by Callie Rose
I wasn’t sure that was actually much of a vote of confidence, but it seemed to convince the director.
We were at zero hour, with just a few days to prepare for a massive battle, and that time would be much better spent actually preparing than arguing over which dangerous path to take.
Because the honest truth was, we were out of safe ones. We were out of easy options.
We talked to Director Price for several more hours, and other Custodians were called for and brought into the meeting. I met so many people that their names all started to bleed together in my head, but I tried to keep them straight—because these were people I would be fighting alongside, maybe dying alongside, in a few days’ time. It felt like I should at least know their names.
After we were finally released from the meeting, we were shown to another part of the large compound where they had temporary housing set up for Custodians in between jobs. We were each given our own rooms, but five minutes after our escort left, the guys all converged on my room, and we passed out in a tangle of limbs.
The next three days were a blur of planning, preparation, and trying to rest and recoup our energy as much as possible.
I had no idea what the Custodian headquarters was like on an average week, but now it seemed to buzz night and day with energy and activity, like an ant farm on steroids. We spent hours every day in strategy meetings and war councils, and between messages from Michael and the Custodian’s team of analysts, we managed to pinpoint a four-hour window in which we were fairly certain the attack would take place.
At first, the guys and Hannah and I got angry, suspicious looks when we walked down the hallways, but by the day before the attack, the glares had faded. Either people were too exhausted and scared to muster up the energy to hate us anymore, or they’d finally come to accept that we were really on their side.
We were all on humanity’s side.
On earth’s side.
On fucking decency’s side.
“Too bad it took this kind of massive threat to existence as we know it to get them to pull their heads out of their asses,” Jayce mused as we all trekked back to our quarters the night before the battle. A countdown clock had been erected in the main room of the Custodian’s large compound, and the numbers on it ticked steadily down, sliding past like sands in an hourglass. “But it does seem like things are changing around here a little. That Price lady is actually pretty badass.”
Kai snorted. I had a feeling it’d take a lot longer for him to change his tune about the Custodians than it had taken Jayce, who actively looked for the good in people—and found it a surprising amount of the time.
When we reached our quarters, Hannah gave me a hug and waved to the guys before slipping into her room.
I hesitated outside my own room, resting my hand on the doorknob as I glanced at the four men. My body unconsciously leaned toward them, trying to get closer to them, craving contact with them.
Kingston reached up and stroked a knuckle down the curve of my cheek, and a little shiver worked its way down my spine.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” I murmured, even as my vagina screamed in protest.
I wanted to drag them inside and fuck them all until none of us could move, but we would be fighting for our lives tomorrow, and I wanted them to be fresh and ready.
Sleep had been a little difficult to come by lately, since every time I closed my eyes, visions of dozens of possible outcomes of the battle swam through my head—most of them gruesome and none of them good. But I could at least let my men get some rest, right?
Jayce cracked a smile. “Good one, Pipes.”
“What?”
“He means, that’s a hilarious joke,” Kai put in, a bit of a growl entering his voice.
“Come on, Piper.” Xero stepped forward, taking my hand and brushing his thumb over the backs of my knuckles. “You don’t really think we’d let you sleep alone tonight, do you? The night before we face the biggest threat of our lives?”
“Oh.” I flushed, a little embarrassed. I felt like a battery that constantly needed recharging. “Right. You want me to be powered up for the fight.”
Kingston slid his hand down, gripping my chin between his thumb and fingers. His green eyes burned fiercely as he gazed at me.
“We want you to be strong, yeah. To have all the power you need. And we’ll be there to have your back in the fight no matter what. But that’s not why we want to stay. I for one want to stay because I want to spend the night with the woman I love.”
A wave of emotions hit me like a runaway train, and my breath caught in my throat as I looked up at him.
He hadn’t said those words to me until now. They had existed in the space between us, real and true despite being unspoken.
But now they had been spoken, and hearing them out loud felt like the sealing of a bond.
“I love you too,” I murmured, wondering why the hell it had taken me so long to tell him that. To tell all of them that.
If we make it through this alive, I won’t make that mistake again. I’ll tell them every single day, especially on the good days—especially on the days when I don’t think we might die. I’ll tell them just because. Because it’s true, and it’s worth celebrating.
Kingston’s smile beamed like a spotlight, and I blinked at the brightness of it before his lips found mine.
“I’m glad as hell to hear you say that, Pipes.” His voice was teasing, but there was a note of truth in it too. “I can’t really imagine my life without you in it anymore. I don’t fucking want to.”
“Come on,” Jayce said, and I was vaguely aware of the door opening behind me.
I was drawn inside by the four men, and as soon as the door shut behind us, my other three mates joined Kingston, surrounding me with hard, hot bodies. Jayce knelt to one side of me, using his low vantage point to tug off my pants, then running his hands up and down my legs, massaging the muscles of my calves, biting at the sensitive spot behind my knee, then trailing his tongue up my thigh and making goose bumps erupt on my skin.
Kai nudged Kingston out of the way, and in a testament to the bond the four men now shared too, my dragon shifter mate yielded his treasure to his friend, dropping his head to suck on my neck as Kai kissed me with ravenous hunger.
