by Beck, Paloma
She wanted love—true love—like in her romance books.
“My parents prefer that each of us live nearby, so they purchased this large compound when we were younger. My mother brought in a designer to make this home more suitable for a woman once I was of mating age but you can change anything you don’t like. This is all yours now.”
Layla shrugged. That did explain the beautiful décor, definitely a woman’s touch. “I wouldn’t change a thing. It’s beautiful.” Now that she knew it wasn’t one of Madden’s past lovers who had decorated the home, she more than approved of the style.
She turned in a full circle to view the room in which they stood. Her gaze landed on Madden. Layla’s simple spoken words, her honesty, gave her an incredible gift as she looked up at Madden. His smile was breathtaking, a full, wide grin revealing dimples in both cheeks. His eyes glittered as he reached his fingers down to stroke along her jaw and spoke, “You are beautiful, Layla.”
Blushing, Layla turned from him to continue on to the second floor where several small bedrooms lined one side of a long hallway overlooking the open foyer below. Opening a set of double doors, Layla’s composure broke as her fantasy room sat before her. The massive room was painted a deep purple with a large canopy bed taking up most of one corner. Drapes and linens of golden fabrics decorated the bed and windows, and dozens of pillows were strewn about the room. It was a fantasy—her fantasy—and she wondered how he knew.
“How?” It was all she could say, the only word that would form.
“It was meant to be,” he stated emphatically. There was no question for Madden. The truth was held in the mystery he embraced as his future. He held back his own happiness in seeing her so taken in by their home.
“And yet we know nothing of each other.”
“I will tell you anything, show you everything. You need only ask.”
“I need more than just faith in a legend.”
“I am a legend, Layla. Most humans believe my species to be only legend and yet I exist. Touch me,” Madden’s fingers grasped Layla’s and moved them to his chest. “I am but a legend and still I am the truth.”
“It’s too much. Can’t we talk about this later?” Layla moved away from Madden to look out a window across the room.
“We need to talk, to learn about each other. You can’t walk away from this. You do understand that, right?”
“Yes. I understand, Madden. I am not an idiot,” Layla scrubbed her hand over her face and worked to calm the emotions rolling in her stomach, “I’m sorry. I know I’m not making this perfect. I know I’m ruining everything.”
“You have ruined nothing,” Madden attempted to reassure Layla.
“I’m tired, Madden. I just want to rest in my own home with my sisters,” Layla looked up at Madden with imploring eyes. She hoped he would understand without her pleading with him to return her.
“You will rest here with me in your new home.”
Layla recognized the resolve in Madden’s voice. She moved to the bed, took a pillow into her arms and curled herself around it, taking up only a small corner of the very large bed she would share with Madden. In her mind, she understood this was as it should be. Of course, her mother was right, but now she needed to get her heart in alignment.
As she lay there, she felt the bed dip and Madden’s arms circle her in an embrace. He pulled her into him and held her as she drifted off to sleep. The last thing she heard was Madden’s soft voice, his breath on her ear, “Have faith in me, Layla love, and you need not have faith in the legend.”
* * * *
Layla came awake to a marvelous sensation between her thighs that had her moaning. She recalled the dinner they’d shared on the patio the evening before, overlooking magnificent fields of grapes. His housekeeper had laid out a full spread of delicacies for them before she left for the evening. They enjoyed them and each other, talked for hours and watched as the sun set over the vineyard. And she recalled retiring to bed again after dinner and being taken by Madden again, this time with more strength that she matched readily. Layla was again amazed by what this man—this legend—did to her.
“Madden,” she purred.
“My love,” his words were but a breath against her moist folds as he only paused to respond before returning to his feast.
“This is a wonderful way to wake me.” Her stomach cramped as tightness began building. Her pussy clenched at the fingers she felt entering her oh-so slowly and spasmed to grab hold and pull them in deeper.
