by Heather Long
Impaled between them, Dahlia clenched against their cocks as aftershocks rippled through her, and she shuddered. Tarus’ rumbled growl echoed Zhan’s. His body ached for her, but he also wanted to treasure this moment. As soon as Tarus let her up for breath, Zhan kissed her again, this time cradling her face. With careful sweeps of his thumbs he wiped away her tears.
Then they were just still, his forehead against hers as Tarus tucked his cheek against hers. Their breaths mingling. It was a perfect moment, rapture giving way to bone-deep togetherness. Oddly, the only thing missing—and it was definitely missing—was Seth not being there.
Dahlia’s soft giggle made Zhan grin. That laugh of hers was such a gift. “I don’t know what happened to have you boys let loose and give me such a proper dicking, but I am not complaining.”
Tarus chuckled as he eased out, pulling a moaning whimper from Dahlia and a groan from Zhan.
“Are you hungry?” Zhan curled up into a sitting position, taking Dahlia with him.
Her stomach growled as if waiting for the perfect time.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Tarus reached out his hands to steady Dahlia as she climbed to her feet.
She laughed. “I guess so.”
Still riding the high of their lovemaking, Zhan linked his hands behind his head, smiling softly as he watched Tarus guide Dahlia out of the bedroom with hands set low on her hips. At the last minute, Tarus grabbed her silk robe off of the back of the door, draping it over her shoulders.
“Thank you. Are you going to get dressed too, or just let it all hang out?” She grinned over her shoulder as she trailed her gaze down Tarus’ body.
“It’s more convenient this way,” he growled into her ear as he slapped her ass.
Then they were out of sight.
Sharing Dahlia with his brother was nothing short of amazing, and he needed a minute just to soak it in. He grinned as he listened to their banter while they putzed around the kitchen. Finally feeling like he had missed out on enough, he rolled out of bed and grabbed a pair of boxers.
Dahlia was seated on the counter, swinging her legs as Tarus popped a few pieces of bread in the toaster and cracked eggs in a glass bowl.
“So, Tarus. What’s up with the tattoo? And why hide it from me all this time?” She grinned at Zhan as he headed straight toward her, pushing his hips between her legs.
Whisking the eggs, he replied, “It’s part of my true form. Until yesterday when I used my grace, and when I let go this morning, you had only seen my human form, or our middle form where our wings are visible.”
“Think of it like Seth’s braid that’s only visible in his Keeper form,” Zhan said as he cupped the back of her knees to scoot her closer to the edge of the counter.
“Only my tattoo is also a sign of my grace.” He lifted his head and smirked. “The pain of the tattoo is a representation of punishment.”
She rolled her eyes and smiled, even as she skated her hands over Zhan’s shoulders up to spear her fingers into his hair. Not passing an opportunity to taste her, he dipped his head, sucking her lower lip between his teeth. Remnants of molten fire stirred in his veins as he deepened the kiss, swallowing all of her small noises.
“Zhan.” Tarus tried to catch his brother’s attention.
Ignoring him, Zhan slipped one hand inside her robe to palm her breast, rolling her hardened bud between his fingers, finishing on a pinch. She ripped her mouth away and made a garbled noise as she bit down on his shoulder.
“Brother. Stop for one minute. This is important.” The bowl clanked against the counter as Tarus set it down, then he was there, pushing Zhan just enough to break their kiss.
“What the hell?” Zhan’s exasperation filled the room.
“Stop. Just fucking stop and look at me.” Tarus tightened his grip on his shoulder as if to anchor him in the moment. Zhan forced his gaze to Tarus to see what the fuck he wanted.
Dahlia’s panting broke the silent staredown between the brothers, then Tarus answered them both. “Your fucking aura, Zhan.” He shook his head and stepped back. “Move back so I can see if this is like Seth’s.”
Stunned, Zhan staggered back a few steps, recalling the subtle way Seth’s aura had changed after he saved her.
