31. Crypt

Those three doltsthought it would be just one night.

But two more days have passed full of classes, tense hallways, intensive combat training followed by far more exhaustive personal training sessions under Maven"s orders, brief casual touching for Maven"s exposure therapy, highly monitored lunches and dinners, etcetera, etcetera?—

And each night, they all end up resting in the same bed as my dark little darling.

After that first night, Decimus insisted that sleeping near Maven had helped him deal with his pissy inner dragon, and she hadn"t argued when Crane and Frost somehow wound up in there with them. Yesterday, after Maven put us through a ruthless training in the dungeon exercise room, Frost had showered, changed into ridiculous silk pajamas, dragged himself into her room, and passed out on the bed before they even discussed it. Crane and Decimus followed suit.

I grin to myself as I watch all of them sleeping deeply. I can hardly blame them. They now know as I do that a night spent not at Maven"s side feels utterly empty and cold.

Perhaps I would find it annoying, keeping Crane"s dangerously unraveled psyche in such a deep sleep every night…except I"ve found that sleeping so close to all of her matches naturally gives Maven constant wet dreams.

I live for the pleasure she finds in her dreams.

Though to be fair, they all get wet dreams sleeping so close to her. It"s been absolutely fucking hilarious to watch Maven wake first every morning and pretend as if she doesn"t have to crawl through a veritable forest of morning wood just to get out of bed and go to the bathroom.

We"ve all been too busy and exhausted for the last few days as we prepare for First Placement for anything else to happen in bed besides sleep. Not to mention, none of us wants to push Maven. She"s barely getting used to not being petrified of physical touch, so we"ve all come to the unspoken agreement not to pounce on her at night. We"re waiting for her to take the lead since she does it so naturally.

But all this sexual torture isn"t good for them. Or me.

I think it"s past time for everyone to blow off steam. It"ll do the entire quintet good and offer some postcoital clarity before we face whatever horrors the Immortal Quintet decides to lob at us today in First Placement.

With that thought in mind, I tiptoe mischievously through Limbo, passing through Decimus"s dream first to get to Maven"s. Decimus is dreaming about her, of course. His projection of what she would look like clad in lace lingerie is mouthwatering. Perhaps almost as good as she"ll look actually wearing it in the real world.

But when I slip into Maven"s dream space, my heart sinks. It isn"t a nightmare—at least, not yet—but this isn"t a pleasant dream. I spent too long working to protect everyone else from Crane"s utter insanity by keeping him fast asleep. I should have returned to her subconscious sooner, but now I watch as Maven singlehandedly slaughters five ghouls in her dream.

She"s standing in the center of a stone arena, wearing leather armor and splattered with blood, as she demolishes the creatures. It"s not even a fair fight. She moves so beautifully as she kills that it"s hard to pull my eyes away. Undead watch in chilling silence from the sidelines, hideous visages of rotting flesh and eyeless sockets that are unable to make a sound. Everything is nearly colorless, and the sun overhead is so dim that it may as well be a full moon.

Once the ghouls are dead, a banshee is brought out. Then a strange, bony monster I"ve never heard of. Then another. On and on the bouts go, and Maven"s face is unlike I"ve ever seen. It"s as if she"s in a trance, utterly lost in the bloodshed.

Even when a wendigo finally manages to sink its claws into her back, ripping through her skin until she"s a bloody mess, Maven has no reaction. She"s mindless with the need to kill.

I change her dream quickly, weaving and adjusting until she"s in this same exact room, in this same situation. All her matches are at her side—only in this dream, I lay wrapped around her. And, of course, she"s entirely naked because I"d always have her naked if it were possible.

My keeper blinks as she gradually adjusts to the new surroundings and then kisses my jaw. "You"re changing my dreams again."

"I only want you to rest peacefully, love."

"Resting in peace is for other dead people. It"s okay to let my dreams be."

"You"re not dead. If you were, I would be haunting you in the Beyond instead."

Maven hums and begins kissing her way down my jawline, turning in my arms to press herself against me. I shut my eyes, enjoying every one of her touches. Still, it"s difficult to be much more engaged than that when I"m also carefully unraveling the tendrils of panic and anxiety that start to unfurl from her psyche with all of this contact.

