Broken Dreams (Broken Promises Book 1)

by Charlotte Brice

  Arlo wasn’t exactly at home in these places. Growing up it had been something the family could only afford as a rare treat, but sitting in this restaurant now, surrounded by his new family, reminded him how important those few happy times were. It also reminded him how fragile these relationships were, how easily these bonds he thought were strong could be broken. Heather’s presence was bringing much needed changes. It was such a positive step, but Arlo couldn’t allow himself to become complacent to these changes. “Uh, yeah, I’ll have a rare steak too.”

  “Could I have the pie, please?” Oscar finished off the order, and the woman collected the menus before leaving.

  “Well, you’ve definitely been here before,” Seb observed. “But nothing too regular, I think. Do you remember being here?”

  “No. Nothing. I’m sorry to waste your time.”

  “You’re not wasting our time.” Arlo placed his hand on her knee. The show of affection seemed strange with the other three around him. And sex alone didn’t mean they had a relationship, no matter how much he wanted it, but her beaming smile made him feel a little better about the hand.

  “Thanks guys,” she replied. “I’m so glad I found you all. I couldn’t be happier than I am right now.”

  “Don’t rule anything out,” Seb said. “You could remember your old life tomorrow and want to go back.”

  Seb instantly regretted his words, scolding himself mentally for his mistake. He should have just let her have her moment, let her explain how she could love four men who considered themselves unworthy of love.

  They ate in relative silence, and Seb was glad when the meal was over with. It was crazy how Roken made him feel, how letting Roken out in public made him feel. Only he truly knew the monster caged in Roken’s soul and the things he was capable of, but he wasn’t afraid of what Roken might do to others. He was afraid of what others might do to Roken. If anyone knew what Roken could do to a gathering of vampires, there would be a lot of interest in him.

  There was also still a lot Roken didn’t know about being human, and it always worried Seb how the shifter would deal with a new situation. But so far, Roken had acted like any normal human raised in the world. Seb found it hard to picture anyone finding themselves in Roken’s position. Without knowing his parents, where he came from, or that he could shift into the form of the people he watched, something had driven Roken to become a killer. And he hadn’t developed a need to kill vampires, but a liking for the activity, and Seb wondered how a creature such as that found the drive to kill for fun over need?

  It was his curiosity about Roken’s past that had him so curious about Heather’s. She was in the same position, with no memory of the person she was before she met him, but she did have a basic understanding of the world. Her secrets would be an easier egg to crack than Roken’s because somewhere, someone still living knew those secrets. It was an egg he would be happy to crack with her.

  Seb paid for the whole meal, like normal. He paid for everything. Having invested his wealth very well over the centuries, he could easily afford to keep all five of them happy and well until the end of their very long lives.

  It was a pleasant walk home, and passing through the park together as the sun set felt like a nice ending to their day. There was something very satisfying about coming home from a pleasant afternoon spent eating and enjoying each other's company. There had been something different about going out as a whole group. Three men were seen very differently to four guys and a girl. They had received their fair share of strange looks, but the pleasant evening they’d spent together was well worth it and something they could all get used to.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  T hey had been so tired when they returned home, they had all headed straight to bed, but now Heather lay in bed, wide awake. She felt uneasy and still hungry, though her stomach was full. She lay in her bed looking up at the ceiling, knowing Roken was in the room above her. The floorboards creaked periodically, so she knew he was still awake, and she knew exactly what Roken needed. And why he needed it. He had given up his shift beast for this life, whether willingly or not. For him it was all about control or giving it up. Finally, she couldn’t stay in bed any longer. She grabbed the rope ties from the curtains and headed up to his bedroom.

  “Knock, knock,” she called as she opened his door.

  “Hey. Can’t sleep?” he greeted.

  “Do you trust me?”

  He put his book down on the bedspread and frowned at her. “What are you going to do?”

  She pulled the curtain ties from behind her back. His excitement was apparent, but it was tempered by the hint of fear in his eyes. She knelt on the bed, then straddled him, lifting his shirt up and over his head. She captured his wrists in her hands as his top slid free. She knew he could pull free if he wanted. He was stronger than she was, but her power came from her charms, not her muscles.

