Page 179 of The Reckoning of Starlight

His body answered for him.

Of course it did. Traitorous flesh, every time. His cock gave a faint, humiliating twitch against his stomach, attempting resurrection before he’d even assembled a single coherent thought.

Lykor stared past Jassyn at the ceiling, at fractures he could’ve drawn from memory after hours spent counting them while Jassyn slept. Better the fissures in the stone than Jassyn’s closed eyes and the question of whether they’d ever open again.

But now those eyes watched him with an attention that left him nowhere to hide, making his pulse hammer hard enough to bruise.

Lykor reached for words to say. Something rough or dismissive, some serrated remark he could shove between them before Jassyn found another part of him left undefended. Want had never survived long enough to become a problem. There’d always been his people to keep alive, some threat that mattered more than anything he might’ve claimed for himself.

And somehow this was what finally defeated him, lying naked under Jassyn’s hands and already aching for whatever came next.

What he managed was, “That’s not how mending works.”

Jassyn’s mouth curved further. “Then you have a lot to learn.”

Lykor’s stomach lurched. Jassyn regarded him, just as composed as he’d been when unclasping every buckle and untying every lace, kneeling between Lykor’s thighs and looking up with his mouth around—

Lykor strangled the thought before his body could respond any further.

Too late.

But his mind finally caught up with the rest of him. Jassyn meant to heal him just enough to ruin him again.

“If the wraith learn mending can be used like this,” he muttered, “I’ll never get the ranks back into formation.”

Jassyn huffed a quiet laugh. “I’ve heard enough about wraith stamina from Fenn to last a lifetime.” His thumb moved in a slow circle over Lykor’s chest, each pass unhurried. “But since you’re only half wraith, I can make up the difference.”

Lykor bristled, indignation burning hot beneath his skin. His body supplied its own rebuttal, blood gathering low, stubborn and eager, his cock stirring against his stomach. Half wraith or not, he was recovering perfectly well.

The crimson light twined around Jassyn’s fingers and waited.

He knew exactly what he was doing. He’d give Lykor room to refuse and relish every second it took him to ask instead.

“Fine,” Lykor growled. Like he ever intended to deny him. “Mend me.”

Essence sank into his chest before the last word left his mouth.

Magic tunneled through him, finding every strain he’d dismissed. The tight pull across his shoulders eased first, then the ache buried along his ribs, relief spreading until his next inhale opened his chest without resistance.

Insulting, really, how quickly his body folded for amber eyes and weaponized hands. Clearly, Jassyn had taken mend me as permission to repair every discomfort Lykor had been ignoring.

Jassyn’s fingers drifted lower.

Lykor tensed as crimson light slipped down the shallow grooves of his stomach, warmth spilling over his hips before streaming along his length. It delved deeper between his thighs, easing the spent ache there until a fresh pressure built.

Heat flared low, blood gathering with enough force to make Lykor’s jaw lock. He thickened under the weave, every change laid bare to Jassyn’s infuriatingly patient scrutiny.

Then Jassyn’s fingers skimmed the side of his length. Essence had crossed Lykor’s shoulders, ribs, and half his scorching body without requiring so much as a fingertip. Apparently, his cock alone required direct contact.

Lykor’s hips jerked toward those fingers, and a sound broke from his throat he intended to deny until every star burned out.

“You’re doing that on purpose,” he hissed.

“Doing what?” Jassyn’s brows rose. “I’m healing you.”

“Right.” Lykor’s talons punctured the sheets. Better to shred the bedding than Jassyn’s skin. “Keep healing me like that, and this will be over before it starts.”

“I wasn’t going to mend you all the way.” Essence dimmed as Jassyn settled a palm at Lykor’s hip. “You’ll have to work for the rest.”