Page 32 of Nine Inch Nasty (Hemlock Academy #9)

Delaney

“Now why the fuck would he go and do that?” Zac, you dumbass.

If he wasn't hurt, it might have been a little bit funny. But he is, so it's only slightly funny. Mainly because I know I can heal him.

Time to give my fellow students a show, I guess.

First though, I have to position him in a way that he's not just going to fall down the stairs even more when I lie next to him, and then I get to it. It's not very sexy kissing an unconscious man, let me tell you. Really doesn't get the body pumping.

Now, if he was merely sleeping, I could be into it.

I pump my healing into him, sucking up lust from my other mates because I'm bent over in front of them and they're predictable. But whatever, free fuel. When Zac’s eyelids start to flutter open like the damsel in distress he is, August is there to prop his head up for me, helping him to sit up since he's so damn heavy.

He's definitely confused. He looks around, sees the pole he just slid down like an idiot, fell off like an idiot and knocked his ass out, and then winces. “I guess I can check that off the list.”

I roll my eyes but smile nonetheless because he's still cute. “We really let those intrusive thoughts win today, didn't we?”

“Something like that. Thanks for kissing my booboos,” he says with a sweet smile.

August helps him stand, and then I wrap my arms around him as August wraps himself around me, making everything even better.

“Be honest, how many people saw me just eat shit?”

I look around the courtyard; people are definitely gaping, some are suspiciously tucking phones back into their pockets like they were recording, but I wave them off and weave my arm through Zac’s so I can tow him towards the rest of our group that we have assembled.

“Not a single person,” I lie.

He squeezes my hand in thanks, but he feels steady enough, so I stop worrying.

“How did the meeting go? So badly you wanted to throw yourself down the stairs?”

He gives me an amused look out of the side of his eye. “Very funny. And I don't know. I have mixed feelings about it?”

“Why did you state that like a question?” August responds, looking at Zac as quizzically as I am now.

Zac sighs, and I feel it deep in my soul. “At first, it was pretty much what we were expecting to happen. People complaining, people being whiny, people being annoying. Wasting my time, yadda, yadda, yadda.”

I squint my eyes at him because he's acting weird. “I thought you usually got off from meetings? Like legitimately got hard-ons when you got to go to them? You're acting like it was some big sacrifice for you to go and talk to people you work with.”

“I do not get hard from meetings. That's... preposterous.”

“No, she's right. You had a meeting last week, and you were so excited talking about all the notes you took during it, and the promotional pens you handed out, that you literally sprouted a hard-on during your speech to us about it.”

Zac looks outraged, gesturing toward me. “Because Delaney was sitting on the couch naked! Are you kidding me right now? You all thought I get sexually aroused from having work meetings? What the fuck is wrong with all of you?”

I burst out laughing, I can't help it. He's so fun to tease. And he has no idea that we're just doing exactly that. “You were hard in your meeting with me too, explain that.”

Now he's even more worked up, and he has no idea that we're just yanking his chain.

His voice gets louder and higher at the same time.

“Because you accidentally sucked my dick!

I dare anybody not to get an erection when you're there with your fucking hot mouth ready to suck their soul out of their fucking dick. Come on!”

He finally catches on that we're laughing, and he just stands there with his hands on his hips, breathing deep and even as he stares at the sky. He's definitely praying for patience. I reward him with a quick kiss on the cheek.

“You said at first it was what you were expecting. But then something happened that you weren't?”

He looks around to see who’s all gathered, taking in my brother and dad, Leo and Jackson.

“Well, as you realize, your parents are here. Hi Delaney’s dad and brother.

I didn’t really mean it when I said she was naked o trying to suck my dick.

We don’t do that. She was…repotting plants.

Very wholesome. Also Delaney, can we not talk about my erections in front of your family?

” He mumbles a ‘fuck my life’ under his breath and presses his hands into his eyes before resetting himself.

“And I don’t mean your parents are just here in the courtyard, I mean there , in the office.

As in, they were there for the meeting. They did not appreciate it when somebody stood up, slammed you for being a conduit, and then ragged on conduits in general.

Not a great look in front of the queen.” He winces and then starts choking. “Fuck. I can't say that anymore.”

Papa Foster seems to take that as his out. “Erections are a natural part of life, Dean Aspis. I’m sorry to hear you’re ashamed of yours. Well, me and Adler have places to be. Don't we, son?”

Adler's confused, definitely not playing along. He scrunches his face up and then shakes his head. “No we don't. You were just talking about sneaking Delaney off campus to get her some lunch. You said you wanted a milkshake from that place down the road.”

Papa Foster looks panicked. I stare him down, stalking forward to poke him in the chest. “Dad? What do you know that I don't?”

Even more panicked. He looks to others for help and then abruptly shouts, “It was never about the bookmarks!” before running away, tugging my brother with him.

August and Jackson stare after him, confused.

Jackson steps up to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “I don't mean to make it weird, but your family has a thing with bookmarks, don’t they? I think I'm at the point that I don't really want to know about it.”

I wave my hand. “Really unimportant. Promise. Anyway.” and then I spin because Zac knows whatever my father was trying to avoid.

“What is it? There's only one thing I can think of that would make my dad run away like that.

