Nic had to bite his tongue not to say anything as Duke looked visibly shocked. The guy didn’t know what to say. Tira had basically cut him off at the knees and that wasn’t something Duke understood. No one ever spoke to him like that.
Good. The guy deserved it. He didn’t care how much Duke was hurt or confused. He didn’t get to take it out on Tira. Nic wouldn’t allow it.
Tira took a deep breath then released it on a sigh as Duke finally turned and stalked away, tearing clothes off as he headed for the back door.
Tira watched him the entire way. Either she couldn’t take her eyes off him or she didn’t want Nic to know she was crying. He knew she was. He could smell the salt of her tears.
When Duke slammed through the back door, Tira turned to Nic. Her eyes were red but they were no longer wet.
“Ti, sweetheart. You know he can be a prick.”
“But he’s right.” Her chin lifted and her mouth firmed. “I fucked him this morning.”
He held her gaze steady. “No, you didn’t. You had sex with him this morning. There’s a difference, babe. You know that. And so does he.”
She swallowed hard. “I’m not sure he does.”
He wanted to grab her hand, wrap his arms around her, comfort her in some physical way. But he wouldn’t risk making her cry with an accidental brush of their skin. So he could only sit here and stare at her. “Yeah, he does. Look, I’m not saying you need to cut him some slack because the bastard doesn’t deserve any for that. You’d be justified in any smack-down you might want to throw his way. But… Hell, I don’t know, maybe we all need to cut each other some slack.”
She nodded but he didn’t think she took anything he’d just said to heart. Except for the part about the smack-down. Her eyes had lit up when he’d mentioned it.
Nothing he hadn’t wanted to do himself lately.
“You really should be in bed, Nic. You’re not completely healed. I want you to eat and then go lie down again.”
Because he pretty much felt like crap since he’d popped Duke on the chin, he nodded. “Yes, dear,” he drawled and sure enough, she smiled.
Damn, he was so pitiful it took something so little as a smile from her to make his day.
And Duke was out there working off his anger when he’d gotten to hold her in his arms and get deep into her body.
The guy really was an asshole.
Sometimes, Nic didn’t know why he loved the bastard so damn much.
* * * * *
Freezing air hit Duke’s naked body like a slap when he stepped onto the back porch.
His skin broke into gooseflesh and his balls tried to crawl back into his body.
Once he shifted, he’d be warm enough but for right now, he let the cold air dampen the heat of his anger and arousal.
He wanted to strangle Nic for putting them all in this position. Rage at Tira for agreeing to it.
And he wished like hell that he could just loosen his tight-assed control issues for a few hours so he could get with Nic’s program.
He wanted to. Gods be damned, he wanted to so badly, he thought he might howl with the need.
Instead, he was out here freezing his ass.
Fuck that.
Closing his eyes, he let his magic rise up until it bubbled like lava under his skin. He’d long ago lost any desire to understand the process of how he shifted from human to wolf. That was for people who over-thought everything.
Duke believed in simply letting the magic happen and being grateful for the fact that it did.
His first shift had come when he was days away from his thirteenth birthday, early for a male. Most didn’t change until they were months into their fourteenth year. He’d shocked the shit out of his parents when he’d begun the first transformation in the middle of the night. Hell, he’d been just as shocked. And scared, though he’d never told anyone.
He shouldn’t have been. Shifting came more naturally to him than anything else in life.
Even more so than talking. He’d been an antisocial kid, had never liked to talk much. He hadn’t had to. He’d had Nic, who never shut up. Duke just nodded every now and then. And people got used to it.
He hadn’t needed to develop advanced social skills. He’d known from the time he was a kid that he’d be a soldier like his dad. A guardian of his people. You didn’t have to talk much to do that.
Nic had had other plans. After the mandatory three years of lucani legion service from ages twenty-one to twenty-four, Nic had planned to go to college, get a job. Maybe with the lucani, maybe with the eteri. He didn’t care. He hadn’t wanted to be a soldier all his life.
