Page 62 of Zodiac Beasts

“It’s not, unfortunately. Otherwise, I would be channeling a sense of self-preservation into you.” I stood from my seat and approached hers, then I leaned forward and placed a hand on each side of her desk, casting a shadow over her entire being. “What are you still doing here, Lila?”

She met my eyes through the barrier of her glasses. The pink swimming in her warm brown eyes was impossible to miss when I was this close to her. So was the uneasiness, the confusion, and the small hesitations. She seemed to have a lot on her mind, but I couldn’t blame her. A lot had happened in her first semester of college—probably more than I knew since I’d pulled back from interacting with her as she’d been taken as a permanent mate.

“This is my last class on the last day of school.” She said, revealing nothing.

“And you finished your test, and should be off enjoying your new found freedom.” I offered, finishing her sentence in the way it was supposed to go, rather than what I knew she was trying to say.

“What are you going to do over the summer? Do you teach any summer classes?” Her slight hint of sadness was too easy to read.

“No. I take time off, spend some extra time in the gym, maybe take a trip or two if I’m in the mood. There’s no reason you’ll have to see me for the next two months.”

“What if I want to see you?” The pout was genuine rather than manipulative—another obvious note through her tightly held emotions. I got the sense that she was stressed about something, and by some strange twist of logic, she saw me as the person who could help her sort it out.

“You don’t want to see me.”

“I—”

“You have a permanent mate now. Go enjoy your summer and your honeymoon.” I didn’t know why I was leaning so close to her now. Or why I felt compelled to reach out and cup her cheek. To trace her lower lip with my thumb. To wipe away the light makeup that covered my mark, and press into our one-sided connection. She remained still, letting me explore her lips, despite the sound of her heartbeat slowly picking up speed.

“I want to.” Her lip quivered against my thumb. “I think I need to.”

“You don’t need me. You have a bonded, and he’ll be able to satisfy everything you need. The mate bond wouldn’t have taken if you hadn’t consented.” I reminded her.

“I did consent. I meant it. I don’t have a single mark I regret.” Her eyes remained locked with mine, never faltering despite her tumultuous but unusually unreadable emotions. “So why can’t I stop thinking about you?”

Something was off. Though I wasn’t going to ask what she got up to over the last full moon, I couldn’t help but think this was a vague cry for help. “It’s just the stars messing with your head. Earth signs are drawn to Earth signs. Nothing more complicated than that.” I moved a little closer, until our noses were nearly touching. “You both deserve to be happy, and I can’t give you that.”

She closed her lips on my thumb, and she teased the tip with her tongue. I obliged, letting her suck on me. Letting myself feed on that emotion that she was sending through both of us. The uncertainty started to fade as she focused on me.

“You’re confused.” I whispered in the small space between us, slipping another millimeter into her mouth. My throat bobbed as I realized exactly what I was doing, while my beast wasn’t ready to let go yet. I’d not been feeding properly. Taking in her sexual energy had staved off hunger well enough, but being so close to her reminded my entire being of how much it craved her touch. I wished I could be satiated with only the magic we shared, but by the devil did I want her. Could I really go the whole summer break without having her body speared on mine? How long were the small nibbles going to be enough before I couldn’t control myself? Before I held her down and took her forcefully again.

I withdrew my thumb from her mouth, then languidly wiped her saliva along her cheek. Her chest rose and fell in heavy, unsteady rhythm.

“If you took this mark back, would the feeling go away?” She asked so innocently, while she inched her lips closer to mine. “Is it the marks on my body that have me so twisted up?” Something about the way she asked it told me this was the most important thing she’d ever ask me.

“Most likely.” I smiled at that. “Though if I tried to perform the rejection ceremony with you, do you really think you’d ever forget it?” The heat that took her cheeks practically radiated off of her. “Do you honestly think you could reject it?”

“Do you?” The heat of our breath intermingled, while that question struck with the force of a well-placed bullet.

Could I?

“Of course I could. You’re my student, Lila.” Too close. I needed to pull back. “I can’t mate with my student.”

“What if I asked you to prove it?” She inched in enough that our lips brushed when she spoke.

“You’d be crossing a line.” I didn’t fix the problem. I let the electricity of every barely-there touch run through my blood. “Both professionally and personally.”

“It would only be a problem if you couldn’t reject me.” More contact. Her lips were so soft. “Are you afraid that you can’t?”

“You already know the answer to that question.” I took more of that space.

“That’s why I can’t stop thinking about you.” Our lips were fully connected now. I wasn’t sure which one of us had closed the last of the gap, but the way we were moving could only be called a kiss. The way I teased her lips with my tongue wasn’t something I could explain away as an accident.

If I fucked her right now, and we swapped our blood, I had no chance of rejecting the pact. Ever since she’d called me out, it had been increasingly difficult to live in cognitive dissonance.

I marked her to protect her from me, but if what Marcus said was true—if sealing his pact with her had given him full control under a full moon, even when forcefully shifted—wouldn’t completing the bond be the safest thing I could do for her? Right now, she was a deer in a lion’s den. But if she was fully mine, I could stop myself. I could untie her and set her free.

We were standing, tongues still tangled, devouring each other, while I had backed her into the edge of another desk. Her fingers tugged at my tie. I had her dark hair in my fist, and her thick ass filled my other hand. She ground against my hard cock, restrained in my dress pants, letting that short skirt hike up with her movements.