TWELVE♀♥♂♂♂♂EVERLY
Jean-Claude’s wide-eyed alarm is comical, and I fall into his waiting arms just as the carriage jumps straight upward. He pushes one of his long legs between my thighs and jams his foot against the seat behind me, crushing me to his chest.
He’s all hard, cool muscle, and I can’t help but notice… he’s hard… everywhere. Even… down there. Oh, goddess. I turn to putty in his arms. I know he holds me against him to keep us from crashing into the wall and thus crushing me with his rock of a body, but I still blush.
We’re face-to-face, staring into each other’s eyes, and I know he knows I can feel his hardness against me. I can’t help but squirm. The count lifts an eyebrow, and I want to die. Burying my face in his chest, I do my best to ignore this very embarrassing situation until Harlow screams out the window, breaking our moment.
“Take that, you fucker!” Harlow throws another rude hand gesture to the Raven’s rider. “That’s for the first day, asshole!”
The count bursts out with a guffaw. “It seems there’s history between Mr. Loveless and Mr. Glassglow.”
Oh, how I’d love to make some history right here in this carriage, I think to myself. And then I’m shocked at myself. Of all the things to be thinking about…
I turn in the count’s arms and look out the window. The Raven swirls in the wind, loose feathers fluttering in the breeze. Its rider holds on to his mount’s claws by the skin of his nails.
My alarm kicks in, and I wish I knew how to use Kinetic Energy to help the poor guy. “If he falls, he’ll die.”
“Only if we’re lucky,” Harlow murmurs as he pulls himself back inside.
I frown at my friend. He can be… ruthless.
The count lifts me and places me back on the seat, next to Harlow, and there’s a soft lilt to his expression. “I should have warned you. You’re safe in this carriage, but air maneuvers can be… difficult.”
I try to make my smile look effortless as I even out my voice. “Now I understand why the inside is so plush and cushy.”
As Harlow looks out the window again, still screaming or maybe egging the raven’s rider on, the count leans forward and narrows his eyes on me.
“You are blushing,” he says.
“Yeah, I just… fell in your lap!” I respond and then glance down at the lap in question and find… he’s still hard!
“You’ve no reason to be embarrassed, Everly,” the count whispers.
“Um,” I start and then find my attention moving right back where I don’t want it to—to his erection.
“Everly, I am up here,” he says with a smirk.
“Oh, my goddess,” I say as I shake my head and inhale deeply. “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have been looking.”
“I am quite flattered you were.”
“Well, I just… I just couldn’t help it! I mean, I was right there and you were right there and I could feel it against me and then I knew you knew I could feel it and…”
“Everly,” Jean-Claude interrupts me with a chuckle. “It is alright.”
“It’s alright,” I repeat with a nod and then breathe out deeply. I need to look at something other than his amused expression.
Maybe he isn’t humiliated after my accidental groping, but I’ll still be mortified for the next hundred years. His words don’t stop my face from burning, and I look for something, anything to distract me. I grab my purse, which has rolled to the other side of the carriage. Luckily, it was zipped and nothing rolled out of it.
After the incident between us and the raven, there doesn’t seem to be much competition when we try to land. The others back off and we descend. I can’t wait to get out of the carriage. Every time I think of Jean-Claude, I think of the hardness between his thighs and I get all flustered all over again. I sneak a quick peek at him and he’s got this bemused expression—like he knows what I’m thinking.
When we do pass into the cloud cover, the touchdown is so smooth, the only reason I know we’re on the ground is the rat-tat-tat of the spinning carriage wheels.
I want to kiss the earth when we stop and Stregen opens the door for us. “Stregen, it’s good to see you’re safe.” I say to the ghoul as I step out with my purse firmly on my back. In the excitement, I’d forgotten about Stregen hanging onto the side of the carriage for dear life, which makes me feel even worse.
The ghoul looks straight at me and blinks. His expression is very indignant. As if he’s saying—well, of course I’m safe.
I guess I should trust he can take care of himself.
In a whoosh, the raven mount flies in, with his rider on his back—thankfully—and lands a good forty feet away from us. While I can’t see the guy’s face under his hood, I can feel his scowl.
Pilot looks wound up, shaking his head up and down, tossing his mane and baring very sharp, very un-equine fangs at any of the others coming in for a landing.
“That was quite some maneuvering.” I detect that Pilot wouldn’t mind a rewarding scratch and I pat his shoulder to help calm him. He leans into my touch.
We have been quite victorious against the raven, my lady.
Thank you for the incredible flight, Pilot.
Harlow steps out of the carriage and makes a show of taking off his gloves. Other students notice as they walk by. Most give him a large
