Chapter 140 | The Insufferable Milk Vampire

My heart skipped a beat. "What?"

She laughed at my panicked expression. "Relax. You’re lucky it’s a safe day today." She stretched languidly, like a cat in the sun. "But seriously, you have the worst luck with condoms. They’re always ’just out of reach’ or ’you forgot to buy them.’"

I turned to face her, propping myself up on one elbow. "In my defense, I was a bit distracted by you showing up demanding essence extraction."

"Excuses, excuses." She reached out, trailing her fingers down my chest. "Though I have to admit, it does feel better without them."

My phone rang again. Belle groaned.

"If you answer that, I swear I’ll stab you with your own spear."

I checked the time and winced. "Belle, we’re fifteen minutes late for breakfast with the team."

"So? We’ll be twenty minutes late. Or thirty." Her hand wandered lower, wrapping around me again. "I’m not done with you yet."

I caught her wrist, though it physically pained me to stop her. "If we don’t show up soon, Naomi will come looking for us."

Belle sighed dramatically. "Fine. But you owe me."

"I’ll make it up to you," I promised, leaning in to kiss her softly. "Tonight."

She kissed me back, then bit my lower lip hard enough to make me yelp. "You better."

I watched as she rolled out of bed, completely unself-conscious about her nakedness. Her body was a work of art—all curves and softness with hints of underlying strength. Her blue hair was tousled from our activities, giving her a wild look that only made her more beautiful.

"Stop staring and get dressed," she ordered, though I caught the pleased smile she tried to hide.

I climbed out of bed, feeling pleasantly worn out. "Yes, ma’am."

We dressed quickly, though Belle took a moment to fix her makeup in my bathroom mirror. I caught sight of myself as I pulled on a fresh t-shirt.

"Ready?" Belle asked, returning from the bathroom looking somehow perfectly put together.

"As I’ll ever be."

She paused at the door, turning to face me. "Just so you know, this doesn’t change anything. I’m still mad at you about Aurora."

I fought a smile. "Of course."

"And I still think your vampire milk power is ridiculous."

"Naturally."

"And this was just about the buff."

I stepped closer, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Whatever you say, Belle."

She glared up at me, though there was no real heat behind it. "You’re insufferable."

"Yet here you are."

For a moment, something vulnerable flashed in her amber eyes. Then she reached up, grabbed the front of my shirt, and pulled me down for a fierce kiss.

"Let’s go," she said when she released me, turning away quickly. "Before Naomi sends out a search party."

I followed her out the door, unable to wipe the grin off my face. Whatever game we were playing, whatever this relationship was becoming, I was definitely winning.

The hallway was mercifully empty as we made our way to the elevator. Belle was scrolling through her phone, lips pursed in concentration.

"What?" I asked.

"Just checking to see what excuse we’re going with for being late."

"How about the truth? We lost track of time."

She snorted. "Yeah, because ’Sorry we’re late, we were fucking’ is going to go over so well at breakfast."

The elevator doors opened, and we stepped inside.

"Training," I suggested as the doors closed. "We could say we were training."

Belle gave me a sidelong glance, her lips curving into a smirk. "Well, I was certainly riding something."

I choked on air, and she laughed, the sound echoing in the small space.

"You’re terrible," I muttered, adjusting my pants.

"You love it."

The scary part was, I kind of did.

When we reached the dining hall, I spotted Naomi and Jordan at our usual table by the windows. Naomi’s pink hair was easy to spot in the crowd. She was watching the door, her expression a mixture of worry and annoyance.

Belle squeezed my hand once, then let go. "Remember, we were training."

"Got it."

We approached the table together, and Naomi’s eyes immediately zeroed in on us. Her gaze flicked from my face to Belle’s, then down to our hands, which weren’t touching but were close enough to suggest recent contact.

"There you are," she said, her voice carefully neutral. "We were about to send out a search party."

Belle slid into the seat across from her. "Sorry we’re late. We were training."

Jordan, who’d been half-asleep with his head on the table, snorted loudly without looking up. "Is that what they’re calling it these days?"

I kicked him under the table as I sat down next to Naomi. "Morning training. Wave Motion practice."

Naomi’s eyes narrowed slightly. "For an hour and a half?"

"Lost track of time," Belle said smoothly, reaching for Naomi’s untouched orange juice and taking a sip. "Monroe here was showing me how the upgraded ability works. It’s pretty impressive now."

That part, at least, wasn’t a lie. My upgraded ability had definitely impressed Belle. Just not in the way we were implying.

"You upgraded Wave Motion?" Naomi asked, turning to me with genuine interest.

I nodded, relieved for the change of subject. "Bronze rank now. Better control, less stamina drain, bigger blasts."

"That’s amazing," she said, her earlier suspicion giving way to excitement. "Can you show me after breakfast?"

Belle choked on the orange juice, covering it with an unconvincing cough. I shot her a warning look before turning back to Naomi.

"Sure," I said. "I’d love to."

Jordan finally lifted his head from the table, his hair sticking up at odd angles. "If you two are done with your ’training,’" he made air quotes with his fingers, "can we eat now? I’m starving, and Naomi wouldn’t let us start without you."

Naomi blushed slightly. "I just thought it would be rude."

"It would have been," I agreed, reaching over to squeeze her hand under the table. "Thanks for waiting."

She smiled at me, and for a moment, I felt a pang of guilt. But then I remembered our conversation yesterday. She knew the situation. She’d accepted it, even if it wasn’t easy.

Belle caught my eye across the table, a knowing look on her face. She raised her eyebrows slightly, as if to say, "Smooth, Monroe."

I fought the urge to stick my tongue out at her. Instead, I reached for a menu, suddenly aware of how hungry I was. Sex and essence extraction burned a lot of calories.

"So," I said casually, "what’s the plan for today?"

Jordan launched into a detailed schedule of training sessions, while I nodded along, only half-listening. My mind was already racing ahead to tonight, when I’d promised Belle a repeat performance.

And then there was Naomi, who needed reassurance and attention.

And Aurora, who expected a proper date off-campus soon.

And Blair Davenport, who was probably plotting my death as we spoke.

Man, I am one busy milk vampire.