even as he shrugs. “I knew for a while. I told you, I went to look for you.”
“Yes, but you said that my house was empty.”
I’m floundering, sinking beneath wave after icy wave. I struggle to replenish my air supply before I’m pulled back under again and again and again.
“I went to look for you,” he repeats, dropping his eyes to the floor. “And my search led me to California. To a certain town way in the middle of nowhere that is apparently run by witches and warlocks.”
I’m unable to speak, so instead, I simply stare, mouth agape.
“At the time, you were dating that fucker, Uriel. I saw the two of you together.” Darkness momentarily steals the light from his eyes before he contains it. “Nobody told me anything explicitly, but it was easy to put two and two together. You’re a witch. You’re all witches…or warlocks. Whatever the male term is. Wizards? Anyway, I left the town before anyone really noticed me.”
I doubt that. Cassian is far too good-looking and charismatic to ever fly under the radar.
“You knew this entire time?” I ask in shock, and he smiles sheepishly, fluttering his lashes at me.
“Don’t be mad?” He turns the statement into a question as he moves the water bottle/vase to the side and begins to crawl towards me, forcing me onto my back. “I know that you told the others as well,” he whispers as he plants a chaste kiss on my shoulder.
“Did they tell you?” I demand as he continues kissing down my body, stopping when he reaches the waistband of my pants.
“They didn’t need to. I could see it in their eyes.” He pauses, a frown marring his face. “I’ll admit, I was pissed as fuck when I first found out. But then I remembered that you didn’t owe me anything. Hell, you hated me, and I sure as fuck gave you no reason to trust me. Gradually, that anger turned to yearning and jealousy. I’m still fucking livid to think about you with that stupid fuck,” he seethes, and I can’t help but smirk, running the palm of my hand over his buzzed head.
“For someone who says I swear a lot, you have the mouth of a sailor.”
“And I have a cock as long as a ship, too,” he teases with a wink. “You can tug on my boat anytime you desire, baby.”
“You mean a little toy boat?” I pretend to think about it. “I’m pretty sure I had one when I was younger. It was about this big.” I bring my thumb and index finger together. “But at least it was nice to look at.”
“I’ll show you nice to look at,” he mutters under his breath, planting a kiss to the top of my thigh. Suddenly, a devious expression appears on his face as he glances up at me through his thick fringe of lashes. “How about a game?”
“A game?”
“Did you know I used to watch your performances back in middle school?” he asks almost conversationally, and his abrupt change in topic gives me whiplash.
“What does this have to do with a game?” I demand, still lying on my back with Cassian between my legs. I have the irresistible urge to squirm, to rub my thighs together and alleviate the ache between them.
“I want you to play with me again someday,” he continues, ducking his head to place another kiss on the juncture where my thigh meets my hip. “Me on the guitar. You on the violin. I want you to play that one song you wrote. When we played together before… You felt that, didn’t you? The magic?”
“Still don’t understand the game,” I breathe, and I swear I can feel him smiling against my pants.
“That wasn’t the game, baby. That was just a distraction. We’re going to have a spelling test.”
I sit up abruptly to stare down at him. “A what now?”
He places one hand on my chest to guide me back to the floor while his other hand moves to my leggings and panties and slowly glides them down my legs. He pauses when they’re bunched around my thighs, turning towards me for permission, and I nod despite myself.
“Cassian…” I whisper in warning. We’re at school, for fuck’s sake, in a room that doesn’t lock. Anyone could walk in here at any moment and catch us.
Why does that thought only amplify my desire? Why does it make me so fucking wet, I can feel it dripping down my now bare thighs?
“You like this,