Page 65

EON

I walked back out into Cy’s living room. He leaned against the back of his couch, waiting for me.

“She’s stable. That gel works wonders, trust me.” He flashed his hand at me—the one that had been stabbed in the Den. Not even a scar. “She’ll be out cold until morning, then good as new.”

I nodded, not meeting his eyes. Why had I come here? Why had I trusted him? I could say it was because it was closer or his med gear, but I’d always been terrible at lying to myself.

I knew he would help me.

I knew I would let him.

He wandered over to his kitchen, the refrigerator light casting him in harsh relief as he grabbed two beers.

A metallic glint flashed as he tossed one of the cans to me, and my mind snapped to it instantly.

My body was slower to respond, the Vector comedown already leaving me shaky and dysregulated.

I barely managed to catch the can, the cold metal slick in my hand.

“So,” he said, popping open his own, “you gonna tell me what the hell that was?”

“Plausible deniability isn’t possible if I do.”

He gave a very Maddox-like grunt and took a sip of his beer. I wondered if the conversation was over.

“She the one who hired you to distract me?”

The question caught me off guard, and he must’ve seen the answer on my face. What surprised me more was the disapproval in his expression.

“What? Like you’ve never hired a whore before?”

“I’ve hired plenty. Enjoyed plenty. But who would ever look at you and think that’s where your value lay?”

“I thought you said I was worthless, just like the rest?”

“You know I’m a liar.”

Stop looking at me like that.

I turned away from him. “Taos means well.”

He gave a harsh laugh. “The worst people always do.”

He stepped closer—so close I could see the tiny arcs of electricity snaking around his pupils. He put his hand on my shoulder, and I didn't pull away.

“You take Vector?” he asked.

No point lying now. Not like he was one to judge. “How can you tell?”

“Your Flux is all over the place.”

Nothing was visible, but I could still feel the power pulsing through my blood.

My heart was beating erratically, like it was trying to stop and explode all at once.

Every inch of my skin was hypersensitive, and where his hand touched, it burned like a brand.

The comedown was always the worst part—when the power faded, but the craving remained.

Like it was searching for relief, my Flux rose up, and immediately I felt his do the same.

Our fields merged, melting into one another with no resistance.

Like our Flux knew the truth we kept denying.

That we fit together, two halves of a broken whole.

But when our Flux threaded between all those shattered fragments, something beautiful and new remained.

My craving for Vector faded as my gaze lingers on his full lips, and a new craving took its place.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” he said, his voice low. “You don’t need it.”

I jerked away. “Don’t lecture me when you’re pumped full of military-grade Vector practically twenty-four seven.”

His jaw clenched. “That’s different.”

“How? Because it’s POM-approved? Because it keeps you from feeling anything?”

His fingers flexed at his sides, small arcs of electricity crackling between them. “I’ve been in pain every day of my life. Vector helps with that.” The spark he’d been playing with jumped over to me. “That was until I met you. Now…well, I’ve never known torture like this before.”

The raw honesty in his voice made me look up. His eyes were fierce—not with anger, but with something that made my stomach clench.

“Well, you’ll be rid of me soon.”

“Don’t do that,” he said.

“What?”

“Don’t pretend like you don’t feel this too.”

“Feel what? There’s nothing here, Cy.” Lie. “You’re just horny, and I’m available.” Lie. “I’m an outlaw cyberrunner, and you’re a corpo lapdog.” True. “Nothing can exist between us.” Lie?

He edged closer, undeterred. “Since when have you been one to follow the rules?”

“Says the man who obeys every order from those fucking corporate dogs—”

Before I could finish, he grabbed my wrist and pushed me back against the wall, his forearm braced above my head, his mouth nearly on mine.

“All I do is disobey.” He let go of my wrist and trailed his fingers over my cheek and jaw.

“Ever since you tricked me in that bar, nothing has mattered. I’ve broken every protocol, disobeyed direct orders.

I’ve got a wanted terrorist in my bed and the shield tech hacker in my grasp, and yet I haven’t made a damn move, have I? ”

“You said you would get me immunity—”

“You don’t need immunity! I never fucking told anyone it was you.”

He was so close, and my heart was racing.

“Why not?”

He looked away, didn’t answer. It was my turn to grab his chin and drag his gaze back to mine. “Why?”

