by Helen Scott
“I don’t know! They’re your wings!”
I glanced over my shoulder to find a big, leathery red wing filling my vision. I tried to move my shoulder to flap it, but it didn’t work. No matter what I tried, the thing wouldn’t move more than enough to keep me up in the air. Its movements were as steady as my breath, which was only staying relatively calm because I was counting in my head, forcing myself not to breathe too quickly and hyperventilate. So I did the only other thing I could think of—I mentally pictured myself lowering to the ground little by little, and all of a sudden, I felt the grass tickling the underside of my feet.
When I connected with the ground, I felt more stable, but I wanted to go back up into the air again as well. My curiosity wanted to figure out how to control my new wings. I didn’t need to do it at that moment, though.
“Can I go back to the baths?” I asked.
“You can do whatever you want. It’s your queendom, after all,” Achilles said over his shoulder as he watched a particularly flexible couple.
I didn’t trust my new wings enough to fly over the circle of sex that started a few meters away from where I was standing, which meant I would have to walk through it. So long as no one grabbed at me and tried to get me to join, I would be fine. I had been a waitress at a sleazy dive bar before all this, so I knew how to ignore someone grabbing my ass.
As I wove my way between clusters of partners and small groups, I felt hands and feet and body parts I refused to identify brush against me. Thankfully, I was still fully clothed, but I could feel my temperature rising as it had done before. I wasn’t sure what was causing it, but I needed the cool water around me to prevent me from losing my mind or eventually giving in and joining the orgy.
Hands grabbed at my ass and my breasts as I moved through the crowd. I thought I’d be able to ignore it, but it was as if they were all drawn to me, like I was one of those blue lights and they were bugs. Each touch and grab only ratcheted my need up further until it reached levels I had never felt before.
When the groups of people became more separated, I wanted to rejoice. No one could reach me anymore. Everything around where I had been sitting had been so dense that I was fairly certain I had stepped on more than one hand and foot as I pushed my way through, but now it was just grass under my feet.
Something spurred me on, and I took off running toward the building, climbing the steps two at a time as I made my way to the bath. I felt as if I were going to explode if I didn’t reach it soon. My legs stretched out under me as I moved through the corridor to the large open room with multiple baths in it. I could see steam rising off a couple that were further away, but the one I was looking for was only a few more steps.
I almost threw myself into the water as I entered. Once my feet were stable, I dunked my head under and felt the water rush up and over not only my hair but my horns as well. As I focused on relaxing, I could feel them receding. I even felt my wings slip into my back, as though they had just been an appendage that had extended for a short while.
Everything seemed easier when I was under the water, but I needed to breathe. I surfaced and climbed out of the pool. The heat and need that raged within me had lessened to the point that I could think again. The clothes were in my way. At this point, I didn’t care if the crowd outside flooded the room. They were all naked anyway; what was one more person? I peeled the soaked clothing from my body piece by piece, fighting with my skinny jeans for a moment when they refused to release my legs. When I was finally in my birthday suit, I climbed back into the water, desperate for the cool feel of it against my burning skin.
It was as if I could still feel the energy, the flames, from outside, and they still burned within me, sinking further and further into me and spreading out to my guys. I was glad they were hopefully getting an energy boost while they fought or healed or whatever they were doing at that moment. I felt for my bonds with them, and they glowed, thick, fat ropes instead of the normal strands. I knew my bonds with Knox, Emmett, Nolan, Cass, and Shadow were the strongest, because even when all the bonds looked healthy and strong, theirs looked ironclad. Something unbreakable had been forged between us, and I luxuriated in it.
As I let the bonds wash over me, the emotions the guys were feeling did as well. It felt similar to what I had experienced in the field when I was looking through the bond and accidentally moved my consciousness, if that could even happen. The need was still there, though, as hot and demanding as my own. I wanted to reach out and touch it, to satisfy it with my own, but I pulled back instead.
