Chapter 15

Eyes dark and laced with fear, Kole lifts Mack back into the bed. Mack's eyes flutter and he groans. Kole supports his head and helps him take a sip of water. Mack takes it, then closes his eyes and rests his head on the pillow. Asleep instantly.

"I'll go fetch Miranda." Kim rushes from the room, while I check on Snow. He nuzzles into me and blinks slowly. His eyes are tired. His muscles are tired.

We need that hell-damned elixir. What is Miranda playing at?I snap at Kole in my head.

It's okay, Little Star. Everything will be okay. He looks over at me but sits down on Kim's bed, opposite Mack.

Do you know that?I meet his gaze, and hold it.

When he doesn't reply, I have my answer. He has no proof. No vision. No prophecy. Nothing tangible. He is giving me a platitude. A meaningless platitude.

I need air. My chest is tight, my stomach clenching and unclenching. I can't be here. I need to breathe.

I run down the corridor and up onto the roof. It is pitch dark now, the city sprawled out in front of me, blinking quietly. I brace my hands on the sill of the low wall, and try to count to ten. Then twenty. Then thirty.

No matter how high I count, the feeling in my chest doesn't change. And being up here feels wrong without Mack. Like he's gone already.

I flex my fingers, and shake my shoulders, trying to dislodge the tension. It doesn't work. Then I hear Kole.

Miranda is here. She has the elixir. Everything really will be okay, Little Star.

A grin stretches my lips. I let out a small squealing sound and jump up and down. I'll come. I'll come now.

He says not yet. He wants to be himself again.

I hug my waist. The thought of running into the room, flinging the door open, and seeing Mack standing with his arms outstretched, simmering and silver-haired, and gorgeous, makes me fizz all over.

I release my wings and return to the edge of the roof. I stretch them as wide as they will go, then I see something down below. Tanner and Thornfield. They pause, Tanner grabbing Thornfield's arm. They're talking, deep in conversation, which surprises me.

I leave the roof and rush to Thornfield's office. I'm pacing back and forth, waiting for them to appear, when my phone rings.

"Luther?" I peer into the screen. It's dark at first, but then there he is. My heart swells, then relaxes. He's okay. He's alive. He's okay.

"Nova…" The crack in his voice brings tears to my eyes. I've only ever heard him like that once before; when we were in the hotel together the night we had to go to Spine undercover. And he told me the truth about what happened to his family.

The memories that must be swirling in his head right now…

I need to hold him. I need to wrap my fiery wings around him and keep him safe.

"It's alright. You did what you had to do. It's okay."

"You know?" He asks, meeting my gaze through the screen.

"I was here when Nico called. I know." I hesitate, gripping the phone as if it might make him feel how badly I'm trying to help. "And I mean it; it's okay. You were put in an impossible position."

"I thought you'd be ashamed of me." His voice really does break this time, and I shake my head.

"Ashamed of you? Never. I'm proud of you. So proud." I will him to look at me again.

He takes a long swig of whiskey, then looks up.

"I mean it. You got out. You're alive."

"Only because of Nico."

"But you were smart enough to let Nico stay with you. If you'd wanted to lose control and hurt that man, you'd have told Nico to leave. You didn't. You let him stay because you wanted him to stop you if you got out of control. Right?"

Luther nods slowly.

"Then no more talk of being ashamed." My lips twitch as I smile, trying to make him see that I mean what I"m saying. "Or I'll have to punish you when I see you next."

"Nova…" Luther speaks my name like a filthy word that's designed to turn me on. Like he knows he shouldn't be saying it, but wants to anyway.

"Or maybe I'll just distract you." I position the phone on Thornfield's desk and stand back, slipping my sweater over my head and then peeling off my tank top, too.

"Nova, we shouldn't. I need to?—"

"I haven't seen you for days, Luther. And you're alive when you could have been dead. And Mack's going to be fine. Miranda finished the elixir. He's taking it right now?—"

Luther's eyes sparkle. "He's going to be okay?"

I nod, trailing a finger down my chest. "And you look incredibly hot right now with your smoke charred skin and your haunted eyes."

He shakes his head and chuckles darkly at me, swiping a hand over his shaved hair.

I unclasp my bra and let it fall to the floor.

He licks his lower lip.

"So, either you tell me what you want me to do for you or I'll have to make it up."

Luther hesitates for half a second, takes another swig of whiskey, then says, "Where are you? Is there a chair?"

I look past him to the chair on the other side of Thornfield's desk. "We have to be quick. Thornfield will be here any second."

"Then you better sit down quickly," Luther commands.

Moving around, I position the phone so it's leaning against Thornfield's old fashioned lamp, then settle myself in the chair. I've never liked my breasts from this angle, but Luther is looking at me like he wants to jump through the phone and devour me.

"Take your pants off but leave your underwear on. Then spread your legs."

I do as I'm told. My panties are white, and there is already a wet spot between my thighs.

"Fuck," Luther breaths. "Touch that wet spot for me, Nova." There's a rustle of movement. I hear him unclasping his belt. I want to see his cock, but I'm too turned on to ask and this is his show not mine.

"Stroke it for me." He licks his lips. The slightly jerky motion of the camera tells me he's touching himself too.

I press down on the wet spot, then move to my clit. I want to slide the fabric to one side, but he hasn't told me to so I don't.

