by Tate James
With our fingers still linked, he led me up the main stairs and down to his bedroom, which was at the opposite end of the hall from my own.
“I’ll be quick,” he assured me, seeming almost... nervous? That didn’t seem like River at all, but he had been through a lot. It stood to reason he might be acting a bit off. “I know the guys will start freaking out if you’re gone for too long. Especially Cole. For all his tough exterior, he is such a marshmallow inside, constantly worrying about everyone.”
“River?” I said, squinting at him as he opened the top drawer of his neatly organized dresser, “Are you okay? You’re being really, uh, chatty.”
His shoulders visibly tightened, and he spun back around to face me with a decidedly guilty slant to his mouth. “I’m fine, Kitten. Just feeling a bit off-balance.”
“That’s pretty understandable,” I sympathized. “I think the bond will help. I really do. So, what are we doing here, anyway?”
River shuffled closer to me, shoving the drawer closed behind him. He kept his hands behind his back and seemed to fiddle with something. “Before we did the bond, I wanted to give you something.” He paused, sucking in a breath that seemed to help him regain a bit of himself. “Obviously, I understand that the Ban Dia-dianoch bond is forever. For all eternity if we live that long.” I nodded, getting a sick feeling in my gut. He was having second thoughts! “Well, call me old-fashioned, but I wanted to make this small gesture before we bonded. It was something that had been on my mind a lot before we... you know...”
“Went dark?” I supplied, and he gave me a half smile, meeting my eyes with his own golden ones.
“Yes, let’s call it that. Before we went dark. Anyway, I know things are a bit unconventional with the guys but”—he pulled his hand out from behind his back and presented a small, leather jewelry box to me— “I would be honored if you might consider wearing this anyway?” He cracked the lid open, and I sucked in a sharp gasp.
Nestled on the velvet bed inside was a stunning and very antique diamond ring—very much like an engagement ring.
“River, is this—”
“It was my mother’s engagement ring. Obviously traditional marriage is sort of redundant when we are all bonded to you through magic, but I have been obsessing over giving you this for months. Will you accept it? And know that magic or not, I belong to you. Heart and soul for however long we have left, be that one week or one millennia.” His gaze was steady on mine, even though I felt like I was having a heart attack. My pulse was racing so damn hard I wouldn’t have been shocked if I’d passed out for a split second while I stood there dumbfounded.
“I—” I had no perfect words for this. So many little girls dreamed of this moment, but never me. Even as a child I’d suspected I would never have my own happily ever after. But standing there and extending a shaking hand to take the ring, I couldn’t help but hope for a different sort of fairytale ending. Could we make it through this? All of us? Settle down in our beautiful house and enter domestic bliss? “Y-yes,” I finally replied, nodding frantically and feeling wetness on my cheeks.
River grinned at me then, giving me that heart-stopping, panty-melting smile that I had only seen a handful of times before. Thank fuck, too. If he kept flashing that smile around, I would never get anything done.
Taking the ring from the box, he slipped it onto my empty ring finger so that it mirrored my Ban Dia ring. It was a perfect fit, too.
“How...” I trailed off, frowning at the ring. Why minor details like this always seemed to get me hung up, I had no idea. But it was odd, wasn’t it?
“I might have stolen your ring measurements while you slept and had it resized,” River admitted with an unapologetic shrug. “Now, bond?”
“Uh-huh,” I mumbled, unable to tear my eyes off the glittering diamond on my hand. It had been his mother’s, he had said. What was the story there? I knew his parents were long since deceased, but she must have meant a lot to him for him to make a sentimental gesture like this.
“Come on, Kitten, the boys will be getting their knickers in a twist soon. Give me the little stabby thing,” River coaxed me, dropping my newly sparkling hand and picking up the one holding my magical bonds. Wordlessly, I handed him the lancet, which he used to prick his thumb and squeeze a droplet of his blood onto the stone.
