Light Up The Night: a Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy Romance (Lick of Fire Book 2)

by Jacqueline Sweet

  Rye took out his silver paint and made subtle alterations to the runes on Tamsin’s belly and on all of their hands.

  “Do we need to touch the circle on her? Or can I touch her anywhere?” Gray grinned.

  “The circle, please,” Tamsin said.

  “I would have touched your nose,” Gray said.

  “Sure you would have.”

  “It would have been funny.”

  “Can I say something? Not one last thing, but just in case this fails or scrambles our brains or, y’know, kills all live on the planet—” Tamsin asked.

  “Mostly very unlikely,” Rye added.

  “I just wanted to say thank you. For fighting for me. For being my friends. For being here when I needed you most.” Tamsin’s heart felt full to bursting. What had she done to deserve these amazing men in her life? She’d been selfish and rude, driven and cold. And yet, they’d found her. They’d seen through her anxiety and her stress to the real her.

  “I love you,” Tamsin said. Tears spilled from her eyes. “I don’t know how it’s possible or how we will make this work. Maybe it’ll all fall apart in a week or a month or a year. But right now I know that I love you. I love all of you. You asked me to choose who would die, and I would rather die than lose any of you. Not because of guilt or responsibility—even though I am totally responsible—but because I love you. All three of you. And if you ask me to choose between you, I won’t. I want all of you. You’re my protectors, my saviors, and god help me—my lovers if you’ll have me.”

  A silence stretched out between the men. Glances passed between them.

  Could they really share her?

  Could the shifter and his jealous wolf make space for his brothers?

  Could the scoundrel, with his wounded heart avoid the traps of jealousy?

  Could the sorcerer, forever outside looking in, be at home with them?

  Gray spoke first. “Do you mean all of us in bed at once?”

  “How would that work?” Rye looked confused.

  “I’ll draw you a picture, kid,” Cash said.

  “I don’t know. Maybe? Let’s figure all of that out after we stop my soul from falling deeper into oblivion.”

  The room felt warmer and closer now. An erotic tension buzzed between them. What had she agreed to? What had she just said? Did she love them all? Yes, yes. It was true. Yes. Trying to imagine choosing between them was like deciding you only wanted to keep one limb and you may as well do away with the other arms and your legs. It was preposterous. They were meant for her. She could feel it in her blood.

  It was night outside. How long had her protectors worked to save her? An entire day? She hadn’t even noticed.

  “How does this work?” Tamsin asked.

  “First, we all place our hands on your belly, like this.” Rye’s hand was so large, it nearly covered the binding circle by itself. Gray’s hand was cool on her skin. Cash’s burned with his supernatural shifter heat and made something deep inside her squirm and ache.

  “Now what?” Cash asked.

  30

  The Golden Infinite Fullness

  And then the world went golden around them. The room vanished.

  And Tamsin could move again. She wiggled her toes and stretched her arms out wide.

  She was flying!

  Tamsin floated in the air with her three protectors. She was holding their hands in hers.

  Did she have three hands? Six hands?

  She did.

  And three mouths with which to kiss.

  It was as if she’d fallen into a kaleidoscope and found herself ever expanding in all directions. There were three of her, nine of her, an infinity of her.

  And wherever she expanded to—into the golden light—her protectors were there, waiting for her.

  There was an infinity of them, too.

  The golden light they moved through moved through them as well. It was a presence. It felt alive. Whatever it was, it was the opposite of oblivion. It filled her like a cup and dripped down her skin. It was laughter and joy.

  It was the energy of life itself.

  Tamsin smiled and spun. Her protectors reached out for her and pulled her close.

  And then they were kissing her.

  They were all floating together, in the golden space that was not the void.

  It was the Fullness.

  They floated and they kissed. They were so hungry for her, and she for them.

  Here in the Fullness there was no hesitation. There were no regrets.

  She pulled them close and kissed them.

  Cash’s fingers pinched her nipples.

