Demonic Pornstar System novel Chapter 609

Chapter 609: Ashbound Films

*Click!*

The last light blinked red, then went dark.

A few cameras continued to click for half a second longer, reflexive shutters catching lingering angles before the director’s hand came up in a sharp gesture. "And—cut. That’s a wrap. Good energy. We’ve got it. Ashbound Films are going to take over the world soon."

The tension that had filled the space evaporated almost instantly. Crew members lowered rigs, shoulders loosening as they stepped back from their marks. Someone muttered about framing, another about post-processing, while a tech leaned in to check playback. The artificial intimacy dissolved the moment it was no longer needed, replaced by the familiar hum of work resuming.

Ash, widely known as the S-tier Ashen Knight of the Ashbound guild led by the Ashbound family, moved the instant the word cut landed.

He swung his legs off the bed and stood in one smooth motion, already reaching for the towel and then the armor rack at the side of the room. There was no lingering caressing of his partner, no moment of hesitation. Plates came into his hands, one after another, steel catching the ambient glow of interface light as he began fastening them with efficient motions. The shift was immediate and total, from performer to weapon, from staged closeness to disciplined readiness.

Behind him, the bed was left as it was, sheets rumpled and heat rapidly dissipating.

Brittany lay on her side beneath the tangled covers, bare skin exposed to the cool air of the room. She watched him in silence for a few seconds, eyes following the familiar pattern of his movements, waiting for the moment when he would turn back to her. When it didn’t come, she pushed herself up slightly and reached out, fingers brushing against the edge of his greave.

"Can’t you stay a little longer?" she asked. Her voice carried irritation more than need, the sound of someone who already knew the answer but resented it anyway.

Ash tightened the clasp and reached for his chest piece. "No. We’ve got monsters to slay and points to amass," he said, tone flat and practical. "This was just a lunch break. Stacy and Trisha are already out there working hard."

Her mouth tightened. "I didn’t even get to eat or relax."

"You’ll manage," he replied, sliding the armor into place and sealing it with a muted click. "You’re A-tier, level seventy plus. You’re not fragile enough to die of missing one lunch."

"..." Brittany looked away, jaw setting as she swallowed whatever she’d been about to say. A few seconds passed before she tried again, quieter this time. "You didn’t even kiss me."

"I kissed you during foreplay minutes ago."

"But it was for the cameras! You haven’t kissed me without being filmed in days, if not weeks!"

"You’re imagining things." Ash was already moving, boots thudding softly against the floor as he stepped past the bed toward the far side of the room where the camera crew was reviewing footage. Lights dimmed one by one, lenses capped, cables coiled. He stopped among them without looking back.

"All right. Let’s go over it."

One of the crew scrubbed through footage, pausing and replaying short segments while the others chimed in. The conversation turned technical fast, voices overlapping as they dissected angles, pacing, reactions. The focus drifted, inevitably, toward Brittany. What she could have done better. Where her expressions fell flat. How her timing hurt engagement metrics. Where she failed to hold the camera’s attention long enough.

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