“You have small streaks of white arcing through your aura, brother.” He whispered in awe. “Is it wrong that I’m jealous?”
“Why would you be jealous?” Dahlia was still catching her breath as she twisted her black locks into a ponytail over her shoulder.
“Because we know for certain now that you are the white streaks in their aura, and they have your mark while I don’t.”
The shock on Tarus’ face shouldn’t have surprised Zhan, but it did. They had all noticed the change in Seth, had assumed it was saving Dahlia that altered his aura. Did that mean that her life was extended?
Unbridled hope burst inside his chest at the thought.
He just needed to track down Bish to confirm.
24
I’d never been ‘footloose and fancy-free’ a day in my life. It took dying to discover this freedom. It took dying and meeting my angels. - Dahlia
Dahlia
The past two days were nothing short of amazing. And that was saying something, since my angels had taken it upon themselves to give me the time of my life. The adventures, the sightseeing, the dates, all of it was magical in a way I never would have predicted. They didn’t believe me, but I truly didn’t begrudge the way things had happened. This small bit of happiness was worth more than thirty years of average if I’d survived Alex.
The only blip in my bright days happened when Seth came back. At first, I hadn’t even realized he wasn’t there with us. It wasn’t uncommon that one brother would slink off to give me privacy with another. And the twin sandwich, it was nothing like I had ever experienced.
Woo! I still had to fan myself just thinking about it.
Tarus had finally touched me, and for more than a casual caress or a spank.
After the revelation that Zhan now carried some kind of mark, which he was extremely pleased over, Seth stormed back into the house, his wings twitching in agitation as he bypassed us and slammed the bedroom door.
Tarus and Zhan had exchanged a suspicious as hell look, but I was too high on life to want to dig into it. At least right then. Even in my attempt to keep conversation light, they kept shooting sad looks toward the bedroom, and conversation pretty much died at that point.
Still, whatever had them down, I didn’t really want to know.
When Seth came out, he was his normal self again, heading straight for me, wrapping me up in his arms and kissing my forehead before tipping my chin up to meet my lips. I sighed and melted into him. This was that special something that I had missed all my life.
Now I was coming out of the shower, rubbing a towel in my hair as I searched for the guys. Not surprisingly, they were lounging on the balcony, watching the clouds shift in the sky. I grinned to myself. These beautiful beasts were all mine.
“Have you noticed her glow?” Seth glanced at his brothers, halting me in my steps.
I had a glow?
Backing up, I checked my reflection in the window. Nothing unusual. I looked like the same old Dahlia, only more relaxed and much happier.
“Yes.” Tarus didn’t sound too enthused about it though. “She’s burning brighter than she ever has. We need to find Bish, see if he can tell us if what Zhan has done is helping.”
Why would Bish be able to tell them that? It must have something to do with his specific grace rather than standard Keeper powers. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be tearing themselves up so much about it.
Seth shook his head. “That won’t work. I’ve tried him already. All I got from the conversation was that she had about a week left, and he knew no way of extending her life.” He paused and stared down into his open palms. “He also said that he wouldn’t tell us even if there was a way to do it. He’s still planning to take her.”
Okay, now I was a little nervous.
Letting Bish take me when I was going to kick the bucket anyway was one thing, because it sounded like he had a way where I could at least keep being me. That was a much better choice over dissolving into nothing any day. But was he purposely working against Seth, Zhan, and Tarus? And, by default, me?
I jumped when Zhan exploded out of his chair. “A fucking week, Seth? A fucking, fucking week? When were you going to tell us that?”
My heart started to thump erratically as I pressed my fingers against my lips just in case any random sounds tried to escape. A week was all I had left?
As if it was almost physically impossible, Seth pushed himself out of the chair to stand before Zhan. “That was two days ago, brother. She has about five days left.”
Five fucking days.
