Roommate Roulette: Chapter 6

The scent of burnt sugar and cinnamon hangs in the air, betraying Lyric's frustration before anyone even enters the room. Her heat has receded to a dull throb after this morning's encounter with Sebastian, but the memory of his mouth between her thighs makes concentration nearly impossible. The textbook splayed open before her—Advanced Theories of Elemental Magic—might as well be written in ancient runes for all she's absorbing.

Outside, twilight paints Silverpoint's campus in shades of lavender and gold. Students drift across the quad in small clusters, their laughter floating up through the half-open window. Lyric's fingernails tap an anxious rhythm against the page as she reads the same paragraph for the sixth time.

She doesn't hear Sebastian approach their door, but she feels him—a sudden tightening in her chest, a prickling awareness that spreads across her skin. Her body recognizes him before her mind does, responding to his proximity with a rush of warmth that pools low in her belly. The honeysuckle notes in her scent intensify, sweetening the air in anticipation.

Sebastian pauses outside, his hand hovering over the doorknob. He can smell her through the wood—that intoxicating blend of honeysuckle and amber that's been haunting him since this morning. His wolf paces restlessly beneath his skin, still unsatisfied despite their earlier encounter. The memory of her taste lingers on his tongue.

He takes a deep breath, steeling himself before turning the knob. When he steps inside, his storm-gray eyes immediately find hers, the connection between them almost audible in its intensity.

"Hey," he says, his voice rougher than he intends.

Lyric's mouth goes dry. "Hey," she echoes, closing her textbook with trembling fingers. The movement releases a small cloud of her scent, and Sebastian's nostrils flare as he inhales it.

For a moment, they simply stare at each other, the air between them charged with unspoken desire. Sebastian's wolf urges him forward, demanding he cross the room and claim what his instincts insist is already his. Instead, he clears his throat and looks away, focusing on Riley's collection of plants scattered across the windowsill.

"Riley," he says abruptly, turning to where the Beta sits cross-legged on her bed, headphones dangling around her neck as she scrolls through her phone. "You and your plants might need to go watch a movie tonight."

Riley glances up, her eyes widening slightly as she takes in Sebastian's rigid posture and the intensity radiating from him. She looks between her roommates, a knowing smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"Is that right?" she asks, setting her phone down. "And would this sudden interest in my cultural education have anything to do with the fact that you two are practically broadcasting 'mate me now' vibes across three counties?"

Sebastian crosses the room in three long strides and lifts Lyric effortlessly, her legs instinctively wrapping around his waist. "Riley," he growls without taking his eyes off Lyric, "leave. Now." He doesn't wait for a response before his mouth slams onto Lyric's throat, teeth raking her tender skin. Electric shockwaves erupt through her veins as he presses her against the cold metal of the dorm-room window. Their scents collide: sharp pine and midnight musk spiraling into honeysuckle sweetness and warm amber, a heady cocktail that binds them in savage need.

“Fuck, Lyric,” he snarls, voice a broken avalanche that reverberates down her spine. “I can’t… I can’t hold back.” His legendary restraint fractures, splintering under the weight of their fused heartbeats. “I need you—every inch.”

Lyric quivers in the suffocating shadow of him—not with fear, but with awakening. Her Omega instincts roar approval as her amber eyes lock on his storm-gray ones. He could obliterate her with a glance, yet here he stands, poised on the brink of madness, still offering her choice.

“Yes,” she breathes, surrender rolling off her tongue like molten gold. “I need you too.”

Riley's eyes widen as she watches the two of them locked together against the window, the pheromones in the room reaching such intensity that even her Beta senses feel overwhelmed. With practiced efficiency born from weeks of similar moments, she slides off her bed and lunges for the potted cactus on the windowsill.

"Mr. Pickles and I will be taking that movie suggestion, thank you very much," she announces, cradling the small spiny plant to her chest.

Neither Sebastian nor Lyric acknowledges her; they're too consumed by each other, bodies pressed together as if trying to meld through clothing and skin. Riley snags her backpack with her free hand, slipping through the door with the nimbleness of someone who has perfected the art of the roommate escape.

The click of the door latch finally leaves them truly alone. Sebastian's fingers tangle in Lyric's copper hair, tugging her head back to expose the delicate column of her throat. His lips trace a burning path from her jaw to her collarbone, each press of his mouth against her skin sending currents of electricity through her body.

"I've been thinking about this all day," he murmurs against her pulse point, where her scent is strongest. "About you. About your taste." His teeth graze the sensitive skin, not quite breaking the surface but applying enough pressure to make her gasp. "About claiming you properly.

A tremor of pheromones thickens the air into a living thing, coiling around their limbs and dragging them together. Sebastian’s huge hands carve slow, possessive trails down her sides, each fingertip setting her skin ablaze. Her body responds without thought, arching to meet him, crying out with savage hunger.

I've been fighting this since the first day you walked into our dorm room. But when you skipped your suppressant this morning—" his voice breaks, pupils blown wide with primal need, "—I knew all bets were off. Your scent hit me like a freight train,” he admits, voice ragged, breath searing her collarbone. He hauls her backward until her knees hit the edge of her narrow bed. “Tried to be… noble.”

Her nails snag in his black hair, pulling him closer until she tastes the cool metal of a zipper and the glucose of his sweat. “I don’t want noble,” she whispers, throat tight with lust. “I want you to fuck me—claim me completely.”

Rain hammers the window, drumming a war beat to their desperate symphony. The storm outside is nothing compared to the hurricane burning between them. With effortless force, Sebastian lifts her and lays her out across the thin mattress, his body a cage of iron around her. His wolf seizes control, a savage presence surging to the surface as he grinds his rigid length against the heat between her thighs. He nuzzles her neck, inhaling deeply at her pulse point, his breath scorching against her skin as a growl vibrates from deep in his chest.

His fingers slip beneath her oversized sweater, finding bare flesh. When he reaches her breasts, he pinches both nipples between thumb and forefinger—hard enough to make her gasp. "Tell me if it hurts," he growls against her throat, not easing his grip.