Chapter 17 _ Jackson

Chapter Seventeen

Jackson

I slammed my locker closed, loathing the necessity of such a mortal convenience. I had a private shower and changing area, perks of the family name, but in times such as these—when I was intent on ‘bumping into’ a certain pretty Flower—convenience trumped indulgence. Thus my willing use of the men’s changing room.

Our conversation had been interrupted, and I intended to finish it. A mission that would be much easier to accomplish from here. Ideally, by intercepting her on her way back to her flat and locating a nearby alcove to pull her into until I had her moaning my name in defeat. She thought I’d let her go easily? Not a fucking chance. I may be a prince, but I was far from a gentleman.

I may not be able to sink my teeth—or my cock, for that matter—into her, but that didn’t mean I was about to let her go off seeking pleasure in the hands of any other man, either. Asher Callaway was mine. And it was well past time she realized it.

My thoughts were interrupted by the hum of dozens of whispered conversations and an unfamiliar twinge in my chest. I’d worked hard over the years to control my ability to read the thoughts of others, to insert myself into their minds. Here at Beastville, it was part of the code of conduct agreement to respect the privacy of all students and staff. But this was different. This was . . .

Asher.

I’m not sure why I was certain she was at the center of whatever was going on, but I just knew. Rising, I crossed the room in a few ground-eating strides, stepping out of the men’s locker room the same moment Callie vacated the women’s.

She was wearing her cat-that-caught-the-canary smile when her gaze found me, looking far more poised than she had the last time I’d seen her.

“What did you do?”

“Who, me?” she asked, pressing a nearly perfect, manicured hand to her chest. The polish was chipped and one of her nails jagged from her sparring match with Asher.

I allowed myself a small smile at the visible evidence of her resounding loss. Donoghues, like Hawkes, rarely lost anything. To do so in such a public fashion could not be sitting well.

“Answer the question, Callista.”

Her eyes narrowed, and her lips thinned. “No, I don’t think I will.”

I raised a brow. Not at all used to such outright defiance from her. She was usually all simpering sweetness and ready to bend over backward to please me. I wondered if she finally realized I wasn’t planning on touching her with a ten-foot-pole.

There wasn’t anything Callista Donoghue could offer that I was interested in. Our parents might have negotiated a marriage contract, but I had no intention of seeing it through. Not before Asher had entered the picture, and certainly not now. Though, I would use the relationship when it suited my needs. Which it did to drive a wedge between me and the creature of my obsession. Not that it worked.

Seeing that flare of jealous possessiveness in Asher’s eyes when she saw Callie claim me was burned into my memory. My cock thickened at just the thought of her desire for me. And the proof of it only fueled my own need.

I stalked forward, grasping Callie’s chin in my hand and jerking her head up. “Yes,” I snarled. “You will.”

Her breath hitched, and her pupils flared. Apparently, Callie had a thing for pain. I could work with that.

Her tongue darted out, wetting her lips. “You saw what she did to me. I couldn’t let that wolf bitch get away with it. No one insults us like that, Jackson —”

“Do not call me that,” I growled, my voice ice cold and deadly serious.

She blanched. “But, Asher—”

“Yes. She did. But you may not. Ever. I am Jackson to you. That’s all I’ll ever be. Now . . . what did you do to Asher?”

Anger flared in her dark eyes, and she sneered up at me. “Exactly what she deserved. An eye for an eye and all that.”

“You bit your own cheek, didn’t you? Asher never drew your blood.”

She sniffed. “As if she could. But getting her kicked out of class was only the beginning.”

Panic buzzed through my veins. It felt off . . . too real to ignore and yet not wholly mine. I shoved it away, wanting answers. Still gripping her jaw, I shook her. “What. Did. You. Do?”

Callie winced as my fingers bit into her cheeks. “See for yourself.”

Sweet lilac wine filled my senses before I saw her. And then, Asher emerged from the women’s locker room, completely nude, cheeks flushed red with anger and embarrassment she was working to control. My breath caught in my chest at the sight of her, lush curves, tight pink nipples, wet hair trailing down her shoulders, the ends stopping just before the tips of her breasts. The most perfect creature I’d ever seen, and yet, instead of appreciating her beauty, I was witnessing the brunt of Callie’s cruelty.

“Bloody fucking hell, Callie. You’re more childish than I gave you credit for,” I muttered as I tore my shirt over my head.

I reached Asher in a few long strides, handing her my shirt without a word. The gratitude in her eyes told me she was near her breaking point, but she held her head high and covered herself without a glance at Callie. Anyone who looked at her sideways got a death glare from me, and without hesitation, they trained their gazes elsewhere. All except for Devon. The arse stood at the archway leading to the courtyard between this building and our dorm.

“Glad I stayed for the show.”

