Shadow Magic: Year 3 Read online

  I lose all track of time, and I’m surprised when the music stops and the clock chimes midnight. Gideon hops up into the DJ booth and snags a mic. “Hey, everyone,” he says, his voice subdued but strangely captivating, nonetheless. Like his appearance, his voice is a strange juxtaposition of unremarkable yet undeniably sexy. I must not be the only one who finds him oddly attractive despite his ordinariness because half the crowd howls with excitement at his plain greeting. I turn to face him, my back resting against Thorn’s strong chest as his arm encircles my waist, his hand flattening against my bare midriff.

  “I hope you’ve been enjoying yourselves on this All Hallows’ Eve,” Gideon goes on. “I’ve been keeping my eyes and ears open for what you folks think about this year’s crop of costumes. I think I’ve got your fan favorites pinned down. You gawked at their costumes and gasped at their fancy footwork, but just to make sure, let’s get them up on the dance floor. Your cheers determine the winners.”

  We cheer and whistle and hoot for the solo costumes. Rocco wins in a landslide, probably because of who’s inside the costume more than the costume itself.

  “We’re up,” Thorn says, squeezing my hand as the couples begin to line up on the dance floor.

  “You’re really into this, aren’t you?” I ask, smiling up at him.

  “Yeah,” he says with a shy smile. “I am.”

  “Then let me lend you Cleo,” I say, pulling her from my belt. “Tail, Cleo.”

  She turns into an ocelot tail, clearly confused by my intention. But when I instruct her to give Thorn a cheetah tail, she complies, and I hook her onto his jeans before we make our way onto the floor. She sways behind him, flicking at Elowen’s skirt playfully like a real cat’s tail.

  Elowen giggles and hurries up beside Asher, the only Jack and Sally pair now that Bella ran off and took the other half of Dirk’s costume. Gideon goes down the line, announcing the costumes and letting the crowd cheer for the avocado, the light socket and fork, peanut butter and jelly, Jack and Sally, and all the others down the line to us. When he announces us, Cleo twines around Thorn’s body and gives the crowd a little wave. The applause is deafening, and Gideon announces, “Let’s give it up for our winning couple, the feline royals!”

  A spotlight drops over Thorn and me, applause continuing as I blink a second from surprise before breaking into a huge grin. “I can’t believe we won,” I squeal.

  “Don’t sound too surprised,” Thorn says with a chuckle. “You’re quite the sight while dancing.”

  With that, he dips me back as if we’re still dancing, but instead of pulling me upright, he kisses me.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  As the crowd cheers, Asher and Elowen the loudest of all, Thorn pulls me upright, giving me a grin that says he knows just how much my head is spinning. I don’t know what to make of him. One minute, he’s a shy boy, but the next, he has all the cockiness of the prince he is. Somehow, the combination makes him even more irresistible.

  Gideon steps onto the dance floor and presents us with a pair of digital gift cards. I immediately make plans to send mine to my father. We step off the floor to make room for the last contest, the group costumes. Asher and Elowen come over, Dirk in tow.

  “I knew I shouldn’t have made you look so fuckable,” Asher says to Thorn. “I was digging my own grave.”

  “We couldn’t have done it without you,” Thorn says, handing Asher his gift card.

  “Oh—I was totally kidding,” Asher says, turning pink all the way to his ears.

  “I’m not,” Thorn says. “You’re the reason we won. Take it.”

  “You can buy me something pretty,” Dirk jokes, wrapping an arm around Asher from behind and grabbing his junk.

  Asher gives a little squawk of surprise before turning around and locking lips with his guy, forgetting his protests about taking the gift card.

  “That was nice of you,” I say to Thorn as we turn back to watch the contest.

  He shrugs. “I don’t need it.”

  And there’s his privileged side again, along with his knack for saying things that make him sound like an utter dick. I open my mouth to tell him that implying we need it is totally rude and his tendency to say things like that is the reason people think he’s an insufferable ass when they meet him, myself included. But then I stop myself. Now that I know him, I know he doesn’t mean it that way. He’s just not all suave and smarmy like he very well could be as the grandson of the world’s most influential politician. I like that he’s still human, even if that means he’s a little blunt sometimes.

