by Marie Mistry
“Oh, did you really expect me to play fair?” His energy was infectious. “Now, let me up so I can claim my prize.”
“I can kiss you perfectly well from here.” I shifted atop him and his breath caught as I rubbed over his erection.
“Ah, but I said I wanted to kiss you. I never said where…”
He was still grinning, but a wariness had entered his gaze, as if he was worried about pushing me too far.
“You know the rules, Bane.” Blaze's voice shocked me to my feet.
My Wrath mate strode from the hedges, as though he hadn't been missing since he took me to Rezinax that afternoon, glaring at my Greed mate with censure. Behind him, Aeron stood watching everything, his gaze thoughtful.
“Which particular rule, since you seem to have so many of them,” I grumbled to Blaze.
“I'm not allowed to make any kind of sexual advances towards you without the express permission of the rest of your males.” Bane rolled his eyes as he pushed himself to his feet.
I gaped at them both. “No. Just no. I decide who I sleep with and when. It's been six months since Lucinda and Fraxis died and Bane's played by the rules since then—mostly. If I want to kiss him or take things further, it will be my choice!”
Blaze drew me to him but I shrugged off his huge, protective presence. “Sweetness…”
“Don't 'Sweetness' me.” I scowled. “You're being obstinate.”
“I agree with the Wrath,” Aeron said, surprising all of us. “My brother hurt you before. Even if a lot of time has passed, can you honestly say you've truly forgiven him?” I glanced up at Bane with flushed cheeks, because Aeron was right. The trust between us was recovering, but it was a slow process. “I'm not saying you shouldn't have fun; I'm just asking you both to give it a little more time before you jump into things that will only confuse the situation further.”
“It was a decision meant to protect you, in case this asshole tried to break your beautiful heart again,” Blaze said, his tone gentle but his eyes fixed on Bane.
I shook my head. “What happened to voting on things as a group? I can't believe—”
“How about a compromise?” Bane interjected, possibly sensing that Blaze and I would argue all night if he let us. “If you let me kiss her, just a kiss, I won't take anything else. I won't push for anything more. Just one kiss with my mate, and then I'll go.”
Blaze considered it for a long moment, his green eyes sizing up Bane with an eerie silent focus. “Fine. If she agrees.”
“I already did,” I said, pulling Bane to me while glaring at my Wrath mate.
But Bane captured my chin with his thumb, pulling my gaze back toward him.
“Ignore him, Precious.” His piercing brown eyes captured mine. “This is just for you and me.”
He didn't kiss me straight away. His eyes lingered for several moments on my face, studying me, and I found I couldn't look away. The instant I gave myself permission to admire him again, my body forgot all the heartache and replaced it with desire.
I retraced the lines of his cheekbones, my eyes catching on a piece of his messy hair which had fallen into his eyes.
I reached up to sweep it away without thinking.
That was when his lips descended.
His mouth crashed on mine with a desperation I felt from my head to my toes. He poured all of his longing, all of his need into the kiss, and I found myself doing the same. Bane's arms wound around my back, pulling me flush against him as his tongue swept out to join mine. His other hand came up to tangle in my hair, pulling just enough to give me shivers.
My nipples pebbled, brushing against him through our clothes, and I couldn't help the sigh that escaped me.
When he drew back, my brain was frazzled, my whole body craving more. I raised my lips again, hoping he'd break his promise and steal a second kiss.
He kissed my forehead instead. “When I finally get my hands on you, it'll be worth the wait,” he promised. “But they're right, aren't they? You're not a hundred percent ready to trust me like that yet. And I don't want you to say otherwise just to piss off Blaze.”
I didn't have words to answer him, but he must have read my conflicted feelings down the mating bond because he kissed my forehead again, before releasing me and giving me a gentle push towards Aeron and Blaze. “Go on, enjoy them. Our time will come.”
With that promise echoing in the air, he turned on his heel and left, the hedges parting for him and then snapping back together, hiding him from view.
