“It’s the truth. Now give both of us a kiss and we’ll let you get back to work.” Jaeson whispered against her.
She tensed. Her entire focus had been on Samiel. She felt a hand at her lower back. The fingers pressed and rubbed at the tense muscles. She bit her lip. There shouldn’t be any problem in a simple kiss, or rather two. She knew it wouldn’t be that simple. The attraction was too strong.
“One kiss each. Then I leave and you don’t stop me.” She didn’t want there to be any mistake about her intentions and she planned to hold them to their word if they gave it.
“One kiss now and later we’ll find you. We’re not going to just walk away from you now that we’ve found you.” Jaeson’s gold eyes burned with intensity.
“We’ll talk about that later.” She smiled. It felt good to use the words. They had to know that she was in no hurry to move the attraction between them to the next level. Even if they had been telling the truth, she didn’t intend to jump into a relationship with the two of them.
“You can plan on it,” Samiel growled.
His fingers threaded into her hair. She tipped her head back. She expected an aggressive kiss, a claiming. His lips brushed over hers softly. She blinked surprised at the gentle, almost questioning touch. Her mouth opened beneath his giving him access. His tongue traced her full lips, before sweeping into her mouth. She sighed and relaxed into the embrace. Her tongue stroked against his. She sucked at his tongue. His hand slid up her side and cupped her breast. When his thumb flicked across her nipple, she realized the kiss had grown into so much more. She pushed against his chest. Turning her head, she tore her lips away from his. She wanted to just let the kiss continue, to savor the feel and taste, but knew the delicious sensation would only be harder to deny later.
Samiel chuckled. The sound rolled from him. She felt the rumble against her fingertips. He leaned back and a satisfied smirk curved his lips. He winked. His fingers trailed over her cheek as they slipped from her hair.
“I said a kiss, not a full-on embrace. I still don’t know you.” She shrugged away from his lingering touch. Opportunistic dragon.
“You will. It’s my turn now.” Jaeson’s hand on her shoulder turned her to face him.
She sighed and nodded. She’d keep her word. She couldn’t hold them to the bargain if she didn’t deliver on her promise. Leaning toward him, she lifted her hands to his broad shoulders. His mouth lowered and his teeth closed on her lip. The sharp edge of his teeth scraped over the full lower lip. She gasped. Hot tingles exploded from that light pressure. His tongue slid over the sensitive flesh just once before sweeping into her mouth. There was nothing tentative about his touch. His hand cupped the back of her head, holding her steady beneath the firm press of his lips. His tongue drove into her mouth. The aggressive move sparked an answering arousal. She moaned and slid one of her arms around his neck. Her tongue stroked against his and she sucked on it, trying to draw it deeper. Her action drew a groan from him.
Meagan didn’t know what had come over her. Every breath she took seemed to increase her arousal. His hand slid down her body to her waist. He lifted her, settled her across his lap. She barely noticed the change in position. His hand slid underneath her shirt. It was the feel of his warm hand on her skin that jerked her out of the haze of hot pleasure. She pulled back.
A kiss wasn’t supposed to cause an ache of hunger to pulse through her body. Except for a mere caress on her breast neither of the men had touched her intimately. Yet she could feel the slick juices gathering between her thighs and her breasts felt heavy. The hardened tips ached for a firm touch. She’d known kissing them wouldn’t be simple, but she hadn’t expected to nearly be shaking with desire after two kisses. Those men were dangerous.
She slipped off his lap and stood. Combing her fingers through her hair, she studied the two men through her lashes. What was she going to do with those two men? Well, other than try to avoid them. They weren’t going away. Not only were they here to fight the Dark Sorcerer, they considered her their mate.
She shook her head and exhaled slowly. On top of the search for possible legends or old artifacts, she had to find information on dragons and vampires and Tirias. She didn’t pretend to know much about it. It had just been her heritage. She’d never expected to have to take them.
“We’ll see you later. Be sure to find the information about dragons and vampires.” Samiel reached out and let his palm roam over the full curve of her buttocks.
She stepped out of reach. What do I say to men who claim to be my mates? Especially since she didn’t believe them. She looked at them. There wasn’t anything she could do to change their mind.
“Maybe I’ll see you later. If I find anything solid, I’ll be going to check on it.” She shrugged.
“You’d better send for us before you go search for anything. You are and will be a target for the Dark Sorcerer.” Samiel stood, his hand slashing through the air at waist level. His eyes were narrowed and he looked as if he was a breath away from doing that growling thing again.
Meagan raised an eyebrow. Who did he think he was to tell her what to do? Even if he was her mate, he wouldn’t be telling her what to do in battle. She knew how to handle herself and didn’t need guards or escorts. The man better realize that fact fast or they were going to have some trouble just getting along with each other when they met on the street.
Chapter Five
Meagan stared at the book in front of her. She could hardly believe what she’d read and she still felt a little numb. At least the shock had faded a little. Even though they’d told her, she hadn’t really thought it was true. Two mates. What woman needed two men? One man was hard enough to understand and cope with. Two would be impossible. The two mates thing was going to take time. The reasons given in the book had been simple and straight forward. The men were to be the Tiria’s protectors. They’d also help balance the power she’d gained with the weapons. The help part she could understand, but she couldn’t understand why the men had to be her mates. She wasn’t sure about any long-term relationship with them. Right now a future with them was the least of her worries. There were too many other things that were more important.
