by Skye Jones
With those words, he pulled Callum and Lilly into his arms, and soon the three of them were rocking back and forth, holding one another, kissing and whispering to each other.
Tears ran down Gwen’s cheeks, and they were tears of joy because, despite the horror she’d just witnessed, these three people had triumphed and done so because of their love for one another. She knew, deep down in her soul, that Rhyndor would truly be okay. He’d be in pain, and he’d need to learn how to walk again, but he’d be okay because he had the love of his mates keeping him going.
She looked around at the weary, shell-shocked faces surrounding her and felt so much love it hurt. She realized then, she and her mother hadn’t lost anything by embracing their dragon side. They’d gained love and a family and the sort of bonds nothing could shake.
“We are all going to go after that witch for this,” Steffan said. Nathan nodded, as did Cade.
“You’re our brother, Rhyndor, and she tried to kill one of our females. She must pay.”
Rhyndor tried to stand but gave a sickening cry of pain.
“I’m going to use some magic to stop the pain, so you can stand and we can get you home,” Rhiannon said.
Rhyndor stopped her by putting a hand on her arm. “Will I still be able to take my dragon form?” he asked.
She nodded, but it was somber. “But you might be missing a limb in dragon form too. Thank the gods she didn’t take an arm, or you’d not have your wings.”
“We all need to get home and get some rest.” Nathan began to organize them all, getting them ready to leave, making sure they all had a way to get back.
Gwen was grateful for his stern competence right then, and she truly saw what made Claire love him.
A few hours later and Gwen soaked her aches and pains away in a hot bath. She kept getting a shudder whenever she remembered Celine’s words about watching for them, waiting for her in the dark. Her spine would tingle and her skin crawl, and she’d have to push it away. She couldn’t live her life in fear, and she knew some of the males were already planning to go and find the witch and end her no matter what.
Not Cade, though. They’d decided among themselves that the ones to go would be Rhyndor, Steffan, Awen, and Callum, along with two dragons she’d never met before, Trent, another powerful male, and a female called Lilith, who apparently possessed some of the greatest magic of their kind. She’d been living abroad for many years but had agreed to help after a phone call from Nathan. She felt the threat was so great now it could harm all their people.
The reasons for choosing only some of their males to go was simple. They said they needed to have enough warriors to find her and defeat her, but they had to leave enough behind to protect the Dragonea if those who went after her weren’t successful. They’d decided the old-fashioned way by drawing names out of a hat.
Call her selfish, but Gwen was grateful her male wouldn’t be one of those going on what might be a suicide mission.
She finished up in the bath and dried off. She headed out of the bathroom and straight into Cade’s bedroom, where her males were lying on the bed, both exhausted and wrung out. Jay ached everywhere, he said, from the strange dancing spell put on him. Cade seemed subdued by the events, still.
She climbed into bed and crawled between them, needing their big bodies on either side of her. Protecting her.
Strong arms wrapped around her, and the horror of the day began to recede. She snuggled down farther into the bed and smiled to herself as the scents and sounds of her mates soothed her.
She closed her eyes and realized she never wanted to be anywhere else.
Epilogue
“Great news. Speak soon, my friend.” Cade hung up the phone and turned to Gwen and Jay.
She hoped from the smile on his face it was indeed good news. “Rhyndor is doing really well with his physical rehab, and he changed form yesterday. His dragon is still whole.”
“Thank the gods,” Jay said.
They’d eaten breakfast a while ago and were contemplating what to do with their day when they got the call.
The sun shone bright outside, and the horrors of a few weeks ago receded more with each day. Gwen knew a battle was looming, and one that may suck them all in if it went bad, but today, things were good. Today, things were great.
“You fancy heading out and trying to catch some waves?” Jay asked as he took a sip of coffee.
She shook her head.
“Want to go for a run?” Cade supplied.
Again, she shook her head.
“What do you want to do?” Cade asked.
“Have a picnic,” she said.
“A picnic?” Cade’s brow furrowed.
“Yep, a picnic. I know where I want to take you two.”
“Fine by me.” Jay shrugged. “I suppose I can laze around for a day, enjoy the sun.”
