Page 58 of Phoenix Academy: Madness

I blush as the librarian's eyes flick to me, and she gives me a disapproving look for what she no doubt thinks was a giggle. Swatting Reggie's hand away, I try to muster up some calm as I tell her, "So sorry, I didn't mean to...smushthe book. I was just so interested in it."

"Well then, perhaps you should check it out." She pushes her thin, wire-framed glasses up her nose, somehow scowling down at me despite the fact that she's several inches shorter than I am. "Do please try to keep it down as well. This is alibraryafter all."

"Of course," we both say, though after she turns around to leave Reggie adds, "Isit a library? I hadn't noticed. All the books weren't a clue."

"Shut up," I mutter to him. "I can't believe you pinched my butt."

"Me?" He puts a hand against his chest, eyes wide with faux innocence. "Do such a thing asthat? How uncouth a suggestion. Why, Ms. Wolfe, someone ought to put you over their knee and spank you."

There's nothing I can possibly say to that except sputtering nonsense, so I turn on my heel and walk away, ignoring the light chuckles coming from behind me. When I get back to our table Xavier looks up curiously, no doubt wondering what took me so long, but I just give him a shaky smile and put the book in front of me, pretending to read it.

It's a good thing that I didn't kiss Reggie, I reflect. He's not my type—too loud, too inappropriate, too ridiculous—but more than that, kissing him would ruin what I'm starting to have with Xavier.

There's no way they'd be able to keep the jealousy from getting between them. Even brothers—even twins—have lines they won't cross. They don't shareeverything.

Do they?

* * *

My dinner sits uneasy in my stomach as I head towards the Victoria Cheng Building, also known as the gymnasium where I'm about to unwisely meet David. He wasn't in the dining hall when I went down to eat with the twins, and my nervousness about seeing him tonight was so bad that I picked at my food. Thankfully some of Reggie's friends were at the table with us, and they distracted Xavier from noticing anything wrong by roping him into some heated discussion of the latest superhero film.

I don't know why I feel like I'm sneaking out to do something untoward. Xavier wasright therewhen I asked David to practice combat moves with me in the arena. And it's not like I don't need the practice–some time in Kade's class has made it clear to me that while I can hunt, trap, and kill things, I'm worse at self-defense and fighting human-sized things than I thought. David on the other hand is the star pupil of Weapons Combat.

So it's not like I lied in front of Xavier when I set up this meeting with David. And nothing is going to happen—the prickly wolf shifter would probably rather punch me in the throat than kiss me.

None of this line of reasoning changes the fact that my heart beats faster the closer I get to the gymnasium, and nearly leaps out of my throat when I glance up the front steps to see David waiting there for me. His expression is inscrutable, especially in the setting sun, but I don't sense a death glare coming from him and his arms aren't crossed defensively over his chest.

Stopping at the bottom of the stairs, I wonder if I'm about to cross a line.

Xavier and I have made no promises to each other. We haven't even gone on a date.

But I've seen in his eyes that he cares for me. I've felt it in the gentle press of his palm on mine, the way he laces our fingers together. Before I left dinner he asked me if I could swing by his dorm tonight to talk about something, and I wonder if that something will be asking me to make this official.

I don't have to go up those stairs.

Except that I think I need to know what else might be out there for me before I tell Xavier what I want from him, one way or another. Who we are to each other—what wecanbe to each other—isn't an answer I'll have unless I figure out how I feel about David and Reggie.

So I take a deep breath, shove my hands into the pockets of my blazer to ward off the New England cold, and take the steps up two at a time. When I get to David he's completely silent, his breath fogging the air with condensation, his hair mussed from a recent shower. He looks at me, and I swallow, thinking back to the question I asked him that he never answered.

"Yes," he says, in a voice so quiet I'm tempted to lean in until his lips press against my ear. "The answer is yes."

"To what question?" I ask, even though I already know. I need to hear him say it.

"You asked me if I like you, Ari." There's a bite to his voice, one of bitterness and irritation. "I lied before when I said I didn't. Something happens to me around you. You get on my last damned nerve, but I can't help it. I like you anyway. Is that a problem?"

There's a challenge in his words, and a hint of danger in his eyes. He's reckless, a little wild, and more than a little angry. By every count, if I were smart, I would stay away from him. The wise thing would be to treat being attracted to him like an inconvenience, and hope for the feelings to go away.

I'm not smart or wise, it seems—at least not when it comes to wild-eyed wolf shifters with permanent scowls.

Reaching out, I grab the collar of his jacket and press my mouth against his like the reckless, daring rebel that I am. The air around us is cold, but his lips are warm, if surprised. The hands that reach out to press against my waist are warm too, especially as his fingers dig into my skin and his mouth opens up to mine.

We kiss like we plan on dying afterwards.

It's the kind of kiss that steals your breath, and your reason along with it. He draws me to him with his hands, and I sink into his touch. Slow and deliberate, he strokes fire inside me with his lips and tongue, a fire that almost feels like it could burn me alive.

I find my legs parting, my thigh slipping between his knees. There's a small groan that emanates in the back of his throat as I press myself against his blatant arousal. The memory of him naked flashes through my mind, and I find myself hungrily deepening our kiss, hands touching his chest, legs clamping together around his. He reaches down with one warm hand and grabs the underside of my thigh, dragging me towards him. I whimper, a little, barely swallowing my desire to rip all his clothes off and see if he's even bigger aroused than he was the day I sawallof him.

It's too much too fast, and even though I don't want to stop, I know that I have to. I can sense the recklessness in David, the inability to control himself. Just like with shifting into a wolf, when his primal instincts kick in that's all he feels—and it's clear by the growing erection in his pants that he feels one thing. If I don't stop this, hedefinitelywon't.

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