He broke the kiss and pulled out, let go of my legs one by one. “I’m sorry this has to be so rushed.”
“No, it’s…” Fine, I wanted to say, but my voice was gone, lost somewhere in the need still pulsing through me. Tomorrow.
“Yes,” he said, and yanked my skirt down. “Ten seconds.”
I nodded jerkily and stumbled after him into Lanu’s room mere moments before Elizabet’s grandfather clock chimed the first bell of midnight.
Jason was laying face down on the bed, his nude skin pale and beautiful in the near dark of the room. His hands clutched at the sheet, wrinkling it in his fists, and his face was turned away from us. Blake was on top of him, fucking Jason’s ass in short, hard thrusts that rocked Jason on the bed, each one echoed by a hoarse moan ripped from Jason’s throat while Blake licked an open cut striping across Jason’s back.
Eric caught my arm, holding me still. He’s ok. I told you. They have similar tastes.
I nodded, a jerky movement, and followed my bond with Jason into his mind. It’s not that I didn’t trust Eric. I just wanted to see for myself. Jason wasn’t exactly closed to me, but there was a barrier there, blocking out whatever he was thinking while Blake fucked him.
So I took another route, not even thinking twice as I sank into memory with my mind anchored firmly by my bonds with the two men I loved. I floated past images and sounds, some vivid, others fading, hopping from one to the other as I sought a way around the wall Jason had erected. The feel of the ball under his hand, the roar of the crowd.
No, I shoved that one away. Geez. Jason and his basketball.
A little girl, not even a year old, her face hidden under a towel Jason rubbed gently over her head. I didn’t recognize her so I moved on, past memories of his family and the farm he’d grown up on, of my laughter in the bright sunlight and the warmth of both, of Eric straddling his lap, his mouth latched on to Jason’s throat.
I slowed down there. Sex might be the key to breaking through.
Eric’s fingers slid down my skin, almost startling me out of my search. I carved off part of my mind and went through the motions of undressing while the other part of me, the bigger part, flipped through memories of Jason having sex. I shimmied out of my dress as I zipped through images, going as quickly as I could. Eric would figure out what I was doing soon. Had to hurry, hurry… There! A memory beckoned through a thin haze, its images throbbing subtly, distinguishing themselves from the others surrounding them.
I stepped out of my gown and walked toward the bed dressed only in my panties and the slingback heels Alice had helped me pick out for this night. Slid onto the bed facing Jason and Blake, and stroked my fingernails through Jason’s silky blond hair, all the while edging my way closer to that memory.
Jason turned his head toward me, dragging his face across the sheet, and caught my gaze with his. What are you doing, Gigi?
Loving you.
I snagged the memory and pulled my way through the barrier Jason had erected. He grimaced and tried to shove me out, and I clung to those images with everything I could, reeling them out, opening the memory fully.
And was shocked to the core by what I found.
Jason was on his back on a bed, stripped bare of clothing, staring up at my husband with so much love it hurt to feel it. Eric cupped Jason’s face and his lower lip trembled, and they stared at each other, just looked, not needing words to express the depth of their emotions. It was all there as plain as could be, the hopelessness of it all, the bitter sense of loss, the lack of feeling in Jason’s legs, and the love, so much love. It cut through me, rending my heart in two. I fumbled the memory and lost it, and slipped quietly out of Jason’s mind.
Gigi, baby, it’s not what you think. He let go of the sheet and slid his hand across the bed, grasping mine firmly in his. I love you, too, so much more than I can ever tell you.
I know, it’s just…
I was reminding myself of what we were doing here, why we were doing this. He squeezed my hand and even as his body rocked under Blake’s hard thrusts, Jason held my gaze, silently entreating me to understand. We had months together when you were gone, more than a year, and a lot of that time was so hard. Please understand, baby. Please. I love you, but I love him, too.
I pressed a kiss to his knuckles one by one. And I love you both.
