Demon Discord (Resurrection Chronicles)

by M. J. Haag

  “Alrighty, then.” She pivoted to look at me. “You’re up.”

  A flush crept into my cheeks as I glanced from her to the fey.

  “Can you turn around?” I asked them.

  They grunted and immediately gave me their backs. I hurriedly tugged Azio’s still warm shirt over my head, Brooke was grinning at me the whole time.

  “Come on. Let’s have some fun.”

  She led the way out of the room and down to the kitchen.

  “Solin, how would you feel if I asked you to make me a plate of eggs and rub my feet while I ate?” she asked.

  “I would feel your toes first. Then your ankle. Can I use my mouth?”

  The complete turnaround in conversation made me stumble, and I almost fell down the stairs. Only Azio’s quick reflexes, and the banded arm he whipped around me, prevented it. I clutched at the anchor as my heart pounded.

  Brooke glanced back at me, her gaze dipping to Azio’s forearm just below my breasts.

  “Nice save, Azio,” she said, giving me a significant look.

  It had been. And even though my heart was trying to beat its way out of my throat, it wasn’t because of fey-fear. Just normal falling to my death fear. I let out a shaky breath and uncurled my fingers from his large bicep.

  “Thank you, Azio,” I said.

  He grunted and slowly withdrew his hold, probably not trusting that I wouldn’t fall on my face. I couldn’t blame him.

  In the last few days I’d been far from my steady, fairly graceful self. But really, who could blame me for the almost fall just now? Brooke’s comment about a foot rub while she ate breakfast would have probably had any human man rolling his eyes and saying, “yeah, right.” Not Solin, though. He hadn’t only not minded, but he’d been very into the suggestion.

  When we reached the bottom of the stairs, I glanced back at Brooke’s fey. Sure enough. It was easy to see the bulge in the front of his pants. He’d really liked the idea of playing with her feet.

  While the three fey went to the kitchen, Brook led me to the living room.

  “Do they have foot fetishes?” I asked softly.

  She laughed and shook her head.

  “They have female fetishes. They want to know everything about us. Watch us. Touch us.”

  She wasn’t helping my nerves and knew it. Shaking her head at me, she nudged me to take a seat.

  “Relax. Try to have fun. No one is going to die.”

  She’d seen the same violent endings I had, but didn’t have an ounce of fear for them. Why not?

  The answer came with a plate of food. Solin handed it to her and immediately sat on the floor, tugging off her socks while she dug into her helping of eggs.

  She moaned in appreciation when he started rubbing her feet.

  “Did you know that they’re learning how to give massages? Whoever decided to teach them that was the smartest person ever,” Brooke said as Groth handed me a plate.

  “Can I rub your feet?” he asked hopefully.

  “Yes, you may,” Brooke said when I didn’t immediately answer.

  Groth shook his head slowly.

  “That is not Terri’s consent. She needs to say it.”

  “Uh, I’d rather not,” I said, my pulse already starting to pick up pace with my worry.

  His shoulders slumped a little, and he moved off to the side, taking a seat where he could stare at me.

  I glanced at Azio, who stood off to the side, watching me just as intently. When he caught my gaze, he nodded at me.

  “Eat, Terri. You are safe.”

  I realized then he wasn’t only telling me I was safe from the infected and hellhounds in his presence. I was also safe from him. From both of them.

  Ducking my head, I ate the breakfast he’d made for me and savored each bite. The eggs were delicious, made even better by the fact he’d cooked them just for me.

  As soon as we were finished, Brooke arched a brow at me.

  “You’re up.”

  “Actually, I think I’m good for now.”

  “You sure you don’t want a few roasts for your freezer?”

  “You’ve proven your point. I’m less worried than I was before. Maybe.”

  “You’re not really selling the confidence here.”

  “I know. I just don’t think I’m ready to push at boundaries yet.”

  “Fair enough. Want to do breakfast together again tomorrow?”

  Solin started to chuckle.

  “Brooke does not like to cook,” he confided, flashing his teeth at me. They were pointed. Like that damn barn cat.

  Brooke dug an elbow into my side when his smile started to fade.

  “Cut it out, Terri. Do you know how much talking and other things I had to do to convince him he has an amazing smile? They’ve changed so much already because of our petty fears. They wear clothes that are too small and uncomfortable just to look more human. They don’t smile. They lose sleep to keep us safe. They gave up their homes. They—”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, holding up my hands. “Solin, you do have a lovely smile. My surprise doesn’t mean anything other than you’re the first one I’ve seen do it.”

  Brooke made a harrumphing sound as she stood and wrapped her arms around his waist.

  “Come on, baby. Let’s go home so I can make you smile some more.”

  He picked her up and strode to the door.

  “I really am sorry,” I said, quickly standing and hurrying after the pair.

  He handed her her shoes, and she waved away my concern.

  “It’s fine. You can make it up to me by cooking something good for breakfast. See you then!”

  And then I was alone with my fey.

  Chapter Eleven

  My fey. The phrase echoed around in my head throughout the rest of the day as we watched movies, and they took turns making me food or bringing me something to drink. They were infallibly considerate.

