“Storeen.”
Bat stirred, freed from whatever it was that held her immobile. She blinked again, and Dub’s face came into focus, bent over her. There were dark smudges under his bright blue eyes, and a dark stubble dusted his jaw. A lock of hair fell over his brow, and she reached up to push it aside.
It fell right back into a mocking curl that ended just above his left eye.
“Are ya all right then?” He frowned, one of the ones that showed concern.
“I am now,” she reassured him. “What are you doing in here?”
He stood and stepped back from the bed, crossing his arms. “I don’t need to be Mell to know that you are lying to me.”
Had she been lying? She pushed herself up and scooched back, propping her back against the pillows and tugging the blankets up with her. She wasn’t naked—she wore an old t-shirt of Shar’s. The fabric was worn to the perfect softness, but it was a bit thin. As much progress as she’d made with the brothers, and as much as she reveled in their touches, now didn’t seem the appropriate time to flaunt her charms. Not when Dub was exhausted and beginning to interrogate her. She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them. “Where is Mell?”
He sat on the edge of the bed. “Sleeping. As is everyone else, and as you should have been.” His eyes narrowed. “But you weren’t. What happened? When I entered, your eyes were open, and they swirled with shadows I would normally associate with the sluagh.”
There were the shadows again. She tilted her head. “Are there fae who deal in dreams?”
“Some. The Fir Dearg are known to cause nightmares for the fun of it, much as pookas enjoy a small spot of vandalism every now and then.”
“Liam? Really?” The pooka had come in the other day, a tall and thin woman beside him, and they’d appeared alternately sinister and content. He’d found his love. She’d helped with that, and it warmed her to remember.
“Ye’re avoiding this conversation. Why?”
She patted the bed next to her. “Because it is not an easy one for me to have, and I would prefer to do it once, when everyone is here. It is not urgent enough to wake them, not now. And because you are exhausted. If everyone else is sleeping, why aren’t you?”
He searched her face. “Where is Killer? He should be here, with you.”
Dub wasn’t going to let this go. “He decided to stay with Mell tonight.” It had been a bit strange, but she hadn’t thought anything of it at the time, as her pup would occasionally sleep with one or another of the brothers.
She bolted upright as Dub stood and headed for the door. What if she wasn’t the only one Balor had gone after tonight? Throwing aside the blankets, she headed after him and down the hall to the room he and Mell were supposed to be sharing.
Mell lay on the edge of the bed, one hand flung above his head and the other buried in the ruff of Killer’s neck. He didn’t stir as light from the hall slashed across his face. Killer lifted his head and let out a low whoof, as though to say see, I got this.
Dub backed out of the doorway, nudging Bat back into the hall, and shut the door. “He’s fine.” There was a wealth of emotion in his voice, but the only one Bat could pick out was frustration. He turned and pinned her in place with a glare to rival Bastet’s when Anubis was toying with the cat. “You are not sleeping alone.”
This was not a statement she wanted to argue with.
Grabbing her hand, Dub hauled her back to her room. “Get back in the bed.”
She nodded and climbed up. Dub let out a low sound, and she twisted, suddenly aware of the position she was in—on her hands and knees, butt up and facing a healthy, if tired, male. The thin shirt she wore did nothing to disguise the roundness of her flesh. She had at least worn underwear.
“Ye’re trying ta kill me, ya are.” Dub took a step toward her, his hands curled into fists.
She stayed as she was, casting a teasing gaze at the not-man. She’d always thought he was attractive, from her first glimpse of those fierce eyes and the stubble along his jaw. She was finally ready to give in to that attraction. She wanted to explore the tattoos she had only been able to sneak glimpses of. She wanted to skim her hand along the column of his throat and lower, to feel the involuntary flexing of his muscles as she ran her nails over his skin.
“Come here,” she said. Someone needed to take the next step forward in this relationship. And someone had to be first in her bed, or they were right back in the same predicament. In this, she would choose.
