The Coven (Coven of Bones, #1)(52)

“Gray,” I whimpered, feeling something crack in my hands.

He pulled his fangs free, the wet heat of his mouth coasting over my flesh. The moment his lips touched mine, I was lost.

Nothing existed but the brand of his mouth on me. But the heat of his tongue sliding through me. He pressed his face into my flesh, and there was nothing teasing in the way he devoured me. He ate like a man starved, like I was his last meal on earth.

“Fuck,” I groaned, resisting the urge to writhe on his tongue. “Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”

Moaning into me, he proceeded to give me what I wanted. His tongue found my clit, circling it slowly and bringing me to the edge. He kept me there, his careful, masterful strokes driving me insane.

“Gray!” I shrieked, losing myself to the pleasure that lingered just out of reach.

It was so close I could taste it.

He pressed his tongue flat against me, the shallow, firm sweeps of it against me finally driving me over the edge. I went lax against the desk, my grip releasing as I cried out. White flashed behind my eyes as they closed, filling my vision with nothing but light so bright I thought I might never see the dark again.

My breath came in deep, shuddering pants when I snapped back to reality, feeling the firmness of the desk against me. Gray rose to his feet behind me, helping to peel me off the wood. He said nothing as he spun me to sit on the edge, staring down at me as if he could see inside my very soul.

He couldn’t, because if he could, he’d have killed me already. The Vessels might have liked Charlotte, but they wouldn’t like a random witch who could unmake them and had been raised to hate them all.

“You broke my desk,” he said finally, his chuckle drawing a smile from me.

I turned to look at the cracked wood where I’d gripped it, shrugging as I wondered what other skills his blood would give me. “Be grateful it wasn’t your face.”

He smiled, running his thumb over my lip. I tasted myself on his skin, still trying to catch my breath.

“Go get some rest,” he said, stepping back and moving to his chair. I stepped away, taking the reprieve to gather myself. “But Willow?” he called out as I approached the door. I turned to face him, pretending my heart wasn’t pounding in my chest. “The next time we see each other, it will be you on your knees.”

I held his gaze, trying to cling to the pleasure that left me satiated. “Don’t fuck with my energy, demon,” I said, turning and leaving his office.

That sounded like a tomorrow problem.





25





WILLOW





I was avoiding him.

He knew it. I knew it. I was fairly certain the entire school knew it at this point. Two days had passed since he’d put me out of my misery in his office, and I refused to so much as think about him.

About the way he’d felt breathing into me.

“Tomorrow night, we will have our first Reaping,” Susannah said as she paced at the front of the room. Iban sat beside me, his flirty smile doing nothing to quell the rising panic within me.

Of all the things I’d known about Hollow’s Grove before coming here, the Reaping had been the one that terrified me most. It shouldn’t have mattered now that Gray had fed from me multiple times, but somehow it did. I couldn’t avoid him if he was coming to my room at night.

“As part of the bargain between our kinds, witches were required to provide blood to us in order to sustain our physical forms. This is an aspect that has been nourished and held as sacred through all the centuries of difficulties between us,” Gray said, his hands shoved into his pockets as he leaned against the doorway behind us. The classroom they’d chosen was larger than normal, accommodating all the seventy odd students in attendance.

I swallowed when Iban took my rising fear of being unable to avoid Gray as discomfort with the feeding itself. He placed his hand on my knee, squeezing it reassuringly. “It isn’t that bad,” he whispered, giving me no choice but to smile at him. I ignored Gray’s glare when it settled on my face, pretending he didn’t exist.

That seemed to be my pattern now.

“You mean they feed on students? I assumed they fed on people in town,” one of the other witches said. I recognized her as one of the remaining eleven other new students, someone who had been pointed out to me after the burial of the witch who’d died.

“The Vessels you see at Hollow’s Grove are assigned to the school. They remain here, and as such, they feed off who they please while they’re within these walls. Only the underaged are off limits, according to the bargain,” Susannah explained.

“If a Vessel has been assigned to you for this Reaping, you will find a red mark on your bedroom door when you return from your classes tomorrow evening. If not, you will be required to remain in your quarters regardless starting at eight. If you’ve never participated in a Reaping, someone will assist you with making preparations if you’re chosen,” George continued, his voice far more sympathetic as the new students exchanged worried glances. “There’s nothing to fear. Should you wish it, the feeding can be quite quick and painless.”

I swallowed as I glanced at Iban. “When will they share the pairs with us?” I asked, watching as his lips pursed.

“What do you mean?” he asked, tipping his head to the side.