I wanted to knock his teeth out, but Asher threaded our fingers and squeezed, a silent plea echoing in my mind, then.

Don’t.

It was just a single word, but her voice came through clear and present in my head. Fuck. I had my shields up. I couldn’t hear anyone else. What the devil was happening?

“Bugger off and lick your wounds, dog.”

“Maybe I need to lick hers.”

I stiffened at Devon’s words. If he so much as touched her I’d rip his arms from his body and beat him to a bloody pulp, risk of war or no.

“Touch me, and I’ll bite your dick off,” Asher snarled. “Try it. I dare you.”

Devon leaned against the arch, a satisfied smirk on his face. “Oh, there it is. The fire you were missing before I found your wolf. Sooner or later, she’ll make her appearance, and you won’t be able to resist me. I’m your mate, like it or not.”

It took everything in me not to end his life right then. But something in her changed. She was fighting with her wolf, at war with the beast inside her that, fuck, that wanted him.

“Come on, Flower. Let’s get you back to your room before we both end up in Father Sylvester’s office for the rest of the year. If we’re going to spend time on our knees, I’d rather it be doing something much more enjoyable than his damned introspective exercises.”

She shook with rage and frustration by the time we got to her door. “That fucking bitch. She stole my clothes and set them on fire in the showers. What is this, high school?”

“She’s a spoiled, pampered princess. A petulant little twat. And you, my beautiful little wolf, are a goddess.”

Her soft smile had me desperate for a taste. “Am I?”

“Fuck yes. And if you let me into your room, I’ll show you exactly what a willing disciple looks like.”

My voice was a low growl of need. She was too tempting, and I’d been tested time and time again, my will only so strong. The connection between us screamed for me to give in.

Her breath caught, that slight hitch drawing my attention to the hollow at the base of her throat, then lower, to the tight nipples pressing through the fabric of my shirt. My shirt protecting and covering her skin. My scent would be all over her, marking her as mine so no one else would dare attempt to make a claim.

A flicker of her indecision ran through my thoughts until she bit her lower lip and nodded. I couldn’t stop. Not now. I gripped her nape and bent down, lowering my head until my lips brushed hers. Fuck, she was warm and soft and delicious.

Opening her mouth on a soft sigh, she wrapped her arms around my ribs, fingers digging into my back, urging me closer.

“Jackson ,” she whispered.

“Let me in, Asher. Please, let me in.”

Into her room. Into her body. Into her heart. I wanted it all.

She reached behind her and opened the bedroom door, the two of us falling inside in a tangle of limbs. We were frantic, desperate, starving creatures. Thank fuck her roommate was nowhere to be found.

“Lock the door.” Asher’s breathless command had my dick rock hard and aching.

I did, throwing the deadbolt and moving a dresser in front of the door for good measure. “Ready yourself, Flower. I’m going to make you scream.”

Her pulse leaped at the warning, and I could hear the frantic tattoo echoing in my ears. Beckoning me. My fangs ached nearly as bad as my cock. I had to have her. I was mad with need.

I was on her in an instant, my lips sealing over hers as our tongues twisted together. Lifting her in my arms, I walked us back until my shins hit her bed, and then I dropped her.

“Take it off,” I demanded, my hands already working on pulling my belt free.

As much as I loved the sight of her in my shirt, I wanted all barriers between us gone. I wanted to feel that silky soft skin pressed against my hardness. Usually, it was no issue to restrain myself, to draw it out. But I’d been craving her for too long, and I couldn’t stop myself now if I wanted to. Not until she filled the room with the sound of her ecstasy.

She whipped the shirt off, as desperate for my touch as I was to provide it.

I studied her, taking the time to appreciate the perfection of her body, now that the vision she painted was for my eyes alone. All that flushed skin, delectable curves, the taut peaks of her breasts, begging for my mouth.

“Please, Jackson .” That breathy whimper, the sound of my name, one only she used, was my undoing.

I peeled off my pants, my thick length jutting forward as I crawled over to her. The look in Asher’s eyes as she stared down at what I had to offer proof positive she’d never seen a cock as big as mine before. She swallowed.

“Oh yes, Flower. You won’t walk straight for a week by the time I’m through defiling you.” I leaned down, brushing a kiss to her collarbone, letting my hips settle between the welcoming vee of her thighs, then kissing up higher over the perfect column of her throat. “In case it wasn’t obvious, little wolf, I mean to destroy you.”

Her pulse fluttered against my lips, and I got the first echo of nerves rolling through me. I pulled back, settling my weight on my elbow so I could look at her.

“This might be a good time to mention that I . . .” She licked her lips. “I haven’t done this before.”

A groan ripped through me. My cock wept at the thought of being her first. The only one who could ever claim the title. Devon might claim she was his mate, but this . . . this would be mine.

