Chapter 17

Seventeen

"He's asleep," Esau murmured as he brushed back some of Gideon's hair. "We wore him out."

"As we should," Joaquin said, smiling.

Esau lifted on his elbow to see Joaquin better over Gideon's head. "I've never heard you like that with me. I have to say I'm a little jealous he made you feel like that when I couldn't."

Joaquin snagged Esau's hand. "I love you. I love being with you. Never doubt that."

"I don't," Esau said. "I just… I've wanted to give you the same pleasure you've given me, and I've felt like a failure." He moved his hand from Joaquin and caressed Gideon's cheek. "He gave you something I couldn't."

"No… he used magic to do something neither of you could do without."

Esau's gaze flicked up. "So, you finally admit it? I've never given you an orgasm, have I?"

"You have,"Joaquin whispered hotly. "You have. Just… never one like that."

Esau lowered his gaze, saddened.

Joaquin tucked a finger under Esau's chin and forced it back up. "He used magic. Had it not been for that…" Joaquin frowned. "I love being with you. I love every inch of your body and how hot you look taking my cock. I get off on that, and you damned well know it."

"What did the magic do that I couldn't?"

"It made me feel like… like this cock was almost real. I got a little taste of what it would feel like to have sex in a body born male." He cocked his head to the side. "And I want to know it again. One of the witches here might be able to give me that… and know what it truly feels like to be inside you both."

Esau nodded. "If that's what you want, I support your decision. But my grandmother always said that magic came at a price… so be careful. That's all I ask."

"Of course I will." Joaquin stole his hand again and kissed it. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Esau lay back down, exhausted after their night together. He wanted to sleep, but all he could think about was what Gideon gave that he'd been unable to.

Gideon awoketo sunlight and his mates draped around him on either side. He smiled up at the ceiling, the bright light coming through feeling warm. Outside, the sky was a brilliant robin's egg blue that screamed to come outside and enjoy it. And he would, with his mates.

Esau stretched beside him, a smile on his lips. "How'd you sleep?"

Gideon's eyes widened, and he smiled. "No nightmares. Two for two."

"I'm glad," Esau said before kissing him.

"I think it might be you and Joaquin chasing them away. I might make you stay with me forever."

Esau laughed. "Twist my arm…"

Joaquin rolled over, big spoon to Gideon's little. He pressed a kiss to Gideon's shoulder. "Morning."

Gideon turned his head and captured the other kiss intended for his arm. "Morning."

Joaquin leaned across him. He and Esau kissed. "Hey, babe."

Gideon smiled at the love he saw in their eyes—and was a tiny bit jealous of it. Hopefully he'd see that in their eyes when they looked at him. In time.

After a moment of silent appreciation of one another, they both turned their attention to him.

Gideon couldn't help feeling a bit like he was being studied under a microscope. "What?"

"Last night," Joaquin murmured. "Was wild. You okay?"

"I am. You?" he asked, turning his focus between them both. He'd vaguely heard them speaking the night before as he'd drifted to sleep. He focused on Esau. "I didn't do whatever I did on purpose. I swear."

Esau's eyes narrowed. "You heard me, I take it?"

"I did, sorry."

Esau looked away.

"If it makes you feel any better, I felt a little jealous seeing the two of you looking at each other with such love. I feel I've got a lot of catching up to do."

"I doubt it'll take long for you to catch up," Esau murmured. "You're already crawling under my skin with ease."

"Seconded," Joaquin added.

Gideon smiled to himself.

Esau captured his chin, lifting his gaze. "Yeah, I felt a little jealous… but I lay here last night after we'd talked and realized I'd never had an orgasm like that in my life, either. I could hardly be mad you'd given us both such pleasure. It was amazing. You were amazing."

"I just wish I knew what I'd done," Gideon said. "So I can make sure I do it again next time."

"I like the sound of that," Joaquin said.

Gideon eyed his shifter. "I didn't cross a line?"

Joaquin smiled wanly. "For a brief second, I was a bit stunned. Not gonna lie. But, it was incredible. A gift."

Gideon smiled, warmed by Joaquin's acceptance. And enjoyment.

"I understand that there"s a witch here that might be able to make the gift you shared more permanent." Joaquin scratched at his beard and gave Gideon a panty-wetting grin. "Is that true?"

"It is." Gideon said. "Our body-modifier's name is Nix."

"Nick's?"Esau asked.

