by Sarah Piper
Ignoring the pang in my chest at locking my loyal beasts out, I knelt between Ash and Darius, one hand on each of their muscled chests. Outside, the icy wind was doing its damnedest to shatter the bay windows along the front wall, but nothing could break this moment between us.
“You’re so beautiful,” Asher said, his eyes glazed with emotion that belied the ever-present bad-boy smirk on his face.
Darius nodded his agreement, reaching up to stroke my thigh. “I’m not sure what we’ve done to deserve you in our lives, Gray Desario, but not a moment goes by that I don’t thank the universe for you.”
“I love you both,” I said, emotion tightening my throat. We’d started this thing teasing each other, but now, seeing them together, both of them looking up at me like I’d painted every last star in the sky, I was overcome with gratitude. Asher was right—we were family in the true sense of the word. In the only sense that mattered. “More than you could possibly realize.”
Before they could respond, I pressed my fingers against their lips. I didn’t need to hear the words returned; I knew how they both felt. It was written in their eyes, glittering with the reflection of the firelight. It was laced through every touch, every kiss, every soft sigh I felt against my skin.
I’d once heard that the human body completely regenerates itself every seven to ten years. It sounded like myth to me, but in the last week alone, I’d already felt like I’d been through several iterations. I was a witch. I was a vampire. My blood contained that of the very fae we were hunting. Each revelation had unveiled countless others, until I no longer knew which way was up and which way was down.
Now here I was, a composite whole of all the various parts, sometimes breathing, sometimes not. Sometimes hungry, sometimes not. My heart never beat the same pattern for more than a few moments anymore. And each time I looked in the mirror, I found new facets, new scars, new shadows.
The only constant in my life now was this—my rebels. No matter how much I’d changed—physically, magically, emotionally—they’d stood by me through it all. Darius had asked what they’d done to deserve me in their lives, but I was the who’d been truly blessed.
Without their kindness, their loyalty, their bravery, their sacrifice, I’d still be a little lost girl shivering in a boat, floating in the harbor of a strange city she’d never even known was her home.
With tears in my eyes, I climbed on top of Asher, straddling him as Darius knelt behind me, kissing a slow, teasing path up my spine. My incubus was hard as steel, and I was wet and ready for him, lowering myself onto his length, taking him all the way in. Behind me, I felt the press of Darius’s erection against my backside, just as eager, just as ready, but his turn would come later.
Unlike me, Darius had infinite patience.
Wrapping his hands around my hips, he guided me into a slow roll that had Asher fisting the rug at his sides, his breath catching in his throat.
“Fucking hell, woman,” Asher groaned. “That’s…”
“Bloody brilliant,” Darius whispered, nipping my shoulder, his fangs teasing my hyper-sensitive skin. I leaned my head to the side, exposing the tender flesh of my neck, inviting the bite I knew he was dying to give me.
“Are you certain?” he whispered, nipping my earlobe.
Bearing one of my most vulnerable spots to him was the ultimate sign of trust, and therefore, forgiveness. He knew what I was saying with that gesture, and it wasn’t just about the exquisite pleasure I knew would follow.
“Yes,” I breathed. “Absolutely certain.”
As Asher’s hands slid up to palm my breasts, Darius sunk his fangs into my flesh, and I let out a cry of pure ecstasy. Warmth pooled on my skin, and he licked it seductively, taking his time as he swirled his tongue over my super-sensitive flesh, every delicious stroke making my blood simmer.
Asher sat up, capturing my nipple between his lips, sucking me hard as his hand slid down between us, fingers brushing my aching clit.
The two of them played my body like an instrument they’d mastered together long ago, touching and teasing and caressing until my nerves were humming, my thighs aching, my core throbbing, and still, they gave me more.
I didn’t want it to end, but I was quickly losing the capacity to hold back. I pushed Asher back down, hands on his shoulders, our eyes locked in a fiery gaze as I slowed my movements, rolling my hips, taking him in deeper and deeper until I brought him to the brink.
