Page 8 of Wicked Dove (Institute Thirteen #1)

The shower heads are exposed like I’m back in high school, only there, the girls and boys were separated, and I don’t think I’m going to be offered the same grace here.

My pulse thrums through my veins nervously as Kael heads to the vanity, splashing water on his face. I need a minute to hide, so I hightail it to the toilet stall, locking the door firmly in place before I heave a sigh of relief.

The sight of the toilet reminds me I haven’t gone to the bathroom in forever. How I’ve managed it, I don’t know, but I hurry to pee, too far gone to care about the sound as I drag out every second before I head back out into the open space.

My mind is a mess, rattled with dwindling hope, a hot and grouchy cellmate, along with the revelations that my chances of survival are slim to none.

I want to rely on Walker coming to find me, but how the hell is he going to know to look here? Wherever here actually is.

Pumping myself up, I shake my shoulders and hands, desperate to rid myself of the fear souring my stomach. Just as I reach for the lock, I hear the shower turn on from the other side and my heart lurches.

Act normal, Elodie. It’s no big deal.

Opening the door, I keep my gaze trained to the left, heading straight for the sink without glancing toward the showers. Running my hands under the faucet, I keep my head dipped so I don’t catch a glimpse of him in the mirror.

I’m excelling at avoiding his existence until I need to dry my hands, and in the midst of looking for something to use, I spot him in the reflection of the glass and pause.

I’m enraptured, watching as his back muscles flex as he stands under the spray, completely naked.

“What are you waiting for?” he hollers, not bothering to look at me, and I’ve never been more grateful because I don’t need to be caught ogling him right now.

“I’m not showering in front of you,” I mutter, and he snickers, shrugging as he reaches for the all-in-one shower gel shampoo combo attached to the wall.

“Suit yourself, but once I’m done, I’m heading for the canteen and you have to come with me. Showered or not.”

Ass.

I definitely do not like this guy.

Slamming my hands on my hips, I huff. “Turn away then,” I insist, and he smirks, bringing his gaze to mine.

“No.”

“Don’t be gross,” I insist, eyes wide in a desperate plea that goes unnoticed as he tilts his head back, closes his eyes, and puts his face directly under the spray.

I take that as my opportunity, hurrying toward the shower as far away from him as possible.

It’s more complicated than I expected since he’s taken one of the middle showers to use.

I consider showering with my clothes on, but if this really is my Green Mile death march, I deserve to be sparkling clean.

Nervously, I undress, taking great effort to keep my back away from him. It means there’s a chance of exposing my naked body to him, but it’s better than the alternative.

Ignoring his presence, I focus on the water, yelping when it comes out icy at first. I step back, letting it warm up, while peeking in his direction to make sure he’s not staring.

It’s a strange feeling to see his eyes closed.

He’s done it so often already, but the fact he obliged my request feels almost like a truce.

I can work with that.

My shoulders relax as I step under the water, instantly reaching for the cleaning concoction fixed to the wall, but before I can pump some into my hand, Kael’s voice slices through the air.

“Are you going to die a virgin?”

“What?” I splutter, choking on my next breath as I blink at him.

He’s looking at me now, that damn eyebrow cocked in question as I wave him off.

“You’re ridiculous,” I insist, tilting my face away from him, but I still sense him staring. Not at my pussy or my breasts, but at my damn face. “Stop staring,” I bite out, turning to glare at him, but my gaze catches on his cock that’s jutting in my direction.

Anxiously wanting him to stop, I sigh. “No, I won’t die a virgin. Happy now?” I smart, turning away from him again, but I can still see his length in my peripheral.

“Worried you’re never going to feel a cock again?”

What the fuck is going on right now?

“Why? Do you want me to feel yours?” I say with a smirk. Humor is my strength; being crude or over the top usually does the trick when I need people to back off.

“My summons are tomorrow,” he states, making my chest tighten as I turn to him with a frown. ”Death is coming for me, too.”

“That’s a shame.” I force myself to reach for the shower gel this time, but the moment it’s in my hand, I feel too self-conscious to touch myself with it.

“Nah, it’s a shame not to chase a release one last time,” he murmurs, his voice dropping an octave or two. Slight movement from the corner of my eye, and I know he’s touching himself.

“You’re an asshole,” I mutter, clenching my thighs together as discreetly as I can.

“I thought we established that,” he retorts, and I shake my head, working the shower gel onto my stomach as I try to take a deep breath.

Sex is… I don’t know. The only release I’ve ever found is at my own hands.

I’ve tried sex twice, and it was pitiful and embarrassing both times.

The guy literally laughed at me bleeding as he took my virginity, and the next guy…

well, it was his dad as payback, but it quickly became clear that poor bedroom skills ran in the family.

Neither of them looked like Kael. The swagger he exudes without trying, the air of arrogance, it’s alluring more than I care to admit. He seems certain enough that I’m going to die, so much so that I feel it in the pit of my stomach.

Running my tongue over my bottom lip, I glance at him. His head is tipped back under the spray of water again. “Are you a virgin?” I blurt, and he scoffs, shaking his face out of the water before glancing at me with an incredulous look.