“We're not saying never, Baby Girl.” Aeron came up behind me, pulling me into him. “But not until you're certain that it's what you want.”
I rolled my eyes but leaned against him anyway. The fault with Bane's great compromise was, while I'd enjoyed our kiss, I was now mercilessly turned on.
“Feeling horny, Sweetness?” Blaze's voice had taken on that husky, dominant tone.
I shivered as both of them levelled their heated eyes on me.
“We could do something about that,” Aeron said.
“Blaze, you can't dictate when and how I take my mates.” I knew I was fighting a losing battle, and it wasn't only because both of them were closing in on me like hungry wolves. And my body didn't care that they weren't the one who'd started this, only that they finished it.
“Do you want us?” Blaze ignored my protest completely.
Did I really want to stop this? I knew I should take a stand, but words dried up in my mouth as I met the intensity of his gaze.
Fuck it. I wanted them and the lust shining in their eyes told me that they wanted me too. The emotional baggage could wait till after.
I gave him a look, one that told him this wasn't over, but nodded. “Yes.”
“Then strip.” Blaze's command sent goosebumps down my spine.
My hands went to my jacket without any conscious thought. It was only when the material hit the ground that I realised I was following his orders.
“Keep going.”
The sexual energy charged the air, making my fingers slip to the buttons of my shirt which melted away. I took my time with the skirt, seductively pulling it down my legs before throwing it aside.
“All of it.” Aeron's rough command broke the silence.
I slowly drew down the straps of my bra, flicking it away before I started on my panties. When I was completely nude, my body felt like it was on fire under their stares.
“Sit on the bench and spread your legs.” Blaze nodded toward a stone bench I hadn't even paid attention to until then. I smiled and followed his command. “Spread them wider.”
“Yes, Sir.”
I stepped away from Aeron's warmth, shivering despite the warm autumn air as I put myself on display for them both. Blaze was clearly calling the shots, because he stalked towards me and fisted his hand in my hair, dragging my head back so he could take my mouth in a deep kiss. His other hand brushed a possessive line down to my breast and squeezed hard enough to make me gasp into his mouth. When he released the abused flesh, it was only to spank it. The sting morphed into heat as it travelled straight from my breast to my clit, ramping up my arousal.
I felt the wetness gush between my thighs and heard my Lust mate's accompanying groan. I knew this was just more of Blaze's bossiness coming out to play, but when he gave my other breast the same treatment, I couldn't find it in myself to care.
“Please, Sir.”
He spanked my tit again, the tiny sting travelling straight to my clit. “Good girl, should I let him feast on you?”
“Please,” I begged, incoherently.
There was a pause and then two different hands gently stroked up from my ankles to my knees, then upward till they caressed the skin of my inner thighs. The soft caress was the complete opposite to Blaze's rough treatment of my breasts and I squirmed under the attention.
“While he eats you out, I'm going to fuck that beautiful mouth,” Blaze informed me, all but ripping his belt away. “If I get too rough, I want you to squeeze, real
ly hard right here.” He placed my hand on his balls, but I flinched at the idea. “You will do it if it gets too much, Sweetness.”
Well, it was his balls on the line. “Yes, Sir.”
The last word caught in my throat as Aeron's thumbs finally stroked the lightest of lines along my outer lips.
Blaze knelt on the bench beside me, freeing his erection from his briefs so it was exactly at my eye level. The hand that had never left my hair tightened whilst the other moved to my lips and his thumb pressed inside, holding my jaw open. “Lick my cock.”
I let my tongue flick out, giving him the barest of teasing licks.
And Aeron did the exact same to me.
Blaze and I both hissed in pleasure and need. “Lick,” he commanded.
I wasn't sure if the order was for me or Aeron or both.
