Healed Hearts

by Tamsin Baker

  “Piers, you have punished us for long enough. No more lovers that aren’t good enough for you. No more withholding from us. Tonight, we will give you so much pleasure you will never leave us again...”

  Thomas’ voice broke on the last word, and he swallowed obviously, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.

  A single tear slid down Piers’ cheek, undone by his mate’s words.

  He hadn’t realized how much he had hurt them, withdrawing as he had. He had only known his own pain, his own feelings of inadequacy. Punishing them had felt like his only recourse at the time.

  He had known nothing else.

  So, for the remaining hour they had before sunrise, they set about torturing him in the best possible way. Luc and Tommy brought him to the brink over and over again, with their hands and their mouths. They took turns holding him down and loving his nipples, his cock, his lips. Every time he got close to screaming, his mates would stop, soothe him, kiss him, bring him down from the pinnacle.

  He had never known such pleasure, or such pain. He thought they would never stop.

  At last they asked him to get up.

  On legs that shook, he staggered over to where Thomas sat in the chair. Piers’ cock was red and swollen, his balls so tight it felt like they would explode if they were so much as caressed again.

  “Please, Tommy.”

  Tommy made a motion with his finger. “Turn around and sit on my cock. It is time you remembered how good it feels to have us both.”

  Piers turned quickly and lowered himself down onto Thomas’ thick, hard cock. Relief coursed through him as he was once again filled with his mate’s body.

  He moaned and threw his head back onto Tommy’s shoulder as his well-used body greedily gripped him. Tommy squeezed both of his hands and intertwined their fingers, the powerful connection between them sparking a river of fire.

  Piers began to move, riding his lover so that Thomas’ cock pressed against all the pleasure buttons in his body.

  Warm, wet heat enveloped his cock, and he opened his eyes to see Luc on his knees before him.

  Luc looked up and took one of his hands from Tommy so that they were now linked. All three of them, as it should be.

  “Come for us, lover,” Tommy whispered into his ear.

  Piers moved faster on the cock that impaled him, gripped Luc’s hand, and screamed as his long-awaited orgasm ripped through him.

  Pleasure so intense it bordered on pain pulsed along every vein. Luc sucked him the whole time through the spasms and he cried out, over and over again.

  Piers fell back onto Tommy, whose huge, strong arms enfolded him as he shook with the pleasure of it all.

  Too weak to move, his mates carried him into their room and lay him down on their bed. They climbed up next to him and cuddled around him, the heat of their bodies providing a cocoon for his sleep.

  “Why don’t I remember it being this good?” Piers asked his mates sleepily as his eyes slid shut. Every single cell in his body was satisfied, and he wasn’t sure how it was possible to be this happy.

  Lucas chuckled and kissed him on the forehead. “Because you fought us from the start, my love. We are meant to be together, now and forever. But if we need a fourth, then we will find her. Now, you have sweet dreams. Tomorrow, our lives change forever.”

  Piers smiled and turned his head towards his other lover.

  “Good night, Tommy.”

  Thomas kissed him gently on the lips, and as one, they slept the best day’s sleep they’d had in years.

  Chapter Three

  Their daytime rest was the best sleep Lucas could remember ever having in his three-hundred years. He woke up rested, happy, and hopeful of what their future would be.

  Lady Abigail had kindly sent a messenger over to their home whilst they slept, with everything she knew about Lady Maryanne’s planned travel and current location.

  They followed Abigail’s directions and travelled the road out of London. They hid on the boat that sailed to Scotland but saw no-one along the road who even remotely looked like the woman they dreamt of.

  They had to hide during the daytime, but managed to get by through force of will.

  When they stopped at the last town before her betrothed’s castle, they knew they had found her. A sweet scent, similar to rosewater, drifted up into their senses and Lucas could barely stop himself from falling to his knees with relief.

  It was a smell that could only belong to their fourth, and it was thick in the air.

