Reckoning: A Reverse Harem Tale (Mountain Magic Book 3)

by Dakota Brown

  Sam said goodbye after we were done eating. She did leave some cash on the table despite Doc's protests that she didn't need to. David pitched in a little cash and Doc paid, then we met outside and made sure David and Victoria got to their car before we all climbed into Doc's truck and headed back for the yurt. Predictably there were no leftovers.

  Chapter 4

  Sofia

  "Ed, we should run before the storm hits tonight," Allan suggested as Doc drove down the narrow path on his property.

  We could all feel the weather building, though the storm front hadn't hit yet. It would, soon. We had enough time to get the yurt completed though, according to Nikolai. I didn't know how much was left to do, but I think he wanted to have me help him.

  Without the lights from the cabin, the clearing where the cabin had stood was very dark. They'd shut off the power at the breaker so we didn't have anything up here right now. Nikolai was completely unconcerned, but it would be very interesting for the rest of us. We were used to having electricity, indoor plumbing, and food storage.

  "I'm okay. You go run," Ed replied.

  "Ed, you haven't gone running in months. You need to change. Even I can tell you're on edge because you haven't," Allan insisted.

  Ed shook his head. "No, that was just because of the demon. I'm fine now."

  "Ed," I interrupted. "You need to go run." He was sitting next to me. Allan on the other side and we both twisted around so that we looked at him.

  He shook his head.

  "Is this about what they did to you? Have you changed since then?"

  Ed's shoulders sagged and he sighed.

  "Damn them. Ed, it'll be okay. I'll be here for you. I want you to go run with Allan."

  "When are you going to come running with us?" Ed whispered.

  "Not tonight," I said. "I need to be a little more secure in my own skin before I let you all change me into a wolf, but I will. I promise."

  "You will?" Ed's gaze lifted from his knees to meet mine.

  "Yes. But you need to change now and run with Allan. Someone's got to watch his back while you're out there and he'll watch yours."

  Ed frowned, as if the implications of his brother running alone for months finally hit him. I doubted Allan had complained, but it was safer if they went together.

  "I..."

  I grabbed his hand. "It'll be okay."

  He sighed. "Okay."

  "We'll go change," Allan said, "and then Ed can pretend to be a lapdog for a few minutes and then we'll go run."

  "If I remember correctly," I turned a sly grin on Allan, "you're just as bad of a lapdog as he is."

  Allan grinned and winked.

  Some other memories surfaced of my time with the demon. Ash, constantly by my side. Had he slept next to me? I wrinkled my brow as I tried to remember. Now that I remembered his constant presence, his absence felt like a gaping hole. I tried to push the feeling away. We would rescue him.

  We all got out when Doc stopped the pickup, and I stood next to the truck and blinked, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness, which they did quickly thanks to the lingering effects from the demon.

  The crisp air refreshed me after being down in the small town most of the afternoon and evening. Though I could hear the metal ticking in the truck, the only other sounds were nocturnal animals. I waited until my senses compensated for the night time before I stepped out of the driveway and headed toward where I remembered they had put the yurt.

  Ed and Allan went off on their own, barely making a whisper of noise.

  I jumped when Doc touched my arm. I hadn't heard him at all. Nikolai was nearly as quiet, appearing on my other side.

  "You're going to have to teach me to move like that," I said once I had my heart under control again. "Compared to all of you I must sound like an elephant."

  "Have met quieter elephants," Nikolai joked.

  "Hey." I punched him lightly on the arm.

  He pulled me against him, trapping my arms and kissing my cheek. "I am kidding. It's not hard."

  I leaned into Nikolai and sighed, content.

  "First we must finish yurt. Come on."

  Before we reached the small clearing where Nikolai had started their yurt, two blond wolves stepped into our path.

  I grinned and dropped to my knees. The lighter blond wolf, Ed, came forward and pushed himself into my arms.

  Though I had never thought to ascribe the emotion relief to a wolf before, Ed the werewolf looked relieved.

  I hugged him tightly before burying my fingers in his ruff. "See, you'll be just fine. You two keep your eyes open and use our pack bond to yell if you need us."