He shies away from serious conversations with me like it's the plague. The last time he did it was when we found out I was a—” I suck in a gasp, something tickling the edge of my brain.

“Wait a minute. My mom shouldn't have been here. Nobody else should have been here. Why is everybody here? Why is there a massive moving truck in the parking lot down there? What does any of it mean ?” I yell.

“Wait, don't say anything. I don't wanna know.” I plug my ears and walk in circles around them, my brain moving as fast as possible. Something big is happening, and I don't know if it has anything to do with this silly prophecy or not, but everything could possibly be about to change again.

I stop myself in my tracks and face all of them with my hands on my hips. I try to be calm, try to tone down the crazy, but I'm pretty sure there's no keeping that covered up. “I don't want to know anything until we have a good, proper group orgy. Wait! Hear me out—”

Jackson tries to say something, but I don't want anybody to talk me out of this tirade. “All of you, in the room now. Contact the others, please. I'm going to go get myself a nice, iced coffee, and by the time I make it home, all of you better be naked and waiting for me. This is not a request.”

I grab Jackson by the hand as I go, not letting them say anything else to dissuade me.

I swear they all have trackers on me. Of course, it's possible to run into them this many times on campus.

But suspiciously or not, Adam is walking in front of the coffee shop when we get there.

I narrow my eyes at him and stalk toward him.

He sees me and smiles, takes in the expression on my face and then acts suitably scared.

“I didn't do it,” he says as he throws his hands up.

I look to Jackson to get him to relay my message.

He takes a big dramatic breath and tilts his head to the side as if he's utterly bored. But I know that can't be, he's about to get his dick sucked. Really well, I might add.

“I'm supposed to tell you,” he drawls, “you’re to go to the room and get naked and await further instructions from Her Majesty.” I kick him in the shin because that wasn't part of the speech.

He looks at me wide-eyed. “What part of your behavior right now isn't princessy? Tell me. Go on, I'm waiting. You’re ordering us all around like we're a bunch of, I don't know peasants or something.”

“Wait, is this like, a weird sexual fantasy we're playing out right now?” Adam asks, genuinely.

I stomp up to him, jump on him, and kiss him. “No. This is an ‘I'm about to have a nervous breakdown because there's something I don't want to hear, and I want to live out my greatest desire first’ type of thing. None of you feed me anymore. I'm literally starving.”

Jackson pinches that cute patch of skin between his eyebrows.

“Delaney, we literally three-wayed you in the shower this morning and then six-wayed you right after. Are you kidding me right now?” He scoffs and mumbles something under his breath about them feeding me often enough to keep the entire campus satisfied. Accurate, but rude.

“What do you mean you're about to have a nervous breakdown?

Is this about the Nine Inch Nasty? Because I told Cory that it wasn't going to be a literal dick. They found a package wrapped neatly outside our room this morning with a 9-inch stone dildo in it, but I told him it was probably just a freaky thing your mom sent you from her subscriptions.”

“No, I know what subscription you're talking about, and that company only works with body safe silicones, not stone.

Except for that special edition box, but that was a one-time thing.

Damn it, Cory was right, weren't they? I really do have to fulfill some stupid ass prophecy and beat somebody with a nine-inch stone dong? Is this really the greatest thing I can hope to achieve in my life?” I look up to the heavens, begging. “Why goddess? Why me?”

Damn it, she totally responds.

There has to be some kind of rule about using my own voice to answer my questions.

But I can't control the stream of words that flows out of me, and I sense a separate entity within me, speaking to my mates like I'm not even here.

What the hell is up with that? “ Congratulations. Your circuit has been chosen as the leading circuit in the nation. You must be so proud. As a proud owner of 11 mates, Delaney has become qualified to be my new voice. We know these are very trying, yet exciting times ,” I say to myself with a perky voice that I've never used in my life, “ but don't worry. This is not unprecedented. In fact, your mom !” And then she leaves my body, using that slander of a mom joke as an explanation, and I really don't appreciate it. For multiple reasons.

I shake my head, then hit the side of it, just in case I can knock the goddess out of my ear or something weird. “Don't say it. Don't you say it. Let me be blissfully ignorant then go on a sex rampage first. Then you can say it.”

“Did somebody just say sex rampage?”

Of course the demon is here.

“Because I'm totally down. I was just talking to Leo earlier about that.

We totally need to have a good old-fashioned sexual rampage.

Lay some tarps down and dump a bunch of lube all over the living room and just have at it.

Wouldn't that be fantastic? Wouldn't even matter who goes where.

We'll just clear the furniture out and slide around until it feels good.”

I hop down from Adam and stare down my demon mate. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Jackson's definitely about to say something stupid. So I shush him up. “Nope! Don't want to hear it. I'm going to walk in here, I'm going to get my coffee, and we're all going to pretend this is just a normal day.”

I take a few steps in, and then pause to look over my shoulder.

“And while I'm doing that, the rest of you can go to the room and get fucking naked.

Do you hear me? Do I make myself clear? I want to see balls hanging all over the fucking place when I walk through that door.

I don't want to have to look for them; I want them in my fucking face the second I walk through the door. I want bare balls and jiggling ass cheeks, and just, maleness everywhere. I’m going to get me some snake dick, some lion dick, it's gonna be a fucking dick smorgasbord. And none of you are going to fucking stop me.”