Claimed by Fae_MMF Paranormal Romance

by Lisa Gardiner

  The blood from his brain was dropping so fast to his cock, he felt dizzy. This was dangerous. But she didn’t pull away, and he let his fingertips lightly graze the outside of her bikini bottoms. The ragged change in her breathing was his reward.

  “What about Arlan?” Her voice was a whisper. “Isn’t this rude to him?” “No. Why would it be?”

  Confusion and uncertainty flickered in her eyes. His own conflicting emotions made his head ache. He buried his face against her neck, inhaling her clean, womanly scent. She turned her head, searching around. “Where is Arlan anyway?”

  “Pretty sure he’s back at the bar.”

  When he brought his mouth to hers, he relished the softening of her body against his, the delicious slow female yielding of it. He let his fingers lightly skim the satiny material of her bikini top and exhaled when he touched the silk of her cleavage.

  “I do want to help you find the tower. I want to help you and Arlan.” “Shh.”

  “No, Jay. I’m going to help you and Arlan save those children. They won’t suffer more abuse because I was too cowardly.” Her mouth had taken on that stubborn set that meant she wouldn’t back down.

  As much as he wanted to protect her, she was part of this now, part of their fight against evil. And he was a self-centered bastard. All he wanted was to touch her. Unable to stop himself, Jay pushed down one of the cups of her bright yellow bikini so that her breast popped out into his hand.

  It was so exquisite, elegantly rounded, milky white, with faint traces of blue underneath. Jay wanted to trace those veins with his tongue until he reached the pink tip of her nipple. He didn’t know if she was a C cup or D cup or whatever, but they were surprisingly large on her petite frame. Her breath came in fast pants against his neck.

  “Jesus,” he whispered.

  Unable to wait another second, he palmed them both, the weight of his lower body holding her still against the wall. “Sweetness, you’re driving me crazy. You’re so fucking hot.” He moved his legs around to cage her with his body. Her limbs trembled. It warmed him to realize he had the same impact on her that she had on him.

  He slid down to circle her freed breast with slow open-mouthed kisses. The press of the other swollen nipple, through its cup and against his palm made his cock ache like a raw wound. The springy, slick tenderness of her other nipple felt like heaven against his tongue.

  Jay moved his hand down and skimmed the line of her bikini pants again. Slipping a finger under the fabric he moaned, pleased to feel plenty of her own viscous liquid there. He loved the sensation of wet, slippery pussy beneath his fingers. The water around added a new layer of sensation. Jay slid a thick finger inside her and groaned at her tightness. Her own soft moan delighted him. He imagined the scent of her pussy beneath the chlorine, though the smell of the pool obscured it. Arlan, with his feline powers, would be able to scent her even here.

  Don’t think about Arlan now.

  In the back of his throat, he began to hum a fae tune to protect her pussy from the chlorine. She glanced up at him in surprise. But he shushed her, soothed her.

  He drilled into her, adding a second finger, making her groan louder, deeper. Oh yes.

  He loved finger fucking, loved watching the pleasure build and her pretty eyes glaze over. He wanted to add a third digit but was afraid of hurting her, so he thrust into her harder and faster with his fingers. His balls were tight, his cock steel. At last, she came, gasping, her core milking his fingers.

  He barely knew her, and yet, somehow, he could see a future with her that stretched out ahead of him, as if he’d come to a fork in the road that one way or another would change everything. How Arlan would fit into it, he couldn’t say.

  Chapter Nine

  August tugged up the cup of her bra, closed her eyes and floated on her back, partly from embarrassment, partly to recover from her orgasm.

  The attraction between her and Jay bewildered her in its intensity. Since Ryan, she’d avoided a lot of socializing and concentrated on her studies. With Jay, she felt overwhelmed by the combustible heat between them.

  When she opened her eyes again and looked around, neither Jay nor Arlan were anywhere to be seen. She doggy paddled to the edge, spotted Arlan and decided to get out.

  When she stepped out of the pool, Arlan wrapped her in a huge fluffy white towel and worked at drying her. The sun was so hot, she’d dry in minutes without his help, but it was clear he wanted to spoil her, to make her feel pampered. If he’d been bothered by her making out with Jay, he showed no sign of it now.

