No, I’m making the only decision I can. “Thanks, Arcona. I feel a lot better.”
“You’ll have to give me all the deets later.”
Devon laughed. “I think you owe me some details too! You’re my best friend, and I’m only now hearing that Tyr was a Dacian gladiator? For shame.”
Arcona’s voice dropped to a husky whisper. “The best parts shall remain secret, but I’ll offer enough clues that you can fill in the blanks.”
“I know you. I’m going to hear the dry version of events.” Devon knew Arcona wouldn’t budge. She was loyal and discreet with loved ones. “But I’m still so happy for you.”
“Aye-aye, dragon lady. I should probably wake Tyr and head to work.”
“Love ya, Arcona.”
“Bye!”
Devon pressed the End button and set the phone down. She knew she had a long, tough day ahead of trying not to think of Jace and Beau.
15
“Keep going. We’re almost home.” Beau hooked his arm around Jace to support him. It had been one hell of a journey.
Jace stumbled forward in exhaustion, leaning his heavy frame against Beau. “I need to sit and rest.”
He was running on fumes. “Not in the stairwell. We’ll look like a couple of naked drunks sprawled on the steps.”
“Why didn’t we take the elevator?” Jace sounded like a sleepy child.
Marshaling his determination, he said calmly, “Because we landed and shifted in a dark alley behind our building, and you were too tired to get dressed and walk to the front of the complex.”
“I remember now,” Jace muttered. “God, my head hurts. Why did we risk flying home in dragon form?”
“We couldn’t find a cab this time of night—I mean morning—and the public is already screaming they see dragons every time a crow flaps its wings in the treetops, so it was decided one more possible dragon sighting over the city park would hardly be news.”
Shaking his head, Jace frowned. “Beau, that was a stupid idea. We shouldn’t have done it.”
Oh God. Not again. “Jace, it was your idea!” Beau huffed. “I tried to talk you out of it, but you shifted and flew off without me. I had to gather our things and race to catch up. Dude, your short-term memory is shot. You’ve not been yourself.”
Jace rubbed his head. “I’m sorry. I feel so dizzy and out of it. I don’t remember doing any of those things. I just wanted to be home.”
Beau gazed at Jace’s haggard face and felt alarmed. “You don’t look good.”
“I don’t feel good.”
“Come on, you can make it. Just a few more steps and we can sleep in our own bed.”
“Without Devon, what good is it?” Jace sighed in defeat. “I was looking forward to bringing her home with us. By now she should be our mate, and we should be a bonded trio. Our bed should be filled with the three of us. It’s not supposed to be this way.” With aching deliberation, he dragged his feet up each step of the apartment complex, tripped on the edge of a stair and toppled.
With lightning speed, Beau caught Jace’s falling body. “Be careful!”
“Has Devon tried to link with you?” Jace sounded groggy.
“No. I would tell you if she did. Besides, my temporary link has probably long faded.”
“Do you think Devon made it home okay?”
“I don’t know. Hopefully she arrived safely days ago.”
“Why isn’t she trying to link with us?”
“Jace, we’ve gone over this topic constantly for the last five days. You know why. Devon thinks she’s doing the right thing by staying away, and who’s to say she’s wrong? She’s not safe with us. We can’t protect her without making her our captive. I’m certain the Order of the Knights of Saint George strongly suspects she’s a mate. They’ll be watching and waiting for any early signs that Devon’s pregnant. They’re vicious, and you know what they’d do to her. If we stay away, at least the OKSG will be inhibited by all the media attention Devon’s receiving and perhaps not act. They can’t afford to come out in the open either.”
“I feel sick about this.” Jace pounded his fist on the wall. “I just want to call or link with Devon for a moment and know she’s all right!” he snapped. “Is that asking for too much?”
“But we shouldn’t do it.” Beau struggled to be patient, but it was challenging. Jace was becoming increasingly temperamental and unreasonable. “Linking with Devon puts her at risk. It strengthens the emotional bond, and she’ll be too tempted to come to us. Besides, it’s a moot point. She’s a grown woman who knows her own mind and she refuses to link. We can’t police her every move. The best we can do is watch for signs the OKSG is near and try to protect her. There’s nothing to be done now. We’ll have to hang on as best we can and wait.”