“Good.” She ran to get the hamper packed with delicious food and champagne, and soon they were all walking toward the spot she’d discovered the other day on one of the walks she regularly made herself take. She knew if she didn’t, she’d spend her life terrified of venturing out of their grounds in case Celine got her. So each day, she pushed herself to go a little farther on her walks.
It was a short trek from the clan lands, and she’d been there a few times and never seen or sensed another dragon around. It had got her to thinking about how nice it would be to make love to her dragons in the open, with the sun on their skin, and so she’d formed a plan.
They arrived at the spot, and she set up the hamper, passing each of her males a plate. Dragonea males liked to feed their mates, and today she returned the favor.
After they’d finished eating the purposely light food she’d packed, lots of fresh fruits and some seafood, along with deli meats, she poured them all another glass of champagne. As they sipped it, the sun beating down, warming their skin, she stood and slowly stripped her clothes off.
She’d worn a long skirt, a strappy top with a built-in bra, and a lacy pair of panties, with flat sandals on her feet. Now she stood in only the panties and sandals. Cade got on board superfast, while Jay gaped at her some more.
Standing and pulling her into his arms, Cade murmured against her ear, “You little minx.”
She giggled. “Well, I like to feel the sun on my skin, and this is a great way for us to get some Vitamin D, don’t you think?”
“It’s certainly one way to get some sun, yes.” Cade kissed her collarbone.
Gwen’s face heated as she said the next words. “Jay, there’s some oil in the hamper. If you want to…you know, come join in.” She wiggled her behind at him, and he caught on real quick.
Diving into the hamper, he held the small bottle of pure coconut oil aloft in triumph, making her laugh.
Cade shook his head with a grin. “You’re such a bad girl.”
She knew what that meant. At some point, perhaps during the proceedings now, or maybe later, she’d get a spanking. And, weirdly, she loved it. For someone so determined to live life by her own rules, her love of being submissive to Cade in bed still did a number on her. Not a coward, though, she wouldn’t hide from it or deny it. In fact, she kind of hoped he’d save her spanking for later because she had a hot pink riding crop hidden in her wardrobe at home. It had been delivered yesterday from an online sex toy company, and she wanted to try it out.
It seemed Cade wanted to punish her another way today as he pushed her onto the blanket and dived between her legs. The male was a master at the oral sex, and he could get her near the edge in record time. He wasted no time now taking her there. He wasn’t gentle as he licked, sucked, and even nipped at her most sensitive flesh, but he knew exactly where to apply more pressure and where to use a lighter touch, and soon she was squirming under him, whimpering.
“Uh-uh, not yet.” Cade stopped his ministrations and leaned back. “You’ll come on our cocks.”
His words sent a thrill through her.
Jay pulled her into him by her h
air for a deep kiss and gestured for her to roll over. His wicked fingers parted her butt cheeks to reveal her most secret place. He popped the top on the oil and began to massage her there. Soothing strokes at first, all around her lower back, before dipping down farther and sliding one finger inside her. She sighed and welcomed the intrusion. Not a virgin to anal, she’d always liked it. Knew once she got past the initial burn, she’d love the feeling of being filled and stretched. It also seemed to touch somewhere deep inside her that put pressure on her G-spot somehow and made everything way more intense.
She’d taken Jay a few times now and the thought didn’t worry her, but when Jay lined himself up, pulling her onto her knees, Cade clucked his tongue and gave a small dip of his head.
“I’m going to take you there today, baby. Are you ready for me?” She turned to Cade and smiled. He might be bigger than Jay, but he wasn’t as big as the dildo she’d taken at home some nights, before she’d met her mates. Knowing the fragility of the male ego, she didn’t share that fact. She simply smiled instead and said a quiet yes.
Jay lay down on the blanket with a grin and gestured for her to climb over him. She did as he said, and without any preamble, impaled herself on his straining cock. These males liked it a little bit rough, as did she.
Groaning, Jay held her hips, steadying her in place after a few thrusts as Cade lined himself up behind her.