Dub crossed his arms. “What are ya doing?”
She wiggled her ass and watched as his lips parted. “Seducing you?”
His frown eased. “And this is seducing?”
Her gaze dropped to his trousers, and the growing erection at his groin. “It does seem to be working.”
“You breathing works.”
She smiled. Those were not the most romantic words she’d heard, especially uttered in that disgruntled tone, but they were his truth.
So they were beautiful to her.
The smile widened to a grin, and she laughed, dropping and rolling to her back. She held out her arms to this not-man who had a million different scowls and frowns and only a few smiles.
He gifted her with one and took a step toward her before stopping again. “Ye’re sure? I’ll no be going back to how we were after this, even if the others change their minds.”
She raised a brow but didn’t drop her arms. “I have already made a decision about that. If the others change their minds, then this stops. All of it. So you had best ensure they do not change.”
He shrugged and gripped the bottom of his sweater, pulling it up a few inches.
Her breath caught.
He raised it to just above his navel, revealing a stretch of muscled abdomen and golden flesh. “I can’t change yer mind about that one?”
She tore her gaze from that flesh and up to his lapis-gaze. “My arms are getting tired.” She lowered the limbs in question and crossed them under her breasts, pressing the flesh together under the t-shirt. Dub’s eyes dropped. “I am here, and ready, a goddess offering herself to you, and you would argue?”
He stripped off the sweater. “I am not quite such a fool as that.”
Then he was over her, his head bent to capture her lips in a kiss that echoed the first one he’d ever given her. The sheer heat of it took her breath as his tongue slipped into her mouth and his lips devoured her. The shock and heat and need that he’d evoked the day of Dano’s murder was back, but under it was something new. Something she had never experienced while lying with a man.
Trust.
She did trust him, she realized as she returned the kiss, her hands clutching at his shoulders and her nails digging into the muscles there. She didn’t want him pulling back, not now that he was finally here.
This moment had been building for two-and-a-half months.
Finally. That was all she could think as he pulled his lips from her and pressed open kisses along her neck and down to her collarbone. Her heart pounded as blood rushed to her sex. The flesh there grew slick in anticipation.
Her hands skimmed down his back and around his waist, to find the fastener of his trousers. With a twist and a tug, she had the button undone and the zipper down. Slipping her hand inside, she found bare flesh.
“No underwear?” How would she get through her days, now, imagining him bare beneath one thin barrier of cloth?
He thrust into the warmth of her hand, the motion quickly stilled, as though he hadn’t been able to help himself. “Forgot to pack any,” he ground out. He pulled away and jumped from the bed, toeing off his shoes and stripping off his pants in motions so quick they were a blur to her eyes. Cloth ripped and he groaned, this time in a different frustration. “Fuck it,” he muttered. “I’ll make the pixies fix them.”
Then he was back over her, his hands slipping under her shirt and pushing it up to reveal her breasts to his gaze. She arched her back, inviting his touch, and he did not disappoint.
P
ropping himself on one elbow, he gathered the flesh of her left breast in his other hand. “Do you know how long I’ve been longing to touch you like this?”
She let out a playful laugh as she pressed against his palm, seeking a friction he had yet to give her. She needed the sensation, craved it. “Probably as long as I have wanted you to touch me.”
His hand slid down then back up and over her nipple, the calluses of his palm teasing the sensitive nub. “We were idiots, weren’t we?” He continued this for a moment more, then gripped her breast in a hold just this side of too tight and bent his head to take her nipple in his mouth.
She sucked in a breath. What had he said? Idiots. Right. “Yes. Idiot. All idiots.”
He chuckled, the deep sound vibrating through her. He pulled his mouth away.
“No,” she said, her breath leaving her. “Go back.” Was she begging? Just from this small touch? Goddesses should not beg.
