My face heated. “Jenni and I did before I was ever with you guys.”
“Aw,” Dex cooed, kissing my cheek. “I wouldn’t mind a baby with you, though.”
My spine stiffened at the thought of being a mother. I’d had a horrible example.
I frowned as I focused my intention and magical essence on where it needed to be. “I’m nowhere near ready for a baby, Dex.”
“I don’t believe any of you are,” Ironwood said as he stepped in front of our row. “There’s a reason you’re in a reform academy. Shadowheart, you aren’t even in this class.”
Bram rolled his eyes and lit his candle with the enchanted flame crystal we were provided. “No shit.”
“Just pretend I’m not here.” Dex stepped back behind me.
“Dex, I thought you were supposed to be in class with Reed.” The flames danced in front of me as I lit mine.
“I’m going back in a moment, but…do you not want a baby at all?” Curiosity spread down the bond from him. “That’s okay, if so, trouble.”
“I’m not saying I’ll never be ready,” I murmured. “I just need some time.”
“And that’s completely valid, princess.” Skel grabbed his rose quartz and black tourmaline and held it over the fire as if he’d done this a thousand times...had he?
He had come onto me that night we smoked together for the first time, and he’d been extra shocked about me being a virgin…
“Princess, are you mad at me?” Skel frowned, rubbing his chest over where his heart was.
I pushed that horrible thought out of my head and focused on the ritual. “Of course not. I love you, Skel.”
I imagined a soft, pink light to allow me to express my sexual desires safely while pausing my ability to get pregnant for the course of a year.The protection that had already been in place warmed, extending the effects further than they were.
“I love you, too.” Skel’s love also shot through the bond.
Opening my eyes,I grabbed the moon water and poured the vial over the crystals. They sizzled in the fire, and it hummed with magic as a tingling spread through me.
“I’m finished,” I stated, along with Jenni, just as Bram and Skel finished theirs.
“Gravesend, I hope you don’t mind me saying, but you have such a mesmerizing way of channeling magic,” Ironwood stated smoothly, his eyes locked on me. “It’s…well, it’s intoxicating to watch.”
Goosebumps pebbled my flesh as a chill zipped down my spine. I didnotlike that kind of attention from Ironwood.
“It’s more intoxicating to watch her come on my cock,” Dex commented cheekily from behind me.
“Mine, too!” Skel turned and high-fived Dex.
Nebula groaned.“Real mature.”
I groaned with him, but I felt my lips curve into a smile as Ironwood walked away, shaking his head.
I was thankful for how far we’d all come.
11
DEXTER
Steam clung to my skin as I stepped out of the shower. The cool air of the sandstone-walled bathroom sliced through the lingering heat coiled around me, making goosebumps pebble my arms.
The steady hum of my matebond with Pandora was a fucking lifeline, pushing reassurance that she was okay through my veins. Her happiness flickered along the bond, soothing, but also second-handed. I hated that I couldn’t see her with my own two eyes right now. The matebond was a balm for the intense need to feel her, but not a cure—and insanity swirled in the depths of my mind.
I grabbed a thick, dark-colored towel and dragged it over my damp skin. Water dripped down my spine, joining the droplets already pooling on the smooth stone floor. The shower had done little to ease the knot of tension strangling my muscles, but I knew having Pandora strangling my cock would help more than anything.
