Page 158 of Shattered Jewel
She takes another dramatic scoop of ice cream.
Axe pulls off his shirt and then hands it to me. I accept it gratefully, enjoying all too much the warmth of his body heat and the smell of him lingering in the dark green fabric, it’s oversized length swallowing my thighs.
Sasha’s jaw drops at the sight of Axe’s mutilated chest, obvious even through the multiple strips of gauze. “Okay, I definitely need more ice cream and maybe a few shots of vodka.”
Wilder snorts at that, not bothering to open his eyes. “Innocent is the last thing you are, Sterling. You helped save us by putting your two boyfriends in a coma.”
Sasha points her spoon at Wilder. “Don’t make me come over there and do the same to you, pretty boy.”
Cav loops his arms around me as I resettle on his lap, his body a shielding presence against my back. “Seriously, Sasha. Are you okay after … everything?”
Sasha looks up. She stares at me, her usual spark of mischief dimmed by the weight of recent events. I can tell she’s considering her response carefully, weighing the gravity of what’s happened against the instinctive pull to lighten the mood.
A soft sigh escapes her lips. “It’s not exactly what I had in mind for a Saturday evening. I mean, I was hoping for maybe a movie night, some popcorn... Casual human sacrifice wasn’t really on my agenda.”
A tidal pressure enters into the room at her words. Wilder’s eyes open, Kaspian’s snide expression falls a fraction, and even Cav’s grip on me tightens while Axe’s mouth thins to an even grimmer level.
Sasha simply meets their gazes head-on.
“But hey,” she continues, managing a shrug as if we hadn’t just spent the night fighting a murderous cult, as if she hadn’t just been chained and forced to watch me almost die. “Upside is, I got a pretty good workout and I’m pretty sure I lost like five pounds from stress alone.”
The tension eases slightly at that. Axe huffs out an amused breath.
“We owe you, Sasha,” he murmurs.
“Are you okay, El?” she says next.
Sasha’s simple question stirs the four men, like they’ve been reminded that I am, indeed, not just theirs, but also a woman who has faced terrors previously foreign to her.
“I’m more than alright,” I reply, reassuring her and myself.
Sasha’s gracious nod confirms she understands the pretext under my answer—that this entanglement with these men is my choice.
I linger on each man in turn, drinking in the sight of them.
Alive, safe.
And perhaps this is what it takes to create something real, something that matters.
As if reading my thoughts, Kaspian says, “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us. The Court won’t fix itself.”
Wilder grunts his agreement from his sprawl on the couch.
Axe, watching the exchange with a thoughtful expression, adds his input. “We need to ensure that what happened tonight never happens again.”
Cav says, “We stand against an entity that has wielded power in Titan Falls for centuries. Victory won’t come easy.”
Everyone nods.
Kaspian continues, “We can all agree that the title of Sovereign died with them. If we’re to take over, we need a name. Something befitting what we’ve done and what we’ll continue to do.”
Wilder chuckles, nudging Axe with his foot. “I didn’t realize we were starting a band.”
Sasha laughs, a delightful sound that bounces off the walls and softens any of our flashbacks. “Oh my God! Yes! I vote for Sinister Skulls.”
“Pass,” Cav says almost immediately. Sasha throws him a mock glare.
“Barbarians, then?” she suggests next, which earns an amused snort from Axe.