Spells and Necromancy: A Reverse Harem Fantasy (Unfortunate Magic Book 1)

by Candace Wondrak

  Lena pressed a finger against his lips, hushing him. “No,” she said. “It doesn’t.”

  That…wasn’t what he expected her to say. Perhaps things had changed in all the time he’d been dead. Maybe being with whomever he wanted was not an issue anymore. Or perhaps Lena was simply amazing.

  As Valerius watched her wriggle out of her shirt and free her breasts from the small piece of fabric that held them back and together, he corrected himself. She wasn’t amazing.

  She was spectacular.

  Lena was not herself. Not in the least. If a spirit of Hunger could make her do this, unleash her like this, she shuddered to think what would happen if anything else got its non-corporeal claws into her. This was not what she’d do to a handsome man if she passed him on the street. She was not ravenous.

  But she was. Oh, was she ravenous. She wanted more, all of him. Her stomach burned with heat, even when she stopped to listen to him. Even after he told her who he slept with. She didn’t care. All that mattered to her was that, in this moment, Valerius wanted her. And if she was completely truthful, Lena would admit that she was even more turned on, knowing that he’d been with others. Men and women.

  Certainly, some people would’ve been turned off. But Lena? Not her. Not even a little.

  So she told him that it didn’t bother her, immediately working to get out of her shirt. The fabric seemed extra restricting suddenly, tight and choking. She had to get it off, had to be free. After she tossed her shirt on the floor, she reached behind her back and unhooked her bra. Never had her chest ever been bared before someone else. She went for her hair. Her violet tresses were long and wavy, tumbling midway down her back.

  Lena was too wanton to be self-conscious, too lustful to wonder if her body suited him, or if he’d prefer…well, if he’d prefer someone more like Tamlen. Another man with another dick.

  Hmm. Suddenly that word didn’t seem so dirty.

  No, Valerius—Vale—was too aroused under her. Every inch of that hardness, every press of it onto his pants against her as she ground on it, was for her. Lena brought her mouth to his after letting him gaze at her bare torso for a few moments. And then his hands came alive.

  Rough hands, calloused and coarse, ran down her back and up her sides, snaking around to cup her breasts. Little zaps of electricity tingled on her skin. Anywhere he touched, his runic magic followed. It wasn’t enough to hurt or annoy, but it was enough to make her feel pleasure in every single nerve. His thumbs skimmed her nipples, and she let out a low moan. Were they always so sensitive?

  Vale steadily gazed at the two darkened points on her chest, his light eyes flicking up at her for only a moment. He took his lips to her neck, trailing kisses down, across her collarbone, finding his way to her right breast. Lena arched her back, trying to make it so that he was not so hunched. His tongue grazed the pebble that was her nipple, his teeth gently nipping it.

  Holy Gods, did that feel good.

  His tongue flicked across it, warm and wet, sending tingles throughout her. Lena buried her fingers in his hair, clenching them tightly. She wasn’t going to let him come up for air. Not anytime soon—though she did move his face to her other breast, and his mouth latched on instantly, needing no further instruction.

  Without warning, Vale picked her up, his electric fingers gripping her back, flipping them so that she was under him, her back on the bed. He stood beside it, answering her questioning stare by yanking off her boots and pulling down her pants. As he worked to take his off, she slid two fingers between her skin and the lace of her underwear, tugging it down as well.

  The mere thought that she was about to make love for the first time was…exciting. If she were in her right mind, she supposed she’d be nervous, maybe a bit scared and anxious as she usually was. But right now, all Lena felt was a warm, lusting want that originated between her legs. She never imagined that she’d give herself to anybody, because no one wanted her. She was beautifully broken in all the ways a mage could be. Vale didn’t know her past; perhaps it was a good thing.

  Lena propped herself up on her elbows, extremely attentive as she watched him step out of the pile of clothes on the floor that was his own set of ill-fitting trousers. He looked—well, a little dirty—but beyond that, Vale was all muscle. Thighs of steel, an abdomen that was chiseled into six little squares, two lines drawing down from his upper hip bone to his manhood. And his manhood might’ve gotten off on men in the past, but that erection was all hers.