Xero tugged on my shirt, pulling it up and over my head when Kai and I broke apart for an instant. When Jayce rose to claim a kiss of his own, walking me backward toward the bed, the other three men quickly shucked their clothes too.
My hellhound mate settled me on the bed, draping his weight over me as he kissed me deeply. When he rolled off to get rid of his clothes too, I reached out eagerly for the men around me, brushing my fingertips over hard muscles and smooth flesh. I sat up to kiss Xero, losing myself in the free-falling sensation, and when I felt a warm body behind me, I sank into it.
Jayce held me propped up in his arms, my back to his chest, cradling me between his legs. He tugged me back until we were pressed flush together, and I could feel the hardness of his cock at my back.
“This is what we want,” he murmured into my ear as we looked at the three other men gathered around us. “It’s what we all want. You.”
“I want you too. All of you.”
Happiness and desire lit the faces of my bond-mates, and Jayce brushed my hair over one shoulder. He ran his lips up the curve of my ear, nuzzling against me and nipping at the soft shell.
“Hey, Pipes?” he whispered, his voice rough. “I love the fuck outta you.”
His words poured down my spine like warm honey, and I arched against him, grinding back against his hard-on as my chest rose higher into the air. All the men around us let out low noises of approval, gathering close as Jayce brought one large hand up to play with my breasts, sliding the other down across the plane of my stomach and over my mound before his fingers found my pussy.
He worked my clit skillfully, massaging it fast, then slow. Then his fingers delved lower, sliding through my folds.
“Open up for us, baby. Let them all see you.”
I did, opening my legs eagerly until they were resting against the insides of Jayce’s, giving all the men a perfect view of my dripping pussy. Jayce’s fingers continued to explore and tease me, spreading me open for all of them to see before pulsing a finger inside my channel.
When Xero crawled forward, lowering his head to run his tongue down my stomach, I sucked in a breath. I thought Jayce would pull his hand away, but he didn’t.
Instead, he kept touching me even as Xero’s mouth joined in.
The two of them worked together, communicating in some way I couldn’t identify, coordinating their movements as Jayce slid his fingers inside my core and Xero sucked on my clit—then switching, so that Xero fucked me with his stiffened tongue as Jayce’s fingers blurred on my clit, moving so fast it left me panting with need.
“Fuck. Oh, God, fuck!”
My hands flailed for something to grab on to as I rode Xero’s face and Jayce’s hand. They had teamed up with me plenty of times before, but this was new and so fucking delicious I was already writhing in their arms.
Kai caught one of my hands and held me steady, and Kingston gripped the other. My vampire mate caught my gaze, his own eyes shifting to the slits they became when he gave in to his craving for blood, to his fallen nature.
“Piper…”
The word was a question, and I jerked my head up and down in a nod. “Yes. Please, yes!”
His jaw clenched, but for once, he didn’t seem to fight his cravings. He didn’t hold back. His teeth extended, and he bit down on my wrist, letting my blood flow into his mouth. Pain flared, a shock that seemed to travel all the way through my body. But the pain only heightened the pleasure, and as Kingston brushed his lips up the line of my other arm, I gave myself completely to my mates, letting them carry me away in a rush of sensation.
The pain where Kai’s teeth had penetrated was already fading, replaced by the pure pleasure of feeling him drink from me.
It was a wholly different kind of pleasure than the feeling of Xero lapping at my clit, of Jayce tugging at my nipples as he teased my slick pussy with two fingers, or of Kingston peppering kisses across my collarbone.
But all of those sensations together were too much for one body to contain, and I hurtled over the edge of oblivion, crying out loudly as I came.
My body shook in their arms, but they all held me steady until the waves of sensation passed. Kai released my wrist, lapping up the remaining blood before kissing the unbroken skin.
“Xero,” I muttered, glancing at Kai. “Feed Xero.”
I knew they had done this a few times since the day Kai had saved Xero’s life, but I had never been present for it. I wanted to be. I wanted to see them share something I had only shared with Kai up until recently. I wanted to see that part of our bond.
Kai’s eyes flared, and Xero looked up at me, fire flashing in his irises. For a moment, I worried that I had overstepped with my request, that I’d asked for something they weren’t prepared to give. Then I took in their expressions more fully, and heat billowed through me like an untamed fire.
They weren’t mad.
They were turned the fuck on.
“I will.” Kai nodded. “While he takes you, I will.”
Oh, holy fucking Jesus.
I practically scrambled up, leaving the perfect comfort of Jayce’s arms only long enough to turn around and face him. I gave the blond hellhound a resounding kiss before pushing him back to rest on his elbows. Then I dropped my head to draw his cock into my mouth.
My elbows rested on the bed between Jayce’s thighs, which left my ass in the air right in front of Xero—and as I’d hoped, my fire demon got the hint. He gave a low groan, his large hands wrapping around my hips as he rose up onto his knees and came closer, sliding his cock between my thighs, which were already slick with arousal.
He didn’t tease me for long. As I bobbed my head up and down, taking as much of Jayce’s thick length into my mouth as I could, Xero slid into me from behind. My motion stuttered as my body reacted to the sudden intrusion, and I breathed hard through my nose as tingles spread through me, radiating from my core outward.
