Chapter 55

Chapter

Fifty-Five

Vyk

M y fingers shook as I gripped the tiny hold and swung my foot high to reach the next protrusion from the climbing wall. Sweat trickled down my bare back and chest as I heaved myself up higher and dragged in a breath. I balanced on one foot as I scanned above me for the next combination.

Since the holds on the walls were changed frequently, there was little chance of memorizing the best routes, as it was different with almost every climb. But that’s what I wanted. I wanted to have to focus so hard on the climb that my brain could dwell on nothing else. The last thing I needed was my mind whirling with thoughts of the night before .

Pausing for a breath allowed the treacherous doubts to wiggle their way into my mind, and I grunted in frustration as the insidious intrusions became an intolerable barrage.

What did Fiona think of me? Did she regret saying yes? Did she still despise me? Did she want more, or did she wish to never lay eyes on me again?

I shook my head hard enough for my ears to ring then I thrust one arm high to reach for a hold that seemed beyond my grasp. My fingertips closed over it, and the flush of victory pulsed through me as I tensed every screaming muscle in my arm to pull myself up the rest of the way. My legs dangled for a moment before I straddled one wide to rest on a flat-topped hold. I swiped the back of my hand across my sweaty brow and huffed out a satisfied breath. There was nothing like pushing oneself to the brink of exhaustion to purge rational thoughts from your mind—or traitorous ones.

“Vyk!”

I scowled at myself. Now I was not only hearing my own voice berating me, but I was also hearing hers.

“Vyk! Come down here!”

Okay, that was not in my head. I peered down between my legs and spotted Fiona standing at the bottom of the wall. Grekking hell, what was she doing here?

The woman’s hair was still tousled, and she had her hands braced on her hips. I could not see her expression clearly, but I sensed that she was not pleased. So much for climbing to escape my problems. Apparently, they had chased me down .

I eyed the distance to the mats before pushing off the wall and spinning around as I dropped. Fiona shrieked and jumped back before I landed in a crouch beside her.

I stood and gave my arms a shake then eyed the woman I’d seen in much less than the dark uniform she now wore. “I am down.”

She opened her mouth as if to argue with that then released a heavy breath. “I had to tell you before anyone asked.”

“Tell me what?” Was this about last night? I had thought we were in agreement about wanting to keep what had happened between us, but maybe we had both been na?ve about how fast rumors spread in the academy.

“Dev—the captain is in the surgery. He doesn’t remember who hit him yesterday, so the story is that I did it.”

I balked at this. “No. I hit him. If there is blame to take, I will take it.”

She rolled her eyes. “Why am I not surprised that you’re being a stubborn hardass about this?”

“I am not being a hardass or stubborn, but I will not let you take the blame for something I did. I do not regret hitting him. He was hurting you. He deserved it.”

“Agreed, but I can say I hit him, and everyone will be cool with that. If you hit him, it’s another black mark on your record. You can’t take many more strikes.”

I was not sure what a black mark meant or what a strike was exactly, but I got the idea. Fiona was not wrong. Admitting to hitting the captain would certainly raise eyebrows and probably provoke an investigation, especially since he was supposed to be an honored guest, and the admiral had asked me to help ensure that he gave the human exchange program positive feedback. I had already taken the captain through the gauntlet, which resulted in an injury, and the admiral suspected ulterior motives on my part. This would only prove him right and make it easy for the envoy from Earth to claim that the Drexian Academy was inherently dangerous and the Drexians who ran it naturally violent.

Even so, I would not have a female take the blame for my actions. I would not have Fiona admit to something that I did.

I slapped my hands together and the last remnants of chalk sifted to the floor like snow. “Drexians do not hide from consequences. If there is blame to be laid, I want it.”

Fiona threw up her arms and made an incomprehensible noise of frustration. “Why? What’s the point? Just to prove that you’re tough? Just so he knows you can kick his ass? Just so I know how strong you are? News flash, big guy, I already know. You pinned me last night. Or have you forgotten already?”

Heat roiled in my core as images of her wrists pressed to the small of her back flashed through my mind. The small of her back, her round ass tipped up, her legs spread as I split her. I bit back a moan as my cock thickened. “I could not forget that.”

“Good.” She hitched in a breath as she held my gaze, her own eyes flashing hot. “Since you left so quickly this morning, I thought maybe you wanted to pretend last night never happened. Maybe you want us to go back to the way things were before?”

I took long strides toward her, and she backed up until she’d hit the climbing wall. Fiona had to drop her head back to continue holding my gaze as I pressed my body to hers and pressed her to the wall. “There is no going back, Fiona. Not now. Not ever. You are mine. I thought we had established that last night when I fucked you until you screamed my name.”

She drew in a quick breath as she bit her bottom lip. “I didn’t scream your name.”

I reached down and hoisted her legs up so that they straddled my waist. “No? I remember hearing my name on your lips.”

Her breath caught in her throat as I rocked the hard bar of my cock against her. “I didn’t scream it.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” I growled, as I crushed my mouth to hers.