"Phoenix. Nix for short." Gideon looked between them. "Are either one of you hungry?"

"Yeah," Joaquin said. "But only if we"re going to Graham's place. That man knows his way around a man"s stomach."

"Should I be jealous?" Gideon asked, grinning.

"Never."Joaquin smiled. He pressed a kiss to Gideon"s lips, caressing the side of his face. "He might know the way around my stomach, but you know the way around everything else."

Gideon grinned. He loved hearing that—Joaquin's satisfaction rang clearly in the man"s voice. "Then we better get downstairs and have our breakfast before we head off and explore Salem." Gideon hesitated a moment. There was a lot he needed to share about his hometown before they went too far. Yet at the same time, he was worried to share too much and scare them away. "Just so you"re aware, there are a lot of paranormal beings living here in Salem. Not all of them are good. Just be aware that this is unlike any place you"ve probably ever been before."

Esau snickered. "We lived a couple of hundred miles away from a Mexican Hellmouth. I think we can handle Salem."

Gideon"s eyes widened. The pair had clearly had run-ins with demons before. "Then I'll leave it at that." If he didn"t have to explain a demon infestation, all the better. But then again, the infestation was no more thanks to his power locking the demons away.

Gideon paused again, realizing that he still no longer felt the massive drain of power those spells had caused earlier. Was that also due to him finding his mates? While they had not committed to one another fully, they still were together, working to form a triad.

The three of them rose, quickly showered one after the other, and got dressed, moving about the apartment in such a natural way that it brought a smile to Gideon"s face. It already felt like they belonged there, that his home was already theirs. It would only be a matter of time, hopefully, before he could welcome them there, to live at his side, as he"d always hoped to have one day.

"You guys are living in a hotel. Where were you planning to move permanently?"

Joaquin lifted his gaze and held Gideon's. "I don"t know where we go next."

Joaquin and Esau shared a look that appeared to almost be telepathic. When they both turned his way, he sensed they'd just shared a vision of them there, with Gideon. From the energy in the room, he guessed it hadn't been a bad vision.

Gideon hid a smile, knowing it was too soon for them to share the apartment together. But hopefully one day soon they would, and he would finally have a family again. People to call his own. While he thought of his coven as family, particularly the ones among the tattoo studio, he knew they had lives and loves of their own. They wouldn't be there every night to hold him close and whisper that they loved him.

They wouldn't kiss his lips and share intimacies of the flesh.

He'd been surrounded by them for years yet had grown so lonely in the last year. Lonelier still when other members of the coven had found their mates and focused on those under their own roofs. He understood. Truly he did, yet it still stung. Luca had been the hardest. His friendship meant everything. For some reason, when he'd met Ash, it hadn't been difficult. When Colby and Daniel had arrived, things had changed drastically.

Ash was a shifter, and strong, able to easily take care of himself, but Colby had been cursed and Daniel had special needs. They needed Luca in a way Ash hadn't.

In the way Gideon had once needed.

They were Luca's responsibility now, not Gideon.

Not me.The realization that he'd been Luca's responsibility struck hard. For all his talk of independence and strength, he'd leaned hard on Luca for years. Luca was the one he ran to when in trouble. He'd brought his joys, his triumphs, and his sadness to Luca.

The realization had his stomach in a knot.

"What's wrong?" Joaquin asked, coming behind him and wrapping two strong arms about his shoulders.

He leaned back into his shifter's strength. "Nothing."

"I can sense your melancholy," Joaquin whispered beside his ear. "Have we caused it?"

"No." He spun to face Joaquin. "Though you perhaps caused some introspection and made me realize a truth I didn't see before now."

Joaquin tilted his chin up. "What truth is that?"

"That I'm not as strong as I like to make out."

Esau joined them, sliding behind Gideon. "You seem pretty strong to me."

"I've leaned too much on another, all while claiming I was strong and didn't need them. I was a fool."

"What brought that line of thinking along?" Esau asked before brushing his lips against the side of Gideon's forehead.

"I was thinking how nice it would be to have you live here with me one day, so I wasn't so alone. How much lonelier I've been since Luca's found his mates," Gideon scoffed.

"Luca?" Joaquin asked gruffly, one brow rising.

"It's not like that. He's my friend. A brother. We're very, very close, but not like that. It's never been intimate, at least not sexually."

"But it's intimate in other ways?" Esau asked.

