9. Raven

RAVEN

Intrigue and excitement coil in my stomach as Brax leads the way. Zane, Creed, and Eldon follow behind me, the tension heightening around us as we step out into the evening air. It’s not cold, but a gentle breeze flutters across our skin, ruffling the leaves on the trees as the sound of the waves crashing in the distance echoes around us.

I wiggle my fingers, unsure what to do with myself, as Brax comes to a stop a few steps ahead, standing between two oak trees that are close to the cliff’s edge. He lifts his hands out to the side of him for a moment, almost assessing the distance before turning to face me.

He crooks his finger, not offering me a word, and I’m moving despite wanting to give him a mouthful of attitude. Stopping toe to toe with him, I tilt my head back to keep my eyes locked on his. He doesn’t utter a word. Instead, he reaches for my arms and extends them at my sides, just as he had done moments earlier.

Once he’s satisfied that my arms are straight, he takes a step back, looking me over from head to toe. Retracing his steps, he’s back in front of me a moment later, dragging my blazer off my arms before discarding it on the ground without care. A shiver runs down my spine, and it’s not from the slight drop in temperature. If anything, I feel hotter now than I did earlier.

His fingers hover at the top button of my shirt, his thumb skimming over my skin, and my breath lodges in my throat. It’s embarrassing how much of a goner I am after a single touch from these men, but it consumes me so much that I don’t even care.

One button… two… three…

He stops, his chest rising and falling as rapidly as my own, and just when I think he’s ready to eliminate the remaining distance between our lips, he fucking drops his hands as he backs up a step or two until he’s in line with the other Bishops. Each of them are watching me with utter rapture, their gazes running from my face to the swell of my breasts at the opening of my shirt.

I don’t feel intimidated under their stares, but it’s impossible not to shift under their gaze. Yet, when I move to drop my arms, I find I’m locked in position.

“What the fuck did you do?” I blurt when I realize I can’t move at all. Not my arms, not my legs, not even the tips of my fingers.

“You lost your right to question my choices when you stepped outside, Shadow. Don’t make me stop your lips from moving too. But, if you want to stop, I can—”

“No!” Fuck. “No, I’m good,” I rush, quicker than I intend to, but he knows he has me exactly where he wants me and there’s nothing I can do but succumb to his wishes.

That doesn’t mean I have to like him for it, though.

Fucker.

“Eldon, I want you to touch her without actually touching her,” Brax orders, and Eldon’s eyes light up with mischief.

What does that even mean?

The question is on the tip of my tongue, but I’m quickly distracted by Eldon approaching me.

“Lift her in the air a little, Brax,” Eldon murmurs, his grin spreading wider as I rise a few inches above the ground so we’re at eye level with one another. “Yeah, just like that.” He nibbles on his bottom lip, taking me in, and desire bubbles through my veins.

I’m going to self-combust and no one has even touched me yet.

As if hearing my thoughts, Eldon reaches out, stroking his fingers down my cheek and under my chin, making my breath shallow as I fix my stare on his gaze. His hand lowers, brushing over my collarbone, before teasing over the flimsy material of my bra, and a moan falls from my lips.

“I think that might be my favorite sound, Little Bird,” he breathes, leaning in so close his breath flutters against my cheek, making goosebumps prickle on my skin.

“Make me come and I’ll sound even better.”

His chuckle against my ear is paired with his other hand finding the hem of my skirt at my thigh, caressing the skin so perfectly that I don’t care which one of them it is, as long as one of them has their hands on me and makes me climax. I just want to feel it.

“I don’t think that’s what Brax has in mind, do you?”

I pout, hating the truth in his words, but that doesn’t mean I can’t try.

“I—”

“What are you feeling right now?”

His question stops me in my tracks, and even though I don’t really understand why he needs to ask that right now, I answer honestly.

“Coiled tight with anticipation. Desperate for your next touch.”

The next groan comes from him, not helping me out at all as my need builds even more. “Search in your soul, Raven. How does your magic feel about that anticipation?”

I frown, hating that he’s pulling me away from the sexual need twisting inside of me, but reluctantly do as he asks, only to come up blank.

“I don’t really feel anything,” I admit, earning me a sweet kiss on the corner of my lips before he takes a step back.

“It’s not anticipation,” he declares, winking at me before moving back to the others.

“You can’t try and figure out the emotion behind my magic like…this!” I exclaim, my jaw tensing as uncertainty swells in me. This will surely be the death of me.

“You gave up your ability to challenge me, remember?” Brax retorts, cocking a brow at me, and I glare but keep my mouth shut. Whether we find out the emotion or not, I’m guaranteed an orgasm, right? “Good little Shadow,” he adds, pissing me off and making my body thrum with even more need at the same time.

He knows exactly how to get under my skin in the most delicious way and I don’t hate it.