I couldn’t even be mad at Seth for not telling me. In that moment, realizing I only had a few days left—literally a handful of days—I learned something very selfish about myself.
It was a long-standing debate people occasionally had on if it was better to slowly wither away from a sickness, knowing your death was coming for you, or to be taken out suddenly from a freak accident, or heart attack, or whatever might take you by surprise.
The nausea and sadness bouncing around inside my chest definitely told me I was a surprise kind of girl. I did not want to know it was coming. I definitely didn’t want to know the day!
Then the most heartbreaking noise caught my attention.
A choked sob.
“Five days?” Zhan’s voice was thick with emotion as his eyes glistened with unshed tears, just like my own.
“Five days,” Seth whispered as he tugged Zhan into a hug, allowing him to momentarily fall apart. Tarus joined them, and his wings spread out too much, blocking my sight of my beautiful angels.
Fuck.
I wanted to go to them, but I wanted a fucking minute to myself, too.
Did I let them know I heard? Pretend the whole conversation didn’t happen?
Pressing my back against the wall out of their sight, I closed my eyes and focused on settling my heart and compartmentalizing my emotions. I was a pro at this. I’d done it when I woke up to a weird new existence, I could do it now that I literally had an expiration date.
Okay. I wouldn’t tell them. I’d pretend I never heard their conversation and give them the best days I could. Good memories, so they didn’t forget me.
A sob threatened to climb my own throat on that thought.
No, no. Pushing it down, I cleared my mind again.
“But I shared my grace with her. I shared a shit ton of grace with her. That could extend her time with us.” Zhan rationalized his own thoughts in a way it was obvious he wasn’t ready to believe it.
“With all my heart, I hope it worked. I’m tempted to share my grace with her too, but we’re too far into uncharted territory. Without knowing what will happen…” Tarus trailed off.
I got it. I didn’t want to be the first experiment of this kind.
Who knew though, maybe I’d feel differently during my last minutes?
But right now, I was with Tarus. I didn’t want to chance it.
“Agreed.” Seth’s steps sounded like he was moving closer to the doors.
Not ready to talk to them just yet, I darted back in the bathroom and shut the door as quietly as possible. Turning the shower back on, I shucked the towels and settled myself right under the spray.
It was almost cathartic, letting the water rinse over me and the tears I didn’t want to shed. Purposely moving my thoughts back to all of the good experiences of the last few weeks, I found myself smiling under the spray. These men really had given me the best gift of all.
“Dahlia.” Seth knocked on the door. “Are you okay?”
Damn. He probably heard the shower turn on again. I forgot sometimes how good their hearing was when they weren’t distracted. It was probably a miracle they hadn’t heard me when I accidentally eavesdropped on their conversation.
“Yeah,” I called. “I forgot to rinse the conditioner out of my hair.”
“Okay.” He rapped on the door one more time.
It wasn’t until a few seconds later that the door opened, and an angel slipped in behind me.
Strong hands turned me around to face the burning gaze of Tarus. He stared down at me as if I was the only sun that would ever shine in his sky. It was heady and addictive.
“Beauty.” His voice was guttural, breaking on that one word. “I want to do something for you. Will you let me?”
Panic clawed at me as I gazed up at him. He stood in the shower, utterly ignoring the water soaking his pants. He hadn’t bothered with a shirt this morning, and since he’d revealed the stripe down his face, he hadn’t hidden it from me either.
I didn’t want him to offer his grace, but I didn’t want to reveal I’d been listening either. Sinking my teeth into my lower lip, I raised my eyebrows silently. If I said anything at the moment, it might end up being a lie, and I didn’t want to lie to them either.
“I want to take you somewhere today, just you and me.”
And he was asking me in the shower while his brothers were elsewhere. But of the three of them, Tarus had been the one to hold himself the most aloof until recently, and even then, beyond sharing me with Zhan, he hadn’t again. Not even when Zhan tumbled me in the kitchen right in front of him. The fact that his hot eyes had been focused on us the whole time had only made it more erotic.