  Licking her lips, she murmured, “Now’s your last chance, Vale. If we keep going, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop myself.” Lena wanted to do everything with him, everything and more. She squeezed her thighs together. This was madness, wasn’t it?

  Vale shook his head once. “I don’t want to stop.”

  “What do you want?”

  “I want,” he paused, crawling atop her, staring into her eyes as he finished, “to have you in every way possible. I want to fuck you, hear you sigh my name. I want to make you mine, Lena.” The rough language he used made her burn with desire, and she threw her arms around his neck, kissing him hard as their naked bodies collided. He didn’t go inside her, but she could feel the hardness pressing on her. She pushed him off just enough so that she could open her legs.

  Today was certainly a doozy of a day.

  The bathhouse was not a true bathhouse. It was more like a room with a large stone pool in its center. The water seemed clean enough; Tamlen could not imagine how many trips it took that lumbering innkeeper to fill it every day. He stripped of his clothes—thank the Gods, for they were a bit on the tight side—and stepped into the water with no hesitation whatsoever.

  The water was room temperature, but with a wave of his hand, it turned into a hot bath. The room, surrounded by wooden walls, no windows around, slowly filled with steam. It was relaxing, and it felt good to rid his body of the old dirt that caked his skin. Tamlen dunked his head under, running his hands through his hair. Its shorter length he would have to get used to. It would take time.

  As he ran his hands along himself, using his fingers to scrub off the dirt, Tamlen couldn’t help but wonder how much time had passed. How many years had he slept away—or, rather, lied dead through? If this was the capital of Rivaini, where the king’s castle was, it was both new and the same. New in that most of the buildings were new; made of finely-chiseled rock instead of haphazard placement of naturally-formed stones. The roads were paved with small square stones, windows in every building made of glass instead of letting the air and outside waft in with each breeze. Back in his day, only the King could afford to have glass.

  But for all that was shiny and new, some of it was exactly the same. The outer walls of the city still towered precariously over the entire capital. The farms on its outside were not protected from bandits or other robbers. The castle still sat high above the rest of it, its towers jagged and pointed and gloomy. And Tamlen knew not much had changed in the way of mages—if he made his way towards the castle, he bet he’d find the King’s chosen gibbet, whether it was a noose or a chopping block. Whatever form of execution that fit his fancy.

  Tamlen knew he shouldn’t think about it, for the water around him started to turn into steam at an alarming rate. He was angry, upset. All that he’d worked for in his previous life, trying to free those who were unable to free themselves—for naught. Did mages today not realize that their College was another way the King could keep tabs on them? It might not have been slavery, but it was next to it. Being bound to a large building, even if it had everything one might desire inside, was no life. A life was not a life if one did not have the freedom to choose what to do with it.

  He thought about Lena as his hands roamed lower, scrubbing his legs. She was an enigma, wasn’t she? Utterly unaware of the power she held, yet she was a student at this College. How could she be so naive? Why didn’t she see that mages should not be confined so? Magic was not something to be feared—only occasionally. It was something to re
spect, something to admire and appreciate. It was not a curse upon their blood.

  And then, of course, his mind drifted to other things about Lena. How she felt under him, squirming and writhing. How her small body fit against his, the way her hands roamed his back, fingernails digging into his skin. Where was that woman when he needed her?

  After being dead for so long—for who knew how long—the first thing Tamlen wanted to do was have a little physical fun. He deserved that, didn’t he? He had been dead, and now he wasn’t. Really, it was all Lena’s fault. She should have to take care of him, be with him, be under him.

  Tamlen wasn’t just teasing Vale when he offered to share her, to watch or join in. In his first life, he wasn’t exactly known for his prudeness. He was as open to sex as anyone could be, even if in the last few years of his life, when he put all his magic and all his forces to conquering the eastern kingdoms, he hadn’t had nearly enough. Then again, no amount of sex was enough. He could have it every day, all day, and never tire of it.