  Allan pushed his way into my space and I included him in the hug, burying my face in their fur. I needed to get some time with them soon. Getting caught up with all of my guys was a huge priority for me at the moment. That and avoiding the Andersons as much as I could until we had a plan to stop them. We also needed to rescue Ash. Which was really going to piss the Andersons off and we needed to be ready for retaliation.

  Ed snuffled my hair before touching his nose to my cheek and stepping backward. Allan did the same before brushing against Doc and Nikolai and then disappearing into the woods.

  I stood and let Nikolai and Doc lead me to the clearing.

  "Wow."

  Nikolai grinned, pleased with himself. Doc half smiled and I put my arm around his waist and leaned against him. Piles of canvas lay on the ground, and rope. The frame stood just as it had before, but inside they had put together a low bedframe. Rugs covered the floor, and a few bags lay on one side. Probably clothes and stuff.

  "Memory foam?" I grinned.

  "Yeah," Doc confirmed. "Got used to it and couldn't bring myself to go back to the old-fashioned kind. Especially after a couple of months sleeping in Allan's bed."

  "Why were you sleeping in Allan's bed?" I frowned, trying to remember. When I couldn't, I shivered.

  "The demon took over my room, so Nikolai and I used Allan's room and Allan and Ed mostly slept in Ed's."

  "Oh. Bet you're looking forward to this one then." I grinned, slipped in through what was probably the front door, and jumped up, landing on my back on the bed.

  Doc's low growl caught my attention. He and Nikolai stood close enough that I could see the naked desire on his face. My stomach tightened and I sucked in a breath before letting it out in a soft moan. Nikolai's eyebrows rose before his lips curled.

  "Doc, you make bed. Sofia and I will finish yurt. Then, maybe we can see how comfortable it is."

  I didn't think Nikolai had actually slept in Doc's bed beyond the first day when we had healed him. If he had, I hadn't been there for it.

  "That is a fantastic idea," Doc agreed, voice low.

  If I didn't get off the bed now, I didn't think Doc was going to let me get up. His eyes were glued to me as he entered the yurt.

  Nikolai slipped an arm around Doc's waist and rested his chin on the vampire's shoulder. "It will get very cold and very snowy, if we don't finish the yurt before we get, eh, distracted."

  Doc took a deep breath, a smile tugging at his lips, but he nodded. Nikolai put one hand on Doc's cheek and turned his face until they were inches apart. "Still want to share her with me?"

  "Of course."

  "Good, I would hate to have to roast you." The mage smirked at Doc before pressing his lips to the vampire's.

  I groaned as they kissed, completely turned on now. Clearly, they had grown quite comfortable with each other over the last couple of months.

  "You're not helping, Nikolai," I managed to say.

  He chuckled and let go of Doc. "I know. Come." He held out his hand to me. "Much as I like winter, I do not like sleeping in middle of snowstorm without shelter."

  I scooted off the bed and slid my hand into his, our magic mingling as he called his to the surface and mine responded. We all sucked in a breath as the resonance between our magic affected the three of us. Doc had drank enough of mine and Nikolai's blood that he
was still carrying some of our powers and it pulled at him, too.

  "Must focus. Middle of battle is bad time to be sidetracked wanting sex." Nikolai laughed. "Is most distracting. First time that happened…" His shoulders shook with mirth. "It is not really funny, I almost got killed, but learned my lesson quickly." He pulled me outside the wooden frame.

  That story did a good job of getting me to focus, but thinking about our current living situation and the lack of a shower made me think about another lack.

  "Nikolai, what are we doing for a bathroom?"

  "Tree?"

  "I'm a girl."

  He laughed. "Go behind tree."

  "Burr."

  "You are mage. Use your magic. It will be fine."

  "Right." He did have a good point. "How about a kitchen?"

  "Have some ideas. I will work on that tomorrow. Have to hope the wolves get a deer tonight. Doc got a few things for breakfast, I think. Will work it out."

  "Okay."

  "Now, it is possible to create canvas and bindings from other materials, but takes a great deal of effort. Much easier to simply shape existing canvas. I will teach you other method some time, for now, join your magic with mine and follow along."

