Everyone always did.
As much as he loathed to admit it, Wells Diar might have been right about something.
Pavel Hart was a distraction, one that Zane couldn’t afford.
So why was he hesitating now that he was actually here, standing outside of the guy’s building?
The plan had been simple, confront Pavel and tell him whatever this game was, it was over. Do whatever he had to do to make him see reason and stop. It’d seemed doable when he’d been driving in his car here, bitter and, frankly, kind of afraid, but now…
They’d had multiple encounters this past month, all of which had been appalling and terrible in their own way, and yet Zane didn’t feel afraid or disgusted by his fellow Retinue member. It wasn’t Pavel causing this unsettling twist in his gut or the rush of anxiety. It was himself.
His own doubts.
He straightened his spine and forced himself to reevaluate his options. There weren’t many. Stick to the original plan was one. Go in there, tell Pavel this was done, and move on with his life. That was the smart choice, the choice that wouldallow him to return to studying without distracting thoughts constantly clouding his mind.
If thinking about Pavel cost him his grades, he’d leave himself vulnerable to Wells’ advances, and he couldn’t have that. Couldn’t give the professor or Lyra that type of satisfaction.
His other option would keep him smack dab in that situation. At risk of attack. Because his other option was to go in there under the guise of spying for Lyra, find Pavel and lay down some ground rules before this thing between them got any more explosive.
And ideally, get fucked again. Maybe even harder this time.
Like he’d been promised to be the other day.
After the problem at the burger joint, Zane hadn’t had much of an appetite. Pavel had driven them to another location, only that time he’d gone through the drive-thru and Zane hadn’t stopped him. They’d eaten in relative silence in the car, and before they’d finished, Pavel had received a call from the club saying there was an emergency that needed his attention.
He’d ended up dropping Zane back off on campus and speeding off to deal with it, all with the promise to return and pick up where they’d left off.
Only he hadn’t, and now three days later, Zane found himself incredibly annoyed and, admittedly, horny as hell.
“Are you trying to blow it up with your mind?” an approaching voice snapped Zane out of his inner musings, and he glanced over to find the Royal Consort walking toward him. Alone.
Rin Varun was an attractive Academy Cadet who was a couple of years younger. Since his engagement to Kelevra, he’dcome around frequently enough that he and Zane had gotten on comfortable speaking terms.
Actually, if Zane really thought about it, he’d probably shared more words with Rin than he had his entire time knowing Pavel.
“He’s not here,” Rin said when he caught Zane searching the area. “Kelevra just left.”
“Without you?”
“I’ve got plans with my brother,” he explained, then tipped his head. “What about you? Planning on going inside? This doesn’t seem like your type of haunt.”
“It’s not.” High-end restaurants and exclusive clubs? Sure. But this… “I prefer for my hookups to be a bit more discrete.”
Rin seemed surprised by the confession but recovered quickly. “I wasn’t aware that was something you were into either. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re rather reserved. One might even say serene. At least in comparison to the other Devils.”
He snorted. “It’s such a ridiculous nickname, don’t you think?”
“Not any more so than Prince of Medicine.”
“Touché.” Zane considered whether to continue the conversation for a moment and then decided Rin was probably his best chance at working through some of the bullshit weighing him down. Despite being good friends, he wouldn’t really consider himself close with either Kel or Madden, at least not enough to go to either for advice.
It wasn’t so much that he was reserved, it was more like he didn’t really have anyone to talk to about personal stuff. He’d always bottled it inside to keep from causing problems for the Solaces, and later for the Imperial family. His studies kept him rather busy anyway, unable to waste much time on makingfriends or forming lasting connections. Even he and Madden were really only close because they’d grown up together and were Kelevra’s left and right hands.
“Do you have a moment?” he asked, tone brisker than he meant for it to be, though if Rin took offense, he didn’t show it.
“Sure. What’s up?”
Zane blew out a breath. “You must have heard about what happened at Vail recently.”
