Secrets of the Mazza: A Paranormal Romance (Mazza Series Book 3)

by Blake Blessing

  “What happened with Ado? Was he with the Shadow Society?” I asked, but as soon as the words left my mouth, I started to piece together a truth that hadn’t even crossed my mind until now, “Rainer isn’t the Shadow Society, is he?”

  Rand tightened his arms around me. I felt more than saw Egan tense on my right; he must not have thought it either.

  “Correct, he’s a pain, but he’s not the real threat. What he’s doing in the Earth realm wasn’t supposed to get this far. Whoever is pulling his strings has given him tons of power at his back. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to accomplish it.” He reached down, and I placed my hand in his, only to be pulled back toward him. This time instead of straddling his lap, I sat sideways so I could still see the others. “The Shadow Society are the Mannos, and others from the Fiasla realm.”

  Sage’s eyebrows kissed his hairline. “The ancient word for revenge.”

  “Yes,” Yunez trailed absent fingers over my thigh as he answered, “So you see, even though they left to avoid persecution or prostitution, their good intentions were tainted from the start.”

  “Ado?” I knew what had happened because of his switch between is and was, but I needed to hear him say it.

  “He did not make it, he roused long enough to tell me Kia is still there, in the Shadow realm as I’ve begun to call it, and that she’s unprotected.” The strain in his voice was so odd to hear from Yunez. He really was human, or Fennin, with human flaws and emotions.

  “Is this the Caen woman he fell in love with?” I tangled my fingers in his hair as I brushed it back from his youthful face.

  “Yes, I don’t know what happened, only that he was somehow discovered as a spy, and did not have time to grab Kia, else they both would have died.”

  How heartbreaking, “We have to get her.” If she was an innocent, there was never a question.

  “Yes, we leave in the morning. I’m hoping this will be a simple enough mission as I have maintained and cultivated many relationships over the years within their realm for this very purpose. But, we have to stay sharp because I’ve no sight at all, and that is scary.”

  Sage edged forward on his knees. “We’re all going?”

  “Yes, each of you are so important to me, that I refuse to leave you behind. More than that, you are not part of this Lusty Legion by chance. You each have such extraordinary power within you. Together we make such a beautiful symphony.” Love colored his words.

  I believed him; each of my guys were something special.

  “If only I had more beneath my belt than nipple clamps,” I mumbled, and their laughter warmed me; exactly what I was going for.

  “We need rest, I severely need sleep, and I can tell from the bags under all of your eyes, that you did not sleep in my absence.”

  Everyone stood and stretched, even a few yawns made an appearance, giving his statement truth. Nato came to collect me with outstretched hands, but Yunez held on and bent over my back.

  “You four have had her in your bed nearly from the beginning. Do I have your permission to have her to myself tonight?” Something unspoken passed between Rand and Yunez, then he amended. “Rand and me, I should say.”

  I expected stiff postures and grumpy glares, but there was none of that—absolutely none of it. Instead, each man came over to kiss me goodnight. Nato was first, followed by Jari, Egan, then finally Sage. Even my normally salty bond mate had no ill will in him. Compassion and love shown from his eyes as he gave me the sweetest goodnight kiss.

  “I expect you have a bed big enough for seven? Because this sleeping without Iss just won’t fly,” Sage stepped back and winked at me.

  There he was; I grinned and smacked his ass. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll hog the covers with that many people taking up space?”

  He returned it. I mean the grin, not the ass smack since I was still sitting down. “Nah, there’d be so much body heat we won’t even need covers. You definitely won’t in the center of us all.”

  Warmth suffused my body at the thought of all my Lusty Legion naked and scattered around me like decorative throw pillows.

  Yunez helped me stand before leading me by the hand out the courtyard door. I called a goodnight to the guys who all were equally nonplussed that I was leaving. I was pretty sure I had entered the twilight zone.

  The inside of Yunez’s suite was toasty warm, the fireplace blazing with a beautiful, dancing fire. The door shut behind Rand, and the slight tingle in my stomach erupted into full-blown mega butterflies tickling my insides from the tips of my fingers, all the way to the tips of my toes.