  She finally took a handful of the cocktail mix he’d left on the little table for her and took a sip of her gin and tonic.

  “What have you been doing, Arlan? You never even changed into your swim trunks.”

  His smile was apologetic. “I didn’t feel in the mood. I have a good book on my e-book reader. I was enjoying it when I wasn’t checking you out in that yellow bikini.”

  August smiled, finally getting used to the flirting. She supposed it was just their way with women. He led her to outdoor dining furniture positioned near the house. She sipped her drink as she walked. Jay appeared in the doorway and came over to sit at the table with them. More food and drink were already waiting, laid out on the table. Some type of delicious meat on crisp noodles, and a bottle of merlot.

  She smiled at him. “This smells divine. What is it? Who cooked it?” She took a bite and tasted ginger on the meat.

  “Fried crocodile, caught fresh from the Zambezi River, on vegetable strips with noodles, garlic, ginger and Soya sauce.”

  Crocodile?

  She held the food in her mouth for a moment, then chewed it down. It actually tasted really good. She laughed. “Wow, crocodile I never thought of eating such a thing.”

  “We have a lot of crocodile in the Zambezi. Jay takes them from there. It’s a popular dish here. And to answer your other question, Jay used magic to prepare it while you swam.”

  “Culinary magic, wow!” She took a mouthful and started to chew. She couldn’t decide if it tasted like fried chicken or crispy fried fish, but it was good. “My mom was actually pretty good at culinary magic herself. But as I grew older, she started employing cooks. I think she became more interested in making money, and it kind of took over all her other interests.” August sighed and took a sip of her wine. “I was even able to do a little bit of culinary magic as a child, but not anymore.”

  “I can guess why.”

  Not now. Don’t make me think about her now.

  Her face heated at the pity and questions she saw in Arlan’s green-gold eyes.

  Don’t tell. It could make them want you even less once the sex magic experiment is over. What man would want a woman with so much baggage?

  His gaze locked with hers. She believed in emotional honesty. She was going to be making love with these men. She needed to be straight up and honest with them.

  Don’t be a coward. Just explain and get it over with.

  She let her lips curve in a wry smile. “The self-esteem thing?” Jay glared at Arlan.

  “No. It’s all right, Jay. He’s right. Human low self-esteem damages fae power in a half-fae.” She took another long sip of wine, avoiding their gaze. “Yeah, I have issues. My mother was dark fae, and I was a child abuse victim. So yeah I’m sure my low self-esteem killed any fae power I might have had.”

  Jay swore. He stood, gripping the table, his muscles clenching in tightly controlled fury. “Hang on. You mean your father abused you—is that what you mean?”

  “No!” August pushed back her chair. She hated how many people assumed child abuse was done only by fathers, by men. It made her angry. “No. No. No. There was no sexual abuse. And no, it was not my father. Never my father. What I went through wasn’t the kind of thing you could talk to your school counselor about.”

  Jay reached across the table and took her hand, his thumb stroking across her fingers. “Let it out, August. Talk to us.”

  She shrugged, emb
arrassed. “I can’t really say exactly how much it affected any fae power I had or might have, because as a teen and adult, I threw myself into schoolwork. I haven’t even attempted to do any magic since I was tenor eleven. I didn’t want magic in my life.”

  A muscle twitched in Jay’s jaw. She could sense the rage rippling under his forced control. “I don’t care about the fucking magic. Who abused you, August? Arlan and I will make the bastard pay.”

  “My mother, all right?”

  “Your mother? Holy shit! What did she do?”

  Arlan threw down his napkin. “Just shut up, Jay. When she wants to talk about it more, she will. Leave it be.”

  She gave Arlan a grateful smile and wondered why his gaze shifted away from hers. “It’s okay, Jay,” she said softly. “My mother has a lot of power in the Half-Fae Network. She had a lot of people working for her. There was this one awful guy called Willem, who…” She shook her head. “Well, actually, Arlan’s right. I don’t think I want to talk about this anymore.”

