by Lillian Lark
Something blocks the light above and a winged Zephyrine dangling a mysterious figure touches down some distance from us. The sight of her is glorious, her wings fully extended and shimmering gold as light glances over them. Silence descends among the crowd of paranormal beings; few have ever seen a harpy. Henderson breaks the silence with his loud curses.
The man who Zephyrine had dangled in her grasp falls to his knees for a moment, as if he’s going to kiss the ground but thinks better of putting his lips to the gritty street.
“Zeph.” Gregory’s voice croaks and he runs toward her.
Zephyrine looks up at us and crumbles in on herself, the magnificent appearance of harpy strength dissolving under her tears. Her wings retract and Gregory pulls her into his arms.
The nightmare has ended, and both of my mates stand before me unscathed. My heart overflows and tears of relief sting my eyes. We have other issues to address but I want to cling to them and sob. I hesitate from holding them long enough for Zephyrine to look up at me with a demanding scowl. I break.
I pull them into my arms and embrace the respite their warmth offers.
Chapter 19
Zephyrine
I let myself be held and carried by Greg while we go through all of the business required by the law enforcement individuals when one is taken and almost sold into slavery. It feels bureaucratic with its stilted interviews and filled out forms. It’s almost as if me getting taken by Henderson hadn’t been a part of the Council’s plan, something I won’t forget.
While Greg cradles me, Asa isn’t far. He and Mace head off the worst of the questioning. The comfort level they have in this sphere is telling. I’ll have questions about that later. I’m too grateful right now.
I can use all of my willpower to control my shakes instead of answering useless questions. Greg can probably feel the shakes I fail to stop because he holds me tighter.
Every so often, during the impromptu questioning in front of the burning building that had nearly been my grave, I’m struck with how close to death I’d been. In those moments my hand seeks out Asa’s and he holds it while he sneers at the official doing the questioning. Our held hands help ease the worst of the panic that keeps spiking when I let my mind wander.
He looks at me like he wants to hold me the way Greg is but holds himself back.
Why? Because of the proposal? After everything I’ve gone through, will I lose this triad after all? I try to silence my mind. We’ll confront that issue later. As long as I have breath in my body, I won’t let these men go.
My hero of the moment is the undercover officer who broke rank to get me out of there. It turned out to save both of our lives. Jamie and I had flown from the top of the building just in time.
After we landed in front of my mates and they had assured themselves I was fine, Asa turned toward my rescuer with confused delight.
“Jameson? It’s been years.” Asa pulled the burly man into an embrace that made Greg stiffen around me, but the moment passed. Jamie pulled away, abashed by the welcome.
“Asa.” Jamie nodded to him in a significant way. The look Asa gives him in return is clear. Jamie fulfilled whatever debt he had owed.
Jamie vanished after that. Probably to keep his cover intact or to be debriefed somewhere else. When I’m able to keep my brain from winding itself into a panic, I’ll have to reach out to the man and thank him. I’ll also try to make him find another job, but I doubt I can.
After we’ve dealt with all the law officials I can stand, Mace takes us back home into the loud embrace of my family. Thankfully my house is empty except for my immediate family. I don’t even want to know how the conception party went.
We hug and tears fall freely. Mace winks at Sophia before disappearing. After everyone has a chance to see I am in one piece, my mother knows what I need before I do and promptly kicks everyone out.
Now I am in my house, alone with my mates, and awkwardness descends. Greg still has his arms wrapped around me but even the warmth of him can’t keep everything at bay, my trembling is a constant. Asa takes in Greg’s and my position with an odd expression on his face, like his mind is trying to solve a math problem.
He looks up and I know I need to stop whatever decision he has made.
“I think I should go,” Asa says.
Even though I expect him to say that, it feels like a slap.
“Please don’t.” My beg isn’t the sensual kind he usually rents from me. It’s a broken chipped thing and I crumble further. “P-please stay. I n-need… I don’t know.” My words hardly make sense to me, but tears well in my eyes and my shaking gets worse.
Asa looks shattered but I can only keep going, “I was so scared. He said he would take our babies. P-please I need you to stay. I n-need both of you.”
I hiccup and sob. Greg starts petting my hair, trying to soothe me but it’s ineffective.
Like a magnet, I pull Asa into the fray with my distress. His warmth surrounds us, and it makes my tears come harder. Asa massages the back of my neck as I break down.
“Please don’t cry, darling. We’re both here tonight,” Asa croons. His emotions sound as riotous as my own. It’s wrong to draw us together this way when we have so much unsaid in this relationship, but the cracks in me reveal a black hole. Disastrously empty and dragging everything in no matter the consequences.
In the cave of their huddled bodies I can breathe, and the worst of the sobs die. Being with these men is a balm to my hurt but it isn’t enough to keep away the nightmares in my mind.
“Please make me forget about it.” I kiss Asa’s throat. It’s clear what I’m asking for.
Asa looks hesitant. This isn’t as clean-cut as the last time they kept me from panicking, but I’m craven to feel anything other than the violation of my safety.
“We have things to discuss, Zephyrine,” Asa pauses, struggling with whatever he is going to say. “I don’t know if this is something you’d ask for if you weren’t in this state. I don’t want you to have regrets.”
“P-Please.” My voice cracks and Greg looks to Asa with wide eyes.