When he didn’t comply right away, she sought his gaze. His lapis-eyes were bright, burning with desire, the pupils wide. “I canna go slow, no this time.” His brogue had deepened. “But I’ll be careful of ya, storeen. So, so careful of ya. I’ll no hurt ya, I promise.”
“Do not,” she said, pulling her arms from his shoulders. “Do not go slow.” She gripped her shirt and tugged it up until it caught under her chin. “Bollix.”
He let out a sound that may have been a groan, may have been a chuckle, and may have been something in between. “Are ya wanting this off then?” The hand at her breast disappeared, and then her shirt was gone.
“And these are well,” she said, lifting her hips.
He hooked his fingers into her panties and pulled them down her legs in one swift move. “Now, where were we?”
She slipped her arm back around his shoulders, the heat of his skin radiating into her and filling that hollow place. “I was telling you to not go slow.” She nipped his lower lip, putting a bit of bite into it. “I do not need gentle.” Raising a brow, she sent him a slow, sly smile. “Goddess, remember?”
He captured her lips once more and grabbed her thigh, pulling her leg up and over his hip. She pulled up her other knee, letting her leg fall wide to allow him access to all of her. She could feel the slickness between her thighs.
She was more than ready for this.
He shifted up, finding her entrance. The tip of his shaft hovered at her opening for a few moments, teasing in slow circles. She dug her nails into his tattooed shoulders, and with a grunt he pushed home in one long stroke.
She lifted her other leg and locked her heels together, holding him to her just like that. He filled her. Not just with flesh, but with warmth. With acceptance, with longing, and joy and… and…
And love. She finally admitted it to herself. She did love them. And she’d been too much of a coward to face up to it fully.
Because if she loved first, and they changed their minds… where did that leave her?
His forehead dropped to hers. “I canna…”
Pulling herself up, she dropped a kiss on his shoulder. Then she allowed his to pull away a few inches. He thrust, and she met his movement. Again he moved, and she met him each time. They set up a rhythm, and their words died away. The only sounds were flesh on flesh, and the rush of her breath mingling with the gust of his. Their skin grew slick with sweat, and her nails dug into his back once more, and anchor for the now pounding thrust of his cock into her.
It had been a long time for her, but she knew these sensations, this thrill. There were memories of flesh meeting flesh, of falling into a person so deep it was as though you were the same being.
But it had never been like this. Because she had never loved like this before. And this… This she wanted to never end.
So, she held him to her, gave of herself, as they lost themselves together. When his movement began to lose their steadiness, and she knew he was close, she angled her hips down, putting more pressure on the flash over her clit. She would come with him, and they would find their release together.
Yes, it had been a very long time for her, but she was no stranger to sacrifices of this kind. She smiled as the fluttering started in her womb. Almost there…
He thrust again.
Almost…
Sliding her hands up, she buried them in his hair and gripped, pulling his head back to that his throat was exposed to her. Locking her gaze with his, she whispered, “Now.”
His eyes widened and went dark. He froze.
Then with one last thrust that sent them both into the headboard, he released inside her as her channel clenched around him, the wave of her climax spreading in a small explosion through her body.
They remained locked together, limbs wrapped around each other for one long minute. Then Dub sagged against her, his weight pressing her into the mattress. He laid a gentle kiss against her throat. “Thank you,” he whispered.
Power surged into her. This had been a supplication, and a sacrifice. She had granted this not-man a part of herself, and in return, she had received so much more.
Her arms tightened around him once more. A few minutes. Just a few more minutes like this. Then they would rise, and clean themselves, and sleep.
But just a few more moments would harm none.
A pinprick hole in her soul closed as her eyes dipped shut. Dub rolled over, taking her with him, and she lay draped across his side. One of his hands skimmed down her side and settled on the flesh of her hip, lightly kneading it.