I renewed my efforts on Jayce as Xero began to fuck me, and I saw Kingston fisting his cock out of the corner of my eye. His lips were pressed together, and his movements were slow and deliberate, as if he couldn’t watch all of this and not touch himself—but at the same time, was determined not to come yet.
A different movement from my other side caught my attention, and when I shifted my gaze that way, I saw Kai bite down hard on his own wrist.
Xero’s thrusts became harder, deeper, and slower, his grip on my hips holding me steady. Saliva and precum dripped down Jayce’s cock as I took out all of my untamed desire on him, my head spinning and my clit throbbing.
“Oh, fuck, Pipes. You gotta see this. Fuck. Look.”
Jayce’s voice was thick, and he threaded his fingers in my hair, tugging gently to pull me off his cock. He used the grip to urge me to turn my head, and when I did, I nearly came on the spot. Kai had his wrist extended to Xero’s mouth, and the fire demon’s eyes were closed in ecstasy as he drank and fucked me at the same time.
The muscles of his neck stood out in corded lines as he swallowed over and over, and I swore I could feel his cock pulse in time to each long pull he gave to Kai’s wrist.
“Holy shit,” I whispered.
It was a quiet sound, but Xero’s eyes flew open as he heard me, and the sparks in his irises almost seemed to glow as he plunged into me harder and faster.
I could feel pleasure gathering low in my belly, and I turned back to Jayce, drawing his cock into my mouth again and letting Xero’s thrusts dictate the pace as I sucked and licked and bobbed my head.
When Xero slammed into me one last time, twisting his hips and grunting out his release, I dropped my head to take as much of Jayce as I could, swallowing around his cock and letting him feel the movement of my throat.
He came on a stream of shouted curses, and I swallowed again as his salty cum hit the back of my throat.
My whole body felt like it’d been wrung out, burned down and rebuilt, made new somehow. My limbs shook as I pressed up onto all fours, and Jayce leaned in to kiss me, tasting himself on my lips and tongue.
Xero slid out of me, and when he draped his upper body over mine to kiss me too, I could taste the coppery tang of Kai’s blood in his mouth.
“Kai,” I murmured when we broke apart. “Kingston. Please… I need…”
“We’ve got you. We’ve always got you.”
Even before Kingston finished speaking, all four of the men were lifting me, moving me, helping my limp body find theirs again. I ended up on my knees between the vampire and the dragon, and when Kingston dipped his fingers into my wetness and circled the ring of my ass, a thrill of anticipation went through me.
They sandwiched me between them, Kai in front and Kingston behind, all three of us on our knees. And as they teased me and tempted me, getting me ready to take both of them, the men on either side of me held me up, keeping me steady so I felt like I was literally floating between all of them. As if the bond we shared had overcome gravity itself.
“Are you ready, Piper? Ready for us?” Kingston finally murmured in my ear, and my emphatic nod made him chuckle.
He took my ass first, slipping just the head of his cock into my tight hole and working his way in with tiny, patient thrusts as the other three men pushed my body higher and higher toward the peak of pleasure.
When he was fully rooted inside me, Kai kissed me deeply, cupping my face in his hands as if I were an object too precious to risk breaking. Then he slid inside my soaked pussy, filling me up until I thought I might burst.
They began to move, holding me between them, kissing my face, my lips, my neck, my shoulder.
My toes curled into the sheets and I bit my lip as they found a rhythm, one sliding in while the other slid out, over
and over, pleasure and just a hint of pain combining into something indescribable.
I could tell when they were close, because the pauses in between their strokes grew shorter and shorter, until they were both fucking me hard and fast. My whole body locked up, my muscles going rigid as I came with them both buried inside me.
Kai let out a thick groan and followed me over the edge, and a moment later, Kingston pulsed inside me. The three of us clung to each other, our bodies pressed so tightly together that I felt like we might never separate, as waves of sensation passed back and forth between us like a shared current.
When my muscles began to relax, they didn’t stop. I felt like I was melting, turning boneless, and Jayce chuckled as he and Xero held me up, allowing the other two men to pull out of me.
I settled into his arms, and he pulled me close as the others all collapsed beside us, all of them touching me somehow, all of us slick with sweat and arousal.
My heart banged against my ribs, each beat sending a rush of blood through my ears. My eyelids were already drooping, but I forced them open, craning my neck to look at all four of my bond-mates.
“I love you,” I murmured.
Four contented voices echoed the words back to me, and I nestled deeper into the comfort of their embrace.
I never would’ve thought I’d say this, but that damn piece of rebar was the best thing that ever happened to me.
The universe had given me an incredible gift when it had bonded me to these four men. And I would fight whoever and whatever I had to in order to keep them by my side.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
You know that feeling when you’re waiting to go into battle against an evil lord of the underworld and you can’t decide whether you want to pass out or throw up first?
Yeah, I didn’t either.
Until now.
As we all gathered in the main room of the Custodian headquarters early the next morning, my knees were literally knocking together. I locked them out quickly, hoping that no one would be able to tell.
