Chapter 9

So this is what they'd all been hiding from me. The veil had literally been torn from my eyes and the world of adults became clear to me. It was one filled with pleasure and sin and no consequences as you took your fill. So while Arik held me in his arms, I smiled at all of them.

"What do you want, princess?" he asked me, his voice hoarse with need.

There was only one answer I could give.

"More." I laughed as I looked up at him. Roan and Silas moved closer, and I reached my hand out to where I could feel Creed beside me. "I want more."

"You know this is a truly terrible idea," Silas said to no one in particular.

"So, you're stepping aside?" Roan asked him. "Fine by me."

"Not in the slightest." He smiled slowly. "If I was averse to making unwise decisions, I'd never have joined this merry band, yet here I am." He walked forward, lifting my chin with the point of one finger and staring into my eyes. "Here I am."

There was something cold and clinical in Silas' gaze, but I realised that I liked it. His coolness was a refreshing contrast to the overheated state of everyone else, but also… I wanted to see if I could make that restrained facade crack. Could I turn him into a panting mess, just as I'd been mere moments before? What would that feel like? I reached for him, but as soon as my hands were in the air, he grabbed them, hauling them up and stretching my arms above my head.

"Do you feel that?" he asked, his voice lower and huskier. "The way it creates a tension all throughout your body?" He maintained his hold in one hand and then brought the other down to stroke along my ribs. "But you don't have to fight to maintain it; I'll do that. You can't pull free." I'd started to try to tug a hand away but stopped at his words. "And soon you won't want to." His eyes dropped down, as if seeing me for the first time, and it felt like he was eating me up with each glance, as though his gaze was leaving reddened marks in its place. "You are so very beautiful; it seems almost a pity to mess that up."

"Only you'd think a woman coming was messy." Roan tried to shove Silas aside, but the other man didn't move an inch. "Whereas I…" A lazy smile spread across his face as he looked me over. "I can't think of a moment when a woman is more beautiful." He licked his lips. "You could come and be beautiful all over my face."

I shivered within Silas' grip, not sure what he meant by that, and his eyes became hooded as he stared at me.

"Kiss him," Silas ordered, the command in his voice rivalling my father's. Roan grinned, one eyebrow rising, but Silas refused to look away for a second. "Kiss the mouth of the man that'll use that tongue, those lips, to lick your cunt. Kiss him."

"You don't have to… if you don't want to," Creed rasped in my ear.

"But will it feel good?"

Lust and fear warred in my voice, and right now I wasn't sure which one would win.

"Never had any complaints." Roan stepped closer and I caught a whiff of smoky amber from him. "But if it feels anything like when a woman puts her mouth on me…" His hand slid down his body and my eyes followed it, watching him grip the lump along his thigh. "Then it's what I want heaven to be like when I shuffle off this mortal coil. Pure, mind-blowing pleasure."

That: I wanted that. I leaned forward as far as I could to try and take Roan's mouth with mine, but what Silas had done was deliberate. The way he held me made it impossible for me to reach Roan, my every muscle straining to get close enough, until the red-haired man took pity on me and stepped in. Roan's knuckles grazed my cheek as I let out a frantic little whine, then he dropped his head down and gave me his mouth. I felt the rasp of his stubble, the rumble of the groan he stifled in his throat, and then his tongue as he tangled it with mine. I yanked harder against my bonds, choosing this with every fibre of my being. I was still flushed with roseblood, with the pleasure Arik had wrought, so it was less like building slowly towards another peak and more leaping onto it.

Hands jerked my hips back, splitting me open and forcing me to ride a ridge covered in leather that became damper by the second. Other fingers skimmed up my ribs, tracing every bone, every hollow, before gripping the points of my nipples, which still throbbed from Creed and Arik's ministrations. It was as if my body was being made anew, nerve endings being woken up and teased into a frenzy, until I was almost screaming with the intensity of it.

"Time to take your throne, princess," Roan said in a raspy voice, breaking away from me with a rakish smile, before flopping down on the bed. The pouch of roseblood was produced again and he dusted his lips but didn't lick them clean. "It'll make you come harder, come faster, and come again and again," he explained, patting the mattress. I wondered what I was supposed to do, but they took over.

