Supernatural Academy: Year One (Supernatural Academy #1)(76)

“You looking for Asher?” Larissa said, her eyes locked on me as I people-watched the room.

I gave her all of my focus. “What do you mean?”

She shook her head. “Come on, you’re talking to me. I know how you feel about him.”

I swallowed another sip of my drink, letting the icy liquid cool me down. “I have to let go of my obsession,” I said, sadly. “He’s driving me fucking crazy. Always everywhere. So insanely sexy. And … I mean, we had that one thing together and then nothing. I don’t get it.”

Larissa’s gaze was intense, her drink dangling in her right hand. “He watches you, you know, when you’re not paying attention. And the look on his face … not friends. Very much not friends. It’s intense and hot. If he holds back, it’s because he thinks he has a good reason to do so.”

“He said he doesn’t date. Maybe it’s just that. We’re friends now and he probably doesn’t want to make it awkward.”

Larissa didn’t look convinced. “I don’t think it’s that. Asher has changed since he met you. I don’t think he feels the same way about dating anymore.”

I shrugged, chugging more of my beer. “I have no idea. All I know is he’s driving me crazy.”

She nudged me. “If you want to change the status quo, then you should make the first move. Maybe you’ll have sex and get it out of your system, or you’ll figure out that there’s something deeper there. Whatever you both are doing now is not healthy.”

Truer words had never been spoken.

There was a loud shout, and as if I’d summoned him with my words, Asher and his friends made their appearance at the party. I watched Asher, my alcohol-fuzzed mind drinking in every fucking beautiful inch of him. He was dressed in a black fitted T-shirt, dark jeans, and fancy white kicks. His hair was shorter on the sides, with that messy length falling about on top, and his eyes were locked on me, darkness already creeping into them.

He was watching me as closely as I watched him, his eyes dragging across the bare skin my skimpy dress left on display. “Exactly what I was saying,” Larissa murmured close to my ear. “I’m halfway to an orgasm just from the sexual tension in the air.” She discreetly fanned her face. “I haven’t been laid since the last dance, so have some pity on this poor vampire.”

I snorted at her and grabbed her hand. “Come on, let’s dance.”

She laughed. “Good plan. You can lure him out with your sexy moves.”

If only it was as easy as that.





30





The beat on the dance floor was deep, the sort that settled into your blood and made you feel as one with the music. As I swayed with Larissa, eyes closed and arms above my head, I wasn’t Maddison James, orphan and human-turned-supe, I was a forest nymph, powerful, strong, and sexy.

We were joined on the dance floor by almost all the other supes here, everyone drinking and dancing, letting whatever magic was in the air—and beer—capture them. I was swirled from one group to another, dancing with everyone, not caring whose skin I touched.

I think for a short time there I lost my mind. And I was well aware that a pair of green and silver eyes burned into me the entire time. Asher stood off to the side, Jesse and Rone with him, and even when I tried not to look at them, he kept capturing my attention. Asher stole my breath in the sort of clichéd way I previously thought only happened in books. My limbs felt heavy, my body achy as lust pulled at my core. But I was also stubborn and had way too much pride to throw myself at him.

Maybe with a few more drinks under my belt though…

Larissa wrapped her arms around me, and I was distracted as she swung me around. When she let me go, she moved into her unique and somewhat complicated dance steps of the sprinkler-slash-lawnmower.

Just as I threw my head back, laughing until I almost cried, a warm hand landed on the bare skin in the center of my back. My laughter turned into a gasp at the heat and spark under that touch. It almost felt like the palm was branding me.

Slowly I turned, and I wasn’t at all surprised to find Asher behind me. He towered over me, gaze hooded, the silver defined in his eyes. Before I could say a word, he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me fully into his body. His head tilted down, close to mine, and energy danced between our eyes as the moment extended. This second, where our lips hovered together but we didn’t kiss, was beyond intense. I couldn’t breathe.

“This doesn’t feel very friend-like,” I finally said, sounding as breathless as I felt.

Asher’s chest rumbled, his lips brushing across my jawline while his hands traced over my back, bringing every nerve ending there to life. He didn’t speak, but whenever I caught sight of his face, there was a lot going on. The beat took hold, and our bodies started to move together, the magic in the air driving us. I’d only had one drink, but it was enough.

Asher moved his leg between mine, I could feel every inch of his muscled thigh along my skin. I pressed my aching center against him, finally understanding the supes need sex thing. I was dying. There was only so much I could take care of on my own, and right now I wanted Asher more than I wanted anything else in the world.

“You tempt me like no other,” he said, so softly that I almost missed it. I tilted my head back, needing to see his expression. His eyes told me so much more than his words. “I’ve tried to embrace the friendship, because everything between us is complicated. Your power. Our Atlantean heritage. I’ve never dated, because my world can be dangerous. I lost my parents at a young age because of their obsession. Dragging you into it just seemed selfish.”