Page 99 of Savage Desire

“Using my magic is the easiest way,” I admit, seemingly giving in to his demands once again, but there’s a part of my soul bathing in the warmth of someone looking to take care of me.

“Okay. Good,” he mumbles as I reach for my bag at my feet and grab a pinch of sand before muttering my new favorite word under my breath. My jacket slides from my arms and sits folded beside me a moment later.

“Fuck.” My gaze darts to Asher, watching as his brows furrow. “What did she do to you?”

“She used me as her own personal punching bag,” I grumble, and he shakes his head in disbelief.

“I was adamant Professor Drummond should have called it sooner. I couldn’t bear seeing you get hurt. I still can’t, but watching you throw her off and give her a taste of her own medicine mildly made up for it,” he states, and I smile despite the nausea that threatens to burn up my throat again.

“She’s okay?” I ask, and he scoffs, eyes growing wide with surprise.

“You care?”

I shrug. “I… I bolted because watching her eyes roll to the back of her head like that made me vomit,” I admit, swiping a hand down my face. “I get that I have to be strong here and fighting is going to happen, but it’s not who I’ve ever been and I don’t think my stomach is made for it.”

He cuts the distance between us, cupping my cheek as he strokes his thumb across my skin. “You did what you had to do. She’ll live, but if she didn’t, that wouldn’t be your fault either.”

“How do you figure?”

“Because there’s not a malicious bone in your body, Silver. You may be sweet, innocent, and maybe a touch naïve, but you’re strong, resilient, and braver than most. Think about everything you’ve faced already. Other students here haven’t been through even half as much as you have and they still manage to come out on top.” My pulse thunders at his words, a similar thread of adjectives that Blaze whispered, but I quickly shut the thought down. “Now, I have some cream that can help with this.”

“I don’t think cream is going to solve it,” I grumble, glancing down at the state of my arms. The mottled marks splatter up to my shoulders, the pain traveling down my back, but I can’t see if the bruises mark my skin there too.

“It’s special. We have it on hand in case Wylder needs it after a fight.”

“Oh.” Maybe it could help then.

“Not that he’s ever needed it, and it’s a good thing too because now I need it for you,” he says with a wink before nodding at the bed. “Lie down.”

My eyebrows gather. “Where?”

I know exactly where, and he knows that I know, but playing dumb feels safer than falling into his web.

“On the bed,” he states, a hint of amusement in his tone, and I shake my head.

“That’s not a good idea.”

“I’ll be a gentleman, I swear, but I’m going to need you to take your top off.”

Dammit.

I know I don’t stand a chance. So instead of delaying the inevitable, I kick my sneakers off and grab another few grains of sand before lying on my stomach on his bed.

“Vestis,” I breathe once I’m settled, and a chill runs down my spine as my skin pebbles at the cool air now dancing over me. Oris it the heat? Either way, I hide my face in the pillows as I feel his eyes skim over my body.

“Don’t worry, Silver. I’m going to make it all better,” he whispers, his voice more gravelly than usual, but I can’t respond as his hands find their way to my body a moment later and I have to bite back a groan.

His touch is delicate against my arms and the cream cool against my skin as he works it in as gently as possible. His hands move from one arm to the other before running down my spine, confirming the bruising there, too. With every brush of his hands against my body, I melt into the sheets.

“I’m sorry I let you down, Polaris,” he breathes, my actual name on his tongue as he speaks his truth, and I relish in the moment as his hands begin to massage my back, working through the tension that coils through my limbs.

“You didn’t. You just needed time to deal, just like I did,” I manage, my voice muffled in the pillows.

“The last thing I want is for you to be anywhere near him. So when I saw that feather and card in your hand, I… I was drowning in the fact my reality was crashing in on my fantasy.”

My cheeks burn at his admission and I dig my face even deeper into the sheets despite the question on my tongue. “Tell me what it means.”

He sighs as his hands continue to knead my back. “It means he’s going to offer you a bargain.”

---