Strange Academy (Hot Paranormal Romance) (30 page)
Gray rolled over. Straddling his waist sent pleasant shivers through her. You’re hot for him even when he’s being an ass, she realized. Annoyance replaced pleasure.
“You definitely deserve this,” she said, making her voice saccharine sweet. With deadly accuracy, she plunged her knuckle into the heart of his stress knot with all her strength.
“What the hell?” Gray tried to buck her off. “Arrgh.”
She leaned down to whisper in his ear. “Sick. Kids. Go. To. The. School. Nurse.”
“Gray House—” Gray gasped. “Show weakness—”
She bore down on the knot. “Screw the Gray House. He’s a ten-year-old kid in pain. Promise to take him.”
Gray crumpled handfuls of bed linen in his fists. His legs convulsed, as if the pain reached all the way to his toes.
“Tomorrow. Promise.” She twisted her knuckle.
“Arrgh. Tomorrow. Arrgh.”
“Good.” She removed her finger and felt him go limp beneath her thighs. He gulped air. His lips had actually gone ashen.
“Gray, you’re so right.” She patted his shoulder affectionately as she dismounted. “Never show weakness.”
“Sadie, I’m so sorry. Will you ever forgive me?” A lock of ice-white hair fell over one of Jewel Jones’s ice-blue eyes.
“Of course.” Sadie wiped a tickling drop of water off her forehead. The warmth of the crowded staff room was melting the sticky snow in her hair, collected on the chilly walk to Chapter House. Groups of Metas chatted around them.
Parker Klark attempted to squeeze by her, a little too close to the conference table. She moved to avoid his crutch landing in the middle of her Doc Marten boot and smacked her hip into Mr. Photocopier. Sharp pain shot through the bone, making her wince. He—Parker, not Mr. Photocopier—mumbled an apology under his breath and moved by.
At least she thought it was an apology. He’d never warmed to her.
Clearly the
gris-gris
bag Gray had given her didn’t work for physical threats. Still, she put her hand to where it rested in her bra.
She smiled past her annoyance at Jewel.
Will you ever forgive me
? She felt...manipulated. But if she showed any irritation at the loss of Pippa’s letter, she would be the one holding a grudge. The kind of person who never forgave.
And Jewel had chosen to do it in public. The staff meeting was about to start. All around, their fellow teachers milled about in closed circles of discussion. Small talk burbled in the air, with the occasional lilt of laughter.
Across the room, Gray leaned against the wall and didn’t meet her eye. Standard operating procedure. Had he taken Sterling to Danial?
“It’s all right, Jewel,” Sadie said. “Really.”
“I lost Pippa’s last words to you. I feel sick about it.”
And her part in the script was to tell Jewel that it was okay. “Let’s forget it.”
Maybe it was just her own tension. Friday was the worst day. Each Friday’s staff meeting meant she was one week closer to the principal’s announcement that she’d be the new janitor. She’d regretted her decision even more in the last month. It had been fun discussing her favorite books and poems with the kids.
Too bad she was such a terrible teacher.
Christian walked into the room. He put his briefcase on the conference table and opened it. “Let’s get started.” Everyone’s attention turned to him.
“In case you weren’t there, Michaiah’s independent study experiment went off without a hitch. We delivered a juvenile Leviathan demon to the Antarctic Research Center and three teams offered him sponsorship. He has a bright future ahead of him and we all made a contribution.”
Christian had explained it. Every student did an independent study for their final year. Success meant graduation. A sponsorship meant a student went out into the field. She felt a swell of pride pass through the room.
If only she could be part of it—if only she could give a little of herself to these kids who would give everything.
“Next, two items relating to Sadie Strange.” Christian smiled in her direction. Everyone looked at her. This is it, she realized. The end of my sad teaching career. She fought to keep her eye from twitching. “The first one is a reprimand—”
So soon. She screwed her courage to the sticking place and spoke. “I know what you’re going to say, and I just want to thank everyone here for giving me a chance. I tried my best to fit in, but I guess I’m just not Strange Academy material.”
Forty pairs of eyes, some not exactly human, watched her—but she was only aware of one blank gray stare.
