The reaction was instant. Just like the bond with Leo and Dyson, I felt Sawyer's presence and his mood. Right now he was amused at something, probably me and my caution.
I sent him "fuck you" vibes and resisted the urge to poke my tongue out at him.
He grinned and sent thoughts of him touching Leo intimately. Maybe they were memories. Either way, I didn't want to know. I pulled the stone off and tossed it back to him.
Mercifully, the bond was gone again.
"See, nothing to it." He tucked the stones into his pocket. "Be careful for a day or two and you'll be fine."
"Thanks for the warning," I said ironically. "I guess you have to be careful too."
He shrugged. "Yeah, see the sacrifice I made because Cordy wanted to help you out."
I frowned. "Why is that?"
"Why did I make the sacrifice?"
"No. Why does she want to help me?" Wanting to kiss someone and going to a lot of trouble for them were two different things.
"I was asking myself the same thing." He propped his chin on his hands. "I guess she likes you for some reason. Maybe she wants you to understand what went on with Leo."
I blinked a few times. "What do you mean?"
"You're bonded, right?"
"Right," I said slowly. "So what?"
"So he must have had a bonding stone. Or you do and all of this is for nothing." He spread his hands.
"I don't." I tucked my legs under me and thought. "I don't think he did either. He was so certain it was fate." He had the magic sucking stone, but so far I had no reason to think they were related. I decided to keep that information to myself for now.
Sawyer let out a choked laugh. "Leo, the hopeless, fucking romantic." He shook his head. "There's nothing romantic about it. Well, not really. In the wrong hands, bonding magic could be a powerful weapon."
"So what are you saying? Leo bonded with me on purpose?" I didn't believe that. He was as surprised as I was. He firmly believed we were meant to be. I had believed it, too, but now I wasn't sure what to think.
"That, or someone made sure it happened. Although, that someone had to be sure you'd screw each other. It's possible it was meant for someone else, not Leo. You do have quite the collection of cocks."
"Do you have to be so crude about it?" I shifted uncomfortably. Sure my relationships were unconventional, but we did nothing without the knowledge and consent of everyone else.
He grinned. "I wouldn't have thought you were a prude."
I snorted. "I'm not, I just don't like feeling slut shamed. Maybe you're jealous."
I thought he might laugh, but instead he looked thoughtful. "Possibly. Maybe I should gather my own harem and see how I like it."
"Suit yourself." At this point I had more questions than answers. "Do you know why anyone would want me to bond?" That made me more uncomfortable than slut shaming. The idea that someone might have forced this on Leo and I wasn't much better than assault. "And how?"
"A touch with a bond stone would do it," he replied. "Did you bump into anyone in a crowd?"
I thought back to the train. "Plenty." Especially the older woman whose bag almost tripped me. Coincidence? Possibly, but I doubted it. I wished I could remember more details, but I didn’t pay her much attention. That was probably the idea. Be forgettable, but do what has to be done.
"As to the why," he leaned back and looked up at the sky. "Maybe Leo paid someone off. He must have been very sure you'd spread your legs."
I didn't rise to his bait. "I'm almost certain he had nothing to do with it. I could have been targeted at random."
"Did I mention how expensive bond stones are?"
"And yet, you have two," I pointed out.
"I know a guy."
"Now you sound like Leo."
Sawyer hissed. "I'm starting to regret helping you."
"Why did you?" I asked. "Really. You don't seem like the type to go out of his way for his sister."
Before he could respond, Kane groaned and sat up.
"Hey, are you—"
I was so focused on him, I almost missed seeing a dark shape leap out of the nearby bushes and bound toward us.
17
The gargoyle was so big, I flinched. He growled and threw himself at Sawyer. His friends leapt to their feet with cries of alarm, and scattered.
"Matt!"
He knocked Sawyer back onto the sand and stood with his front paws on the demon's chest.
"I should have know he was your fuckin' dog," Sawyer spat. "Get off me."
Matt leaned down so his face almost touched Sawyer's nose and growled. Deep and menacing, it sent chills down my spine.