I closed my eyes to both reality and the metaphysical bonds, letting myself float in the water, blissfully alone for a single second, when a cough startled me. My body snapped into an upright position, covering myself from what I assumed would be Achilles having come to find me. What I found instead was Derek, standing ankle deep in water on the steps to my pool.
“Hey, princess,” he said, his eyebrows drawing together in a frown.
“Derek? What happened? Where’s everyone else?” I couldn’t keep the questions from tumbling from my mouth.
When his eyes dragged down my body, I realized that in my confusion, I’d let my arms relax, leaving me bare in front of him. A moment later, his eyes darted back up to mine, and I thought a blush might have stained his cheeks, but it was hard to tell in the dim light.
He cleared his throat and said, “I don’t know. We were fighting the waves of those creepy-ass pale fuckers, and after it finally slowed down, we all got this crazy surge of energy. A few minutes later, I felt this pull, and the shadows just swallowed me up and brought me here.”
I quickly looked at the bond within myself and found my link to Derek. It was thinner than the others, but I could feel the need radiating out of it like heat off the road in summer. As I watched it, it only became more intense. My eyes snapped to his, and I found myself staring into the depths of the umber pools flecked with amber. They were naked with lust. Lust that I returned full force.
We hadn’t had much of a chance to get to know the details of one another, but we had fought together, traveled between realms together, and spent time together, even if it was in a car with everyone else. “Derek . . .” I started, unsure what to say.
He waded down the steps into the water with me. A shiver ran up his spine as the cool water moved further and further up his body. I wanted to reach out and pull him to me, run my hands over his skin, but I wasn’t sure if we were there yet, or if that even mattered at this point. We were destined to be together, all eight of us. It blew my mind, but my heart had eagerly attached itself to each of them, and although Hunter might be resistant to forming any kind of emotional or physical relationship, I doubted that Derek had the same qualms.
“Poppy,” he whispered with reverence, his voice low and practically dripping with lust. My whole body reacted, and I took an involuntary step toward him before I could stop myself. “You’re so beautiful.” His eyes skimmed down my body, and when he was close enough, his hands reached up and traced their way down my skin, first on my arms and then over my shoulders. Finally one hand cupped my cheek as his thumb skimmed over my lower lip. I couldn’t help the sigh that escaped me at his touch. It was as if one more missing piece had been found, and my whole body waited with bated breath for his next move. I wouldn’t force a situation, but if we went down this path, I couldn’t say I’d be unhappy.
12
Derek
Was I the only one she hadn’t had sex with yet? The thought irritated me as I stared at her naked body. Perfectly plump tits hung just above the water, and I could see the small patch of hair at the apex of her thighs, even through the ripples. When she took a step toward me, it was all I could do not to grab her by the hips and wrap her legs around me.
I wanted her. I had wanted her since I’d first seen her kicking ass in that damned warehouse. Now, she was naked in front of me, and I was trying my best not to be a fucking caveman and treat her with some damned respect. It was tough,
though, especially since it felt as if my cock were pulling me to her.
When I stepped further into the pool, I hadn’t expected the water to be so cool, since I had seen other pools in the room with steam coming off them, but as I touched her skin, I realized she was burning up. One touch wasn’t enough, though. My hands ran down the silk of her arms and then again over her shoulders. Each time, I inched closer to her. I couldn’t help myself.
The perfect curve of her full lips had me biting my own in restraint as I ran a thumb over her bottom lip. When her mouth opened and that sigh escaped, I knew I was lost. I felt like a magnet, with her being my polar opposite, and I couldn’t resist her call.
When I had turned up in this weird bathroom, I’d known Poppy had brought me here somehow, and then I saw her floating naked in the water and all the blood in my brain started rushing south. Now, I was standing in front of her, our bodies almost touching, and I needed to hear her say that she wanted me, wanted this, before I went any further. I couldn’t allow my body to call the shots until I knew the score.