"Yeah, I suppose you can say it has. He and I began our lives here at the same time. We grew close as apprentices, and he became my best friend. When Colby and Daniel joined him and Ash, they needed him more. I pitched in. Helped where I could, but part of me wonders if I wasn't there because I didn't want to be forgotten."

Joaquin lifted his chin. "Who in their right mind could ever forget you?"

Gideon laughed. "Why did I just tell you all that? I sound clingy and weird—and I'm going to send you both running for the hills."

"You don't sound clingy or weird," Esau said, turning Gideon to face him. "You sound like someone who's experienced loneliness and now has a potential alternative in his life." He kissed Gideon's cheek. "I think I speak for Joaquin when I say we want to be the ones you come to when you need. The highs and the lows. Good days and bad."

Gideon smiled. "You could see yourselves here? Living among my coven?"

"No way," Joaquin said.

Gideon spun to eye the man, hurt.

"Not unless you want me to pack on twenty pounds eating Graham's cooking," Joaquin added. He smiled, snuggling closer to Gideon. "I suppose we'll have to come up with an activity to keep the pounds off."

"Oh, I don't think you'll have a problem in the exercise department. I plan to keep you quite busy there." Gideon grinned.

"Good," Joaquin said, offering a suggestive wink. "If I have two sexy mates to please, I suppose it can work."

Joaquin's kiss stole his breath. Watching his mates share a kiss of their own moments later was just as enjoyable. "Tonight… if you plan to stay… I wanna play voyeur. Is that okay?"

Joaquin froze. "You wanna watch… me fuck Esau?"

"I do," Gideon said. "Sit in the shadows, watch you pound that sexy ass." He glanced over his shoulder and noticed Esau's smirk. "Is that okay?"

"Fuck yeah," Esau murmured. "It's fucking hot."

"Hey, I played a little voyeur last night," Joaquin said. "Watching him fuck you was seriously hot."

"I'm suddenly feeling left out," Esau said. "I think I need to do a little watching of my own in the near future. See what all the fuss is about."

"We can take turns." Gideon grinned. He turned his focus on Joaquin. "Let me call the studio. See if Nix is around. If not, we can go knock on his door. He lives at the other end of the hall."

After a kiss to each of his mates, Gideon called down and learned Nix had the morning off. "Let's swing by and see if he's home."

Once they were all fully dressed, they headed out, making a pitstop at Phoenix's apartment. Gideon leaned in, sure he heard voices… and perhaps a moan. "Sounds like he's busy."

Before they could go, the door whipped open. Phoenix stood with a towel about his waist, covered in droplets of water. Gideon's eyes widened.

He sure as hell hadn't seen the guy nearly nude, before. Phoenix was stacked. His body was covered in tattoos, and it was a thing of beauty.

Gideon swallowed. "Sorry, I heard sounds of company after I knocked. We can stop by again later when you're free."

"I'm alone," Phoenix snapped. "Whatd'ya want?"

Alone?Gideon was sure he'd heard voices. "I wanted to introduce you to my mates. Esau and Joaquin."

"Hey," Phoenix said, offering a hand to each and shaking. He offered a nod to another—an empty space to the side of Esau before eyeing Gideon. "Is that all?"

Gideon frowned. "What was that?"

Phoenix frowned. "What?"

"That nod?"

"Nothing," Phoenix mumbled. "If that's all?"

"No," Gideon said. "What was that nod?" Gideon looked at the space between Joaquin and Esau before looking back at Phoenix. A thought suddenly hit. "Can you see things we can't?"

Phoenix sighed, a cocky tilt to his head following. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I've seen you talking to a wall before. I thought you might be a little off, but I'm starting to think there's more to it."

Phoenix glared at him.

"I could just go ask Cassius," Gideon murmured.

"I can see the dead. There, are you happy?"

Gideon gasped. He glanced back at the spot between Joaquin and Esau. "Who do you see now?"

Phoenix scratched his head. "Esmerelda. Esau's grandmother." Phoenix cocked his head to the side, as if he was listening. He turned to Joaquin. "She says you need something from me, so spill."

Joaquin was silent.

"Man, I don't have all day," Phoenix spat.

"I understand you do body mods?" Joaquin asked in a rush of breath.

"I do. Among other things."

"I, ah…" Joaquin drew in an inhale. "I would like to… match the me I see in my head."

