“Oh, I don’t need espionage training to notice when my prized possessions are missing,” I say, yawning and letting myself flop down on the couch pillows. “I grew up with Jesse. He stole everything. All of my toys.” “Lies!” Jesse calls from across the room. “…I only took the little ponies. The ones
When I open my eyes, I am indeed still wrapped up in Jackson’s arms. But we’re not in my little private nook at the academy – we’re sitting on a cliff’s edge, looking out over a moonlit sea. “It’s cool here,” Jackson murmurs, looking appreciatively out over the scenery. “We’ve only ever come here
“Gotta save some things for later,” he murmurs as I lift my head to look at him again, but then he smiles and dips his mouth lower, pressing a kiss at the hollow of my throat. “I’ve only known you’re a girl for like, two? Three weeks? It would be cruel of me to show you all the goods so soon – give
The run is as grueling as I knew it would be, with Rafe, Jesse, and Jackson each taking turns to backtrack and run at my heels, forcing me to pick up speed or get trampled down by their gigantic feet. By the end of it, I’m bending over with my hands on my knees, my head hanging, trying to catch my
Ben laughs, low and derisive. “Are you serious, Wright? You’re the one making leash jokes when you’ve got a literal guard keeping an eye on you all the time? Do you…are you unaware of what irony is?” Wright scowls and opens his mouth to retort, but Ben interrupts. “Also,” he says to the guard, h
I follow Ben as he strides confidently towards the large circular desk at the center of the room. The librarian – a younger man than I thought would have the job – glances up at us but then does a double take when he sees Ben. He groans a little, leaning against the reference desk. “What is it thi
“Judge me not, Ariel, that librarian is cute. And not all of us are on a sex ban right now,” he says, dry, laughing a little. “Don’t hold the rest of us to your ridiculous standards. There’s a lot of hooking up at this Academy – just not in your room.” I ignore his glib remark – because honestly,
“It happened just how you described, Ari,” he murmurs, shaking his head as he recalls it. “Of all things, it seriously felt like someone threw a damn brick at my wolf.” I smile a little, remembering telling him that metaphor at the club after Luca’s boxing victory but hating that it feels so accur