  Following their instincts, they entered the small, crowded tavern. The walls were bare wood, the fire crackling, and the ruckus of the people inside could be heard from the street.

  But what they could all sense was her. Her heat, her presence. Their hearts cried out for her nearness, and they groaned as a group.

  They had found her. At last.

  “How are we going to do this?” Piers whispered to him.

  Lucas clenched his teeth against the wave of blood lust filling him at the thought of touching Maryanne. If she smelt to them like Piers once had, he would barely be able to control himself from drinking from her on sight.

  That would not bode well for their future, and he’d learnt his lesson with Piers.

  “We are going to introduce ourselves and hope that she understands how important it is that she comes with us.”

  Thomas nodded in agreement, but Piers’ eyebrows were drawn together with worry. Lucas paid for a room for them to share and strode ahead, up the stairs.

  Once on the top floor, they found Maryanne’s room with no trouble. Her scent drifted out under the door so strongly that all three of them stopped, fangs exposed.

  Piers stared at them, awestruck.

  “Oh my God! Is that how I smelt to you both?”

  Lucas nodded, unable to speak as his body vibrated with need and a hunger he could barely control.

  He called on the hundreds of years of restraint he’d taught himself to force his fangs back inside his mouth. It was not easy, as part of him wanted to break open the door and feed on her without her permission.

  It was illogical and barbaric, but such was the pull of his mate.

  “Can you get yours to retract, Piers?”

  Piers frowned in concentration and shook his head. He was too young and had rarely been asked to control himself, another of the shortcomings they had not corrected.

  “Then perhaps you should wait here?”

  Panic crossed Piers’ face at the idea of being left behind, and he closed his eyes. Very slowly his fangs retracted, and Lucas smiled in approval at their mate. Not bad for a ten-year-old vampire.

  “Try not to breathe around her if you can.”

  Piers merely nodded, and Lucas turned to Thomas, his long-time lover and mate.

  “You are ready?”

  Thomas grinned with his characteristic charm. “I was born for this.”

  A bubble of laughter boiled up in Lucas’ belly but he pushed it down, knowing it to be absurd. He knocked on the door in front of him.

  They had all been born for this.

  “Yes?” a woman’s voice called through the door.

  “May we speak with Lady Maryanne Goddard?”

  The woman, whom they assumed was Maryanne, stepped closer to the door. “Please come back in the morning.”

  Considering that request was impossible, Lucas looked at Thomas for guidance. What could they say to make her open the door?

  Thomas nodded and took over. “We have a message from Lady Abigail Tonnington that must be given to you tonight.”

  The fear Lucas had been feeling multiplied, as did his excitement. This was going to be the most spectacular moment of his existence.

  A scraping, a bang, and the door was opened.

  Fuck, she is even more beautiful than we dreamed. Spectacular green eyes, full cheeks, and perfectly shaped pink lips.

  They all bowed for longer than was necessary as they needed the extra time. Even Lucas had to force his f
angs to retract once again. He assumed without looking that so did his mates.

  “May we come in?”

  Maryanne looked at them like they were insane. Her red hair had been taken down, brushed to glistening health and then tied loosely over her shoulder. She looked so young, fresh and lovely.

  “No, you may not. Give me the message now, please.”

  Lucas frowned. She sounded wounded and angry. Why was that? “We mean you no harm, Miss Goddard. We only wish to speak with you.”

  She huffed, and her lips turned down, heralding a turn in her temper. “Yes, you three and every other man who has heard of my ruin. I am not a whore.”

  With that confusing statement, she slammed the door in their faces.

  Thomas turned to Lucas, his brown eyes pained and his eyebrows narrowed.

  “I don’t understand.”

  Lucas shook his head. He didn’t understand either. She was in pain, and they had not helped.

  When he looked at Piers, their mate did not have a confused look on his face. His fangs were down, his pupils were dilated and he literally licked his lips.

  “Did you smell her...?”

  Thomas and he laughed and pulled Piers to their room.