  Heather brushed her lips across his, warm, willing and responsive. Heather kept his mind distracted by her kiss, though her actions were no secret to him as she wrapped the rope straps around his left wrist. The ease of her one-handed knot made her suspect she might not be new to this role. Her confidence leapt as she strapped up his right wrist. Roken said nothing, he did nothing but kiss her. Even when she tied the ends of the curtain ties to the headboard.

  She broke from the kiss and sat back on his thighs. Her victorious smile was quickly lost as he smiled smugly at her, baiting her into next move with his eyes, almost like he knew what it was. Heather wondered what he knew that she didn’t. She soon figured it out as she grabbed his ankles and tried to lie him down. No matter how hard she pulled his legs, he didn’t move.

  “Ok, I’m not an expert at this. Or I’m not anymore. Help a girl out?” She was trying to please him in the way he’d want, but this was not going as she pictured.

  Roken chuckled and wriggled his hips, slowly working his body down the bed. He had to twist his shoulders around so his body could lie down, not an easy manoeuvre, but he made it look effortless. He had done that before.

  “Where were we?” She smiled and mouthed, ‘thank you’. This was not the sexiest moment of her short memory, and probably not the greatest moment in his long life either. That had to change. She had to get her mojo back the only way she knew how. Connect.

  She pulled his pyjamas down until they slipped all the way off his ankles, then she tossed them over the end of the bed. The smug look left his face as she tied the leather strips around his ankles instead. Then she tied the ends to the bedposts, leaving him spread eagle on the bed, naked and helpless, Heather had a feeling she'd been here before. Not with Roken, but before. Déjà Vu, it was called. She kissed her way up his left leg, while her fingers walked up his right, causing ticklish spasms in his pinned limb.

  “Heather!” he whispered.

  Having tied him in a very vulnerable position, she left his ticklish thigh in peace, but giving him that little bit of control made her feel like she had to take something. She picked up his pyjamas and improvised a blindfold from them, then she stripped, leaving Roken lying nervous on the bed. His fingers opened and closed, he moved his hips, then he pulled on one ankle, maybe to test how much give he had in the bindings.

  He flinched as she climbed onto him and straddled his chest, facing his feet. She took his cock in her hands and massaged her fingers up and down his sheath. There was something very familiar about playing with a man's piece, bringing him to attention. She obviously liked men in her previous life, because she certainly liked them now.

  She could feel him swelling in her grip, responding to her movement down his length. He tasted so good last time, she longed to take him again. She had to lie down across his abdomen to reach him. Why had she straddled him in such an odd position? She could have sat between his legs and made no issue of reaching him, but she had probably just got herself into the most awkward position possible.

  Still, she wasn't going to let that spoil her fun. She took his tip in her mouth, lapp
ing her tongue across it, and Roken moaned behind her. She sucked gently, drawing more of his length into her mouth. He was so big and long that as Heather started sliding her lips up and down his shaft, she had to adjust her position, moving her legs from either side of his ribs over his shoulders.

  She gasped as Roken lifted his head and she felt his breath between her legs. She felt his lips kiss and his tongue lick, and now it was her turn to moan. His tongue was like magic, and its reach seemed unending as Roken tantalised her with just his lapping. There were moments when his tongue seemed to be in two places at once, and at times it felt so deep inside her she lost focus on her own task. Oh gods! Would it be rude to orgasm right here on his face?

  Heather threw her focus into his cock. As she rocked back and forth against his mouth, her hands caressed the base of his shaft, around where his balls should have been. She had finished him off nicely last time when she stroked the little scar. This time she had something more in mind. Her hand slipped further back. His thigh muscles tensed, but his bonds held him helpless. She rubbed him right, all the way down between his legs, and his hips wriggled making her mouth and one-handed grip on his cock tighten.

  No. He was hers, helpless to her will, completely under her control. At her mercy.