  I even caved on the foot massage once I had lounge pants on again. Azio rubbed my right foot while Groth claimed my left. They were both gentle and watched my reactions more than the movie playing. Of course I enjoyed being pampered. Who wouldn’t? They were attentive to my needs. And through a hundred small actions, they let me know they were both very interested in any scrap of attention I would willingly give them.

  However, that concentrated level of attention left me feeling a bit overwhelmed and concerned. Especially when I caught a glimpse of hunger in their gazes.

  Even though neither touched me without permission, I went to bed that night with the door firmly closed and a request that they leave it that way unless there was an emergency. To my relief, it was still shut in the morning, and all my clothes were exactly where I’d left them.

  Rather than shower, I went downstairs to start breakfast for Solin and Brooke’s visit. Thanks to the powdered eggs and a surplus of baking ingredients, I put together a savory hash brown breakfast casserole.

  Groth and Azio watched me move around the kitchen and asked a million questions again. I didn’t mind the questions. Cooking curiosity I could handle. Yesterday’s subtle female curiosity had been a little unnerving, though. Which is why I was anxious for Brooke’s visit. She’d known exactly how they would behave and had been right about the boundaries they held to.

  I was hoping she would be able to give me more insight this morning. Like what my long-term role would be here…with two fey.

  Once the casserole was in the oven, I excused myself to get ready and asked them both to respect my privacy and stay out of the bathroom while I was using it. Like the day before, they quickly agreed to my request.

  By the time I emerged, I could hear Brooke’s voice downstairs and hurried to join her.

  She was all smiles when she saw me and motioned for me to join her on the couch and let the fey serve us. While they were busy plating our food, I took a calming breath and quietly asked my first question.

  “What exactly is going on here?”

  “What do you m
ean?”

  “Are they both interested in me?”

  “Probably.”

  “So they want to share me?”

  Something dropped in the kitchen. When I glanced to see what, I found all three fey frozen and staring off in different directions.

  “They’re acting weirder than normal, right?” I asked softly.

  Brooke laughed.

  “They are. But ignore them for a moment. Do you want Groth and Azio to share you?”

  “I’m not even sure I can handle one fey, never mind two.”

  “And when you say handle…?”

  “Be in a physically intimate relationship.”

  “Sex,” she said bluntly. “You’re not sure if you can have sex with two at once, or are you not sure you can juggle two sexually active relationships simultaneously?”

  I stared at her for a long moment.

  “Are you purposely trying to see what it takes to shock me?”

  “Nope. I’m spelling it out so those poor, freaking out fey in the kitchen can decide if they want to try fainting or not.”

  I glanced at the still frozen fey. All of their ears were a deep, dark grey, almost to the point of being black. Something eased inside of me, seeing that I’d unintentionally made them so uncomfortable. Their disconcertion made them so human.

  “I’m not trying to freak anyone out,” I said. “I’m just trying to understand what they expect of me.”

  “Well, I’m pretty sure they were hoping you’d pick one of them to be your happily-ever-after man. But now that you mentioned two, they’re probably quietly deciding if they can share you. And that’s why I spelled out the sharing option. I’m not sure threesomes are something they’d enjoy. I mean, Solin doesn’t mind his brothers knowing the details of our sexcapades, but he’s not keen on me walking around town naked for everyone to see. They’re a little possessive but not in a smothering way.”

  My face couldn’t be any hotter. Or redder. The idea of a threesome with Groth and Azio wasn’t something I wanted to try. Ever.

  “No threesome. That’s not what I was saying.”

  “Okay. So taking turns having sex then? My hat’s off to you, Terri. I want to sit on an icepack this morning, and that’s only with one fey. I couldn’t imagine trying to keep up with two of them.”

  My heart was starting to race. But, thankfully, the fey were still locked in place, which prevented me from having a complete freak-out.

  “I’m not interested in sleeping around,” I said, my voice a little choked. “One man is more than enough.”

  And just like that, the tension in the kitchen eased, and they started moving.

  Brooke grinned at me. While she didn’t say it, her expression screamed, “I told you so.”

  “You hold their fates in your very capable hands. They’re trying to impress you and hope you’ll choose one of them. But if you don’t choose either of them, they won’t be upset. They’d be happy if you chose any of the fey.”

  Azio and Solin came forward with our plates. Both of their faces were still dark with their blushes.

  “Thank you,” I said quietly and accepted my portion from Azio.

  “Thanks, babe,” Brooke said.

  Solin frowned at her. “You should have told me your pussy was too sore for my kisses this morning. I would have been more gentle.”

  I made a choked noise, which made her grin as she answered.

  “My pussy is never too sore for your kisses. But I might need to let you draw me in the bath again today.”

  He grunted and folded into a sitting position at her feet, which she happily surrendered to his ministrations. While she basked in his attention, my stomach tightened, and I slowly took a bite of my food as I considered what she’d revealed.

  The fey liked sex. A lot of it and often based on that little exchange. Sex wasn’t my thing. It wasn’t awful, or at least it hadn’t been with Wayne. But it wasn’t something I’d beg for at any point. It had been more enjoyable when I’d known there might be a baby because of it and had gotten less so once that possibility was gone.