Fucker.

He leans into Zane, murmuring in his ear for a moment before resuming his stance with his arms folded over his chest. Zane grins from ear to ear, his eyes dancing with desire as he steps toward me.

“Remember, Raven. Don’t forget to channel inside of yourself, no matter what emotion you’re feeling. That will help us,” he states with a wink, and I nod, even though anticipation claws at me, making it impossible to truly process his words. “You trust me, right?” His nose is close to brushing mine, he’s that close now, a surprisingly warm breeze fluttering around us.

“Yes,” I breathe without question.

“Creed,” he hollers, confusing me for a second, and I look to my quiet observer over Zane’s shoulder. But no sooner do my eyes land on his does the world fade to darkness. I’m not scared, though. I know it’s him, his powers, just like when we were in the woods, and it only makes me feel closer to him.

Taking a deep breath, I try to relax, but fingers trailing down the opening of my academy-issued blouse set me on fire. I assume it’s still Zane, but I can’t truly tell anymore. I just have to trust in them. One by one, each button is undone until I feel it hang loose at my sides, the breeze kissing even more of my exposed skin. A second later, I no longer feel the material draped over my skin at all and I shiver.

Fingers brush against the waistband of my skirt before the fabric is slowly dragged over my hips and down my thighs. Once again, the feeling lasts for only a moment before it’s gone, and I swear my shoes have been removed with them because I can feel a slight breeze on the soles of my feet.

My skin heats, my need evident as I sink my teeth into my bottom lip, ready to be completely exposed to them.

Excited for Zane’s touch, my breaths start to come in shorter, sharper bursts, but an eternity passes and still nothing happens.

“What are you feeling, Dove?” Zane’s words drift over me, breaking through the fog of desperation coiled up in my core, and I take a second to consider my answer, but it’s hard to focus when hands run over the globes of my ass. “And I don’t mean the sexual tension so thick I could cut it with a knife, I mean deeper than that.”

Fuck, I don’t have anything deeper to offer him, do I?

Running my tongue over my bottom lip, I inhale slowly through my nose before exhaling past my lips. The wind still gently whips around us, but I can’t see anything in the darkness and I’m stripped down to my underwear, at their mercy.

Other than the sexual need, there’s only one thing I feel. It’s exactly what he asked of me earlier. “Trust… I trust you.”

“That’s it, Dove. And how does that feel in here?” he asks, his fingers trailing over my chest and down between the valley of my breasts.

Fuck.

“It’s going to keep feeling hot as fuck if you keep touching me like that,” I grumble, his chuckle ringing in my ears a moment later as I delve into my magic like I did before. Just as it was then, I come back with the same, shaking my head with a hint of defeat as my answer.

His lips press at the corner of my mouth a second later, leaving me just as needy as before, but any hope that he’s going to continue is short-lived when my vision slowly comes back to me and I see him cutting back across the space to the other Bishops.

All of the anticipation and hope dwindles into irritation and I can’t see past it. “This isn’t fucking fun anymore,” I bite, eager to cover my body and hide it from them, but my arms are still locked in place.

“Raven, you’ve got this. We just have to focus,” Creed says, kindness and hope flashing in his eyes as he softly smiles at me, but I’m too annoyed for it to aid the insufferable feelings building inside of me.

“One more try?” Eldon offers, and my jaw tightens as I glance at him.

I don’t know if I can survive another attempt under these circumstances. I’m worn out and exhausted already. Anything more and I might combust. If not with an orgasm, then with rage. The look in his eyes has the ability to work wonders on me because, despite the fury threatening to make me call this whole thing off and take care of myself, I find myself nodding anyway.

He grins with victory, but it’s not him that steps forward. It’s not Zane coming to rectify the misery he’s left me in, or even Creed with his pending darkness.

No.

It’s Brax.

The prowl in his every step quickens my heart, making it gallop in my chest. It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell the asshole to fuck off and call it quits, but the second he’s standing right in front of me, it’s all forgotten. The lace covering my pussy is gone with a snap as he tears at it before plunging two fingers deep into my core, and I scream.

Relief and desire swirl inside of me, notable in my whimpers as he doesn’t relent, swirling his fingers deep in my core. My muscles tense, excitement zapping through my limbs as the first note of my orgasm tingles in my toes.

It’s gone the second I feel it, his fingers too, and my cries of pleasure quickly morph into frustration. “Don’t fuck with me, Brax,” I bite, my face dropping so my chin hits my chest. My eyes close as I try to calm my breathing, but it’s not looking good.

“What do you feel, Shadow?”

I whimper at his question, my eyes squeezing even tighter. If I was ever curious if I was a submissive and into edging, this right here confirms I’m so far from it that my name will never be uttered in the same sentence.

