Page 95 of Elemental Fae Academy: Book Three

“Fine line between love and hate, little queen.” Cyrus opened the door to the dorm. “After you.”

I met and held his gaze for a long minute before guiding Claire inside. Something was definitely there between us, a weird spark I didn’t quite understand. Most days, it resulted in me wanting to kill him. Today, however, it burned a little on the aroused side—a place typically only Claire could touch.

A consideration for later. It was probably just the mating circle fucking with my instincts.

Exos sat inside, his nose in one of those dark-magic textbooks. His Midnight Fae friend had sent a few more, along with a few suggestions.

Hence the training outside.

Kols. who was apparently a Midnight Fae Prince, told us to prepare for anything. Because if Elana was truly messing with death magic, she was capable of a hell of a lot more than burning her own house down. He even mentioned the possibility of spirit minions, whom Claire had immediately called zombies.

Cyrus inched a brow upward when his brother didn’t react to our entrance. “Exos.”

“Yeah, I know.” He shuffled some of the books around and stood. “We don’t exactly have a ceremonial space on campus, so how do you feel about your bedroom, Titus? It’s already pretty well decorated by you and Claire.”

Her cheeks reddened at the cause of those decorations, and I smiled. “Does that mean I can mate her naked?”

“I’d enjoy that,” Cyrus mused, glancing at his brother. “Reminds me of her spirit mating.”

Exos’s lips curled in memory, his gaze flickering with wicked intent as he looked at Claire. “I love this plan.”

She sputtered out an unintelligible response that earned several chuckles from the room. I moved behind her while fondling the hem of her shirt. “It’ll help keep you focused,” I whispered against her ear, inching the fabric up her skin.

“Focused?” she squeaked out. “How?”

I kissed her racing pulse, drawing the shirt higher and over her breasts. “Trust me.” Because it was already working. She wasn’t thinking about Elana at all now. Just the two hungry males watching as I tugged the cloth up and over her head.

Goose bumps trailed across her skin, followed by a swathe of heat as our element danced across the surface.

She barely seemed to notice me removing her shoes, socks, and pants, too lost to the sensation all three of us stirred inside her. Part of me thanked Cyrus and Exos for that, knowing how badly she needed to remain grounded in the moment without concern for what was happening outside or in another realm.

This moment was about our mating.

And I accepted that Cyrus and Exos were very much a part of that.

I unsnapped her bra and slid the straps from her shoulders, revealing her hard nipples to the room. Then sent a strand of fire across the lace of her panties, singeing them at her sides and causing the rest to fall to the floor. “Beautiful,” I said against her ear, running my hands up and down her sides. “Ready, sweetheart?”

She swallowed, her back relaxing into my chest as she placed her palms over my grip. “Yes.”

I smiled. “Good.”

Exos turned away first, heading toward my room.

Cyrus followed, but not before running his gaze over Claire one more time. I couldn’t exactly blame him. Our mate without clothes served as the best kind of distraction.

I lifted her into my arms and carried her to the bedroom, not releasing her until we stood beside the bed. She clung to my shirt, then crinkled her brow. “Wait.”

Wait? My heart skipped a beat, uncertainty an evil presence in my soul, until I felt the stirring of her power.

A flame erupted down my spine as she effortlessly sawed through my supposedly fireproof shirt. As it disintegrated to the floor, I wondered—not for the first time in her presence—if I needed to invest in a new wardrobe.

My pants were next, her fire coming awfully close to my stiffening dick.

She stroked a flicker of heat across it, reminding me of a kiss, before teasing the head and completing the job.

“If I have to be naked, so do you,” she said, her palms resting against my abdomen as she lifted a challenging brow while the rest of my clothes turned to embers at our feet. Even my shoes.

“I’m starting to wonder if she needs the bond to help her focus, or just sex,” Cyrus commented conversationally.

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