Page 17 of Storm of Stars
His mouth trailed down my chin, then to my throat, and finally back to my nipples which he licked, and kissed, and bit down on gently, only making my core tighten more around him. I wasn’t even sure if my orgasm ended, or if he was prolonging it by not giving my body a break. I was mindless, feral. I clawed at his shoulders as he slammed into me like a man desperate for what only I could give him.
“I’m going to need you to come one more time for me, love,” he said, through gritted teeth. “I need to feel your body clamping down on me before I paint your pussy with my release.”
I groaned at his filthy words, and sure enough, I felt the crest begin to rise again. His mouth on my breasts, his cock pounding into me, I couldn’t stand it. I was sensation and lust. I was ecstasy.
I climaxed again, and I felt my muscles tighten around him, drawing out his own release. He slowed his thrusts as he shuddered and emptied himself.
He lowered himself onto me, his weight a welcome comfort against my chest as we both fought to steady our breathing. I ran my hand slowly down the length of his spine, feeling the tension still lingering beneath his skin, tracing each dip and curve with gentle care.
In the hush of the dark, his eyes found mine, fierce, tender, and unguarded.
“I was wrong,” he murmured, voice rough and reverent. “The stars have nothing on you.”
I giggled, kissing his shoulder playfully. He circled his hips, his cock still buried deep within me, and I gasped at the sensation. Despite feeling drained and exhausted my body jolted to life at the motion. I squeezed my muscles around him which earned me a groan.
“Is my girl ready for round two?” he asked, his eyes dark and sinful with promise.
I nodded, biting my bottom lip.
“Prove it,” he challenged. And I intended to do just that.
CHAPTER
SIX
Briar
Only four more trials stood betweenus and the end of the Run. The final two, the medical trials, were the ones Hollis had her sights set on. And because of that, so did I. Even with our little secret rebellious secondary mission, we wanted to accomplish what we could while tearing them down from the inside. It surprised me, if I’m honest, how quickly my priorities had shifted since meeting her. It was like she’d taken one look at the road I was walking, ripped up the map, and redrawn it entirely. I still wanted what I came here for. The reasons that drove me into the Run hadn’t vanished. But now I wanted so much more. I wanted liberation. I wanted to finish my Ma’s work. But above that all…
I wanted Brexlyn Hollis.
I’d done my best to keep my distance, to give her room. I wasn’t blind to the way she’d fallen for the others in the house, for Thorne, for Ezra, for Zaffir. And it didn’t bother me. Hell, I’d told her once I was good at sharing, and I meant it. She wasn’t the first woman to end up tangled in sheets with both Thorne and me… at different times, of course. But Brexlyn wasn’t likeanyone else. She wasn’t a passing comfort or a distraction in the middle of all this madness. She was lightning in my veins, a storm I’d gladly drown in.
I’d kissed her several times now. Each one hotter, deeper, more perfect than the last. And with every touch of her mouth on mine, every soft sigh against my skin, I wanted more. So much more. But I held myself back, careful not to push, not to make her feel boxed in by the fact that I was here, under the same roof as the men she was already falling for. The last thing I wanted was for her to feel like she owed me anything. I desired her, yes. But she had so much on her plate.
And truth be told, so did I.
I was still reeling from the weight of what I’d learned about my mother. That she was the spark that lit this rebellion, the one who’d started it all… and she’d never told me. Not once. She carried that secret until the day they dragged her away, and the only person she confided in at the end was Thorne. Not me.
I hated how jealous I was of that. Of him. Of their connection. She was our mother, but I guess I never really saw her for who she was. And maybe she never really saw me, either. I’ve always been good at reading people. Could peel back their walls, get them to bleed truth if I wanted it badly enough. But somehow, I’d missed the biggest truth of all when it came to her.
And it was eating me alive.
Thorne had always been her little boy. And I guess, for as long as I had him, I had Pa. He was my anchor, my best friend, my mentor, the one person who understood me without needing me to say a word. Even more than Thorne ever did. When he passed a few years before they took Ma, it shattered me in ways I still can’t fully explain. Losing him felt like losing the only person who really saw me. And when Ma was taken, it was like the last thread holding my world together snapped. The grief of losing them both… it was unbearable. Some days, it still is.
So yeah, I had plenty to focus on. Hollis might’ve rerouted my priorities, but the ghosts of the past had their claws in me too. And the closer we got to those final trials, the more it felt like everything I believed about who I was, why I was here, and what I wanted was coming undone.
But maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing.
Nova, the Canyon’s Praxis liaison, stopped by this morning to inform us about the next trial. Even though I knew it was coming, hearing it aloud still made my stomach tighten with nerves.
The Entertainment Trial was always similar, most years it involved some form of artistic expression, whether it was a performance, writing, painting, or something along those lines. This year, the task was simple. We’d have to put together a performance. We’d be paraded across the stage in front of thousands of Praxis citizens, with the screaming masses in the stands and even more watching from home and forced to perform for them. Even though we'd already been performing for them in a way the entire Run so far.
I loved music. I loved telling a story through words and melody, the way a song could speak to the soul. But I’d only ever sung for my family, the forest, and, I guess, Brexlyn too, now.
But this was why I was here. This trial. I needed to win. Or at the very least, place high enough to get what I needed. But now, I wasn’t sure how our little rebellious plans factored into all of this. Would we ever return to our Collectives? Did we even want to? If we managed to convince the Runaways to fight back, would we ever see the fruits of the labor we’ve put in here? Would we unlock all the resources for everyone, or lose everything in the process? Would we face the same fate Ma did? I didn’t know. But I did know that when I arrived here, I wanted one thing.
So, when Nova asked what we needed for our performance so she could procure it for us, my response came without hesitation.
