Chapter 44
When we enter the room upstairs, Harlow and Jack are sitting on the floor, curled into each other, their legs tangled. Her prosthetic is off, Jack’s fingers caressing her stump while she shivers. I bite back a scoff. So he finally got it off her. Jack’s using his last night with a body to make all his wet dreams come true.
They look up when Caden clears his throat, Harlow’s eyes bright yet tired, the shadows lining them dark. She cleaned up at some point, her face free of the smudged makeup. So pale, drawn, and yet sweet, her features seem younger without the paint.
“Done saying your goodbyes?” I ask, folding my arms on my chest.
Jack gives me a shit-eating grin instead of answering and slides his hand between Harlow’s thighs, making her gasp. I force myself not to react when I see what he’s doing.
He gathers his cum that slid down her legs and pushes it back up her cunt, glancing at me and Cay with a smirk. Caden isn’t as good at controlling himself as I am, or maybe he doesn’t care that we’ll see how it affects him. “Fuck,” he murmurs, taking a step closer. “Come on, spread wide, pet. Let us see.”
No, he definitely doesn’t want to pretend he’s immune.
Harlow looks dazed and she lets Jack push her legs apart like she’s a ragdoll he can position as he wants. My dick swells with arousal, and I briefly wonder how the fuck it can still do that. I just fucked Caden and came so hard.
But maybe it’s the fact we’re not truly alive. Refractory period might not apply to embodied ghosts.
Or maybe it’s the vision of true death looming ahead. The last valiant effort of our bodies to get the biggest bang for our buck. I snort, eyes glued to Jack’s fingers moving slowly through the mess between Harlow’s legs. Yeah, I’m horny, though I won’t be fucking her cunt. That, at least, hasn’t changed.
“Come on, gentlemen,” Jack says, pushing two fingers deep inside Harlow until she gasps, arching her back. “One last ride. All of us together.”
Harlow takes a deep breath only to choke on Jack’s fingers, which he shoves deep in her mouth, his cum coating them. An angry snarl tears out of me before I can stop it, my hands itching for control. My cock throbs, good and hard already, and I have ideas.
“Can you take me one more time?” I murmur to Caden when he turns to look at me. “Or I could fuck Jack, I suppose,” I add in a louder voice, making Jack freeze as I shoot him a smirk.
“Fuck you,” he spits, his face flaming red under the tan. He looks not only angry but also flustered, and that gives me pause. But then Caden’s hands frame my face, and he leans in for a quick but deep kiss.
“I can take you, baby. Any time.”
“And I want you to fuck Harlow’s mouth,” I say, my heart beating faster when the details of what I want to do slot into place. These might be our last hours of existence. And I want to get rid of my regrets—as many as I can.
“Then I’ll fuck you again, princess,” Jack says, already calm as he places a gentle kiss on her temple. “You up for it?”
Harlow takes a deep breath and nods, then braces herself to stand up. “Sorry,” she says in a raspy voice. “Yeah, I am. I’m just so tired. So much happened.”
I study her face, eyes narrowing on the ghostly pallor of her skin. She’s alive, and more constraints are placed on her than on us. She must be exhausted after everything that’s happened. And yet, she keeps going. I come over, deciding to indulge every fucking urge in the short time I have left, and cup her cheek as she straightens. Her eyes widen when she looks at my face, instantly waking up.
“You’re doing so well, angel,” I tell her, meaning every word. “You’re so strong and resilient, taking it all so well. Making sure to get everything you can out of this last night. I promise it will all end soon. You’ll rest.”
I don’t just speak to her, but to the weariness inside me, too. Soon. Soon, we’ll rest. I lean closer, giving her the briefest peck right on her lips and pull away before she can kiss me back.
She looks surprised, blinking up at me dazedly until Caden swoops in, capturing her mouth in a firm kiss even as he tugs me closer, his hand on my hip. I press my hand to his, watching them kissing, the contrast so stark now that Harlow’s skin is bare. How pale and soft she is, how young. He looks like a savage in comparison, his skin swarthy and lined, rough shadow on his chin and cheeks.
And yet, their lips fit together perfectly, mouths moving in unison. I swallow a tightness in my throat with a bittersweet triumph. I hate sharing him, but I’m glad it’s her. Seeing how much Caden wants her gives me peace. Makes it okay to want her, too.
Jack comes to stand behind Harlow and snakes his arms around her. Caden pulls back, and Jack tugs her into a kiss. I grip the back of Caden’s head and crush my mouth to his, tasting Harlow on his tongue.
Fuck, it feels so good.
I reach out blindly, finding Harlow’s hip, and I tug her closer. Jack follows, and we all stand pressed together, our hands reaching and tangling while we kiss. Caden pulls back, nipping lightly on my lower lip, his eyes already dark with lust. He turns and grabs Harlow, tearing her away from Jack’s mouth, and when she turns and kisses him, I put my arm around her waist and kiss down her neck, because fuck.RêAd lat𝙚St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only
No more thinking. No regrets. I’ll just let my instincts take over.
Jack’s on her other side, nuzzling into her skin as his frantic hands move over her tits and stomach. I kiss down her shoulder, past the strips of fabric tying up her wound, realizing it’s her right side that’s turned to me. Slowly, I trail my fingers down her stump, wondering how that feels for her.
It’s intense, that’s for sure, because she moans into Caden’s mouth, shaking under our touch. He groans into the kiss, his fingers sliding up my hip and stomach. I’m only wearing my pants, my torn shirt lost somewhere in the house, and Caden squeezes my bare waist as he dips lower to tongue Harlow’s nipple.
She’s flushed, her lips moving slightly with every frantic breath. I drop a kiss on her forehead and reach for her throat, squeezing just hard enough to make her wince. Her blush deepens, eyes flaring wide. Jack tugs on her hair to face him. He devours her mouth with a feral grunt, his hands roaming her body frantically, tanned fingers sliding over soft skin.
When he touches Caden’s face, still pressed to Harlow’s tit, he hesitates before burying his fingers in his hair.
I watch that for a moment before huffing with amusement. Something definitely got me tonight. Why not Jack, too? If he’s having some kind of bi awakening, who am I to judge him, anyway? That’s not the problem, though.
The problem is, he’s touching my Caden. As Jack’s long fingers sift through Cay’s short hair, I wait for my jealousy to hit, but it doesn’t. All I feel is a reluctant acceptance, because somehow, it feels right.
Because Jack’s one of us, and we’re all in this together.