  Was this the time when Yunez would complete our bond?

  Yunez shuffled around the room, picking up items and then putting out the fire. Now that we were going to bed, I guessed we didn’t need the extra heat, right? We were about to be a giant tangle of sweaty limbs, so no additional warmth was needed. Hell, I had enough heat coming off of my body right now that I was certain I could melt a good foot off of the glaciers in Alaska.

  Rand nodded toward Yunez’s bedroom, and threaded his fingers through mine as he nudged me toward the door. With a last glance at Yunez, I stepped through the doorway. Whatever I might have expected, including a five-foot-tall bed on a golden frame and perhaps a mirror on the ceiling, was not what met my eyes. The bed was large. I thought the bed we had in our suite was the biggest I’d ever seen; turned out, I was wrong.

  This bed easily made two of those.

  A hand landed on my waist, and I jumped a foot in the air.

  “Easy there, my love,” Yunez said, his breath tickling the skin under my ear. If it were any other time, I would have said he was trying to get laid. Right now, he just sounded sad and extremely exhausted.

  “Sorry,” I stepped farther into the room, taking in the cool pastel color schemes and inviting artwork. This was a place for comfort, where I’d love to spend a day luxuriating in the covers reading a good, smutty romance.

  “Do you need a shower?” Yunez asked, but he had already scooted around me to the bathroom, laying out a towel on the counter. While he was getting anything and everything he thought I would need to take a nice, hot shower, Rand was busy tossing the extra pillows in the chair and turning the covers down.

  “You seem awfully comfortable,” I said to Rand as I passed the bed. Was this something he did regularly? Were they… intimate?

  That was a huge jump, just because Rand was tossing some pillows in a corner. But I couldn’t help it, my dirty mind went there.

  A low chuckle and a pillow in the face later, “I see where your head is at; you might as well shake it all out of there.”

  “Huh?” Totally played dumb.

  Yunez came back into the bedroom sans shirt. Holy mother of all Fennin babies. He was just as toned as my guys, sporting a nice indent on each hipbone, “I see where your thoughts are too, Iss. No, Rand and I have never crossed swords. That would have been weird since I watched him grow up.”

  There were so many things there. First, he called me Iss. I don’t know that he had ever addressed me so casually, I loved it. Then there was that whole sword crossing comment. If it weirded him out because he watched Rand from childhood, how were we going to recreate the Chinese finger trap?

  They both laughed, and Rand walked over to pull me into a warm hug, “What are you thinking? Your face is deliciously pink, and you’re chewing on your bottom lip like it’s the best thing since peanut butter cups.”

  I fell into Rand’s chest and propped my chin on his shoulder so I could still see Yunez. “What happens with sex, then? Will you never be around when I’m with one of the others?”

  A coy smirk lit his face, banishing some of the sorrow. “So, the others have already introduced you to group love? And, from the look on your face, I’d say you liked it.”

  “You didn’t see?” He saw everything, and we already knew he watched us. He was the one that pointed out he had watched Egan and I seal our bond in the woods. Nothing he said would convince me he w
asn’t a kinky bastard. Heck, maybe he would just watch?

  And a new wave of heat flashed over my body.

  “I have been a bit preoccupied lately trying to figure out where the hell my sight has gone. I also wanted to give you and your bonds a bit of privacy. So, if it has happened, it has been here while I wasn’t watching you.” He shoved his thumbs in the waist of his crumpled pants, lined with tons of wrinkles. That must be the same pair of pants he wore to dinner.

  I tried really, really hard not to watch him slide the pants down over his hips; I failed big time. A silky pair of white boxers was all that was left on his delectable body.

  “Close your mouth,” Rand smiled as he pressed his face into my neck. Bastards. I blame the Mazza powers. The guys told me I’d have an unusually high sex drive. This here was proof; I constantly had sex on the brain, even when I shouldn’t.