  She forced a smile so as not to make Jay feel any worse. Arlan didn’t need to be so harsh with him. Jay took her hand. “You deserve to be cherished and protected, August.” He gave her fist a first squeeze.

  She nodded dumbly, too touched to speak. She realized how numb she’d been for so long. They two of them were making her feel so much emotion. Arlan smiled at her, filling her wineglass for the third time.

  Finally, she found her voice again. “So, I gather neither of you feels confident enough in your fae abilities to try to stop these kidnappings with your own magic? That’s why you need my help?”

  Jay sat and pushed back a little in his chair. “Basically, yeah, that’s right.”

  Arlan nodded. “Fae power in the mortal world gets more and more diluted by the interbreeding of fae and humans with each passing generation. That’s what the Half-Fae Network was invented to combat.”

  “You sound like my mother. That’s one of her big issues. She’s always ranting about the dilution of fae blood because of interbreeding. She’s bitter she wasn’t born a full-blooded fae. The funny thing is, she never blames her dark-fae mother for seducing her dad and then disappearing back to the Fae Realm. She doesn’t care that her mother was a deadbeat who just abandoned her.”

  “Yeah the dark fae never seem to see things that way. They just idolize the fae.” Arlan rolled his eyes. “I have to admit, though, I wish I had more fae blood myself. Magic calls me to be a Warrior of the Light, but I have fuck all control of any power.” Arlan rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I can understand your mother’s frustration, even if she and I have taken very different paths.”

  She clapped her hands as a sudden thought struck her. “Hey, you two are part sylph, right? Can either of you fly?” Arlan shook his head, and Jay glanced at his watch.

  “It’s getting late, Arlan.” Some form of communication she didn’t understand passed between them. Arlan got up from the table and went into the house for something.

  Jay shifted his chair close to her and took her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. He curved his other hand around the nape of her neck. “Relax.” He leaned forward and gave her the briefest kiss on the lips. Why did even this innocent kiss to reassure have to burn like flame? She could get lost in his kisses forever.

  After a few moments, Arlan returned. Her held a large white cotton robe that was obviously his own. “Here, put this on before the night grows colder. Is your suit still wet?”

  “No, it’s fine. The heat’s dried it. It’s so warm in this country.” She stood and allowed him to slip it on her. Once he’d wrapped her in the robe, he gave her a random hug, his beefy arms wrapping tight around her. August, pressed back against him and sighed, the massive strength of those arms made her feel utterly, blissfully safe and protected. There was a sweetness to his hug that brought tears to her eyes. No one had held her like this, since before her father died. No one had held her like this, since she was eleven.

  Arlan finally let her go, guiding her back into her seat.

  Jay swallowed a bite of crocodile, then shook his head. “You know, I think there’s already some kind of magic messing with the three of us right now.”

  Arlan raised a brow. “The thought’s crossed my mind as well. I think the reason the attraction between the three of us is so intense may be more than even the connection between fire and air, I think magic may be trying to right itself, trying to attract fae to fae to continue its own existence. The attraction between Silvara and me was intense, but what I feel for August is so much more.”

  Jay put his fork down. “You read too fucking much, mate, that’s your problem. Let’s just enjoy what the night brings.”

  She wasn’t sure what either of them meant, but she felt tipsy and ready for anything, so she just smiled at them both, anticipation building in her like a white heat.

  They finished their meals, and Jay began muttering in fae and humming. Once again, a spray of indigo light shot from his palm. Dishes and cups danced in the air and landed smoothly on the table. They ate hot pudding with brandy, honey and dates, vanilla ice cream and Amarula coffee.

  August finished a mouthful of ice cream and put down her spoon. “So, can we talk about that email Kruger sent?” She hoped she wasn’t blushing. “I mean…I think I gather from that email that sex magic works by using a process of intense visualization in the moments after orgasm. Is that right?” Had she stuttered? She bit her lip, hoping they couldn’t see how self-conscious she felt.

  Arlan had finished his ice cream and was drinking his Amarula. “That’s right. Regular fae magic works by visualization while humming fae music, and sex magic uses the energy of sexual arousal to visualize the desired object after orgasm. The idea is that we can bring the storm tower to where we are. Then we can free the children. When I was a teen, I once heard adults at a half-fae conference talking about how sex-magic doesn’t always work.”

