Page 43 of Group Studies
“Are you taking me to my dorm?” I asked. “I need to practice, ah, some of the stuff you and Saffron taught me.”
Beryl came to a halt at an intersection. I wished I could see his face as he considered which direction to go.
The sound of footsteps made Beryl turn. His back, with me still dangling against it, opposite the new arrival. I tried a few times to see around Beryl’s bubble butt, but settled for wiggling my fingers into the lining of his belt to support my head and warm my cold fingers.
Beryl hissed and flinched away from my digits. I snickered.
“Can I help you?” Beryl asked as the footsteps stopped at Beryl’s front.
“Put her down,” Ashe growled.
I sagged, relief making me puddy on Beryl’s back. “Ashe. I was worried about you.”
Beryl palmed my ass and turned to the side. Upside down, Ashe’s beard almost looked like a crazy Mohawk. I giggled. More emotions adding to the mess already frying my thoughts.
“You were supposed to wait for me to turn in those clasps.” Ashe scowled. “Not go to the fucking Director in the middle of the night.”
“I wasn’t letting you take the fall for my mistake.” Anger cut through my relief and I pounded on Beryl’s butt. “I spent most of today worrying about you. You couldn’t even text me back?”
“I left my phone in my room to take care of shit.” Ashe turned to Beryl. “Who the fuck are you, and why do you have my girlfriend over your shoulder? Get your hand off her ass.”
I stilled at the word girlfriend. We hadn’t had that conversation yet.
Beryl turned so I couldn’t see Ashe anymore. He shifted my weight on his shoulder, not removing his hand from my butt.
“Dot’s not yours, buddy,” Beryl said. “Especially after you hung her out to dry today. And she’s not in a fit state at the moment. I’m Beryl, btw, that means by the way, btw.”
I rolled my eyes as tension thickened in the air. I could imagine Ashe’s eyebrow ticking as he tried to figure out what to do. As badly as I wanted to hold him after I’d spent the day worrying, this was the third time he’d told someone I belonged to him. No matter how much I liked him, I would never belong to anyone ever again.
But that didn’t mean we couldn’t find a middle ground. My magic snapped around me and I moaned softly. “We were off to my dorm.”
“I’d not decided yet,” Beryl said, he rubbed the side of his head against my hips. “You're worked up again, Goddess.”
The tension turned awkward. Beryl rubbed my butt, dipping his fingers between my thighs. I shifted my hips forward, my clit pressing into his hard muscles. Pleasure caressed my core.
“Let’s find some place more private to talk than the halls,” Ashe ground out, every word carefully controlled.
“Smart.” Beryl squeezed one of my butt cheeks. “But unnecessary, the Institute’s security feeds are down at the moment.”
His sudden ability to interact with me clicked. No security feeds meant his presence wouldn’t affect my Aptitudes. It was probably a bad sign that hadn’t been my first question.
“How would you know the security feeds are down?” Ashe demanded.
I swear Beryl’s butt smirked in front of my face.
Beryl chuckled. “A girl has to keep her secrets.”
Tension grew thick in the air once more. My magic swirled. I needed an outlet.
“Professor Garnet’s office,” I said. “Even if he’s there, he’ll not interrupt us.”
Beryl clicked his tongue. “You want to feel your clit bouncing on my shoulder up ten flights of stairs.”
If blood hadn’t already been rushing to my head from being upside down, I would’ve turned beat red.
Ashe snorted. “She’ll have a concussion by then, and you’ll have to get past me first.”
I tried to poke Beryl’s butt until he turned, but he didn’t respond to my directions.