  Once inside they came together in a hurry. Hard cocks, wet mouths, empty bodies. It was over in minutes.

  Afterwards they lay together panting, and Thomas turned to him.

  “That was even hotter and quicker than our fuck after we smelled Piers for the first time.”

  Lucas laughed in remembrance, and Piers lifted his head from its place on Lucas’ chest.

  “Pardon me?”

  Lucas chuckled again and stroked his mate’s sweaty hair back from his forehead.

  “After we met you and you denied wanting us, Thomas and I went home and had the most amazing fuck. One of our best, up to that time. But now that we have you, nothing compares to the times before.”

  Thomas reached over and stroked down Piers’ back.

  “It’s true.”

  Piers smiled and looked content for one of the only moments Lucas had ever witnessed. Then he put his head back down with a sigh.

  “So, what are we going to do about our lovely lady next door?”

  Lucas began a rhythmic stroking of Piers’ back. After not being able to touch Piers for so long, he couldn’t get enough of him now.

  “We are going to jump into her window once we are clean, and talk to her.”

  Piers laughed and got to his feet. “You know she’ll think we are insane, Luc?”

  Lucas stared at his mate in shock. Piers had called him Luc and Thomas, Tommy, in the beginning of their relationship. When they had been insane in love and he believed they were all meant to be together.

  Last night Piers had used it during their amazing lovemaking, but Lucas had not thought the nicknames would continue.

  It meant that Piers was happy.

  Lucas cleared his throat and tried not to look at Thomas. He knew that if he looked at Thomas, he would see the same shock, wonder and love mirrored there that he felt.

  “I know she will, but do not worry about that yet. Let us wash and dress so we don’t smell like seed. That is not the first impression we want to make.”

  They used the warm water left for them by the maid and dressed quickly.

  Nervous flutters kept crossing Lucas’ belly. He couldn’t stifle them. Were their days of waiting really over?

  He could handle the ache. The terrible hole that being incomplete left inside him. But he hated knowing that the men he loved felt the same pain. That was the one thing he couldn’t bear.

  What would it even feel like to be whole?

  One-by-one, they jumped out of their two-storey window and walked the few feet to Maryanne’s window. Lucas looked up at whatever deity was looking over them, and prayed it was open.

  He would open it no matter what, but it would make more noise and a lot of mess if she’d locked it.

  Lucas jumped and pushed at the wooden frame. It slid up effortlessly. Relief assailed him as he stepped into the warm room. Thomas and Piers followed close behind.

  These were the moments he was glad for his super-strength, speed and stealth-like movements.

  Maryanne was asleep in her bed, her red hair unbound and spread across the pillows like a sunset. Her perfect skin appeared so tempting in the firelight, like spun silk.

  Piers groaned next to him. “Luc, I want her so badly. I can’t believe how good she smells.”

  Lucas indicated to a chair by the fire. “Sit there for a moment. It will help.”

  Piers’ muscles bunched in his shoulders as he grew furious at being told to retreat, but he moved stiffly over to the chair. Lucas sensed the blood-lust, but also the arousal in Piers. Thank God they had relieved some of their tension or he would never be able to be so close to her with such tight restraint.

  A log in the fire crackled and popped.

  Maryanne woke up with a start. “Oh my God!”

  She sat bolt upright. Her mouth opened in shock, her green eyes wide.

  Lucas held up his hands in entreaty.

  Please let her understand.

  “We wish you no harm, my lady. We simply needed to talk to you.”

  “In the middle of the night?” Maryanne squeaked at him.

  He smiled at her. Was it best to tell her the truth immediately? Probably. “My name is Lucas. This is Thomas, and Piers is sitting by the fire.”

  Maryanne nodded as she looked at each of them in turn. But fear was still wafting off her, and Lucas hated that. He didn’t want her scared of them, and his stomach churned in fear at the idea of repulsing her.

  “We are vampires, so you will only ever see us at night.”