“Wait for what?” Jace said, far too loudly for a public corridor. “Wait for the OKSG to kidnap and harm her? Wait for Devon to make a decision, or wait for me to die? Which event do you think will happen first?”
“Let’s not go there. We’ve only been apart from Devon for a few days. It’s far too soon for morbid talk.”
A moment of clarity shone on Jace’s face. “In about half an hour we’ll be having this exact conversation all over again, won’t we? I’ll think I’m bringing matters to light for the first time, right?”
It broke his heart to watch Jace deteriorating in front of his eyes. “That’s been the general pattern.”
“I’m sorry, Beau. This must be so hard on you.” Jace sounded crushed. “I think the stress and all the extra worrying about Devon has sent me into decline sooner than normal. I don’t think I’m going to linger around for weeks on end. I think it’s going to happen fast.”
Beau gently urged Jace to keep moving. “Don’t be a drama queen and talk that way. We don’t know what’s going to happen. Maybe some food and rest will help. Tomorrow I might risk a trip to Devon’s apartment on some work-related pretense and just ask a neighbor or friend if she’s okay. Would you feel better if you knew Devon was safe at home?”
“Yes.” Jace’s deep voice was reduced to a husk. “I love Devon. She was my first and only choice of a female mate, and I put her in harm’s way. If I’d left her alone, she’d be fine. The OKSG would never have given her a thought. I did this to us.”
They reached the top of the stairs. Jace hunched forward with a groan. “Oh fuck, I have spots swimming in front of my eyes again.”
Real worry consumed him. What if Jace never recovered from the accelerated death process? “Just a few more feet. We’re already at the fire door. You can make it.” Beau opened a lightweight travel pack he wore around his neck in dragon form and searched for the apartment’s security card. He swiped the card and pushed the door open, peeking from behind to make sure the hallway was empty of neighbors. “It’s clear, but move as fast as you can.”
Beau hurried ahead of Jace and opened their apartment door. “Get inside.” He was shocked to see Jace moving so laboriously. This level of exhaustion went far beyond the normal stresses of shifting and dragon flight. Jace looked spent. Something was terribly wrong. He herded Jace into their apartment, locked the door, and helped Jace toward the sofa. “Sit while I make you something to eat.”
Jace slumped on the leather couch but didn’t remain upright for long. He toppled facedown on the cushions and remained still.
“Hold on, buddy.” Beau rushed into the kitchen and flung the cupboard open, looking for any energy-dense food he could find. He grabbed jars of honey and peanut butter first, then reached for a box of crackers at the back of the shelf.
He partially knew what Jace was going through. As a young Marduko, it had happened to him, though not to this degree. The metabolic requirements of shifting between two very different physical states, to say nothing of the demands of flight, could knock any man down for the count. A major crash was common, especially for an inexperienced shifter who didn’t yet know his limitations, but Jace was a seasoned alpha. He should have sensed trou
ble coming and pulled back.
Beau opened the jars and smeared generous dollops of peanut butter and honey on a handful of crackers, silently acknowledging the possibility that Jace’s state might be more than high drama or mere exhaustion that could be fixed with rest and a snack. “I have something simple, and I’ll be right there.”
He peered into the living room and saw the heart-wrenching sight of Jace lying facedown on the sofa, trembling. It looked bad. He wanted to wish his worst fears away. “Sit up!” He filled a glass with water and hurried to Jace’s side. “Let’s get some food in you.”
Jace started to rise but slid back onto the cushions.
He pulled Jace upright and held a cracker to his lips. “Nothing will improve until you eat and get your strength back. Let me help you.”
Jace ate the sticky cracker, reached for the glass of water and drank it dry in a single swallow. “I love you, Beau. You’re so good to me.” He ate a second cracker.
Beau returned to the kitchen to refill the glass. “You’re my mate.”
“And Devon too,” Jace grumbled. “She should be our mate. I wish she were here with us. Could we risk a phone call? What do you think?”