I barely even heard his spell verse, but my mouth reciprocated with my own half of the spell without consciously thinking about it. When it was done and River’s magic rushed into me like a tsunami, I forced myself to hold his gaze as long as I could.
My teeth ground together so hard they could have cracked, and my whole body shook with pain as the sixth borrowed magic to enter my soul kicked down doors and flipped tables. It was always such a fight for dominance with all the guys’ magics, but eventually it would settle. They all did.
When I couldn’t bear it any longer, my eyes snapped shut, and I screamed with the pain, crumpling to the ground but never hitting the carpet. Instead, strong arms caught me and placed me gently on the bed as lips met mine.
River’s kiss then was like a cool glass of water when I’d been stranded in the Sahara for weeks. It soothed me instantly, so much faster than any of the previous bonds. But even as the pain abated, the magic continued to flow between us, back and forth, searching for the right levels of power.
“Is that normal? For the magic to still be flowing between us?” he asked me, pulling back from our kiss with a shocked expression. “It feels... I don’t even know how to describe it. Is it hurting you?”
I shook my head. “No, not yet, anyway. And no, it hasn’t happened before. Maybe because our unit is now complete? You better keep kissing me, just in case the pain comes back.”
Hah, good one Kit. Smooth.
River didn’t really need my bullshit excuses though, as he eagerly rejoined his lips to mine and coaxed my mouth open to deepen his kiss. Reaching up, I gripped his short hair and pulled him closer until he was lying on top of me, my legs wrapped loosely around his waist.
He pulled back from our kiss then, catching my hand in his and turning it over to kiss the heirloom ring on my finger. “I love you, Kit Davenport,” he whispered in a husky, emotion-filled voice. “I’ve loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you outside that bar in Cascade Falls.”
“Liar,” I snorted. “I don’t believe in love at first sight. That’s the stuff of fairytales.”
He crooked a grin at me and raised an eyebrow. “Kitten. You have dragons, werewolves, wizards, and uh, whatever the fuck Wesley is. You have six knights in shining armor ready to lay down their lives for yours, and we are battling a wicked witch. What more do you need to believe we are living a fairytale?”
I grinned back at him. “Well, when you put it like that, it does sound a bit like something out of a story.” Still, even with all of that, I found the idea of love at first sight hard to swallow. Even if I was more than willing to plead lust at first sight. “I love you too, River Morgan,” I whispered back to him, dropping the teasing. “Thank you for trusting me.”
I was referring to so much more than just the bond, but I knew he understood as he kissed me with a tenderness I hadn’t known he was capable of. This time when our kiss deepened, neither of us were stopping for words. Our hands roamed each other’s bodies frantically, searching and reacquainting ourselves with one another, and the odd sensation of magic running between us was quickly forgotten as our clothes were shed.
More and more, the old River was returning, and when he pinned my wrists to the bed—holding me immobile—I grinned against his mouth.
“You can tie me up if you need to,” I offered in a breathless gasp, feeling his hardness rubbing against my aching crotch.
“Not this time,” he murmured in response, holding my gaze with his beautiful, wolf-like eyes as he shifted his hips to sink an inch or so inside me. “This time I just want you exactly like this.”
I groaned, arching my hips and encouraging him deeper inside, but I
held his steady gaze like I knew he wanted me to. Or needed me to. Maybe it was a wolf thing? It was something to explore another day, at any rate.
“River,” I whimpered when he still didn’t give in to my body’s begging. “Sir, please...”
His eyes flashed, and through our new bond, I could feel his control slip just that little bit. He slammed his cock into me fully, drawing a cry from my throat. It made me realize something though.
“Don’t hold back. I don’t want your control here. Fuck me exactly the way you need to because I need it too.” I wriggled a wrist free and cupped his rough cheek so he could see the sincerity of my words. “I promise you won’t hurt me. I’m tougher than I look.”
Sweat beaded on his forehead and indecision flickered over his eyes, but he couldn’t hide from me. Not when we were so newly joined by our magic. I meant what I’d said, and he knew it.