It hurt, though, knowing how much Jason loved Eric, really loved him, and how much time they’d had together while I was in the cage. I’d known it, of course I had. Even reeling from the shadows and freshly out of the cage, I could do simple math. They’d had so much time together, time I wished I’d had with them.
Blake thrust into Jason a final time, gasping out his release. Jason buried his face in the sheet, and through our bond, he showed me what he was doing, hiding from the pleasure, not the pain, testing his control, learning what he could.
Strengthening himself for our family.
Blake kissed Jason tenderly on the nape and maneuvered himself off. “Let me clean up,” he told me, “and I’ll take care of you.”
I nodded as Lanu’s favorite climbed over me and went into the bathroom.
Jason pulled himself across the bed and braced on his elbows beside me, smiling down at me. “Have to help the queen now.”
I slid a fingertip across his lower lip, scratched the faint stubble on his chin. “I know.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.” I smiled and cupped his nape over the place where Blake had kissed him. “Thank you for saying it.”
He kissed me, slowly at first, deepening it into something more. You taste like Eric.
We had sex in the hallway.
I know. I can smell him on you. He pulled back gradually, nipping at my lips, licking them. If the queen weren’t here, I’d taste you there, him and you together.
Heat rippled through me. God. Jason knew exactly how to please a woman, what to say, where to touch, how to taste, and he wasn’t shy about it, not one bit.
He held my gaze for long moments as something odd rippled through our bond.
I stroked my thumb over the firm line of his jaw. What is it?
He shook his head, pressed his lips tightly together. Sometimes, I’m as jealous of you as I am of him. Don’t take that the wrong way. I’m glad we’re together again, so glad you’re healing and nearly whole, and I want that so much, but sometimes, I don’t want to have to share him with you.
Laughter bubbled up and over, so quickly I couldn’t hold it back. Sometimes, I don’t want to have to share either of you, especially not with another woman.
He grinned, that rakish crooked smile I adored, and tweaked my nose. Speaking of.
“Go on, then,” I said, and sighed happily as he rolled away.
Blake slid onto the bed behind me, spooning me. Across the bed, Eric lay on top of Lanu, stomach to stomach, pinning her wrists above her head against the mattress. Jason knelt between the tangle of their legs and caressed Eric’s firm ass.
Lanu turned her head and caught my gaze with hers, her black eyes glittering with something I couldn’t name. Her mind brushed briefly across mine. We shall discuss your ability to manipulate memory and emotion later, little vampire.
Eric forced her head around and claimed her mouth, Blake skimmed a hand down my bare thigh, warming me, and Jason bent, licking his way up Eric’s back.
And I was frozen where I lay, trembling under the threat of the queen’s undivided attention.
Chapter Five
Blake ran a fang along the skin of my shoulder and licked the cut he’d opened. “Mmm. Still a little bitter.”
“Fresh blood,” I murmured. I tucked my hands over my ribs, arms across my chest, and curled into a ball. “I’ve only been out of the cage a few weeks.”
“I heard. Here, you’re cold.”
He slipped off the bed, and I rocked with the motion, my gaze caught on my husband holding Lanu down, pushing his dick into her willing mouth while Jason made himself at home b
etween her thighs. A tendril of desire shot through the worry. Jason with his mouth on me. Later, definitely, when we could pry him away from the queen and her favorite.
I’d been very honest with him earlier. I hated having to share Jason and Eric with other women. Alice and Elizabet and the others under her protection, not so much, but outsiders? Yeah, just a little. I hadn’t had nearly enough time with them yet, hadn’t had them in my heart for long at all, and they weren’t here so often that I’d grown used to them.
The mattress shifted under Blake’s weight. He arranged a red microfiber blanket over me and spooned me, drawing me close with one firm arm around my stomach. “They’re beautiful. Lanu’s been looking forward to having them again since the minute she heard you’d awakened.”
Bitter envy twisted its way through my heart. A moment later, Eric’s mind surged toward mine. Never fear that we are anything other than yours, Gigi.