"Let him up," I said after a few moments. Of course I had to let Sawyer squirm for a little while.
Matt turned toward me and cocked his head.
"He's a dick, but he's more or less harmless," I assured him.
Matt let out a gusty sigh and climbed off Sawyer. I thought he might shift, but instead he lay in the sand near the demon and rested his head on his front legs. The message was clear, "I'm ready to bite you the moment she says so."
"Lucky that wasn't Nash," I remarked. "He would have ripped your head off and asked questions later." I eyed the bushes as if a dragon might fly out without warning.
"Dyson too." Kane rubbed his head and scooted over closer to me. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." I gave him a quick kiss of reassurance and searched the bond for Leo and Dyson. Both were groggy, but okay as far as I could tell. I sent them thoughts of me being fine as well. Both responded with relief.
Sawyer slowly sat back up, his eyes on Matt, and brushed sand off himself.
"Hybrids. Why do they always have bad tempers?"
"Maybe it's not them," I suggested. While he scowled, I said, "You called him a dog. Why did the bond not happen with him?" Or Nash for that matter. From what I gathered, dog shifter DNA played a part in the creation of gargoyles and dragons.
"The dog is too diluted in hybrids," Sawyer replied grudgingly.
I nodded, then asked another question. "Can girls bond other girls?" This whole bonding thing would be horribly judgemental if they couldn't.
"Arousal fluids are arousal fluids," he replied. "It's trickier, but possible. Fingers, dildos, etc."
"Right." I swallowed. The visual image made my blood hot.
"You're not bonding my sister," Sawyer said coldly.
"That's up to her," I replied, my tone matching his.
A shadow passed overhead. It blocked out the moon for several heartbeats before it wheeled around.
Sawyer flinched. "Don't tell me, one of your cocks is a dragon?"
"Yeah, but I'm starting to think the biggest cock here here is you," I told him.
He looked down at his groin. "Believe it. Not that you'll ever find out."
I grimaced. "Thank the gods for that."
I rose and waved toward Nash as he flew over again.
He banked sharply and landed a few metres from the fire, scattering sand with his large, clawed feet. He stalked toward Sawyer until he saw Matt lying near him.
"I'm fine, but I don't mind if you bite his head off." I pointed toward Sawyer.
The demon placed a hand on either side of his face. "Hey, I'm attached to my head. Remind me not to help you again."
"It's not the help that's the problem, it's the method," I said. "As a teacher, Nash is well within his rights to eat you." I was only half joking.
Sawyer snorted. "He's not my type, either."
Nash snorted a hot breath out his large nostrils.
"I think the feeling is mutual," I remarked. "But I don't mean the good kind of eating."
"Yeah, I figured." Sawyer moved away from Nash, but the dragon shifter followed him.
"I think he might like you after all." I watched for a moment, then felt Leo and Dyson getting closer. If this place was supposed to be a secret, Sawyer had brought the wrong person here. We wouldn't tell anyone about the place, but we'd know where to find the demon and his friend
s.
"Someone is coming," Kane said.
Matt rose and padded toward the bushes just as Dyson, Leo, and Blake staggered through and into the clearing.
"I told you she'd be here," Dyson said happily,
"We believed you," Blake assured him. "Well, I did." He glanced at Leo.
"I knew she'd be close, old boy, I was only off by a little bit." Leo sniffed. He stopped and watched Nash stalk Sawyer, a bemused look on his face. "Looks like we got here just in time."
Dyson grabbed my hand to pull me to him and pressed a long, lingering kiss to my lips.
To my surprise and delight, the moment he stepped back, Blake did the same. His mouth was warm and tasted of beer and promise. His hands slid down my sides and around to cup my rear. He drew me closer still and slid his tongue between my lips.
After a long moment, he pulled back and smiled. "I've been wanting to do that for a while."
"Me too," I said softly. "I… I love you as much as the other guys."
"I love you, too," he said softly. "Should we call off Nash, though?"
I looked over my shoulder to see Sawyer stumble back away from the great dragon.
