Page 58 of Ashes

“We were sleeping. They had guns. They slaughtered fifty men, women, and children that day. Went house-by-house, murdering them in their sleep.”

“Luther…” she breathes. Her hand finds me and comes to rest on my arm. My muscles tense. As a fire mage, most women I’ve been with feel cold to the touch. Even witches with a fire affinity rarely run hot enough for me. But when Nova presses her skin to mine, it’s like I’m being touched by the sun itself.

I move her hand to my chest. To the small scar next to my heart. I press her finger to it. “They missed by a couple of inches. I survived. My parents didn’t.”

She doesn’t take her hand away. My chest rises into her palm as I breathe slowly in and out. Warmth settles in my lungs. “I’m so sorry.” She’s silent for a moment, then I feel like she’s going to say something.

Her hand is still on my chest. Her fingers twitch as if they might start stroking me gently. But she doesn’t.

“Thank you for telling me,” she says quietly.

I don’t reply. Emotion is constricting my throat, making it impossible to speak.

After a while, I feel her turn over. A little while after that, her breathing changes. She’s asleep.

* * *

When I wake, Nova is asleep with her back toward me. The bedsheets are tangled around her legs, her bare ass jutting out from beneath them, tee ridden up around her waist. My balls are throbbing. I barely slept. Talking about my past is not something I do often, and the only way I could stop from thinking about it was to think about her instead.

The way she looked at the club. The way shefeltwhile she was on top of me.

Did you know these were crotchless when you bought them?

The memory of her hot breath on my ear makes me instantly hard.

I roll onto my back and put my hand on my dick. Images of last night dance in front of my eyes. The corset that only half-covered her breasts, nipples dangerously close to being exposed. The straps that wound up from the corset to loop around her neck. The leash that dropped from a small silver ring at her throat and fixed to the top of her suspenders. Her thighs. Her ass.

I look over at her. I could do it here while she’s sleeping; make myself come while I stare at her. But what kind of fucking pervert would that make me? Jerking off next to my brothers’ girl while she sleeps.

I climb quietly out of bed, go to the bathroom, close the door, and get into the shower. The water runs cold, but I don’t care, and it does little to dampen the heat in my veins.

I wrap my hand around my erection and fist it hard, leaning against the tiles and letting water stream down my face. I drag my fingers over my piercings, wondering what she’d think if she saw them. The ladder of bars on my shaft.

I picture her lowering herself onto me, see her eyes widen as my metal strokes her pulsing walls. I imagine pulling the corset down and taking one perfect pink bud between my teeth, biting just enough to send a jolt of pain down her spine. Then soothing it with my tongue, taking the pain away again.

I imagine her tilting her head back so I can trace a line of fire over her skin.

Did you know these were crotchless when you bought them?

As the water grows warmer, I can almost feel her—hot and wet, easing onto my cock. It doesn’t take long for an orgasm to rock through me, but it’s not the regular kind. It’s like a spark that doesn’t fully ignite. Barely even any cum. At least, not as much as usual.

I thump the tiles hard with my fist. I’m still hard, and the sensation of being completely unsatisfied makes my chest tight with frustration.

“Luther?” I feel the door open. A rush of cold air sweeps in.

I turn around but can barely see through the steam that’s filling the room.

Nova waves a hand in front of her face. “Are you all right? You’ve been in here ages.”

“I’m fine.” I grab a towel and push past her, leaving the water running. “Your turn. Be quick. We have business to take care of.”

29

NOVA

This time, we drive to the club. Luther parks up in the now-empty alleyway. He’s back in his normal clothes, but I chose to keep the boots on top of my jeans, coat on top, and reapplied my dark eye makeup.

“Let me talk,” Luther says gruffly as we get out of the car.