  She pushed one finger very gently into his rear, and he orgasmed instantly. As he did, his tongue quivered inside her and Heather orgasmed with him, groaning against his tip in her throat.

  She climbed off him, beautifully satisfied. Questions about his insane tongue came to mind but were quickly discarded as she saw Roken gasp for breath. She'd obviously been quite a weight across his chest. “You're a bit of a wonder with that tongue,” she praised, sitting herself across his hips.

  He just grinned, cheeky and innocent, like his tongue was not well-practiced but lucky. So she slapped him, not too hard, just enough that he felt her hand on his abs. He flinched and his muscles clenched deliciously, so she kissed him. She kissed him all the way up his abdomen and chest, his chin and then his lips. He responded to her touch, kissing her back.

  His cock stiffened again, ready for round two, which pleased Heather. She was eager to feel him inside her again, so she sat up and slid her hands up and down his sheath until he was hard as a rock. No more torment. She wanted him fully and completely, and he moaned as she sunk down onto him. She whimpered as his girth stretched her. He must have felt her flinch, because he tried to pull back, but she clenched her knees around his hips to pin him.

  “It's ok,” she groaned. It was more than ok. The pain only heightened the pleasure she was feeling.

  “You sure?” he confirmed.

  She nodded once before remembering he couldn’t see her. “I'm sure.”

  With her permission, he pushed upward. She couldn't help but cry out. It was wonderful. It hurt, but it was so satisfying to feel her body stretch to accommodate him. Roken felt her relax and fell into a rhythmic pattern below her as Heather laughed. She had started with the aim of controlling him, yet here he was, owning her.

  She rocked her hips in time with his, deep and slow, and there was no denying how completely he filled her as each thrust took her breath away. Heather could only hope he was feeling the same joy from her small frame, since it was hard to gauge his feelings with half his face covered. He continued tormenting her, long, slow, and deep. It wasn't going to bring her the rapid climax she desired, but she could feel her pleasure building. Her groans were getting deeper, she needed release. Still Roken refused to satisfy her.

  Heather wanted more, faster and harder. “Git, come on,” she said, slapping his chest as the order groaned from her lips.

  “Yes, Mistress,” he teased, thrusting harder, faster, further. Cries of blasphemy escaped her lips as her orgasm ripped through her body, and Roken groaned, his rhythm stalling as he exploded inside her.

  Her legs were weak and numb, and she just wanted to collapse and sleep. Instead she forced herself off him and round to his feet, and Roken eased life back into his knees as Heather released the ties from the bedpost. She crawled up the bed to his hands leaving the leather strap binding around each of his ankles. She did the same to his wrists, releasing him from the bed but not the binding.

  “I'm too tired,” she muttered as he uncovered his eyes.

  To untie me properly, or to find her own bed? Roken wondered as she lay down next to him and fetched the covers from the floor. Both then? Roken rolled onto his side and cuddled up behind her, his arms wrapping around her middle. He wasn't cold, and he wasn't shaking, so whatever happened before hadn't been because of her. It puzzled him, and it changed his theories, but he was tired and comfortable with her there, so he closed his eyes. He could read more books in the morning, and it was so easy to fall asleep with his body cradled around her, even if her long hair was tickling his nose.

  “Oh, ready for round three?” she said, responding to something he didn't know he'd done.

  “Huh?” He was already half asleep. What was she doing? Her hands rubbed against his, then her movements became erratic. Roken lifted his head to see what was going on and found Heather knotting the ends of the rope, binding his wrists together.

  “What are you doing?” he questioned, not that he minded. Her warm naked body resting up against him was enough to make him hard, and he wondered if that was what she had noticed.

  “Round three,” she replied like it should have been obvious.

  Should it have been obvious? He'd never had a girl in his bed before. Or even in his house for that matter. With how paranoid Seb had gotten over the years, they never slept there. But post-sex cuddles were nice, especially when they led to more sex.

  “Unless you're saying no?” Heather rotated inside his arms to face him.