“Yes,” I said without asking where he wanted to go or why. When he went to close his arms around me, I pressed my hands to his chest. “Um…after I get dressed?”
And maybe dried off, and oh, I don’t know, made myself look pretty?
Chuckling softly, Tarus dipped his head and then kissed me. I sighed at the first brush of his lips and twined my arms around his neck. He didn’t seem to care that his pants were getting wetter as he cupped his hands under my ass and lifted me.
Thankfully, the normally cool tile was warm from the shower when he pressed me against it. The kiss was slow, sweet, and toe curling. With every soft stroke of his tongue, I relaxed further. Zhan’s kiss, when I’d been sandwiched between them, had lit me up inside like I’d been dropped into the middle of an electrical storm.
This was more like flying, or gliding, the contact lifting me and keeping me buoyant as I soared. Flying. I loved it when they took me flying, in whatever form.
Lifting his head, Tarus slowly broke the kiss and raised his hand to cup my cheek. “Thank you, Beauty.”
“For what?” All I’d done was soak his pants and drown in his kiss. I wanted everything with these three, and I wanted Tarus to trust me with him, too.
That little revelation crystalized, and I bit my lip as I studied his eyes. The storm of gray had withdrawn to a ring around the brown again. Earth and sky in perfect measures.
“For you,” he whispered, then nuzzled the corner of my mouth before kissing a path to my ear. “Just for being you.”
Tears burned in my eyes all over again, and I burrowed against him, breasts flat to his chest as he locked his arms around me. The hug seemed to encase my whole being in a blanket of safety and security. Nothing would ever happen to me here. Nothing I didn’t want. Fisting his hair, I tightened my arms, trying to give him that same sense.
I don’t know how long we stood there, just holding each other, but the water began to cool and Tarus shifted to shut it off, and the moment splintered enough for him to loosen his grip. In near silence, he stepped out, dripping all over the floor and held my hand as I followed him, and then he wrapped me up in one of the abandoned towels before lifting the other to work on my hair.
When I would have reached for it, he shook his head. “Let me?”
The request surprised me, but I lowered my hands and nodded. Tarus spent the next few minutes fussing over me as he squeezed the water from my hair. Then he took the comb I used often to run it through the wet mass until no tangles remained.
Not once did he pull my hair, taking his time to free any potential snarls. The glide of the comb was almost hypnotic, and I began to drift with every stroke of its teeth across my scalp.
I might have mewled a little when he stopped, half swaying on my feet. His chuckle warmed me, but then he took the towel I’d wrapped around me and began to dry me off of whatever droplets hadn’t evaporated in the time we’d stood there. The soft cotton teased my skin as he paid attention to every part of me.
The tip of my elbow, the hollow of my collarbone, the dip of my hips, the line of my shoulder blades, and the soft indentation of my belly button. It was weird, when he began to circle it slowly, it dawned on me—none of them had belly buttons.
None.
Maybe that was just a human thing.
When he worked his way to my thighs, I cracked my eyelids open to watch him. But instead of lust, I found intense concentration on his face. He nuzzled the curls just above my pussy and took a deep breath, but it wasn’t teasing so much as a comfort. The soft roughness of his beard teased my thighs as he worked his way to my feet, and when he kissed the top of each one, my heart seemed to stutter.
Lifting his gaze, he stared up at me, and I melted. I fell to my knees to join him, but I didn’t crack against the floor because he caught me. Cradling his face, I stroked away the single tear slipping from his eye.
The twist of emotion in my chest made it almost impossible to breathe. “I’ve never moved a man to tears before,” I whispered, desperate to salvage this for both of us. If Tarus started crying, it would break me.
“Exceptional works of art have always moved me,” he admitted, then the corner of his mouth quirked upward as though he fought to smile. “You are my Beauty.”
My heart did a little somersault at the description.