“Tell me what you want,” I said. My voice was low with need. As I spoke, I saw her pupils dilate a little more, making my blood pound in my ears.
Her exquisite pink lips parted, and uncertainty flickered through her eyes for a moment before she said, “You. I want you, Derek, emotionally and physically. Everything you want to give me.”
I couldn’t have stopped the smile that spread over my face as if I were a kid at Christmas if I’d tried. “Even though we barely know each other?” I asked, trying to make sure I wasn’t pushing her decision.
“Yep.” She smiled, and I felt my heart melt a little. “But if you want, we can do a quick ten questions or something?”
I laughed, and it made the water around us ripple. Poppy was one of the most giving people I’d ever met. She’d risked her life for mine, had almost died when she was rescuing me from the other crazy lady, and then she’d risked her life for all of us while we were saving Shadow. When I started thinking about it, I realized how completely insane the last few weeks had been. “Are you doin’ okay?” I asked without thinking.
“Yeah, I am. Are you?” Her eyebrows rose as she spoke, as though they were the ones asking the question.
I nodded. “What’s your middle name?” I didn’t know why I asked. Maybe I just wanted to know something more about her? Maybe I wanted to break this awkwardness I felt between us?
She chuckled for a second before she said, “Rose. How about you?”
Poppy Rose? Her mama must have liked flowers. I breathed in the delicate scent of her and realized that her name matched her better than I felt like mine reflected who I was I cleared my throat and said, “Michael.”
She grinned up at me, and it brought a smile out in me in return as she said, “Derek Michael. I like that. Favorite color?”
“Dark blue, like navy or something. You?” As I asked, I couldn’t help picturing her in a navy dress. She would be stunning. The rich color hugging her body, making her hair gleam in the light.
“Right now? Dark red, but it changes on a daily basis,” she said, and the image in my head morphed to a crimson dress. With her dark hair and eyes, I knew she would be a knockout. I really couldn’t imagine her wearing anything that looked bad with those curves and long wavy hair. It just seemed impossible.
“Morning or night?” I asked, taking a step closer to her
“Night.”
“Me too.”
She grinned as she closed the gap between us. “Summer or winter?” she asked as her arms laced around my waist, her elegant fingers finding each other over the small of my back.
“Spring,” I said, not quite answering her question, but it was my favorite season.
“Cheater,” she said, poking out her tongue at me for a split second.
I couldn’t help myself. My face lowered to hers as her tongue disappeared behind those luscious lips. The whole time we’d been talking, we had been getting closer and closer to one another, and I wanted to taste her now more than ever. Her eyes were locked on mine as I moved close enough to her that I could feel her breasts pressing against my chest and my cock nudging her belly. I inclined my head slightly and found her lips with my own. My eyes drifted closed, and I savored the sweet, fresh taste of her. I felt her fingers grip my back and tug me closer, pressing our bodies together from lips to her little toes that had found their way to the tops of my shoes.
When her tongue flicked against my lips, I couldn’t stop the groan that escaped me, and I couldn’t hold myself back anymore, either. “Are you sure?” I whispered, needing to double-check one more time.
“I want you to fuck me, Derek,” she whispered back as she nipped at my lower lip. “Just not in the pool, ’cause who knows who else has been in here.”
I laughed then, a deep belly-rolling laugh. The girl was practical almost to a fault, and I couldn’t blame her. I kissed her thoroughly, my tongue twining with hers as I drowned in her scent and taste like a man lost.
Poppy
Derek’s mouth and tongue caressed and seduced my own. Butterflies flickered in my belly like static on a television. I wanted him to touch me and kiss me and take me. Everything was possible at that moment. His hands came around to my butt and gripped it, pressing me to him for a long moment before he made a tugging upward motion.