But it wasn’t just what she’d learned about the weapons that had gotten her attention, it was the information about vampires. She’d known enough about dragons to know that playing with them was a bad idea. Vampires on the other hand hadn’t seemed to pose so much of a threat. She would never have guessed that their scent could alternately soothe or arouse depending on the vampire’s intent. She’d found out a lot, but she hadn’t found any promising legends in the books. Still, she was optimistic that she’d find something.
“You’re not finished with that for the night yet? I bet you haven’t even stopped to eat.” A deep voice came from behind her.
She turned in her seat. Jaeson leaned against one of the tall, polished asa-wood bookshelves. His silver hair hung in a straight fall down his back. He looked very relaxed as he waited. In a way, she couldn’t believe that a man like him was focusing all that attention on her.
“If you’re offering to go get all of us something to eat we’d appreciate it.” She smiled at him. She’d known that he hadn’t meant that, but she took the opportunity his words gave.
He laughed. “I’ll arrange for something for them, but I think you’ve done enough for today. We’ll get something to eat and talk.”
“I’ve already had a break remember? There’s still so much to do.”
“And it will wait until tomorrow. I assume you learned the truth about what we told you. We take our role very seriously.” Jaeson came away from the book shelf. He turned and left the room. “Get ready to leave. We’ll be going when I get back.”
She raised a brow as she watched him go. He definitely had no problem with giving orders. She looked back at the book in front of her. There was so much to go through, so many things the Dark Sorcerer could want.
“Don’t tell me you’re seriously th
inking about staying here and sending that man away. You’d have to be insane. Lady, if I had the attention of a man who looked like that, I’d drag him away before someone else grabbed him.” Merilyn Satae’s voice sounded cheerful and almost laughing.
Meagan looked up and met her friend’s blue eyes. She was considering it very seriously. The man was gorgeous, but he had some very arrogant tendencies. She didn’t want to give him the idea that she’d jump to do his bidding.
“What I don’t plan to do is let him think that I’ll be following every order he cares to toss at me.” Meagan looked over at Merilyn.
Merilyn’s smile faded and she nodded. “Ah, good point. That is a good idea. You don’t want him to think that. Still after you’ve made your point drag him into a closet before some other witch does.”
Meagan wasn’t worried about him suddenly becoming interested in other women. The man considered her his mate. From what she’d read, they didn’t stray once they found their mate. He wouldn’t be looking for sex from any other woman.
Jaeson appeared from between the book shelves. She stiffened when she saw him. She hadn’t heard him even walking on the wooden floors.
“You’re not ready yet.” He looked pointedly at the books in front of her.
“Because I’m not finished. Work has to come before play, I’m afraid.” She smiled and ran her finger down the page trying to find the spot where she’d stopped.
“This is the kind of work that can be delayed. Did you find anything interesting yet?” He strode over to the table and closed the book. “This isn’t a battle.”
“Nothing about the local legends or any old temple in the area.” She shrugged. She did find out a lot of interesting things about dragons and vampires but she wasn’t going to get into it here.
“It will wait. We aren’t going to be able to finish this in one battle or even two. It’s going to take a while to find out who’s behind this and locate them.” Jaeson gripped her elbow and tugged her out of her seat.
“That’s easy for you to say. It’s not your home that’s being attacked.” She pulled back, trying to free her arm. “Where’s your dragon friend?”
“He’s with another of the dragons flying over the area to see what else had been done. While he’s out there he’ll probably scout for a temporary lair in the mountains.” Jaeson stared down at her. “Are you finished trying to distract me?”
She rolled her eyes. “We do need to talk. I can always come back later and get some work done.”
He looked amused by that comment. “Then let’s go talk. I’m interested to hear what you have to say now that you’ve had time to learn the truth.”
She shook her head. If he thought just reading about the dragon and vampire was going to change everything, he was wrong. She needed time to know them before she made a decision. Not to mention the fact that she wasn’t sure she needed them. It wasn’t as if battles were that common. Once the Dark Sorcerer was defeated, there might not be another in the area in her lifetime.
She walked out of the coven house beside him. He led the way through the streets to the inn. They detoured into the common room and he arranged for a meal to be brought up to the room. Once they were inside, she climbed the stairs to the room ahead of him. She noticed the snick of the bolt just as his scent hit her. She stepped away from him going around the bed to put some distance between them. She didn’t want to be distracted by the arousal caused by his scent. That was just one of the things they needed to discuss. He looked across the bed at her and cocked his head to one side.
“What‘s the problem?” he asked.
“I want to talk. I don’t want to be drugged by your scent while we’re doing it.” She lifted her chin maintaining eye contact with the vampire. “Besides it’s not going to take long for them to bring the food up to us.”