“No.” Beau finished filling the glass, turned off the faucet, and returned to Jace’s side. “It’s 4:00 a.m. If the OKSG are listening to Devon’s phone—and they probably are—a call from us this time of day for a nonwork-related reason would send a big red flag. A call might be the last clue the OKSG needs to put it all together about who’s who. There’s still a strong possibility Vorden doesn’t know our human identities, so let’s keep it that way.”
“Bastards.” Jace crunched down on a third cracker. He reached for Beau’s hand. “Would you try to link with Devon one more time, please, for my sake?”
The stubbornness was unbelievable; Jace just wouldn’t let an idea go. “Devon doesn’t want to link. Besides, I’m sure the temporary link has faded. We’re not going to get anywhere.”
“Just try it.” Jace kept eating until the plate was empty. “Do we have any more of this stuff?”
Hunger was a positive sign, right? “Yeah.”
“I already feel a lot better.” Jace stood and walked into the kitchen to make himself some more snacks. “I apologize, Beau. I know I put you through a shitstorm on the trip home. It got bad on me fast, and I couldn’t get back in control. I can’t even remember big chunks of the journey, and when I was lucid, I honestly thought this was the beginning of the end.”
“It’s all right.” Seeing Jace behaving like himself again and not like some confused, fading being lifted his heart. “I want to forget it.”
“Me too.” Jace scraped the rest of the peanut butter onto the last of the crackers and drizzled the entire mess with honey. He wolfed down the dripping crackers over the sink. “Aren’t you going to eat anything?”
“Right now, I just need to sit.”
Jace finished the crackers, washed his hands, and took a long drink directly from the sink. He walked back into the living room, stood in front of Beau and extended his hand. “Come to bed with me. Keep me warm.”
Beau gazed into Jace’s commanding eyes and felt the familiar little flutter that never got old when Jace made it clear he wanted him at his side as a lover. He grasped Jace’s hand and followed him into the bedroom.
Jace tossed the bedcovers aside and stretched across the indigo sheets. He patted the mattress. “Get close.”
Beau lay down and snuggled into the crook of Jace’s solid arms, allowing Jace to spoon him. “I’m salty and I need a shower.”
“I don’t care.” Jace kissed the back of Beau’s neck. He pressed his nose to Beau’s hair and nuzzled against him. “You smell good to me. You still have a hint of dragon on your skin.” He locked his arms tight around Beau.
Beau stroked the silky, dark hairs on Jace’s thick forearm. It felt so good to be home in their bed, he could almost drink in the wonderful sensation. A clear image of Devon shimmered in the back of his thoughts that grew steadily stronger. “Jace!” He glanced at the clock on the nightstand and saw it was 4:22 a.m. “Devon’s linking with me.” It was a strong link, considering so many days had passed with nothing.
“For God’s sake, stay with it! Is she okay?”
“I can’t tell.” Beau struggled to hold the link. “The images are a little chaotic.” This was something new to him. “Wait a minute. Devon’s not consciously linking with me. She’s asleep, dreaming. I don’t think she meant to do it. I feel like I’m invading her privacy. Maybe I should break the connection?”
“No!” Jace clutched Beau’s shoulder. “What’s she dreaming?”
Beau concentrated. “She’s dreaming of us.” He paused. “We look so beautiful to her.” He saw and felt everything from Devon’s perspective. “The three of us are making love in the cave pool. It feels incredible.” He tensed and arched back. “Oh my God, that’s what a dragon bite feels like to a female?” His skin tingled with fire. “If this gets any better, I’m going to have a screaming meltdown.” He waited. “The link is getting stronger. The sensations are so intense I can almost touch Devon.”
“Lucky bastard.” Jace rolled Beau onto his back with force and settled between his splayed thighs. He gripped Beau’s rigid shaft in his fist and gave it a firm tug. A mischievous gleam lit his eyes. He leaned down, his mouth hovering above the head of Beau’s cock. “Wait till Devon feels this.” He rimmed the thick crown with his tongue, slicking Beau before swallowing him with a single tight stroke. The deep reverberations of a dragon purr rattled low in his throat.
