The faint creak of the loose floorboard near the window woke me with a jolt. A humid, warm breeze ghosted over my exposed arms, making me feel sticky as I started to sweat. We might be heading into fall, but the summer heat still gripped the swamp.

The earthy smell of mud and decaying vegetation that always lingered in the dorm intensified, and frogs and insects chirped beyond the open window. It was just a matter of time before some blood drinker flew in and started feasting on me.

I meant the mosquitoes, of course. Vampires would never make it past the Institute’s warding, but a Floridian mosquito would drift in unmolested.

I didn’t open my eyes. “You’re going to get caught.”

“Shhh. I won’t get caught unless you’re too loud.”

I sat up in bed to glare at my roommate, Kate, but all I could see was her vague outline in the moonlight. “I’m just worried. I don’t know what they’ll do to you if you’re caught. They’re strict here.”

As we’d progressed through our training, the rules had gotten stricter, the punishments harsher, and the training more brutal. We’d been hand-picked for the most advanced education for vampire hunters the Bloodstone Institute had.

It had always been my goal. Something I’d worked toward since I was a child, though I didn’t think my reasons were like everyone else’s. I wanted my freedom.

Technically, we were free to leave the Institute’s loving arms at any time… If you wanted to risk being hunted down by vampires and other malicious monsters.

The Institute was protected by powerful warding. The hunters were given similar warding when they left on assignments. They needed it to get close to their prey, whatever supernatural creepy crawly they specialized in hunting. Unfortunately, producing such powerful individual warding was impossible for everyone under the Institute’s protection.

The only way to get it was to become a hunter.

Vampires had butchered my family. I wasn’t about to leave the confines of the Institute without protection. But this place was stifling. We were watched constantly. I’d swear we were even watched in our rooms if Kate hadn’t been sneaking out regularly.

The fact that she hadn’t been caught yet told me we had privacy here.

They controlled where we went and when, and we were rarely ever off Institute grounds. There were glorious, sandy beaches within driving distance that I’d never wiggled my toes on and never would unless I made it through training.

Even thinking about being trapped in our small corner of the world for the rest of my life made my breath come faster as the walls seemed to press in on me. I wasn’t sure why. I’d never seen the outside world, so how could I miss it so strongly that my chest ached?

As I watched Kate gather her things to sneak out, I wondered, not for the first time, how she’d made it this far in our training. I was grateful; she was the only friend who’d come with me, but she didn’t seem like the type.

She wasn’t obedient. She rushed through her schoolwork. She never paid attention in class. Then again, I’d faced her in combat. She’d beat everyone’s ass in the academy twice over. Let’s face it: our job wasn’t about book smarts.

I’d been tempted to rat her out a few times. If she got caught and the Institute suspected I knew, it would ruin my chances, but… real friendships were hard to come by here. Everyone was out for themselves. There were only so many spots among the hunters available.

Finding someone who had your back was nearly impossible.

She chuckled. “You’re such a goody-goody. Well, some people were meant to follow the rules, and others were meant to break them. I’m breaking them so you don’t have to.”

I snorted. “I wouldn’t. I just want to finish training and make it through Ceremony. Then I’ll be free. I can wait that long.”

Kate snorted. “If you think binding yourself to an Elite will lead to freedom. I don’t know if you’ve met any of those dicks lately, but, well, ‘dicks’ says it all.”

I rolled my eyes. There were many Elites in the vampire hunting branch of the Institute. It was a coveted position, so of course, I’d met my fair share. Kate was one, though they never included her in their ranks, probably because of her attitude. Her father was the school’s headmaster, yet she pushed back on every rule he laid down. The Elites hated her for it.

They weren’t all bad… however, I did see her point. Seventy-five percent assholes was a high level of dickish behavior.

“Binding ourselves to an Elite is for our protection.”

Because the protective magic was so limited, when we were bound to an Elite, our minor psychic abilities boosted the magical warding they already had and allowed them to extend to us.

However, it did mean you always had a partner. Depending on the Elite you were paired with, it would wreck your life—more like having a watchdog than a partner.

“So you’re fine being tied to Axel for the rest of your life? How is your side anyway?”

At the mention of the injury, it twinged, a painful reminder of my fate. Axel had made it clear that he wanted more than just the usual platonic bond with me. He wanted a marriage, something he’d tried more than once to pressure the Headmaster to arrange.

Kate’s objections were all that stood in the way. The Headmaster would do nearly anything to please his daughter, but eventually, I suspected Axel’s parents would find some way to buy him off.

If Axel hadn’t been such an asshole, I might have been interested. I’d rejected all his advances, and he’d started harassing me for it. He’d stabbed me during a training exercise last week.

The wound had been severe enough that I’d stayed in the medical ward for five days straight, surrounded by the harsh odor of disinfectant, and hopped up on magical painkillers as witches worked to fix the damage.

I must have been silent for too long because she stopped waiting for my answer. “We’ll never be free, Lucy. And we’re stuck here for another two years, and I’m sick of it. Besides, Jack is hot.”

Some of the tension bled out of my shoulders. She was changing the subject, and I was grateful. I didn’t want to talk about Axel. I didn’t want to consider the consequences of being stuck with him.