  When Tamlen started to imagine what Lena would look like naked, he hopped out of the bath with a semi-erect cock. He had to get upstairs, toss Vale out, order him to wash himself, while he got to know their accidental necromancer. What better way than sex? A good fuck was what everyone needed.

  He put on his clothes after using his fire magic to instantly dry himself. Tamlen was out of the bathhouse and jumping up the stairs the next moment, nearly knocking into a bar patron. A drunk old man, he narrowed his eyes at Tamlen, muttering, “Do I know you?”

  “Not even a little, friend,” Tamlen said, slapping him on the back, nearly making the man spill his drink. The man’s eyes widened as he hurried to a nearby table so as to not drop the rest of his ale. He made it to the third floor and barged right into their room, not quite thinking it over first.

  The door swung closed behind him, and for a moment Tamlen simply stood there and stared, disbelief written across every feature. Both the room’s inhabitants were naked, their bodies tangled up in each other’s. Their clothes were on the floor, her bag and her spell tome in a pile, like they were knocked off the bed. Lena was in the process of opening her legs, giving Vale a good, hard look at the wet, pink slits that, honestly, the man would not appreciate.

  Tamlen would be more than happy to take his place.

  “Damn,” Tamlen said, both pairs of eyes slow to turn to him. Both their faces were flushed, neither one saying anything. “If I would’ve known how fast you are, I would’ve stayed a bit longer.”

  Gods. Even underneath another man—a man whom Tamlen hated—Lena was beautiful. Her pale skin was tinged with pink, her pupils dilated in desire. The way her breasts rose and fell with each heaved breath. Her fingers tightened on the sheets as Vale’s stare locked with his. Where there used to be disdain and hatred, there was heat and yearning.

  Tamlen thought about pulling Vale off her and taking his place—something he’d be more than willing and happy to do, given how instantaneously hard he got the moment he entered the room, but he found he couldn’t. Grabbing himself over his pants, he leaned his back on the door. “Don’t stop on my account.”

  If Vale—the man who preferred other men—wanted to have Lena first, Tamlen would be the bigger man here and let him. He would watch, though. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the mess of limbs on the bed.

  He took off his shirt and his trousers, kicking off his boots. Tamlen stood there for only a moment, aware that both Lena’s and Vale’s stares never left him. Both pairs of eyes seemed to swallow him up, eating up his appearance. Was it wrong that he enjoyed the prospect of the both of them gazing at his hard length? Was it bad that it only aroused him more?

  What a stupid question.

  As he ran a hand down his stomach, gripping the base of his dick, Tamlen said, “Carry on.”

  “You heard the mage,” Vale said, his disdain for Tamlen gone in that moment, replaced by a burning hunger that sat behind his vividly blue eyes.

  Vale and Lena slowly tore their gaze from him, returning to each other. Her legs remained opened, and Vale positioned himself. Watching him push inside her, Tamlen stroked himself. Lena let out a groan, her face twisting until she relaxed once more. Her hands moved to his ass, holding on as he started thrusting.

  The bed creaked as their rhythm picked up. Tamlen was in tune with him, his hand gliding across his length like he’d done it a thousand times. And he had—he was a man, after all, and he discovered the pleasures of the skin very early on. With a little extra heat to his palm, it felt even better.

  What it must feel like to be inside her, Tamlen mused, feeling his hips start to thrust. Gods, why did he tell them to continue? He wanted to be in that tangle of limbs so very badly he ached. He was already dripping with precum.

  Just when Vale’s thrusting became harder and quicker, Lena stopped him by putting her hands on his chest, on all those scar-like runes. Vale sluggishly slowed, withdrawing from her. He moved away, allowing her the space to sit. Lena extended a hand to him.

  To Tamlen.

  “Oh, fuck me,” Tamlen whispered, not hesitating even a little.

  Chapter Six

  Lena wasn’t certain what had gotten into her, but it felt too good. She wasn’t about to stop, to think about what she was doing. These men—they were hers, and she wanted them both equally. Why not have them together?

  When she reached her hand to Tamlen, he whispered, “Oh, fuck me.”