  Gray’s hands played with her ass.

  Rye held her tightly and kissed her, just kissed her.

  They were all one and all separate.

  All of their thoughts and feelings spilled together, mixing and sloshing and spilling over everything, before being poured back into each of them. The walls between her and them crumbled.

  They had no words.

  There was no time.

  There was only the Fullness and the feeling of their bodies and the joy in their hearts.

  The golden light moved through them, knitting old wounds and easing tensions away.

  Tamsin gasped as Cash’s teeth and tongue teased her breasts.

  She was with each of them separately but they were all together.

  They existed everywhere at once.

  Gray kissed his way down her body and Tamsin’s thighs sang as she opened them for him. His mouth found her sex and she moaned. Or was it her mouth and his sex? Was there really any difference between them? His tongue swirled down into the center of her pleasure and she trembled as she grasped his head.

  She was a goddess, worshipped and adored.

  She was a queen, taking what she was owed.

  Cash’s fingers moved inside her, stroking the walls of her cunt. She cried out.

  How could they ever have normal sex again after this?

  She felt everything. Every joy was hers.

  And they felt what she felt. When Gray’s lips sucked at her clit, he felt that. Cash felt that.

  When Cash’s fingers curled inside her, he felt it too.

  All the pleasure was shared, magnified, doubled and redoubled.

  The pleasure the men found in touching her was hers as well.

  And when her hands reached down to stroke the men, their pleasure was also hers.

  Rye kissed her. He didn’t hesitate, but he was lost.

  It was his first time.

  He’d never even kissed a girl until now.

  The beautiful man with his body of iron and his kind blue eyes.

  Tamsin took his hands and placed them on her breasts.

  She kissed him deeply.

  The things that Gray and Cash were doing—Rye was feeling them too.

  Gray’s mouth on her cunt was a revelation, a prayer.

  The golden Fullness lasted forever.

  They lasted forever.

  Every lick of a tongue or stroke of a finger lasted an eternity.

  Empires could rise and fall in the space of Tamsin’s shuddering moans.

  How long had they been wrapped together like this? A day? A week?

  Cash’s fingers knew just where to touch. He groaned into her breasts as her hand moved up and down his slick shaft.

  There were three of her and three of them.

  And they were all one.

  Her mouth found Rye’s nipple, licking and sucking it as the big man whimpered. For once he looked unprepared.

  Tamsin came hard on Cash’s fingers, the orgasm exploding like a burst of color in the infinite gold.

  She took Rye’s cock in her hand. It was as hard as iron. The man was trembling.

  If you have your first sexual experience on the astral plane, does that count as losing your virginity?

  When it felt like this? Yes.

  Tamsin straddled Rye and guided him into her sex.

  Cash turned her arou
nd and bit her shoulder as he entered her.

  Gray lay her on her back on the fluffy warmth of the golden infinite, and sank deeply into her.

  They all moved as one.

  They sank into her. She lowered herself onto them.

  The hardness of their cocks stretched her sweetly open.

  Her slick lips stroked them.

  It lasted forever.

  It was over in an instant.

  Tamsin cried out, clawing at Rye’s back, driving herself down hard on his cock as Gray brought her off.

  She squirmed back against Cash, pressing herself hard and fast against him as Rye made her come.

  She wrapped her legs around Gray and kissed him deeply as Cash fucked her hard and deep and spilled his seed inside of her with a roar.

  It didn’t seem like you could get pregnant inside the astral plane.

  Probably.

  The Fullness exploded with colors. Crimson and cobalt and a deep luscious green. Every orgasm was a fireworks display.

  The sky was full of exploding stars.

  Her lovers felt what she felt. And she felt what they felt.

  How could they emerge from this as normal people?

  Had Rye known this would happen? How could he have?

  But had they ever, really, been normal people?

  The space was fracturing.

  Time was approaching.

  They changed positions and moved together, or alone.

