Page 54

There’s no reason for Julian to call about archive cleanup. Kain is doing data consolidation, not creative consultation. Julian has project managers. Technical leads. People whose job it is to handle this.

As Kain picks up, he slips into the professional register he uses for work calls and strangers. “Hey.”

My lips thin.

“Thanks for following up. Yeah, I’m reviewing the deleted threads now.”

A pause.

“No, the consolidation is straightforward. The moderation flags are consistent.”

Kain shifts his weight as he listens, one hand tapping the armrest. “I can prioritize the eastern alley discussion threads. Those would give us the cleanest data set for the DLC.”

My fingers drift toward his keyboard, not to type, but to touch, to be connected to the work, the screen, anything other than Julian talking in Kain’s ear.

Kain knocks my fingers away from the keys.

I snatch my hand back, my knuckles stinging from the impact.

Kain doesn’t pause his sentence or acknowledge what just happened.

“—yeah, I’ll compile those and send them over⁠—”

I twist to glare at him, but he stares past me at the wall, still talking.

I slither off his lap and onto the floor to drop between his knees under the desk. The space is tight, warm, enclosed by the wooden panel above and Kain’s thighs on either side.

I reach up and unzip his pants.

Kain stiffens and reaches down to stop me.

This time, it’s my turn to slap his hand away, and I yank his zipper the rest of the way down to fish past the waistband of his boxers. His hard, warm cock fills my palm, and my mouth waters. His balls hang heavy underneath, and my fingers brush over them as I pull him free.

My own dick twitches within my jeans, hardening fast, and my ass clenches with a rush of slick soaking through my boxers.

Kain goes rigid. His hips jerk forward a fraction, and he slaps his hand down on top of my head, his fingers digging into my scalp as he tries to shove me back.

I catch his wrist and pin it to the chair.

Kain takes me in, his pupils blown, control visibly fraying.

Then Julian speaks through the phone, and Kain’s head snaps back up.

“Yes. Yes, I’m here.” The last word cracks, but he forces the next ones out steady. “The—the flagging system is consistent. We can⁠—”

I lean forward and take him in my mouth.

The head of his cock hits the back of my throat, and I gag, saliva flooding my mouth. I pull back, spit stringing between my lips and his sensitive head, and wrap my hand around his thick shaft. His skin is hot and smooth beneath my palm, the veins standing out within my grasp.

“Fucking hell,” Kain breathes, and I’m not sure if Julian catches it.

I suck him back in, slower this time, my lips stretching around his girth, and work my tongue along the underside. Pre-cum beads at the tip, salty and slick, and I swallow around him, my throat working.

Kain’s thigh muscles jump under my free hand, and his fingers find the edge of the desk to grip it hard.

“—yeah, the new facts page, I’d—I’d recommend sorting by—by canon tier first,” he says, barely holding it together. “Pull the verified lore to the top and—fuck—and let the community submissions populate below.”

I pull off with a wet pop. Spit slicks my chin. I wipe it on the back of my hand before I tuck the waistband of his boxers under his balls to get them out of my way and take him deep again, my nose buried in the coarse hair at the base of his cock.