by May Dawson
“You can join me if you want.” His tone is neutral, and there’s an edge of vulnerability in it. He doesn’t sound as cocky as usual.
“I’d like that,” I say softly.
He jerks his head into a nod and goes into the bathroom ahead of me. When I follow him, he’s leaning over the tub, turning on the water. Hot water pings against the shower floor as he straightens. He pulls his shirt over his head without turning back to me. His muscles ripple with movement, and I run my hand over the taut muscles of his lean waist to his shoulders.
He turns to me. There’s still something in his eyes that I can’t quite read, but then his lips crash down on mine. I smile against his mouth as he presses me against the wall of the bathroom, his muscular arms tented to either side of my head. His lips nuzzle the corner of my mouth.
When he lifts his head, his vivid blue gaze is intent on mine.
“What are you thinking?” I run my hands up the chiseled lines of his chest to rest on his shoulders. “There’s something about you that feels… different.”
He quirks an eyebrow. “Different how?”
“I don’t know.” I shake my head. I can’t put into words the feeling that I have; there’s something about Airren that seems sad. He’s always so sure of himself, usually maddeningly so. I thought it was his family’s situation that bothered him. But maybe there’s something about our mission itself.
“Is there something you aren’t telling me?” I frown up at him.
His lips quirk. “Don’t you think I learned my lesson about that already?”
The way he smiles makes me wonder if the sadness I saw was real, or just my imagination—or if his current easy teasing is the lie.
“It’s so hard for me to know what’s real and what’s your mask,” I murmur.
“It feels like I’ve been pretending to be someone else all my life, T.” he confesses. “But I’m trying to show you who I really am. Including the many, many flaws.”
He nuzzles the corner of my jaw, and my chin tilts, welcoming him in.
“I murdered you a week ago,” I remind him. “I’m not one to judge your flaws.”
He tilts his head back, laughing out loud. When his eyes crinkle at the corners, my heart swells.
“I just want to know you,” I murmur, remembering a time when I teased him for details, finding him reluctant to open up even though he wanted to know everything about me. “I don’t want to wonder anymore…”
His lips purse to one side. “I’m not keeping some big secret, T. I’m just…”
“What?”
“I’m scared of what happens if we fail,” he says. “Our whole world is on the verge of burning. I was never afraid of dying before. I didn’t give a damn if I—” He shakes his head. My chest tightens; Airren has never cared that much about he lived or died, because he felt alone in the world. I’ve met his family. Mycroft and the Marines might be the closest he’s ever come to having a family.
I don’t want him to ever feel that way again. I was so alone too, before I met him and the others. I know that nothing hurts like loneliness.
In a whisper, he adds, “But now I want all these things I don’t know if I can ever have…”
His jaw tightens, shaking his head, as if that confession has physically hurt him.
“What is it that you really want?” I want to take away all the pain of the past, but I know I can’t. All we can do is try to build a future that helps us heal.
“I want to live in a house with you and them.” He nods his head toward the wall that separates us from the rest of the hotel room. “I want to marry you, T. I want you forever. With babies, even.”
He raises his eyebrows at himself as he stares down at me. “So there you have it. It could be the end of the world, but if it isn’t, if we all survive somehow, I really want to knock you up.”
I laugh. “I guess I shouldn’t have asked what you really wanted if I needed a romantic answer.”
“I’m not a romantic man.”
Not romantic? With his last words, when he was dying, he told me that he loved me.
“Liar,” I whisper.
His deep blue eyes lock on mine. This time, I close the distance between the two of us.
As we trade quick, fevered kisses, I fumble to undo the buckle of his trousers. I push them down his lean hips, and his cock rises out, bobbing in front of his taut lower abs. His hands glide under my shirt, his touch raising sparks, before he draws the shirt over my head.
Then he picks me up, catching the back of my thighs and drawing me up his body. His shoulders ripple beneath my hands as he carries me into the shower.