I ran my hand down the side of her face, staring into those beautiful ocean-blue eyes currently dark with desire.

“Your confession should make me want to be gentle. But the truth is, it only makes the monster in me that much more desperate for your screams. I want to utterly ruin you for anyone else.”

“I want that too.”

I grinned at her, though there was nothing kind or sweet about it. “You don’t know what you’re asking for, Flower. But you will. I’ll see to it.”

I claimed her mouth after that, the arm not bearing my weight trailing down her body, pausing at her breast to grasp and lightly twist that taut bud.

She gasped beneath me, and I ran my hand lower, sliding between her legs and parting her slick folds.

Fuck, she was already drenched for me. I had to know what she tasted like.

I pressed down with my middle finger, which was currently resting right on top of her swollen bundle. She arched up with a wanton moan.

“Do you ever touch yourself, Asher?”

“Y-yes,” she admitted, her eyes closed, her cheeks stained red.

Something in the way she said it made me narrow my eyes and ask, “What do you think about?”

“Recently? You.”

Fuck, I loved the breathy sound of her voice. I was doing that to her. Making her come apart slowly. Piece by fucking piece.

“Right answer.”

I slid my hand lower, my fingers delving into her sweet, delicious heat. She was so damn tight.

Asher groaned, her body clamping down around my fingers. “Yes, Flower. I can feel how much you want me. But I need a taste. I need you to come on my tongue.”

I slid my fingers free, and when I didn’t immediately touch her, Asher opened her eyes. “Jackson ?”

Holding her gaze, I lifted my hand to my mouth and sucked her off my fingers. Now I was the one who was moaning, my fangs bursting free at the promise of more than just her arousal on my tongue. I could feed from her, here and now. Sink my teeth into her femoral artery while I fucked her with my fingers. Give myself everything I craved. Her pleasure, her blood, and then . . . her virginity.

“Jackson , your eyes . . .” she whispered.

Hunger. That was what she’d seen. There was no other possibility. Her fear coated my skin like oil, slick and impossible to shake. She feared me in the moment she should be begging me to take her. But I’d let my monster win. I’d given in to my instincts as a vampire and was about to do the one thing I shouldn’t. Take her blood without her consent. Fuck her and claim her without making sure she was really ready for what that would mean. Set something in motion that could bring down the tremulous treaty between my kind and hers.

In the space between one heartbeat and the next, I was on the other side of the room, breaths coming in heavy pants as I pulled on my clothes and worked to control myself. “I can’t do this. I’m sorry.”

She sat up, hair wild and wavy around her face, a blanket pulled over her naked body. “Excuse me?”

“I’m so sorry, Flower. I . . . I don’t have the control I need to be with you like this. No matter how much I want to.”

Her gaze traveled my body until it rested on my aching shaft. “Can I at least help you take care of that problem?”

God, but I wanted her to. She had no idea. Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I said, “It’s best that I’m not within touching distance of you right now. I’ll fuck you silly and do something stupid like knock you up. Then you’d be stuck with me.”

She laughed. “Shifters and vampires don’t procreate.”

I cocked a brow. “Don’t they?”

Shaking her head, she bit her lower lip, and I had to fight a groan at the sight of the flush on her skin.

“Tell that to my uncle’s mate. She’s helped more than one shifter bring a hybrid into the world.”

Her mouth dropped open. “What?”

This was a safer topic. One that helped me focus on the real reason we shouldn’t be together. And one that had the added benefit of helping me control my raging desire. “They used to be called abominations. Sometimes they still are. Hunted by humans and the vampire and shifter councils alike. No one talks about them to keep them safe.”

“I thought they couldn’t survive. That the shifter or the vampire side always killed off the other, and they ended up dying in the process.”

“Not always.”

I shouldn’t have told her this. It was a risk. But I trusted Asher Callaway in a way I’d never trusted anyone else.

That wasn’t the only reason we shouldn’t be together, but I didn’t want to remind her of the fact that our union would likely lead to consequences that would result in war. She was already an outcast. Being with me like this would only make things worse for her.

“I have to go. Until I know how to control myself around you, we can’t do this again.”

She nodded, the disappointment so heavy in her eyes I could practically taste it. Or perhaps that was my own.

“Bye, Jackson . Thank you for what you did earlier.”

“That was purely selfish, little wolf. I don’t want anyone seeing you naked but me. At least, not when it's against your will. But enough talk of unpleasant things. I have something I want you to do for me after I leave. Something that will make leaving you now more bearable.”

“Oh?”

“When you touch yourself, I want it to be my name on your lips as you shudder out your release.”

What I didn’t tell her as I fled before her desire-hooded gaze or the sweet ‘o’ of her lips could lure me back into her bed—and into all kinds of trouble I couldn’t afford—was that I would be doing the same for her.