Jack was hot. Tall and broad-shouldered with rich, mahogany hair and a quiet intensity about him. You never quite knew what he was thinking, but you knew it was serious.

“I’m surprised you’re seeing him. He’s so stoic and dedicated to the cause. I wouldn’t think he’d be the kind to break the rules.”

Sex was strictly prohibited until after the Ceremony, even at the ripe old age of twenty-two.

I wasn’t even sure what the punishment was. No one ever broke that rule, as far as I knew. We were told if we broke it, the heightened emotions would spike our powers, and the vampires would come and massacre us all.

Or worse.

After reading the history of vampires and seeing what they could do, no one wanted to risk that.

A psychic’s magic would boost their power exponentially. Those they didn’t drain dry, they’d probably turn. Or maybe they’d slowly torture you to death or keep you permanently as a pet… At least until they got bored.

She shrugged. “I was surprised, too. All that control is what I find so sexy about him. I just want to ruffle his calm. Turns out I do. In the best way.”

I couldn’t help the ridiculous girlish giggle that escaped. “You’re going to be late. We can gossip later.”

“Oh, girl talk. Looking forward to it. I’ll give you a blow-by-blow.”

I groaned and collapsed back on the hard mattress. “Please don’t.”

She swung one leg out the window, straddling the sill.

“Don’t get eaten by gators,” I whispered.

“Don’t be morbid.”

“I won’t come find you if you scream.”

I saw her teeth flash white in the darkness as she grinned at me. “Good, you probably shouldn’t because if I get eaten, it won’t be by gators.”

She dropped out of sight before I could throw something at her.

I kicked the blankets off my body and prayed for winter. I was going to bitch at Kate about having to leave the window open for her.

There was a groan of wood near our bedroom door, and my breath froze in my chest as I strained to hear. Had someone been listening to us? We were in the dorm with four other girls. Any one of them could have their ear pressed to the door.

These people were cutthroat. Literally and figuratively. If they could find a way to get us in trouble, they’d have no problem tattling. It was also another reason not to try and hook up with anyone. Choose the wrong partner, and they’d turn you in for the credit.

I lay tense as I waited for the door to fly open, but nothing happened, and I didn’t hear another creek. It was probably just the old building settling.

I closed my eyes and focused on relaxing each part of my body, one at a time, until I drifted off to sleep.

***

I moaned as Fin’s teeth nipped my throat. My fingers ruffled his sandy blond hair as I clutched him to me. I rubbed my aching sex against him and was near begging for him to fill me.

“I’ve missed you, Lucy. Where have you been? It’s been days.”

The aching desperation in his voice made me want to tease him, and I smirked. “It’s only been a week.”

He lifted his head and gazed down at me. His eyes were unreal—a stormy teal, like a turbulent ocean. I always got lost in them and swore I could smell the salty spray of the ocean and feel the heat of the summer sun when he smiled.

“Are you saying you didn’t miss me? Because I might have to punish you for that.”

I brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes. “We don’t have the time for it. Make love to me, Fin.”

He nipped my bottom lip. “Kiss me like you missed me, Siren.”

His nickname for me always did something to me. It made me feel seductive. As if he’d risk death for me.

I leaned up and captured his mouth, pouring every bit of longing into the kiss. His tongue brushed mine, and I could taste the rich hint of coffee in his kiss. The jolt that ran straight to my core was almost electric.

His cock sank into me, giving me what I wanted. I was hot and ready for him. The slow stretch of him was so pleasurable it was almost painful, but I rocked against him, urging him to move faster.

“Hurry, Fin. I could wake up at any time.” Quickies. Stolen moments. It was all we ever had time for.

He snarled and fisted his hand in my hair, forcing my head back and kissing my pulse point. “Someday, I’m going to tie you down and savor every part of you, and you won’t be able to do a single thing to speed me up. I’ll keep you at my mercy.”

The threat was so erotic my sex clenched around him.

“Fuck, Lucy!” His hips jolted forward hard, losing his rhythm.

I gasped and arched into him, and when his fingers brushed my clit I exploded. Sparks danced behind my eyelids as I shouted his name.

I woke with a gasp, sweating even though the air had kicked on and the window was now closed. My gaze jerked to Kate’s bed, and she was fast asleep. Thank God. I wasn’t sure how I’d explain the dreams. With a lot of blushing, that would be a dead giveaway, more than likely.

They’d started two months ago out of the blue. I’d blame the intensity of the training, but I’d been here for six months.

I wanted them to stop, and yet… I didn’t. Fin was my only comfort here, even if he wasn’t real.

When I flopped back on the bed, Kate stirred, and I cringed.

Reaching out blindly, I snagged the Bloodstone pendant off my nightstand and slipped it over my head.

I nibbled my lip. We were always supposed to keep it on, but the damned thing strangled me at night. But with the intensity of my dreams… I worried they would cause my powers to spike. If I drew preternatural creatures to us… I’d get people killed.

I would have to start wearing it at night, but sometimes, I’d take it off without knowing. I’d found it across the room the last time I’d tried wearing it.

Even with my deep breathing exercises, I struggled to get back to sleep. I would have to keep it on, and if I kept finding I’d taken it off in the night I’d have to tell someone.

The very thought caused a shiver to run through my belly. I had no clue what the Institute would do to me if they knew about the dreams.