Page 142 of The Games We Play (The Path of Temptation 3)

Lesia stepped back, keeping pace with her guardian, but clearly not ready to leave yet. "So spanking's in, huh? This might just be fun."

Ela laughed. "Let me know if you need some toys. I have plenty to share."

The girl lifted her hand and finally looked away. For a moment, none of us said anything, and then Anver laughed, breaking the silence. That set off Wraythe, the pair looking over at me. Talin just glanced between all of us, clearly not getting what the boys were laughing at.

"Oh, Ela..." Anver mocked. "Please give me a moment of your time. Lick me in places. Smile again. I can't stop looking and my guardian's so jealous."

Which was when Talin laughed. "Yeah, he's getting an excellent. And since the hall's clearing, I'm guessing that Nyrren's not going to come say hi."

"Great," I grumbled. "So I'm basically going into this assignment blind?"

"Not so much," Talin promised. "I remember the guy from primary. I didn't know him well, but I know who he is. Maybe we'll catch him tomorrow?"

"I'll see if I can get his guardian to talk. We share a few classes," Anver offered. "See what his ward's kinks include."

"This seems too easy," I told them. "Oryll always assigns me to the worst option. I know there's a catch here, but I have no idea what it is."

"He's failing," Wraythe pointed out. "This guy's about to be dropped to Action. Going to guess he wanted Word. Oryll probably made him a deal, we just have to figure out what it is."

"Shit," I breathed, because he was right. "This is going to be bad, isn't it?"

"Considering that nothing else Oryll has tried has worked so far?" Ela asked. "It'll be annoying, I can guarantee that, but it's just another exam, Nari. Seduce the guy, and you'll be fine - or you won't. But if Oryll is basing Nyrren's grade on failing you, that's enough to get him removed as our instructor."

"If Nyrren will admit it, and if he'll do it to the High Priest or someone who can push the accusation, becauseIcan't! That's the problem. Kinen and I are at a standoff. So long as I'm invisible, he'll ignore me. But if Oryll's doing this to impress him, then Kinen won't exactly make a decision in my favor!"

"So then you just do better in the session," Talin said. "We all know you can, Nari. You worry about this; we'll handle everything else. Just tell us what you need."

"Anythingyou need," Wraythe clarified. "That's why we're here."

Chapter 53

Nariana

Nyrren never did come talk to me. Over the course of the next week, some of the girls pointed him out, so at least I was sure I had the right guy, but when I tried to catch up with him after Oryll released us for the day, Nyrren was gone. It was almost like he was avoiding me, which did not make me feel good about our upcoming session tonight.

Still, I decided to put in an effort to look beautiful. Even if Nyrren wasn't thrilled about being paired with me, I still wanted to make an impression. Hopefully, a good one, but I'd even deal with a memorable one. Since the entire class was scheduled at the same time, everyone would see me at check-in. The last thing I needed was to make it appear like I wasn't trying hard enough

It also meant that Ela and I got to walk together to the center of the temple. My partner looked good. He'd gone with more casual attire this time, rolling up his sleeves and leaving his shirt open at his throat. It was working for him and fit with the warmer weather we were having. I'd used the same excuse to wear a midriff-baring shirt and shorter skirt. Our colors didn't match, but that had also been intentional, just so the instructors didn't get the wrong idea.

We waited in a quickly-moving line until we reached the Priest of the Word who checked off both of our names. Ela's session room ended up being in the second hall. Naturally, when the priest passed me a card with my assigned spot - proving my partner had checked in first - it was right off the first hall. Once again, I was going to be front and center. It was almost like Oryll wanted to single me out. With a heavy sigh, I passed it to Talin.

"See you at home?" I asked Ela.

He nodded once. "Here's hoping you beat me back. Good luck, Nari."

"You too," I said, smiling up at Wraythe before Talin and I turned to head where we belonged.

But I honestly did hope I made it back before him. Not only because that would mean my own session was short, but also because Ela said it was easier to come down afterwards with all of us around. I had no idea if he'd go through the same crash if he was the receiver instead of the instigator, but I still worried about him.

The room we wanted was close. Much too close, in my opinion. It was only four doors away from where the entire assembly had set up for us to check in. Talin reached up to knock, the pair of us looking back to see how many eyes were watching us. It seemed a few, and even worse, I didn't hear anyone on the other side. Talin knocked again.

This time, the lock released and the door opened. A lanky guy with a face full of freckles and orange-red hair opened it. "Sorry, thought that was the herd," he said, stepping back to let us in.

I could only guess he meant the group still checking in. When he closed the door behind us, I realized that while the sound was dampened, it wasn't entirely cut off. It also didn't seem clear enough to confuse that knock. I caught Talin's eye to make sure he'd noticed too, and then turned to meet my latest partner.

"Nyrren, right?" I asked.

The man was attractive, but not as stunningly beautiful as most priests on the Path of the Body. He was fit but not overly muscular. His hair had a perpetual messy look that worked for him, though. His grey eyes ran across my body, clearly judging me, and then he looked at Talin.

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