  My gaze shifted to Groth, the bigger of the two, then Azio. They both studied me closely.

  I didn’t want to make either of them think I was being a tease, but I wasn’t sure how a long-term relationship would work with either of them. Groth’s size had made him extra worrisome before I knew about their libidos. But maybe I needed to reconsider offering myself up to Azio, now, too.

  “You got pretty quiet,” Brooke commented. “What’s on your mind?”

  “Nothing I want to ask you.”

  She laughed. “It’s so much better to be frankly open around them. Trust me. I learned that the hard way.”

  She’d been right about so much so far, so I squared my shoulders and asked what needed asking.

  “How many times a day do you two have sex?”

  “I managed four actual intercourse sessions yesterday and one very careful oral. I’m hoping I build up callouses or something, though, because Solin would like to play with my bits twenty-four-seven.”

  “Not if it hurts you,” he said.

  She leaned forward and gave him a chaste kiss.

  “And that’s why I love you.” She turned to me. “Why are you asking?”

  “Because I’m not really a fan of sex. Three times a week, I could manage. Four times a day? I’m not sure I’m fey material if that’s their typical sex drive.”

  I looked at Groth then Azio. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to mislead you.”

  “We are happy you chose to live here. You do not need to choose any of us. We will still care for you,” Groth said.

  I gave him a grateful smile that slowly died at Azio’s next words.

  “Perhaps you only dislike human sex. Maybe you would like fey sex.”

  One look at my wide eyes and Brooke’s laughter filled the room. Azio’s lips twitched, assuring me that my shock had amused him as well.

  “It is something to consider,” he said with a slight shrug.

  I hesitantly nodded, not that I actually thought sex with a fey would be better than with a human guy. If anything, it sounded worse. Sex until sore? No, thank you.

  After we finished our breakfast, Solin produced two decks of cards, and we played War in pairs with a rotating observer. An hour slipped by without my notice and then another. When Brooke stood with a stretch and went off to use the bathroom, I noticed the way Solin stared after her, as if watching her leave was tearing him apart on some level.

  It probably was. Brooke had started seeing him a little more than a week ago. Not nearly enough time for the mindless infatuation phase to wear off. Especially if they were going at it like bunnies.

  When she returned, he stood and met her halfway.

  “Are you still sore, my Brooke?”

  A slow smile parted her lips.

  “Only a little. Feel like going home and sketching something?”

  His answer was to pick her up and start for the door.

  “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” she called before it closed behind them.

  I sighed without realizing how it would sound to Groth and Azio.

  “Would you like to play more War?” Groth asked.

  “I could make you popcorn,” Azio offered.

  Another day of movies and popcorn would be a safe, if slightly uncomfortable, way to pass the time. But that wouldn’t help any of us. Thanks to Brooke’s very embarrassing clarifications this morning, I knew both my fey housemates were open to having a relationship with me. And if I ever wanted a baby, I needed to figure out how to be okay with being with a fey.

  I glanced at Azio then Groth. They watched me closely, their eyes doing that thing they did. I wanted to shiver. Instead, I forced myself to take a mental step toward my goal.

  “I don’t think popcorn or games are what I need.”

  “Tell us what you need. We will get it for you,” Groth said, stepping closer.

  Azio’s gaze reflec
ted the same earnest desire to do whatever it took to keep me here, and it helped bolster my determination.

  “My fainting has stopped me from leaving Tenacity for supplies. I don’t want to be useless. I’d like to try to do my part if you think I won’t be too much of a liability.”

  “You are not useless,” Azio said firmly.

  “Right now, I feel that way, though. Would I put you in danger if we went outside the wall together to look for food?”

  “No, we would not be in danger,” Azio said. “There is no need for you to leave for supplies, though. We can find whatever you want.”

  “I know. But I think I need to do this. Please.”

  Azio and Groth shared a look.

  “It’s not safe with only two of us,” Groth said. “We would need to ask for volunteers to help.”

  “How many?” I asked.

  “Five more,” Azio said.

  They both watched me, waiting for my decision and likely thinking the same thing weighing on my mind. I’d passed out the last time I’d been surrounded by fey. How was this time going to be any better?

  “Okay,” I said. “Five more. How soon can we leave?”

  Chapter Twelve

  I dressed in jeans and layered t-shirts and did my best to ignore the way my nerves twisted my stomach into knots. Going braless on a seven-fey expedition didn’t help the cause. After a few steadying breaths, I left the room and joined Azio downstairs.

  With my jacket in his hands, he waited for me by the door. I gave him a weak smile and let him help me, hoping he wouldn’t notice how badly my hands were shaking.

  “Your heart is racing. There is no need for you to leave,” he said.

  “You can hear my heart racing?”

  “Yes.” He moved my hair out from the collar of the jacket, and his fingers brushed against my skin in a light caress. “Please stay.”

  I turned to look up at him, my heart racing harder when I met his gaze.

  “If I stay, nothing will change. And I really want things to change. My fears are holding me back and keeping me from the things I really want. And, no, I’m not going to tell you what I want. Not yet. Maybe someday, though. If this works.”

  He grunted and zipped my jacket for me.