Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Imogen

If you'd told me I'd enjoy being bitten before meeting my mates, I would've laughed. It sounded hot on the page, but in reality? Apparently it was so, so much better. When Kyle held me close, all I could smell, feel, and hear was him. His ragged breaths, his lips pressed against my neck, kissing his way down until I made a little whimpering sound, making clear what I wanted. He sucked in a breath and then he struck.

I thought it was just sex that made it feel so good, but that was not the case. The second his fangs sank into me, I was moving against Kyle. Rubbing myself against his thigh, trying to get some kind of rhythm going that matched the rapid flutter of my heartbeat, but that spell was broken when I heard Asher call Lucas' name. My eyelids felt heavy, welded together, but I wrenched them apart in time to see my other mate walk out the door. For a moment I could only stare, unable to work out why that would happen when I heard his reply.

"Just… give me a moment."

I only read MF romance, so negotiating more than one mate was something I was unprepared for, though it wasn't hard to put two and two together. I looked back at the boxes, then pulled free of Kyle, crawling towards them.

"Who bought me the books?" I asked.

"What?"

Kyle stared in incomprehension and I felt a pang of guilt. That was the vibe for this afternoon apparently.

"Who bought all these books?" I opened one box then another, so many more than what I asked for stuffed in there. It made sense that they'd bought so many book cases because there were hundreds, if not thousands, of books inside.

"Luc—"

"Lucas did." I scrambled to my feet but stopped, feeling like I was torn in two different directions. "Lucas did all this for me."

"I helped," Kyle said, then his face fell. "Oh."

"This was his grand gesture." We all turned to see Asher standing in the doorway. "This was his attempt to make you feel happy and secure here, Imogen. I was working to keep you safe. Kyle was trying to keep your spirits up, but?—"

"Lucas was making a space for me."

I made for the doorway, but Asher only moved aside a little.

"And where are you off to?"

"To make it up to him. To let him know how much I appreciate everything he's done. To tell him…" My throat worked but no sound came out. "To tell him…"

"That he's enough," Asher finished for me as he stepped aside. "Go. He'll be in his room."

"Wait…"

I felt bad leaving Kyle behind, but I reached out and touched his mind, trying to show him everything I was thinking, feeling.

You need him the most right now , he said carefully down the link.

I need all of you, always . Somehow the mate bond made it so much easier to admit. Why pretend if someone could see straight into your soul? All of you, at all times.

That's something a man never gets sick of hearing. Kyle's voice was like a warm hug inside my head and knowing it'd always be there helped settle something within me as I ran down the stairs.

"Everything OK?" Ursula asked as she caught sight of me.

"Lucas? Have you seen Lucas?"

"He went?—"

Her reply was cut off as I followed the direction her finger pointed in and then I moved. Weaving between groups of people, walking past open doors filled with women and children, but not my mate, until I heard the muffled sound of heavy metal music playing at top volume behind one door.

"Lucas?" I knocked sharply on the door. "Luc?" My hand worked the handle, but it didn't budge. "Lu…"

My voice trailed away as the door was jerked open and in the darkness stood a now shirtless Luc. His chest heaved, brownish fur forming and then fading away as he stared at me, his eyes molten gold as his fangs bared.

"Imogen." The bear was talking, not the man. "You need to step away."

"Can't do that, big guy."

"Imogen—"

"You see this guy, he bought me a library and you know what happens to little girls that watch Beauty and the Beast?" He shook his head slowly, his face partially transforming before returning back to its human form. "They grow up to be women with lady boners for libraries and the monsters that lurk within them." I took a tentative step forward and watched his muscles twitch with the effort of holding himself back. "You found all those books for me, Lucas."

"That's what you needed," he growled.

