Page 32 of Dark Embers

He scooted to the edge of my bed and watched me. “After what you told me last night, I thought it might be better to blow her off. Ask Celeste to assign someone else.”

“And let that bitch think I’m afraid of her?” I shot at him as I pulled my shirt over my head. “Not a chance.”

“Well, do you at least want me to walk you over there?” he offered. “I could give Letti a subtle warning.”

I shook my head. “No, it’s fine. I’ll handle her and her little trio on my own.”

He frowned and nodded.

“But thank you,” I added, sitting on the bed beside him so I could pull on my shoes.

“Do you have any plans after?” he asked, and now that I was fully clothed, it was incredibly obvious how very naked he still was.

I felt a smirk tugging at my lips and gave him a coy sideways glance. “No. Why?”

A sexy grin spread across his face. “I thought you might like to go on another swim in the lake with me. You know, for an extra-curricular tutoring session.”

While his words were corny as hell, their insinuation ignited a wild excitement in my belly. After the mind-blowing experience we’d shared during our last swim, I was insanely curious to explore that part of my sexuality, and he was the perfect teacher.

Okay, maybe he did thrill me a little bit.

“As long as Letti doesn’t drown me with water manipulation, I’d love to,” I joked.

He chuckled. “Mermaids don’t drown.”

“Ah, but you forget that I’m a terrible mermaid,” I countered.

“I beg to differ.” His eyes raked over me, making my skin burn under his hungry scrutiny.

I bit my lip, letting my gaze slide down his body and snag on the growing stiffness between his legs. He really was insanely gorgeous.

I pushed myself off the bed before I could change my mind. “Okay, I have to go.”

My whole body blushing, I ran out the door and scurried down the hall. While I did have fifteen minutes to spare to grab a snack beforehand, my appetite was M.I.A. at the moment. Besides, wasn’t there some rule about not eating before going swimming? Actually, did that apply to mermaids?

I rushed past the dining hall and speed-walked across the lawn to the pool building, my hurried thoughts shifting from the promise of Kendall’s proposal to the shit show I was about to swim into.

I would never understand how Celeste thought it was a good idea to stick me with Letti. Didn’t she know how much that bitch hated me? Some seer she was if she couldn’t see the disaster this was undoubtedly going to be.

I also felt a bit jilted by Celeste. Not that I expected her to hold my hand forever, but her passing me off on someone else felt like she was rejecting me, too. Celeste clearly had expectations of me when I first came here, and I definitely hadn’t lived up to any ofthem. Maybe having to endure Letti’s presence one-on-one was my punishment for being a disappointment.

Letti was already in her swim top when I entered the mer training room, and the snobby brunette rolled her eyes when she saw me come through the door. I mimicked the gesture and went to the locker room to take my time getting into my own swim top.

So much for my plan of pretending she didn’t exist.

I heard the door open behind me as I aggressively shoved my locker closed.

“Look, neither of us wants to be here, so can we just get this over with?” Letti said with a snide tone as she strode toward me.

“Wow, something we actually agree on,” I said, not bothering to conceal the disdain lacing my words. “Fine, what great things do you have to teach me?”

Letti flipped her hair off her shoulder as she preceded me into the training room. “Plenty. Not that I expect you to pick up any of it.”

I clenched my fists, fantasizing about wrapping my fingers around Letti’s little bobblehead neck and strangling her until her face turned as blue as her tail. The wound to my pride from the sim room “prank” was so fresh it burned, but I knew that someone had to take the high road here, and it wasn’t going to be Letti.

“If this tutoring thing is going to work, we have to put our personal feelings aside and be adults about this,” I said. “So, how about we leave our mutual hatred at the door—only for as long as we’re in this room.”

Letti looked at me sideways under thick black lashes, then shrugged. “I guess that sounds reasonable. Besides, if I can’t turn you into a true mermaid, what does that say about me?”

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