He pushed in slowly, taking his time to fill her and giving her regular breathers. Once seated fully inside her, his balls slapping against her backside, Cade bit her neck. Not hard enough to be the true mating bite she’d heard of, but enough to cause her clit to throb. One day, maybe one day soon, she might take the leap and let Cade bite her properly. For now, she simply arched back into him, letting his big hands hold her breasts as she began to move tentatively on Jay’s cock.
They soon found a rhythm, and the sensation of being filled by both her males at once had her panting as she climbed toward her release. The odd burning, electrical-zapping sensations began, but they no longer scared her. Instead, they simply added to the delicious feelings assaulting her senses.
“Fuck,” Cade grunted, shock in his voice. He twitched inside her, his cock getting impossibly big before intense heat began to fill her.
The feel of him losing it in her sent Gwen tumbling over the edge. She stared into Jay’s gorgeous eyes as she began to contract around him. Her inner muscles were pulsing in waves, and Jay pulled her down to him as he claimed her mouth while he, too, found his own release.
When it ended, she laughed as they all rolled to the side, Cade taking her in his arms, and Gwen embracing Jay in hers. They were a sweaty, sticky mess, and she loved it.
“I love you both,” Cade said to them as he kissed the back of her neck.
“Me too,” she added.
“Ditto,” Jay put in.
Jay kissed her and then leaned over her to take Cade’s mouth in a deep kiss. The guys were much more sensual with one another these days. They kissed, touched, even going so far as Cade giving Jay a blow job. But they never cuddled, she noticed that. They saved that for her, and she doubted they’d ever fuck. Not that she cared. It was enough they were together as a true triad.
Thoughts of how she might have lost it all, lost Jay, came crashing down, and despite the hot sun, she shivered.
“What’s up, beautiful?” Jay asked.
“Do you think we’re safe from that awful witch?”
It was Cade who answered her question. “I think we’re as safe as we can be. As we ever were. She took Jay as a means to an end. She has no more, or less, hate for us as any other Dragonea. Rhyndor, on the other hand…”
He didn’t have to finish the sentence. She’d spoken to Lilly and had been worried by the female’s determination to find Celine and finish things before the males went on their mission to find her. Gwen thought they ought to let sleeping dogs lie and let the males handle it when the time came, but Lilly believed they’d never be safe.
She said she couldn’t spend her life looking over her shoulder or fearing for Rhyndor. She’d taken her training to the next level and began to learn some of the darker arts no longer taught. Rhiannon had made an exception for Lilly because she, too, believed Celine needed dealing with. Gwen would bet good money that Claire and Mia would be in on it too, and she wouldn’t want to be around their males when they found out their females planned to take on the witch.
Not wanting such gloomy thoughts to ruin a glorious day, she pushed them away. She and her males were safe, here, right now. They had the whole clan behind them, and her mother had agreed to let Lucien and Awen go on her latest jaunt with her. She’d met them a few times at the home Lara now shared with Gwen, Cade, and Jay but hadn’t been alone with them since the day they rescued Jay. Considering it had been a while now, Gwen thought Awen and Lucien were showing great restraint.
When Lara had announced over a dinner a few nights ago she was going to Italy to paint some of the landscapes there, Awen had fixed her with his intense gaze and said only if he and Lucien went too. To Gwen’s shock, her mother had easily agreed. So, in a week, the three of them would leave for Italy.
Gwen would miss Lara, but she’d be happy knowing her mother was in safe hands, and it would be nice to have a little time truly alone with her males. She’d give all the serving staff a few days off too. Then they could christen every room in the house. Maybe get Cade to use that riding crop on her as she bent over the sofa.
“What are you grinning at?” Jay asked, looking into her eyes.
“Oh. Just thinking of some of the plans I’ve got in place for you two.”
“Sounds ominous.” Cade kissed her neck again, his voice a rumble against her skin.
So many plans and so much time, she hoped, to explore them with these amazing males.
Closing her eyes, she snuggled down into the warmth of their embrace. Her new home.
The End
Thanks so much for reading. If you like your romance a little bit dark, twisted, and topical, then check out my contemporary romance pen name SR Jones. And if you aren’t already signed up to my mailing list, then sign up here for giveaways, FREE reads, and great sales! http://eepurl.com/bdVZ-5