With a gruff, defeated noise, he did exactly what I asked. Our bond allowed me a behind-the-scenes view as he relinquished the iron grip he held over his dual nature, letting the wildness creep into his psyche and blend with his own human wants and desires.
Even without sensing what his magic was doing, the results spoke for themselves.
River withdrew from between my legs, then in one swift movement had flipped me over onto my stomach and lifted my ass straight up in the air. Before I could even process the physics required for such a smooth movement, he was seated deeply inside me once more and my fingers were clutching at the pillowcase.
“Fuck yes, sir,” I groaned as he began thrusting into me, hitting my g-spot in just the right way that had me seeing stars in mere moments.
His movements were wild, exactly like I had pushed him to be. Though totally different from the River I already knew, I understood in my soul—this was the real River. He was placing so much trust in me by showing me his beast, and it was a stupid crazy turn-on.
His fingers flexed on my hips as he used his grip to pull me back onto his cock, intensifying his own thrusts and causing his balls to slap at my clit. Curses and incoherent noises of encouragement flew from my mouth, and when his palm cracked down on my ass cheek, I spiraled into an orgasm so intense I was left gasping and dry-mouthed, waiting for my vision to clear even as he continued pounding into me.
“Again,” I moaned, desperate for more, and he was all too willing to accommodate.
It only took five more sharp smacks before I screamed into another orgasm, followed by another, and then when he inserted two fingers into my soaking core alongside his cock, I thought I might pass out.
He was not done with me yet, though, as he withdrew those fingers and immediately began stretching out my asshole.
Holy fucking shit. Is it possible to die from over-climaxing? If so... fucking sign me the hell up!
“Yes,” I panted as his fingers in my ass matched the strokes of his thick cock in my pussy. “Yes, sir, give me more,” I begged.
Pulling his shaft from my punished cunt, he pressed the head against my prepped backdoor and breached that tight space in a hard thrust, making me howl. The initial pain faded fast as he pumped into me, stretching me and filling me even as he slipped his fingers around the front to flick my clit and finger-fuck my pussy.
I lost track of time then, crashing and shuddering through the insane, intense pleasure as he fucked me like the wild thing he was—deep down.
When eventually he came, it was with a guttural, animalistic noise, filling me with his hot seed and then collapsing on top of me in a sweaty, panting mess.
It took me a while to regain movement of my body, but when I could, I rolled over under his weight and wrapped him into a tight hug.
“That was mind-blowing,” I breathed into his ear, reassuring him that not only was I totally fine with meeting his beast, so to speak, I wanted to do it again. “I love you, River Morgan. In all of your forms. They’re all you and I love you.”
He said nothing in response but pressed a soft kiss into the bend of my neck and tightened his arms around me, like he never wanted to let me go.
12
When River and I finally returned to Omega base, I couldn’t help feeling like we were doing a walk of shame. Like all the guys knew exactly what the hell we’d been doing.
Of course, they probably did. I hadn’t bothered rebuilding my mental shields until after we’d woken up, showered together, then dressed in clean clothes. As much as Dark-Kit had loved leather, it just wasn’t practical for the weather. Not to mention the outfit I’d been wearing held a distinct, metallic smell of blood that I doubted would come out easily.
“Oh, new furniture. Who did all of this?” I commented as we entered the apartment and found everyone sitting on perfectly serviceable couches and sipping from unbroken mugs.
“Team effort,” Cole responded, standing up to clap River in a man-hug. One of those quick, hand-clasp, shoulder-pat, chest-bump things that said both, “Hey man, real glad you’re okay; I was super worried,” but also said, “We’re too macho to talk about feelings.”
I grinned and bit my tongue to stop myself from translating their body language aloud. “Well, nice work. I wasn’t looking forward to sitting on the floor again today.”
“Why’s that, moron?” Sam hissed, uncoiling himself from the back of the couch where he had been hanging out. “Bit sore today?”
