Dealing Hearts: An Academy FF Short Story (Completed)

Chapter 1

I dried my hair as I came out of the ensuite bathroom and stared at Raven, still sleeping in bed. In my room. In my apartment. Half the time, it seemed to good to be true. We'd only been dating for about five months now. And yet here he was.

Twenty-five years old and I was just now finding someone I wanted to keep in my life.

I smiled and leaned against the wall, taking in his massive shape. The only way to define Raven Ravenstahl was powerful. He covered himself in tattoos and used his intimidating appearance to his advantage on his Academy missions, but to me, all I saw was my adorable, cuddly bear. His stacked muscles were almost overwhelming. He had broad shoulders but the substance in his torso balanced him out.

He slept on his stomach now, the blanket down around his waist to show off the tattoo of the ferocious bear covering his entire back. His head was turned away from me so all I could see was thick brown hair too short to become mussed in the morning. I'd been trying to talk him into growing it out because I loved the idea of being able to tug on the soft strands and run my hand through it, but hadn't been successful as of yet. I wasn't giving up hope though.

My phone buzzed on the night stand and I walked over, picking it up.

Dr. Roberts: Sang, let's have brunch. Bring Raven too.

I put my phone back down and sat down on the edge of the bed, running my fingertips along his back lightly. His muscles tensed and I smiled, knowing he was up instantly.

"Only you can touch me and not risk getting killed," he growled out, his deep voice hoarse with sleep, his thick Russian accent making the words harder to understand.

I laughed, barely containing the flutters his voice gave me, and stood up. "Except the first time you shoved me up against a wall and threatened to break my neck," I said.

He turned, his expression serious. "Not funny, Sang. I could have hurt you."

My smile softened at the guilt he still held from that moment.

"Are you sure?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. "You did end up on the floor after all."

He chuckled and sat up. "What is wrong, my little one?"

"Mission. Apparently it's the two of us this time."

"Good. I've been wanting to do a mission with you."

I rolled my eyes and walked over to the door. When he moved to get up from the bed, the blanket shifted and I got a good look of the whole package that was Raven. Heavily tattooed, with piercings in more places than you would expect. My face heated as I thought about exactly where some of his piercings were. I shifted, growing uncomfortable, feeling phantom pains despite not having the same equipment as him. The idea of getting a piercing down there made me cringe. Not my thing, obviously.

"I like your thoughts," Raven laughed, now standing in front of me.

My face burned with embarrassment and he leaned down, giving me a deep kiss. I drew closer to him, enjoying the way he felt underneath my touch. My hands explored the hard planes of his abs as I got a reminder of just how much fun we had last night.

Finally, he pulled away, leaving me breathless and dazed.

"Maybe we should do a different mission? I can think of one I would really like to try with you right now." He wiggled his eyebrows and bit down on his lip ring, drawing a laugh from me.

"Go get ready, you big brute. I'm curious about this mission. I don't team up with others often."

He briefly kissed my forehead before turning to go into the bathroom. I watched, enjoying the way his muscles moved, the firmness of his butt, the way his bear tattoo shifted.