Chapter 27

Adele walked back to the fortress with the coven.

Not with us.

I made sure of that, ignoring the pleading looks my mother sent me every time I so much as glanced her way. Honestly, she was probably safer with the witches, given how Raziel shook with rage once he discovered her betrayal.

Some of that fury was directed at himself for not being here, but once he'd heard how deftly Adele had manipulated us and traded us all away to get what she'd wanted…Raziel made a good argument to lock my mother in the prison with our enemies.

I'd refused.

She should be grateful she'd sleep in a bed tonight and not the prison floor, but I didn't—couldn't—do that to her, even after what she'd done to us. She'd suffered long enough.

But Adele had made her choices.

She'd chosen her side and now she would live with the consequences.

But my stomach twisted every time her gaze landed on me. We'd be foolish to trust her again, but cutting her off like this was hard, and losing control over me would hurt worse than anything the king had ever done.

Because I was her only path to power.

We left Dane to lay out instructions to the coven while we searched the fortress for a room big enough for all of us and comfortable enough where we'd all fit. We found three surprisingly luxurious bedrooms in a far-off corner on the top floor of a turret that jutted straight out from the cliffs over a deep gorge.

Even when I stuck my head out the window, I couldn't see the bottom.

Tristan lit a fire in each of our fireplaces while we divvied them up. Raziel and me in the center, Tristan to our right, Dane and Tavion to the left, though not one of us was fooled into thinking everyone but Dane wouldn't end up in here with me.

I tested the soft mattress, running my fingers over the silken sheets and velvet blankets. The room was beautiful, actually reserved, perhaps, for special guests, though who the fuck would ever come here to visit?

"Easy to defend," Tristan pointed out, pacing to the window and whistling when he saw how high we were. "No one's getting up here without us knowing they're coming."

"That means we can easily be trapped and killed in an ambush. Or burned out," Tavion countered. "There's no way out except down. That's a problem."

Tristan's eyes flashed golden red, his smile turning serpentine as he said, "Maybe for you, wolf."

"Everything here is stone and Raziel and I can ward this corner of the building. Raz can carry us out one by one, and as Tristan so eloquently pointed out, he can fly if needed." I pegged him with a sharp look. "Can you? Fly?"

He shrugged. "Don't know. I haven't tried in so long. I suppose it would come back to me."

"We have a place to stay until Zor gets here. I am exhausted, and I don't much care if this place burns down around us as long as I get some sleep."

They divided up watches while Raziel wrapped a cloak of his magic around our rooms, insisting I'd been through too much and should wait until my magic replenished. But the strange thing was…I didn't feel like my power was running low.

If anything, I felt revitalized.

Tavion and Tristan went to find something edible in this place, and while I was starving, I wasn't hungry enough to eat something hideous like that eel Dane had caught.

I stripped off my clothes, crawled into bed, and was unconscious before I even covered myself up.

I woke crammedbetween two huge, hot bodies—Raziel's soft, even breaths tangling with mine, and Tavion curled behind me, his body touching every inch of mine.

For a long moment I lay there, wondering how we were still alive.

"You're thinking quite loudly, princess."

Raziel's liquid-night eyes spilled his emotions into the world and my chest strained at his slow, knowing smile. Exactly what I needed right now, after days of loneliness, and nights wondering if I'd ever see them again.

"No crying, Anaria. Not tonight. Not when we're finally together." His big, rough knuckles smoothed over my wet cheeks with tender gentleness. Emotions broke free at how careful he was despite his massive size, his ferocious brutality…and more tears poured out.

But that's how Raz always was with me. Gentle. Kind. Giving me only the very best parts of himself, day after day. "I've been watching you sleep, drinking in your scent." He licked my tears from his knuckles, wickedness dancing in his gaze as his tongue flicked out again.

"Even on the other side of the world, I could still smell you. Taste you. As if you've become a part of me." His hand smoothed down my hair, following my curves until he cupped my hip, his thumb making those soft, deliberate circles on my bare skin that I liked so very much.

"You'll never get rid of me, Anaria. There is nothing that can ever come between us."

"Who says I ever want to get rid of you?"

My mouth parted when his hand dipped between my legs, every muscle going loose, and his smile widened as my eyes slipped closed at the warm flush of sensation. "Gods, you are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," he murmured, moving closer to take my mouth in a deep, leisurely kiss, the world disappearing around the novelty of having both his tongue—and those clever fingers—inside me.

