House of Korba: The Ghost Bird Series: #7 (The Academy) by C. L. Stone Page B

whirled and all I could think about was his fingers on my collarbone, my legs hanging over his. “Not much.”
    “Did you work at the diner today?”
    “Yes,” I said, part of my memory returning at the mention of it. “For a little while. And then there was a secret Academy meeting in my bedroom when I got home. That’s when I sent you the text. I don’t think I was supposed to, though.”
    Silas laughed, it echoing through the emptiness of the apartment. “Mr. Blackbourne mentioned I may have to be careful how I respond next time you try that.”
    “I’m not usually sure what I’m supposed to be doing with the Academy,” I said. “
    “You aren’t supposed to be doing anything with us. Officially.”
    I twisted my lips and then started to pout. I had gotten mixed in with a couple of their assignments, after all. Kota didn’t want me involved, but a few of the others thought I should join, they just didn’t know how. Part of it was that the work was dangerous, but I was starting to learn, it was more complicated than that. They kept me in the dark for my own safety. The problem was, I really wanted to be a part of it.
    He chuckled. “Don’t make that face. Unofficially, you’re there. Maybe things will change soon.” His palm slipped down my leg and he tucked two fingers into the edge of my sandal. “Do you want to keep these on?”
    I bit my lip, shaking my head. I was being honest. What I wanted was to curl up on the couch with my knees to my chest and I couldn’t do that in shoes. It felt inappropriate to do in someone else’s house.
    As Silas’s fingers traced the edge of my heel, and slid over the curve of my foot to remove one sandal, and then the other, tossing them to the floor, an involuntary shiver rumbled through me. The touch was much more intimate than anything I’d felt from him before. How, I wasn’t sure. It was an intention, a sense rippling from Silas.
    His head swung back as he looked down at me. I couldn’t focus on his eyes so I watched his mouth, and the coarse facial hair shadowing his chin. The smile that lingered on his lips was full of promises unspoken and urges I couldn’t identify. He leaned into me, his lips finding my ear, tracing my lobe as he whispered. “What would you like to do, Aggele Mou ?”
    It was the second time he’d asked me and I had no better answer for him now than I did a moment ago. It also sounded like a completely different question. His inflection suggested there was a specific answer he had in mind, but he was waiting for me to say it out loud. I had a feeling I knew exactly what he wanted and my lips would never utter those words, not right now.
    I knew the boys weren’t supposed to kiss me until I said it was okay. I was too intimidated to even start. “I don’t know,” I said in a quiet voice that didn’t sound like me.
    His gaze lifted to my hair, and then traveled along different parts of my face. The corner of his mouth inched up, just as his fingertips traced the outside of my calf back up my knee. “ Aggele ,” he breathed out, bringing his face close, the tip of his nose nudged mine. He paused, hovering over me, waiting.
    This was it. Silas was going to kiss me. How I knew that’s what he wanted, I wasn’t sure. He was so close, his eyes so intense. I wasn’t sure if I was ready. I wasn’t sure if I should at all. My mind flashed images of North biting at my neck. I thought of Victor’s arms around me as he kissed me. I thought of sleeping beside Nathan, his arms wrapped around me and holding me in the night. Kota’s green eyes. Luke’s warm smile. Gabriel’s fingers in my hair. Dr. Green’s kiss.
    I wanted to make them all happy. I didn’t want to disappoint any of them.
    What scared me the most was that despite the thoughts, I still wanted to kiss Silas. I also really liked him. I found him attractive. I wanted him to like me. I wanted to know what he felt like in that way. Yet it still felt like a betrayal to the