Silas plucked me from Arik's grip, carrying me over to the bed, then setting my knees on either side of the other man's head.

"But what—?"

"Look at me," he commanded, and my eyes locked on his. "Keep looking at me as you lower your hips down."

"You want—?"

"Not me, you," he insisted. "Let him have a little taste."

"Gods, yes…" Roan groaned, his voice somewhat muffled as he moved his hands and gripped my thighs.

"And if it's not to your taste, then I'll pluck you free, set you across my lap and pet you until you come."

"Really?" Suddenly I wanted that: the contrast between Silas, fully clothed, fully in control, and me, completely undone. I wanted him to be hard, aching for me inside his perfectly pressed clothes, right as I came apart in his hands.

"You have my word, milady. So…"

Now that I was where they'd put me, I knew what to do. That same instinct, ruled by the ache deep inside me, was kicking in. I needed to be open and spread wide across Roan's face, so I tried to pull my hands free to plant them on the bed. Silas' grip tightened, not allowing me that freedom and forcing me to be oh, so aware of him as I sank down. Though if he thought he'd hold my focus, he was wrong. He lost it the moment Roan's tongue touched me. The feel of his mouth was softer, slicker than Arik's fingers, which had me sinking faster, and then Roan pulled me down hard so I was plastered across his face as he went to work.

I knew where the roseblood touched my skin, because there was a brief zing of electrical pleasure, then a much broader, fuller flush that persisted afterwards. I was so unbelievably sensitive. I felt every pass of his tongue, could sense when I had the broad sweep of it sliding across me, slurping up my juices, or the hard point circling a part of me that was ultra-sensitive. I yelped when his lips closed around it. He kept sucking slowly, not so roughly as the other men had done at my nipples, though. As if conjured by that thought, hands went to my breasts, tugging at them. I swayed in time with all of their caresses, feeling like kelp being tugged to and fro by the tide, but rather than resist their pull, I went with it.

Lost in the swirl of sensation, I spiralled up and up, my hips now moving frantically, trying to reach a place I didn't know well without even a map to guide me. Then a hand landed on my shoulder, its pair sliding down my side and over my hip bone.

"I've got what you need, lass."

Creed. I'd know his gravelly voice anywhere from now on, not that that would be of any great use to me after tonight. For one night only, though, I'd let myself go out in a blaze of glory, right before I made my escape. I smiled then, as much as I could through my panting breaths. I felt like this would be one final act to sever the life I'd had in the city I was born in from the life I'd have when I started anew. The bed tilted as a heavy body climbed on behind me. Then there were fingers pushing between my legs, and I threw my head back as my pleasure spiked.

It was almost too much to have something plunging deep inside me, raking against that spot that sang with each pass, while a quick, mobile tongue flicked and flicked. Then my whole body shook, and I was grateful for the hands holding my wrists. As that handhold tightened, my eyes flew open to see Silas watching my expression intently, his eyes burning with green fire. Creed continued his ministrations, and I jolted in time with the paroxysms that wracked my body, each one provoking a more intense wave of pleasure than the previous. My whole body felt like it was filled with light, making whatever was happening a transcendent experience.

Tears pricked my eyes, and I never wanted it to end, but holding tight to such things is like trying to capture lightning in a bottle. It slips through your fingers as soon as you make a grab for it. Creed slowed his movement; Roan had stilled his tongue. As I returned to myself, I discovered I wasn't the only one experiencing pleasure. The sensation of quick, furtive movements behind me had me turning my head to find Roan's breeches were open and something long and hard had been pulled free for him to stroke.

"What is…?"

I managed to pull free of Silas' grip and, with Creed's help, turned myself right around to kneel on the bed above Roan's head and watch with fascination as his hand worked. Was that his manhood? Despite all the pleasure I'd just felt, that deep-seated ache started up inside me again as I watched him. It was so stiff as he ran his palm along it, and the head of it was a furious red. Sensing he had an audience, Roan slowed his strokes, making a show of swivelling up the shaft and over the head, then back down again.

"You could give it a little kiss, if you like, lass." Roan's voice was ragged.

"A kiss…?"