“Do I look like a virgin?”

I shake my head. I already know the answer to that.

He’s moving before I realize it, and I spin just in time as he crowds me, leaving me with my back pressed against the tiled wall. We’re just out of the pathway of the water, but it still splashes at my feet.

I already feel like I’m suffocating in his presence as he towers over me, consuming every inch of me.

“I don’t like you,” I rasp, and he grins, as sinister as ever.

“You don’t need to.”

“Are you even going to be able to make me come?” I ask, the factor that’s going to seal my fate here. If he’s just going to thrust his cock inside me, then I’d rather get myself off. There’s no chance of being let down then.

“I’ll let you go first, how about that?”

His offer hangs in the air, spoken with conviction as my chest heaves with apprehension.

Tilting my head back further so we’re eye to eye, I slowly lift my hand, pressing my thumb against his bottom lip as I rise on my tiptoes. The moment I lift my other hand, tracing over his throat and down his shoulder, his hands move to my hips.

The sound of the water crashing into the tile floor is the only sound, and it echoes loudly throughout the room, neither of us speaking as we trace our fingertips delicately across the other.

I run my hands down his chest, dipping between the muscles at his stomach before curling my way around to his back and up his spine.

His eyes flicker with need when I ignore his cock altogether, but the second I run my hands through the ends of his hair, I’m hoisted in the air.

I screech with surprise, but he doesn’t stop until I’m plastered against the wall, my thighs hiked over his shoulders, placing my pussy on his face.

My heart races as I scramble for purchase, but the only thing to hold on to is him. Raking my fingers through his hair again, I watch in awe as he runs his tongue through my folds, making my back arch as desire courses through me.

This is insane.

This is madness.

This is everything.

He runs his tongue over my delicate skin, circling my clit, and I gasp.

“Holy fuck,” I rasp, tightening my hold on his hair, which only fuels him.

This time, when he finds my clit, he rakes his teeth over the needy nub as he brings two fingers to my entrance.

I watch in wonder as he plays my body with precision.

He laps at my pussy like a man starved, eyes on me the entire time, as he finger fucks my center with a drive and dedication I’ve never seen.

I’m a whimpering mess as he circles his fingers inside of me, once, twice, three, four times, then I’m falling apart, a scream ripping from my lungs as I try to ride the waves, but I can’t move. It’s all at his command.

Spent, I stare in astonishment as he leans back enough for me to see my release glistening on his chin. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything hotter in my whole entire life. If I’m going to die, it’s with this image in my mind for all of eternity.

One leg at a time, he lowers my thighs, but when I brace to balance on my feet, I don’t hit the floor at all. Instead, he circles my legs around his waist, lining up his cock perfectly with my entrance. Sweat clings to me like a second skin, threatening to meld us together forever.

There’s no indecision as I tilt my hips, doing the best I can with the fraction of room he’s giving me before he slips inside my pussy, stretching me from the first inch. I cling to his shoulders desperately, another cry parting my lips as his eyes darken with desire.

It’s only when he’s settled all the way inside of me that he breathes. “Fuck. I thought you said you weren’t a virgin?” he rasps, his fingers flexing at my sides.

“I’m not,” I grind out, and he scoffs, a mixture of disbelief with a sprinkling of amazement.

“Sure doesn’t fucking feel like it,” he grunts, flexing his hips as he juts inside of me a little.

“I want another,” I state, like I haven’t just climaxed the hardest I ever have, and he scoffs.

“If that’s your dying wish,” he mutters, reminding me what we’re doing here, and I nod.

It wasn’t, but it is now.

He doesn’t waste a second, pulling out and slamming back into me with the force of a truck, luring another cry of pleasure from my lips. His muscles bulge, his cheeks faintly turning pink, and his eyes go from an emerald green to the deepest depths of the forest.

He fucks me.

Really fucks me.

And I fuck him back, matching every swing of his hips with one of my own.

I can feel the build-up of my orgasm again, tightening through my muscles, and my cries grow louder.

“Come for me,” he commands, his eyes turning pitch black as his veins protrude across his face, but it’s his mouth that holds my attention when his fangs elongate before me.

I gape in disbelief. “You’re a vampire.”

Uttering the words doesn’t stop the climax racing up my spine; it propels it.

His thrusts grow faster, harder, needier with every pass as he chases his own release. The second he finds it, I spasm around him again, in a complete state of shock. He tilts his head to the ceiling as he comes, but all too quickly, he’s placing me back on wobbly feet.

I cling to him for balance, but the second I have it, he steps out of my hold.

“You’re a vampire,” I finally manage when he’s half dressed.

He sighs, tilting his head at me. “And you are?”

My eyebrows rise in surprise for a second, my back still plastered against the wall as I speak my new truth. “A scythe.”

He scoffs, the sound like a dagger to the chest, breaking whatever moment I know this wasn’t. “Yeah, you’re definitely dead.” Tugging a fresh t-shirt over his head, he grunts. “Hurry up, I’m starving.”