Page 108 of Elemental Fae Academy: Book Three

“No more fainting spells,” she said, aiming the words at the two Spirit Fae.

“Yes, ma’am,” Exos drawled, winking at her.

I started walking toward my bedroom before she could argue, not wanting to waste another moment of our time together. We might not be mating tonight, but we could bond in other ways.

Claire seemed to agree, because her dress dissolved the moment her body hit my bed, the oversized mattress large enough to accommodate my size. My gaze raked over her.

She curled under the sheets like a seed settling into the earth. Her blue eyes seemed to glow in the dim light awarded by the window. “Sorry,” she murmured. “The butterflies were starting to itch.”

I smiled, peeling away my clothes and joining her, to add warmth to the cool sheets.

She settled against my chest and draped a leg over my thigh.

“I’m here for anything you need,” I said, stroking her bare shoulder.

She tucked her chin against my neck and breathed in, then exhaled, and her breath swept goose bumps across my skin.

“Fuck, Claire, don’t do that, or I’ll be here for more than you need right now,” I said as my cock reacted to what she did to me.

She giggled and snuggled closer, wrapping her arms as far as she could around my chest. “Sorry.” She didn’t sound very apologetic.

I took three long breaths and tried to bring to mind images that would calm the rumble in my chest.

Hmm.

Glacier—hate his face. He’s so not good enough for Aflora. But I knew better than to tell her that.

Oh, Titus melting my stone around my ankles. The bastard had made me look like an idiot.

“Do you think Vox will join us?” Claire asked, interrupting my attempt at a mental distraction. Because just the thought of Claire between Vox and me had me rock hard.

I shifted my weight. “Do you want him to?”

She pondered the question, then rested her head on my chest, her hair splaying over me. “I think I just want to rest. For now. It’s been a long few days. Weeks. Months.” She laughed softly. “You know what I mean.”

I did. But I wouldn’t change any of it for the world.

“We can rest,” I agreed, stroking my fingers through her hair.

She fell quiet for so long that I thought perhaps she slept.

But I felt her eyelashes moving against my skin, her mind clearly racing.

“What are you thinking about, Claire?” I asked, drawing my thumb down her spine and back up again.

Her breath feathered over my skin, reminding me of a warm solstice breeze. “She was so scared, Sol,” Claire whispered. “I… I could feel what Elana did to her.” She made a fist and shivered, the sensation reverberating against every inch of me. Because I knew what she meant, understood how spirit could scar the soul. “Elana’s going to pay, Sol. For this. For what she did to the Earth Fae. For everything.”

I tucked her closer into my side, wishing to shield her from the darkness her words evoked.

But Claire was right.

Elana would pay for what she’d done.

And soon.

Claire

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