Duke didn’t know why Nic was still here, why he hadn’t bolted the second he’d completed his term. He hoped like hell Nic hadn’t stayed because he thought Duke couldn’t take care of himself. But that would be just like Nic.
Shaking off that thought, he reached again for his arus, the magic inherent in his body, which had burned just a little less brightly as his mind wandered.
He forced himself to push all thoughts but one out of his head.
The wolf.
He called on the arus, on the part of him that knew the shape he wanted to take. He let the burn seep through his body, let it take him to his knees as his body contorted and magic remade his cells into a sleek, gray Appennine wolf.
Most lucani took the form of the Appennine wolf, the animal native to the Etruscan homeland in Italy. Only a few, like Kyle and Cat, had a rare black pelt.
With the transformation complete, Duke stood on his four paws and gave his entire body a shake.
He still felt the cold air but now it tickled along his fur rather than against his bare skin. Drawing in a deep breath, he leaped off the back porch and made a run for the woods that separated this property from Kyle’s. Protected by wards, and occasionally by the Lord of the Silver Light himself, the Etruscan Moon God Tivr, it provided a small but welcome sanctuary for a wolf in need of a run.
Later, he’d head back to the site outside Lebanon.
Chapter Five
Nic had fallen asleep in front of the crackling fireplace by the time Duke returned.
He lay on the plush couch to the left of the fire, his body stretched full-length on the cushions. She’d been watching him for at least an hour. He hadn’t moved an inch. He’d been exhausted.
She should have been in the kitchen, getting something together for dinner but she couldn’t seem to pull herself away. She’d never had the opportunity to study him in such an unguarded state. In sleep, Nic’s expression actually made him look more vulnerable, more sad.
Awake, Nic usually had a smile and he could cover so much with a smile.
She almost missed the sound of Duke’s claws clicking against the back porch, but she must have sensed his return because her heart began to beat harder, faster. When she finally heard the sound of his now-human footsteps as he entered the house, she tensed.
She knew Nic needed the rest but she’d actually hoped he’d be awake when Duke returned.
Not that she was afraid of Duke. Duke would never physically hurt her. She trusted him with her life.
But her heart, well…
Curled into the recliner on the other side of the fireplace in the front room, she forced her gaze to stay glued to the dancing orange flames. But out of the corner of her eye, she saw Duke walk naked into the room. She had to look. She just had to.
His cock twitched as she watched, slowly hardened before her eyes. She had to force herself to speak. “Did you have a good run?”
“I’m sorry.”
It was so not what she’d been expecting to hear that her gaze flew to his, her eyes wide with shock.
His jaw clenched, the muscle in his right cheek flexing as he stared back at her. “I never mean to hurt you and I always manage to somehow.”
“Just your gift, I guess.” She tried for flippant but winced when it came out bitchy. “Sorry, you don’t deserve that.”
“Yeah, I do.”
He sighed. “Look, Ti, we gotta get past this.”
She frowned, not at all sure what he was talking about. “Get past what?”
“You know why he guilted you into coming, don’t you?”
She could lie and say no. She might have been naïve at first but the arousal in Nic’s eyes when she and Duke had been fighting earlier had clued her in to what she’d been missing.
Nic wanted to watch. He wanted to be there when she and Duke had sex so he could participate, if only vicariously.
And surprisingly, the thought didn’t make her squeamish in the least. Why would it? Her ultimate fantasy involved both of these men in her bed. Her only problem with the scenario was that she was afraid she’d reach for Nic and be upset that she couldn’t touch him.
“Yes, I know what he wants.”
Duke’s gaze narrowed. “And you’re okay with that?”
Her brows lifted as she put her hands on her hips. “Why? Aren’t you?”
Duke looked shocked, the second time she’d done that to him in the past day. Her average was improving.
But she didn’t have long to savor her victory.
