With each gulp, I press a little harder.
Then I slide two fingers inside her. Now there’s no mistaking that moan that I know so well. She rocks her hips, riding my fingers like a cock, still clutching my head hard against her breast.
She starts to cum, milk spurting into my mouth.
I keep finger-fucking her, knowing she might kill me if I miss a single stroke.
I rub her pussy until I’ve wrung every last bit of pleasure out of her, giving her the relief she needs in every possible way.
Only then do I release her, covering her breasts once more.
“Is that better?” I ask.
“Infinitely better,” she says, kissing me deeply, tasting her milk on my lips.
Our son slumbers peacefully in the sling between us, unbothered by anything around him.
I rest my hand on his head, marveling how the curve of his skull perfectly fills the palm of my hand, his wavy dark hair softer than featherdown.
Sloane watches me, unsmiling.
“What is it?” I ask her.
“Did you see Evalina Markov’s face?” she says.
“What about it?”
“She had melasma—darkening of the pigment in the skin.”
“What of it?” I say.
Sloane frowns, cradling our son’s warm body in the crook of her arm.
“Usually that happens from pregnancy,” she says.
15
Ares
The first challenge of the Quartum Bellum takes place directly before Halloween.
Leo is, of course, voted in one last time as Senior Captain. He’s trying not to let on how badly he wants to be the first Captain to lead his team to victory four years in a row.
I’ve never been able to tell him how much that would enrage my cousin Adrik, the former record-setter. Adrik is intensely competitive, maybe even more than Leo or Dean, if you can picture that level of psychopathy.
He’s been infuriated by the ongoing war with the Malina. He wants to go scorched earth on them, though he knows as well as I do what their first act of reprisal would be.
My family will never be able to repay my uncle Dominik or his sons Adrik and Kade for how they’ve stood by us through all of this. Dominik’s name has been slandered among the Bratva—he’s been accused of embezzling money, overstepping his position, and god knows what else. He swallows it all to protect us, though his honor means everything to him.
Kade and I used to talk about how much fun we’d have attending Kingmakers together. Now I have to pretend I don’t even know him.
I fucked up on that too, trying to come to his defense when Bodashka, Valon, and Vanya were harassing him last year. It’s infuriating hearing those idiots slander my own family right in front of me. Hearing their “secret plans” of how they’ll exploit our weakness for their gain. I’d like to strangle every last one of them in their sleep.
I asked Kade to enlist Dean to help us—to inform us if he hears of any concrete plans from that snake Danyl Kuznetsov. Dean, of course, thinks that Kade is only asking on his own behalf.
I wish I could tell Dean how much I appreciate his kindness to our family, which is in direct contrast to his own self-interest in Moscow.
I wish I could tell my friends a lot of things.
Despite Kade’s team being eliminated in the second round last year, the Sophomores apparently feel he did well enough to warrant being voted in as Captain again.
I can at least congratulate him publicly, giving him the same kind of friendly fist bump that a casual acquaintance might offer.
The Juniors, perpetual first-round losers in the Quartum Bellum, seem at a loss when choosing their Captain. This year they go for brains over brawn, voting in Jacob Weiss, a slim, bespectacled Spy from a well-known Chicago mafia family.
The real surprise is the Freshman Captain: none other than Sabrina Gallo.
Though not everyone likes her close friendship with Nix Moroz, there’s no denying Sabrina’s charisma. Within a week of landing on campus, everyone seemed to know her name—certainly all the male students did. The Freshmen may be hoping that all Gallos are born champions. Or they might think that only a Gallo can beat a Gallo.
Leo and Sabrina have been engaging in non-stop shit-talk at every meal. Sabrina fully intends to knock her cousin off his pedestal, and Leo is equally determined to grind her into the dirt, not giving a fuck that she’s three years younger and a girl.
“That’s true equality,” Leo tells Sabrina, grinning at her. “I wouldn’t be a good feminist if I let you win.”
“Let me win?” Sabrina scoffs. “You’ll be lucky if you even catch of glimpse of me as I speed past you to the finish line.”
“You don’t even know what the challenge is yet,” Leo says.
“It doesn’t matter.” Sabrina shrugs. “I’m nothing if not adaptable.”
I’m not listening to them banter.
I’m looking across the table at Nix, who’s eating her usual enormous breakfast, but without her typical enthusiasm.
Things have been strained between us since our argument outside the annex. She probably thinks I was being a shit friend to Hedeon, and she’s right. I’m not a good friend to him. Or to anyone.
There are no classes today. All students will either be participating in, or watching, the Quartum Bellum. We never know what we’ll be facing until directly beforehand. Strategizing on the spot is part of the difficulty.
By ten o’clock, every student in the school has assembled in the large field outside the castle grounds. Professor Howell waits for us in his usual drill sergeant stance: legs apart, shoulders square, chest out, hands clasped behind his back.
The air is crisp and dry, with a light, teasing breeze.
I’m relieved to see that Professor Penmark is nowhere in sight. The last QB challenge designed by him was one of the most torturous I’ve encountered—fitting, since he is our professor of Torture Techniques.
The absence of any visible apparatus is nerve-wracking. Surprises at Kingmakers are never good.
“Good morning!” Professor Howell bellows. “Would the four Captains please step forward?”
Sabrina Gallo, Kade Petrov, Jacob Weiss, and Leo Gallo all take their place before the professor.
Sabrina looks ridiculously self-possessed next to the three older Captains. Ridiculously glamorous too, even in her gray gym shorts and white socks. She tosses her mane of dark hair back over her shoulders, looking boldly around at the assembled students.
Kade bounces lightly on his toes, running a hand through his thick black hair. Kade has a gentler temperament than Adrik, but I’d never make the mistake of thinking he’s a pushover. Like Leo, his cheerful demeanor hides an inner fire.
Jacob Weiss is still and watchful, examining each of the competing Captains in turn. He gives Leo a nod when they take their place next to each other. They probably met in Chicago.
Leo flashes his bright white grin to the Seniors, a silent signal that he already believes we’re going to win. He knows a good leader never shows anything but full confidence to his troops.
It’s Anna Wilk who looks pale and nervous, watching him. I know she wants the Seniors to win even more badly than Leo does—because she can’t bear to see Leo disappointed.
“The rules for this first challenge will be slightly unusual,” Professor Howell announces.