Page 16 of Storm of Stars
I stood too, carrying my plate with me. When I reached him, I slid it into the sink and slipped my arms around his waist from behind, resting my cheek against the solid line of his back. His body softened, just a little, at the contact but the tension was still there, humming beneath his skin.
“What is it?” I asked quietly.
He exhaled a shaky breath. “Fenly sacrificed himself for Ezra,” Thorne whispered, his voice rough, like it scraped against something sharp on the way out. “He didn’t cheat. He lied. Lied to save him.”
I jerked back, the shock hitting me like a punch to the chest. I stepped away until my back met the counter. Thorne turned to face me, his eyes shadowed and weary.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Fenly lied to get Ezra out of there.”
“Why would he do something like that?”
Thorne hesitated, then said softly, “Right after the trial, Fenly told me something. He said… one day, the stars will shine on us again.” Thorne’s voice cracked a little on the words, and a cold rush of recognition swept through me.
“He thinks we might be the stars Nexum’s been waiting for,” Thorne continued.
My heart stuttered. “He knew about the Runaways?”
Thorne nodded once, gravely. “I think hewasa Runaway, love,” he said, stepping closer, his hands finding my arms, grounding me.
I swallowed hard. “And he… he sacrificed himself so our team could stay together? I don’t understand. Why?”
Thorne’s expression was pained as he nodded again. “He believes in us. In what we can do together. Just like I do.” His fingers lifted to gently grip my chin, tilting my face up until our eyes locked. “I believe in us, Bex. In the five of us. That we can finish what my Ma started. That maybe, for the first time in a long time, we can change how this story ends.”
A wave of emotions crashed over me, hope, regret, pain, and I wasn’t sure which one would drown me first.
“What if it wasn’t worth it? What if I can’t do what he sacrificed himself for?” I whispered.
“You don’t even realize how incredible you are, love,” he whispered, his voice rough with honesty. “You don’t see what the rest of us see. This fierce, unyielding woman with a heart too big for a world like this, and a soul that aches for peace, the same way my Ma’s did.” His gaze held mine, unflinching. “The rebellion’s a powder keg, Bex… and you? You’re the fucking spark.”
Thorne leaned in, pressing his lips softly to mine, a kiss that started tender and unhurried, a promise in the darkness. Histongue brushed along the seam of my lips, and I parted for him, wanting to lose myself in the heat, the quiet desperation of it. My arms wound around his neck, pulling him closer until there wasn’t a sliver of space left between us, the kiss turning fiercer, hungrier.
He hooked his hands beneath my thighs, lifting me effortlessly. I wrapped my legs around his waist, our bodies pressed together so tightly, but it still felt like too much space lingered between us.
His mouth claimed mine with a hunger that left me breathless as he carried me forward. I barely registered where we were headed until my back hit the couch and he hovered over me, arms braced on either side, caging me in. His body pressed against mine, a solid, unrelenting heat. He broke the kiss, his eyes scorching as they roamed my face, then down the length of me. My chest rose and fell, desperate for air, desperate for him. I needed to feel his skin against mine. I reached for the hem of my nightdress, arching my back as I tugged it over my head in one swift motion. His gaze darkened, his breath hitching as he took me in.
“You’re a fucking work of art, love,” he whispered, leaning his head down to take one of my peaked nipples into his eager mouth. I arched into him as his other hand trailed deliberate lines along my lower stomach. Close enough to my desperate core to drive me frantic with need, but far enough to have me whimpering under his fingertips. “There’s stardust in your skin. I swear, I can feel the universe when I touch you.”
“Then touch me, Thorne,” I begged as he dragged his tongue between the valley of my breasts until he could claim the other nipple.
“I want to worship this body,” he whispered against my sensitive, goosebump-covered skin. “I want to taste every inch of you. Mark you with my fingers, my mouth, my cock.” I cried outas his fingers brushed across my clit, barely and featherlight. A tease.
“Please,” I begged.
“I want you to remember the exact moment I make you mine, love. I want you to memorize the look on my face, the tremble in your body. I want you to be able to recall exactly how I made you come apart when you’re lying alone at night.” He kissed my collarbone, then my neck, as his hands got to work, sliding his silk boxers down his legs, exposing his long cock to me. He was longer than both Zaffir and Ezra, but with less girth. I couldn’t wait to feel the depths he could reach.
“I will,” I promised, wrapping my legs around his waist again and trying to pull him into me.
He reached between us, gripping his cock and then gently pressed the head of it against my clit. We both sighed at the contact. My body was so sensitive and desperate for him that my blood was nearly boiling under my skin. He directed the tip through my wetness, sliding through my slit, gliding easily against my opening. We both groaned a guttural, satisfied sound. He continued that taunting, teasing move for a while, and I could feel my body tensing, thrashing with need beneath his simple but sinful touch. His cock slid along my clit, over and over and I felt the telltale signs of an orgasm creeping up on me.
“I’m going to come,” I cried out, bucking my hips to chase the feeling. His eyes burned as he watched me, keeping his relentless, perfect pace against my clit. My fingers and toes tingled as the climax built and built, until it exploded through me.
The minute my orgasm crested, he slammed his cock into my heat, reaching a deep part of me that no one else had. I almost screamed, but his mouth pressed against mine to silence me. He fucked me, hard and fast through my first orgasm.
“Holy shit, you’re squeezing me,” he whispered against my lips.
I couldn’t even form words, because my body was one continuous cycle of sensation and ecstasy. I simply tightened my legs around him and forced my hips up to meet him thrust for thrust.
