Page 106 of Burning Ice
A single knock sounded, sharp and demanding. The door opened.
Kylix crossed the threshold with a quiet that silenced the room. His black coat was cut to perfection, sharp and formal, every seam pressed into place. The gold at his collar burned low.
“Imperial Kylix,” Professor Kiba began, already half-risen.
“I’ll take it from here.”
“Certainly.” She gathered her pages quickly and left.
Silence remade itself around the two of them.
Kylix came forward and set his long, ringed fingers on the desk, touching the corner of the reader as if to claim the page as much as the man. Heat curled under Mirel’s collar.
“How is it going, darae?”
“Better.”
Kylix looked at the board, at the neat list of registers and oaths. He leaned over Mirel’s shoulder to see the last line written in the margin.
“Civic courtesy defines the boundary between law and respect,” he read under his breath. It sounded dirtier for being so formal.
“You’re improving.” His thumb moved once over the paper and lingered on the dot where Mirel had marked a correction. “Let’s continue class.”
“What?”
“With me.”
The kiss he gave was deep, tongue sliding against Mirel’s until it drew a shocked moan from his throat. Kylix’s mouth was hot, breath laced with smoke, his jeweled tooth catching the soft skin of Mirel’s lip hard enough to make him shiver. He bit again, slower this time, coaxing the sound he wanted before pulling back with a small grin.
Mirel was still breathing unevenly, arousal tightening low in his stomach.
Kylix smoothed a hand down his neck, eyes dark with amusement. “Again. From the beginning,” he said, as if the kiss had only been part of the lesson.
Mirel read with growing confidence. Kylix stood behind him, one hand at the back of his neck, thumb tracing the line of hair. His touch marked small cues, a press for a pause, a slow drag when a vowel should open. When he reached the end, he set the stylus down but didn’t move, keeping Kylix’s hand where it was.
Kylix’s slate vibrated once inside his coat. He ignored it. “I needed to see you before the summons tonight.”
“For the Aureate?”
“Observation duty. Nothing that should worry you.”
Mirel hesitated, then spoke the truth quietly. “I froze some of your crime scenes once.”
Kylix’s brow arched. “I know.”
“You knew?”
“I knew someone was trying to help me. The frost left patterns no one else could replicate.”
Mirel’s throat tightened. “I wanted you to notice me. But I was terrified you would.”
Kylix’s grin softened into something near reverence. He brushed a lock of pale hair from Mirel’s forehead and kissed him once. “I’m glad you did.”
They left the classroom together. The corridor returned to its usual hush, white walls swallowing sound. Kylix walked at an easy pace and Mirel matched him, the ghost of the kiss still hot on his mouth.
“There you are.” Cyprian greeted him with a hug and a smile.
“Class ran late.”