  I did enjoy this method of learning magic. His energies melding with mine caressed our bodies, reaching places we couldn't touch with only our hands.

  When he stepped behind me, pressing his chest to my back, and putting his arms around me, the awareness between me and him heightened. Electric tingles spread up and down my body, originating where he pressed into me and setting all my nerves alight.

  "You know," I whispered, "It is more distracting with you pressed into me. Thought you wanted to concentrate."

  "I can concentrate while aroused."

  I leaned back into him, knowing his self-control wasn't amazing and rubbed my ass against his firm erection.

  Nikolai moaned. "If we weren't about to get snowed on…" He growled.

  It was my turn to laugh. "So, the spell?"

  Nikolai grumbled but returned to our magic.

  Doc had finished making the bed and lounged on it. I avoided looking directly at him, though I could feel the heat of his desire through our pack bond. I might lose my control if I did, and I also didn't want to get snowed on.

  Nikolai and I melded our magics together more tightly than we had yet managed before. I caught my breath, a little intimidated. "Is it supposed to be like that?"

  "Sometimes, yes. It is rare. Demon left you with some gifts, also our magic already resonated strongly. Is good." He kissed my cheek then turned his attention back to the spell we shaped.

  "This spell reshapes the canvas. Is harder if you don't know exactly what shape you need. I am very familiar with yurts. Goes like this."

  I memorized everything Nikolai did as my lavender and his deep blue magic sank into the canvas. Shivering as the cloth changed under our direction, I vaguely recalled a kids' movie about a mage accidently bringing inanimate objects to life. It hadn't gone well for the mage, and I suspected anti-supernatural politics had fueled the popular cartoon.

  Nikolai rested his cheek against the side of my head. "Doing great."

  Once the canvas had reshaped, Nikolai showed me how to craft another spell to lift the canvas onto the frame. Then, he showed me how to bind it with the rope and secure it.

  "Now, we cast a few extra spells to make weatherproof. Yurts without mages are weatherproof but use different methods to achieve this. We cheat."

  Once we had finished, he kissed me again before pushing a little of his magic into me, arching my back and almost making me orgasm right as I stood there.

  "Speaking of cheating," I gasped out as my legs buckled. He grabbed my arm, as if he had been expecting that reaction.

  "Complaining?" he asked, voice mischievous.

  I shook my head.

  "Good. We should not keep Doc waiting then." He scooped me up in his arms, my legs still too weak for me to protest. Suddenly I figured out the obvious. Nikolai wanted me and Doc at the same time. I didn't know how that would work, but I trusted Nikolai. It wasn't like I hadn't already done things with more than one of them at once, but this was more intense. I fully intended to have sex with Nikolai and I was pretty sure he was on the same page as me by his urgent strides as he carried me into the yurt.

  "Do you want me to leave?" Doc asked when Nikolai set me gently down on the freshly made bed. I pulled off my shoes when Nikolai stepped back. Doc was already barefoot.

  "No, of course not," Nikolai replied. He glanced at me and I shook my head.

  Nikolai shed his jacket and boots then frowned and waved his hand. Blue motes filled the air and my breath no longer fogged the air as it warmed to a comfortable temperature. "Forgot that one."

  My breath caught as he pulled his shirt off. Though he wasn't as overtly muscular as the werewolves were, Nikolai had hard, lean muscles from a lifetime of wielding a sword, along with his magic. I wanted to trail my hands up those muscles and trace the scar that ran from his collarbone down across his chest, ending on his opposite hip.

  Doc's gaze roamed over the mage, too, drinking in his exquisitely hardened body.

  Nikolai climbed on the bed and I scooted toward Doc to give him space. He studied us for a moment before his lips turned up and his dark brown eyes sparkled with a hint of blue from his magic.

  He reached for me and I moved into his grasp, getting my wish to run my hands up his sculpted muscles as he met my lips with his. His strong hands clutched at my back and I dug my nails into him. Nikolai groaned appreciatively and devoured my lips. After a moment, when it was still just us, Nikolai paused.

  "Doc, you do understand how this works, yes?" Nikolai looked over my shoulder at him.

  "I have an idea," Doc said dryly.