A knock sounded on the door. Jaeson shot her a narrow-eyed look, but she just shrugged as he let the young man into the room. A lot of the higher level witches came here to eat instead of the sect house when they needed a change. She knew that they fixed one huge meal and normally didn’t make the food to order. All they’d had to do was fill the platters, grab a bottle of wine and arrange bread in a basket. He waited until the waiter had left.
He gestured to the table. “Let’s eat, but truthfully my scent’s not a drug. It can’t make you do anything you don’t want to do. It will heighten your arousal or soothe you if you’re tense.”
She took the seat on the opposite side of the table and watched as he slid into his. “That’s something I’m going to have to confirm myself.”
They ate in silence, but Meagan didn’t find it uncomfortable. He didn’t look as if he found it that way either. When they both had finished, he stood and walked over to stand by the bed. She knew from the look he gave her that he was only doing that because she’d said she wanted space and to be free of the effects of the scent.
“Now that we’ve both relaxed a bit, we can talk. As for your comment about finding out that my scent’s not a drug, I’ll make sure you have ample opportunity. Were there any questions you have now that you didn’t earlier today?” He sat on the bed.
Meagan watched him. He looked a lot more comfortable than she felt in the hard, straight-backed wooden chair. The green blanket set off Jaeson’s dark clothes. She just didn’t believe he was as relaxed as he seemed to be. He hadn’t suddenly come to the decision to give her all the time she needed. The man wanted her. She could see it in the way he watched her. His entire attitude was that of a man on the hunt. She’d have to watch him and make sure she didn’t let things get out of control. She was more than tempted to relax and let the attraction take the lead, but knew that he wouldn’t consider it just sex. She wasn’t willing to think about anything more. Two mates. Just thinking about it made her nervous. The thought was great as a fantasy, but the reality came with a lot of questions. And she knew only time and being close to them would give her the answers.
“Your questions, or are you just going to stare at me for the night?” He grinned and she could see the humor in his eyes.
Meagan felt the heat rush into her cheeks. She hadn’t realized how much time had passed. Rising from her chair, she began to pace a bit. “I know that you two were telling me the truth earlier about a Tiria having two mates. I’m still not sure it’s necessary and I can’t see much to recommend it aside from having someone always near to help with the power levels.”
“Was there a question in there that I missed?” Jaeson’s tone was openly provoking.
She glared at him. He didn’t seem at all worried about staying on her good side. She’d have loved to put him in his place but couldn’t think of a way just yet. Walking around the bed, she tried to put her thoughts in order. The chaos in her mind was making her restless. She stopped when he was directly opposite her. He moved to the end of the bed so he could turn to see her without bringing his boots onto it.
“You and Samiel, how will it work? Won’t someone get jealous? I’m not agreeing to anything. It’s just something I wondered about.” She titled her head and bit her lip. That was only one question of many.
“Samiel and I will each want time alone with you, that’s natural just as we’ll make time to be with each other. We might feel envy, want to be part of it because we know just how good it feels, but no real jealousy, because we all belong to each other.” Jaeson smiled, his voice turning a little husky.
She gaped at him. They’d want to be with each other. She hadn’t even thought about them having anything other than a friendly relationship with each other. She felt utterly stupid for a moment, but that feeling was pushed aside as her mind began supplying her with details. An image of the two men in each other’s arms kissing flashed through her head. It was disconcerting and arousing at the same time. She hadn’t even thought that they might be lovers. She might just be the one who would be jealous. She’d never even thought about sharing a lover.
“You didn’t realize that Samiel and I we
re lovers, did you?” He smiled obviously enjoying her surprise.
“No, I didn’t know. There wasn’t anything about the relationship in the books. As far as I know, you two could have just met.” She shrugged.
“We’ve been together for years.” He brought his knee up and rested the ankle on his thigh. He was utterly relaxed and at ease.
“If we have sex, are you going to immediately assume that we’re mated?” She sat on the bed across from him, one leg tucked under her.
“We are mates. Having sex or not having sex isn’t going to make it any more or less true.” He angled his body a bit more so that he was fully facing her.
She shook her head. That really wasn’t what she’d meant. She had been thinking more about his attitude than his philosophy. Apparently, she was going to have to ask in another way if she wanted an answer.
“Are you going to be all possessive and expect to act like my mate if we have sex?” She sighed. “I’m not just going to jump into something permanent. To me, having sex will just be sex. Is it going to be more to you?”
“I’ll undoubtedly be possessive. So much that you’ll object to it? I don’t know. You are my mate. I’m not going to pretend that you’re a woman for only a night.” His intent golden stare didn’t waver from hers.
She didn’t have any doubts that he was absolutely serious. She couldn’t change his attitude, not even dent it. Running her fingers through her hair, she exhaled slowly. She suspected that even if they didn’t have sex, he’d be possessive. So she’d have to deal with his attitude regardless.
“Have we dealt with all of your questions?” He raised an eyebrow and looked significantly at the bed.
“You may consider me your mate but I don’t consider myself bound in any way.” She clenched a bit of the blanket in her hand. “I don’t have any other questions at the moment, but there will probably be more later.”
“Good. Then come over here. I wanted to kiss you when I walked into the library.” He held out his hand.
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