Ascent

by Bethany Adams

  Not exactly where he would prefer to take blood from either woman, but in this case, it would be the fairest. Unfortunately, he had a moment’s worry that the reality of his nature might prove to be a deal-breaker. Maddy stared down at her hand and nibbled anxiously on her lower lip, and Anna seemed to be crossing the space separating them at the speed of a sloth.

  All he could do was wait. If this were to work, both women would have to decide freely.

  Maddy hated pain, so the thought of having a fang slice the top of her hand wasn’t pleasant. But surprisingly, that wasn’t bothering her the most. It just seemed so…unromantic. She and Anna hadn’t intended to have a fancy wedding, but still. There ought to be something splashier than a quick cut in the middle of Fen’s barely furnished house to mark the occasion.

  “This isn’t right,” Maddy said.

  Anna groaned. “Seriously? I thought we’d finally decided.”

  “I’m not talking about mating itself.” Maddy gestured between them. “Just look at us. You’re still wearing your work uniform, I’m a rumpled mess since I’d barely woken from a nap before we left to get you, and Fen looks so flustered I’m surprised he didn’t run away. It doesn’t seem particularly special, that’s all.”

  Fen grimaced, and Anna darted a glance down at her clothes before frowning back at Maddy. “You have a point,” Anna said. “But unless we drive across town to our condo, I’m not sure how to solve it. I don’t have clothes here.”

  “Neither one of you needs to change a thing,” Fen said, and his voice had taken on a gruff tone Maddy had never heard from him before. He walked over to Anna and took her hand. Then they both approached Maddy. “Seriously. You’re adorable with your hair a little mussed, and I’m sure we’d both be happy to help Anna ditch her work clothes for a while. Upstairs. Honestly, it might be a good idea to sleep together first. In case…”

  “We’re bad in bed together?” Though her body heated at Fen’s suggestion, Maddy forced a light smile for his sake. “I don’t think that’s a possibility, but testing the theory is fine by me.”

  “Same.” Anna wiggled her eyebrows. “No need to be shy, Fen.”

  That delightful flush crept up his neck, a telltale sign that despite his past, Fen wasn’t as jaded as he seemed. “I’ve already told Anna this, but… I’ve only slept with two people, and that was years ago.”

  Maddy smiled. “Okay. Well, I’ve never been with more than one person at a time, and Anna hasn’t had sex with a guy. I imagine we’ll figure it out anyway. Less talking, more doing.”

  Anna laughed, a flustered Fen shoved his fingers back through his hair, and all was perfect. Or maybe it would be once they got upstairs.

  Once they reached the bedroom, Anna took a wicked satisfaction in stripping off her uncomfortable work uniform in the late afternoon sunshine streaming through the window. Two pairs of eyes tracked her every movement, heightening her desire. To be wanted by two amazing people was a powerful drug. Fen with his hard edges and soft heart, and Maddy with her wry humor and boundless light.

  There was no place Anna would rather be.

  She reached for Maddy first, giving her girlfriend a soft kiss before tugging her shirt over her head and throwing it wide. Fen sucked in a breath, and Anna smiled. “Want me to do the same for you?”

  Fen laughed, some of his tension easing, and pulled his shirt off himself. “I can manage this, at least.”

  Anna shared a smile with Maddy. “I’m sure you can manage far more.”

  In moments, they’d shed the rest of their clothes and stumbled toward the bed. “They make bigger beds than king size,” Fen said, “but I haven’t had time to order one.”

  “Good enough for now,” Anna murmured, dropping back on the soft surface with a happy sigh and scooting up toward the head of the bed. “So long as you two are here.”

  Maddy crawled up the bed on Anna’s left as Fen stretched out on her right. Anna knotted her fingers in Fen’s hair and tugged him close for a kiss as Maddy took Anna’s nipple in her mouth just the way they both preferred. Anna moaned. This was going to be perfect. So perfect.

  For the first time in a while, Fen let himself live in the moment—no regret, or fear, or hesitation. He lost himself in Anna, her mouth hot beneath his and her soft belly smooth beneath his palm as he caressed her. Then Maddy reached over to wrap her hand around his dick, and the lazy moment of discovery flared into pure heat.