  “Not saying no,” he smiled. She didn't need telling twice. He felt her hips move, lifted his top leg over her, then slipped slowly inside. She moaned happily as he entered her. Roken liked third round sex. There was no exhausting foreplay, no expectations, just him inside her, rocking together in each other’s arms.

  He didn't like it when his bedroom door opened.

  Seb could tell instantly that Roken had company as he entered the shifter’s bedroom. He knew Heather's satisfied moans. He paused in the doorway, knowing he should go but knowing he couldn't. Roken was his. Heather was his. He closed the door and walked to the bed.

  “What's wrong?” Heather questioned, her voice quiet and husky. She was addressing Roken, and Seb wondered if she even knew he was there. Roken wouldn't say anything. That wasn't how it worked when Seb entered his room. They had rules, but this was different. He didn't own Heather the way he owned Roken.

  “Do you mind if I join you?” Seb asked. Heather was his, taken by another. He should have been running around the bed to take her for himself, but instead he walked to Roken's side to take the man who had his woman. He wasn't angry with them, but excited, and his cock was swollen and throbbing just from catching them together. Lifting the covers on Roken's side, Seb slapped his bare backside and climbed into the bed behind him.

  “I don't, if he doesn't.” Heather shrugged.

  “He doesn't mind. Do you Ro?” Seb wrapped himself around Roken's body, cocooning himself around the shifter.

  His feet touched Roken's ankles, and he could feel something there. Then his hands touched Roken's wrists, and they were bound together. Seb grinned. He hadn't taken Roken while bound for many years, and the idea excited him. Heather being there excited him.

  He could feel Heather wrapped around Roken and ran his hand down her leg. He had to be sure she was happy with him there. With Roken, there were rules, boundaries, certain expectations. He never asked Roken’s permission, consent was something the shifter refused rather than gave. Meaning silence was permission. No such rule existed with Heather. Her permission had to be granted.

  “It’s ok,” Roken breathed in her ear.

  Seb moved his hand to Heather’s breasts and caressed around her puckered nipple. She moane
d and pushed forward onto Roken, who responded by thrusting forward into her. Seb angled himself with Roken and pushed hard into him. Roken shuddered as Seb entered him, and he felt the shifter’s arms tighten around Heather’s body. Heather responded by kissing him, and her body started rocking. Seb matched her rhythm, and they both took control of Roken, dominating him together.

  Seb thrust harder and harder, almost daring Heather to keep up, daring Roken to endure their combined wrath, and Heather matched him thrust for thrust, groaning excitedly. Seb liked that noise. He loved it. He wanted her forever, wanted her by his side. His bride. They could share slaves like they did three hundred years ago, and...

  His fangs dropped. He had to bite her, to turn her. But he couldn't. He mustn't. And in desperation, he sunk his teeth into Roken’s throat.

  Shifter blood was amazing. He considered it coffee to the humans’ water. He could almost get drunk on the stuff. Roken's tasted so much better for being stolen, Seb's forbidden fruits. He came so hard right then he couldn't swallow, and blood trickled from his lips.

  “Why did he slap me?” Heather broke from kissing the shifter, and her eyes focused on Seb. “Are you biting him?”

  Seb broke away from Roken’s neck and looked up. He was what?

  “Ro?” Seb wiped the blood from his bite. Vampire bites healed quickly, but it wasn’t the bite that worried him. Roken’s eyes were closed, and he was limp between them, unconscious. “Roken!” Seb shook him desperately. That tap had been their signal, the signal to stop, but Seb hadn’t even noticed. He hadn’t even realized he was biting him until Roken was out, but he wasn’t full enough to warrant a loss of consciousness. He had to wake up.

  Then Roken made a small sound. He was coming around.

  Relief washed over Seb, relief and guilt. He had a duty to care for the shifter. It was how their relationship worked. Seb took what he needed from Roken, but he protected him from the world. “Go fetch some him some water,” Seb ordered quickly. Heather wriggled herself free from Roken’s arms, threw on some clothes, and scarpered from the room. Mostly, he just wanted her out of the way, giving him more room to take care of Roken.