He picked her up by her waist, bringing her to eye level. Before the question in her eyes could translate to words, he leaned down, pressing his mouth to hers.
Her lips were soft, as soft as he’d imagined those rare moments he was away from her. Even then, she was as much a part of him as when she was in his sight. There was never a moment he was free of her.
She didn’t respond as he moved his lips over hers. Maybe this was not correct. It was perfect to him, but…
Thought left as her mouth opened under his, pressing against him to push closer. Her tongue slipped past his lips, a tentative touch against his own.
Her tongue was becoming bolder, tangling with his in long strokes. He raised one hand to grasp her hair, slanting her head so he could dive deeper into that warmth.
Her arms wound around his shoulders, her own fingers digging into hair as her body writhed against him. Gods, that body, that soft, sensual body was draining the strength from his. He leaned her against the wall, bodies now tight together. Her chest was against his, her nipples such hard points he felt them through the cloth that separated their bodies.
She moved against him with that sinuous grace he had seen so many nights from a distance, the movements slow and sensuous and reducing him to a mindless beast.
He wanted her skin. He wanted her naked. He wanted his mouth on every inch of her – her breasts, her stomach, that valley between her thighs.
Especially there. He wanted to live there. He wanted to wring every ounce of pleasure from her body, and once he did, he wanted to do it again. And again. And again.
She pulled her mouth from his, her eyes wide and shocked as she looked down at him. She opened her mouth, closed it. Opened her mouth again, licked her lips, closed her mouth.
He looked at her mouth and a vibration rolled through his chest. That mouth was far sweeter and softer than any dream had promised.
“I…” She had gotten her voice back, though shock colored her tone. “School. My kids. I need to go.”
He let her go and backed away before he convinced himself of the wisdom of taking her back into his arms. With a bow, he returned to his gargoyle form and leapt from the window.
Chapter Twenty-Two
‡
“Miss Miller? You’re about a million miles away today,”
“Huh?” Larissa looked up to see half of her first-period students staring at her. “What?”
Jason Evans sighed. “You might consider making all your classes study periods today. You keep zoning in and out.”
Damn it! Stupid gargoyle. No, no fair blaming Terak for her inability to do her job. The fault lay squarely with her and her hormones. “Thank you, Jason. I’ll take that under advisement. Any other questions before class ends?”
Jason spoke. “You never answered my question. If the necromancers are such bad guys, why didn’t everyone band together to destroy them?”
Every day Jason somehow brought up either necromancers or vampires. Older teachers told her there was one kid every year who fixated on them, but Jason didn’t fit the mold. He was the golden boy, an athletic genius who was adored around the school, not some emo kid who had no other way of expressing dissatisfaction with their lot in life than by thumbing their nose at society’s conventions and openly embracing something everyone else feared. “Necromancers are very powerful, so it’s not that easy to fight them. Plus there is due process to consider.”
Jason shrugged. “Or maybe everyone makes them out to be the bad guys to keep all the attention on them and away from the other races.”
The intensity in Jason’s eyes, the set of his shoulders and the line of his mouth, had warning bells clanging in uncomfortable cacophony. When had this unhealthy fascination begun again? “Jason, while I am not one who swallows the party line completely, trying to make necromancers in any way good is a bit of a stretch.”
“And I think we’re only being given one side of the story,” Jason argued back, his arms crossed over his chest with typical teenage mulishness.
The minute bell rang, saving Larissa from this conversation. “Okay, everybody, no homework tonight, but review the last few chapters. Big hint here – expect a pop quiz.”
Disgruntled voices followed that announcement as the kids grabbed their items and left. Jason went against the tide and came over to her desk. Before he could say anything she took the initiative. “Jason, you’re entitled to your opinion, but you’re not going to convince me otherwise.”
He smiled, the earlier intensity gone. “No, I understand, Miss Miller. I was actually going to ask you something else. Would you be my sponsor for the upcoming fall carnival? I want to do a dunking booth.”