I bit back the urge to apologize. He was right. Of course, he was. Eric and Jason had only ever shown a united front where I was concerned. Even the night Jason’s jealousy had gotten out of control, I’d never doubted they were both mine, and I theirs. I miss you, that’s all.
Soon, he thought, and eased out of my mind, leaving our bond warm and my heart warmer.
“Come around here, where I can gaze into your lovely eyes and do my best to steal you away from your husbands.”
A giggle rose before I could contain it. I peeked over my shoulder at Blake and grinned. “Is that how you won the queen over, with corny lines?”
“I won her over only with Eric’s help, for which I’m so grateful, I’m willing to fuck you senseless and give you as much blood as you need.” His smile was faint and sensual and hungry. “The sacrifices we favorites make.”
I rolled over and faced him, touching my fingers to the skin covering his heart. It beat slowly, steadily, a measured rhythm in stark contrast to the need raging through his blood. I could feel that, too, through the tips of my fingers, through the brush of our minds, and in the thick erection jutting toward me, its end brushing over my stomach.
“How did you meet him?” Blake asked.
“Who?”
His gaze flicked over my shoulder at the threesome quietly taking their fill of one another. “Eric.”
“I was out jogging trying to clear my head, get my mind off school and work.” I pulled the memory up, what I had left of it, anyway, and pushed it gently toward Blake. “We passed on the street. He caught me looking and asked me out.”
Blake hitched in a breath and his eyes fluttered closed. “Wow. That’s…intense. I can feel everything, the air on your skin, the pavement under your feet.” His eyes opened, their brilliant green bright with emotion and need. “The way you felt about him. God, he’s the most gorgeous geek I’ve ever seen. That’s what you were thinking.”
“Sorry.” I pulled the memory back and lowered my gaze. “Jason’s working with me on control.”
Blake’s finger nudged my chin up. “Your control is fine. The memory was just so rich and detailed, it startled me. I’ve never met anyone who could share a memory like that, not that completely.”
I blinked at him, stunned. “We do it all the time, me and Eric and Jason.”
“I see.” He closed his eyes, twisting his head slightly to the side. A moment later, he huffed out a breath and met my gaze. “Well, apparently it’s nothing to worry my pretty little head over. Lanu’s words, not mine.”
I shivered and whispered, “You told the queen? Why would you do that?”
“She needs to know, little one. Don’t worry.” He brushed a gentle kiss across my forehead. “You’re safe here.”
I doubted it, though I couldn’t bring myself to tell him so.
“She wants us to have sex now,” he said in a voice rich with amusement. “Says you need my blood and I yours, and we should be good children and get on with it.”
I breathed out a laugh. “Well, I guess we should have sex then.”
“I’m happy to oblige. Come here.”
He rolled onto his back, taking me with him. I sprawled across him, still half covered by the blanket he’d fetched. He tangled his fingers in my hair and cupped my bottom, and I kissed him, more to get it over with than because Lanu had commanded us to.
His lips were soft, softer than I’d expected. He didn’t urge me into anything deeper, didn’t push me to take him hard or fast or anything at all, really. I flicked a tongue along the seam of his lips, tasting him. Minty toothpaste, a lingering hint of Jason’s blood, and something dark and exquisite.
I pushed the tip of my tongue gently through the barrier of his lips, seeking that darkness, seeking him. He opened for me, touched his tongue to mine, sucking lightly on my mouth as I kissed him. Heat stirred deep down, the need for his hands on my skin, his dick buried deep inside me, my mouth at his throat drinking him in. What would he be like, this intriguing man who’d snared a queen’s interest and managed to keep it, Eric’s help or not?
His hand tightened in my hair and his need pressed against me. I broke the kiss and trailed gentle kisses along his jaw, down his throat, shifting my body lower. The tip of his erection nudged at my pussy.
“Help me,” I whispered.
His hand slid down my bottom, settling between my thighs, sliding his erection along the slick seam of my body. I tilted my hips and eased downward, taking him into me inch by inch, savoring the slow stretch of my pussy around the broad head of his dick and the rush of liquid heat sparking through my body.
