“So, you guys shared his bed?” Cassie stage whispered.

“Yeah,” Sam shrugged, keeping one eye on the kitchen door for eavesdroppers. “but in the morning when I woke up, he was gone…”

Cassie pulled a face and grumbled,“That’s kind-of a douche move.” as she swung on her stool.

“I guess,” He sighed, “but please don’t say anything, not even to Karliah… I’m not sure what’s going on with him but I’m hoping it’s a change for the better.” Markus’ moods were always swinging wildly but he hoped this was a good sign, even if he had to pass out to get there,

“I hope it is but I wouldn’t put money on it…” Cassie snorted and rolled her eyes.

“Thanks, Cass…” He pouted full force, he needed her to agree with him on this, he needed her support.

“Would you prefer me to lie to you?” She asked with her round eyes drawn wide.

“No, I guess not.”

“Exactly,” She jumped up and headed to the cupboards, “now, I have a feeling you’ve skimped on the details so I’m going to make us some tea and you’re going to tell me everything from the top again but this time I want nothing spared!” she began pulling out tea bags and sugar.

Sam was glad she had turned away so she couldn’t see him blush, there were some details that needed to be spared, whether his best friend liked it or not.

~

Alexa pressed Jasper harder into the wall, using her bulk to hold him firmly in place. She had to admit, she hadn’t been expecting her mate to be… quite such a little shit. At first, she had thought maybe he was acting out because maybe he was nervous about being around a dominant, especially one that was his mate, but then his refusal to obey her continued and she put it down to a cheeky personality… Now, she was beginning to lose her patience with him. Karliah had confirmed he had been a sarcastic little bitch as long as she had known him but had had no advice on how to deal with him.

“H-hey.” Jasper gasped, his cheeks tinted pink. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re driving me absolutely insane.” She growled down at him. Shock flitted across his face, his bottom lip shook a little and his eyebrows pulled together. For a moment she wondered how it had gotten to this point, being driven to cornering her own mate in an empty science classroom.

“Wh-why?”

“You just can’t seem to behave!” She sighed, resting her forehead against his. “Have you never spent time with a dominant before?” They weren’t in any classes so she hadn’t had a chance to witness how he behaved around other dominants, but Karliah had been pretty confident when she said he behaved just as brazenly with both subs and doms.

“Not… like, directly…” Jasper rolled his eyes. “Except, like, my dad… or Karliah… I haven’t really had any reason to otherwise - do you spend a lot of time around subs?”

“I mean… No, I guess that’s a good point.” She thought for a moment. “Are you all… like this?”

“Like what?” He laughed.

“Cheeky… Bratty… Only able to submit when their life is in danger…”

“I do submit sometimes!” She raised her brows, that was an outright lie.

“I’m your mate and the dominant in this relationship, you should submit to me all the time!” He pulled a face, as though he couldn’t believe what she was saying, as though he thought it was a joke. Maybe this was truly all new to him but Alexa couldn’t understand how he didn’t have the natural urge to obey like she had the natural urge to command, it was genetics.

“What if I don’t want to?” His confidence seemed to be rising again, she couldn’t let him think he was winning. “Maybe I don’t think you’re… dominating me… correctly…” He rambled.

“Karliah did say you were good at talking out of your ass.”

“Thank you, it’s one of my many talents.”

“Can one of your other talents be submitting without a fight?” She was growing irritated, no one had ever argued with her like this over their position, subs were called subs because they were supposed to submit.

“What’s in it for me?” He asked cheekily. Oh yeah, she thought, he is definitely getting too comfortable with this dynamic, he thinks this is a game.

“I won’t beat your ass?” She snapped, pressing into him harder to further make her point known. SHe wasn’t joking, he needed to get his butt in gear and behave.

“Hmm… you make a compelling argument.” He subconsciously covered his butt with his hands, clasping them over his cheeks casually. “But… would submitting under duress really give you the same satisfaction as if I submitted organically?”

“Will you submit organically?”

“God, no.” He let out a weak laugh and she squinted down at him.

“Then you’d better bend over and get comfortable because I’m gonna make those cheeks cherry-flavoured.” She stepped back and nodded her head in the direction of the nearest desk.

“Or…” He darted to the side. “And I’m just throwing out thoughts here…” He tried to put some distance between them. “We could leave my adorable arse alone?”

She grabbed him by his short tufty hair, “Or maybe you could learn to obey.” he grunted, his head tilted back to glare into her eyes.

“Or maybe-”

“Backtalk me again, I dare you.” She growled, slamming him back into the wall and using her other hand to rip his collar open, exposing creamy shoulder and neck. Jasper opened his mouth to object to the destruction of his clothing but quickly decided against it when he saw the fire in Alexa’s eyes. She lunged forward like a viper and sunk her teeth into the curve of his shoulder. Jasper yelped, his eyes watering. He continued to struggle for a moment but her powerful jaw held on tight until his grunts turned to whimpers.

Finally, he stilled,“P-please…” he whispered.

Alexa dragged her teeth up his neck roughly, only pulling away when she reached his jugular to growl in his ear, “Last lessons of the day start in five minutes, sort yourself out and meet me in the textiles classroom after the bell rings.” She stepped back, her eyes hard. “Don’t be late.” Jasper nodded but decided to keep his mouth shut. Smart boy, she thought, hopefully he would be that smart this afternoon when she really tested him.