  Jay nodded. “You have to try different things and hope for success. I’ve read about ways you can try.”

  Arlan set down his drink. “I have some trinkets that are meant to possibly help. I hope you understand, sweetie. We just want to do everything we can to save those children. I’m friendly with some of their mothers and—”

  “I actually have some understanding of how painful it must be to lose a child.” August chewed on the nail of her little finger. “I mean, I’m not a mother, but I almost lost a younger sister to illness. She couldn’t say my name, so she used to call me Gus, and I had that nickname as a kid.” August’s face grew serious. “My sister May was in the hospital when she was four with some unknown illness, and she nearly died, so yeah, I can kind of imagine what it’s like for all those mothers in the village. They must think about their loss every minute.” A lump formed in her throat. “Every…single…minute.”

  Memories of May in the hospital clouded her mind. She’d been sick with the same mystery condition her father had. The doctors had said May wouldn’t live. It was what had pushed her father over the edge, what had killed him.

  “August—” Concern showed in Jay’s eyes. “I won’t let you do anything you don’t want to do. You have to be certain about this.”

  She held up a hand. “No, Jay.” She sat up straighter, put her shoulders back. “I’m sure now. I’m sure I want to do this. I want to help. I want to make love to both of you. I want to find that storm tower.”

  “Are you sure?” Jay’s words were as sharp as the edge of a blade.

  “After what I went through as a child, how could I not try to help these kids? I’m in this one hundred percent.”

  Jay gave her a searching look. “You’d need a safe word. You can use zebra.” August laughed. “Okay.”

  “And hard limits. Have you heard of those? You tell us anything you’re not comfortable doing.” “I’ve read about them.”

  When Jay smiled, her cheeks burst into flames. He leaned forward and put his hand on her knee. “Hey, sweetness,” he whispered in her ear
. “Don’t be afraid or embarrassed. Relax.”

  He took her hand and pulled her to her feet.

  Arlan placed his cheek against hers, his stubble rubbing her skin. She was already losing her heart to Jay. It would be madness to lose it to Arlan as well, but she could feel it happening against logical thought.

  Arlan’s lips sought every inch of her neck. August stood on tiptoes, sinking her fingers into the muscles of his shoulders. As a scientist, she knew sex was just a biological function. She needed to focus on that part and guard her heart.

  Slanting his mouth over hers, Arlan teased at her lips with his own. August grasped his upper arms, enjoying the bunching of his muscles beneath his skin. Her robe fell open, and the warmth of his body seemed to seep into hers, heating her from the inside out. Their tongues mated, slipping and sliding against each other.

  This ecstasy, this swooning feels dangerously close to love. No, you idiot, it’s just infatuation. Get a hold of yourself.

  August whimpered as her body alternated between thrills and chills. The knowledge that he was a were-lion, with all the power and strength that entailed, made blood pool in her groin. His masculine presence, like Jay’s, was slowly over powering and enveloping her.

  He broke the kiss. “Come on. How about the three of us enjoy the sunset?” He took her hand, leading her to the large green canvas daybed that, like the outdoor dining furniture, was arranged against the house.

  His gaze locked on hers. She swallowed, but the wine and Amarula had made her both light-headed and brave.

  Arlan clasped her shoulder. “You just sit down, enjoy the sunset. There are some trinkets that are supposed to help. Jay and I’ll go get them.”

  August nodded, rendered speechless by anticipation and lust that made her weak. She would relax; she would enjoy this for what it was. She would help them with the magic.

  She lay back on the daybed, glanced up at the sky and gasped. It had transformed from azure into a breathtaking explosion of burnt orange, vivid tangerine, gold and sienna. In her mind’s eye, she saw the two men with their shirts off, imagined what they would look like soon, the sunset on their healthy, perfect skin, light playing on every ripple of bronzed muscle. Arlan and Jay were intimidating when their shoulders were straining the seams of their shirts, but with their shirts off, they would loom much larger. Still, she trusted them. They might break her heart by not loving her, but they would never willingly or deliberately hurt her.