Clenching his teeth, he arched upward, driving in deeper, his hands gripping my thighs, fingers digging hard into my flesh.
“No,” I commanded. “Not yet.”
Asher blew out a breath, but I was in charge tonight, and I knew he wouldn’t come. Not until I was ready to make him.
I leaned forward and captured his mouth in a deep kiss, slowly sliding off his cock. Inch by inch, I kissed my way down his body—his chin, his jaw, his collarbone, the impressive ridges of his abs, my tongue tracing lines along his tattoos as I went. When I finally reached my destination, I fisted the base of his cock and took him into my mouth, slowly teasing the tip with my tongue before taking him deeper.
I arched my backside, brushing against Darius’s cock, an invitation as much as a demand. Without hesitation, Darius slid into me from behind, filling me as I took Asher deeper into my throat. Our connection was unbreakable; the pure pleasure of taking both of them inside me at the same time made me dizzy. It was all heat and fire and love and a perfect rhythm that drew me closer and closer to that pure, white-hot bliss.
I’d intended to tease Ash a little longer, but now I was the one who couldn’t hold out. I sucked him harder, bobbing my head, bringing him right back to that razor-thin ledge I’d left him on as Darius brought me to the same place.
“Fuck, Gray. You’re killing me.” Asher slid his hand into my hair, fisting it, guiding me to take him in deeper, slower, then fast, then slow again. I loved the way he tried to grasp the very last vestige of control, even as he was absolutely losing it.
I couldn’t hold out another second. Raking my nails down his thighs, I sucked him in deep once again, and he finally lost the battle, shuddering against my mouth, his moans of pleasure setting off my own orgasm. I arched back against Darius, who grabbed my hips and slammed into me harder, faster, chasing his own release and turning mine into an explosion of stars and fireworks that couldn’t be contained.
The sounds that came out of my mouth… I was pretty sure I’d never heard anything quite like that before.
Finally, I crawled back up to rest my head on Asher’s chest, collapsing in his arms as Darius collapsed on top of me, the three of us making the perfect sandwich, the echo of their heartbeats a beautiful song that I would carry with me for eternity.
“Are you cold?” Asher asked a little while later, rubbing my bare arm. The fire had faded to a soft glow, and a slight but icy draft snuck in around the windows.
“Not possible.” I laughed. Curled up against his chest, with Darius spooning me from behind, I was thoroughly cocooned, my body as hot as if we’d been lying out in the summer sun.
We’d gotten up to grab a quick shower and let the poor hounds in to sit by the fire, but other than that, we’d been tangled together on the bearskin rug for the last couple of hours.
I didn’t want the sun to rise.
“You’re shivering,” Ash said.
“Your fault,” I teased, tracing a circle around his nipple. His skin erupted in goosebumps. “Both of you make me lose control.”
“It’s a gift,” Asher said.
“One that keeps on giving,” Darius said, pressing a kiss to my bare shoulder.
“I’m just glad you finally gave in at all,” I teased. Looking up at Asher, I told him about Darius’s ridiculous demands about how our first time would be. “You should’ve heard him, Ash. ‘It will be in my bed, blah blah blah.’”
Asher laughed. “I take it your first time didn’t go as planned?”
“No. We were in the Shadowrealm, of all p
laces. And I still haven’t seen his actual bed.”
“To be fair,” Darius said, “we’re dealing with extenuating circumstances. That aside, I assure you, I would’ve taken you in my bed. In fact, I still might.”
“Whatever you need to tell yourself to get through the night,” I said, earning myself a playful slap on the ass and a nip on the shoulder.
“So you really remember everything from before?” Asher asked Darius. A note of wonder echoed in his voice. “All of it?”
Sometimes, I still couldn’t believe it myself. I’d tried to have faith, but for so long, I truly believed the old Darius was gone. That we’d have to rebuild everything we’d had from scratch, with no guarantee that it would turn out the same. I loved him; I was willing to try anything, even if it meant falling in love with him all over again, but I couldn’t say I didn’t miss the man I’d fallen for in the first place.
In the end, we didn’t have to go down that road. Somehow, he’d come back to us.