  They tumbled together on the bed until Fen couldn’t have said who was bringing pleasure to whom. It didn’t even matter. The past and future faded into nothing but that moment and the bond between them that couldn’t be denied, whether he took their blood or not.

  Fen licked a trail up Maddy’s back as she kissed Anna. “I have to get inside one of you. Now. How do we decide…”

  Maddy rolled to her back and parted her legs. “You make love to Anna while she makes love to me.”

  Anna frowned. “But—”

  Maddy settled a finger on Anna’s mouth, cutting off her words. “You connect us, somehow. It just feels right.”

  Though Fen’s body was more than ready, he couldn’t help but worry. “Anna hasn’t been with a man, though.”

  “Oh, Fen.” Anna chuckled as she crawled between Maddy’s legs, but the look she sent him was hot. “Women use toys when they play together, you know. You aren’t going to hurt me.”

  Every remaining ounce of thought fled Fen’s brain at those words. As Anna bent to take Maddy into her mouth with deft experience, he had to pray that she was right. Because he very much feared that he wouldn’t be able to stop now.

  Still, his hands shook as he gripped Anna’s hips to position her, and he entered her so slowly he thought he might die. Gods, she was like home.

  Perfection. Absolute perfection.

  Pleasure exploded through Maddy when Fen began to move, shifting Anna closer with each thrust. Over Anna’s back, Maddy met his eyes, and joy crashed through to mingle with the heat, an unstoppable swell that sent her over.

  Crying out, she gripped Anna’s hair lightly with her left hand and put her right against Anna’s shoulder. As heat began to build in Maddy again, her girlfriend slipped three fingers inside, bringing Maddy close to the edge.

  But this would be a cataclysm.

  “My hand,” Maddy gasped at Fen. “Take our blood now.”

  “Yes,” Anna cried, and Maddy moaned.

  He hesitated so long that she thought he wouldn’t do it. But finally, he braced himself with his arm and bent low over Anna. His breath tickled the side of Maddy’s hand where it met Anna’s back, and then he brushed his lips against her skin.

  “I don’t want to hurt—”

  “Do it, Fen,” Maddy snapped. “For fuck’s sake.”

  Anna laughed against her at the choice of words, but they both gasped as Fen’s fangs drew blood. It didn’t hurt, exactly, but the sensation was unusual. A tingling sort of pressure that suggested he must have only scratched. Or if there was pain, it was lost to sensation. Pleasure. Wonder. A blending so complete she couldn’t imagine life without it.

  Once again, Maddy flew.

  There was no describing the magic and joy flowing between them as Fen took Anna’s blood along with Maddy’s. Anna’s eyes slipped closed as the links began to form, tenuous but true. Like a drop of dye dissolving in water. Instinctively, she gathered the tendrils and twined them together, ensuring she and Maddy were as strongly mated as either of them were to Fen.

  He reached around Anna to caress her, and she followed Maddy over the edge. It only took Fen a moment to join them. Ah, it was just as perfect as she’d known it would be. Could there be a better wedding than this?

  As Fen collapsed on the bed and pulled Anna and Maddy into a loose, gasping heap against him, she didn’t think so.

  Chapter 24

  Something sharp poked Fen in the side, and a distant, annoying ringing sound broke through his hazy mind. He cracked one eye open and smiled to see Maddy leaning o
ver him in the dim light. It had to be near sunset, but he didn’t even care. After round two—and both women insisting on taking a drop of his blood—they’d all fallen into a blissful sleep. But he was rested enough now for round three if either or both of his mates were interested.

  “Your phone is ringing, Fen,” Maddy said, her eyes dancing with laughter.

  He reached up to tweak her nipple, and she yelped. “I have voicemail.”

  The poke repeated in his side. “This is the third time, sleepy,” Anna said from behind him. “I don’t think they’re giving up.”

  “Figures,” Fen grumbled.

