Cassian’s jaw flexes, a muscle pulsing beneath his skin. He stares straight ahead, eyes dark, mouth set in a hard line. Nathaniel’s expression doesn’t change.
Talon, however, grins. “Well,” he says, “I sure as hell don’t know how to destroy the wraith. But if this is about giving you more power, or bracing for the end of the world, I might as well enjoy it.”
“Talon,” Cassian warns, voice low and sharp
“What?” Talon says, all mock innocence and hungry eyes. “She’s the one who said fuck me. I’m just offering my generous, team-spirited dick to the cause.”
Nathaniel finally speaks, voice calm and quiet. “This isn’t about you. It’s about the power.”
“Yes,” I say quickly, before Cassian can snap. “But it doesn’t have to be only about that.”
I glance between the three of them. My hands tremble in my lap, not from fear, but from the pressure building inside me, like I’m about to split open and pour light.
Cassian slowly turns his head back toward me. His hand slides to my thigh. It’s tense. But warm. And it feels right in the middle of all this.
His nostrils flare slightly. I can see the pulse in his throat.
He wants this.
He just doesn’t want to want it withthem.
“Don’t make me beg,” I say. “Come on.”
I take his hand and slide it higher between my legs. His knuckles brush over the wet spot soaking through my pants.
His breath hitches.
“Would I be this wet,” I whisper, “if I didn’t want it?”
Silence.
Then Nathaniel’s seat clicks back.
It’s the softest sound in the world, but it hits me like thunder.
Cassian’s breathing slows. It turns dangerous.
Then he moves, too.
He fully turns toward me, his other hand sliding up to brace the back of my neck.
His voice is low as he leans in.
“I go first.”
Talon lets out a laugh.
“I don’t think this is that kind of lineup, soldier.”
Before Cassian can answer, Nathaniel speaks again.
“Let’s make some space in here. Lift your legs, Skye.”
His voice is so calm that I do it without thinking.
The moment I do, his seat drops flat with a mechanical hiss.
And just like that, there is no barrier between us.