I turned over onto my back and reached for his hand, lacing our fingers together.
“I do remember.” Darius nuzzled the crook of my neck, his hand sliding across my belly. “Thanks to the tenaciousness of this crazy witch and her many blood spells.”
“It wasn’t just the blood spells,” I corrected. “They definitely got the ball rolling, but the real magic was in the bite at the cemetery. I had no idea it would work like that.”
“It was our blood bond,” Darius said. “And you were the one who figured out blood was the key to—”
“Everything,” I said suddenly, then I gasped, struck by a new realization. “Blood spells! Oh my God, that’s it!” I turned on my hip to face my vampire, a smile stretching across my face. “Darius Beaumont, you’re so brilliant I could kiss you.”
“Allow me to save you the trouble, love.” He claimed my mouth in a possessive kiss, and for a minute I almost lost myself again, a soft moan escaping my lips as heat rekindled in my core. Asher slid his palm over my hip, his fingers brushing across my belly, then down between my thighs. He was hard again, his cock thickening against my backside in a way that had me dreaming of all new ways for them to share me…
No. That particular pleasure would have to wait. I had work to do.
Disentangling from their embrace, I hopped up from the floor and hunted around the room in search of my clothes.
“Wait, what?” Ash laughed. “Why the fuck are you getting dressed? I was just getting warmed up again.”
“Raincheck,” I said. “I’ve got an idea, and it can’t wait.”
“Yeah,” Ash said. “Obviously the worst one ever.”
“Blame Darius,” I said.
He turned to glare at the vampire, who held up his hands in mock innocence.
“Don’t blame me, Asher. You heard the woman. She said I’m so brilliant she could kiss me.”
“Maybe she could kiss you, bloodsucker,” Ash sneered. “But I could kill you.”
“You could try.”
“Time and place, brother. Time and place.”
“Simmer down, boys.” I glanced around the room, exasperated. “Where the hell did my underwear end up?”
“Pretty sure the bloodsucker stashed them in his pants pocket,” Ash said.
“What?” Darius blustered. “I did no such… Well, this is just preposterous. I demand a trial of my peers.”
Glaring at Darius, I picked up his jeans from the couch, fishing my underwear from the back pocket. “You’re incorrigible.”
“Where are you going, Gray?” Ash stood up and grabbed my elbow, steadying me as I stepped into my underwear. “Seriously.”
“First? The kitchen. I need supplies.”
“Supplies?” he asked.
“Water, candles, crystals, salt, a glass bowl, and some herbs.” Picking up my T-shirt, I answered his question, but I was mostly talking to myself, figuring it out as I went. “I’m thinking mugwort—it’s good for clairvoyance and ancestor work. Maybe some wormwood as well. Oh, and something sharp and pointy.”
“Mmm.” Asher tugged the T-shirt out of my hands and dragged me back into his embrace, kissing his way up my neck, damn near convincing me to stay. “Kinky little witch, aren’t you?”
“You don’t… know the… half of it.” I closed my eyes, temporarily sinking into the pleasure of his mouth on my flesh. Each kiss unlocked another image of the two of them inside me, a fantasy, maybe taking both of them in the same place at the same time…
Oh, God…
No. No, no, no. I had to concentrate.
“Pause button,” I breathed. “I… I mean it. I need to find my… Oh, fuck. What was I even talking about?”
“No idea,” Ash replied. “Do you remember, bloodsucker?”
“Funny, incubus. I seem to remember everything but that.”
“Sisters!” I shouted, forcing myself to stay focused—a task that was growing more impossible by the second. Damn, Asher’s mouth was something to behold. “You guys need to wake up my sisters and tell them to meet me in the kitchen.”
“Why?” he asked. “I think we’re doing just fine on our own.”
I finally wriggled out of his embrace, yanked my shirt from his hands, and pulled it on over my head.
“Because as skilled as you guys are in the carnal arts,” I said, grinning, “blood magic is not in your wheelhouse.” I kissed each of them in turn, short and sweet, then called Sparkle and Sunshine and headed to the kitchen. “Don’t wait up, boys. This might take a while.”