“God, you’re big,” I panted out.
“We can stop, if it’s too much.”
“I’m fine.”
More than. I dug my fangs into the base of his throat and latched on to the tiny cuts I’d made, covering them with my mouth, suckling him. His blood splashed across my tongue, so dark, so dark. That was him I’d tasted on his mouth, him, and I wanted more. I rotated my hips, taking him another inch inside me. He moaned and his fingers dug into my hips, and his blood dribbled down my throat, so good, so fucking good.
The shadows leapt forward, dancing gleefully through my mind. Take all of him, they urged. Drink him down, drink him deep.
I stilled and nearly lost my hold on Blake’s throat, struggling with the darkness that had become such an intrinsic part of me I could never lose it without losing myself, could never keep it without doing the same. His hands pushed down on my hips and he thrust up, forcing himself another inch into me, his dick stretching me a little too far. It was enough, though, enough of exactly what I needed. I seized the pain and fed it into my control, and found a moment of clarity. Memory. That was my salvation, memory and emotion. I opened myself to Blake and reached out to him, searching for something good to hold on to while I fed and he fucked me.
Images shot past in a dizzying array of light and sound. Lanu, her dark eyes soft and welcoming, a two-story Victorian filled with the scent of cinnamon and vanilla, the pain of arousal held too long, and Eric’s gentleness. I slowed there. Eric, my heart. What had he done for Blake?
I plucked the memory out and brought it to the forefront, opening it fully, immersing myself in it. Blake hung by shackles wrapped around his wrists, his body limp, his long hair covering his face. They’d been in this room, here at Elizabet’s, and Eric had walked in with the queen and Devin. He’d taken one look at Blake and balked, then forced Devin to release Blake and care for him…
(…so close. I sagged against Elizabet’s pet and stared at the slender man holding Lanu to the bed. I’d been so close to having her, so close to making her see how much I love her. The bounce of my dick as the pet pulled me away, painful pleasure. God, please, need her so much…)
Blake jerked under me, pulling me out of memory into Now. “The hell?” he murmured.
I pushed myself lower, taking him fully into me, and set a rhythm with my hips guaranteed to distract him. He moaned and arched into me, and I sank back into his memories, seeking another containing my precious loves…<
br />
(…he’s so strong. I met Eric’s gaze, and understanding passed between us. The queen will be stronger with me at her side, and he’d known it all along…)
I flipped through memory after memory, a surprising number of them. Eric, Jason, Marco, Elizabet, even Darien. I slowed at that one and pulled it out, and nearly laughed at the comical expression on the Alpha’s face when Lanu had asked him to her bed.
How did one refuse a queen?
I found another of Eric and pushed it to the side, at the ready, in favor of a brief memory of Jason…
(…so beautiful. God, did Eric know how lucky he was having this beautiful man as his lover? I slid my hands down Jason’s firm ass, slapped the skin once, just to see what it felt like, just to see if he’d accept it. He moaned and arched his ass into my hands, and I slapped him again, reddening his skin. I parted his ass cheeks and eased my dick into his tight hole. So tight, so goddamn tight…)
“Seal me,” Blake said, his voice hoarse and thready. “Please, Gianna, seal me.”
I licked the holes in his skin, closing them, and released my hold on his throat. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and clutched my bottom, and rolled me over onto my back, settling on top of me between my thighs. He braced himself above me on one forearm, his hips thrusting hard, shoving his dick into my pussy, hitting my clitoris in pleasurable spurts. I moaned and dug my fingers into the skin of his back, dug harder when he asked me to, and held on as he fucked me, wild and hard and deep, pushing me up and over the edge into release so quickly, I lost my breath. My heart hammered in my chest, matching his, and with a final forceful thrust, he came, throbbing cum into me in hot streams.
He touched his forehead to mine, his breaths panting over my mouth in short bursts. “Sorry. So sorry.”
“What…?” I sucked in a breath and tried again. “What for?”
The New Vampire Page 14