"Lick one of your fingers and circle those beautiful nipples for me." His eyes skim down to my breasts and, as I do as I'm told, he sighs, "Good girl. Fuck, you're beautiful."

"I want to see you."

Luther shakes his head. "First, move those wet panties aside and touch your clit."

Using two fingers, I start to circle it slowly. Not building to a rhythm yet, just enjoying the sensation. But when Luther angles the camera down and shows me the way his fist is gripping his cock, his piercings glinting in the firelight of the cave, I increase the pressure.

I open my legs wider, hanging them over the arms of Thornfield's chair.

"Make yourself come for me," Luther growls. "I need to see you spark, Supernova."

I slide my fingers into my dripping pussy, half straining my ears for the sound of feet in the hall. For Tanner and Thornfield. I hear voices. My cheeks flush. The thought of them walking in on me makes the heat pool faster between my thighs.

Mack's going to be okay. Right now, he's being healed. Everything is going to be okay.

I plunge my fingers deep into my pussy, and with the other hand furiously rub my clit. My body coils with the threat of pleasure. My eyes roll back. And then I hear the footsteps. Except, I can't stop. I can't stop now.

"They're… here…"

Luther barks at me not to stop. "Keep going. I don't care if Thornfield sees you coming all over his chair. In fact, I want him to see you. Let him see how fucking incredible you are."

The door opens. Tanner is saying, "You didn't realize there was something wrong with the girl? She's sick, Thornfield. I could feel it a mile off." He stops, then says, "Nova…"

I look up, and smile at him. Tanner's cheeks flush bright red. He grabs Thornfield's arms and shoves him violently from the room. Slamming the door shut, he turns around. I can practically feel his cock twitching from here.

"Nova, what are you doing?"

"Tanner, come fuck our girl for me." Luther says, slowing down the rhythm on his cock.

Tanner doesn't even hesitate. His pants and shirt are off and on the floor by the time he's reached me.

"No, don't fuck her. Taste her." Luther raises his eyebrows, and Tanner sinks to his knees.

As soon as his tongue makes contact with my clit, I release a loud moan and grip the back of his head, holding him in place. As he licks, and sucks, and plunges his fingers into me, I force myself to keep my eyes open and stare at Luther.

Then I push Tanner away, stand up, and make him sit in the chair. Blocking him from Luther's view, facing the camera, I lower myself onto his cock. As I move up and down on his shaft, and he holds my hips, I tilt forward and my eyes fly open at the sensation of the angle he's hitting.

I grab the desk, using it to give me enough leverage to move faster and harder.

Tanner groans and sweeps my hair from my shoulder so he can kiss my back.

"Fuck, Nova, come for us," Luther says.

He's going to come too, and Tanner isn't far behind. I can feel it in the way he's swelling inside me, filling me up. I reach for my clit, leaning back onto Tanner and bracing my legs on the desk. "I'm going to come, oh fuck, I'm going to come."

"Good girl," Luther says slowly. "You can do it."

As my orgasm builds, I jerk forward again. Tanner lets out a loud moan and jerks his hips so his cock thrusts up into me. He reaches up, grabbing the top of my neck.

And then my body unfurls.

Every muscle, every fiber, every cell explodes. My wings burst free, sparks flying into the room and circling up toward the ceiling.

On the screen, Luther comes hard. He's panting, his brow beaded with sweat.

Tanner lifts me off him. I drop to my knees, still quivering, and open my mouth. Smoothing my hair gently from my face, he reaches over for the phone and holds it so Luther can see him come onto my tongue. I stare up at them both, then swallow.

"Shit, that's hot," Tanner breathes.

"I wish I was there to fuck you, too, Little Star." Luther wipes his brow with the back of his hand.

"Are you finished?" Thornfield is standing by the door. None of us heard him enter, and I have no idea how long he's been standing there for. He's holding up his phone. "I sent images of the book we needed to your phone, Nova. Perhaps you can find time to look at them while Kole and I take care of Zephyra. If you're not otherwise engaged."

Slowly, I stand up and lean over, hands on the desk. "I don't appreciate your tone."

Thornfield's eyes flicker. "You have something on your chin," he drawls. "Maybe you should lick it off."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Maybe you should lick it off for me."

"Hey, hey…" Tanner stands up, pulling his pants on. "Enough."

"Who the fuck does that guy think he is?" Luther growls from the phone.

I turn around, giving Thornfield a prime view of my ass as I pick up my clothes and put them back on. Then I retrieve my phone. "Sorry, I was just playing with him."

"I'm not pissed at you," Luther says, flicking a flame into his palm. Clearly, right now, his emotions are on the edge. Simmering close to the surface.

"I should go." I stare at him, wishing he was close enough to touch.

He blinks and shakes his head, as if he forgot the entire reason we were speaking in the first place. "Wait. Before you go…" He sighs heavily. "There's something you should know."

Tanner moves back into Luther's eye-line, wrapping his arms around my waist. "What is it, Luther?"

"The scepter," he says. "We have new information."

Thornfield is by my side before I even realise he's moved. "Where is it?" he whispers.

"No idea," Luther says. "All I know is that the AMA doesn't have it. They took credit for it. But it wasn't them who stole it, and it wasn't them who bought it at auction. It was all a lie."

"If it wasn't them, who the fuck was it?" Thornfield barks. It's perhaps the first time I've heard him swear.

"Well, that's the question, isn't it?" Luther replies.