"Do you have any idea what it's like to know that there's someone…?" I glanced left to see the rest of my mates arriving. "Someone who'll always prioritise what I need. That will listen and care rather than smirk and dismiss me. That makes me feel seen." I grabbed Luc's hand, no, his claw, and held it tight. "You gave me all that and more with that library. I love it, Lucas. I love…"

I stepped over his threshold, but it felt like I was doing more than that. Shedding the me that had been and replacing her with someone else. An Imogen who had never been hurt, had no wounds to mend, was complete and whole in herself and because of that, she could offer that soul to another.

"I love you, Lucas."

I was jerked closer then, into the darkness, the loud drumbeat competing with the rapid flutter of my heart as Lucas gazed down at me. Fur and fangs receded and so did his claws, his hand moving to stroke my face.

"I love you," he said. "I've loved you since the moment I saw you and every day since. Each time we had to leave you behind felt like my soul was being ripped from my body. Of course I noticed what you liked. All I wanted to do was make you feel safe and secure and… loved." He nodded at that. "And you did before, with Kyle. I didn't mean to take off, but?—"

"You'd performed a really big act of service and Kyle took credit for it?" I suggested.

At that we both turned around to find the man himself holding up his hands.

"Hey, that was not deliberate. I was just…" Kyle shook his head. "Being a thoughtless dick, as per usual. Sorry about that, but that's the kind of man you tied yourself to."

"A good man," I corrected, because right then the memory played inside my head of Kyle with those kids. "One that's not always super self-aware, but a good man." My focus shifted to over his shoulder where Asher stood in the background. "All of you are. That's why it was so easy, all of it. To accept the bond."

My neck throbbed just like my body did. Kyle had stirred the embers Asher created, but the only way they could be truly quenched was together.

"That's what I need from you now." I realised I'd gone about this all the wrong way. They didn't need me to make anything or do anything for them, they just needed me. That I was the most valuable person in the room was such a strange feeling I was still trying to adjust it, but perhaps this would help. Lucas stared back at me, not the bear, though his beast still lurked there somewhere. "Complete me. Complete us. Complete our?—"

"Yes." Lucas tugged me closer as the others entered the room. Dimly I was aware the music was turned off and the door was locked shut behind them as they followed us towards the bed. "Yes, fuck yes, Imogen. I've been waiting for this moment for so damn long and I…"

Words failed him and I understood why. As much as I loved books, sometimes there weren't enough words to describe things. Instead, he just had to show me. His mouth crashed down on my lips, branding that first as the bite marks on my neck throbbed, and perhaps that's what summoned Kyle forward. He shifted my hair, then brushed his lips against the marks.

"I…"

"No more talking," I said, pulling Lucas back down, kissing him harder, faster, deeper, until he took over.

His lips seared a burning trail down my neck, his nipping little bites a foreshadowing of what was to come. My skin felt reddened, swollen, and sensitive right before he licked a stripe upwards.

"Luc…"

Whatever I had to say was choked off as he lunged forward with a feral growl, his claws pricking my arms. I was his, all his, and now he was going to formalise the process. Fangs bit into my neck, the link snapping into place, and that had my eyes opening, because I could feel all of them. Asher's smug smile, Kyle's reverence, and Lucas'… I blinked, barely able to believe it.

That's what you were feeling?

A weird tumble of strength and insecurity, love and pain, along with a belief that I'd never really want him the way he was that was shoved aside by something bigger. Us. Lucas saw himself then the way I saw him. Tall, golden, strong, so very strong. Strong enough to be considerate, loving, sweet with me, right when I needed it. He gazed down into my eyes, his hands caressing my cheeks as we both felt what we meant to each other.

How important each one of us was.

So now that's settled, can we get back to the good stuff? Kyle asked as he kissed my neck.

We're having a moment here. Lucas' reply was wry.

I can think of an even better way to spend our time. The bed dimpled and Asher crawled closer with all of the intensity of a hunting bear. Lucas let me go far enough that I could kiss his sleuth mate. Far, far better.