“Fucking Christ, who let Sam out?” I rolled my eyes, then glared at Caleb, who just shrugged and held out a steaming mug in my direction.
“You know how pissy they get when they’re cooped up too long,” he said by way of explanation. “Besides, Tyson was helpful with moving furniture around.”
The big cat in question purred loudly and gave me a toothy grin that I couldn’t help reciprocating. Cute, overgrown house kitten.
“What did Sam contribute?” I asked sarcastically. “A rodent-free room?”
Sam narrowed his snake eyes at me and started to retort before Caleb clamped a hand over his jaw to hold it shut. “That’s enough, Cuddles,” the Blood Mage scolded, and Sam glared death at him. For my part, I was super-mature and let the whole thing slide.
Kidding, I totally flipped him off and grinned my victory.
“Where’s Finn?” I asked, looking around and not seeing my odd new friend anywhere. “I need to speak with him about what to do today.”
“He’s gone to look for a Ms. Dobelman,” Austin responded, shifting over on the couch and snagging my hand to pull me into the space he had created. “Well, well. What is this?” He arched an eyebrow at me and held up my hand sporting River’s family heirloom.
“Um,” I panicked. Hadn’t this been one of those things that River had discussed with the guys? I’d just assumed it was... but shit! What if it wasn’t and I’d gone and accepted an engagement ring—a goddamned heirloom engagement ring, at that—without discussing it with my other lovers?
“I’m teasing,” Austin assured me. “I’m glad he finally gave it to you.”
“It’s been burning a hole in his pocket for months,” Wesley agreed, leaning over to take my hand and inspect the glittering jewel. “It really suits you, sweetheart.”
A gust of relief rushed out of me, and I looked at each of them in turn. “You all knew about it already?” They nodded. “All of you?” I arched an eyebrow at Vali, and he gave me a small head dip.
“All of us, regina mea. We are all in this together, are we not? This meant a lot to River, and we could all understand that. Just as Austin felt the need to tattoo his name onto your side. We will each undoubtedly do our own ‘thing’ to show our forever, but that takes no weight or importance away from anyone else’s ‘thing.’” Vali gave a very European shrug, and Cole punched him in the shoulder.
“Nice English as a second language, bro,” he teased, and I tried not to gape at their improved easiness with each other. Maybe I needed to fuck them in front of each other more often.
“That’s really sweet, Vali,” I told him, then took a long sip of coffee to cov
er my own awkwardness with all the mushy feelings threatening to flood in. “So, Finn went to find Dobelman? Have you heard anything about how the recruits are doing today?”
The day was practically over already, with dusk peeking over the horizon, but given how long it had taken to change them all the day and night before, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were all asleep or, I don’t know, recovering? Every time I’d changed the guys it had been somewhat more high-pressure, so I wasn’t really sure how the process would work.
“No, that’s what he was going to find out.” Wesley ran his hand through his hair and tapped his foot against the coffee table. “I’m a little anxious to see how everything is playing out too, if I’m honest.”
Caleb snickered. “Wes is having an academic boner thinking about how many different species there might be here on campus. I’m guessing you guys didn’t check the recruitment files for their DNA-match results first?”
“Um...” Was it going to be embarrassing to admit the thought had never even crossed Dark-Kit’s mind? She didn’t give a shit what flavor of supernatural was joining her army. They were all just cannon fodder at the end of the day. Distractions to keep Bridget’s own backup busy. “No?”
“Perhaps Wesley can start with that today,” River suggested, slipping back into his team leader role. “Start bringing up all the recruit files and categorizing based on assumed species. It will help us start to sort them into training groups.”
“Training?” I squeaked, looking up at River with wide eyes.
He gave me a slow smile back, like he just knew my brain was still addled from our fuck-fest. “That is why you changed them all, isn’t it? To build us an army to go up against Bridget?”
Nodding, I swallowed past the guilt that threatened to choke me. I hadn’t given a shit twenty-four hours ago, so now was not the time to regret dragging hundreds of innocent people into my fight.