“Then it is what I will do every morning.” Madden increased the pressure of his fingers until he pressed deeper inside her. Then he licked the edges of her core with his tongue in such tortuously gentle thrusts that Layla wanted more. No, she needed more. “I need more. Please, Madden,” Layla could hear the pleading in her own voice and knew Madden could hear it as well. Still he removed his fingers and she moaned as her need for him rose higher.
“Tell me what you need, Layla love. Tell me what I can give you.” His tongue pumped in and out of her pussy, leaving Layla to imagine his cock doing the same, to imagine the stretch and fullness that left her so content. She was panting and shaking with need, so wet, her juices leaked from her along her thighs.
Layla knew what she needed most from Madden, but she couldn’t speak the words. To voice her needs and prove to him that she truly needed his touch was too much, too soon. “Please, Madden.” She was so wet, so hot and her pussy was so sensitive, it nearly hurt with every stroke of his tongue.
“Love, you need only tell me what it is you would like from me, and it will be yours.” Madden quirked his lip up, grinning, he raised his eyebrow, and waited for her response. He was playing with her. God, she loved it. No, she should hate it.
He perched himself between her legs now and held her wide open to his gaze, but she could no longer feel him on her thighs or between her legs, where she most needed his touch. She needed to feel him. “I want you, Madden.” Layla’s voice was not her own. Who was this vixen he had created?
“But I am already yours.” He was going to force her to say the words and she was certain she was close to giving in. She needed to close her thighs and he wasn’t allowing it. She would get no relief unless she asked Madden to give it to her.
Madden sucked both fingers into his mouth, wetting them. Drawing his fingers up her torso toward her chest, he left his eyes locked on her breasts and licked his lips. Then his damp fingers twisted her already sensitive nipples until they were rosy red and distended. She arched her back towards him and he laughed. “What is it you want, Layla love?”
“Please, Madden. Be inside me. I need you inside me,” the words rushed from Layla’s lips before she could think. And it was just that simple as Madden shifted ever so slightly so that his cock slid inside her and all was right. All was perfect. Their eyes locked. Layla couldn’t look away.
Madden moved in and out of her with such ferocity as Layla strained to clutch him with her inner muscles. So slick, his cock nearly slipped from her with every pull. His thrusts were so determined, so strong, and pleasure and pain merged as he pumped his hips in a quick motion that led her to the very edge of orgasm. She couldn’t catch her breath. She was so close but then he stopped and pulled himself from her.
She whimpered, “No. Don’t stop. Please, Madden.”
He flipped her so quickly onto her stomach, she didn’t have time to process that he was already re-entering her slick core even as she begged. In this position, he filled her completely as she submitted to his taking. Power tore through her body and heated her blood, licking over her nipples and her clit. With no way to move but to push back into his thrusts, Layla simply gave herself to her mate, feeling a sense of joy at how he cared for her.
As her orgasm finally overtook her, her last thought was how she had everything she needed in Madden. Suddenly, she couldn’t remember what life had been like before she belonged to him.
A loud knock on the bedroom door had Layla trying to p
ull the sheet over her naked body. Before she was covered, Madden called out, “Enter, Anton.”
Layla squeaked but Madden only laughed at her. “Anton is a long friend of our family. He has served each couple as they have deemed necessary. There will be no reason for you to hide from him.”
Anton entered the large bedroom with a tray of breakfast treats and placed it at the end of the bed.
“I waited for you to finish, Madden,” Anton spoke to Madden. “Now, is there anything you require? Shall I draw a bath for your new mate?”
“Waiting was most definitely a good choice. I think it may take Layla some time to get used to her new life with us. And I do think your assessment is correct. A warm bath would be perfect after breakfast. But please first come meet our Layla,” Madden gestured his arm towards Layla at his side as her cheeks flushed pink. This was unreal that she was naked and meeting a man that waited outside their bedroom door until they finished having sex. God, she was in an alternate reality.