Maven grinds against my straining erection, humming thoughtfully. "Someone"s excited."

"How can I help it when you sleep so beautifully?"

She pulls away slightly to study me. "Are you this hard because of the dream, or…"

"Or?" I prompt, distracted by the tantalizing friction of her squirming against me.

"Or is it because I"m asleep?"

Godsdamn me, is it that obvious? I look away, toying with the ends of her hair.

"Anytime I"m near you, I"m desperate. But if your sleeping body is a temptation that I would gladly sell the remaining fragments of my soul to worship…does that bother you?"

She turns my chin to make me look at her, and the sultry, curious sparkle in her dark eyes makes my heart stutter. "No. Actually, I"m…intrigued. Is this something most people do?"

I swallow. "No."

Maven considers that and returns to kissing my jaw. "Their loss. Like you said, I think we both enjoy being fucked up. So if you want to use me in my sleep, you have my permission."

Gods above.

I exhale slowly, trying not to frighten her by showing how desperately I want that. But what if I"m influencing her dream to make her say this? I hesitate, checking to make sure that"s not the case.

None of my power is seeping into her subconscious. This is all Maven.

"You"re sure, love?" I rasp, my cock aching as excitement pulses through my veins. She has no idea how much I want this or all the fantasies she"s giving the green light for. "You"re giving me permission to take your gorgeous body when you"re asleep?"

She kisses me in her dream. "Yes. Fuck me while I dream about you, Nightmare Prince."

I moan at the unfiltered arousal perfuming her entire dream. I could feed on this every single damned night, and having her explicit permission to adore her sleeping body to my heart"s content is the single greatest thing I"ve ever been given?—

But the first time I fuck Maven, I want it to be in the mortal world and not in her pretty dreams.

"Hold that thought, darling," I whisper, kissing her and slipping back out of her dream.

From Limbo, I watch as she makes a soft sound of need in her sleep. It makes Decimus roll over, his own dream wavering as he nearly wakes.

I roll my shoulders back and pop my knuckles. It"s been a while since I've intertwined dreams. And never sex dreams.

But like a maestro, I grasp Frost"s vague dream about kissing and interweave it with Maven"s. Then I work at Decimus"s and finally Crane"s. By the time I"m done merging their dreams, all of Limbo around me is thick with want and desperation. Silently, I check back into the conjoined dream and find?—

Fuck me. She"s taking two of them at once.

I gaze in awe, palming my rock-hard erection through my pants as I watch Maven moan and rock between Crane and Decimus in her dream. Decimus is rutting her pussy from beneath as she rides him, and Crane swears in fae as he fucks her ass with a vengeance. There was no need for buildup or lubrication in a dream like this—because sensations are different in the dream world. They"re heightened, unhindered by real-world troubles.

They"re all panting, gasping, coming undone. Frost kneels beside them and whispers for Maven to open up. She moans when he slides his cock into her mouth—the collective dream ripples as Frost nearly wakes at the dreamy pleasure. There"s a dream projection of me, too, approaching on Maven"s other side.

But I don"t care to keep watching. I"m too ravenous for her.

Stepping out of Limbo, I slip under the blankets at the foot of the massive bed and crawl until I"m between Maven"s legs. My breathing is labored, desperate, as I gently pull her pajamas off. I press my face against the thin panties between her thighs and inhale, stroking myself as I obsess over how utterly perfect my darling"s pussy is.

I kiss up her thighs, licking and tasting until I finally pull aside her panties and lap at her entrance. Gods, she"s so wet and sweet and fucking heady. It"s the first time I"ve tasted her gorgeous cunt, and I can do nothing but groan and devour the ambrosia that is her arousal. I slip one finger inside of her and gently circle my thumb around her clit, kissing and licking as I relish every clench of her dripping cunt.

Obsession beats in my veins like a drum, growing more intense with each passing moment. I want to breathe her, taste her—wrap myself in her twisted, beautiful mind and etch myself into her bones until every move she makes, I make with her.

