Chapter 1

Rho was an Interactive Magical Construct, and I was the only person who could hear or see her. She was powered by my Magic and thus bound to me, which was why I had such a privilege. Since she didn’t have a set appearance, she could look like anyone. I didn’t have a particular preference, so she chose various details from all of the women I knew that I found the most appealing. The result was that of a woman who – to me – could not be matched in physical looks. Something I had yet to adjust to.

Normally, if Rho had her choice, she would stroll around in the nude all day, all night, all the time. Fortunately, I convinced her to wear clothes, like anyone else. At first, that meant things that barely covered her naughty bits, but over the weeks since I acquired her, she learned what I really wanted.

Today, she chose to wear a dark red sweater that hugged her curves like it was made about three sizes too small for her. The neck of the sweater was built up like a turtle neck, but it stretched out so wide that one side brushed along her neck and the other side hung off the opposite shoulder. The sweater hugged her to her hips. She also wore a black leather micro-mini skirt that barely covered her ass. Her legs were encased in charcoal gray pantyhose and her feet were adorned with slim-strapped shoes that would go better with a thong bikini than her current outfit, but she made it work.

Fortunately for my sanity, she had certain personality traits that kept me from acting like a drooling idiot every time I looked at her. Like her ability to annoy me at the worst times. Like now.

“Are you sure you want to include THAT in your answer?”

I looked up from my answer book, where I had spent the better part of the last hour and a half answering the questions for my English Literature Final.

Rho stood next to me, stretching out her neck to look over my shoulder at my answer book.

I wanted to argue with her, to point out the reasons for why I had written what I wrote, but since no one else could see or hear her, I would end up looking like I was arguing with thin air and I certainly didn’t need the rest of the class staring at me like I had lost my mind.

Rho looked at me and then pointed to my answer book. “You better hurry. Time’s almost up.”

I checked the clock. She was right. I focused on my answer book again.

Rho really wasn’t a problem. In fact, she had been phenomenal help in many aspects of my training as a Magus, had good advice for me in my duties as House Lord, and even helped immensely with my studies for school finals. Currently, however, she was being a nuisance. Worse, I had yet to learn how to make her disappear and leave me alone during times like this. I was sure she was afraid I wouldn’t call on her again given the choice, and while the idea was tempting, I needed her as much as she needed me.

Most of the class had already finished the test and left. Though I was considered smart when it came to test taking, I was slow. No, not slow in the head. I read slowly to take in all aspects of the question put to me, and I wrote slowly to make sure I answered all of those aspects. If the test was timed, which this was, I usually pushed until the very last minute to make sure all my answers were as accurate as possible. The only exception was for math. Either I understood the equations and used them properly, or I didn’t.

“Two minutes,” Rho said. “You don’t really have enough time to do any more.”

I looked back through the pages, checking to see if there were any answers that I might have left short. Everything looked complete, so I closed the book, gathered my backpack, and headed down to the TA to turn in my last Final.

Jolie, the TA, had dark eyes and red, red lips, both of which stood out in contrast to her pale skin. What really drew my attention was the gleaming gold loop around her lower lip. It was centered and fed from inside her lip, around the fullest part, and ducked under it. I was pretty sure she was pierced there, which is what held the loop in place. I had been fascinated every time she was in class, watching her unconsciously lick the loop with her small pink tongue.

Jolie looked up at me with a smile. Our eyes met, and for the moment, I enjoyed the sensual beauty of that smile.

Rho leaned in behind me. “Do you like piercings in general or is it the way that loop fits around her lip, like the way I gently encircle your throbbing cock with my hand?”

Rho’s comment, as was meant to, inspired all sorts of sexually explicit ideas I wouldn’t be opposed to trying with Jolie. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to work up to suggesting such things much less going through with them. I had a flight to catch in a few hours and too many other things to take care of before that.

I cleared my throat, handed Jolie my answer book, and offered her a warm, “Happy Holidays.” Then I turned and made my way to the exit.

“It really would be so much more fun if you took her with you,” Rho said.

I looked around. No one else was nearby, so I said to Rho, “You already know what we have planned, and I have enough Fonti, thank you.”

Rho shook her head and rolled her eyes. “It’s not a matter of making her a new Fonte. It’s a matter of finding out what that loop feels like as she does her best to swallow your hot, pulsing cock.”

I left Preston Hall to find Leanne Carlton, one of my Fonti, waiting for me. Leanne was fairly tall with raven-black hair, and a natural tan that suggested she had an Italian heritage, when in reality, her parents are both British. She also has brilliantly white teeth and when she smiled it lit up any room she was in. I fondly referred to it as her ‘Million-Watt smile.’ Today she was dressed in a deep green sweater that made her look a bit heavier than she really was. I had suggested she wear a belt to cinch it at her waist, but she decided to go without.

It wasn’t her waist that made her sweater bulge like it did. Leanne was blessed with more than a killer natural tan and brilliantly white teeth. Before I met her she had been treated like a walking pair of tits – her words, not mine. I enjoyed looking her in the eyes, not because I didn’t enjoy her curves, but because of how they sparkled when I treated her like the beautiful woman she was rather than a life support system for her incredible boobs.

Unfortunately, it seemed that everyone else who talked to her would stare at her chest rather than her face. Men did so out of fascination and sexual desire. Women did so either because they were envious or they were also fascinated. It was an issue Leanne had learned to put up with, but not something I would. As such, she started loosening up the clothes she wore, which made me sad for her because she liked the way I would stare for a few seconds before catching myself and mumbling apologies. Since we were in a sexual relationship, she enjoyed having me stare at her. Unfortunately for the both of us, no one else understood.

“Well?” she asked as I got closer. “How did it go?”

I shook my head with a small frown. “I’m not sure. Aren’t these tests supposed to be hard?”

“If that test wasn’t so hard, then what took you so long?” she asked, looking stern.

I shrugged. “I wanted to make sure I did the job right.”

She shook her head and a smile slowly formed. Then she pointed at me and said, “You were hoping to have a moment alone with Jolie.”

Rho stood behind her, nodding her head in agreement.

“Jolie?” I asked, feigning innocence. “Jolie who?”

Leanne grinned. “Don’t ‘Jolie who’ to me. The hot red-head TA collecting our books. You were hoping to get to talk to her.”

I nodded. “Yeah, maybe.”

She crooked her finger at me, beckoning me to her. “Come here, mister.”

I stepped closer to her, with an idea of what was coming.

She closed the distance between us, pressing her body to mine. She may have been fearful of how other people treated her, but she was never worried over how I reacted to her.

With a grin and a small happy hum, I hugged her.

Yet, for the second time in so many minutes, my delight in such simple things was interrupted. It wasn’t another comment from Rho this time though. It was a feeling that something was wrong.

I didn’t want to scare Leanne, but then she wasn’t someone to shy away from trouble either. I clearly recalled her fearless use of a baseball bat against a man with a gun only six weeks prior.

Ever so quietly, I said, “Let’s get you to your dorm.”

She pulled back and looked me in the eyes. Leanne was smart, and from my tone alone she knew something was wrong. “What’s going on?”

I shook my head and turned. I kept her close and said, “I’m not sure. Something’s off.”