I gave in, swirling my tongue around the head as his thumb kept my jaw open. When he pressed the tip of his cock to my lips, I opened eagerly, and he slid in. He started with shallow pumps in my mouth, massaging my tongue with his thrusts. He went a little deeper each time, flooding me with the salty, musky taste of his pre-cum. His hands moved to either side of my head and his hips stilled as he used my horns to guide my mouth over him.
When he reached the back of my throat, my gag reflex hit. I started to panic as he held me there but he was as calm as ever.
“Swallow.” His voice left no room for argument and my body answered to his dominance instantly, throat muscles working to take him deeper before he retreated.
He repeated it, and I swallowed a little easier this time. By the fourth thrust, I had perfected it enough that Aeron continued his assault on my pussy, his talented mouth licking and nibbling between my thighs, tongue alternately thrusting into me and circling that tight bundle of nerves at the top.
I felt myself gush with wetness under his attention, spurring his groan as he lapped at me.
“So damned sweet,” Aeron murmured. “Take his cock. Take it deep while I fuck you with my tongue.”
I couldn't reply. Blaze was too busy completely owning my mouth for that. His thrusts had increased in speed, giving me no quarter as he unapologetically used me for his pleasure. But even as I was completely at his mercy, the completely undone look on my Wrath mate's face let me know that I was the one with all the power here. My precautionary grip on his balls turned to a gentle exploratory massage and my index finger slid backward, stroking at that piece of skin behind his balls.
“Fuck,” he cursed, diving into my mouth again.
I rubbed gently, then brought my finger away, using the saliva pooling around my lips to lubricate it before sliding it back towards the rim of his anus. I massaged the muscles, slowly penetrating him as the muscles rippled around my digit.
Aeron worked me harder as I did my best to send Blaze over the edge. His mouth sealed around my clit and sucked just as he slid one thick finger inside of me in an echo of what I was doing to Blaze. He thrust shallowly in time with my movements, driving me closer and closer to the brink as Blaze gave a huge shout and flooded my throat with cum and power.
“Drink it all,” he insisted, leaving his cock in my mouth for me to lick clean as his energy thrummed in my veins.
But I was distracted from my task as Aeron bent his fingers within me and unerringly found my g-spot. I fell over the edge on a soundless scream, clenching around his invading digits.
We wound up snuggling on the bench in the darkness, with me sat on Blaze's lap as Aeron gently massaged my feet.
“You're so damned perfect,” Aeron whispered, almost to himself.
“You were made for us.” Blaze pulled me even further into his chest, surrounding me in the scent of apples and spice.
But I couldn't stop my eyes flicking back to where Bane had disappeared into the hedge. It was only now that the need had subsided that I was able to analyse my own thoughts, and with that came the realisation that I really, really wanted to kiss my Greed mate again.
Chapter 13
Blaze’s scent clung to me as I led the group into the Gatehouse that evening. Because my power had awakened all the first-years, the castes had been collecting them one by one, doing their innocence circle and then returning for the next one. Vivienne's initiation was the last one for Lust, lending extra energy to my caste mates as they imagined the party to come afterward.
All around me, my fellow Lusts chanted our caste name as we approached the nondescript door in the middle of the Gatehouse. I knew how nervous she must be, and I couldn't help reaching out with my pathokinesis, meaning to soothe Vivienne's nerves as I had for all the others.
Instead of the usual ball of anticipation and nerves I'd felt from every other initiate, I encountered pure terror beyond the door. My hackles rose but the chanting around me was so loud that I didn't hear the sounds of a struggle till we were directly outside her room.
I held my hand up for silence and my group instantly obeyed.
“… get away from me!” I recognised Vivienne's voice.
I burst through the door, odynokinesis instinctively reaching out as I saw the brown-robed figure struggling with Vivienne, a wickedly-curved knife inching toward her throat.
The would-be assassin collapsed under my power for an instant before summoning a shield of their own and striking back. I blocked the shot and it ricocheted violently around the room, narrowly missing Vivienne and the other Lusts behind me.
