Zodiac Academy Fated Throne - Caroline Peckham Page 0,271

I just needed to get back into the tunnel and leave, come back later if I had to, but right now I just had to embrace my inner coward and run like a maniac to escape.

I almost made it to the hatch when Orion shot in front of me with a towel wrapped loosely around his waist, his naked body dripping water as he smirked at me. Fucking smirked. My heart collided with my throat and I folded my arms as I tried to regain some composure, but I was pretty sure I’d lost that the moment I’d freaked out and acted like the house was burning down.

“Where are you running off to, Blue?” he asked, his eyes glittering darkly and everything tightened between my thighs. Why had he started calling me that again? Why did I like it so much?

“I’m early,” I stated the obvious, because that was an awesome idea obviously.

“I see that,” he said, his fangs glinting at me and I wondered if that little chase had woken his Vampire up. Despite all the recent evidence to the contrary, I wasn’t, in fact, prey. And I needed to remind him of that fast.

“Were you spying on me?” he asked, amusement written into his features and I pressed my shoulders back.

“No. But maybe you shouldn’t shower with the door open, idiot. I wasn’t planning on seeing the crack of dawn twice today,” I tossed at him.

He barked a laugh and it was so damn infectious that a smile hooked up the corner of my mouth. His dimple dented his right cheek and I had the urge to reach out and run my thumb over it. An urge I quickly squashed.

He took a step toward me and I fought to keep my eyes on his face as his gleaming abs begged for my attention. “Don’t leave,” he said in a low growl which made my toes scrunch up in my shoes. “I’ll get dressed.”

He shot away across the room and I glanced over my shoulder as he dropped his towel by a set of drawers beside the large bed. I snapped my head around again fast enough to give myself whiplash. “Are you quite done being naked?”

“So long as you’re quite done with it,” he said teasingly and pockets of heat burst in my cheeks.

“I was done a long time ago, Lance,” I said lightly, though I was probably way past looking innocent at this point. I really should have texted before I went into the tunnel. My Horoscope had warned me about making rash decisions today. ‘Think before you act, Gemini’. Well that advice had gone to the dogs.

He shot past me into the kitchenette in some grey sweatpants and a white wifebeater, starting to make coffee.

“The moon won’t rise for another couple of hours,” he said, glancing at me. “Why are you early?”

He sounded kind of pleased that I was and the idea of that warmed me through. “Let’s just say I’m on the run.”

“From who?” he asked with a low laugh.

“Highspell,” I said, wrinkling my nose.

“Well you can hide out here away from that witch anytime you like,” he muttered, brewing the coffee and handing me a mug. It had a little ray of sunshine peeping through a cloud on it and I wondered if the set had been my mother’s.

“Thanks.” I blew on my coffee for something to occupy myself with, but despite me walking in on him butt naked, this somehow didn’t feel as awkward as the last couple of times I’d been here.

And this time I at least had some idea of what to say to keep the conversation moving. Which was kinda sad seeing as we’d never had trouble talking before. But opening up to him was difficult now and I wasn’t sure I wanted it to become easy again. Tory and Seth had planted a seed in my head about Orion though and it just kept growing a little bigger each day. With all I knew about his reasons for what he’d done, how could I stay angry at him forever? Especially after everything he’d been through since. He’d been punished plenty for it. But the idea of forgiving him opened up more questions I wasn’t ready to face. Even if I admitted that I still loved him, what then? He wanted me to move on. He didn’t see a future for us. He’d made that clear enough. Ergh, what a mess.

“Any chance you want to help me with another spell?”