Duke stepped right in front of the recliner and reached for her, pulling her to her feet. She wound up so close, she could smell the sweat on his skin. So close she could see the individual pores of his skin and lick the beads of sweat on his skin, if she wanted. Feel his cock as it continued to fill and press upward.
And she wanted.
Blessed Goddess, she wanted.
She took a deep breath, taking his scent deep into her lungs and letting it seep into her body. It spread like magic, making her tingle all over. But she didn’t have time to savor the feeling because Duke cupped her chin in his hand to tilt her face up and covered her mouth with his.
He kissed her, hard, his mouth demanding she open to him. When she did, he slid his tongue between her lips and tasted her. His unique flavor, dark and spicy, made her moan.
She nearly fell into a puddle of lust at his feet. Her arms curved around his neck as she pressed against him until he put his hands under her arms and lifted her.
Her feet left the floor and she slid her hands into his hair as he kissed the breath out of her. As she slid up his body, she rubbed against his erection, feeling the tip of his shaft press against her mound. She tilted her hips into him, rubbing against him, trying to ease the ache between her legs.
He let her torment him for only seconds before he wrapped one arm around her to hold her in place and let the other drop to the waistband of her jeans. Ripping them open with furious fingers, he shoved them down her legs to fall on the floor.
His roughness only served to inflame her fast-growing passion and she nipped his tongue. He reared back, exactly what she’d been going for, and she began to string a line of kisses up his chin.
He let her have her way but only for a few seconds. Then he held her away from him and spun her around.
Her startled gaze landed on Nic, now sitting on the couch, watching them with an expression that made her chest tighten to the point of pain. His eyes burned with a wildness she’d never seen there before. His mouth was a flat hard line and a muscle ticked in his jaw.
He hadn’t been wearing a shirt to begin with and her gaze locked onto his chest, rising and falling as if he couldn’t catch his breath.
His left hand fisted into the cushion next to him but his right had pushed beneath the waistband of his loose cotton pants. The tip of his cock had escaped, the flushed head distended. A drop of slick moisture glistened there.
And the hand beneath his pants worked his cock in a slow, steady motion.
Her lungs contracted along with every other muscle in her body. Especially those between her legs. She wanted—no, she needed—to fill that empty space that begged for relief.
Her desire coated her pussy, made her slick and ready for sex. For them.
She wanted both of them. But she couldn’t have both of them.
She trembled, tears pricking at her eyes, and Duke tightened his arms around her, crushing her against his chest, nestling his hard cock against the small of her back. As if he’d read her mind.
“Sweetheart, don’t think.” Duke’s voice rasped against her ear. “Just feel. And watch. Watch Nic bring himself off.”
She wanted to watch. Wanted to see it all. “His pants,” she barely had enough air to gasp the words out. “I want him naked.”
“You heard the lady.” The command in Duke’s voice made her sex clench with an almost physical pain. “Take them off.”
Nic didn’t hesitate. He pushed the pants down his legs until he could kick them off with his feet then his hand immediately went back to his cock.
Her mouth opened to draw in much-needed air, which was startled out of her when Duke grabbed the hem of her shirt and stripped it over her head, leaving her naked.
Her nipples peaked, but not from any chill in the air. Duke’s body pumped off heat like a furnace and his hands covered her breasts and kneaded them, until her entire body felt boneless.
And ready to explode.
Mesmerized by the sight of Nic’s hand on his cock, she almost didn’t realize Duke was walking her backward until he pulled her back and down, onto his lap, as he sat on the wide leather chair across from the couch.
The silky hair on his thighs tickled the backs of hers and his cock felt like silk against her ass. It pulsed against her, a tiny amount of pre-cum dotting her skin.
She moaned and scooted backward, forcing herself to keep her eyes open to watch Nic, who’d slowed his strokes to a glacial pace.
“I’m gonna fuck you while he watches, Tira.” Duke bit her earlobe and she shuddered as pleasure stroked through her body, a painful jolt. “I don’t want you to close your eyes. I want you to put your hands on the arms of the chair and not let go. Understand?”
