the fun in that?” Jaxon murmurs in my ear as he walks me through the door into the hall. We’re going out the normal exit this time, not the secret passage.
“The fun is I don’t wake up covered in werewolf blood ever again,” I answer him and shudder. “Which is pretty much a win-win for everyone, don’t you think?”
“I think you forget that you’re talking to a vampire,” he teases, and his mouth is still close enough to my ear to cause all kinds of shivers in all kinds of places. I lean in to him, and for a beat, we both just enjoy the way it feels to rest against each other, the hardness of his body cradled by the softness of mine.
But then he shifts a little, leaning down as if to kiss me, and I freeze up all over again. Again I try to hide it, but Jaxon notices—of course he does. Not for the first time, I wonder how long it’s going to take my gargoyle side to accept a vampire for a mate. Or why my gargoyle side even has an issue with vampires in the first place.
I don’t try to make an excuse this time. Instead, I just smile sadly at him and mouth, I’m sorry. He doesn’t answer, just shakes his head in a “don’t worry about it” kind of way. I can see that it hurts him, though, even as he shifts to drop a kiss on my forehead.
“Can I walk you to class?” he asks as he pulls back.
“Of course.” I wrap an arm around his waist and squeeze him extra tight before looking around for Macy’s hot-pink hair as we fold into the crowds. I don’t want her to feel left out.
But, per usual, she’s already up ahead of us, talking animatedly to Gwen and another one of the witches who are making their way to class.
As we start to walk, I lean away again, grab hold of Jaxon’s hand, and thread our fingers together. I may not be able to kiss him right now, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love him. And it doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with him any way that I can.
Jaxon doesn’t say anything, but he doesn’t object, either. And when I look up at him, I realize that the small smile he’s got on his face has an extremely goofy tint to it. Because of me.
I’m the girl who turns badass vampire prince Jaxon Vega goofy.
Not going to lie, it feels good.
“So where am I walking you?” Jaxon asks as we finally reach the main hallway.
“I don’t know. They switched my science class. I went from basic Chem to the Physics of Flight, but I don’t know why.”
“Really? You don’t know why?” Jaxon asks, brow raised, a teasing glint in his eyes.
“No.” I shrug. “Do you?”
“I mean, I can’t say for sure, but I’m guessing it has something to do with the big, beautiful wings your alter ego carries around.”
“My alter— Oooooh.” That has my eyes going wide. “You mean the Physics of Flight is about actually being able to fly?”
“Yeah.” He looks at me incredulously. “What did you think it was about?”
“I don’t know. Airplanes, I guess. That’s why I was so confused.”
“No, Grace. At Katmere, the class about flying is actually about flying.”
“I just— That’s— I mean…” In the end, I just shake my head. I mean, what else is there to say about that? Except: “Flight class. They think I should be in flight class.” What on earth am I supposed to do with that?
“Well, wings are pretty much a prerequisite for flying,” Jaxon teases as we turn down another hallway. “And so is figuring out how to use them.”
“Oh yeah?” It’s my turn to raise a brow at him. “Because I’m pretty sure you can fly without them.”
He laughs. “Oh, hey! I’ve got a new joke for you.”
“A new joke?” My brows hit my hairline as a grin splits my face. “Awesome. Lay it on me.”
The look he gives me is suddenly steaming hot, and it says very clearly that there’s a whole lot he wants to lay on me, and very little of it has to do with the cheesy jokes I love.
There’s a part of me that wants to look away, that feels uncomfortable with the sudden intimacy of the moment. But that isn’t fair to him—isn’t fair to either of us, really—so I keep my gaze steady on his, even as heat and uncertainty