"The girl's had enough for the night," Creed said, crossing his arms, but when my eyes slid down, I could see him hard and straining against his breeches as well.

"Have I?" My tone was far sharper than I'd ever dared use in my life. "I don't remember saying so."

"So you want to suck a man's dick?" His brows creased slightly. "There's no pleasure to be had in it for you."

"Isn't there?" Roan lifted his other hand to slide it over my rump slowly, then pressed a kiss to my inner thigh, setting my pulse alight again. "Seems like you're doing it wrong, brother."

"Or not doing it at all." Silas smiled at the other man. I'd thought they were strangers, but I saw the malice there. "Perhaps the experience has turned you sour."

There was obviously a whole history between them, but it had nothing to do with me, so I turned back to Roan.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Just a little kiss." Roan's voice was tight as his hand slipped down to the base of his member, holding it out proud from his body. I leaned over with some trepidation, putting my hands on the bed either side of his hips so as not to lose my balance, but then I found my mouth began to water the closer I got. His manhood seemed so hard, his situation so urgent that perhaps a gentle kiss would help ease the pain he was in. His sigh as I bent closer certainly seemed to suggest it would. To my surprise, just as I placed a kiss on the crown, he kissed me back, right where he'd been licking me before. I was sensitive, shaking at the feel of his mouth against me, but I couldn't seem to bring myself to pull away.

"Just like that, lass. You kiss me…" I tried again, wrapping my hand around the shaft that felt too hot, then making my kiss a deeper, more open-mouthed one. "Oh gods… And I'll kiss you."

He tasted of salt and sweat and man. I licked my lips and went back for more. I liked his sighs of pleasure. I liked the way his hips bucked under my hands. I even liked it when he was forced to pull his face away from my centre to groan out his pleasure. Because, somehow, our pleasure had become entwined, and when his tongue returned to lash me twice as fast, the way he licked me grew faster, more frantic, in time with the way I was licking at him. It felt like we were flint and steel striking against each other; that at any moment the friction would create a spark between us that would surely combust. My jaw ached as I forced it open wider to let him in. Then he surged up, thrusting too fast, too hard, into my throat, and that had me pulling back with a splutter. I dropped down to my elbows and turned my head to rest it against the cradle of Roan's hip, the action lifting my over-sensitive core up and away from his mouth as I caught my breath and blinked away the moisture that had sprung to my eyes.

"You useless bastard, you'll choke the girl," Arik growled.

"Not before I choke him."

Creed's eyes blazed a pale yellow-green, glowing in the low light. I followed him with my gaze as he moved toward Roan right before his hand slammed down around the other man's throat. My eyes widened as I stared: Creed's fingers had altered and now ended in claws. I'd heard about the beast men of Khean but had never thought I'd be this close to one.

"Feeling protective, Creed?" Roan rasped, every word forced past the clawed grip. "I can see why." He licked his lips slowly. "She tastes so fucking sweet." Roan prised his head up off the bed to catch my eye as Creed released his hold a little. "You don't have to take me so deep. Most of the sensation is in the head."

"You don't have to do anything at all," Creed said, turning his head my way, with a frown.

"But I want to."

I wriggled my body suggestively, and Roan chuckled. His callused hands skimmed up the backs of my thighs, and when he reached the apex of my legs, he pressed his thumbs into the sensitive flesh there in a way that had me arching my back in response. While it was sweet of Creed to be so protective, he couldn't know that I'd been protected my whole life, and I'd lost my appreciation for it. Although my lips burned a little and my throat felt a little scratchy, that didn't stop me from bending my head and swiping my tongue from the root of Roan's member to the head. He groaned at the sensation, and the others echoed the sound, from sheer envy, it seemed.

"Look at you…" Arik moved toward me, his eyes flickering across my body before he reached over and balled my hair at the base of my skull so he could watch me more clearly. "You're doing so well. Uh-uh… not so deep." I felt like I could go further, but as I stopped, my throat spasmed, then settled. "Good girl. Nice and slow."

"Not too fucking nice and slow…" Roan ground out, his fingers biting into my skin. "Gods, I'm burning up."

