Chapter 18: Too Soon

He slips his hands back under my ass and lifts off the counter, keeping my legs wrapped around his torso as he walks us upstairs to our bedroom. He puts me on the bed and his mouth is on my nipple, sucking and nibbling.

I chuckle under my breath as I think that there’s no way he isn’t getting the milk in his mouth whenever he licks on me like that. He doesn’t seem to care. His leaves my tit and his mouth meets mine in a soft, wet kiss that makes me gasp.

He breaks his lips from mine and looks at me, still intense and hungry. “I’ll never get enough of you.”

Something moves from my stomach up my chest and squeezes. “I like the sound of that.”

I do, but his words still ring that this is just an arrangement. One that’ll come to an abrupt end when his mate comes along. And I hope I’ll be alright when that happens. Everything will be back to normal and the whole memories thing will be solved.

“You suddenly seem distracted,” he whispers, his eyes sweeping over my face.

I smile and shake my head. I can’t tell him about my talk with Messiah or Messiah and I will both sound nuts.

“I’m fine,” I murmur, pressing a small kiss to the corner of his mouth and unwrapping my legs from his waist. “I’m just tired. It’s been a day.”

He nods and gets off me. “True. I’ll run you a bath.” He moves to get off the bed but I grab his elbow and pull him back.

I kiss him again before he can say anything.

He lets me, one hand settling at the side of my neck while the other braces against the mattress. The kiss stays soft for a long moment. When I don’t pull away, he deepens it just enough that my fingers curl into the front of his shirt.

He eases me back onto the bed without breaking the contact. His weight settles over me, warm and solid. I expect him to push for more the way he did downstairs, but he slows everything down, kissing my cheek, then my jaw, then the place just under my ear until my breathing changes.

“You’re still somewhere else,” he says quietly against my skin.

I open my eyes and meet his. “I’m right here.”

“Your mouth is.” His thumb brushes along my cheek. “The rest of you isn’t.”

I don’t have a good answer for that, so I just slide my hands under his shirt and map the lines of his back.

“Stay,” I hear myself say.

He goes still for a second. Then his arms tighten around me and he presses a kiss to my hair.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he answers, his voice low.

He runs the bath and doesn’t try to nail me in the bathroom this time. Then he puts me to bed like a little girl, but I don’t mind. I find that I quite like being pampered by him. I’m woken by an alarm in the morning. Trojan is already gone when I reach over and slap it.

Then there’s a knock, and the nurse’s voice comes through the door. “Luna Billie, I’m making breakfast, so you can eat before you go to the academy.”

I roll my eyes at the ceiling. Why does she keep calling me that? Doesn’t she know anything?

I get dressed fast, pull my hair into a messy bun, and head downstairs. The twins are already fed and settled with the nurse. I eat what’s put in front of me without really tasting it, grab my bag, and leave before anyone can start a conversation I don’t have the energy for.

Something in my chest feels tighter as I walk through the academy grounds. My gaze keeps darting toward the old science building, wondering whether I’ll still need to go hiding. I am not the same girl who used to keep her head down and wait for the day to end.

I’m halfway across the courtyard when I hear my name.

Marcus is leaning against the low wall near the main entrance with his usual group. Marlon is beside him. The second I look up, Marlon’s eyes lock onto me and stay there.

“Look who decided to show up,” Marcus calls, loud enough for the students nearby to hear. “The Alpha’s temporary bed warmer.”

A few of the students laugh and start to gossip. I don’t know if this has been going on for the past year or whether I’m only just returning after a break. Earlier, I just assumed that I’d been attending because Trojan asked me whether someone was bothering me at the academy

“I’m not doing this with you anymore,” I say with a glare. “Not the comments. Not the little audience. Not any of it. You want to have a problem with me, say it to my face when there isn’t a crowd. Otherwise keep my name out of your mouth.”

I don’t wait for his reply. I turn and walk toward the main building. My hands are shaking, but I don’t let it show.

I’m almost at the doors when I realize someone is following me.

Marlon.

I try not to focus on his scent as he falls into step beside me like it’s normal. I doubt we’ve been friends this past year, so what the hell is he doing?

“What do you want?” I ask without slowing down.

“To talk.”

“We have nothing to talk about.”

“I think we do.” His voice is quieter than I expected. “You’ve changed.”

I stop walking and look at him. “And that matters to you why?”

“I think maybe we rejected each other too soon,” he says it like it’s a question, and I wonder what type of twilight shit I just walked into.