h4Chapter 304: Walking Temptation/h4

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    strongChapter 304/strong

    strong~Valerie’s POV~/strong

    "Valerie?" he said, his voice sounding husky from exertion. "Didn’t hear youe in."

    My mouth might’ve been open. I wasn’t sure, but my eyes were definitely wide.

    "Uh..." I blinked. "Hi."

    Kai smiled, a little breathless. "Back from school already?"

    "Y-Yeah."

    "You okay?" he asked, reaching for a towel nearby and running it through his damp hair. "You look like you just ran ten miles."

    I shook my head slowly, trying to reattach thest few shreds of my dignity. "No, just... long day."

    Kai chuckled, then wiped his chest with the towel. I watched the droplets of sweat trace down his skin.

    And that’s when it hit me.

    The dream.

    My wet dream about my mates, about Kai.

    His naked body over mine came to mind, how his skin glistened with sweat after several rounds of him pleasuring me...

    My legs wrapped around his waist as his hands gripped my thighs like he owned them. His raw and low voice, muttering filthy promises against my neck as he moved inside me.

    I swallowed hard as my thighs clenched.

    "Val?"

    "Huh?"

    "You’re staring."

    I blushed and looked away. "Am I?" I coughed. "Sorry."

    He stepped closer, and I could still feel the heat radiating from his body.

    "Am I too good looking?" he teased, his grinzy and knowing.

    My mind shed back to our first duel—the one where I won. He’d ended up shirtless, then pantless, until he stood in nothing but his ck boxers, already visibly hard. He’d been smug about it, too.

    I bit back a smile. "I’m going to shower," I mumbled quickly.

    "I’ll do the same," he said, voice low.

    I nodded, leaving him behind without another word.

    After a long, necessary shower, I stepped out of my room, my skin fresh and clean.

    I wore a loose silk singlet with a whitece bra and tiny soft shorts that barely hugged my hips.

    It was supposed to be forfort. Modesty wasn’t exactly on my mind, not after the day I’d had.

    I didn’t head for the hallway.

    I headed for the kitchen.

    Unfortunately for me, Kai was already there and shirtless. Again.

    And this time, he wasn’t even pretending to be decent.

    He stood at the fridge, one hand braced on the open door, the other holding a carton of almond milk.

    His torso was still bare, but now, instead of full workout trousers, he wore a pair of low-hanging ck athletic shorts. Loose. Thin.

    The waistband of his boxers peeked just above them, pale blue with the word iRavener/i etched around the stic.

    I froze at the entrance, internally screaming at the universe for its relentless teasing.

    I opened my mouth. Closed it.

    iNope. Not safe. Abort mission./i

    I turned, prepared to act like I’d never walked in.

    "Valerie."

    Damn it.

    I paused mid-turn, groaning internally. "Yeah?"

    He closed the fridge and walked over to the counter, grabbing a banana. "You hungry?"

    "I was gonna make a parfait," I mumbled, already heading for the cupboard to grab a bowl. "Nothing fancy."

    "Cool. I’ll help."

    Oh gods, no.

    My eyes trailed down before I snapped them away, forcing myself to focus on something—anything—else.

    "Hey, you weren’t thinking of running away because I was here, right?"

    "Nah, I was going to take my phone," I lied, walking over to him.

    I opened the fridge, pretending to search for something important while my brain was on a loop of idon’t stare, don’t stare, don’t stare/i.

    I busied myself pulling out yogurt, gran, and berries—anything to keep my brain upied. I could feel Kai behind me, the warmth of him, and his scent. It was absolutely unfair.

    He handed me a spoon, his fingers brushing mine. "So... how was school?"

    He handed me a ss of water, then filled one for himself. He leaned slightly across me to ce the jar down on the counter, his arm brushing mine.

    I stirred the yogurt absently. "Fine. Eventful."

    "Uh oh," Kai said, leaning a hip against the counter. "What happened?"

    "Professor Winnie pulled me in for a talk. During lunch. With those three—Astraea, Titania, and Avery."

    He stilled. "What?"

    "Mm-hmm." Iyered the gran into my bowl.

    Kai paused mid-sip and tensed. "Did she say anything that crossed a line?"

    "Nope. She gotints about the bullying from the field trip. Apparently a few people noticed the way they’ve been treating me and didn’t like it. She confronted them about it."

    His jaw tensed. "Are you okay?"

    "Yeah. I mean, she handled it. Put the fear of the Council and school into them, basically. Said she’d ruin and drop them if they harmed me or any student."

    Kai ran a hand through his hair, muttering, "Good." Then added, "If they try that crap again, they won’t just have Professor Winnie to worry about."

    I shot him a look. "Possessive much?"

    He shrugged with a grin. "What can I say? We’re mates."

    I rolled my eyes but smiled faintly, unable to help it.

    Kai moved closer as I started chopping strawberries; his eyes narrowed. "You good?"

    "Yup."

    His voice went lower now. "You know, I’ve been trying to figure you out since the day you stepped into Prestige."

    I blinked, ncing up at him. "Figure me out?"

    "Yeah," he said, stepping in behind me, chest almost brushing my back. "You’re tough, but soft. Smart, but impulsive. And somehow, you’re still aplete mystery."

    My hands paused on the knife. "That sounds dangerously like a pickup line."

    Kaiughed. "Maybe. I’m improvising."

    We kept talking—about school and uing events. Kai asked questions like he really wanted to know me, understand me, and not just flirt or tease.

    But of course, that too.

    We assembled our parfaits in silence for a moment—well, I did. Kai mostly hovered close, doing half the work but somehow managing to take up all the space.

    "Hey. Hydrate, Miss Heatwave."

    "Thanks," I said, taking the ss.

    He picked up his own, drank a bit from it, then refilled it, and reached to set the water jug down, but instead of aiming for the counter, his eyes flicked toward me with that yful glint I didn’t trust.

    "By the way," he murmured, "you should probably warn your mates when you’re walking around in booty shorts. Some of us are only mortal, you know."

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