  He managed to separate himself from his mates and stumble from the bed, but it was a hard-won battle. Whoever was calling had better have something damned important to say, because short of an alien invasion, he really didn’t give a fuck. Muttering beneath his breath, he found his pants where he’d thrown them on the floor and tugged his phone free.

  Vek. He should have known.

  “What do you want, Vek?” Fen snapped as soon as the phone was at his ear.

  “Were you sleeping?” his uncle demanded. “I thought you were going to return to the outpost so we could work on the blood portal, but you decided to take a nap instead? If you want me to treat you like an adult—”

  “I was napping with Maddy and Anna, if you must know.” Maddy’s chuckle rang out from the bed, and Fen smiled. “As we were celebrating fully mating. Is there anything else you require to excuse my absence? I’m sure the ladies would be happy to write me a note, though maybe not with as many details as your pervy ass would prefer.”

  Vek let out a choked sound. “I am not a pervert, and I don’t want details. You could have left it at the first sentence. Damn.”

  Even though his uncle couldn’t see it, Fen’s grin widened into a smirk. “That wouldn’t have been nearly as satisfying, though.”

  “Shut up, Fen,” Vek said. “And tell me if you’re coming over to the outpost today or not.”

  Fen sighed at the reminder of the world that awaited him outside of the bedroom. He didn’t want to go, but there was the mysterious maybe-Meren guy from the park talk to Vek about. “Give me an hour.”

  “Fine. But I won’t call to wake you up again if you decide on another nap.”

  Laughing, Fen hung up the phone and turned back to the bed. Maddy was curled up against Anna, but they both stared at him with amused expressions as he started toward them. “I could probably spare a few minutes if I shower really quickly after,” he muttered.

  But Anna shook her head. “Nope. Girl time.”

  “If your uncle still wants you to go to the outpost after hearing that we’ve mated, it must be important,” Maddy said. “And girl time does sound nice.”

  Fen groaned, even knowing he did need to leave. “I really wish I hadn’t answered my phone.”

  “We need to get some spare clothes and stuff anyway,” Anna said. Then she frowned. “Which…I guess we’ll have to decide where to live.”

  “Later.” Maddy smoothed Anna’s brow with a soft finger. “We’ll figure it out.”

  “If you talk about it while I’m gone, consider me team whatever,” Fen added from the bathroom door. “There’s more space here, but I don’t really get attached to places. I’ll be happy to move anywhere.”

  It took all of Fen’s willpower to leave the bedroom and jump in the shower. A really, really cold shower. This new portal had better be worth it.

  Aside from the gentle hiss of water coming from the bathroom, the house was quiet as Anna stared out the bedroom window at the river glimmering in the moonlight. Her body felt fabulous—a touch sore but mostly relaxed and satiated—but the water brought out the uneasiness that had haunted her for weeks. If what the stranger had said at the park was true, that emotions were tied to her power, then her anxiety really made no sense.

  She couldn’t remember being so happy, aside from the feelings the water stirred.

  Fen had already gone, and she and Maddy had cuddled a bit longer before scraping themselves out of bed. For speed, Anna had grabbed one of Fen’s spare shirts from his dresser and run over to the other shower so she and Maddy could clean off without getting distracted with each other. But of course, Maddy took far longer with so much hair to wash, leaving Anna nothing to do but ponder the river.

  Maybe the uneasiness wasn’t hers at all. Frowning, Anna pressed her palm to the glass. Was the river hurting? Could she have relatives down there in danger? What was it? She had a feeling it was important to find out, but exploring the river with Meren on the loose was risky, especially if he did turn out to be the guy she met in the park.

  Anna shivered. He could have used her against Fen and the others so easily. Then again, maybe he’d left her an opportunity. He’d invited her to meet him tomorrow evening, hadn’t he? That would be a handy chance for a little trap if they were clever. As the thought took form, she found her phone and sent a quick text to Fen. He could discuss it with Dria and Vek, and Anna could talk it over with Maddy.

  Though chances were good that none of them would like it.

  Vek himself opened the gate to the shielded room at the top of the outpost, though he glared as soon as Fen walked through. But then his uncle turned his dark expression toward the door, and it became clear that Fen wasn’t the greatest source of his agitation. What could be going on now?