  Yunez prowled closer, stopping just short of plastering himself against Rand’s back. His warm breath mingled with mine. “I will happily participate in group love with you, Isolde. I want to watch the others dominate your body, playing you in such a way that will have you singing for hours. When they have had their turn and spent themselves, then I will climb on top of you, peel your sated body from the bed and make you scream. The others will be powerless to move, merely watching the way I will own your body and soul.”

  Rand’s arms were wrapped around my shoulders, so when a different set of hands touched my sides just under my breasts, I jumped. His heavy palms slid down my body, dipping around to cup my ass.

  My eyes fluttered back in my head. Then when he jerked me and thereby Rand into his body, I groaned.

  And, Rand grimaced.

  “I see what you were trying to do there, but I’m not a fan of your erection in my ass.”

  I snorted and reached around to grab Yunez’s ass to grind him further into Rand.

  “Aw, come on, guys!” He tried to wiggle out of our clutches, but I refused to budge, and more importantly, Yunez held strong.

  After a few good minutes of laughing, I stepped back. “I’m going to shower, I’ll be back.” I shut the door, half expecting one of them to join me, but nothing; I was free to take a shower on my own.

  I didn’t take too long, in case they wanted to shower too. In the bedroom, Rand and Yunez were already under the covers, leaving a hulking gap between them. That must be all for me.

  Both of their eyes were closed, were they already passed out?

  “Come on, my love, you’re thinking awfully hard over there,” Yunez lifted a hand toward me. I took it and let him help me into the center.

  Once I was under the covers, I laid my head on the pillow and clasp my hands over my stomach. Waiting.

  Waiting to see if there were sexy times coming, waiting to see if they would hold me. Or just waiting for the awkwardness to go away.

  “Please, for the love of all that is Fennin, stop thinking so much,” Rand stuffed his arm under my head, at the same time turning me over so I was on my side facing away from him. His body curled around mine, then he shoved a knee forward, taking my leg with it until I was mostly on my stomach.

  Yunez rolled our way and threw an arm and leg over both us, pinning me down better than a butterfly pinned to a board. It was strangely comfortable, like laying under a weighted blanket. Yunez’s body relaxed first, a light snore filling the air. Shortly after, Rand followed Yunez into sleep.

  I was left there, wide-awake, and sexually frustrated. After the rigorous training Doru put us through, and the emotional events of the last twenty-four hours, I should have fallen asleep as quickly as they did, but my thoughts wouldn’t quiet.

  “Don’t worry; sex tomorrow,” Yunez scooted closer, “Tired now.”

  “Shhh. I’m going next door to eat breakfast,” Rand lightly rubbed the shell of my ear.

  “Hmm?” I pushed my face deeper into the pillow to stay sleeping as long as possible.

  “I’m hungry; I’ll be next door.” A kiss on top of my head, and then he was gone. And glorious sleep was once again my friend.

  Until a very big rod prodded me in the back, and the hand at my breast rolled my nipple between fingers that knew exactly what they were doing.

  “Sleep,” I grumbled.

  “Mmm, time for sleep is over; I feel a hundred percent better now,” Yunez ground into my ass, and sleep was fast disappearing, to be replaced by a lust so strong, it was threatening to turn me into a mindless animal with only one purpose.

  “Where’s Rand?” I patted his side of the bed, but it was barely warm at all.

  “Remember? He said he was hungry,” sharp teeth nibbled on my ear, and a shiver wracked my body.

  I pushed into him, mimicking the slow roll of his hips. His heart was beating so fast, it was a constant thrum against my back. He brought his other arm to pillow under my head, his hand taking over at my breast. Then the expert hand that had rolled my nipples smoothed down my stomach but skipped over the good part completely. This devil hand slid down the inside of my thigh, forcing my legs open.

  Leaning back, I twisted my head to catch his lips.

  And, a knock came at the door.

  A motherfucking knock.

  “Can we not get it?” I whispered groaned.

  He shook his head, regret heavy in the squeeze he gave my leg before climbing out of bed. Of course, he would be the mature, responsible one now.

