Connor nods. “Don’t get me wrong, she’s batshit, but I would love to call her a friend one day.” I squeeze his hand. It’s the only way I know how to thank him for understanding someone important to me and someone who has had trouble being understood in the past.

“You know, and I don’t particularly want to quote him, but the doom master always says that Avalon is a place to be different from who you were and decide who you want to be. And I just…” He pauses, his brow furrowing a little. “I don’t want you ever to feel uncomfortable around me.”

As we are about to cross through the boundary of the school, Connor stops and turns me toward him. “Are you ready for the surprise?” he asks with a grin.

I nod, a little apprehensive but even more concerned with how much I trust the angel already. I don’t trust anyone. Ever. What is it about this place?

Connor brushes a kiss over my forehead, and we start walking again. He takes my hand and squeezes it as we cross the boundary. “You’re not scared of heights, are you?” he asks, glancing at me with a broad, boyish smile filled with excitement.

“No,” I reply warily. “Why?”

Connor just smirks at me and leads me along the path and into the forest behind the dorms. It’s almost completely pitch black amongst the trees. “Con? Are you planning to murder me out here? Cause that would severely reduce your chances of a second date.”

Connor laughs, leading me deeper into the forest. After twenty minutes of walking, the trees thin out, and I can see the sky’s midnight blue with silver stars winking down at us. All of his brothers are waiting near a cliff at the edge of a clearing. An ominous black box sits between the twins. Rafe approaches us, unsmiling as usual.

“For your ears,” Rafe says, dropping a pair of small foam cylinders into my hand. He hands a set to Connor, and Connor pats him on the back in thanks.

I frown at Connor, but he just smiles at me as he puts the earplugs in his ears. I follow suit and wait. Connor backs away and stretches out his shoulders, and I can’t help but gasp as a pair of feathered wings burst from his back. I’ve seen angel wings before on campus, but these are… bigger and brighter.

“How…is your shirt still intact?” I ask, my brows furrowed. Rafe gestures for Connor to turn around, and I see that there are two slits in the back meant to accommodate his wings. I nod and step forward, eager to touch the beauty of those wings, but Connor turns back around, grinning at me.

Connor swoops me up into his arms, holding me bridal style. He winks at me before running toward the cliff edge and leaping off it. The scream catches in my throat. I cling to him tighter as we fall. Connor tucks his wings tight against his back, and we fall into the abyss. He keeps his eyes on my face the whole time, not a care in the world. Unexpectedly, he snaps his wings out, and with a powerful downward flap, we start to rise. He takes us higher, and we shoot past the cliff edge and his brothers. We fly until we’re hovering at the tree line, and Connor asks, “You okay?”

His voice is very muffled by the earplugs, but I can see his delicious lips shape the words. I don’t loosen my hold on him but nod, trying desperately to resist the stupid urge to look down.

Connor smiles and looks at his brothers, giving them a nod. Less than a minute later, something whistles through the air, shooting toward us. A loud boom shakes the air, and a flurry of light erupts all around us. The inky blue of the sky explodes into a kaleidoscope of cyan, fuchsia, white, and silver.

Fireworks . Connor’s brothers are launching fireworks around us as we fly, giving me the fantastical, up-close view only angels get. His wings beat steadily, and he spins slowly in the air, grinning at me, his face illuminated with the colors exploding all around us. He shifts me in his arms so the front of my body is pressed against his. The fear ebbs out of me as I look at him, his eyes sparkling as he watches me. I slide my fingers into his blond hair and lean in, kissing him deeply.

Heat pushes against my skin, and Connor pulls back, spinning us in the air and dropping, narrowly dodging the explosion. “Fuck! Careful, Rafe!”

Rafe holds up his hands in apology, and Connor looks back at me. “You okay?” he mouths, and I nod, kissing him again. The fireworks freeze in place, and Connor tenses, pulling back. His muscles tighten around me, and I see his lips form a soft curse when he looks at his brothers. I follow his gaze and see the headmaster standing between them, his arms crossed. Even from this distance, I can see the anger in his gaze. He towers over all the Morningstar boys by several inches as if he weren’t intimidating enough. I pull my earplugs out as we fly back down to the cliff edge, and Connor sets me on my feet. His face is flushed, but I can’t tell if it is from anger or embarrassment.