I smiled into his kiss, but that was quickly lost in the feel of Asher. The rasp of his stubble against my skin had my nerve endings awakening, rousing in anticipation and with good reason. Hands moved, sliding up my sides, balling my hair at my nape so my neck was free to be inspected, and each bite mark kissed with ponderous slowness, letting me know how this would be.

I'd wear their marks with pride, even if they had hurt to get. I'd have a reminder all over my neck of the bliss I experienced every time I was near them.

This is so much better. Kyle's voice threatened to cut through the haze of Asher's kisses. I can feel what you're feeling, know exactly what you want. Like this.

My whole body jolted as I felt fingers pinch down on my nipples cruelly, but right as I was riding the sharp edge of pleasure, more hands moved. Sliding down the front of my yoga pants, fingers closing around my clit. They could synchronise things now that our minds were connected, working together to drag me to higher and higher heights of pleasure.

Like this. Lucas' voice inside my head was completely different. Deep, masculine, and utterly confident, he knew exactly what he was doing as he pushed two fingers inside me. Here, right here.

"Yes…" I panted, feeling his fingers rake against that sensitive spot, but it would never be good enough. They could never reach far enough, deep enough, lock down hard enough to make me come. Instead, I was teased with the possibility of it, what it would feel like when one of them finally locked down inside me, and that's where my mind went then. I pulled back from Asher, staring into his eyes, as I showed all three of them exactly what I wanted.

One after the other, delving inside me, harder, deeper, until I clawed at their backs for more. Then they'd unleash that bony protrusion, giving me exactly what I really needed. Those tiny little strokes that made me feel more than any man had before. My eyes stared into Asher's, watching the way the pupil expanded in response to what he saw, but it was Kyle's arms that went around me.

That's what you want? I could almost feel his words feathering across my skin. Well, I won't make the same mistake twice. Looks like it's time to step up, geek boy.

I was turned to face Lucas, who scowled at Kyle over my shoulder.

Geek…

Whatever retort Lucas was about to make was choked off as Kyle pulled my shirt up and over my head. Lucas' fingers flexed, wanting to touch me, but not daring to until he looked into my eyes, seeing past them and into my soul.

He knew what I wanted, and that filled him with a flush of pleasure. More than that, because he knew he could provide it. The books were a crapshoot. He'd worked so hard, scouring reviews and blog posts about each one, trying to guess if I'd like it, but he didn't have to guess now. He could see straight into my heart and that allowed him to peel my pants down, then pull me hard against him. Some movements, a zipper being pushed down and then…

He was right where I needed him to be.

Part of him shied away from the fact it hurt just a little to take him, but the rush of pleasure that came afterwards seemed to reassure him.

It forces me to feel you inside me , I told him, stroking his hair back from his face as I began to move. It creates an ache that just gets worse.

I never want you to hurt, ever , he told me with a little growl.

Not even when it feels so good? I rose up, focussing on the suck of my body against his, as if my cunt was reluctant to let him go, testing that bond, before I was forced back down again. Not even when it feels so right?

Up and down with greater and greater emphasis, I moved, until our hips were slamming into each other. Lucas couldn't allow me to take control for long, rolling us forward so his body loomed over me.

Like this? he asked, stabbing forward, my breath was driven out of me and I was glad then of the mental link. I'd never be able to utter a thing, my breath coming in too fast as my legs locked around his hips.

Exactly like this.

There was something hopeless, reverent in my tone, as I surrendered. To the sensation, to the feel of him dragging my pleasure out further and further until the entire world was narrowed down to just him and me.

Yes, Lucas, yes… I sobbed, whispering that over and over. My nails clawed at his back, leaving mating marks of my own, until things came rushing to a head. I thought I'd had sex before, but what happened now was so different as to need a new name. His eyes went wide, staring into mine as he felt my pleasure and I felt his, the two strands twining together to become something far greater.

Now , I whispered inside his mind. Give it to me. All of it.

His mouth closed over his bite mark as his baculum jutted out and locked down inside me.