He pins me to the wall as the hot water beats down on my body. There’s nothing hotter, though, than his lips. His mouth scorches across my throat, my décolletage, my breasts. My thighs tighten around his lean waist.
“God, I love you,” he mutters. I kiss the corner of his mouth, the sweet familiar dimple there that feels like it’s mine, before he turns his head, capturing my lips with his.
“I love you too, Airren,” I murmur, my voice coming out breathy. “To the end of the world. And, if we’re lucky, back again.”
His cock rubs between my thighs as the two of us trade kisses, until I think I’m going to lose my damn mind. My nipples pebble with desire as his big hands hold my hips, his fingertips curling into my ass as he holds me braced against the wall.
He teases inside me. Then his gaze is watchful on mine as he pumps in and out. He adjusts his position until the base of his cock presses against my clit every time he slams home, until I’m biting my lower lip at the waves of pleasure that roll through my body every time he rocks inside me.
The muscles on his forearms stand out from the pressure of holding my body weight up, but he never complains. He shifts so he can hold me up one armed, and his fingertips glide over the curve of my ass playfully. Lust ripples through my body at his touch as his fingertips slide further. When my breath gives, he smiles, leaning in to kiss me.
I’ve never had a man touch me like that before. But then he would know that—everything is a first for me with him and Cax and Croft. .
Life is short—and ours might be especially so—and I’m open to every experience right now.
I slide down his body, and he waits with his hands holding my hips until I get my feet beneath me on the slick floor. I turn, brushing playfully across his cock. He captures me, one big arm across my chest affectionately as he kisses my shoulder. His other hand slips between my thighs, and when his fingers stroke over my already-aching clit, I gasp.
His cock teases between the curves of my ass, then slides into familiar territory. I reach my hands out for the tile wall to hold myself up as my knees go weak, as he rocks into me over and over and as I slam my hips back into him. Sex right now feels explosive between the two of us.
The two of us come together. The white tile around us blurs into something shining and bright as stars explode behind my eyelids.
It doesn’t matter what world I’m in. In his arms, I feel safe and loved.
Chapter 16
When Airren and I slip out of the bedroom, everyone else is clustered around the brass-and-glass coffee table, eating slices of pizza and drinking beer. My cheeks heat as they all look up at us. They must know what we were doing.
“Pizza, the best thing that dirtside ever gave us,” Rian raises his glass in a toast, grinning at me. “Besides our Tera back, of course.”
I give in and grin as I make my way to the couch. So we’re really doing this. No jealousy. Their love for me—and the respect and affection between them all—feels like as much of a miracle as having my magic restored.
As I pass by, Mycroft reaches out and grabs my hip with one big hand. I look back over my shoulder, my lips parting in surprise, just before he reels me into his lap. I laugh as I find myself planted on his muscular thighs, his arm wrapping around my waist.
Cax puts a plate of pizza into my hand, then draws my feet into his lap.
Leaning against Mycroft’s powerful body while Cax begins to rub the aching balls of my feet makes me want to purr.
“We should talk through the plan for tomorrow,” Airren says, ignoring Croft and Cax for now and talking to Rian.
Rian’s gaze flickers to us, then back to Airren. “Right.”
The two of them talk about the last known location of the Shield. It was sold from a museum’s collection—that didn’t recognize what they had, although to be fair, most of Primus doesn’t realize that the King Arthur stories are more true than not—to a private collector.
“Good,” Airren says. “Easier to steal from a private citizen than a museum.”
“You say that like you have experience,” I murmur.
“He has a surprising amount of experience,” Cax says. “He’s quite the noble miscreant.”
The way Cax’s strong thumbs press into the base of my toes makes my toes arch. I’m not sure he should be calling anyone else a miscreant, but I’m not going to criticize him right now. Especially not when Mycroft’s begun to massage the base of my neck, his powerful thumbs stroking into my shoulders and releasing the knots of tension that have built up there.
“I think I know a guy who can help us,” Airren says. “Come on, Rian. Back me up.”
