Page 41 of Shattered Jewel
I shove the drink into his hand. “You are a genius and we wouldn’t be where we are without you, but when you’re wounded, you’re fucking intolerable, so drink.”
Kaspian grunts, but tosses the liquor back, swallowing in one gulp.
Elara stands by, her cautious attention switching between Kaspian and me. And, appearing to have discovered our weakness, she stretches her arms high above her head as she gives herself a full-body stretch.
Her sweatshirt rides up, revealing a strip of smooth skin above the waistband of her leggings.
My cock throbs at the sight. I want to cross the room, yank those leggings down her legs, and bury my face in her. I want to feel her clench around my tongue, hear her moan my name when I make her cum.
But I don’t move. I can’t. It wouldn’t be right, not after what I’ve been forced to do. To her, to my brothers…
If she knew, Elara’s sweet expression would turn to hate. I never want her to look at me that way. It’d be the one time I’m thankful for my memory lapses.
Wilder sits up on the couch, tossing the remote onto the coffee table and saying out of the side of his mouth, “Shit, Elara’s as ruthless as you, Kasp.”
His focus doesn’t stray from Elara’s belly button. “Where’s that bourbon? I suddenly want to do body shots this morning.”
Elara drops her arms to her sides and pads across the room, her bare feet silent on the hardwood.
She stops in front of Kaspian and reaches up to brush a strand of hair from his forehead, revealing those disturbing eyes of his at their full charge. “How’s the shoulder?”
I struggle not to gape, though she’s essentially just booped a shark on the nose and called it cute.
Kaspian answers through a barely controlled voice, “It’s fine.”
“Liar.” Elara’s voice is soft, almost tender. She traces her fingertips along his jaw and down his neck before retreating. “I’m sorry my mom did this to you.”
“I don’t need any apologies.”
There’s the snarl.
“True, but you do need an extra set of hands.” Elara shrugs. With both shoulders.
Kaspian glares at her.
I step between them, placing a hand on Kaspian’s chest and reminding him, “We’re down a man. We can’t lose you, too.”
Kaspian’s nostrils flare. For a moment, I think he might punch me, and I prepare for a fight. But then he barks out a laugh, the sound harsh and bitter. “Fine. But she stays out of my way.”
Elara’s eyes grow small with indignation, her lips pressing into a thin line. But she doesn’t argue.
Wilder pushes himself off the couch, stretching his arms above his head and ensuring Elara gets her karma by showing a slice of toned abs. “I’ll start digging through the initiates’ archives downstairs, see if there’s any mention of Maverick.”
Kaspian smirks at Elara, fully aware that she can’t go with Wilder and reveal herself to the rest of the Court. Not without raising questions and snagging the Sovereigns’ attention.
I turn to Kaspian. “Elara can help you on the tech side. You’re not leaving our wing and you can’t properly type with your arm in a sling.”
Kaspian looks like he wants to eat me whole. “Dictation, asshole. It’s a thing.”
I counter in a low voice, “Then why don’t you tell her about the hidden library in the manor that hasn’t been seen for hundreds of years—until it was discovered by Maverick and he hid his flash-drive confessing to breaking the Heart there?”
Wilder pauses with his coffee mug halfway to his lips.
Elara’s jaw falls to the floor. “What?”
Kaspian now wants to turn me into a slow-cooked meal. “That was not your find to reveal.”
“Clearly,” I say with an innocent expression.