  Their was no exhaustion in the gold. There was no soreness.

  They could keep diving into each other forever and ever.

  And they did.

  And after an eternity of tongues and fingers and lips and ecstasy, they awoke.

  31

  Witch and Famous

  Golden light spilled through the window and woke Tamsin.

  It was morning in the real world and she was still alive.

  Her neck and back ached. Yep, she was alive.

  She blinked and tried to sit up and found three large arms belong to three different naked men draped over her body.

  Holy crap.

  It wasn’t a dream. It hadn’t been a dream. This was her life now. She had three boyfriends. She’d summoned a demon. And magic flowed in her veins.

  Her protectors had given her their life force and healed the little bit of soul she had left. And they’d all, well . . .

  She’d done things in the gold with her men that she didn’t even know existed.

  And she wanted to do them again.

  But still, sleeping on the floor all night in a pile of men was not particularly comfortable. The ache in her neck and back spread down to her hips and knees. Next time they’d have to use a bed.

  Next time.

  There would be a next time. And a time after that. And a time after that.

  They were going to need a bigger bed.

  What had she done? Had she even thought this through? She was nineteen years old and she was dating three men at once.

  And it felt good. It felt right.

  Sure, part of her felt incredibly embarrassed—she was going to have to tell her mom!Would she bring all three of them home for Thanksgiving? It wasn’t like they could all pile into her twin bed and call it a night. Maybe there was a spell to stretch beds out so your foursome could sleep comfortably? And a spell to sound proof the walls so as to not further scandalize your mother? Gray would know.

  But she was getting ahead of herself.

  Thanksgiving was months away and they sort of had to save the world first.

  And herself.

  Rye’s spell had knit the tattered shreds of her soul back together, but it wouldn’t last. Even now she felt the tug of oblivion and the pull of the demon on her.

  But if she closed her eyes, she was back in the gold, swimming in a sea of blissful orgasms.

  She was grinning. Absolutely grinning, like a fool.

  And she was hungry.

  “Get up boys,” Tamsin said. “It’s morning time and I haven’t eaten in three days.”

  Rye pushed himself off of her and clambered to his feet. “I will cook a breakfast to celebrate, well, so many things.” The look of adoration he gave Tamsin made her heart leap.

  “You’re still a virgin, by the way.” Gray snapped his fingers and then he was dressed. He even woke up looking amazing. “Tamsin was right, astral plane mind sex doesn’t count.”

  “You could hear my thoughts?” Tamsin asked.

  “I think we were your thoughts, you dirty little minx.”

  Cash buried his face under Tamsin. “You can’t make breakfast, big guy. The demon wrecked all our stuff.”

  “Oh yes,” Rye replied. “He hit me in the face with most of it.”

  "It's still morning, why don't we just go down to the cafeteria?" Tamsin got to her feet. Her entire body was stiff as a board, and her legs were useless noodles. "Though I'm not positive that I can walk all the way there."

  Was her exhaustion purely from the demon fight, or had their mind meld psychic sex romp thing had physical, lingering effects?

  She was about to walk out the door, when Gray coughed politely. "I'm not one to judge, love. But perhaps some clothing is in order?" Tamsin looked down. She was still just wearing her bra and underwear.

  A burst of excitement exploded in her. “Wait, there's spell for this! I know it. It's Allora’s Alluring Attire. Right?" She didn't wait for an answer. She was a witch now. A real freaking witch. If she wanted to do magic, she could.

  Tamsin curled her fingers into the proper shape for the spell and pronounced the incantation in a clear strong voice. Raw magic—the blue flames—swirled around Tamsin's feet. It rose up into a curtain, swirling around her. It felt like a thousand butterflies landing on her skin. And then the curtain dropped away, vanishing into smoke. Suddenly she was dressed in brand new clothes. She was wearing black leggings, comfy boots, a black T-shirt, and a kick ass leather jacket she saw on instagram once. She had made herself an outfit with magic.