There were too many people in such a small space and if we carried on like this, one of them was going to get hurt.
I couldn't let that happen.
So, I did the only thing I could think of.
My Succubus allure rolled off me in waves and, although I tried to direct it only at the assassin posing as an unshown, I knew it affected everyone else anyway. With a silent prayer that I wouldn't kill any of them, I sashayed toward the assassin whose flickering shield died as his attention was completely consumed by me.
“Kiss me.” My voice lulled into the space between us and the hooded figure moved toward me, almost completely in my thrall.
Like always, he didn't have to touch my lips for me to draw power. I tried to take just enough to drain him but from the first sip, the addiction blurred my self-control.
“Blaze! The Gatehouse! Quickly before I kill someone!” I screamed along our bond.
“You can handle it. You have control.” Blaze's words were reassuring, but even he couldn't hide the worry that coloured his tone.
“No, I really don't.” The husky tone of my voice dropped an octave as the allure of my victim's power drew me closer.
“Talk to me, Sweetness. Tell me what happened.”
“He was trying to kill Vivienne when we got here. He's disguised as an unshown, but he has power…”
Heady, delicious power. I took another sip reflexively.
“Almost there. Focus, Sweetness! You control this; it doesn't control you.”
I reached out with invisible hands, trying my best to leash the power gobbling down the assassin's life force. For a few seconds, it looked like I was making a difference and the draw began to slow. My relief made my control slip and the power surged again. The figure before me started to shrink into himself.
Crumpling as the amount of power flowing from him started to slow to a trickle.
A pair of arms banded around my waist and wrenched me away just before I could take that last sip. The predator in me growled and snarled, wanting more, but a familiar pair of lips took mine, pouring a bucket of cold water over the inferno of my addiction.
Blaze released me and I stepped back, glancing at the assassin who was being restrained by two more of his security officers. Not that he had the energy left to do much more than sag in their arms after I'd finished with him.
“Take him down to the cells. We'll take statements tomorrow.” Blaze was already halfway out of the door with his officers and the attacker. “Carry on with the initiation. I wish you every happiness in your new caste, Miss Ajax.”
/> We were all a bit shaken. An initiation was a huge deal and disrupting one was a social taboo. I shook it off and dragged their attention back to me. Leaving them too much time to process what had just happened would only give oxygen to the flames of hysteria.
With my pathokinesis, I soothed the emotions of everyone in the room. I wasn't delicate about it but I felt gratitude and acceptance from them as I retreated and turned my focus to my new mentee.
“Declare your caste,” I ordered, looking Vivienne in the eyes.
To my surprise, she stared straight back, a grim sort of determination lighting her features. I recognised that look; I'd seen it on my own face on the day of my own initiation. It was the look of someone determined to make the best of the destiny they'd been handed.
“Lust.”
“Show us!” I said the words but the group behind me yelled them, having remembered what we were here to do.
I wasn't entirely surprised by their resilience. Demons saw duels every day and everyone in Lust knew about my powers. I wouldn't put it past all of them to forget all about it by the time they got back to the tower.
Vivienne didn't hesitate, turning and flicking up the back of her shirt. Her crystal was jagged and sharp, but I leaned down and kissed it regardless.
When I straightened again, the chant started once more, and Vivienne was expertly lifted onto the shoulders of the group who carried her across the grounds and to the door of the Carnal Tower.
I knew it was stupid, but it was still something of a disappointment when Felicity answered the door rather than Aeron. The fourth-year had taken over the ceremonial position as Doorkeeper when Aeron left, and I honestly thought she was a good choice for the job. She had a presence that calmed others, and I wondered if it was tied to her sub-caste as a Sensual.
“Who asks entrance to the Carnal Tower?” she asked the group.
Like everyone else, Vivienne required a poke before she realised it was her who had to answer.
“I, Vivienne Ajax, ask entrance.”
“Who stands for her?”
That was my cue and I took a step forward before repeating the ritual words.