I moaned against Raz's lips, tasting his pleased chuckle, the sound nothing but pure male satisfaction. I shoved at his chest, breaking the kiss. "Just so you know, my plan is to keep you all forever."

Then Tavion's arm came around my waist and yanked me against him, his cock pressed against my backside.

"You two"—he pressed his mouth to the side of my throat and clamped down until twin fangs pressed against my skin—"are very, very loud. And since you decided to wake me up, I suppose we might as well put this bed to good use."

I froze, unsure.

This was…new. Different.

"I knew from the beginning I'd be sharing you, Anaria." Tavion's tongue dipped into my ear. "But if you want me to leave, if this is too much, say the word and we'll wait until you're ready."

Was this? Too much?

How long had I imagined this? All of us together, all five of us, if I was honest, a tangle of lips and fingers and tongues, and my heart unleashed itself against my ribs. Yes, this was exactly what I wanted.

I caught fire, Raz's fingers sliding through my wet pussy, Tavion's teeth in my neck pinning me in place. Fuck yes. This was exactly what I desired. To be trapped between these two powerful males, for them to remind me I was alive.

We were alive and together, and no matter what tomorrow brought, we only had right now to do what we wished. Heat surged through my body, beautiful and wanting as I murmured, "No more wasting time."

"Then we won't"—Raz lifted his wet fingers to his mouth and lazily licked them clean, his tongue flicking between them as a needy little whimper ripped from my chest—"make you wait any longer."

Tavion flipped me onto my stomach and lifted my hips so I was on my knees, spreading me wide enough heat flushed through my face because of where his burning stare was focused with such predatory intent.

He dragged his hands down over the curve of my arse, the backs of my thighs, and I shivered while he stroked the delicate skin, dark desire rippling through me with every pass of his calloused palms.

"Fucking gods…" His low, possessive growl rumbled through me, setting every nerve on edge. "You'd better brace yourself, wife. I'm not going to be gentle about this."

I buried my face in the pillow. "What about our second time being…you know."

"That was before we were all nearly killed by a bunch of bloodthirsty witches. Now be a good girl and let me taste you."

Fingers dug into my thighs, then his mouth was on me, ravenous and fierce, tongue delving between my pussy, driving in deeper and deeper. His moans rattled my tender flesh as he ate me out until my fists were tangled in the blankets, trying to find something to anchor myself before I flew apart.

Raziel coiled my hair around one hand and pulled me up until I was braced on my elbows, his thick, tanned thighs bracketing my face. I was drowning in his intoxicating scent. Shadows swirled in the air as he slid a finger beneath my chin and slid the head of his cock between my lips. Just the barest taste, then he was kissing me, his mouth demanding, his tongue sliding against mine.

Time vanished as I got lost in my pleasure, twisted up in the waves rolling through me, wishing I could move my hips and rock back against those expert lips. But Tavion held me too firmly, holding me still while he took his time licking and sucking, that tongue relentless as he worked me toward my first orgasm.

I tried moving closer to Raz, but he just chuckled, winding his hand tighter into my hair and holding me in place while he devoured my mouth with the same seeking hunger as Tavion, a thorough invasion from both of them that spun me into a hot, aching spiral.

Every muscle in my body tightened then shattered, turning to liquid as the climax swept through me, leaving nothing in its wake except gasping breath and trembling legs and arms. Tavion never stopped, lapping up every last drop as if he couldn't get enough.

Raz stretched out beside me, one hand slipping beneath me to cup my breast, to roll my tight nipple between his fingers. "So fucking beautiful," he murmured, slipping his tongue between my open lips before pulling away, giving my bottom lip one final tug between his teeth.

I was still rocked by aftershocks when Tavion mounted me, notched the head of his cock into my entrance, and took me. A brutal claiming, one hand on the back of my neck, holding me in place as he thrust forward in one hard stroke, Raziel's dark eyes never leaving my face.

"That's it. You are so fucking tight, Anaria. So fucking tight, like you were made for me."

I managed a glance backward…and all the air went out of me.

Tavion's hair hid his shadowed expression, but those green eyes burned with silver fire, his face a series of harsh, unforgiving lines, the muscles of his neck and shoulders standing out in sharp relief as he moved, powerful and merciless.

