Fortune Academy: Year Three - J.R. Thorn Page 0,55

and suck your dick or something?”

He grinned. “Maybe.”

What the fuck happened these past six months?

“Would you be upset if he did?” he asked, the question far too serious for my comfort level. “Suck my dick, that is,” he added as if I didn’t catch his drift.

My mouth bobbed open and closed as I tried to form a cohesive sentence. “I, uh. Well, it’s been six months and… I mean, I’ve been with Orion a few times, okay, a lot of times, but…”

“And he took good care of you, didn’t he? It was safer that way. He hasn’t been affected like we have by this… problem.” He ran his touch over me, allowing me into the mate-bond to see how much he held himself back, even now, from hurting me, not because he wanted to, but because his rage was barely kept under control and sex had been a temporary outlet. He needed violence… violence that Dante was strong enough to offer.

I ran my fingers through his dark hair. “I’m not afraid.”

“I know you’re not, pet. But the only reason we can even talk right now is because Dante has been helping my rage and he’s weakened me enough that I can’t do too much harm.” He grunted as he leaned on his elbow, his dark eyes glowing with murder despite his concern for me. “Besides that, does it bother you? The Hunter and me, I mean.” His eyes searched mine and I realized he was seriously concerned I would view it as betrayal.

I wasn’t upset. I was just… stunned.

“Well, uh,” I stammered, “I guess not. I mean, you guys all share me, so if you were to, uh… I mean. It’s a ‘mate-circle,’ right? So it would make total sense. I can’t expect you not to enjoy each other if that’s an option, I mean if you swing that way, and—”

Yeah, I was blathering.

He interrupted me by giving me a rough kiss, nipping lightly at my lower lip before forcing himself to pull away. “Oh, pet. I’m not into dudes, or at least I wasn’t, but like you said, it’s the effect of the mate-circle. We will all continue to grow closer together, and if it can protect you, then I accept it.” He kissed my shoulder. “I think you’re going to enjoy the new developments, especially when we all get to fuck you together again.” His eyes took on a wicked gleam that held deep, dark sins I wanted to explore.

My head spun as images invaded my mind, my once cooled fires roaring hot just thinking of Hendrik and Dante interacting like… that.

He ran his thumb over my cheek. “You’re adorable when you blush.”

I swatted him away. “I do not blush!”

He growled, grabbing me by the wrist in reaction to my innocent swipe. Anger flitted across his gaze and for a moment, I was frightened.

“Hendrik?” I ventured.

He went still and then shook his head. “You need to get away from me, Lily. All I can think about is hurting you and not in a good way.” He rolled off the bed and slammed his fist into the wall, deepening an existing crater that said the wall had seen its fair share of Hendrik’s rage. “Fuck. That demon is just doing this to spite me!”

I perched on the edge of the bed. “Spite you? For what?”

Hendrik went still and glanced away. “Nothing.”

Wait. Did Hendrik actually look… guilty?

“Whoa whoa whoa,” I said, jumping to my feet and crowding him before he ran off on me. “You know something about Cole you’re not telling me. What is it?” When he didn’t answer I shoved him hard, earning a growl. “Tell me!”

“It’s not important,” he said through gritted teeth.

I gaped at him in disbelief. “You know something about Cole, the key to Calamity, saving the world… everything, and you say it’s not important? No. Fuck no.” I grabbed his head and shoved myself into his mind, searching for what I needed to know. “Tell. Me. Now!”

Hendrik roared when I hit a dark memory buried deep in his psyche, one he’d kept walled off from me with those onyx barriers he preferred.

Except this was a place I was never supposed to find.

The past unfurled in my mind in an instant, showing Hendrik with the other Dark Mages around a symbol of fire on the ground, chanting as they summoned…

“You summoned Cole?” I shrieked, launching away from him as he roared and took a swing at me. I dodged and snarled.

“It was before we were