I’m weak for their touch, desperate for their attention, and embarrassingly needy to let my body take control.

I know I’m not going to get anything without an answer, though. Digging deep, I only feel anger, fury, rage, frustration, and agitation, or whatever can describe the storm brewing inside me, and none of it elicits anything in my magic.

“Shadow.”

“I feel like I hate you right now. I feel every version of torment, and none of it does anything. Is that what you want to hear?” I look at him through hooded eyes, my jaw tight, but he doesn’t falter under my glare, likely because his magic continues to hold me in place.

“And how do you feel when my fingers are in your sweet pussy?” he asks, plunging his fingers back into my core. My anger doesn’t ebb for a few seconds, but as the pad of his finger crazes my G-spot, it’s impossible to cling to the emotion. “Tell me,” he grunts, his motions getting harder and faster, and tears of ecstasy prick the back of my eyelids.

“I-I don’t know,” I chatter, my head tilting back as the need to press my thighs together becomes overwhelming but no longer possible in my current state. The tingles start in my toes and I try to hide my reaction to it, not wanting him to stop again, but something else gives me away because he retreats just as quickly as he did last time.

I’m done.

I’m so fucking done.

A cry parts my lips, like one I imagine at war, the brutal end coming. That’s what this feels like.

Clenching my eyes shut again, I can’t look at him. “Let me down. Now.”

“What are you feeling, Shadow?”

“Fuck. You.” My chest rattles with every inhale. “Let. Me. Down. Now,” I repeat, my insides trembling with the overwhelming disappointment and sadness colliding in my mind.

“Raven. Tell me what you’re feeling,” Brax pushes, but I’m done talking to this asshole.

My eyes collide with his, and I snarl. “Fuck—”

His hand grips my jaw tight, making me wince, but that doesn’t make him falter as he looks deep into my eyes, piercing my soul like he always does.

“Feel it. Take a fucking minute and feel it.”

My nostrils flare with annoyance. I don’t want to listen to him. I don’t want his guidance. I want nothing from this man. But I’m still a toy in the palm of his hand and the only way I’m going to get out of here is if I draw this shit to an end.

I close my eyes, my jaw still tight with irritation, and the second I enter the abyss that homes my magic, I feel it. More than that, I see the flickers of a purple flame. Whatever I’m feeling right now connects me to this very spot. Pinpointing what that is feels like a battle I’m not prepared for.

It’s not the anger or anything else that wants me to rain carnage down on Brax. I felt that earlier and it didn’t give me this. No, this is something else, something deeper.

Blinking my eyes open, I feel the cool, wet stains of my tears along my cheeks, and it’s a startling realization. One that has the purple flicker blossoming inside of me.

“Tell me what it is,” Brax whispers, barely an inch between us.

I gulp, keeping my lips locked tight. Right now, he doesn’t deserve the knowledge, and I can’t bring myself to admit how I feel.

“Move out of the fucking way, Brax,” Creed hisses, shoulder checking his friend so he can be the one standing face to face with me. I get the sense that Brax moved willingly, but I can’t fixate on that fact while Creed cups my cheek, distracting me from everything but him. “It’s sadness. Her magic is fueled by sadness.”

“I didn’t make her sad,” Brax interjects, earning himself a deathly glare from the fierce onyx eyes in front of me.

“Don’t bullshit me. That might not have been your intention, but look at her. She’s fueled by it. Now drop the magic.” His scathing gaze turns to a soft stare as he looks back at me and my arms drop to my sides as my feet dig into the grass beneath me.

“Sadness… fuck, that’s hard. I don’t want you to have to feel that every single time…” Zane murmurs, coming to stand beside Creed, and I sniffle, still at a loss for words.

“Fuck your sweet words at her discomfort, Zane,” Eldon grunts a moment before he envelops me in his arms from behind. “Make her fucking scream.” His hands splay out over my stomach, slowly stroking lower until he meets the apex of my thighs.

Creed drops to his knees in front of me as I stand in a daze, but before he can reach for me, he’s shoved out of the way by Brax, who falls to his knees while swooping up my thighs and draping them over his shoulders.

I don’t have time to deny him as his lips wrap around my clit, sucking like his life depends on it, and my back arches. Eldon holds me up, cupping my breasts and trailing kisses over my shoulder as I cry out.

The world goes black at Creed’s doing at the same time two fingers consume my core. Hands are everywhere, lips brushing against every inch of my skin as the sadness ebbs and raw pleasure consumes me.

There’s no stopping this time, no challenge, no ulterior motive as my climax peaks at the hands of my guys, twisting me into the tightest knot of my life before the weight gives out and my body sings for them.

The worry of what my magic means threatens to consume me as I come down from the elongated high, but the exhaustion clinging to my damp skin fades the world from Creed’s magic into complete darkness.