Rian leaves with Airren, but he hesitates at the door, like he wants to be invited. Airren grabs his shoulder in a friendly way ushering him out.
Cax and Mycroft and I trade kisses and massages for a while, that slowly turns into sex up against the glass overlooking the city. We’re close to finished when the guys walk back in, clearly having expected us to be finished—or at least in a bedroom.
For a few long seconds, Airren stares at the three of us. We’re sweaty and tangled together against the glass.
My heart hammers in my chest, and a blush would rise to my cheeks if they weren’t already flushed with my arousal. I remember the first time that I was sandwiched between Cax and Croft like this, when it was just kissing.
Then Airren reaches back past Rian, who is also staring, and shuts the door. He turns toward us, a curious look on his face, and then abruptly, as if he’s made a decision, he says, “I don’t suppose you’d let a killjoy join you.”
“I’d like that,” I say, my voice husky.
Mycroft presses a kiss to my shoulder and, as he looks up, exchanges a look with Cax. Cax’s eyes are bright, his pupils blown as if he’s addicted to my body. The smile on Cax’s face is welcoming.
“Please,” Mycroft says shortly.
Rian glances toward us, longing written across his face, then heads toward the bedroom.
“Rian,” I say softly, and my voice comes out strange. A question? Who am I asking?
Cax kisses my bare shoulder, then looks up past me, his green eyes bright as he looks to the king of Avalon.
“Do you want to join us too?” he asks, speaking for all of us.
Rian hesitates. “I don’t know how the logistics—”
“It’s new to us all.” Airren is already stripping off his shirt, revealing his chiseled chest. He tosses his t-shirt onto the couch. “But we’ll figure it out together. We’ll figure it all out together.”
He’s been afraid of being left out, but if we ever are going to have that house where we all live together, we’re going to make sense of it.
Of course it seems impossible, but whatever.
Impossible is worth fighting for.
“Come on, prince,” Mycroft says. His gold-flecked gaze is curious as he dips his head to kiss my shoulder. “She’ll always be mine, but we’re willing to share.”
I roll my eyes, although I’m glad each of my men has voiced an invitation to Rian now, since he’s the most likely to feel like an outsider. I want them all as my lovers, my family. Airren, Croft, Cax, Rian—even Devlin, though how I find my way to a future with him is a dark, blurred road right now.
I smack Mycroft’s shoulder. “I think you’re mine, actually, you possessive weirdo.”
“Never denied it,” he says, before his lips find the curve of my neck. He’s still watching Rian, and I am too. My breath flutters in my chest, anxious if Rian will come join us or not.
If he walks away, it feels like the door closing on the impossible dream.
But instead, Rian crosses the room to me. He wraps his hands around my hips and tugs me away from Mycroft, flashing a mischievous smile his way, right before his lips meet mine. Rian’s shirt is still cold and the stiff fabric carries the fresh scent of a fall day. When I strip off his shirt, I press myself against that cool skin as he smiles down at me.
Cax sweeps his hand across my lower abs, holding me even as Rian and I share a gentle, tentative kiss, but Cax leans over my shoulder to kiss Mycroft. Behind me, I can feel Mycroft’s big, powerful body relax as some of his tension eases away. Cax does so much to fix my beautiful grouch.
Airren catches my hand, and he lifts my arm so he can press a kiss to my palm—heat throbs between my thighs at the simple touch—then he trails kisses up my arm until he reaches my shoulder.
I’m not sure which of my men kneels first. For a second, I stand at their center like a queen, and then one of them tugs me down. I kneel on the carpet, and Rian forms his lean, athletic body against mine. He kisses my shoulders, the back of my neck, and each kiss sends a sweet throb of longing through my body.
Airren is still kneeling in front of me, and I unbuckle his trousers, raising my eyebrow at him playfully. He helps me as I slide his pants down his narrow hips, as I pull at his shirt. When I yank his t-shirt over his head, his muscles ripple as he tosses it away.
