I own nothing but Rhiannon.
Kaleb was leaving his Advanced Archive magic class when someone yanked him into the empty neighboring classroom. The young woman was in his archival magic class. She was Caelish, one of only six in the entire school, which made her impressive by her own merits. The fact that she was brilliant and her attitude to the generally cocky professor was a constant source of amusement.
"This is all ye're fault. Did ye know that I didnae want a mate? I was happy. I enjoyed the bathhouses an' flings wi' Boscan men an' women. An' havin' a flippin' mate was not part of the plan. An' now! Now, nothing's workin'. The best flippin' Sudahpah this school has to offer couldnae arouse me an' it's all ye're fault!"
"I'm not sure as much of that was in Common as you think it was," Kaleb said when she finally took a breath.
"My name is Rhiannon McKinnon, earth dragon slayer. And ye, Legolas, are apparently my mate. I never should've gone to that damned ritual."
It took him a moment but remembered the feeling of the sharpened canines of a dragon slayer. Remember digging his fingers into her wild curls.
"Was that your first time? The ritual, I mean."
"Yes. I had the flu last year."
"How old are you?"
"Nineteen."
"How are you in my Advanced Archive class?"
"I use a very specific type o' archival magic that I created. The school decided it would be more detrimental tae myself and others tae put me in the beginners' course."
"I'm your mate? Did you remember the ritual?"
"No. A dragon slayer in one of my classes said that the likely reason I cannae have sex is because I was wit' my mate during the ritual. Then today, when ye bumped intae me… I dinnae know why I didnae claim ye at the ritual."
"Lucy. Apparently even dragon slayers that she doesn't know instinctively want her approval."
"Heartfilia. I've heard the name around. Come on then."
The campus was mostly empty since there weren't any late classes compared to other universities. Kaleb let her pull him as he tapped into her thoughts and smiled. He'd noticed it in class but for the first time appreciated it. All her thoughts were in Caelish except the immediate ones that she was translating to say. It was one of the languages he'd never had a reason to learn so he couldn't become bored as her thoughts became predictable.
She chose Zen, came a thought from Cristoff, causing him to stop. He was grateful for that, realizing that they weren't going to be.
"What is it?" Rhiannon asked, looking up at him.
"Lucy's busy, but I'm pretty sure that we don't have to be mated to share pleasure."
She gave him a flirty smile with a hint of fang then frowned. "I'm in a dorm."
"I'm not."
"Lead the way." As he started to walk, she stopped him. When he turned back, she pulled him down to kiss. He returned the kiss until he felt her moan into it.
"Nope," she breathed. "Definitely do not need to be mated."
He chuckled until she pulled him into another kiss.