Anton came to her side of the bed and kneeled, looking into her eyes with his own beautiful butterscotch eyes. His hand stroked her cheek so softly that Layla restrained her immediate impulse to pull away. She actually found herself leaning into his touch. His scent was a light ginger fragrance with a hint of musky man. He was gorgeous in a much different way from Madden. He was light to Madden’s dark, gentle to Madden’s rough. Layla caught her breath when he rubbed her cheek with his own. Her tongue stroked her suddenly dry lips.
He knowingly smiled at her, pulling away and spoke with such restraint, “It is so wonderful to meet you, Layla.”
Raising his eyes and breaking the connection with Layla, he looked towards Madden and nodded once, “She is magnificent, Madden.”
Layla smiled at Anton, feeling a bit discomforted by his familiarity. She picked up some type of pastry and ate as Anton went to prepare her bath and Madden began flipping through documents on a small device Anton had handed him. Desperately wanting that bath, Layla took her coffee cup as she wrapped herself in the sheet and moved to the bathroom.
Madden chuckled from behind her, “You will get used to nudity, Layla love. Your body should be admired.” She shook her head at him but did nothing more to continue the conversation. She felt satiated from their early joining and now wanted only to relax in a bath.
Anton turned the faucets off and rejoined Madden at the chairs near the fireplace. Layla appreciated the privacy and relaxed as she dipped first a toe and then slowly moved her body into the perfectly warmed water. The scent of lavender filled her nostrils and she breathed deeply. She listened to the men speak as she lay in the largest tub she’d ever seen.
“Tell us what is on our schedule for our day,” Madden instructed Anton who ran down their itinerary. Nothing sounded interesting until she heard something about dinner with Madden’s parents.
“We are having dinner with your parents?” Layla yelled from the bathroom.
“As soon as I heard of your Claiming, I set up the meal so you could meet. It will help with your Acclimation.” Anton spoke proudly as if he had taken care of everything. One look at Madden and she could see he thought the man had. Well, she had a different thought—a thought that everything was moving way the hell too fast. She needed to slow this train down. It was one thing to get used to Madden but planning their future, meeting with families needed to wait.
“Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.” Layla jumped from the tub and stomped into the bedroom where the two men sat. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Anton look to Madden who merely smiled and nodded, his eyebrow raised. But it was Anton’s sigh as his gaze roamed over her that first reminded Layla she was naked, standing in all her glory for the two men to soak in every piece of her body.
“Do I even have clothes here?” Layla shrieked, shaking with the feeling of being so out of control. Since when did she let others dictate her life? Damn men.
While Madden sat frozen, Anton jumped into action and walked into what appeared to be a closet. He re-emerged with an enormous fluffy towel and a silky burgundy robe. He gave her the towel and then held the robe out for her and waited. It took only a moment for Layla to dry enough to put her arms through the robe. She allowed Anton to fasten the belt of the robe around her waist.
She turned then to stare at Madden. With her hands perched on her hips, she questioned, “Dinner with your parents? Are you going to give me any say at all?”
Layla watched Madden close his eyes and take a deep breath, clearly gathering his thoughts. “Layla, I didn’t know either. I have obviously been as distracted as you the last few days.”
“You, then?” Layla turned her attention to Anton and pointed her finger at him. “You set this up, so you can postpone this little gathering.” Layla wasn’t ready to move forward. She was just getting comfortable with Madden.
“I could do that if you absolutely need me to,” Anton spoke while allowing his gaze to settle on Layla. His soft butterscotch eyes swirled and mesmerized Layla into calmness. His hands gently kneaded her shoulders as he continued to look into her eyes, “Is this truly what you wish?”
Layla felt relaxed and eased by Anton’s comfort. Should she feel awkward having his hands on her? Madden wasn’t interrupting and didn’t stop Anton’s affections, and she didn’t want to either. When she spoke, her voice had softened, “No.”
“What is it then, little one?”