She raised her chin. She’d made her decision. Leaving Strange Academy wasn’t an option anymore. Not with all she’d learned. “Unfortunately, you’re going to have to put up with me for a lot longer. Since I didn’t make it as a teacher, is the janitor job is still open?”
“Sadie—” Christian said. Several people around the room laughed behind their hands, but she refused to be humiliated.
Goodbye life plans. Goodbye Dr. Strange. “I’ve learned so much about how Metas protect people and never take credit for it. I’ll contribute what I can, even if it’s scrubbing toilets.”
“Uh, Sadie—” Christian fought a smile, as if already picturing her collecting the garbage.
Well, at least she could do something. Maybe she could get them to make the coveralls in black. She pressed on, pulling a thick file from her laptop case. “I wrote some hand-off documents. Henry Nine has a talent for poetry and was asking about setting some of it to music; Nikkos is reading
The Odyssey
—he wanted the labors of Hercules, but I steered him away because of the whole ‘Nemean Hydra’ thing; Carmina burned through
Dracula
—she might like some of Byron’s poetry. I have something for every student. Maybe I could spend some time with the new English teacher?”
“Actually, Sadie,” he informed her, “you are the new English teacher.”
She put a hand on the conference table to steady herself. “I beg your pardon?”
“In case you haven’t noticed, there’s been a sudden interest in literature on campus,” Christian said. “The students are letting their other studies drop to solve those mysteries you write on the board.”
“Who killed the Lady of Shalott?” Tao Zhang said.
“I caught Anita with
Le
Morte d’Arthur
hidden behind her notebook in Meta history class.” Cloren Walsh’s golden eyes glowed with humor.
“There’s a Meta history class?” Sadie asked.
“The way you’re using literature to train the students to gather evidence and solve mysteries is brilliant. Some people—” Christian’s gaze darted toward Gray “—doubted Pippa for recommending you. No one’s doubting anymore.”
Sadie nearly fell over in surprise.
“As for your reprimand, tell your students to confine their curiosity to homework hours. They’ll listen to you.”
Curiosity. Pippa had told her to teach the kids curiosity. And she was actually doing it. “They will?”
“They will,” Christian assured her.
Triumph bubbled up inside her. She wanted to throw a rebel fist into the air.
She burned to sneak a peek at Gray. What did he think? He hadn’t done anything to get rid of her since Christmas, but he’d known about the deadline. Would they become enemies again?
“And speaking of people listening to you,” Christian continued, “would you say a few words about your aunt at next week’s Alumni Day?”
For the second time in a few short minutes, she was floored. Her jaw worked, but no sound came out.
“No,” a dark voice said.
Everyone in the room turned to look at Parker Klark. Hatred smoldered in his handsome face. “She isn’t one of us. Don’t you remember? ‘My aunt thought she was a witch.’”
An ache squeezed her. “I’ve learned a lot since then.”
“You’ll never be one of us, no matter how many comic books you read.” Parker’s voice flamed with contempt. Around the room, heads tilted toward each other and murmurs of agreement started. “You think we’re superheroes. Characters. Not people. Jewel knew Pippa better than you did. Let her do it. Gray, back me up here.”
Blood pounded in her ears. Gray stood unresponsive, like a stone monolith in Strange Academy’s magic circle.
“Her half-sister’s a Meta,” Parker said. “Let Chloë do it.”
Her anger blazed. “Chloë and I are sisters. There’s nothing half about it.”
“I went to school with Chloë. You have different fathers. Yours wasn’t a Meta.” Parker’s scorn singed her skin.
Christian brought his hand down on the conference table with a slam, making Sadie jump. “Are we the children here or the teachers? This is about Alumni Day. And Pippa.”
A voice cut the stillness. “Miss Strange,” Gray said, “Did you love your aunt?”
Every head in the room swung toward him, even Christian’s.
A lump formed in Sadie’s throat. The way she’d treated Pippa. Memories of the hurt she’d caused came zooming back.
“You’re right. Chloë should speak.” Sadie studied the floor. “I loved Pippa. But not as well as I should have.”
“I say let her talk,” Gray said. “She’s good at it.”
Then he walked out of the room.
*
***
******
****
*
As Gray’s eyes adjusted to the low light, long gray shapes joined him in the black room. It reminded him of a thousand tight alleys where he’d waited for the object of his hunt to approach.