  After cheering for the group costume winner—a truly creepy group dressed as dementors from the old book-and-movie franchise, people swarm the dance floor again. Before I can step on, a thick arm snakes around my waist, smoothly sliding me away from Thorn. “Congrats on the win, Cinderella,” Rocco purrs into my ear before pulling back and planting a lingering kiss on my mouth.

  “Congrats to you,” I say. “Who would have guessed you’d be convincing as the world’s most fascinating douchebag?”

  “I’m truly hurt,” Rocco says, covering his heart with one hand and giving me a pout.

  “Sorry,” I say. “You walked into that one.”

  “I’ll forgive you this once,” he says. “Now that the fun stuff is over here, what do you say we go home and finish the night with a bang?”

  “Not to cut in,” Thorn says, sliding a possessive arm around my hips, “But our date isn’t over.”

  Rocco snorts. “No one stays past the costume contest.”

  “Looks like plenty of people to me,” Thorn says, gesturing to the packed dance floor.

  “Dude, those are all the people still hoping they’ll find someone to go home with later,” Rocco says. “So, yeah, Thorn, go on and finish out the night, and I can take your date from here.”

  “Rocco,” I say, placing a gentle hand on his chest and pushing him back a step. “This is my date with Thorn. If you want to take me out tomorrow, or next weekend, I’m all for it. But you can’t cut into our date.”

  Rocco looks a bit miffed, but then he flashes his dimples and clutches his chest dramatically. “You wound me with your glass heels, Cinderella.”

  I can’t help but laugh. “Go,” I say.

  Instead, he steps forward, pinning my back to Thorn’s chest. I suck in a breath, surprised by the bold move. My body hums between the two men like a tuning fork that just found exactly the right vibration. Rocco grins, leaning in close to whisper sensually into my ear. “You are seriously hot when you get all bossy.”

  A shudder of heat rolls down my spine. Damn it, he’s making it really hard to walk away.

  He chuckles, reading my body the way he always does. His hand falls on my hip, and he rocks against me, making my ass grind back against Thorn’s crotch. I’m surprised to feel he’s hard.

  “You know, I’m getting pretty attuned to your magic,” Rocco says. “I know how much you’ve been reining it in all night. Wouldn’t you like to go home and release it just like this, but without clothes between us?”

  I gasp, remembering my fantasy on the dance floor last year—the one that led to my first orgasm, pinned between these two guys just like this. My cheeks flush as I realize how well Rocco knows me, that he can guess my fantasy without me even saying it. He probably figured out exactly what happened on the dance floor now that he’s given me plenty of orgasms on his own.

  “Thorn can just watch if he’s not ready to participate,” Rocco offers. “I usually only share with my brother, but if he’s just going to watch…”

  Heat pulses in my core at the sensation of their dual erections throbbing against me, at the thought of Thorn watching Rocco’s tongue lap up the wetness that’s growing between my thighs.

  “I think tonight, I’ll be participating,” Thorn murmurs into my ear. “If you’re up for it.”

  Another shiver goes through me, catching in my throat, squeezing my heart, and sinking at last into the pulsing heat betw
een my legs.

  “Tonight I’m with Thorn,” I tell Rocco. “When you’re both ready to share me completely, I’d be into that.”

  I leave him with that and turn and pull Thorn away. My friends are ready to leave as well, and when we step outside, I see Ryker standing with Macon, chatting like old friends.

  “Hey,” I say, surprised he made an appearance. “What are you doing here?”

  “Just doing my job,” Ryker says, giving me a mock salute.

  “Well… Thanks, I guess.”

  “You off?” asks the lion-maned doorman.

  “Yeah,” Ryker says, clasping hands with him in a quick goodbye.

  Thorn gives him a nod. “See you later, Macon.”

  “You know him?” I ask as we start the short walk toward campus with a dozen or so other Academy students who are ready to leave.

  “He works at Jacksonville’s one supernaturals-only bar,” Ryker says. “Everyone knows him.”

  “I don’t,” I point out.

