Page 42 of Martyr (Sterling Falls Rogues #3)

He pulls off and tips his head back, his eyes half-lidded. “Go on, then.”

It’s like he heard me.

I touch his cheek, briefly. I slide my fingers through his hair to the back of his head and drag him back to my cock.

This isn’t exactly how I wanted it to go—I wanted to be inside him.

But I can’t resist this either. I fill his mouth, plunging deeper until I hit the back of his throat. His eyes widen.

“There you go,” I breathe. “Relax into it.”

He does. His throat works, squeezing at my tip, until I pull back. His nostrils flare with his sharp inhale, and I do it again. I get into a rhythm, making sure he’s not hating it. His hand is in his pants, freeing his dick. I grunt when he jacks himself.

Selfishly, I don’t want him to come in his hand. I pick up my pace, and he mirrors me. I’ve got the leg up on him. The advantage of his mouth and a head start in the race.

My balls tighten, and I tell him I’m about to come a split second before my climax hits.

He swallows, nearly choking on it. His tongue sweeps around my length as I pull out.

“Hands off,” I grit out.

He releases himself. His rock-hard cock bobs in the air, tattooed and perfect. I step back, eyeing him. He wipes his mouth on the back of his hand and narrows his eyes.

I smile, then turn away to fix the water temperature. I climb in without a backward glance, the hot water immediately pummeling my chest. I rotate and tip my head into the stream.

Saint doesn’t take long to join me, entering from the opposite end. The curtain rustles back into position when he is fully in, and my gaze drifts across his body. He’s ripped. His abdominal muscles flex under my inspection. His cock is still hard, pointing at me.

Poor thing.

And he wasn’t taken care of last night either.

The sacrificial Saint.

I step closer, into his space, until our chests bump. He has to look up at me like this, the slightest incline of his chin, and I smirk down at him. I lean in, so fucking slow, and press my lips to his.

He doesn’t hesitate to kiss me back, and my fucking heart soars. I reach between us and grip his length. His hips buck once, then still. I jerk him off, my wet hand sliding easily. I know how I like it, and I have a feeling he likes a solid grip, too. He pants into my mouth.

“Not yet,” I say, my breath mixing with his.

He grunts. He grasps at my waist, and his nails dig in the more I stroke him. When his grip tightens, I release his cock. I plunge my tongue in his mouth and take my time tasting him. He fights back, and I revel in the passion.

He has come back. The memory-lacking Saint wouldn’t be this into it. Not with months of sexual tension from the old him under his belt.

No belt on anymore…

With that in mind, I break our kiss and drop to my knees. He tasted me, now I want to show him what I can do. He opens and closes his mouth, but I just wink at him. The water hits the back of my neck and runs down my back.

“Oh, fuck,” Saint murmurs.

“Let me show you how to suck a dick like it’s your favorite flavor,” I say.

I grab his hand and put it on the back of my head, then I open my mouth and swallow him whole.

“Is that Tem?”

Saint’s voice is raspy. His fingers trace a pattern across my back, randomly pressing into the muscles when he finds a knot.

It’s been a luxury, in a way, to be able to just exist with him for the last few hours.

The shower blow job led to washing each other, and more kissing, but that’s it.

We fell into bed, but it was exhaustion-driven, not sexual.

He’s referring to the chime from my phone, which I haven’t yet looked at. My phone is on the floor, and one of my arms hangs off it. My fingers are inches from the device.

But checking seems like bursting this quiet bubble, and I hesitate.

It chimes again, which is probably not very Tem-like, at all. I’m not actually sure Artemis knows where her phone is.

I groan and flip my phone screen-up, tapping to wake it up.

Ouranos .

My eyes open, my body waking up. “Fuck.”

I shove myself up and swing my legs over the edge of the bed. Saint’s hand falls away, but I ignore him to hunt for my underwear and jeans. I slide them on, then my shoes, and fumble for a shirt.

Pretty sure it’s Saint’s shirt, but whatever.

“It’s not Tem,” I say. “I’ll be back.”

Phone in hand, I hastily exit her apartment and jog upstairs. I pass her office, then Antonio’s, and am in the kitchen when my phone starts trilling with an incoming call.

I slip out into the open rooftop bar and answer it.

“Your message was received loud and clear,” Ouranos says without preamble. His voice is deep, but he doesn’t sound annoyed, exactly. “My Cyclopes were discovered outside of Bow & Arrow, which I assume you’ve taken over.”

I cock my head. Why isn’t he mentioning the seven cars’ worth of men we killed last night? We did a great job cleaning up the mess, but you’d think he would’ve noticed that many gone.

Well, actually, his Cyclopes never checked in with him. It was always me or Gabriel who they reported to… Would he have been able to reach everyone?

Perhaps this is just a delay. A delightful delay in him receiving information.

“Kade.” His voice shifts into something darker. “Are you going to deny it?”

I straighten. “No, I don’t deny it. We’ve taken over the club… and everything below it.”

He lets out a laugh. “You think you can hold that space? My men are all across the city. I might not want it today, Kade, but I will be coming for Terror.”

He really doesn’t know .

A thrill goes through me, but I’m not about to be the one to reveal it. I’ll let that honor go to someone more deserving. Artemis, perhaps. They haven’t ever come face-to-face, but I think she might relish telling him a chunk of his army was wiped out with one hastily built plan.

“Does this have to do with Artemis or Reese?” He pauses. “Or is it Saint Hart? I saw your expression when I mentioned him before.”

Is there a nice way of saying all three ?

He sighs. “Oh, Kade. You’ve always had an issue leading from your heart instead of your brain.”

“I—”

“Here’s the deal,” he continues as if I hadn’t tried to speak.

“I don’t really give a shit about you. Your leadership skills were good in Emerald Cove, but I’m looking for a bit more.

Who I do want is Gabriel. So, you tell me where he is, and I won’t send every single fucking person under my command to North Falls and burn the whole club to the ground. ”

There it is: the reason for the call. He knows I’m not on his side, but he still thinks he can get another ounce of information from me.

Gabriel and I are connected through Lyssa. That’s been the one thread keeping us connected. She’s awake, and the guy who calls me his brother has no fucking idea. She’s hidden under a different name, relearning how to live again. To use her muscles. To walk. To eat solid food.

She’ll be okay. My dear sister is going to live.

Will Gabriel?

I thought I could trust him, but he attacked Saint…

“He’s no longer with us,” I say evenly. “But I’m pretty sure I know where he is.”

I give Ouranos an address and hang up before I can regret it.

Across the restaurant, mostly concealed by shadows, someone pushes off the wall. They give me a slow wave before they leave. The door swings shut behind them, and I turn away.

“Good luck,” I whisper.