  He gave me a glorious view of his backside when he bent to pick up his discarded pants. The material rustled against his skin as he slid them up over his hips. I sighed, might as well get up too. The way things had been going, whatever was on the other side of the door would call Yunez away.

  I quickly dressed and ran to catch up with him. I placed a palm on his lower back and leaned my forehead between his shoulder blades as he stopped in front of the door. Whoever was there had stopped knocking as if they had known Yunez would eventually answer. Hopefully, my touch brought him a bit of comfort like theirs did for me. He seemed like he needed it after yesterday.

  The door didn’t open.

  “My love,” he said over his shoulder, “I don’t want to answer the door with a hard cock, and it will not go down until you stop touching me.”

  “Oh!” I jumped away from him like he burned me. So, my touch did not give him the comfort I had hoped. I’d have to find another way to ease his burden as the powerful Oz of Fennina.

  He took a few ravaged breaths, then swung the door wide. The broadness of his back prevented me from seeing the person on the other side. That was until they stepped in.

  “Sorry to interrupt so early, but your message said you wanted to leave at first light.” Jan touched his arm as he entered, but stopped short when he saw me. “Aw, shit on a stick.” His eyes blew up to the size of softballs as his gaze zipped from me to Yunez and back again. “I interrupted you, didn’t I?”

  Yunez flipped his hair in that surfer way of his, only his motions were jerky and agitated, not nearly as smooth as he usually was. Sexual frustration? I completely understood.

  “It is fine, is everything ready? The unit of Mannos will only be traveling with us as far as the portal. They will have to wait there until we return, so their supplies will need to last. I have no idea how long we will be in the Shadow realm.”

  As long as it took to save Kia, went unspoken. I had no idea who she was, but already my heart went out to her.

  “Yes, I have instructed them to be ready within the hour. Would you like me to notify the others so they can pack and prepare?” He sent me a pointed look, and pink hit his cheeks. “Rand will be able to pack for the Mazza.” Yunez opened his mouth, but Jan was already out the door.

  I stared at Yunez, he stared at the door. So very slowly, he turned around and locked me within his sights. Whether it was a clue in his body language, or something sparking from his gaze, I had one instinct, and that was to run.

  Laughing, I raced through the suite, but before I reached the bedroom, Yunez caught me around th
e waist. I shrieked and kicked my legs as his velvet chuckle met my ears.

  Then… the door to the courtyard opened, and Sage and Jari came barging through.

  “No,” I groaned and dropped my head, allowing my hair to cover my salty expression.

  “It seems this is not our time,” there was more than a small amount of salt in Yunez’s response. “This is probably for the better, I made a promise to Ado. Shame on me for taking a few minutes to myself when there are people who need me, need us.”

  Jari was smirking, but Sage wasn’t even trying to hide his shit-eating grin.

  Fucker.

  “I’d say I was sorry to interrupt, but I’m not. Sorry, that is,” Sage puffed up his chest and strode right to me, plucking me out of Yunez’s arms. I wanted to be angry with him for his motherfucking cockblocking, but I couldn’t. He was too happy, and his arms around me felt a little like home. He kissed the tip of my nose, “Good morning,” he murmured against my temple.

  “Mmm. Morning.” The ire was quickly leaving me, and while I was content in Sage’s arms, an impending sense of dread started to fill my stomach. “Damn.”

  “What?” Jari stole a kiss as he swiped a hand down my hair.

  “The danger feeling? It’s coming back.”

  Sage tensed in my arms, “That means we shouldn’t go.”

  Not necessarily, this time it felt different, “I don’t think that’s exactly what this feeling is. It’s not nearly as potent as it is when we’re fucked. More like something bad could go wrong; emphasis on the could.”

  Yunez inclined his head like he knew exactly what I was saying, “Have you felt this before?”

  “No, not like this.”

  “You are coming into your powers; I did not want to push you too hard with those lessons, but the more developed your powers become, the more you will be able to distinguish the different tones of your instincts. Instincts are knowings, and are often meant for more than just danger. What you are feeling now is not about imminent danger, but the possibility of danger. Your powers are telling you the potential is there if the stars align just right.”