on birth control.”
With a curse lodged in my throat, I close my eyes. “I don’t have any.”
“I don’t want you to stop.”
I open my eyes again, immediately getting lost in hers. “I can pull out.”
“Okay.”
“Okay,” I repeat, then claim her lips again.
The brief pause didn’t do anything to diminish my libido or help me last longer. Not even a minute later, I’m unable to fight my own body. I pull out as fast as I can, then hide my face in the crook of her neck and cry out as I empty myself on the couch. I don’t move from my spot for several beats while Daisy and I try to catch our breaths. It’s not until she tenses that I lean on my elbows.
“What is it?”
I hear a groan nearby, which propels me to sit up on high alert. When I see who made the noise, I don’t know if I should be embarrassed or fucking angry.
“Phoenix!” Daisy hisses. “Were you spying on us?”
He steps out from behind the column that did a half-assed job of hiding his large frame. He’s only wearing a pair of sweatpants, and his hands are crossed in front of his crotch.
Son of a bitch.
“Were you jerking off in the shadows, you perv?” I ask.
He frowns, staring daggers through his eyes at me. “I did not have voyeuristic intentions when I came to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. It’s not my fault you two decided to get it on in the living room. You should be glad it was me who caught you and not Mr. X.”
Daisy puts her pants back on in a hurry, then fixes her pajama shirt. Damn. I didn’t even a chance to play with her gorgeous tits.
“You should have made yourself known.” She glowers at him and then scurries back to her room.
“Thanks a lot, asshole,” I growl.
Phoenix’s eyebrows shoot to the heavens.
“Why are you mad at me? I’m the one who should be pissed.”
“Oh yeah? Why is that?” I shove my legs back into my jeans while keeping my glower in place.
“You just got the sweetest pussy on the planet when the best I can do right now is jerk off while I watch.”
“At least you’ve still got your powers.”
He winces, and then pity quickly shines in his eyes. Damn it. I shouldn’t have gone there.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I snap.
“What the hell is going on here?” Mr. X walks into the living room, sporting the mother of all glares.
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
I head back to my room, feeling worse than I did before I came out here. I’ll have to clean the mess I left on the couch later. Hopefully, no one will notice. Yeah, I got to be with Daisy, and it was amazing, but making love to her didn’t fill the hole in my chest. I don’t think anything ever will.
7
Bryce
The drive back to Gifted Academy campus is quiet, but not more pleasant because of it. Mom can be just as aggravating when she’s not speaking. Her closed-off expression and the hard clench of her jaw tell me she’s thinking of a plot to get her way. She’s seething that Mr. X swept in and pulled the rug from right under her feet. And I’m so fucking glad he did. It’s one thing for me to agree to my mother’s scheme. I’m doing it with my eyes wide open. It’s a different story to let her use Daisy for her wicked plans.
Mom parks in front of the main school building, but she maintains her gaze on the street when she finally breaks the silence. “I expect to see you and Toby in class today.”
The clock on the car’s dashboard flashes six thirty. There won’t be time for a quick nap. I’m fine, but poor Toby looks worse for wear.
“Sure thing, Principal Fallon.” He gets out of the car, but I don’t move to do the same. I can sense my mother wants to say more to me.
“We need to commence recruiting ASAP. Start with the low-level Fringes. They’ll be more motivated to join the cause.”
Bitterness pools in my mouth. The reason those poor kids will be easy prey is the constant bullying that my mother allowed to happen under her watch. It’s possible she knew about my gift of Idol creation all along. But how?
“You let them suffer at the hands of the stronger students on purpose, didn’t you?”
“You’re talking gibberish. Why would I do that?”
“To have those students exactly where