He pounded into me, his hips slapping against my arse without an ounce of restraint, and gods…I loved that he'd completely lost control.

That Tavion Montgomery—the cold, unfeeling shifter without a heart—had no control at all when he was with me.

And the feel of him inside me was exquisite.

That constant drag of his hard flesh inside me kept the orgasm from fading completely, his fingers reaching down to rub my clit, my inner walls fluttering along the length of his cock. Demanding little cries came from my mouth, even with my face buried in the pillow.

I cracked open one eye.

Raziel stared at us, mesmerized, hands twisting the sheets, pupils blown wide, his magic cloaking the room in a spill of blue-black shadow like he'd created our own, private space.

And I liked that, too.

"I want to taste you." I ran my tongue along my lips, absolutely starving for him.

Raziel groaned, tossed the sheets to the side, and pulled me back up to my elbows. Then he pushed his cock between my wet lips, sliding deeper and deeper until he hit the back of my throat. Strong fingers twisted into my hair, but his other hand was gentle as he cupped my chin, holding me in place as he fucked my mouth, staring down at me adoringly.

Between them, he and Tavion found a rhythm, and I closed my eyes, letting myself drown in sensation, in the pure carnal pleasure of their moans, the drag of their flesh inside me. Every stroke brought me closer to another orgasm. One that would splinter me apart, down to my very soul.

On some higher level, I sensed the twin shadows of their pleasure twining with mine—Tavion's touched with his wolf's wildness, Raziel's tinged with protective gentleness. Two sides of a coin. I didn't understand how I could feel something so ephemeral, only that…we were connected now, deeper than ever before.

That solidifying bond gave this moment an emotional depth that cracked my heart wide open seconds before we all pitched over the edge together, as if the universe itself fractured apart from sheer joy.

All I could do was surrender.

Surrender to the impossibility of us being swept away together, of this astonishing gift the magic had given us. This bond that went deeper than flesh, deeper than magic, fusing our very souls together.

Raziel spilled down my throat and I swallowed and swallowed, not able to taste him fast enough, Tavion roaring as he filled me up with warm spurts.

I wanted more.

More of them inside me. I wanted us to meld together until we were one, until nothing could split us apart. Those thoughts tangled together into a snarl of helpless joy, my body quivering uncontrollably as I fell apart, drowning in this wave of burning pleasure until finally, everything went quiet.

"Gods." Tavion gently eased me over onto my side, his eyes wide as he ran his hands over me as if checking to make sure I wasn't hurt. "Gods, that was…" he said wonderingly.

"What was that?" He and Raziel held each other's stare for a heartbeat too long, and fear curdled my stomach. "Like…I felt your emotions like they were my own."

"I…yes, I did." Raz's lips clamped together. "I've never experienced anything so…intense before."

With a shuddering breath, Tavion dipped his head, his hair hiding his face. "I…I didn't mean for that to be so…rough. I lost control. It won't?—"

"I'm stopping you right there." I sat up and wrapped my arms around Tavion, nudged my face beneath his chin, and pressed my lips to the pulse racing in the hollow of his throat. "I loved every second of what we just did. That…you were exactly what I needed. I'm not breakable, and I love it when the two of you use me like that."

I took a second, reaching for the right words. "After…everything that's happened, sometimes I want to let go, I have to let go, when the pressure gets to be too much. I don't want control. I want to give control away."

I fumbled in the covers until I caught their hands. "I trust you both completely and I want to give that control to you, and this was perfect."

Tavion made a sound—doubt, maybe—and I traced the circle on his chest, the X contained within. "It's so much darker now."

"It appears the magic is tightening its grip on us." Raz skimmed his fingers along the lightning mark on my side. "Yours is bigger. More defined." Every brush of his fingers seemed to reach deeper than skin.

"We all experienced the same thing. Whatever happened…this connection…caused the marks to darken." I gazed at my fingers, outlined against the black etched so starkly on Tavion's pale chest. "I suppose we could stop doing…this."

Raziel flattened me back down to the bed with a purr. "Not a chance. I couldn't keep my hands off you before. I sure as fuck can't now."

"Well." I wiggled beneath him and the slide of our bodies against each other sent some of my worry spiraling away, especially as his lips trailed down my neck and across my shoulder. "That works for me."