Eighteen
GRAY
The flames of a dozen candles flickered around us, throwing eerie shadows on the walls and illuminating my sisters’ faces in the darkness. The three of us sat together inside the salt circle we’d drawn on the kitchen floor, grounding ourselves, tapping into the magic of the earth and air, fire and water, silently calling forth the elements to help us on our quest for answers.
Behind us, Darius, McKenna, and Verona stood guard, ensuring no one disturbed us—from within the lodge or from wherever our visions took us tonight. Verona had been especially concerned about outside interference, and had insisted we place black tourmaline, labradorite, and black obsidian in every corner to help shield us from psychic attacks, just like we’d done during the blood spell we’d performed on Darius.
That night, Haley and I had inadvertently tapped into a vision with Trinity and Georgie. It was short-lived, no more than a side effect of the blood magic intended to restore Darius’s memories, and we hadn’t even recognized what it was at the time. But my hope was that by doing the spell together, with the full intention of connecting with our mother and sister—our blood relatives—we could hold the vision long enough to get some solid information.
“And so we begin,” Haley said, calling us back to the moment. Verona had prepared an incense of wormwood and mugwort, and Haley lit it now, fanning the smoke with a raven’s feather before setting the bowl to her left.
Unsheathing her athame, she glanced up at me. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
“You’re totally safe,” I assured her. At Darius’s insistence, I’d fed before we began the ritual. Neither of us believed I’d attack my sisters, but if I felt even a pang of thirst, there was a good chance I’d get distracted by freshly spilled blood and ruin the ritual.
Addie and I unsheathed our athames, following Haley’s lead. At her direction, we all sliced our palms, then squeezed our blood into the glass bowl at the center of the circle, three crimson streams merging into one.
The tang of their blood filled my senses, making my mouth water. But I stayed focused, magic tingling inside, warming me.
Addie placed a piece of bloodstone inside the bowl, and I sprinkled African dream root powder on top.
Haley instructed us to touch our fingers to the rim, and then we recited the spell she’d crafted.
“Blood of Silversbane, blood of fae
On ancestors past we call today
Seeking your guidan
ce, your wisdom, your love
Without and within, below and above
Bestow upon us the vision we seek
That we may hear the words they speak.”
After our seventh incantation, we released the bowl and clasped hands, my skin tingling as our blood and magic connected and bound us. A sense of belonging washed over me, and though I was still getting to know Haley and had just met Addie, I felt the years of our separation melt away, leaving only the unbreakable bond of our sisterhood.
Blinking away tears, I glanced down at the bowl, the blood inside rapidly changing before my eyes.
Glowing brightly at first, it darkened to near-black, then, ever so slightly, began to swirl around the bloodstone. Entranced, I let my eyelids flutter closed, then followed the tug on my consciousness.
The sensation was similar to swimming in a calm, warm ocean—drifting along on gentle waves, weightless. But then the tide turned, an undertow sucking me further from the shore, pulling me down, down, down…
When I opened my eyes, I found myself standing in the center of a familiar home. I knew I’d been there before—recently, too—but I couldn’t place it. There was no furniture, and though the room was freshly cleaned, it was also damaged. Floorboards were missing, walls bashed in, windows taped up.
“Norah’s house,” Haley said suddenly, and I turned to find her standing at my right side. Addie was on her other side, the three of us still holding hands.
It took me a beat to realize she was right. The last time I’d been here, the guys had basically destroyed the place fighting off a pack of rogue vampires while I saved Asher from a devil’s trap in the attic.
“How did we get here?” I asked.
“It’s just the vision,” Haley said. “There must be something we need to see here.”
“Is there anything that can see us?” Addie asked.
Haley shook her head. “We’re basically in the astral realm. Come on.”
We followed her into the dining room, where a lone woman sat at a large dining table with her back to us. Dark blue fingernails, manicured into sharp points, tapped impatiently against the table. Every few seconds, she glanced at her cell and sighed.