  She felt a sloppy smile grow on her face, the space between her legs still tingling, still longing for the feeling of being full that faded after Vale took himself out. Judging from his length, Tamlen would fill her up and then some. “I do think that’s the point,” she said, hardly recognizing her own voice. So soft and seductive.

  When Tamlen took a step forward, not nearly close enough to the bed, Lena glanced to Vale. The other man seemed to be as in awe of Tamlen’s package as she was. Her head bent a little, and that was the only command Vale needed. He leaned over the edge of the bed, nearly falling off it as he yanked Tamlen closer, pulling him onto the bed.

  This bed was not nearly big enough for the three of them.

  Lena sat on Tamlen’s right, Vale to his left. She ran her hands down his chest, marveling at the musculature. Mages never had bodies like that. Never. Even High Enchanter Gregain, who trained with the city guards when he had time, was not that wide. And Tamlen did look a lot better, now that he was clean. She ran a finger straight down his chest, across his stomach, biting back a smile as he leaned back and moaned, his eyes fluttering closed.

  If one finger could make him do that, what could other body parts make him do? Lena wondered, shooting a sly grin at Vale. She did feel a little bad for not letting him finish, but with the way he gazed from her to Tamlen’s cock, she knew he forgave her.

  It was a very impressive cock, not that Lena had seen any before today. Today was one wild day, and she loved it. It was the Hunger talking, she now knew, but she didn’t care. It felt too damned good.

  Her fingernails traced the area around his hard erection, softly drawing up the underside of its length. Tamlen moaned, “You will be the death of me, Lena.” He grinned, one eye peeking open to gauge her reaction as he added, “My second, anyway.”

  “I can’t help it,” she whispered, leaning up, pressing her lips onto his neck. “You’re one fine-looking man. Isn’t he, Vale?” Lena tossed a look over her shoulder, at the man who was frozen at the sight of Tamlen’s hardness, as if he’d never seen something so wonderful.

  “Yes, Vale,” Tamlen said, tensing the moment Lena cupped his balls. “Don’t you just want to…” He sighed out, “Put me in your mouth.” It should’ve been a question, but it wasn’t. It didn’t sound like one, anyway.

  Lena bit her lip, resting her chin on his wide shoulder. “Who? Me or Vale?”

  “I don’t care,” Tamlen said, falling back and taking Lena with him. He held her against his chest, her legs straddling him. His hand wrapped ar
ound the back of her neck, bringing her down to him, kissing her hard.

  Lena knew he could feel the wetness between her legs on his abdomen, but she wasn’t ashamed. If anything, it meant this session of getting to know each other better was going really, really well. Her mouth opened slightly, their tongues meeting. If this was life, then she could most certainly handle it. The life she had before? Utter trash compared to this.

  She never wanted to let either man go.

  Tamlen’s hands ran along her sides, his fingers tightening as he jerked and let out a low moan. Lena glanced behind them, finding that Vale had decided to join in. Seeing his blonde head moving up and down along Tamlen’s cock brought a jolt of pleasure to her system; her gut burned at the sight.

  “Fuck,” Tamlen muttered below her, “he’s good.”

  Lena brought her smiling lips back down to his after watching Vale go at it for a few minutes. It was astounding, the amount of Tamlen’s dick that he could swallow. She doubted she’d be able to get half as much in her mouth before gagging. Perhaps he’d trained himself with his other lovers. But that was neither here nor there. She didn’t want to think about the two men with anyone else. Only with her, with each other. Here and now.

  They stayed like that for a while, kissing and nipping each other’s faces while Vale remained stationed between Tamlen’s legs. It was after Tamlen started tensing up that he growled, “That’s enough. I need to be inside you.”

  Lena rolled off him, and Vale was slow to withdraw his mouth, saliva oozing off Tamlen’s cock. Tamlen pinned her to the bed, sliding her legs apart. He was very much a take charge kind of man when it came to sex, clearly. He didn’t wait, didn’t waver; he simply thrusted inside her, filling her immediately. The mere thought that Vale had been inside her not long before nearly sent her over the edge. This was most certainly not how she expected her day to go, but she couldn’t complain. She could hardly speak at all.