  “Oh my God, that was so easy." Tamsin started to twirl, but then her newly healed legs gave out, and she fell into Cash’s strong arms.

  "Careful, darling."

  "Is it always this easy, for you guys? The magic?”

  The three men looked at each other.

  “Not really, no.” Gray replied.

  “I want to try every spell. Oh, it feels just amazing.” Tamsin worked her fingers through the practice poses and effortlessly performed all of the incantations that had failed her since the beginning of school. But then a wave of dizziness took her.

  Rye squinted at her as he pulled a t-shirt on over his broad chest. “The ritual is still fresh. Perhaps you should hold off on all the spellwork for a few days? You wouldn’t want to pull a supernatural stitch in your soul.”

  “Can that really happen?” Tamsin was wide-eyed with wonder. The world felt malleable under her fingers, like she could reach out and change anything she wanted to.

  “Probably not,” Rye smiled.

  Their eyes locked and Tamsin recalled the vulnerability in his gaze when she rode him, deep in the golden infinite. He’d looked so helpless and afraid as he came, and afterwards so ravenous. Would it be the same when they got together in the real world? Somehow Tamsin thought it would be better, just because it would be real.

  Eventually all four of them were dressed at the same time and they left the room together. Tamsin’s legs could hardly hold her up, so she clung to Cash. Gray went before and Rye after. They had become in their time in that golden place something closer than family, something tighter than pack. Was there a word for what they had?

  It wasn’t just between Tamsin and her protectors. The men had found an ease with each other, whereas before there’d been bickering and conflict now there was a deep trust and camaraderie. Their very souls had been knit together, with Tamsin at the center. Their group felt good and right and perfect.

  As they emerged into the hall, the girls from the room opposite were lea
ving for their morning classes. Asha and Lorig, were their names. Tamsin had been friendly with them, but they didn’t exactly click. Asha’s eyebrows jumped toward the ceiling when she saw their foursome. Lorig gave them a withering stare. “Save some for the rest of us, eh?” she said.

  “No can do,” Tamsin said. “These three belong to me.” She grinned at the girls. But the look they gave her—it wasn’t pleasant.

  Tamsin’s eyesight had changed. Even the faintest of runes and sigils stood out to her like beacons. Lorig had a rune drawn on her necklace that prevented snoring. Asha wore a neon green scarf enchanted to smell sweet to boys. She could read their spells as if they were subtitled.

  The elevator opened and MacKenzie stomped out of it. She was wearing the same black knit sweater that she always wore. But with her new gifts, Tamsin could see the curses placed on it. There were so many. It had to have been Hannah.

  “Excuse me,” MacKenzie snapped as she pushed past the foursome.

  “MacKenzie, hey. Wait a sec,” Tamsin said.

  The girl turned and shook with irritation.

  Before MacKenzie could shush her, Tamsin blurted out, “You’ve got something on your back.” She stepped free of Cash’s supporting grip and passed her hand over MacKenzie’s sweater. Her raw magic licked at the curses and dissolved them. There were dozens. Hannah had been using the girl as a guinea pig or a training dummy. Tamsin saw curses for anxiety, sleeplessness, paranoia, irritability, mild dyslexia, extreme dandruff, and many more. No wonder the girl had been so snippy.

  “What was that? Did you put something on my back?”

  “I removed the bazillion curses Hannah put on you,” Tamsin said. She pulled MacKenzie in for a spontaneous hug. “I’ll see you around.”

  MacKenzie softened in her embrace. The curses were wearing off. She looked different uncursed. She seemed taller and calmer and she actually smiled at Tamsin.

  The foursome made their way to the cafeteria. They drew every eye to themselves. Cash and Gray couldn’t keep their hands off of Tamsin, and she didn’t want them to. They were always stroking her thighs, brushing a hair from her forehead, touching her back, or coming in close to plant a kiss on her neck. Rye sat on the opposite side of the table, but he wasn’t jealous.