I turn, because Rian was still far too dressed, and find Cax already pushing the crown prince’s shirt back off his shoulders. Cax’s lips brush Rian’s in a short, tentative kiss, and Rian smiles as their lips part. Desire tightens my thighs, and I find myself smiling before Mycroft catches me around the waist, crushing his lips to mine in a fevered kiss.
I would have thought I’d never know what to do, but when Mycroft and I break apart, he gently presses me down onto my knees again. I press my ass back into Rian’s hips, and he groans as his lean abs brush against the curve of my ass. It’s a sound full of desire, and when his cock slips between my thighs, his tip glides easily, as if I’m just as stoked by desire.
I catch Airren’s cock in front of me, flashing him a mischievous grin as I draw him toward me. I flick my tongue across his tip as his eyes flutter closed.
Besides us, Cax and Mycroft kiss deeply, lost in each other for the moment. Cax is so pale and Mycroft’s skin so deep as their limbs blend together, as their mouths—and bodies—join together. I think I could just watch them, but the building heat between my thighs needs to be released. I take Airren into my mouth, and his breath gives.
Pushing my hips back against Rian, his fingers slip across my clit, then he draws a slow circle through my wet heat. My hips rock back against his. His hard arm becomes a bar that holds my ass against his hips as he teases my clit, circling over and over.
I moan around Airren’s cock, and Airren’s chest flutters with desire as his head falls back. All the building passion I feel I channel into swirling my tongue around the head of Airren’s cock, into taking him as deep as I can into my mouth rhythmically, then returning to teasing his head.
Rian’s hand slips away from between my thighs, and I’d complain, but then he presses the tip of his cock there instead. He toys with me, rubbing it in slow circles across my heat as I push back, eager to have him inside me.
Then I gasp as he slides inside, filling me up. He rocks into me over and over, his hand resting on my lower back, holding me steady. Shaking off the distracting flush of heat I feel, the steady throb between my thighs, I focus on Airren’s cock and on the small sounds of pleasure he makes. Airren’s fingers wind through my hair, petting it back from my face. His touch sends small tugs of pleasure to my scalp.
Rian and I rock together. I feel Airren tense the second before he shatters inside me, g
roaning. He fills my mouth with his salty, faintly sweet flavor, that reminds me of gulping a mouthful of ocean water. I love the way I can make them feel. I love the way they make me feel.
Airren’s fingers are still threaded in my hair and as soon as I’ve swallowed, he turns my face up to his. Airren’s lips graze mine in a sweet, tender kiss.
But Rian and I are still moving together. He’s hitting my g-spot every time he slides inside me, and it sends sparks flying deep inside my core. Rian’s fingers sweep across my clit, and he finds a rhythm to match the push and pull of our hips.
I pull away from Airren, biting my lip; the sensation has become too distracting. My muscles are all taut with desire, and my fingers curl into Airren’s shoulders as I shake my head, my hair flying over my bare shoulders. I’m on the edge between pleasure and pain, when the moment before an orgasm is so intense—
And then it shatters over us, and Rian and I both gasp. My core ripples around him as my muscles all tense one more time. Airren captures my mouth with his, as if that sound is delicious to him.
Rian’s forehead rests against my shoulder, his breath hot and quick against my skin. The throb between my thighs feels satisfied, filled when I had been aching. When he accidentally grazes my clit, I almost gasp because it’s so sensitive.
But I know that won’t last long. I rest my hand on the back of Airren’s neck, holding him close to me, as I turn and catch Rian’s muscular forearm. I tug him toward me, taking turns kissing them both.
To my right, I glimpse Mycroft’s unsmiling expression of amusement; it’s his eyes that give him away most. His gold-flecked eyes shine with pleasure and desire. Cax runs his hand over my lower back, the curve of my ass, as if he’s staking his claim, and I smile at him. My sensitivity is already fading.
“Well?” I ask, and my voice comes out husky. “What comes next?”
The five of us melt together.
Chapter 17