"I suppose so." I sighed. Hopefully he'd learnt his lesson. Don't screw with me. Any woman, really. "Nash, let him be before he wets himself."
"I would never…" Sawyer spluttered, but he looked relieved when Nash stopped and sat in the sand. "Thank you."
"Yeah." I shrugged and looked toward Leo. "We need to talk."
"That sounds ominous," he said, with a nervous glance at the other guys.
I gestured toward the sand and sat crossed-legged on the edge of the firelight. When he sat beside me, I told him what Sawyer told me about the bonding.
Every so often, Leo would frown toward Sawyer. But the time I was done, he was scowling.
"It’s fate, it has to be, darlin'," he insisted. He looked like a man who had the rug pulled out from under his feet. And then he was rolled up in that rug and tossed off a bridge.
I sighed softly. "Nash was right, it was magic. For some reason, someone needed me to bond."
"Maybe the gods came down to Earth…"
"You believe in the gods?" I asked.
He scratched his head. "Not really, but I'd rather believe that than think someone forced me on you."
I placed a hand lightly on his. "They didn't. I wouldn't have slept with you if I didn't see a future with you. Same for all the guys. Call me selfish, but I want to be with all of you."
Leo leaned in to kiss me lightly. "You're not selfish. We all like this…whatever this is. That doesn't change the fact someone made us bond. How did they even know we were there?"
I gaped. "I hadn't even thought of that," I admitted. Of course, it should have been the first thing to occur to me.
"Is it possible Corinne left us there for them to find?" Leo asked.
"She would never do that," Blake said from where he stood near the fire. He moved closer and looked worried. "Not unless they made her talk."
I shook my head. "Whoever it was was there already, waiting for us."
"Or for him." Kane shot Leo an apologetic look.
Leo shrugged. "Or it's a coincidence and they were just up to some random fuckery."
"I rate the chance of that to be pretty low," I said sadly. "It's more likely they knew where we were the entire time, but they were just waiting for the chance. I thought the drive up here was too easy."
"No one should have known," Nash said with a growl. He shifted back and now sat naked in the shadows. "I made sure of that."
"Where are Hamish and Ariana?" I asked without thinking.
"They're supposed to be protecting your friend Jess," he said after a moment. "I suspected Zeta might go after her again if they wanted to capture you. It seems as though they've decided on another tactic instead."
"We don't know if they were even involved," Blake pointed out. "Maybe Leo pissed off someone."
"Leo pisses off lots of someones," Leo said. "If they wanted to punish me, there's worse than having me bond a beautiful woman."
"Leo is right," Nash said.
"About pissing people off?" Dyson asked with a smile.
Nash gave a faint smile in return. "About this not being about him."
"So bonding me was to punish Peyton?" Leo asked.
"Possibly," Nash agreed. "But probably not. I think you were coincidental to all of this. If Corinne was involved—" He held up a hand before Blake could protest. "If she was, it's more likely she intended you to bond with Blake."
Blake flopped down into the sand. "You think?"
"There's a chance Peyton and Dyson would have bonded anyway. She might have wanted you to do it first. Maybe she thought she could control Peyton through you."
I snorted. "Not a chance."
"Right," Blake agreed. "She knows Peyton is headstrong."
"Unless she planned to use you as bait," Nash said.
Blake looked as though he might be sick. "I can't believe she'd do something like that." Still, he appeared at least halfway to believing it. "She's my cousin. Surely…"
"Apparently my mother is on the board of Zeta," I said simply. "Just because you're related doesn't mean she can't screw you over." I scooted over closer to him. "I'm sorry. We have no proof she is involved. She might be as innocent as…as…"
"As me?" Leo suggested.
I snorted. "No offence, but that's not a word I'd use to describe you."
"Thank the gods for that." He lay back, his arms over his head. "I'd hate to think you misjudged me that badly."
I laughed softly and leaned into Blake.
"If there's any chance she was involved, does that mean we shouldn't bond?" Blake looked despairing.
