Bonus Scene Nina and Abel’s first time

Abel practically vibrates with excitement as he leads me down the twining halls of the Labyrinth. His energy is infectious, and I find myself smiling instinctively as we take another sharp turn.

“What is going on?” I laugh, resisting the urge to dive into his head. My customary darkness presses in on me from all sides. That morning, I woke up cuddled between Kai and Bronson. Mr. Scruffles was asleep at the foot of my bed. Despite not being able to see him, his melodic purrs reverberated through me, reassuring me of his presence.

I heard the man a second before he touched me.

Immediately, I slipped into the intruder’s head, unsurprised to see golden hands gripping my shoulders.

“Get out of my head, Bambi. I have a surprise for you,” he said, a smile in his voice.

Now, we halt abruptly, and Abel releases my hand and steps away. I pout at the loss of contact, feeling like a petulant child, but a moment later, Abel intertwines our fingers once more and drags me forward.

“Okay, I don’t know if you’re going to like this,” he says, sounding uncharacteristically shy and bashful. “If you don’t, we can do something else. I’m a flexible guy, Bambi. And no, I don’t just mean physically, though I can do the splits like a badass.” He takes a deep, fortifying breath and ceases his ramblings. “Okay, you can look.”

Immediately, I slip into his head and use his eyes to survey my surroundings. We’re in the throne room, but plush pillows and blankets now adorn the cement flooring. Candles and rose petals create an aperture towards the makeshift bed in the center. A small television sits on a wooden stand, the screen staticky and the images variations of gray.

“What...?” I gasp, staring at the beautiful, romantic scene before me. Abel turns towards me until my white eyes and black hair take up his entire vision. It’s always unnerving to be the sole focus of my men’s gazes—as if I’m their entire world. As if everything around us could be up in flames, yet, despite the carnage, they would still only focus on me.

“Damien has connections outside of the prison,” Abel explains. “He gathered me these supplies.”

Immediately, he grabs my hand and drags me towards the fluffy pillow bed. A bottle of wine rests beside a collection of gourmet chocolates. I don’t even want to know how Damien snuck these things into the prison. The man has his ways.

“Bambi...” Abel swoops his hand outwards. “We’re watching Bambi.” He focuses his attention on the television—the same one I spotted in Rion’s cell. A blurry cartoon begins to play on the screen.

“Abel, this is incredible,” I whisper, awed, as he diverts his attention to the chocolates. He grabs one between his thumb and pointer finger and holds it out to me.

Smiling gently, I take the proffered chocolate, and a burst of favors erupts on my tastebuds.

“You’re incredible,” he says softly, gruffly. He pushes a dark strand of hair behind my ear before turning once more towards the television.

Not going to lie—I totally cry when Bambi’s mom is killed. I’m pretty sure Abel starts crying too, but when I ask him, he denies it profusely.

Claims he has something in his eyes.

By the time the movie is done, I have eaten my body weight in chocolate and am officially in a food coma.

Rion taught me that saying, by the way, and I think it’s fitting now.

“So...when you first saw me, you thought I was a deer?” I tease, resting my head on Abel’s shoulder.

This man…

He never fails to surprise me. He always goes out of his way to make me feel loved and cherished. Unlike the others, he doesn’t demand things of me. He’s not as “alpha” as the other men. They all treat me like a princess—a goddess—but Abel has a way of making me feel…normal. As if I’m an ordinary woman, not a strange tribrid who has been experimented on and tortured for years. I don’t know what it is about him.

His boisterous personality? His constant jokes that never fail to make me smile? His jovial laugh that disperses any and all shadows?

Whatever it is, I feel at peace when I’m with him.

“You do kind of look like a deer,” Abel responds seriously. “What with the long legs and big, beautiful doe eyes.”

I giggle, shoving his shoulder, before cuddling against him once more.

We’re silent for a moment, content to simply hold each other, before I whisper, “I really liked the movie. Do you think we can do it again? Maybe we can have a movie night with the other guys?” I don’t want to intrude on our one-on-one time, but I love when we’re able to do stuff as a group as well.

“As long as I get the seat next to you.” Abel kisses my forehead again. “Or under you. Or on you.”

I giggle as his lips trail down my cheek and to my jawline.

“You’re such a weirdo.”

“Only for you.” His voice is muffled against my skin, his distinct scent surrounding me. Engulfing me. I arch my neck to grant him better access, and he continues to leisurely trail kisses up and down my throat, across my collarbone, and then on my cheek. He pecks one side of my lips and then the other. My heart races at the contact, and heat spirals through the center of my being.

Abel is the only guy I haven’t...gone all the way with. It’s not because I don’t want to, I do, but the timing has never felt right.

Until now.

I slip out of his head, embracing my darkness, as I simultaneously tangle my hands in his hair. Tugging on the silky strands, I guide his face up to mine and press my lips to his in a tentative kiss. I can feel Abel’s shock—his body goes rigid—before the surprise quickly morphs into desire. He takes over the kiss, his tongue plundering my mouth and tangling with my own. It’s a dance, one specifically created for me and my sunshine twin. He kisses me with an intensity and need that belies his laidback, nonchalant aura.

“You’re so gorgeous,” he murmurs against my lips, cupping my cheek with one hand. His other hand strokes my stomach where my shirt has ridden up. Fire migrates from his palm to my core, and I whimper. I want him to touch me everywhere. “So perfect. So fucking gorgeous.”

