Lock and Key (Nocturne Academy 1)

“What happened? What’s wrong?” I sat up, looking at him anxiously.

He shook his head and grimaced. Then the necklace around his neck seemed to ease its grip and the glow of the Blood Stones in the lock faded.

“I nearly went too far with you and the lock stopped me,” he said, frowning and massaging his throat where a red ligature mark was forming. “As well it should,” he added severely. “I never should have even come close to biting you.”

“It was my fault,” I said, biting my lip. “I shouldn’t have marked you and then…did what I did.”

I could feel my cheeks getting hot when I remembered how shamelessly I had thrown myself at him and the way I had reacted to his kisses…almost like a female animal in heat. Even now I could feel myself still wanting him but I made certain to keep some distance between us—what was wrong with me?

“It wasn’t your fault.” Griffin ran both hands through his hair and got up, pacing around the small living area as though to work off his pent-up energy. “I have heard that a double marking can sometimes have that kind of effect, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of one so strong…so overwhelming.”

“I can still feel myself wanting you,” I confessed in a small voice. “I’ve never felt like this before. Like I’m almost hungry to be touched.”

“And I am hungry to touch you, but we must not.” Griffin sounded stern again.

“But why not?” I asked plaintively. I felt like a child who had been denied the candy she wanted—no, that was too mild a metaphor. I felt like a starving woman who was desperate to eat and had just had the food yanked away from her. My whole body ached for his touch and when I remembered the feeling of his hot mouth and sharp fangs on my neck, I shivered helplessly with desire.

“Little witch…” Griffin sat down beside me again, his voice gentle. “How old are you, Megan?”

“Sixteen,” I said mutinously. “So what, though? Isn’t that the age of consent in Florida?” Actually, I had no idea what the age of consent was and I frankly didn’t care—I just wanted to be with him—to be one with him and nothing else mattered to me.

“You are underage,” Griffin said, frowning. “And you’re still a virgin, too—aren’t you?”

I would have liked to lie but the fact that we were now “double marked” as Griffin had put it seemed to strengthen my urge to tell him the truth immeasurably.

“Yes,” I said reluctantly. “So?”

“So, you’re not ready for this,” Griffin said gently but firmly. “I’m not going to take what you’re not ready to give.”

“But I am ready!” I protested. In fact, my entire body was aching and throbbing and insisting I was ready.

But Griffin was shaking his head.

“I could have hurt you just now—badly,” he said, frowning at me. “Maybe even killed you, Megan. Love between Nocturnes is sometimes brutal. I’m glad the lock stopped me.” He tapped the black lock at his throat meaningfully.

I glared at him.

“Stop acting like I’m some fragile butterfly that has to be protected!”

“And what happens to a butterfly if it lands on your palm and your hand squeezes into a fist?” Griffin demanded.

“It wouldn’t be like that,” I protested. “You can be gentle, Griffin—I know you can. I trust you.”

“Well I don’t trust myself,” he said shortly. “What if my pain and thirst had returned at the very moment I was trying to ‘be gentle’ with you? You said yourself this cessation of agony won’t last forever.”

I supposed he had a point there. And I didn’t mean to sound so insistent. It was just that my body felt like it was on fire with need and it seemed like he was withholding exactly what I was craving so badly.

Still—it was time to get hold of myself.

I took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry,” I said at last, letting the breath out as I tried to relax. “I’ve just…never felt like that, ever. Is it…” I bit my lip. “Is it because I’m a virgin?” I asked in a low voice, feeling my cheeks heat at the question. “I mean is wanting to…to make love—is it always like this?”

Griffin shook his head at once.

“No—it’s never been like this. For me, at least,” he admitted. “Though I do have more experience than you, I have never felt anything like the desire I felt when you marked me.”

“Do you think it has something to do with the fact that we’re different kinds of Others?” I asked, having a thought.

“Possibly.” Griffin looked thoughtful. “It would certainly be a reason for the Edict to be so rigidly enforced. If the attraction between different kinds of Others is so strong, it would be difficult to resist.”

“But doesn’t the Edict actually keep Others of different species from feeling attraction to each other in the first place?” I asked, trying to remember exactly what Avery had told me.