It took a few moments of heavy breathing, racing hearts and trembling hands to come down from the high. I’d never come that hard in my fucking life. So hard it nearly made me black out. I’d had plenty of sex. Fucked a ton of women who threw themselves at me in the hopes of being chosen to become our axis, but not a single one of them made me feel like Jupiter had.
Under that though, was this nagging sensation in the pit of my stomach. It took me a second to realize it was fear. A visceral, gnawing fear, as if any moment Jupiter was going to disappear, or something, somehow, would take her away from us.
My whole life, I’d been nothing but sure of myself. I knew what I wanted, who I wanted, what I needed to do to get it. But right now, everything felt slippery, as if my grip might slacken for a split second and I’d be alone again.
I rolled to my side, pulling her with me so we remained connected. Her hair spilled across my pillow, black as the space between the stars against the grey fabric. I traced the serpent tattoos on her arm with my fingertips.
“My father called earlier,” I found myself saying, my jaw tightening at the memory. “He and my mother are coming in two days They want to meet you.”
Jupiter stiffened slightly. “Why?”
“Because you’re valuable to them now. A powerful Ophis axis bonded to their son’s shield makes the Whitlock family look good.” I couldn’t keep the bitterness from my voice. “They’ll try to use you, to parade you in front of the Assembly Council like a prize they’ve won.”
“And you?” she asked quietly. “Am I a prize to you too?”
I caught her chin between my fingers, making her look at me. “You’re...” I struggled to find the words, hoping they wouldn’t come out wrong. “Suddenly you’re the axis around which my entire world now turns, and it has fuck all to do with magic.”
Her eyes widened and through our bond, I could feel her surprise, her cautious hope.
“I won’t let them use you,” I promised. “Any of them. You’re ours.”
“Possessive much?” she teased, but I could feel her pleasure at my words.
“You have no idea,” I growled, rolling her beneath me again, already hardening inside her.
Her laugh turned into a moan as I began to move again, slower this time, savoring each slide of our bodies together. Whatever happened with my parents, whatever the Assembly had planned for us, it didn’t matter. Jupiter was mine.
SEVENTEEN
Eris
I could hear everything.The soft gasps, the slick sounds of skin on skin, the low rumble of Percy’s voice. All of it reverberated through our bond like a live wire connected directly to my cock. I sat in the common room, alone in the darkness, my hand working furiously as Jupiter’s pleasure pulsed through me.
Fuck, this wasn’t supposed to happen. I’d just been heading to the kitchen for water when I felt it, that first surge of raw need that tore through our bond when Percy pinned her against his door. Now I was trapped in the undertow, drowning in sensations that weren’t mine but felt like they were burning me alive.
“Christ,” I hissed through clenched teeth.
I caught flashes—Jupiter’s silver eyes rolling back, her lips parted on a silent scream, those perfect heavy breasts bouncing with each of Percy’s thrusts.
It’d been the same when she’d been with Draco. The bond amplified everything during sex, turning private moments into shared experiences none of us could escape. I knew that Aidenand Draco were in their rooms doing exactly what I was—chasing the phantom pleasure of Jupiter’s body.
My hand moved faster, twisting on the upstroke as I felt Jupiter’s orgasm building. I saw her in my mind—not Percy’s version of her, butmine. The way she’d looked at me this morning over breakfast, eyes bright with laughter. The curve of her neck as she bent over a textbook.
I wanted her beneath me, around me, those full lips parting on my name instead of Percy’s. I wanted to be the one making her back arch like that, making her come so hard she saw stars.
When her climax hit, it crashed through all of us like a tidal wave. I bit down on my forearm to muffle my groan as I came harder than I ever had in my life, spurting hot cum over my hand as stars burst behind my eyelids.
For a moment, I just sat there, breathing hard in the darkness, my heart hammering against my ribs. Shame crept in as the pleasure receded. This wasn’t right. Taking pleasure from her without her knowledge, even if it was just through the bond. It made me feel like a fucking voyeur.
I cleaned myself up in the bathroom, standing under the shower’s scalding spray for nearly an hour, as if I could wash away the guilt along with the evidence. By the time I emerged, wrapped in a towel with water still beading on my chest, the shield quarters had fallen silent.
I padded back toward my room, but stopped when I spotted a figure on the couch. Jupiter was curled up there, fast asleep, wearing nothing but one of Percy’s t-shirts that swallowed her small frame. Her black hair spilled across the cushions like ink, and in sleep, her face looked softer.
Something twisted in my chest at the sight of her. Something possessive and protective and terrifying.
I should have walked away. Should have left her there or woken her to go back to her or Percy’s room. Instead, Ifound myself sitting beside her, gently lifting her onto my lap. She stirred slightly, murmuring something incoherent before settling against my chest, her head tucked under my chin.
I ran my fingers through her silky hair, marveling at how soft it was. My fingers traced the curve of one of her tattoos, following its path up her arm to where it disappeared beneath the sleeve of Percy’s shirt.
