Page 56 of One Shattered Crown
I smile, feeling light. Oddly so. I’m starting to wonder if my plan of sexing her out of my system is going to work. I push up on my knees and flip her over, pulling her up onto her hands and knees with one arm while releasing my cock with the other.
One hard push and I’m inside her. She’s wet and swollen around me, and I can feel her nerves firing somehow. I clamp a hand on the back of her neck, the other on her hip, and start to pound.
Hard and fast, my vision blurs. Nothing in my entire life has ever felt this good. A warning echoes in the back of my mind, but then her body is clamping down on me. All around my cock, as another climax rips through her, caressing ferociously around my dick, and taking me with her.
I shudder as I stiffen, holding her to me, and come so hard I see stars.
Holy fuck. That was fast. I’m a guy who can go all night. Can make sex last hours. Was that even minutes? Yeah, she took me with her, and she got off three times, but still. I withdraw and her body trembles.
My gaze catches on the clear imprint of my hand on her ass.
I breathe out and somehow get the clothing back on us both. She stands next to me, her blue eyes dazed as I brush her hair away from her face. “Come back. Concentrate,” I say, my voice gritty.
She swallows and shakes her head. “I’m fine.”
I open the door and lead her back into the main hub. The air feels warmer here, buzzing with static from the server racks. The hum greets us like a pulse, steady and cold. Screens flicker across the wall, lines of codestreaming too fast for anyone but Kaz to follow. He looks up from his chair, eyebrows lifting.
“Done with your date?” His tone drips sarcasm, enough to make my jawbone ache with the sting of his voice.
Ella turns toward him before I can say anything. “Would you be nice?”
The words stop us both cold.
Kaz blinks, clearly caught off guard. He isn’t used to being challenged.
Apparently her brain has returned. That was fast.
Ella doesn’t back down. “I’m serious. Your voice is disrespectful, and you need to do a better job. This is supposed to be a safe, happy place. The computers can hear you.”
I blink. What the hell? Computers can’t hear anything. But she just warned Kaz to watch his tone without giving away my secret. Clever.
And Kaz—Kaz actually blushes. He glances at me, then back at her, clearly off balance. “I’m sorry,” he mutters, his words clipped. “Justice and I have our own mode of communication.”
Ella plants her small hands on her hips. “Well, that needs to stop. You’re making the computers unhappy, and if you really know what you’re doing, you understand that.”
Kaz’s jaw tightens like he wants to argue, but he doesn’t. His fingers twitch near the keys, restless. The man who types faster than machines has no idea what to do with her.
It’s pure bullshit, but she sells it like gospel. And damn it, something warms inside me. She’s protecting me.Standing up for me. Nobody does that except my brother. Not really. The last time I remember someone speaking up for me, I was too young to fight back myself. That’s when Thorn’s face got scarred so badly.
A sensation winds through me, hot and unsteady, making me want to reach for her when I shouldn’t. It’s getting harder and harder to imagine locking her down without her precious electronics. “Come on, Ella. Let’s go. I mean it.”
She lowers her chin like a queen about to scold her subjects and marches toward Kaz. “You have to start using a nicer, softer voice. Do you understand me?”
Kaz actually leans back in his chair, rolling a few inches away as if afraid of the little sprite in my shirt and dirty jeans. His fingers tap against the armrest. “Yeah,” he finally mutters. The glow of his screens paints his face pale green, and the blush spreading across his cheeks is almost comical.
“I didn’t know computers—” He glances at me, searching for help. I keep my expression flat, refusing to throw him a lifeline. Kaz can sink or swim on his own. He swallows, shoulders drawing tight. “I’ll do better.”
Holy shit. Heisdoing better. No bruises sting down my back, and no cuts slice across my skin. His tone is controlled. A man teaching himself restraint because Ella demands it. That’s new. That’s power.
Ella whirls on me like a storm about to break. “You could be nice to him. Both of you should set a better tone.”
Now she’s lecturing me. Head high, eyes sparking, as if she owns the damn room. The worst part? She kind of does. The servers hum around us, cold and constant, and somehow her voice feels stronger than the machines.
Kaz’s mouth ticks in the briefest flicker of a smile before he wipes it away. He’s enjoying this.
I shake my head, reaching for Ella’s hand. “Aren’t you afraid of me?”
“I’m still afraid of you,” she mutters, her voice steady even as her fingers tremble against mine. “Just … not as much.”
