And even then it had been touch-and-go on me not barging on in there to be with him, to not let him out of my sight.
But I’d held off, getting that he needed to recalibrate, come back to being conscious, all of that. Especially after I’d told him all about the Dracoryn Realm battle and every other fucking brutal thing that had gone down since he’d been out—including the story behind Win’s gemstone.
After that, though, as soon as he’d come downstairs dried and dressed—in his black leather pants and black tee that showed off his granite-hard fucking biceps—I’d been on him nonstop.
Holding his hand as I’d made him his favored Feast Plate.
My arm wrapped around him the whole time that he’d been eating.
Nuzzling against him as we’d settled in the living room afterward.
And he hadn’t complained once.
Of course he hadn’t. It was Vax.
“Continue, Zayn,” he spoke, snapping my concentration back to my schoolwork that needed doing.
I grumbled as he tapped the next spellwork problem laid out on the instruction sheet I had resting on the cobalt cushion on my lap. I flicked my pen on my notebook. “You’d think making it into my fourth year, I’d be home-free. But, no, here they arebringing in this complex shit, like a damn mountainous obstacle getting in my way of graduating.”
“It isn’tgetting in your way.You can see to this. You have the means, the knowledge base, and three prior years of intensive schooling—all of which have been leading to, and preparing you, to handle this “complex shit” accordingly.” He winked. “With flying colors, actually.”
I groaned. “This one is worse than the other two you just made me work through—and like an ass-busting drill sergeant, for the record.” I flicked his jaw. “Great, now I’m thinking about the ass-busting thing.”
He chuckled and snatched my fingers. “The phrasing you yourself, brought up?” Off my disgruntled look, he gnawed at my fingertips.
“Mmm, I love your little punishments.”
“That wasn’t punishment, merely rerouting you back to concentration.”
“Is that so?” I teased, sliding a hand down to my pants, and over my hardening cock.
My hand was batted away in the next second and then a slap right there had me jolting, a grunt escaping me at the sparking ache it elicited.
“Focus,” he rumbled, delivering another spank right against my shaft, this one a little harder, and making me squirm away a bit. He noticed it pulling me back, and nodded approvingly. “Good boy. Eyes on that worksheet.”
Good boy?Damn, he was kicking my ass all over the place when he brought that sort of talk.
It had me straightening and zeroing in on the spellwork problem with some real intensity and determination.
“So… the issue is… I’m approaching this one from an abstract perspective? Seeing just the equation, not how the spell wouldwork in practice, and the behavior of the different facets of the magic involved?”
His eyes lit up. “Yes. Exactly.” He stroked my hair. “Well done.”
I grinned to myself, and continued on, starting to see exactly what to do now, how to go about it.
When I was done, he kissed my forehead, and stroked my worry stone bracelet as I reviewed the next spellwork problem.
“For all your concerns of being ill-equipped to handle this sort of thing, you’ve just proven otherwise. The same goes for your terror of losing control of your magic and your Ifrit flame. From your own report to me regarding the Dracoryn Realm battle, you were able to perform a spell as control-intensive asEcliptic Convergencewithout any prior preparation. Your magic is also able to operate instinctively in certain cases, which is a true rarity, and takes immense coordination and regulation.” He fixed the partially rolled-up sleeve of my neon-pink marble T-shirt I’d slipped on while he’d been in the shower earlier, the action making me smile. Always taking care of us, even in little ways like this. “You have come a very long way and we’re all extremely proud of you. You deserve to know that and recognize what a feat and remarkable evolution it truly is.”
Holy. Damn.
I stared at him, incredulous for several moments, trying to absorb his wonderful words, and all that they meant so deeply to me.
“Shit, that’s it. I’m taking a study break.” A growl escaped me. “Right fucking now.”
And then I was lunging at him, and straddling his lap.
“Gonna worship the hell out of you, you sexy motherfucker.”
