Pernicious | Kai Parker

Chapter 8

There was an unspoken agreement that it was a one time thing.

Amelia felt a mix of shame and satisfaction. Her head felt clear for the first time in months. Perhaps Caroline had been right with all her teasing, what she'd needed was release, and she'd denied it to herself instead of just going for it. Maybe Dr. Maxwell wasn't her type for a relationship, but he was an older dude with experience, which to Amelia, was an automatic yes for sex.

"Naughty girl," Kol teased her once, when she'd made a joke that the age gap between them was more appealing than appalling. "I could be your ancestor, for all you know."

"You didn't have any kids," she pointed out. "You told me yourself you didn't sleep with anyone for the first time until after you became a vampire." She put her hand on his chest. "Is it bad if I say that I'm appealed by the fact you know so much?"

"Honestly, love, that's the reasoning for a lot of people that go for older blokes and birds. I wouldn't say it's bad. What happened with people your own age, though?"

She tensed. "Let's just say that people my age were always mistreating me. I found comfort in adults, at least the kind ones. And at the same time, after so many crappy foster parents... I was forced to become mature faster and now that I'm nearly an adult, I don't want someone so close to my age, because chances are, they won't be as serious. Then, there's the finances. My homes were never stable, and now that I'm in Mystic Falls, having to work to keep a house, I want someone old enough to offer me some sort of stability. All in all, it's hard to explain. The gist of it is that I'm abnormal."

"Ah, a girl with mommy and daddy issues, how lovely. We can relate a bit there, love. I despise my mother for having taken away my magic against my will. Honestly didn't shed a tear when Mikael— well, Nik— killed her. As for Mikael, you know how he was."

"Do you think I'm weird for it? Most people are so judgmental. I... I can't really help it. I tried, honestly. Several times, I tried to make myself like someone who was closer to my age. I just couldn't. They had to be older than me, or I wasn't appealed. Younger is a definite no either way. But even if a boy was a day younger than me... I lost any attraction."

Kol cupped her face. "I think you're letting other people's opinions dictate your comfort with your own experiences. You're free to fancy whoever you want to fancy. Hell, who are they to tell you otherwise? You're young, you ought to explore. If it goes badly, then it's a learning experience. But it could go well. Think of it this way. I'm way older than you. But I was seventeen when I was turned into a vampire. You're seventeen now. Think of it as... dating an older man and simultaneously dating someone your age."

Amelia smirked. "That... helps more than you know. I just hate being judged and I let it get to my head."

"Don't, Lia. You're free to love who you wish. Do what makes you happy, no matter what anyone says."

Amelia could hear Dr. Maxfield still trying to catch his breath. Judging by the tiny clicking noises she could hear, he was struggling a bit to button his shirt back up.

"I'll drop the class first thing in the morning," she said, having turned away from him as she got dressed, hands still a bit shaky. She felt like an athlete who hadn't exercised in months. She was definitely out of shape. Looking at the table he'd cleared off for them off to the side, she could see marks from where her body had been laid down, and she squirmed, thinking she ought to clean that before she left.

Was there a box on the Rice Purity Test for sex in labs, an area that was supposed to be sterile?

"I'll be sad to see you go," he told her. She heard him zipping his pants back up. "If you take Applied Microbiology in the future, sign up for Lemus's class, she's my colleague, and she's a wonderful Professor."