His hand travels upwards until it reaches my bare breast. I’ve forgone a bra, and he greedily twists first one nipple and then the next.

I pull away from him, briefly, to remove my shirt. This isn’t the first time he has seen me naked, but his sharp intake of breath still makes me flush from head to toe.

“Nina… Bambi… I love you so damn much.” He kisses back down my neck, to my breasts, devouring my nipples. He circles his tongue around one of the hard nubs and then sucks it into his mouth. When his teeth graze the tip, stars explode behind my closed eyelids. I tangle my hands in his hair to hold him in place.

I can’t even speak through the pleasure coursing through me. I’m pretty sure I lost brain cells.

Abel releases my breast and begins to kiss down my stomach, pushing me back onto the pillows. He runs his hands up and down my legs before reaching the waistband of my skirt. He removes it tenderly, reverently, and slides his hands up my bare thighs. His lips hover over my panties, and his warm breath over my core elicits a fresh round of goose bumps.

“Abel,” I groan, arching my hips.

“Patience, Bambi.” He kisses my thigh once before licking my panties directly over my throbbing pussy.

“Stop teasing me,” I beg, and he chuckles, the sound vibrating through my overheated body.

I desperately reach for him, sliding my hands down his taut abs and to the waistband of his pants. At some point, he removed his shirt. I wish I could see him—see his golden chest and golden hair. It’s almost a physical ache within me.

I hook my fingers into his pants and tug once. “Off,” I growl as he chuckles once more.

“As you wish,” he says lightly. I hear the sound of fabric being removed, and a moment later, the tip of his cock rubs against my wet folds. “I’ve been dreaming of this moment for... for years.”

“You haven’t known me for years,” I gasp as he slowly, tenderly, sinks into me. I feel so incredibly full, my entire body filled to the brim with Abel. His jovial laugh. His ability to see the bright side of every situation. His steadfast, unyielding love.

He has ingrained himself in my genetic makeup. I don’t know where I end and he begins.

“I have vivid dreams, Bambi, and you’ve been the star of mine for as long as I can remember.” His laugh turns into a harsh groan. “Fuck, you feel good. Better than good. Your pussy is so tight. So fucking tight.”

My hands grapple with his strong, lean body. They move down his back and to his sculpted ass.

“Move,” I beg, thrusting my hips up. Abel doesn’t have to be told twice.

He moves like a man possessed—as if he can’t comprehend a life not buried inside of me. It’s not “fucking.” No, Abel is making love to me.

As he slides in and out of my slick folds, lips hungrily devouring mine, I’m overcome with love for this man. For this demon who is weighed down by years of pain and abuse.

“Abel,” I plead, scratching at his back.

“You’re so perfect. You feel so good,” he groans against my lips.

I can feel myself reaching that beautiful cliffside, seconds from tumbling over the edge. I’m so close. So, so close.

Abel kneads one of my breasts as his other hand flicks my clit. That, combined with his cock thrusting in and out of my sensitive pussy, careens me over the edge.

I come with a scream, my walls clenching around Abel’s length. He releases a startled curse, his hips jerking erratically, before he spills his seed inside of me.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he screams as I milk him dry. I’m crying, the intensity of my orgasm slamming into me like a freight train. Abel continues to tease my breast and flick my nipple as we both come down from our joint high.

“Holy crap,” I murmur as Abel rests his sweaty head on my chest. He idly traces my areola, and the feel of his rough finger against my skin sparks a fresh round of flames.

“Holy fucking shit indeed,” he breathes, kissing my chest, directly over my heart. “Fuck, I love you. So damn much.”

“I love you too,” I whisper, stroking his tangled hair.

Each one of these men have embedded themselves so firmly inside of me that I can’t imagine a life without them. Well, I can, but that future is so dark and dreary that I don’t want to.

We continue lying together, both of us basking in the afterglow of our lovemaking. Until…

“How long have you been fucking standing there like a creeper?” Abel exclaims suddenly, jerking me out of my half-asleep state. I slide into his head instantly to find his attention on a familiar figure lurking in the corner.

Damien’s eyes are heated as they roam over our naked, intertwined bodies. There’s an obvious bulge in his pants, even from this distance.

“Rion’s in the rafters,” my stoic mage deadpans, and Abel turns his attention upwards to where, lo and behold, my crazy mate is hanging upside down, butt naked.

“No, I’m not,” he says immediately, slowly pulling himself up so he’s obscured by the shadows. “I’m an invisible ghost.” He punctuates that last statement with an eerie “ohhhh” and a waggle of his fingers.

“Motherfucker,” Abel murmurs, chuckling softly. He kisses me tenderly, his hand squeezing my butt. “If they’re going to watch, how about we give them a show?”

My cheeks heat instantly, but I can’t deny the pang of desire that flows through me at the prospect.

“You’re naughty,” I say, returning his kiss.

He nuzzles my nose. “I love you, Bambi. More than I ever thought possible.”

“I love you too.” And then, louder, I add, “I even love my creepy stalkers.”

“Not creepy!” Rion calls cheerfully just as Damien mutters, “Not a stalker.”

Giggling, I wrap my arms around my sunshine lover. The man who is always able to make me smile. The man who banishes the darkness inside of me with one look or stupid joke.

“Let’s give them a show,” I whisper.

And that’s exactly what we do.