Page 120 of Mortal Blood
I watched him go, and then Cole gave my hand a gentle squeeze.
“Come on, princess. Let’s check our scores.”
I nodded, my throat suddenly dry, and I let him lead us the rest of the way to the board.
My heart stuttered. Taking a deep breath, I edged closer, scanning down the list of names. Some were marked out in red ink—failed. I didn’t let my eyes linger on those, frantically seeking the names I cared about.
Finally I found them clustered near the bottom, Cole’s name above mine. He’d scored a near perfect score on his theory and shifting assessments.
“Swot,” I muttered under my breath, and he chuckled. His scores were less impressive for the final assessment, but then, hehadspent a good portion of it unconscious. But he’d passed, and that was all that mattered. Jax and Alina, too. I skipped down a line to my own name. Reasonable pass for the theory, and a good score for the final assessment. And a question mark in the column under my feeding exam. I swallowed and turned to Cole.
“What if I screw it up?”
“What are you screwing up now, sweetness?”
I whirled round to scowl at a smirking Thaden. “Could you maybestopsneaking up on people?”
“Nope. Good to see you looking better, Bryant.”
“Thanks to you, I hear,” he said, extending a hand. The pair of them fist bumped. “Cali’s worried about failing her feeding assessment.”
“With good reason,” I said. “Thaden, you saw my last attempt. And Cole, you saw me trying to feed from Alina and I wasn’t even touching her. I’m going to screw it up, and all of this,” I flung a hand at the scoreboard, “won’t count for anything.”
Thaden caught my hand, and skimmed his nose along my pulse. “Control is easy, sweetness,” he murmured.
“For you, maybe.”
He locked eyes with Cole over my arm, a wicked gleam in his eye. Nothing good could come from that expression.
“What say we help your mate, Bryant?”
Cole crowned me from the other side, lowering his nose hair and inhaling deeply. “What does my mate say?” he asked, his voice a seductive growl that sent a shot of heat between my legs.
“Okay,” I whispered.
Cole whisked me into his arms, and it seemed only seconds later we were inside our quarters, Thaden clicking the door softly shut and throwing the lock, while Cole lowered me reverently onto his bed.
Cole stood over me, his eyes dark and intense as he watched every move I made. I shivered under his scrutiny, but it didn’t stop the desire that burned in my core. Every inch of my body tingled with anticipation as I reached up and started to unbutton his shirt slowly, taking my time to tease him, to feel him. His muscles rippled beneath my touch, and I traced the lines of his abdomen with my fingertips, enjoying the way they flexed slightly at my touch. The soft cotton slid off his shoulders, revealing his toned body that was as familiar to me as the back of my own hand, and that I would never get tired of looking at.
“You’re so beautiful,” I breathed out, leaning forward to trace a finger down his pecs before moving lower to trace tracks on his abs with my tongue. His skin was warm and salty against my lips, sending a jolt of arousal through my body. Cole let out a low groan that vibrated against my lips as I explored him further down, tracing patterns on his firm stomach until I reached the edge of his pants.
Thaden circled around us with predatory grace, watching our every move. He stepped in, hesitating for just a second as his hand found my jaw, and I gave him a small nod. His fingers trailed south, releasing the buttons of my shirt as he went with effortless grace.
“Hey!” I scowled at him. “You’ve done that before.”
“Jealous, sweetness?”
“No,” I lied.
“Good. Because I meant everything I said to you yesterday. Now relax.” He moved his hand further down, unbuttoning my pants. “We’re going to make you feel good.”
“And how is that going to help me control my feeding?”
He shot me a mischievous grin. “You’ll see. Cole, your mate needs you.”
Cole climbed onto the bed and his hand slid in to take the place of Thaden’s, his fingers ghosting across my panties and making me moan with need. Thaden chuckled darkly and then tutted.
“Nice try, but your mate is learning to feed.” His voice dropped an octave. “You’re the food.”