“Headmaster—”

I place my hand on Connor’s arm, stopping him. “It was my fault. I told them how much I love fireworks, and they were kind enough to?—”

The headmaster’s steely, silver gaze slides from me to Zane. Connor’s younger brother is practically vibrating, his face pale and contorted into a look of disgust. “You haven’t spent much time around angels, have you, Miss Tuatha De Daanan?” the headmaster asks, his heavy stare focusing back on me.

“No, sir.” My cheeks heat.

“Zane Morningstar has a more enhanced truth ability than most angels. Say a lie around him, and he can’t help but react.”

Zane seems to shrink more into himself, and Zach hits him on the back of his head.

The headmaster looks back at Connor. “This will not happen again.”

“I was—” Connor begins.

The headmaster interrupts him, his gaze hardening. “I understand you wanted to impress a pretty girl. However, this was not the way to do so, and not on my campus.”

My stomach flutters from the small compliment from the headmaster, and I am disgusted with myself. That reaction is so fucking ridiculous. He was simply making a point. He doesn’t actually think it. Plus, the last thing I need is the attention of a being of his power.

Connor nods. “I know. My apologies, headmaster.”

Headmaster Emrys gives a short nod and looks at all of us. “My office on Monday morning. Bright and early, Morningstars.” He turns his attention back to me, and my stomach knots. “This is the second time I’ve found you at the center of trouble. Not a good start, Miss Tuatha De Daanan.”

I drop my gaze to the ground, cursing the blush that heats my cheeks. “Sorry, sir.”

“A third time, and you’ll be suspended,” he continues, his voice ice cold and his anger cutting through me. “Clean this up.”

There is a faint whooshing sound as a portal opens behind him. He steps through, disappearing into the swirling light. We release a collective breath of relief when it closes behind him with a soft thump.

“Sorry.” Connor places his hand on my arm, squeezing gently.

I look up at him through my lashes. “You’re taking me back to your place, right? Say yes.”

He nods. “Fuck yes.”

I lean against him, kissing him deeply. Connor lifts me into his arms and starts walking back into the forest. His brothers shout out in protest, and I wink at them over Connor’s shoulder. “Thanks, boys.”

Connor and I lay on his bed, both practically naked. He looks over at me, his chest heaving and covered in a light sheen of sweat from our carnal activities. He rolls onto his side and pulls me into him, holding me against his chest.

I tense, looking at him. “What are you doing?”

“Cuddling you,” he replies, burying his face into my neck.

“Uh… why?”

“Night, Summer.” Connor’s voice is groggy, already falling toward sleep. I lay there, uncomfortable and unsure of what to do. This can’t happen. I don’t do sleepovers. I never have. There is something too intimate about sharing someone’s bed for anything other than sex. I glance at Connor’s sleeping face, looking so calm and peaceful. Even that riddles me with anxiety. Falling asleep next to someone is a huge vulnerability. He trusts that I will not slit his throat. I’m not ready for this. I can’t stay here.

I carefully shift out of bed, trying not to wake him. He barely even stirs as I climb over him and silently pull on my skirt and top. I open his door and leave his room, carrying my heels as I leave the house so as not to wake anyone else. It’s fairly comical how walk-of-shame-chic I look at the moment. Lucky for me, it’s the middle of the night. It’s interesting how safe I feel on campus already. Usually, walking alone in the middle of the night is not something I would risk, but here, I know that the thing I am afraid of cannot get to me. I refuse to consider that knowing the headmaster is nearby is also a factor.

I decide to forgo my heels and wander back to my dorm barefoot. I pull my phone out of my purse and scroll through my feed, clicking through the stories I’ve posted over the past twenty-four hours. As I’m tapping through them, I notice an icon in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. I frown, looking down at it. There is a collection of small circles with the profile photos of people who have viewed my story, but one isn’t a photo. It’s a small gray icon with a generic faceless shape. I frown and open up the list.

The school’s Nexus network has a policy that you can’t view anyone else’s account unless you have a verified photo on your profile. I scroll down the list until I find the profile. It’s not a name, simply four numbers: 1015 . I tap on the name and open the account but find it completely blank. I back out of the page, clicking through the rest of my stories. The 1015 account has viewed every one of them. They don’t seem to be following me, though. Maybe it’s just an error or a bug? Could it be… No. It can’t be. I shake my head and push 1015 from my mind, but unease gnaws at my gut. I put my phone away in my purse again, deciding to focus on enjoying the still summer night.