Page 48 of The Cursed Fae

“Everything cool?” he asked.

I looked up and down the hallway like I might find Astrid lurking nearby as well. “Yeah, of course. Not a big deal.”

Laz blew out a breath. “Thank Gaia.”

“I doubt divine intervention had anything to do with it.” I stared at him askance as we started back toward the dorms. “You really didn't need to check on me. Your dad's not some coed-eating ogre.”

With a hand on my lower back, he steered me down a hallway I had yet to see anyone use. “I know you can take care of yourself. You wouldn't have survived in the human world otherwise. I just feel sort of responsible for what happened.” Laz played with the gold knot ring on my finger, spinning it slowly. The feel of his skin against mine was like a cold jolt of electricity. “The party was my idea.”

I heard footsteps walking toward the chancellor's office down the corridor we'd just left. My eyes stayed locked with Laz's. He brought his mouth closer to mine.

“Maybe I can make it up to you,” he said, tone suggestive.

“A kiss for a vampire attack? You'll have to do better than that,” I teased.

“It's just the start,” he mumbled as our lips met.

Laz tasted like a warm cinnamon roll and smelled like the ocean breeze. Looping an arm around my waist, he pulled my hips closer. For that moment, only the two of us existed inside our whole campus of supernatural students. I didn't wonder what I was or how Laz could've been so mistaken about my brand of elemental magic. None of it mattered.

Then my back bumped against a wobbly glass case holding medals for various academic achievements, causing a loud clatter and shattering the illusion.

Laz and I broke apart, laughing. He grabbed my hand, and we hurried away before someone showed up to investigate the sound. Somehow, we made it all the way back to my dorm room without stopping to make out. I couldn't recall the last time my hormones raged like this. Had they ever?

When we reached my room and Tina was nowhere in sight, my insides did a happy dance. Laz cupped my chin and kissed me deeply. My stomach flipped, desire rising fast and furious. My fingers wound into his shirt, pulling at the hem until finding his warm skin beneath. His ab muscles were like concrete ski slopes begging to be explored.

“I feel like your sister has a rule against romantic visitors,” I said against his lips. Despite the words, I didn't give a shit if Tina cared. I didn't care about much except for feeling his bare skin against mine.

Laz chuckled as he pulled me farther into the room and toward my bed. “Are you saying we need to hurry? I can be as fast or slow as you like.”

I pulled the shirt over his head, ruffling Laz's sandy blond hair. His gray eyes stared down at me hungrily as he bit his bottom lip. My fingernails grazed over his tan skin, my gaze locked with his as a low moan rumbled from his chest.

The bedroom door flung open, and Tina strode in.

Are you freaking kidding me? I wanted to shout.

“Leave.” Tina jabbed a finger toward the doorway.

An unspoken message passed between the twins, and then Laz brushed his mouth across my cheek and scurried from the dorm room.

Coward, I thought as I watched him leave. A flash of a tattoo on his back was the last thing I saw before the door swung shut behind him.

My roommate gave me a look that suggested she thought I was stupid. “You're the worst Sable in centuries, you know that?” Tina sat at her vanity, back facing me.

“I don't even know what that means.” I flopped down on my bed, still flushed and breathing heavily. If she was going to yell or lecture, I could at least be comfortable.

Tina's brows drew together in the mirror. “Really? You mean your mom doesn't take every opportunity to tell you all about your exalted bloodline?”

My roommate was being catty, and yet she seemed genuinely surprised to realize how little I knew about my family.

“Mom's not big on disclosing things,” I said, unsure whether the admission was wise. My mind flashed to the scene Tina interrupted. I couldn't believe I was talking about my mother sixty seconds after almost jumping Laz. Why hadn't I put a spell on my door?

Tina eyed my reflection. “But she told you that you're fae, right?”

“Obviously,” I snapped, annoyance finally rising above the lust.

Tina leaned closer to the mirror and admired her eyebrows from several angles. With deliberate slowness, she started removing her jewelry and makeup. Like her twin, Tina won the genetic lottery. All the foundation and shadows and highlighters were cosmetically unnecessary on her perfect features, but she wore them like armor.

“Sable women—not so much the men—are some of the strongest elemental magic users to walk this earth,” Tina said, breaking the silence at last. “Every fae in Arcane Landing is related to your family, some more distantly than others.”

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