“No one is asking what I want. Or what I think. Or what I need,” Layla’s vulnerability dripped from her words. She was scared and that was making her angry. She was certainly going to put her foot down at this.
“But you are getting everything you need without asking. No?”
“Yes. But I feel so out of control, so lost.” Her voice softened and tears threatened but she could no more stop them than she could stop the direction life was pushing her in.
“But you have been found. Madden will not ever allow you to be lost. And I will be by your side. Allow me to guide you into this new life and all will be well.”
Anton moved his hands so that they cupped her cheeks, framing her face in a delicate embrace that warmed her. She sensed Madden come up behind her and felt the hard length of him against her back. Layla leaned into him at the same moment the warmth of Anton’s lips touched her own. Gentle and coaxing, Anton drew his tongue along her lips. With a sigh, Layla opened to him. His tongue slowly stroked hers, learning her flavor as she allowed him this intimacy.
Madden’s arms tightened around her from behind, encouraged her. Without his attentions, she might have been frightened or uncertain but in his solid embrace, she allowed herself to be consumed by Anton’s gentle attentions. She was melting in their heat.
A moan escaped her throat as Anton nibbled at her bottom lip and then licked again. The sharp sensation coupled with the tender stroke tightened something in her stomach; a need deep inside urged her to rub herself against him.
Anton unfastened the belt to her robe and, stepping away for a moment, Madden allowed it to fall to the floor.
Placing his body against her back again, Madden’s mouth sucked at her throat and his hands moved along her hips, massaged and stroked while igniting tiny flames along the way. Layla’s skin tingled. With Anton’s hands disappearing from her face, she no longer knew who touched her. She didn’t know whose hands stroked her and she didn’t care. The sensations of four hands and two mouths had her enflamed.
Layla turned her head to seek out Madden, needing to feel their connection. His lips moved from her neck along her jaw and sought out her lips. So different from Anton’s gentle kiss, Madden’s kiss demanded her submission. He owned her and he could no more hide that power than he could disown his heritage. Madden was power—pure sexual power.
When a long finger touched her folds, stroking along her clit, she managed a soft gasp before Madden swallowed it in a kiss that spoke of the hunger wrapped around them. He hungered for her just as she hungered for him and it was magnificent. Powerful though he might be, she co
uld unravel him. That was her power.
Madden braced his arms around her body and lifted her back, placing her on his lap as he sat on one of the plush chairs. Still facing away from him, his firm cock pressed against her bottom. She wiggled and he swatted at her hip.
“Do not move. Lay back against me so that we can pleasure you,” Madden’s breath tickled her ear and a shiver ran up her back as she did as he had commanded. Madden said we, and she didn’t miss the meaning of that word.
“Madden, is this okay?” Layla suddenly needed his approval spoken aloud.
“Does it feel okay, love?”
“I’m afraid to say.”
“You do not need to be afraid.” Madden stroked her long, silky hair, allowing his fingers to sink into its softness. She hadn’t seen Anton move. She’d lost sight of him since Madden had moved her to sit. Quietly, he asked again, “Does it feel okay, love? That is all that matters.”
Layla closed her eyes before she spoke, unwilling to see his reaction, “yes.”
“Then it is as it should be.” Layla felt Madden’s smile against her cheek as he continued to stroke her hair, gathered it and moved it to one side so that he could run his tongue down her neck. “Let Anton give you his devotion. It is his gift to us.”
Layla jumped as much as her body would allow—realizing now just how restrained Madden had her, when she felt the first touch of Anton’s hands on her thighs. He placed her legs on the outside of Madden’s legs, opening her to his view for the first time. Kneeling, he sat back on his feet and took all of her in.
“You are beautiful, astounding, magnificent. Your core calls to me.” Anton spoke so close to her that his breath imprinted itself on her inner thigh. Layla shook with her need. Opening her eyes, she saw Anton look past her to Madden. She felt him nod and tighten his hold around her only moments before Anton placed his hands on her thighs and held them tightly.