  “Something out there I should know about?” Fen asked.

  Vek’s scowl deepened. “Fucking Seelie.”

  “If there’s a Seelie orgy out there, I’m going back through the portal,” Fen quipped. “Except for Maddy and her father, I haven’t had the greatest experience with that bunch. I’d rather not see their kinks, too.”

  “You know perfectly well…” Vek closed his eyes for a moment as if for patience. “There is not an orgy in the receiving room. That would almost be preferable to the pompous little shit of a Seelie noble acting as emissary. I dearly want to smash my fist into his face.”

  Fen frowned as he struggled to keep up. As far as he knew, the Seelie didn’t even know about the outpost. “How did that happen? When did that happen?”

  “Within the last day. The queen contacted Lord Lyr, who referred the issue to Dria.” Vek pinched the bridge of his nose. “They must want Meren badly. In return for our assistance capturing him and allowing the emissary to take him back to the Seelie court, Dria has been promised two favors. Open-ended favors, mind you. So long as it isn’t injurious to the Seelie.”

  Holy shit. That was a rare move. Nearly unprecedented. “We might have a lead on that.”

  “Really?” Vek asked.

  “Someone who might have been Meren approached Anna. We were all going to talk to you about it after I finish helping with the blood gate.”

  Vek’s brows lowered thoughtfully. “We’ll need Dria, but she is greeting the emissary. Can this wait?”

  Fen nodded. “The guy isn’t supposed to meet with Anna again until tomorrow evening.”

  “Fabulous,” Vek said. “Then how about you help me carve out a room up here for the emissary? We don’t want him in sight of the portal, and if we make a tunnel from this room, he’ll never notice it’s new. We’ll just have to seal the route to this room behind us.”

  Fen paused to consider his energy stores. He hadn’t drawn any power from Maddy and Anna while mating, but he was fairly confident he still had enough magic to complete this task and then the shield with Vek.

  “Let’s do it.”

  Maddy shoved a few changes of clothes into her spare backpack, the other still a world away on Moranaia. She’d decided to leave her things there since she would be traveling back and forth for training, and now she would be hauling yet more to Fen’s house. She might have found it funny if she weren’t so tired.

  Not because of mating—that brought her more joy. How cool was it to be able to sense Anna in the kitchen, packing a few of her favorite things? And if Maddy paused to concentrate, she could detect Fen’s directio
n. Eventually, she had no doubt she’d be able to glean more information even at a distance. Although such a level of closeness could have been odd, it instead made her feel more comfortable than she could ever remember being.

  It was just that current events had been…a lot. She’d struggled with her first healing lesson on Moranaia, only to come back to Fen and Anna in danger. What if Maddy hadn’t been there? Anna had fought through mind control enough to text Maddy, but that could have been partly habit. Anna might not have thought about contacting Fen while she was being controlled. There was no way to know, but the timing of everything was eerily perfect.

  Was this why Eri had suggested she return today?

  “Hey, what’s wrong?” Anna asked from the door, surprising Maddy.

  Crap, she thought, as she pressed her hand against her sternum. That’ll teach me to stop paying attention to Anna’s energy.

  “Aside from you startling me?” Maddy asked with a half-hearted laugh. “I’m just worried about all the stuff that’s up in the air. I need to call my parents. My dad won’t care about our mating, but I’m less certain of my mom considering what she told you. Then there’s the mystery surrounding that guy who tried to control you. And Anthony and Sparrow. We really should make sure they are okay. Oh, and we have to decide where we’re going to live.”

  Anna pushed away from the doorframe and crossed the space between them. “How about we take it one thing at a time?”

  “I’m honestly not sure what to tackle first,” Maddy confessed. “Anthony hasn’t answered the text I sent earlier, but I guess if they thought Sparrow’s poisoned energy returned, he would call.”

  “Then that’s one we don’t have to think about now. And we might get more info about Lord Rianehd from your father, so those two can go together.” Anna took Maddy’s hand gently in hers. “Unless you’d like to talk about living arrangements first?”