Unable to answer, I looked toward Nash. Damn, he was hot sitting there all naked like that. He had muscles for days and a body I didn't want to stop touching for as long as I lived. He was also the rock that grounded and guided us all.
Nash rubbed his chin. "It's possible you shouldn't. If there is some agenda, be it hers or someone else's, we should avoid stepping into the trap. However…" He let the word hang for a moment. "There's no reason not to bond everyone else if you so choose."
My pulse instantly started to race. "Right then." I looked toward Blake, who sat with his head hung.
"It's okay," he said before I could ask. "Go ahead. We'll have time. You shouldn't waste this chance."
I squeezed his hand and looked at Kane. While we talked, Sawyer and his friends, each with a tentative look on their faces, returned to the fire and picked up their hastily abandoned beers.
Kane's eyebrows rose. He looked like a man whose birthdays and Christmases all came at once.
"So, how does this work?" he said slowly. "We make love, right here, right now, we should bond?"
"Exactly," I replied lightly.
He eyed the demons who glanced at us every now and again with interest.
"If they don't like what they see, they can leave," I told him.
Kane smiled and drew me into his arms. He kissed my mouth, long and slow, while his hands worked my shirt up to my neck. He broke off long enough to pull it over my head and tossed it toward Matt.
Matt shifted back into human form and pulled my shirt over his lap. He could try to hide, but I didn't think anyone missed his erection. Good, he'd need it soon enough.
To my surprise, Blake unhooked my bra and slid it down my arms.
"Just because we can't bond, doesn't mean I can't take part, right?" he said softly.
"You absolutely can," I agreed. Oh gods, my blood was on fire already.
Blake reached around to massage my nipples while Kane continued to kiss me.
I tugged on the bottom of Kane's shirt and pulled it over his head. With a grin I threw it so it landed on Leo's face.
"Hey!" He sat up and pulled it off.
I giggled and went back to kissing Kane while he undid the front of my shorts. I wriggled out of them and my panties went next
. In the corner of my eye I caught the demons watching with interest. Sawyer's eyes were huge. Good, let them watch.
I helped Kane with his shorts and lay back to let him lie between my legs. All without our mouths separating for more than a moment.
Blake scooted around and rested on his elbow. He took one nipple between his lips and suckled gently. Matt, who apparently abandoned his modesty, lay on my other side and licked the other nipple.
How in the world I had gotten so lucky, I had no idea. I never, in my wildest dreams, have imagined being the centre of the attention of so many—let's face it—hot guys. If I wasn't me, I would wish I was.
In the meantime, I would just enjoy myself and let the flood of passion grow and wash me away.
Kane finally broke off and moved down my body. He tickled my bellybutton with his tongue, then kissed his way down between my legs. When he finally licked my clit gently, I was ready to come.
I pushed the sensation down for a few moments, wanting to make this last for as long as I could.
Kane's licks because more persistent, faster, deeper. He teased my clit and flicked at my folds. He pressed the tip of his tongue against my entrance and slid inside a little.
I shuddered with the deliciousness of the warmth flooding every bit of me.
He pulled back and replaced his tongue with his fingers.
While he pumped me gently, Blake pressed his mouth to mine. I opened to let his tongue inside, then reached for Matt's cock. It was hot and hard in my hand. With three guys touching me, inside me, I was closer and closer to the edge.
Through the slit in my eyes, I caught sight of Dyson and Leo talking softly. They only exchanged a few words before their mouths met in a heated kiss. That was enough to drive me over the cliff and into a whirlpool that made me cry out loudly. My body rocked against Kane's hand. My hand pumped Matt harder.
"I'm gonna…" Matt panted. "Not like this."
I pumped him one more time, then let him go. He moved away, his teeth gritted.
To my surprise, Kane moved aside and let Matt lay between my legs. With a look of relief, he slid his cock inside me slowly.
"Gods, this is…" Matt breathed.
"It really is," I agreed. My eyes went over to Leo and Dyson. They had each other's shirts off and Leo's hand was down Dyson's pants.
Logical Magic (Academy of Modern Magic Book 3) Page 11