When I make her my muse, my dark little darling will discover how utterly obsessed I am. She"ll see inside my head and learn just how unhinged I become at the very thought of her.

And she"ll love it. Of that, I"m certain.

As I devour Maven, I"m vaguely aware that their combined dream is ripening as they no doubt approach climaxing in their sleep. Some people wake from such intense sensations—and if one dreamer wakes from a combined dream, they all do. So I"m not particularly surprised when, a moment later, I hear Frost"s sharp gasp before the dream ruptures, all four of them snapping awake.

I grin against Maven"s thigh, placing a kiss there. Time to see if my meddling worked.

I don"t have to wait long. Decimus moans and rocks his shorts-covered erection against Maven"s thigh, which is obnoxiously close to my head.

"Godsdamn, baby, you smell so fucking good when you"re wet for us," he whispers.

Maven is gasping as she pushes the blanket back to look down at me. She doesn"t quite see my eyes in this dark room, but I have the glorious ability to see how flushed she is as she bites her lip and lifts her hips, grinding slightly against my face.

"More," she whispers, squeezing her eyes shut. "Please, I"m so close already, just?—"

Crane licks a path up her neck, his hand slipping up beneath her shirt and the other tugging off his clothing.

"I need you. Now, sangfluir," he pants.

Our keeper makes a delicious little sound that goes straight to my cock. I move out of the way, watching in open-mouthed anticipation as Decimus starts quite literally ripping the rest of her pajamas off of her as if they"ve personally offended him.

As soon as her tits are free, Decimus sucks one of her nipples into his mouth as Crane moves on top of Maven. Frost is at the edge of the bed near me, and I hear him swear quietly when Crane thrusts home as Maven cries out, arching off the bed with pleasure.

Crane fucks her mercilessly while I stroke myself to the exquisite sounds Maven makes as she comes. When the blood fae finishes several moments later with a harsh swear, she squirms and whispers, "Fuck me. I need all of you to fuck me."

Without wasting another moment, I shove Crane aside and lean down to capture Maven"s lips with mine. Dragging the pierced head of my cock through her sopping entrance, I savor the way her breath hitches and her fingernails drag down my back when she feels my piercings dragging against her sensitive clit.

"Crypt," she whispers, arching against me. "Gods, I need?—"

I know exactly what she needs. Thrusting forward, I grit my teeth when her tight, hot pussy squeezes all of me. Fucking hell, I can barely breathe through how good she feels.

Sex was never like this before. It was empty and lacked much sensation, just like the rest of my dismal existence without Maven. But now I pound home, the blinding pleasure almost too much. I pin her down so I can fuck my darling hard and rough like we both need.

"Fuck, listen to how wet she is," Decimus breathes. "You"re doing so fucking good for us, baby."

He leans down and kisses below our keeper"s ear, whisperingfilthy things—things my darling certainly likes, judging by the way she suddenly comes again, gasping and arching her back as she gushes around me.

It"s too much, and I hiss in pleasure as euphoria barrels through me, my cock jerking and pulsing inside of her.

"Fuck. It"s my turn. I need that pussy," Decimus groans raggedly. As soon as I pull out of her, dizzy from the force of that orgasm, he grabs Maven and maneuvers her until she"s straddling him. They both moan as she sinks onto him, and my cock twitches in appreciation when I see our keeper"s head thrown back in pure ecstasy.

"Gods, fuck, gods," she chants. "Harder."

"She"s so perfect," Frost whispers.

Crane moves behind Maven, and for a moment, I"m worried he"s going to try their little dream fantasy before she"s prepared—but then his fangs are in her neck, which makes Maven gasp and writhe with pleasure.

"So fucking needy for us, aren"t you?" Decimus murmurs. "Gods, baby, you"re so fucking gorgeous."

"I—I want Everett, too," Maven pants. "Now."

I"d almost forgotten about Frost. He"s still at the edge of the bed, gazing at our keeper with hooded eyes. Poor sap must think he"s still dreaming.

"Don"t keep my mate waiting," Decimus growls, leaning up to nip at one of her nipples. That makes her cry out, and I begin to stroke myself again because how could I not be hard as fucking steel, watching all of her glorious pleasure?