Phoenix looked a bit confused but turned in the direction of Esau's grandmother before looking back at Joaquin. "Yeah, man, sure. I can do that. But I do recommend a test period before laying ink for a change that big. It's a major one, and we don't know what price you'll have to pay to get it."

"How do we test something like that?" Joaquin asked.

"I can put the spell on something you wear. A necklace…" He shook his head, eyeing a small silver ring on Joaquin's hand. "A ring might be better." Phoenix held out his hand until Joaquin slid the ring off and placed it in his palm. "Yeah, give me until this evening. I'll enchant the ring. You can test it out, see how it feels. If it's truly what you want, and maybe get a glimpse of what cost the magic will take. Then you can come get your ink if it's a price you're willing to pay."

Joaquin looked at Phoenix. "I gotta be sure whatever Esau's grandmother said was what I was going to say."

"Esmerelda said you were born female but you're a dude and you want your body to match."

Joaquin's face reddened.

Phoenix shrugged. "It's cool. I've done it before for others, so no worries."

"I'm more concerned with how Esau's grandmother knows that and if she's always at Esau's side," Joaquin murmured. He eyed the empty spot Phoenix had been looking toward. "No offense and I appreciate the assist, but I don't need to know his grandmother's in the room when we're…."

"She's not," Phoenix said, chuckling. "She hightails it out as soon as she sees shit's going down. But otherwise… yeah… she's hanging out." Phoenix cocked his head to the side and frowned. He eyed Joaquin and Esau. "She says she's protecting you."

"From what?" Gideon asked, concern growing.

"Nothing," Esau murmured. "She's just being an overprotective grandmother."

"Yeah, we should go eat and leave Phoenix to work on that ring," Joaquin said. "How much will this cost me?"

"The ring itself, Gideon knows the price. The magic in it?" Phoenix shrugged. "You'll have to wait and see."

"What has it been for others you've done this for?"

"Each enchantment is different," Gideon said. "It depends on what's been asked… and who the spell is for. People who are inherently good often pay a price less steep than those who are inherently bad." Gideon met Joaquin's stare. "Which are you?"

"I think you know the answer to that," Joaquin murmured, the look in his eyes sparking the flame in Gideon once more.

"That's my cue to leave," Phoenix muttered, stepping back inside his apartment.

"Thanks," Joaquin said. "And nice meeting you."

"Yeah, nice meeting you," Esau said before the door closed. He turned toward the empty space between them. "Come on, Abuelita."

Before Gideon could trail them, Phoenix's door opened slightly, and a hand came out to gently yank him closer. Gideon looked up at Phoenix, confused by the sweet smile on his lips.

"You complete them, mija. I'm glad they finally found you," a female voice said instead of Phoenix's. "My duty is done. I leave them in your hands now. Protect them well."

"I will," Gideon said with a smile.

"And make this old Catholic woman happy. Have a wedding. Make it official before God."

"Witches don't really have weddings. We mate."

"The ring is eternal. A symbol of undying love. It holds a magic power all its own. Promise me you will bind yourselves together."

"Okay," Gideon whispered. "I promise."

Esau's grandmother leaned down and pressed a kiss to Gideon's forehead. "Be good to my boys."

Phoenix shook his head and looked down, immediately yanking himself away. "That witch! How dare she." He paused, glared at Gideon, and then slammed the door without another word.

Gideon smiled to himself and turned. Down the hallway, he noticed both Esau and Joaquin watching him with narrowed eyes. He fought the smile growing wider as he ambled down to meet them.

"Do you kiss all your friends?" Joaquin asked, brow rising.

"One, I didn't do the kissing. Two, that was Esau's grandmother I was just now speaking to. She possessed Nix for a moment, which he was none too happy about. She likes me. Says I should protect you."

The pair shared another of their telepathic looks.

"Clue me in? What am I to protect you from?" Gideon asked.

"Nothing," Joaquin spat.

Esau looked away and pressed the button for the elevator.

Gideon sensed they were being evasive, but he wouldn't push. Things were too new. In time, he'd learn all their secrets. Whether they wanted him to or not.

After breakfast at Bewitched Bites, they walked outside into the unseasonably warm winter day, their stomachs full. Gideon lifted his face to the sun and felt its warmth, enjoying the morning. It was the first time in a long one where he felt hope. He was ready to show his mates Salem and see it through their eyes, and hopefully convince them to one day call it home themselves.

"Come on… there's a lot to see."