Page 2 of Nine Inch Nasty (Hemlock Academy #9)

Delaney

“Uh, Delaney? There’s somebody at the door. Two somebodies, in fact. I wanted to keep letting you sleep, but they’re being pretty insistent. They claim to be Zac’s parents?”

Saladriel’s voice disappears and then he immediately comes back and pops his head in the door, a grimace on his pretty face. “Also, they claim to know the real reason this realm is being poisoned. Hope you didn’t have plans today because I think you’re gonna be pretty busy. Oh, also—”

I scream into the pillow.

So much for today being the day all my new and temporary dreams come true.

Is it too much to ask people that want to show up unannounced to a place I'm sleeping, that they do so after I've handled all the erections I'm in bed with? Or at the very least, you know, not show up unannounced?

“Thanks, Saladriel. I'll be right out.”

Leo sleeps right through it, Rush is sitting in the corner staring at me like a creep, Spencer is groaning at being woken up as well, and Wil is burying his head into my back as if he can just pretend I don't have to go anywhere. I know he’s awake though.

“Sorry Wil, I know you're cozy.” I try and pry his fingers off of my middle, but he's not having it.

“Tell them to suck it.”

I bust out a laugh because I've never heard him speak like that. “Wil!”

“What? We didn't ask them to come. Just call Saladriel back in here and have him tell whoever's out there we just got mated and we're on our honeymoon. There will be no disturbances until I say so.”

I flip around so I can see him because his sleep-mussed voice is far too cute. “Oh we are, are we?”

“He's got a point there, Delaney,” Spencer says from the other side of the bed, wagging his eyebrows. “We really should be excused from anything important for a bit. We have very important things to discover about each other.”

Apparently not satisfied with the speed at which I'm moving, Saladriel walks back in just as I'm sitting up, scrubbing my hands through my hair to try and assess how messy it is from sleeping.

I notice his eyes go straight to my chest and he frowns, then shakes himself out of it and makes eye contact. “I've talked to them before. Zac's parents. A few days before I went to where you live, I helped them get some dinner nearby. Sort of odd that we're interacting again, don't you think?”

I crawl across all the bodies on the bed and let Rush pull me out of it, calling an apology to a somehow still sleeping Leo when I knee him somewhere very delicate. Good thing he’s stone.

There's something off about Saladriel’s expression this morning, and I kind of want to figure out what it is.

“You did? What are they like? I haven't really met anybody's parents yet, I'm a bit nervous actually.

Fuck. Do you think they're going to blame me for getting their son sent here and their daughter incarcerated?

Yeah, they're probably not going to like me very much.”

“They might like you better if you put pants on,” Wil calls from the bed.

I look down at my legs. He's got a point. We didn't exactly bring much with us, so I'm sleeping in somebody's under shirt they had on while the rest of our clothes are in the dryer out there.

“All right, I'll get you something,” Saladriel says as he takes off his pants and kicks them to the side, shifts to his more unicorn self, then immediately shifts back wearing a pair of skintight black yoga pants.

Convenient trick, that.

He's about to pull them off but I have to stop him. “Would it be super uncomfortable for you if I asked you to turn around so I could see the way your ass looks in those?”

His cheeks darken and he pauses as if unsure how to proceed. “Why would you want to do that?”

Right. We're doing the friends thing, aren't we? “Never mind. I’ll look away while you change.”

He spins around and bends over, showing off his incredibly muscular unicorn shifter ass, making me need to fan myself before he tosses me the newly acquired pants and re-dresses.

They're still warm from his body as I shove my legs in them, and stretchy enough that they fit me pretty decently. “There. Now if Fairygoddess asks, we can say with confidence I've gotten into your pants. Thank you!” I give him a brief kiss on the cheek before flying from that room so fast.

I'll never understand why as a bodysmith, I can be immune to so many things; but when it comes to being around someone that I have a personal interest in, I act like a child with their first crush.

Like, it's so awkward, I’m always embarrassed, and I hate it.

My mom swears by this very niche Pilates class that focuses on the strength of a woman's pussy and how it manifests into strength in their everyday life, and I'm thinking that maybe it's time I take my mother up on that mother-daughter bonding opportunity she's been asking for.

“Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Aspis? Lovely to meet you. I'm Delaney.”

I reach out my hand, which they stare at with watery eyes before yanking me into a hug between them.

“My darling girl, you have no idea how long it's been since we've met anybody from home. We have so many questions.”

Zac’s father pats me on the head as they continue to hug me, agreeing with his wife.

“Yes. We heard the strangest talk from our neighbors and tuned in to the broadcasting channel with them.

We got caught up on everything and are eager to hear about our world!

Do you know our son? They said you were a student at Hemlock.

We haven't heard much from our realm, but we always hoped one day he’d work there.

Tell me, do you know our son? Zac Aspis?

He'd be maybe 10 years or so older than you, but back then, he was so smart.

We just know he did something incredible with his life.

Or our daughter! She'd be about your age! Is she at Hemlock? Please, tell us everything!”

“Maybe some coffee first?”

“You mean herbal tea?” Zac’s mother asks in a depressed tone.

I look at her in horror. “They don't have coffee here, do they?”

I swear she cries on the inside when she shakes her head no.

“Well, don't really want the herbal stuff. How about some juice?” And then I go about finding something in the fridge that looks close enough to apple juice and bring it to the coffee table with some glasses. Not my preference, but I’ve got to work with what’s available.

“This is so kind of you,” his mother says. “It's just so nice to talk with somebody that knows of our world; that's lived there.”

“Yes, it's... something, alright. I'm going back soon; we'll have to take you with us. Zac has been—”

His mother elbows his father, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

“First name basis, huh? So you do know him? I'm sure you get this all the time, but you're absolutely beautiful. Stunning. And you know what? We didn’t actually tell anyone our names when we got here, did we? We merely mentioned to that unicorn fellow you’re here with that we were the parents of a naga shifter named Zac. You greeted us like it’s not strange for us to be visiting you. ”

I take a quick gulp of juice and place it on the table as my mates start coming to life around me, too curious about who I’m talking to to continue sleeping.

They’re trying to be discreet and give us space, but it’s not lost on me that they’re all keeping their ears tilted in my direction so they can keep track of the conversation.

“Bill and Cassandra, right?” They nod, getting more excited and I decide to just get it over with and hope there’s no judgement for the age gap. “Yes, he’s told me about you. You see, well…”

For lack of a better option, I hold my arm out, and their eyes immediately fall to the green/blue circle with the image of the snake on it. I shrug and smile, hoping they don’t already hate me.

Far from it.

Zac’s mother squeals and launches herself at me, while his father has zero shame about wiping a tear from his eye.

“He’s mated! Oh my gods, this is wonderful! Even better than I had hoped for! Let me look at you, holy gods, how did he pull you? I mean I know we made a pretty kid, but shit, you’ve got to be so far out of his league. Tell me, how did he woo you? How did you meet?”

Yeah, they’re not hearing about the accidental blowjob in his office or the train on the balcony. Really don’t think they’d appreciate it like my mother would.

“Cass, maybe we should discuss the matters at hand before demanding things. Delaney, did Zac happen to mention why we’re stuck here? Wait…if he’s with you, then he’s in this realm somewhere, right? We watched the broadcasts, but it just seems so odd, them all being turned into clouds…”

I take another sip of juice with the one hand Zac’s mother has allowed me to retain. The other is firmly tucked into her own, and she’s staring at me like I’m some magical fairy princess from a storybook.

“Yes, I heard the story about how you both ended up here. You have to know, he did his best to bring Shelly up properly. They’re sort of close, and to answer your earlier question, yes, she’s at Hemlock as well.

Also a conduit, though maybe she’s best discussed later…

we’re not…close, I don’t know much…about her… ”

Can they tell I’m talking out my ass?

Cassandra narrows her eyes at me. “What did she do?”

Well, if they didn’t already hate me, they probably will after I tell them.

Besides, I don’t think I could keep this from them if we’re about to work together.

It’d make me all awkward and shifty. “Do you know anything about a cursed gargoyle at Hemlock that your family was tasked with monitoring the curse of? In other words, making sure his curse remained intact under any circumstances?” If I had a dollar for every time I read that on a greeting card…