  "Then perhaps you would do us the favor of touching one or both of us?"

  "I wasn't sure."

  Nikolai smirked. "Surely you've done this before?"

  "In a group? No. Well. Yes. But no."

  "Which is it?"

  I laughed and claimed Nikolai's mouth again before he could get more frustrated or embarrass Doc more.

  "Group sex, no? Group lots of other things that eventually lead to sex but haven't yet, yes," I answered Nikolai after pulling back from the kiss.

  "What Sofia said," Doc replied quietly. "Though all the group activities have been with Sofia."

  "Good. So, it is easy. You can touch me, you can touch Sofia. Have fun, make sure other people are having fun."

  When Doc hesitated, Nikolai reached past me, grabbed the other man's shirt, and dragged him over to us. I ended up sandwiched between the two of them. I was in no way complaining.

  "This is not different than anything else you've done with either of us."

  Doc sighed. "You're right. Sorry."

  I twisted around and put my hands in his hair, disintegrating his hair tie and then pulling his lips to mine.

  Hesitation gone, he crushed me to him, kissing me back, while Nikolai's lips trailed hot fire up my neck.

  Nikolai's hands slipped under my shirt and I leaned back from Doc and put my hands in the air so Nikolai could pull it off over my head. I twisted back around and pressed into Nikolai while he went to work on Doc's shirt. It didn't take long before I was happily pressed between two hot, shirtless guys.

  Nikolai laid me back on the bed and Doc lay next to me, kneading one of my breasts while Nikolai dragged his nails down my ribs, trailing electric magic along my skin as he did so. Mine responded, and both Doc and I groaned with pleasure as the affects pulsed through him, too. Nikolai nibbled his way down my stomach, nipping gently while Doc worked on my neck.

  I shut my eyes, lost in the waves of pleasure that coursed through me. Nikolai pulled my pants off, and Doc worked his fingers into my wet folds. I opened my legs and moaned as he worked soft circles on my clit. Moments later, Nikolai joined him with his tongue, and I could barely think as my body tightened and heat coursed thro
ugh me. I came so hard, I cried out in surprise and pleasure.

  For a moment they let me writhe in pleasure, then Nikolai pressed his lips to my mouth. I opened for him, tasting myself on his lips, finding I didn't mind, and we kissed while he pressed himself into me. I tilted my hips and wrapped a leg around his back while he filled me. My focus narrowed to Nikolai and myself as our magic spun through us as we connected. Sensations intensified, and I came again while he thrust into me. He didn't stop, panting with need. My mind spun and I reached out until my hand connected with Doc. I grabbed at his arm and dug my nails in.

  Doc's hands found my breasts and his lips went to my neck. I tilted my chin, inviting him, while Nikolai gasped my name softly as he thrust into me.

  Heat built again in my core and I clutched Nikolai's shoulder, digging in nails, not able to do much else as my body responded to my men.

  Cold ice stung my neck as Doc sank his teeth in. This time he did more than take a quick taste, pulling at my neck. I cried out again as my orgasm rippled through me.

  Nikolai gasped my name, thrusting into me one more time, before shuddering and laying on top of me, chest heaving.

  I couldn't have moved even if Nikolai wasn't laying on top of me. My head swam and my overly sensitive body twitched, my nerves on fire.

  The three of us lay there, tangled together, until we had all regained some semblance of normal breathing. Then Nikolai leaned on his elbows and looked down at me, titling an eyebrow.

  I met his eyes, grinning, though my breath hitched at the emotion I saw there.

  "Sofia," he said softly. "I do love you."

  His words surprised me. I hadn't even been thinking about love. I should have been. These guys were my saviors, my teachers…my support. My heart melted and I wanted them to know what they meant to me, but I wasn't sure if I could find the words to encompass the depth of my feelings. Feelings I'd barely had time to explore.

  "I love you, too," I whispered, testing how the emotion felt to say.

  His eyes shone with pleasure and he shifted his gaze to Doc, who lay next to me. "Love you, too."

  Doc cleared his throat and I glanced over at him. He also looked surprised, but happy. Blue and lavender magic shone in his dark eyes and it pleased me to see both of our energies marking him. "I love both of you."