Page 94 of Shattered Jewel

Cav and I keep up the pace. Elara’s eyes flutter open to meet each of us in turn.

Our breaths intermingle in the small space between us as we lose ourselves in each other’s depths.

It’s easy to forget that we’re not alone—that Cav is still here—but it doesn’t matter. I’ll share.

She spasms around me and Cav both.

The moment my climax hits, it whitewashes everything else. I can’t see, I can’t hear—I’m lost to her.

When we pull out, Elara is left panting and flushed on the sheets, a mess of glistening limbs and tousled hair.

For a while, nobody moves. Nobody speaks. The only sound in the room is our collective, heavy breathing and the occasional grunt or sigh as we come down from our high. The air is thick with our mingled scents—cologne, sweat, fresh blood from re-opened wounds, sex.

We all collapse onto the bed, gasping for breath and fighting off the haze that threatens to pull us under. Elara is sandwiched between Cav and me, her body limp and sated.

Kaspian is the first to move, detangling himself from the mess of arms and legs to fetch a damp washcloth from the attached bathroom. He cleans Elara with a gentleness that seems out of character after what we’ve just done. His touch is gallant as he wipes away traces of our time together, a word I never thought I’d associate with him.

Wilder is silent, though his eyes speak volumes as he observes Kaspian clean up Elara. His gaze is hooded, lips pursed in a thin line. His way of regaining control after letting go so completely.

I shift slightly and pull Elara closer against my chest, relishing in her soft sighs against my skin. My hand lazily strokes her auburn hair, its strands around my fingers like the threads of a story we’re still weaving.

Elara stirs, her amber eyes blinking owlishly as she looks up at me. A soft smile curves her lips as she regards us, her gaze drowsy, but content.

“Thank you,” she murmurs, her voice raw from crying and screaming.

It’s a simple sentiment, but it resonates within the uncertain space between us. It’s an acknowledgment, a gratitude not only for the pleasure we brought her, but also for the trust we’ve placed in her...

…and she in us.

I ignore the stone in my gut, growing larger, harder, heavier. The world outside our sphere abruptly seeps back in, reminding me of its existence.

Of promises I made to the Sovereigns the last time they summoned me and the secrets I’m keeping from my brothers, Elara, because of it.

Of the looming dawn that would soon push away the cloak of darkness that had allowed me to stop pretending and just be.

I must think of Marianne.

Wilder drags himself to sit against the headboard, his kindled gaze drifting over Elara’s body like a tangible caress. He looks as if he’s about to say something, when a knock interrupts.

Our gazes snap towards the door just as Sasha’s voice filters through.

“Um … hello? I have the coffee.”

Chapter 24

Elara

Awave of heat rushes to my cheeks as I briskly make my way into the expansive dining room, acutely aware of the gazes that follow me. Kaspian, Axe, Wilder, and Cav all sport identical expressions of post-coital satisfaction, but it’s my own mortification that has me feeling like a blushing virgin.

“Finally,” Sasha says with an amused wink as she hands me me a cardboard cup of coffee, “you’ve come up for air.”

The guys let out collective, low sounds of amusement, a pride of male lions purring over their sole lioness, as they take their coffees from the to-go holder at the center of the table and recline, while Sasha gives them all wry looks.

I take a deep breath to calm my nerves. It’s me that’s the problem, not Sasha. It’s not wrong to sexually connect with more than one guy, and college is all about experimenting, right?

Kaspian lifts the lid from his coffee and inhales deeply. If I had blinked, I wouldn’t have caught the contented lowering of his eyelids, like he’s happy, before he snaps his unfeeling self back into place. He glances my way, almost daring me to react.

Wilder grabs his cup with both hands and drinks deeply, heat be damned, his Adam’s apple bobbing with each gulp. His charged gaze meets mine across the rim, as if making sure I’m still here and haven’t escaped anywhere.

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