My jaw dropped. “What?”
He snorted. “I see Exos failed to mention that part of your drunk little episode.” He straightened. “You should eat something.”
I frowned as he left. “Okay…”
Is he mad at me? Because of the bond with Exos?
Shit.
I slid off the bed and trailed after him toward the apartment kitchen. Titus stood by the refrigerator, his ass looking mighty fine in a pair of snug jeans. He’d changed out of uniform attire and into casual garb, while I still wore my skirt and sweater—two things that were slightly worn and torn from the Air Quad incident earlier.
My mouth twisted to the side. I remembered taking down the monstrosity and that it wasn’t something I created, but I couldn’t recall anything after that. How did I end up passed out in bed? And what did Titus mean about assaulting him?
“Have I done something to anger you?” I blurted out when he didn’t acknowledge my presence.
He glanced over his shoulder with his eyebrows raised. “Do I feel angry to you?” he asked, the question holding a hint of genuine curiosity.
“Uh, well, no, but you’re being all… stiff.” I couldn’t come up with a better term.
His lips curled. “That, yes, I definitely am.” He returned to his task of placing odd items on the counter. The food in this world was foreign and leafy, and while none of it appeared appetizing, it was mysteriously delicious.
I hopped up onto the counter beside his preparations, wanting to see his expression while we spoke. “What did I do? I don’t remember anything after the, uh, tornado.”
His emerald eyes flickered up to mine briefly before he pulled a knife from the block behind my back. “Aerie sent a targeted blast of wind into your head. It’s meant to incapacitate an attacker.”
“Oh.” I noticed her in the class earlier, just hadn’t realized what she’d done. I almost asked him why she targeted me, but I already knew. “She thought I created the tornado.”
“That, and she’s just a bitch. She’s lucky Exos was there and not me. I’d have lit her ass on fire.” The conviction in his tone had me grinning. “Vox said she targeted your mind, something about the frontal lobe. It essentially made you very drunk.”
“And I assaulted you?” I pressed, wondering what the hell he meant by that.
His dimples flashed as he finished slicing up the items on his board. “You practically forced me to join you in bed.” He tapped me lightly on the nose with the edge of his blade before turning to deposit it in the sink. “Which is why, Claire”—he rotated once more and grabbed my hips—“I’m stiff.” He tugged me to the edge of the counter, forcing me to wrap my legs around his waist for balance.
I moaned at the feel of his hot arousal aligning with my center and clung to his shoulders as he rocked against me.
“I thought you were mad at me,” I admitted, arching into him.
“Oh, I am,” he said, his mouth brushing mine with the words. “You drive me crazy, sweetheart. Grinding all over me, telling me to fuck you when you know I can’t. It makes me very, very mad. For you.”
“I… I told you to fuck me?” It came out on a squeak.
“More like demanded.” He nipped my lower lip, then dipped his tongue inside to seduce mine in a dance that left me writhing against him. “Mmm, I’m going to drive you wild, Claire. Taunt you until you beg me to slide inside your slick heat and claim you in a way no other fae has.”
Fire licked up and down my arms, eating through my Academy sweater and wasting the
fabric away to ash. I gasped as the flames reached my breasts, destroying the fibers along the way until I sat topless on the counter before a smirking Titus. Even my bra was gone.
“Shall we begin, sweetheart?” he asked softly.
“That wasn’t the beginning?”
“Not even close,” he murmured.
Embers swirled around my nipples, causing them to stiffen beneath the heat. Part of me recognized that it should hurt, but my inner fire caressed the one Titus created, and welcomed the resulting singe.
Just like with Exos, I felt our connection teetering dangerously on the edge of something more. I couldn’t explain it, not outwardly. It simply existed. A tangible presence between us, an unspoken contract of fate, just waiting for my mental stamp of acceptance.
“Titus…” I grasped his shoulders, my skin prickling with energy from the wisps of smoke smoldering against my skin. His hands remained on my hips, holding me tightly against his groin.