Beau felt Jace’s husky growl all the way down to his balls, and lifted his hips off the mattress to meet him. The past days had been filled with anxious tension and sweet memories of how good it had been to make love as a trio. The instinct to mate and repeat the three-way pleasure had been driving him mad. He’d craved release on the hard journey home, but circumstances had forced him to go without.
Now he could give in without reservation and writhe with uninhibited hip thrusts on the bed. Worry, lust, and frustration poured forth in a series of fierce strokes into the depths of Jace’s warm mouth as he bucked against the mattress. Jace had to use his weight to pin him down and suck faster. He rolled his hips against Jace’s mouth with such force he feared he was bruising Jace’s lips, but couldn’t stop. “I’m right there,” he murmured.
It was far too exciting to be sucked off by Jace and know Devon might be feeling it too. Having Devon linked to him, at least within a dream, made it even better. He skimmed the edge of climax, loving the heightened experience. “Slow down.” Beau pulled away from Jace. What he really wanted was to have Jace bend him forward while fucking his ass. He mentally sent the searing image to Jace as a firm hint.
Jace released Beau and allowed the wet shaft to slide free of his mouth. The familiar hint of dominance returned. “Beg for it.”
It was such a relief to see Jace being bossy and fully himself again. “Please, I need it.”
The fire returned to Jace’s gaze. “Tell me what you need.”
Jace’s voice felt like a black silk scarf slipping over his face and effectively obliterating all cares. “I want you inside me. Take me hard.”
“Don’t worry. I will. I might start slow, but I guarantee it’s going to end in an ass-slamming fuck that will leave you moaning.” Jace reached toward the nightstand and grabbed a condom and a tube of lube. “Roll onto your belly.”
“I can’t,” Beau protested. “I’m too hard.”
Jace slapped Beau’s ass. “Then stack some pillows under your hips.”
Beau hurried to do as he was told and draped himself provocatively over a heap of pillows with his hard cock shoved in between the stack. He glanced over his shoulder at Jace, who was rolling a condom down his thick shaft with a look of concentration creasing his brow. He glanced up with a stern expression, and Beau felt a shiver of apprehension. Maybe he didn’t want to get slammed too hard.
Jace’s
gaze sharpened. “A little tension is fun now and then, isn’t it?” He kissed his fingertip and tapped it lovingly to Beau’s ass. “I would never hurt you, but I will give you what you want.” He squirted a generous dollop of lube on Beau’s ass and spread it in lazy circles. “Now pick up those pillows and reposition them so you can see us in the bedroom mirror.”
“No,” Beau whispered. The mirror made him feel extremely self-conscious.
“I want you to see every flicker of bliss that crosses my face as I bang your ass.”
Beau’s cheeks warmed at the thought of being so exposed. “Jace….”
“Do it. I want Devon to see everything I’m doing to you and enjoy it too.”
Blushing like mad, he gave in. The mirror was a perfect solution. He could look at himself and Jace at the same moment and share the visual experience with Devon. For now it was the safest way for the three of them to be together in secret.
“Face the mirror,” Jace demanded.
Beau knelt on the bed and stared straight ahead into the floor-to-ceiling expanse of a mirrored closet door. When he saw the look of wide-eyed anticipation on his face, he gasped. “Oh God.” He dipped his face toward the pillows.
“Don’t hide.” Jace tangled his fingers in Beau’s tousled hair and tugged his face upward, forcing him to look at his reflection. “Watch.” He greased the head of his cock with lube, rubbed it against Beau ass. “Is Devon still with us?”
Beau felt Devon’s strong presence. “Yes.” She was adrift in a dream with them. He gazed into the mirror, almost shaking as Jace took hold of his hips, pressed downward, and thrust inside with a slow, steady stroke that set him on fire. He arched his back and moaned as Jace slid deeper.
Jace glided his palm across Beau’s back and pinned his shoulder to the pillows. The gentle but firm touch commanded Beau to freeze as surely as if he had been shackled to the bedposts.
“Don’t move like that.” Jace’s voice lowered to a roughened whisper. “You’ll set me off.” His hands returned to Beau’s hips and held him still with care as he withdrew and sank fast.
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