  Ryker answers with a derisive scoff, as if to remind me that I’m not part of their circle. Fine by me.

  When we reach my dorm, I don’t even spare him a goodbye. I take Thorn’s hand and pull him inside. We’re silent on the way to my room, but as soon as we’re inside and the door is closed, Thorn sweeps me into his arms and kisses me with an intensity I haven’t felt from him before.

  “Are you sure about this?” I ask when we separate at last.

  “I’m sure.”

  It’s all he needs to say. He leads me to the bed, then gently lays me down and strips off my clothes one piece at a time. Then he pulls off his vest and jeans before lying down with me, both of us naked except for the paint on his skin. We gaze at each other for a long minute before closing the distance between us. My skin is electric as our bodies meet. Thorn’s hands find my face, cupping against my chin as we kiss once more.

  I feel my magic building inside me with my arousal, but I hold it back. Tonight, it’s not about me. This is Thorn’s first time, and I want it to be as perfect as he is.

  We kiss for a long time, Thorn’s perfect cock pressed against my belly and throbbing with desire every now and then. At last, I pull away, pushing his shoulder gently to roll him onto his back. I take his cock in my hand, slowly running my fingers along its length from the base to the bell-shaped tip. Our eyes meet, and I lick my lips. “Can I?” I whisper. “I want to taste you.”

  Thorn nods. “If… If you want.”

  “I do,” I say. “But… I’ve never actually done this before, so you’ll have to tell me what feels good.”

  He nods again, swallowing so hard I can see his Adam’s apple bob. “Okay.”

  I kiss him again, my lips moving along the rough stubble on his chin and down to his neck. I let my lips tease him, flicking my tongue out to taste the salt on his skin from all that dancing. A low rumble sounds in his throat, and he closes his eyes and drops his head back, his strong hands running down my back and sending shivers over my skin. I move lower, circling his nipple with my tongue, flicking at the hard nub. Thorn groans again, his cock throbbing hard against my belly. I move over to the other one, letting my teeth graze over his skin before pulling back to blow a stream of air over his nipple. Goosebumps rise over his cheetah-spotted skin, and I feel a sense of triumph rising inside me.

  I love being with Rocco, but we move much faster. He’s explored me, but he doesn’t have much patience for me exploring him this way. I know he wants me, that he’s so attracted to me he can’t wait to get inside me every time. And I know Thorn likes me, but it’s nice to feel his body respond to me the way mine does to him, to have it show me exactly how much he enjoys my touch. He moves his hands around my body, caressing my nipples with his thumbs until they knot painfully hard and my clit throbs for stimulation.

  I move lower, leaving a trail of kisses over his skin, my mouth watering at the thought of what comes next. I flick my tongue into his belly button, which is rimmed with fine black hairs. I follow the trail of hair lower, until I reach the head of his cock, which stands straight and hard against his lower belly. I kiss it, and Thorn’s hands fist in the blankets. I open my lips, letting my tongue slide over his smooth, velvety skin.

  “Oh—Jade,” he rasps, his hips jerking.

  “What?” I ask, raising my head. “Am I doing it wrong?”

  “No,” he says. “It feels… So good.”

  I smile and lower my mouth to his cock again, this time pulling it up and sinking my mouth over the tip. His shaft pulses hard in my hand, and I begin to suck and lick gently, reveling in the hardness of his erection, the softness of his skin, his rapid breathing. I run my tongue over every inch of him, licking and sucking and nibbling at the shaft, the ridge around the head, the tip of his cock where a salty drop of cum escapes. My clit throbs in response, my pussy wet and aching to be filled like my mouth is.

  “I’m gonna cum,” Thorn says suddenly, his hand tangling in my hair, cupping the back of my head.

  “Mmmhmm,” I moan around his cock, bobbing up and down on it. I suck harder, and he tenses, his body going stiff and his hips arching upwards, cum spurting into my throat. He grips my hair and thrusts up into my mouth, and I swallow it down and keep sucking gently as he spurts across my tongue, his shaft throbbing in my hand with each pulse of cum. My core clenches in response, hungry for the same treat.

