Chapter 13: She Really is a Beast (in bed)

Arthur stayed on the training platform long after the second bell.

A handful of other first-years remained as well, stubbornly trying to keep their Mana Skin stable while moving. Milo had left early, muttering about dinner and sore shoulders. Arthur kept going. He ran short sprints, dropped into rolls, threw basic punches, all while holding the invisible layer tight against his skin. The large mana pool made the practice easier than it should have been. By the time the sky shifted from gold to deep blue, he was alone.

He let the Mana Skin fade, rolled his shoulders, and started walking toward the instructor towers.

The corridors were quieter at this hour. Most teachers had already left for the evening. Arthur turned a corner and nearly walked into Professor Selene Frost. She wore a long coat over her usual instructor attire and carried a slim case under one arm. Her silver-white hair was slightly windswept, as if she had been moving quickly.

She stopped when she saw him. A brief look of recognition crossed her face.

"Vance. If this is about the compression questions from yesterday, I am afraid it will have to wait. I have a prior commitment."

Arthur opened his mouth to explain he was not there for her, but Selene was already stepping past him. There was something wrong about her, her face looked really pale.

"Come to my office during proper hours. Good night."

She disappeared down the corridor before he could speak. Arthur watched her go, then continued toward the far wing where the combat instructors kept their rooms.

Talia Vane’s office door was half open. Warm light spilled into the hall. Arthur knocked once and stepped inside when her voice told him to enter.

She had changed out of the fighting silks. Loose dark trousers sat low on her hips. A soft, oversized shirt hung off one shoulder, the neckline dipping low enough to show the inner curves of her breasts. Without the gold runes and crimson wraps she looked almost casual, but the body underneath remained the same.

Talia leaned against the edge of her desk and studied him.

"You were staring after training. Not like the other boys stares with lust, but differenly. What do you want?"

Arthur closed the door behind him but did not lock it yet.

"You seemed different from everyone else here."

Her eyes narrowed a fraction. "Why do you say that?"

He met her gaze directly. "You’re not human, are you?"

The temperature in the room seemed to shift. Talia straightened.

"How do you know that?"

Arthur touched the place where the Eros Codex rested inside his coat. "I have a Special Grinwore. It shows me things other people miss. I was not completely sure until you just confirmed it."

Talia’s jaw tightened. She pushed off the desk and took one slow step closer.

"I am beastkin. A high-level spell keeps the ears and tail hidden. All the instructors and even the senior students know about it. So tell me, Arthur Vance, what do you want to do with this knowledge?"

Arthur did not look away. "The same thing you want."

Silence stretched between them. Understanding settled in her red eyes almost immediately. The tension in her shoulders changed shape, turning from threat into something hotter and more dangerous.

"Lock the door."

He turned, threw the bolt, and faced her again. Talia walked toward him with deliberate steps, hips rolling, the loose shirt sliding further down one shoulder.

"No human man has ever satisfied me," she said, voice low. "Not one. Ordinary cocks finish too fast or cannot reach deep enough. I have stopped bothering to try."

Arthur’s mouth curved. "You’ll be surprised."

Mimi’s excited voice burst into his head. "Finally! I get to watch the beastkin—"

Arthur focused on the book and issued the same command as before. The sense of Mimi vanished instantly, sealed away behind the Codex’s barrier. The room belonged to the two of them alone.

Talia reached him and yanked his training shirt up and over his head in one rough motion. Her eyes darkened as they moved across the hard lines of his chest and abdomen. The years of unused mana had carved his body without mercy. She made a low sound of approval and shoved him backward until his shoulders hit the wall. Her mouth crashed against his, hungry and open. Teeth scraped. Tongue pushed inside. One of her hands dropped to the front of his trousers and squeezed.

Arthur kissed her back just as hard. His hands slid under the oversized shirt, found bare skin, and dragged the fabric up. Talia broke the kiss only long enough to pull the shirt off completely and throw it aside. She wore nothing underneath. Full breasts, dark nipples already tight, a flat stomach marked by faint muscle, and the low waistband of the trousers that she shoved down and kicked away in the next breath.

She stood naked in front of him, completely unselfconscious, and then she was on him again. Her body pressed flush against his. Heat radiated from her skin. Pink-gold mist began to pour off her in heavy waves, thicker than anything the innkeeper’s wife had produced. The Eros Codex drank it greedily. Arthur felt the second page stir, but the sensation stayed distant. Talia demanded every scrap of his attention.

She shoved his trousers down, wrapped her fingers around his cock, and stroked once, twice, testing the weight and hardness. A sharp, pleased breath left her.

"Already like this. Good."

She dropped to her knees without warning, took him into her mouth, and sank down until her nose pressed against his stomach. Wet heat. Tight throat. She held him there, swallowed around him, then pulled back only to take him deeper again. Arthur’s head thudded against the wall. His hands found her hair. She let him hold on but controlled the pace completely, bobbing with wet, filthy sounds while the mist around her thickened.

When she finally stood she wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand and pushed him toward the wide instructor’s desk. Papers and a crystal slate hit the floor. Talia climbed up, spread her knees, and pulled him between her thighs by the hips.

"Now. Inside. Deep."

Arthur lined up and thrust. The fit was tight and scorching. Talia’s head fell back. A raw, animal sound tore from her throat. Her legs locked around his waist and she yanked him deeper on the next stroke. There was no slow adjustment. She met every thrust with equal force, nails digging into his back, hips rolling to take him as far as his body would allow.

The desk shook. Talia’s breasts bounced with every impact. She bit his shoulder hard enough to leave marks, then licked the same spot as if apologizing and demanding more at the same time. Pink-gold mist flooded the room. The Codex continued to drink.

They moved from the desk to the wall. Talia’s back hit the stone. Arthur held her up by the thighs and drove into her while she clawed at his shoulders and cursed in a language he did not recognize. Then the floor. She rolled them so she sat astride his hips, planted her hands on his chest, and rode him with sharp, punishing rolls of her hips. Sweat slicked her dark skin. Her hair stuck to her cheeks. The gold-leaf runes that usually glowed during combat stayed quiet, but the rest of her body burned.

Hours blurred. Positions changed whenever one of them needed different leverage. Talia came first with a broken snarl, inner muscles clamping down hard enough to pull Arthur over the edge with her. He spilled deep. She kept moving through the aftershocks, chasing a second peak before the first had fully faded. When she finally slowed she stayed seated on him, breathing hard, eyes half-lidded and satisfied for the first time in what looked like years.

Arthur’s gaze drifted to the black book lying among the scattered clothes. The second page glowed faintly, but no full seal had formed yet. The absorption was still incomplete.

Talia kept her eyes on him. A slow, dangerous smile curved her mouth. She lifted her hips just enough for him to slip free, then sank back down and took him inside again in one smooth motion. He was still half-hard. Her body refused to let him soften completely.

She leaned forward, breasts brushing his chest, and spoke against his mouth.

"Round two. Are you ready, or do I need to do all the work again?"

Arthur’s hands settled on the curve of her waist. Outside the office window the academy lights glowed against the night sky. Inside, the Eros Codex continued to drink, and Talia Vane showed no intention of letting him leave until her five-day hunger was fully answered.