"Wrap your fist around the base," Silas said, a crease between his brows as he came closer to add his thoughts. "He'll love the stimulation, and it stops you from going too far."

"That's it," Arik purred, as I followed their instructions, even though my lips hit my hand before I pulled back and tried again. Roan still seemed pleased with my efforts, from the way he flexed his hips and thrust up into my hand, groaning as my grip tightened. "Just like that. Good lass. Such a good lass."

Why did I crave his stream of hoarsely declared praise? Why did I want more? Why did I simply do as they said and shift my hand up and down Roan's shaft in time with my bobbing head, copying what I'd seen him doing before? And why was Arik so interested in seeing what I was doing with another man? I had no answers to any of those questions. But I did know one thing, as I arched my back like a cat, pressing into the hand gripping my hair, pushing back against the hands holding me open so as to devour me whole. Even if I could no longer tell where they started and I ended, it didn't matter, for we were caught in a never-ending loop of pleasure, and I didn't want to escape it.

"You keep doing that, you'll end up with a mouthful of his seed."

Creed's dark and watchful presence reappeared in my line of sight, and his words made the prospect of what he was saying seem something to avoid.

"Yes, you so fucking will," Roan rasped. "Gods, I'm that damn close…!"

"You want it, don't you?" Arik asked me, keeping a firm hold on my hair. Creed let out a low growl, as if in warning, but Arik continued, "Let me tell you, there's nothing better than shooting your seed down the throat of a willing woman. Now, you can pull off, if you like, and he'll spill all over his stomach. But…" His eyes held mine, hypnotising me. A gentle smile formed, a real one. "I don't think you're going to."

I didn't know what they were talking about, but the roseblood was whispering strange things in my ears, and so I kept up the pace with my mouth and hand as I rocked against Roan's mouth, loving the quicksilver feeling of his tongue. Then his lips closed around me, making my whole body jolt. Long pulls of his mouth had the effect of wringing an almost painful level of pleasure from me, so I followed his lead. I sucked harder, faster, and in turn I felt him writhing underneath me, making clear that whatever hell I was tumbling into, he was falling with me. Over and over, our bodies moved in a relentless rhythm, until everything came to a shuddering climax.

With my lips still wrapped around Roan's manhood, my moans of bliss were muted, then I felt that part of him twitching against my tongue. Quick blasts of something filled my mouth, and I had to swallow lest I choke upon it. It was there and gone again, leaving an aftertaste that was partly salt, partly the sweetness of roseblood.

"Let her go!" Creed snarled. "Let her up!"

"Not until she's swallowed every drop," Arik insisted, his grip on my hair loosening as a last shiver wracked me. He let go of my hair altogether and I slowly lifted my head up, savouring Roan's taste as I let his length slip from my lips. Arik didn't waste time. "Sit up and show us." Between the two of them, they helped me move backwards so that I was sitting on my heels on the bed behind Roan's head. Arik looked intently at me. "Open your mouth." And I did as he said, without even thinking. He pushed his thumb against my lower lip, and I opened my mouth wider. He smiled. "Swallowed it all. Good girl."

Was it those two words that made my whole body hum with warmth, or was I still caught up in the sensations Roan and I had plucked from each other's bodies? I didn't know, and I didn't care. I looked up at Arik beneath my lashes, then closed my lips around his thumb and sucked on it.

"Gods… you'll be the death of us."

"Enough." Creed plucked me free from their hands. Lifting me from the bed and holding me tightly to his chest. The way his arms squeezed me against him, combined with the scent and texture of his leather armour biting into my skin, had me squirming. He walked over to a broad, well-cushioned chair and settled himself down in it, arranging me to fit on his lap and within the circle of his arms. I darted my eyes quickly across the room to see that each one of the other men was staring in interest before I looked up at Creed as he held me against him.

"You said you'd look after me," I said, shifting restlessly again, because whatever the roseblood had done to me, it wasn't over. "You said—"

"I know what I said." His growl was more beast than man right now. "And I will look after you, even when those bastards won't, that I can promise you. You'll never want for a thing, not while I take breath."

Apparently, an expression of lifelong devotion was exactly what I needed to hear, and I settled back against him, feeling a strange kind of peace as his grip tightened.