“I told you, I always get what I want.”

It was so goddamn addictive, the electricity in the air between us. But it was dangerous—too dangerous. If we closed this gap, it would set off a chain reaction neither of us would ever come back from.

My life was already ruined, in no small part thanks to him.

But it had been shit since I’d lost Mom.

So dark I wasn’t sure I’d make it through.

And then there was him. A fucking corpo who electrified my whole world.

I looked up into those dark eyes, that harsh face paired with those soft lips, and I wanted him to destroy me completely.

Fuck it.

I moved, and he met me—our mouths, tongues, and teeth clashing like we were both starving.

We’d been denying each other so long, the surge was volatile.

Our Flux surged immediately, neither of us able to hold back as sparks arced to every metallic surface around us.

His hand gripped the back of my neck, just shy of painful, and I wrapped my arms around his firm waist, pulling his body against mine.

Our hips met and he groaned as I rolled against him, unwilling to wait, unwilling to be gentle.

He pressed his knee between my thighs and rubbed against where I was already soaking wet.

“Fuck, Eon. You feel like heaven.” His voice was rough against my ear, his breath hot on my skin. He bit down on my earlobe, and I couldn’t stop the whimper that escaped me. “Please, let me take you there. Let me be your salvation.”

I laughed against his mouth, breathy and desperate. “So eager for something you’ve already had.”

He pulled back just enough to look into my eyes, his own burning with something that made my knees weak.

“Doll, I could have you all night and all day and never be satisfied.” His hand slid down my body, over my hip, under the hem of my shirt.

His fingers were surprisingly gentle as they traced over my skin, leaving trails of electricity in their wake.

He pressed his palm flat against my stomach, and I felt his Flux pulse through me—not like the violent current he’d given me so often, but something controlled. Intimate. It made my own Flux rise to meet his, our frequencies syncing in a way that had us both gasping.

He lifted me like I weighed nothing, carrying me to the couch and setting me down.

Before I could protest, he was kneeling between my legs, pushing my skirt up, his mouth hot on my thigh.

The pads of his fingers, roughened by countless battles, created a delicious friction against my skin that belied the lethal precision I knew he possessed.

I shifted my hips, and he let out an approving groan. Those long, deadly fingers snaked over the waistband of my panties, tugging them down around my ankles.

He left a trail of soft kisses along my thigh, but I was done being patient. I grabbed a handful of his thick, blue hair and tugged until he was buried in my pussy.

He huffed, which turned into both of us groaning as his tongue twisted around my clit before diving deeper into me.

It shifted between pointed and flat, each stroke finding a new angle to wreck me from until I was grinding against his face so hard his Flux strained.

But I wanted more. I always wanted more from him.

“Cy, fuck me. Right now.”

To my surprise, he chuckled, pulling back just enough to speak.

“Why should I? I’m perfectly happy down here.” His breath ghosted over where I needed him most. “Maybe I want you to beg for it.” He nipped gently, and I considered it.

“God, I hate you.”

He let out a long, low hum that had me writhing. “Say it again. Tell me how much you hate me.”

“I…hate…you,” I said between pants.

“But you can’t resist me.” He licked a slow, deliberate line up my center that had me seeing stars.

He looked up at me with those eyes, wreathed in electricity and sin. I felt the metal ball of his piercing brush against my agonizingly swollen clit, and my eyes rolled back. Then he pulled back, and I let out an absolutely pathetic whimper.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a condom. I looked down to see his swollen cock already out, precum leaking over his piercings from where he’d already been touching himself. I’d been too distracted to notice. I raised a brow at him as he rolled the condom on.

“What? I’m only human.”

He hooked his arm under one of my thighs and opened me further to him as he moved behind me, laying us down on the couch.

The heat of his chest pressed against my back, and I rolled my hips against him.

“So impatient.” He nipped the skin beneath my ear and pressed his cock against my ass.

“Good things come to those who wait, you know?”

“Maybe I’m tired of waiting,” I hissed, pressing into him again.

“I can tell.” He snaked his other hand down my body, tracing the curve of my hip before sinking two fingers deep inside me.

“You’re even wetter now. You want this dick bad, huh?” I could feel the smirk on his lips as his teeth gently gripped my neck.