Frost swallows hard. "Maven, I—I don"t…I haven"t, um…"

She has no idea he"s a virgin. I could laugh at how nervous he sounds.

"I want to taste you," Maven whispers.

Lucky bastard.

Frost shudders, and for a moment, I think he"s going to run from the room to avoid embarrassing himself. But finally, the ice elemental crawls to Maven as Crane moves out of the way. He brushes a chaste kiss against her lips.

"I can"t just…" he trails off uncertainly.

Maven makes a sound of frustration, and then I have to grip my throbbing erection tightly when she sticks two of her own fingers in her mouth, riding Decimus as she sucks on herself so fucking sensually, it may as well be a godsdamned cock.

"Fuck, baby," Decimus grits out. "You"re so damn hot. You just need something in that pretty mouth so fucking bad, don"t you?"

She hums in agreement, reaching up with her other hand to pinch one of her own nipples. Gods above, I could watch her like this for eternity.

"If Frost is refusing you, let me—" I begin.

As I expected, Frost immediately shoves me away, swears creatively, and kneels beside Maven, ripping down the front of his pajama pants to feed her his straining cock.

"Fine. You fucking want this? Open."

Maven eagerly sucks his cock into her mouth, and he makes a strangled sound, his head thrown back as he clearly is already on the brink of losing control. Since Decimus and Frost are keeping her occupied, I move to her other side. Leaning over Decimus to suck one of her pretty nipples into my mouth, I bite it playfully.

The added stimulation makes Maven moan around Frost"s cock. That sends him over the edge, and he gasps as he comes in her mouth. The fact that she swallows it without hesitation makes us all groan—and Decimus swears before thrusting hard up into her one last time, his thick cock pulsing inside of her.

We all slump onto the bed, trying to catch our breaths for a long, rapturous moment. Crane gently brushes Maven"s hair out of her face, kissing her temple and forehead. His voice is full of concern.

"How do you feel so far, ima sangfluir?"

"Fucked up, but in a much better way than usual."

Decimus laughs, rubbing his face. "He means, do we need to rush you to a toilet and hold your hair out of the way?"

Our keeper pauses as if she"s taking stock of her body. She rubs one of her arms and clears her throat. "No. I'll shower in a moment."

I close my eyes, basking in the knowledge that all that fuckery I instigated isn"t going to end up with her suffering as much afterward as she did in Pennsylvania.

Progress is progress.

"Hang on. So far?" Maven sits up and squints through the darkness down at Crane.

Decimus hums. "We have hours before sunrise to kill with more canoodling, Boo."

"Not Boo," she mumbles. "Maybe I should punch you again."

"Right, sorry. Not-Boo," he grins. "So, now that you"ve sampled all the cocks that matter in this quintet?—"

"You"re such a fucking dick," Frost scowls, covering his face with one arm.

"—feel free to tell the rest of these fuckers that you prefer mine the most," Bael finishes.

I mime gagging myself, and then realize my theatrics are lost on everyone except perhaps Baelfire, and even the shifter's night vision isn"t nearly as good as mine.

"If you"d like, love, I"ll knock out the dragon so he sleeps during this next round."

"All this talk of a next round is…" Maven sighs.

Frost"s voice is soft. "Ignore them. We"ll all leave you alone so you can sleep if you"re tired, Oakley."

"Actually, I was going to say it"s making me horny as fuck again. But if we don"t stop, we"ll all be exhausted tomorrow?—"

My cock is painfully hard again, and I quickly offer a solution so I can get my hands on her beautiful body again. "I can make sure you all rest extra deeply for the last hour or two before we need to leave. An utterly dreamless, restful sleep."

"How bizarre. The incubus is useful for once," Crane muses, kissing Maven"s neck. "We'll help you shower."

When he licks where he bit her earlier, she inhales sharply and squirms. Decimus groans again about how delicious the scent of her arousal is. Frost is already kissing her again as he lifts her to take her into the bathroom for a shower.

I grin to myself as I follow. I"ll have to meddle like this more often.