Bat lay her head on his shoulder, her leg draped over his, and nestled into his side. One of her hands rested on his chest, and she studied the tattoos there. The swirls and tangles and knots there were so intrinsic in the Celtic style fascinated her. She lifted her hand and traced a finger along one particular spiral that wound along his upper chest. Then she moved down to play with his nipple.
She loved the nipples on a man. They were so… purposeless. They were there simply to tease, as a pure delight.
“Stop that.” Dub’s voice rumbled through her.
“Why?”
“Because I am exhausted.” His words slurred.
She lifted her head. His eyes were closed, but a small smile graced his lips. They were so rare, those smiles. Another of those pesky holes sealed.
The dark circles under his eyes had become near purple. She should let him rest. “I am going to shower.”
His eyes shot open. “Not alone.”
Her heart pounded and heat began to gather in her groin. “I thought you were tired?”
He raised a brow and grinned.
Eventually, they did sleep.
Chapter Sixteen
Dearest Bastet,
I really am worried for you now. I hinted at sex, and you did not reply.
Once I am done with the craziness of attempting to stop the return of an evil that should have been taken care of more than a millennium ago, I am packing up my immortals and my puppy, and we are tracking you down.
I am not used to this. You are not something I normally need to worry over. So cease.
- Bat, the goddess you are causing to worry
BAT
Similar to the first morning Bat had woken in her room at the pub, she stretched under the thick comforter that the brothers had made sure was in her room at the cottage. Or, she tried to. Something was different, though. An arm was wrapped around her middle, and her feet were trapped between two strong legs. And the legs were very warm. She scrunched her toes and enjoyed the sensation of being held as the night before came back to her.
Finally. The word echoed in her mind once more. Finally.
Then her stomach clenched, and not in the delicious way it had when Dub’s fingers worked their magic. What would the others say?
It was a pointless worry, of course. They’d all agreed. But now that she’d moved forward with one of the men, would their reactions be different than when they’d only contemplated the idea? What about Shar? He’d already admitted that he’d have some trouble seei
ng her with others.
A swift knock sounded and the door swung open, revealing Mell with a breakfast tray piled high with eggs, bacon and… pancakes! Mell had only made them one other time, the morning after she’d agreed to stay, saying they were only for special occasions. They were different from others she’d tried, thin, sprinkled with powdered sugar and lemon. He also added a little orange in the middle, not too much, but the flavor was delightful paired with whiskey-tea. She pulled in a breath of tart sweetness and savory bacon.
Mell chuckled. “I knew the pancakes would distract you.” He gave her a warm smile and a tendril of contentment reached her. Under it was a suppressed excitement. He bounced a little on his feet then stepped into the room.
She once again tried to sit up, and Dub tightened his hold, turning her into him. Her breasts pressed to his chest and only then did she realize she was naked. She’d slept the night through with no clothes on and wasn’t cold. The damned not-man was better than a radiator. She snuggled into him, forgetting Mell for a moment. Dub let out a rumbling sigh and shifted, releasing her feet from between his calves and pressing his morning erection to the softness of her hip.
“Hey now, none of that with the kids in the room.” Mell plopped onto the foot of the bed and grinned at them.
Dub groaned in frustration and half-pulled her under him. “Go away.”
“No can do. The bomen are here, and we need the goddess up and fed and looking not quite so sexily disheveled.”
Bat freed an arm and patted Dub on the shoulder. “As much as I am loving this moment, Mell is correct. And I should put on clothes before too many more people come looking for us.”
“Well now, don’t bother on my account.” Finn’s amused voice came from the doorway.
Shoving Dub’s shoulder and craning her neck to the side, Bat could just make out a grinning Finn in the doorway. His smile matched Mell’s, and she returned it with one of her own, knowing she probably looked like Bastet after a particularly satisfying hunt.
Shadows shifted just behind Finn, and Shar came into view. He frowned, but it was… thoughtful. When he caught her gaze, his lips quirked and he shrugged, as if to say “well there you go.” It wasn’t quite happiness, but he wasn’t upset.
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