Page 145 of Mortal Shift
A soft whimper traveled from my mouth to his and then he flipped me onto my back, yanking my shirt from me and reclaiming my wrists so quickly in one of his hands that it felt like they’d never been free. He pinned them to the bed above me and ducked his head to tease my nipples with his tongue. I pressed myself into his mouth, silently begging him to devour me…or perhaps not so silently, but I’d long since lost track of what sounds I made.
He trailed his kisses further south, pausing to unbutton my jeans and pull them down, then nudging my panties aside with skilled fingers to tease me in a whole other way.
“You’re so wet,” he growled. “And mine.”
“Yours,” I whispered, squirming with need and ecstasy as he thrust a finger inside me.
But I needed more. Always more.
“And more you shall have,” he whispered in reply, and then I felt him lining his shaft up to my wetness. “When you beg for it.”
“Please, Cole,” I whimpered. I squirmed, trying to free my wrists to reach for him, but he tutted and held them fast.
“Please, what?” he asked.
I rolled my head to the side in frustration, and my eyes widened. A shadowy figure loomed by the door, head turned our way. Thaden. My core tightened as I watched him watching us. Cole rumbled a chuckle and caught my chin with one finger, turning my attention back to him.
“Please, what?” he repeated.
“Please, fuck me. Hard.”
He let out a groan of his own and thrust deep inside me. My back arched up off the bed and my legs tangled around his as he started to move his hips, drawing him deeper inside me. I met him thrust for thrust, our bodies sparring in this most delicious combat, and I didn’t care who won. Didn’t even know how to win. I just needed him where he was right now, inside me, pushing me higher and higher.
He buried himself to the hilt one final time and I threw my head back and screamed as my release crashed over me. Cole’s release hit at the same time and he came with a grunt, and then collapsed onto the bed beside me, spent.
When I glanced over at the door, Thaden was gone, leaving me wondering if I’d just imagined him.
Chapter Forty-Eight
“I’ll just be glad when it’s all over,” I said, slumping over our usual table in the deserted library. Ling gave me a sympathetic smile and glanced up at the clock on the wall.
“He should be finishing up any minute.”
“I don’t know why they wouldn’t let me watch. It’s not like I could help him cheat. I mean, if anything, I’d be a distraction.”
We’d been distracting each other plenty over the last couple of weeks since he’d come back to Darkveil, and they’d been entirely pleasant distractions. Thaden hadn’t shown up to watch any more, though.
“Well then it’s probably a good thing you’re not there to distract him,” Ling said, arching a brow. “What with the academy’s policy on not allowing re-sits for end-of-year assessments.”
Yeah, there was that, of course. We’d already had all our theory exams this morning and this afternoon, and now each of the sectors were having their species-specific practical assessments, which left me twiddling my thumbs, sitting on the sidelines. Or in the library, at least.
“It’s not like he could fail, anyway,” I said, fighting the urge to get up and pace. “He’s got more control over his shifted form than almost anyone in our year.”
“Then what are you worrying about?” Ling asked, looking irritatingly smug.
“I’m worrying about Astor using this as another excuse to flunk me, or kick me out entirely. What sort of stupid academy says I can only go to next year if my mate does?”
“Relax. You said his theory exams went okay, right? And I know yours did because you’ve actually been studying…despite all the distractions. And like you said, it’s going to be almost impossible for him to fail his shifting assessment.”
Almost.The word rattled around my head until it pushed me to my feet.
“I can’t just sit here anymore. I need to…”
Trouble was, I didn’t know what I needed to do. Something, that was for sure. Something other than sitting around here waiting.
“Gee, sure is a good thing Cole wouldn’t let Thaden feed from you in case it left you with no energy to complete your exams,” Ling said, her voice loaded with sarcasm as she rolled her eyes at me. Then she narrowed them. “Are you sure you’re not just in need of a hit of those endorphins?”
I scowled at her half-heartedly. “I think you’ll find he’s the one addicted to me, thank you very much, not the other way around.”
