The thought ca unbidden and I shoved it down imdiately.
This was the quest.
This was survival.
Nothing more.
Right.
Nothing more.
Her tail loosened around my waist.
Slid down to rest across my legs instead.
Her eyes opened slowly.
Found mine.
"That was."
Her voice ca out hoarse.
Destroyed.
"Yeah."
I didn’t have better words than that.
She laughed.
Soft and breathless.
"I made a ss."
I glanced down.
The dark purple comforter had a wet spot the size of a dinner plate spreading across it.
Her grey shirt was soaked.
Her shorts were ruined.
Worth it.
"You did."
She covered her face with both hands.
"Oh god this is so embarrassing."
"Don’t be embarrassed."
I pulled her hands away.
Made her look at .
"That was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen."
Her face went darker.
Sohow.
"You’re just saying that."
"I’m not."
I ant it.
Every word.
Watching her lose control. Watching her Essentia leak out in little portals because the pleasure overwheld her ability to contain it.
Yeah.
Definitely the hottest thing I’d ever seen.
She bit her lip.
Looked away.
"So. Um. Do you want to."
She gestured vaguely at my jeans.
Do I want to.
Every instinct I had from my past life scread yes.
But sothing stopped .
The look in her eyes.
The way her hands shook slightly.
She’s nervous.
Actually nervous.
And yeah I needed to complete the quest.
Yeah I had sixty hours on a tir.
But sothing about the way she looked right now made want to slow down.
Made want to do this right instead of fast.
What the hell is wrong with .
I kissed her forehead.
"Not tonight."
Her eyes went wide.
"What? Why? Did I do sothing wrong?"
"No. You were perfect."
I rolled off her and sat up on the edge of the bed.
My jeans were uncomfortably tight but I ignored it.
"Then why?"
Because you just had your first orgasm with another person and I don’t want to rush this.
Because you look like you might cry if I push too far too fast.
"Because I want you thinking straight when we do this. Not drunk on a drain."
It was close enough to the truth.
She sat up behind .
I felt the bed shift.
Then her arms wrapped around my chest from behind.
Her chin rested on my shoulder.
"That’s actually kind of sweet."
Don’t.
Don’t do that.
Don’t make this more than it is.
I grabbed her hands where they crossed over my sternum.
Squeezed once.
"Get changed. You’re soaked."
She laughed against my neck.
"Whose fault is that?"
Mine.
Definitely mine.
I stood and looked around for my shirt.
Found it on the floor near the desk.
Pulled it back on.
When I turned around ra was standing next to her dresser with her back to .
She pulled her grey shirt over her head in one smooth motion.
I got a perfect view of red skin and the curve of her spine before she grabbed a black tank top and covered it.
She shimmied out of her ruined shorts and kicked them toward the corner.
Grabbed a pair of black panties from the drawer.
Turned around while pulling them up.
Caught staring.
Grinned.
"See sothing you like?"
Everything.
I see everything I like.
"Maybe."
She walked over.
Stopped right in front of .
Close enough I could sll cinnamon again.
"Good."
Then she kissed .
I kissed her back.
No drain this ti. Just lips and the faint taste of cinnamon and the way her hand ca up to rest against my chest like she was checking my heartbeat.
I should leave.
I should walk out that door right now.
My feet didn’t move.
Her mouth curved into a smile against mine.
"Thought you were going."
"I changed my mind."
She pulled back just enough to et my eyes.
"Yeah?"
"We can just chill. Order food or sothing. Does your dorm take delivery?"
What are you doing.
This isn’t the plan.
The plan was get in, complete the quest objective, get out.
But looking at her standing there in a black tank top and fresh panties with her hair still ssy from my hands, I didn’t want to leave yet.
Didn’t want to go back to the empty apartnt I’d woken up in this morning.
Fuck.
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
Loud and insistent.
I pulled it out and checked the screen.
Marco: Where are you? Need pickup?
Marco: It’s getting late. Want to head to campus?
My driver. The one the Angelo Corporation assigned this morning.
Right.
Because I lived off campus in so apartnt I’d never seen.
With furniture I didn’t pick and clothes I didn’t buy.
In a life that wasn’t mine.
Great.
I looked at ra.
"You hungry?"
She tilted her head.
"Starving actually. That whole." She gestured between us. "Thing. Really works up an appetite apparently."
Yeah it does.
The drain pulled energy from her but it also burned through mine faster than I expected. My stomach felt hollow in a way that had nothing to do with missing lunch.
"What do you want?"
"Pizza. There’s a place called Vinnie’s that delivers to campus. They’re stupid expensive but the buffalo chicken is worth it."
I pulled up my phone and opened the browser.
Typed in Vinnie’s Century City.
The website loaded.
Prices that would make a normal college student wince.
Eighteen dollars for a personal pizza.
Thirty-two for a large.
Pocket change.
I added two large pizzas to the cart. Buffalo chicken like she said. And a at lovers because I wanted protein.
Garlic knots.
Wings.
Breadsticks.
ra leaned over my shoulder to watch the total climb.
"Ro that’s like eighty dollars worth of food."
"So?"
"So that’s insane for two people."
I hit confirm order.
"We’ll have leftovers."
She stared at .
"You’re really just. Okay with spending that much?"
"It’s food. I’m hungry. You’re hungry. Problem solved."
Her expression shifted into sothing I couldn’t read. "Must be nice being rich."
There was an edge to her voice that hadn’t been there before.
I pocketed my phone and looked at her.
"It has its perks."
"Yeah I bet."
The temperature in the room dropped five degrees.
Shit.
What did I say wrong.
Her arms crossed over her chest.
The sa defensive posture from this morning when we first sat down at Luca’s.
"Look if you don’t want the pizza just say so."
"I want the pizza."
"Then what’s the problem?"
She turned away.
Walked to her desk and started organizing textbooks that were already organized.
"Nothing. Forget it."
Won.
I will never understand won.
My phone buzzed again.
Marco: Heading to campus now. Be there in 20.
I typed back quickly.
Ro: Don’t need pickup. Staying on campus tonight.
Three dots appeared.
Disappeared.
Appeared again.
Marco: Understood. Call if you need anything.
I put the phone away and looked at ra’s back.
Still organizing books.
Still not looking at .
Great start Roo.
First girl you sleep with and you’ve already pissed her off.
The quest notification sat in the corner of my vision.
Fifty-eight hours remaining.
Technically I could leave right now and the quest would still complete.
We’d kissed.
I’d touched her.
She’d co on my hand.
That counts right?
That has to count.
But the notification hadn’t changed.
No completion ssage.
No reward screen.
Fuck.
I walked up behind her.
She tensed when I got close but didn’t move away.
"I’m sorry."
"For what."
"I don’t know. Whatever I said that pissed you off."
She turned around.
Her expression had softened slightly.
"You didn’t say anything wrong. I’m just. Touchy about money stuff."
"Why?"
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