  At last, Thorn relaxes back on the bed, releasing his grip on my hair. I pull back, licking a few spilled drops of his salty cum off his shaft before crawling up the bed to him.

  “I don’t think you needed any instruction,” he says with a breathless laugh.

  “Thanks,” I say, feeling ridiculously proud of myself for giving my first blowjob. I settle onto my side next to him, trying not to squirm and rub my legs together to ease the throbbing need between my thighs.

  “You’ve never done that before?” he asks, lifting his head to look at me.

  I shake my head. “No.”

  “Huh.” He lays his head down. “I would have thought… I mean, I know Rocco pretty well. He must really respect you not to have made you do that by now. Not that I don’t respect you, Jade. I do. So much. It’s just, the way he talks about it…”

  “He told you I gave him head?”

  “No,” he says quickly. “Not you. Just the way he talks about women, it seems like that’s the first thing he wants from them.”

  “Well, that makes me feel special,” I grumble.

  “Shit, I’m sorry,” he says. “I wasn’t trying to talk shit about him. He’s my friend and your boyfriend. I was trying to say something nice, believe it or not. I realize now that it didn’t come out that way at all.”

  “I know it’s hard for both of you,” I say. “I hate that you’re at each other’s throats all the time. It’s stupid to think this could be easy, but I guess part of me hoped it wouldn’t be so complicated.”

  “I know,” he says, leaning over to kiss my forehead. “People are complicated, Jade. But if it makes you happy, I’ll try to rein in the jealousy.”

  “That would make me happy,” I say, placing a gentle kiss on the nape of his neck.

  “I know Rocco makes you happy, and I want that,” he says. “I’m glad he was here to help you control your magic this semester, and I can tell you’ve been good for him, too.”

  “Really?” I ask, raising my head.

  “Really,” he says with a small smile. “Sometimes he just gets to me. I admit, when he kissed you tonight, I wanted to punch the guy.”

  “I know,” I admit. “I guess I just hoped you’d each get used to seeing me with both of you, and you’d accept it. The best part of the party was dancing with you both at once, when you were sharing me instead of competing.”

  He lets out a chuckle, his arms a perfect fit along the curve of my waist. “Sorry. We do get competitive. It’s in both our natures. But I really do want you to have us both, Jade. I know you need it for your magic and for your happiness. That’s w
hat’s most important to me. Not whether I’m your one and only, but that you’re happy and satisfied with whatever you need, whether that’s two or ten of us. I just want to be one of them.”

  “Me, too,” I say. “I want you so much Thorn. It scares the hell out of me to know I need and rely on not just one person, but three or four other people. I’ve spent so much time depending only on myself.”

  “I know,” he says, rolling toward me and pulling me even closer. “But now you have us. I want to be part of this. Part of us—whoever you decide to include in that. I want to be part of you, Jade.”

  We gaze into each other’s eyes, a solemn understanding passing between us. “You believe me when I say my heart, body, and soul has enough for all of you?”

  Not even a beat passes between us before Thorn leans in for a kiss. Without words, he’s given me his response. He kisses me long and slow, and I feel the heat of his body building with mine, his magic dancing with mine. After a long time, I run my fingers down his cheetah-spotted skin, reaching between us to grip his cock, stiff and ready for me again. He moans into my mouth and rocks his hips forward, the urgent hardness of his length reminding me of how animal we all are under our words.

  I slide my knee over his hips and position his head at my entrance. “You’re ready?” I ask, giving him one last chance to back out, even though I think I’ll explode if I have to wait longer. I want to be part of him, too. I want him to be part of me, fully and completely.

  In answer, Thorn rolls his hips, breaching my entrance and sinking into me. I’m so ready, so wet, that he glides in easily despite the lack of preparation. A cry of pure bliss escapes my lips as he pushes his cock deep inside me with one slow, powerful thrust. Our gazes lock, our breaths joining as one as he moves inside me, filling me and claiming me with each thrust. By the time we’re done, I can’t remember one thing except that I love this man with every ounce of my being, and I want every part of his body with every part of mine, every inch of him inside me, every drop of his cum flooding into me until I scream the only word that matters—his name.