She nodded, too turned-on to speak, and did exactly as he said. The leather felt slick and cool beneath her hands. In sharp contrast to Duke’s heat and the lust pouring off Nic.
His gaze dipped as Duke grabbed her hips and lifted her.
“Lean back, baby,” Duke instructed. “Arch your— Yeah, that’s it.”
With her back bowed slightly, the angle allowed him to position his cock between her lower lips, poised to fill her completely.
He held her there, on the tip of his cock and the edge of her desire, her gaze glued to Nic’s cock.
She imagined for a second that they were both going to have her and then she couldn’t think as Duke began to lower her onto the thick length of his cock. The head barely sank in when she felt her sex contract, trying to drag him further into her.
The friction was incredible, sending shock waves up her spine. She arched just a little further, wanting him to pull her down and fill her completely.
But Duke wasn’t to be rushed.
He fought gravity, holding her hips and only allowing a few centimeters at a time to invade her channel. She felt the effort Duke exerted in the rough sound of his breathing, the short, heavy movements of his chest against her back. His thighs rock hard beneath hers, he used his knees to spread her legs wider, opening her further until she felt air brush her exposed clit.
Torturous sensation caused her to cry out again and she fought against his hands, needing him to fuck her now. Hard.
“No, no. Not yet, baby. I’m not ready to come yet. And neither is Nic.”
“Not at all.” Nic’s voice made her clench around Duke’s shaft in desperation. “I want to watch you enjoy it all night, Ti.”
Blessed Goddess, yes, she was enjoying this. But it was torture as well.
Duke allowed her to slide down a few more centimeters and she felt the brush of his pubic hair on her ass. Almost there. Almost—
With a short, sharp motion, Duke seated her on his cock.
She cried out as pleasure and a burning fullness coursed through her. The need for friction caused her to roll her hips. Duke allowed her to move for a brief second as Nic’
s hand paused, his gaze glued to where Duke and she were joined.
“Happy now, baby?”
She couldn’t speak, could only shake her head. No. She needed him to move, damn him. Why wouldn’t he move? And she wanted Nic to continue to jerk himself off. She wanted to watch him come. Needed to feel Duke’s release in her body.
“No?” Duke’s voice sounded surprised. “Then I guess we’re not doing this right, are we?”
“Do you want us to stop, Tira?” Nic’s hand loosened from around his cock and he made a motion as if to get up.
“No! Goddess, no, don’t stop.” If they stopped, she might just have to kill them.
“But we want you to be happy.” Duke nipped at her neck, causing her to clamp down hard on him. She swore the arms of the chair squealed as she crushed the leather under her fingers. “How can we make you happy?”
“Just fuck me,” she cried out. “Please.”
She swore she heard Duke growl low in his chest. “Then hold on, baby.”
Tira thought she was going to die before he started to move, she was so desperate for the friction. And when he grabbed her hips and lifted her off him, she wanted to cry.
But then he started to thrust, his motion limited because of his position and hers. But the friction… Oh, Goddess, the friction was amazing.
Her back arched, trying to get him as deep as he could go. Her eyes began to close but she caught sight of Nic stroking himself again.
God, he was so beautiful. His deep green eyes had narrowed to slits, the muscles in his right arm flexed and bunched as he stroked his cock. His abs tightened, the ridges of his muscles standing out in sharp relief.
In the back of her mind, she knew she wanted to touch him but couldn’t. She wanted to lick her way down that perfect chest. Better still, she wanted to be sandwiched between the two of them, as Duke took her ass and Nic thrust into her pussy.
But she couldn’t have that.
Despair threatened to tear away the bliss seeping through her veins. She pushed it away as she reached for the orgasm beating at the edges of her senses.
She needed just a little more. Making sure Nic was watching, she released one hand from the chair arm and let her fingers play over her stomach.
Moonlight Menage Page 8