  Maryanne stared at him for a moment, her eyes widening comically. Then she laughed, the tone strained as though she was not amused. “You can’t fool me. Vampires? Those fantastical blood-drinking demons I’ve read about? What a joke.”

  Her response was not unexpected.

  It took no effort at all to give her proof, as Lucas released the tight grip on his control and his fangs extended down and over his bottom lip.

  Maryanne gasped and pulled her covers up to her neck, her eyes going incredibly wide. “Are you here to bite me?”

  Lucas heard Piers’ subtle growl behind him and moved to block Maryanne’s view of him. He knew Piers, and that groan was one of pure hunger.

  He needed to speak faster before Piers ruined it for all of them.

  “We have come to meet you only, but I feel we should be honest. You are our intended mate. We know this from your scent, and we have also all dreamt of you. When we described you to Lady Abigail, she knew who you were instantly. She directed us to find you.”

  Maryanne gasped, her green eyes filling with shimmering tears. “This is a horrible joke.”

  To his horror, two fat tears rolled down Maryanne’s cheeks.

  The mattress dipped under his weight as Lucas flew to her side and sat on the bed. He knew he was a large man and many found him intimidating, but she didn’t pull away as he wiped the tears from her beautiful face.

  “No, it is no joke. You are our intended. We will love you and protect you for eternity if you choose to accept us. No one will ever hurt you again.”

  Lucas pulled back his hand as he watched Maryanne’s mood change abruptly. Her eyes narrowed. Her body stiffened, and she began sending angry puffs of steam out at him.

  He moved off the bed completely and took two steps back.

  They said red-heads had a temper... but...

  She slid from the bed and pointed to the door and hissed, “Get out.”

  Thomas stepped forward, his hands outstretched to her. “No, please. We need to explain further to help you understand. We mean you no harm. Just the opposite, in fact.”

  Anger was rolling off Maryanne now in waves. Lucas felt sick from the empathy of tapping in to her feelings.

  “No, I don’t want to hear any more about lifel
ong mates. There are three of you, for God’s sake!”

  Piers now flew to her side. Their third, their smallest and least intimidating mate, grabbed for her hand. “We need you, Lady Maryanne. You don’t understand how much we need you.”

  She gasped and pulled her hand out of his grasp. Piers moaned like a wounded animal, so Lucas grabbed him and pulled Piers into his embrace.

  Maryanne was panting now, her chest heaving as she struggled to contain the emotions they had obviously evoked in her. She moved back towards her bed.

  “I understand that the only thing I am now good for is to be married off to some stranger. My horrible parents certainly do not want me. I have been humiliated enough by society, gentlemen. I don’t need anyone to remind me of my tainted state!”

  Lucas froze, his arms still wrapped around Piers. What was she saying? Was this what Lady Abigail had meant?

  When they didn’t move as Maryanne had demanded, she screamed, “Get out!”

  Lucas nodded at Thomas, and together they pulled Piers out into the hallway, locked her door and retreated to their room.

  Heart thumping like a runaway horse and grief assailing him like an ice storm, Lucas slid down onto the floor next to the slumped Piers.

  “She ... I ...”

  Piers’ entire body shook as he tried to communicate what they were all feeling. Lucas pulled his young mate into his arms. How could it have gone so badly?

  “We will convince her. We will. We have time, Piers. I love you. Do not give up.”

  Piers buried his head into Lucas’ neck and reached out a hand to Thomas. Thomas came readily, and together they spent the rest of the night on the floor, locked in each other’s arms.

  JUST BEFORE SUNRISE, Lucas woke Maryanne yet again, and she rolled her eyes at him as though she was bored of him already.

  “We must hide for the daylight hours, but we will visit you tonight.”

  Maryanne closed her eyes but not before Lucas saw the tears shimmering there. What had happened to her to make her react this way? They would find out, and they would fix it.

  He knelt down next to the bed and put his lips close to her ear. His fangs elongated with hunger as he inhaled her scent, but he focused his mind on wooing her.