He’d never hunted a human before. Gray stood, one more shadow in a place of shadows, and waited for her.
He heard her approach. His body tensed. Her footsteps slowed. Did she sense danger?
She pressed on, oblivious to the ambush. At the last moment, he sprang his trap. He swung open the door and wrapped his arm around her willowy waist, snatching her from the bright hallway and dragging her into his darkness.
She gasped in shock. But once inside, he couldn’t stop himself from pressing her resisting body to him. He took her mouth with his own and kissed her until her resistance melted and she returned his passion. Her body softened. His hardened. He released her mouth to catch a panting breath.
“Christian,” Sadie moaned.
Cross? A full-blown plan for murder hatched in his mind. They would never find the body. The blood pounding in his ears almost blocked out the sound of her giggle.
“Funny,” he said. “You’re a funny, funny girl.”
She threw herself against him so hard he stumbled backwards, almost upending a mop and bucket at his feet. She grabbed a handful of his hair and forced him into an enthusiastic kiss. He felt her smile against his mouth.
“You’re in a good mood,” he said.
“Gray, the kids will listen to me.” The shadows kept him from seeing the brightness in her eyes, but he heard it in her voice. “I didn’t lose my job. I don’t fit in, but it’s okay.”
He managed a smile. Well, it was more like lifting the corners of his mouth a fraction of an inch. “Hey, I was in that meeting, remember?”
“I know, but it didn’t seem real until I told you.”
It didn’t make any sense, but he felt the same. “You’re a very strange girl.”
She punched him on the arm. He let her but missed her waist in his hands, the warmth of her breasts through his dress shirt. The citrus scent that followed her everywhere clung to him, making him think of sex. He needed to get laid.
No
. He wanted to make love to Sadie. While he still could.
“You’re hanging out in a closet. Compared to you, I’m normal.” The contagious good humor in her voice almost drove away his black mood. “That’s true on so many levels. What are you doing in here?”
What was he doing here? It was an excellent question. “Looking for my lost mind,” he offered.
“Unlikely.” She tipped her head thoughtfully. “How about this: ‘I’m punishing myself because I was so embarrassed to be seen with you I threw you in a closet, but I’m too much of an arrogant jerk to apologize.’”
Was that why? “No, I think it’s the mind thing.”
She shrugged. “That I can’t help you with. I’ll leave you to it. I have a speech to write.”
“Sterling,” he said.
Her smile vanished. “Tell me.”
“Helicobacter pylori,” he told her.
“You Metas have the weirdest names. What did Mr. Pylori say?”
“Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium. It causes ulcers. Sterling had a hole in his stomach.” Gray felt like he had one to match. “Kids don’t usually get them, but they can if they’ve got the bacteria and a lot of stress.”
“The divorce,” she said. “He’s from the Gray House. He blames himself.”
After only a few months, she knew the Gray House so well. “I asked him if his stomach hurt all the time. He said no, so I asked him when it didn’t hurt. He said ‘Christmas.’” Gray closed his eyes. Thinking about this gave him a headache, but he needed to talk to her. “Ulcers can get infected. He could have died.”
Her hands on his jaw forced him to look into her eyes. “He didn’t.” Her tone was almost vicious. “You fixed it.”
“No,” he said. “You did.”
A wide grin flashed across her face, matching a voice dripping self-satisfaction. “I did, didn’t I? Guess I’m the hero of this story. You can be my sidekick. From now on, you shall be my young ward, but by night, your crime-fighting alter ego will be known as ‘Stress Knot Boy.’”
He did the only thing he could think of to shut her up. He kissed her breathless.
“Mmmm,” she said, slipping inside his overcoat.
He never knew a broom closet could be so cozy. In fact, as Sadie untucked his shirt and ran her hands up his spine, he seriously considered never leaving.
“Sadie, let’s not stop,” he whispered between licks of her earlobe. Her silver earrings tickled his jaw.
“Mmmm,” she said.
“We don’t have to stop. Not even after I get—” He broke off. “After the end of term.”
Sadie tensed in his arms.
“My—” he hesitated, but said the word “—
wife
will understand. I wouldn’t be the first Gray House mage to do it.”
His overcoat hid her face. “The first to do it with a Non.”
He tensed, worried she might take this the wrong way.
