Page 139 of Gemini Queen
“Oh, I leave that sort of drudgery to Master Aries. After all, he rather excels at that sort of thing.” He bares his teeth in a carnivorous smile and pulls me inmuchcloser than any prof (except Lucius) has any business doing with any student.
Especially me.
I glance around for backup, but we’re fogged in on the dance floor. Someone’s really gone overboard on the atmospherics. Looks like I’m on my own.
Super.
Unless I call for help. Which has never been my style.
I’ve always fought my own battles.
This is awkward as fuck, but I clear my throat and wade gamely into this shitstorm like I’m wearing galoshes and a raincoat. “Here’s the thing, Master Zerxes—”
“Why don’t you call me Ceph? That’s a privilege I extend to my intimates.” His voice drops to a low rumble. He’s scenting like hell, which in his case means all that Mogadon musk laced with a sharp abrasive pinch like cayenne that burns my nostrils.
Fuck.
That’s his mating scent.
“Well, we’re not exactly intimate.” I hate to point out the obvious, but apparently it isn’t so obvious. “You’re my substitute prof, so that pretty much makes you Master Zerxes in my book—”
“I’ll be Ceph in your harem.” He drags my hips hard against his. Which gives me an up-close-and-personal with that massive freaking boner he’s packing. “I’ll be Ceph in your bed.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
My mouth falls open. “Seriously? Are you for real? Because you’re literally my teacher, and there are like tenthousandrules—”
“Oh, come now, Ms. Gemini,” he purrs like a snow leopard, the kind with gore dripping from his fangs. “You’re the rebel queen. We’re hardly so zealous in our adherence to the Academy Codex, are we?” Still scenting like crazy, he looms over me. “I’ll wager you’re not nearly so formal with Lucius.”
His oily tone leaves a queasy churn in my belly. Well, okay, you can call the Icarus equivalent of Severus Snape observant. Lucius is going into heat, so our headmaster’s been eye-fucking Vasili and Ronin and me all night, with way less than his usual caution. Plus this middle-aged nightmare I’m dancing with is half Valyrian, and I haven’t exactly been guarding my thoughts.
I remedy that right now by building that psychic wall between us. Ronin’s been tutoring me during study hall, and I’m getting good at it. Good enough to keep Zerxes out.
The only problem is, with me still learning my witchcraft, I don’t know how to keep just Zerxes out, without walling my guys out too.
Which means I really am on my own.
And I’m worried about what he thinks he knows about me and Lucius. I don’t give a shit about me, but Lucius has his reputation to protect.
I tally up everything I know about this freak, which isn’t all that much. He’s a wicked telepath who can cast psi fire like Ronin, which is a trick I haven’t learned to defend against yet. Plus he’s half Mogadon, and I don’t know what kind of witchcraft that genetic legacy adds to his bag of tricks.
Maybe he’s telekinetic like Vasili. Which is something else I can’t defend against.
He’s a lot bigger than I am, but I’ve taken out guys that are bigger. It’s not his physicality that worries me. It’s his threat against Lucius… because thatwasdefinitely a threat… that makes me hella worried.
So instead of putting my prof on his ass and risking the consequences of his anger, I decide to be nice.
We’ll do this the polite way.
“We’re not talking about Lucius right now.” I pull in a careful breath. “…Ceph.”
That’s apparently the right thing to say, because the cold threat burning in his laser-blue eyes warms to a sexual simmer. He rumbles with pleasure and rubs his face into my hair. He’s fucking scenting me, which is going to piss Lucius and Vasili right off. I already want a shower.
“Oh, Zara,” he breathes in my ear. “I’ve waited for you so long, my queen. You can’t imagine how long.”
“Um, notthatlong,” I point out with a snort. “Cuz you were with Cybelle before me, right? That was, what, a few weeks ago?”
“Cybelle.” His eyes turn raw and his voice splinters with grief. “Yes. I loved her. I was the alpha male in her quarrelsome harem. The one who kept the others away from each other’s throats.” A muscle ticks in his jaw. “But greatly though it pains me to say, my Cybelle was a weak queen. A selfish queen. A queen whose sole concern was for herself and her social standing and her monstrous little friends. Just like her mother Messalina.”