I flexed on my toes and hopped into the air, his hands grasping under my thighs while I wrapped my legs around him. His lips never left mine as he turned and walked back out of the pool, managing the stairs without ever leaving me hanging. I knew from being in here earlier that there were no seats or anywhere else to get comfy, and Derek must have realized it too, because he didn’t try to take me anywhere, instead choosing to pin me up against a wall.
The cold marble against my back made me shiver, and when paired with the heat from Derek’s hands, I was lost to the opposing sensations. When his hips rolled against my own, positioning his cock against my core, I finally gave in and broke the kiss, letting my head fall back and a low moan escape me.
When he repeated the action, I about lost my mind. I didn’t want to be teased, not after everything I’d seen outside. All I wanted was to be well and truly fucked by a man I deeply cared about. The only problem was all the clothing he was still wearing.
The material was starting to feel extra cool against my skin, and I wanted him naked. Now. I squirmed my hips, making him groan. When he backed up slightly, I let my legs disengage from the tight grip they’d had on his waist, and my feet dipped to the floor.
“I think you’re a little over dressed,” I said, grinning up at him.
“Yeah? Well, I guess I’d better fix that.”
“I guess you had.” I leaned back against the wall, wrapping one leg around the other, and watched as he peeled the somewhat wet T-shirt from his skin and pulled it over his head. He looked at me for a moment, and I bit my bottom lip, which drew his gaze. I felt his eyes slip from my mouth and go lower over my body, taking in my breasts, my stomach, and finally the apex of my thighs. The way he was looking at me, he might as well have been touching me.
His tongue darted out and wet his lips as he seemed unable to pull his gaze away from my legs. I unhooked the one from behind the other and spread my stance wider, sending an obvious invitation. Derek’s eyes darkened, and his hands went to his belt, undoing it with a couple flicks of his wrist and then unzipping his fly. The pants were big enough, as men’s jeans so often were, that they slid down his legs without anything stopping them. I had expected him to be an all-boxer-shorts-all-the-time kind of guy, but the way the material hugged his thighs made me want to drool. Why, oh, why did I find boxer briefs so damn sexy?
Derek toed out of his shoes and stepped out of his jeans. His thumbs hooked into the waistband of his boxer briefs, and just as he was about to pull them down, I stepped away from the wall. “Allow me.” I grinned mischievously at him.
“Whatever you want, princess,” he growled.
<
br /> I stepped up to him and marveled at the size of his chest. He and Knox put most men to shame, and the T-shirts he’d been wearing didn’t do nearly enough to show off his stunning muscles. My fingers traced down his chest to the dark skin of his nipples, skimming over them as I continued my trek south over the mountains and valleys of his abs to the thick black elastic of his boxer briefs. Slipping my fingers between the elastic and his skin made Derek shudder, which made me even hotter for him.
After I slid my hands around to the perfect globes of his butt and gave it a good squeeze, I peeled the wet material away from him, freeing his erection. It bounced in front of me as I moved the material down his legs until I was kneeling, pulling out first one foot and then the other.
My mouth latched around the head of his cock, and I swirled my tongue over the tip. He tasted salty and delicious. I slowly worked my way down his cock, taking it deeper and deeper with each movement, taking as much of him in my mouth as possible.
I moved over him, up and down, again and again, until my jaw was getting sore and his hips were bucking against me. When I pulled away, his hand, which had been tangled in my hair, I tilted my head up so I was looking at him. An inferno of lust blazed in his eyes, and I couldn’t wait any longer.
“I need you,” I whispered.
Slowly, he lowered his body to mine, his mouth crashing against my own as he began to push me back on the tile. His body was positioned over me, while his cock nudged at my entrance. I rolled my hips toward him for easier access, and when he started to slide into me, I had to gasp. Sensation exploded throughout my body as he inched deeper and deeper.
Finally, when he was fully sheathed within me, I let a low moan escape. He felt wonderful, the perfect size for me. He moved gently at first, but soon, after his pace began to increase, I was left writhing underneath him, as I wanted to get both closer and further away at the same time.