The demon in the room is the only one holding out to my pathetic begging.
Asa shushes me. “Hush, anything you need, my love.”
More tears brim my eyes. I don’t think he’s ever referred to me as love. The title eases some terribly tight thing in me.
I ignore our issues. The slight discomfort between the men when we get to the bedroom and they undress me reminds all of us that this relationship isn’t a sure thing. It drives me to do whatever it takes to cement this. I surrender to my mates. I trust them with my body and heart.
I can only hope the sacrifice of my body and heart isn’t in vain. I pull Greg’s mouth to mine and it distracts the wolf from the confusing state of our union. Greg moans into my mouth, pulling my nude body against his clothed one. Asa comes up behind me then. His hands skate up my front, letting one hand rest on my stomach as the other caresses my breast.
Asa rubs his face against my shoulder, leaving a dampness that softens my anxiety. Greg breaks our kiss and rocks our foreheads together. The rawness in the air hums on my strained nerves.
I surprise even myself when I open my mouth, “I need both of you at the same time.”
The men stiffen at that. Over the weeks we’d been toying with the idea. They’d both patiently coaxed me with the concept since anal was something I’ve never done before.
“Sweetheart… That isn’t a good idea right now. We thought we’d lost you and with everything else happening…” Asa says in an almost broken way.
He’s probably right. It isn’t a good time, but I can’t help the whimper that escapes. There is an ache in my soul, and I need this. So much ugliness tries to invade me. I need them to fill every space in my soul to keep the darkness at bay. Asa hears my whimper and curses before giving an open mouth kiss to the back of my neck.
“What do you think, Gregory?” Asa asks.
“I think that I
can’t say no to her.” Greg sounds a little helpless and Asa curses again, but his body presses into mine as if to give in. His breathing is ragged.
“I find I also can’t deny you anything.” Asa sounds angry at it and I sniff. He huffs out a breath. “I don’t mean it in a bad way, Zephyrine. I just wanted more control of this.”
I lean back into his body, comforted by his body’s reaction to me. “You do have control of this.”
It’s wrong to seduce my mates into staying with me. They have valid reasons for hesitating, but morality is dust compared to the idea of losing them. The black hole in my heart only hungers.
Their bodies approve of this. Bracketed by their hardness and heat, I let myself fall into this moment. These men. The instant they give in to my pleading is a snap in the air.
Asa’s fingers grab Greg’s hair and pull him into a hard kiss that has the shifter rocking his hips into me. My hands start to tear at his clothes, searching for skin. Greg stumbles back and roughly shucks his coverings before looking to Asa for direction.
A sound of pleasure catches in Asa’s throat. “First, a shower.”
“What?” I’m surprised but I shouldn’t be. The grime on my skin keeps reminding me of that cage, the hay. My nails dig into my skin and Asa has obviously noticed.
Asa spins me and gives me a soft kiss. “We need you relaxed, sweetheart. Let us take care of you.”
How am I supposed to argue with that? In a flash I’m under hot water as my mates massage soap into my skin and hair. The dual sensations are heavenly, and I moan when Asa massages my scalp. Slowly, the touches carry away the stress of our ordeal as much as the water carries away the dirt.
Greg’s and Asa’s naked bodies bracket me and their ministrations and murmurs of approval rain down until my muscles are lax. The process is so wonderful and intimate I never want to leave. That is, until the touches from my mates turn from massaging to strokes. Slowly, masterfully, they ramp up my body.
The water goes off and the way they dry me is a continued torture. Asa goes on his knees on the bathroom floor and licks a quick orgasm out of me as Greg holds me for him.
I mewl in disappointment. “That wasn’t what I wanted.”
Greg and Asa shake with laughter. “Oh, we aren’t done,” Asa says.
I squeak when Gregory swings me up into his arms. He puts me down when we get to our bed and Asa wraps his arms around me for a moment. A reassurance.
“On the bed, Gregory.” Asa’s hands on my body become more direct. “And you, my temptress, will join him.”
His demand moves something in me that preens at the thought of pleasing my mates. I crawl into Greg’s open arms and squeak when he pulls me up to straddle his face. My squeak ends in a moan when he begins greedily lapping between my legs, his large hands holding my hips just as he wants me. Greg thrusts his tongue inside me, and I gasp.
“So beautiful,” Asa says. He waltzes to the side table and pulls out the bottle of lube. His eyes hungrily devour the sight of Greg and me. How we must look, Greg sprawled naked and my body gyrating on his face. A flush burns my skin.
As if sensing my shyness, Asa grabs the back of my neck and kisses me hotly. The taste of him is potent, rolling flavors of smoke and spice. Asa breaks the kiss with an uncommon growly gasp and I look down to see Greg’s mouth wrapped around his erection. Asa also watches the large man take him deep before snapping his attention back to me and pulling his cock from Greg’s greedy mouth.
“Don’t distract me, love,” Asa says. Greg smiles smugly before going back to using his tongue on my intimate flesh. Thinking about the way my flavor and Asa’s mix in Greg’s mouth makes my skin sensitive and tight and Asa brings a hand around to tug on my nipples as a tease.
“Are you sure about this, darling?”
“Please. I need this.” I sound desperate, but I don’t care. Already the shadows in the back of my mind are mere figments faced with the radiance of this.
Asa straddles Greg’s chest behind me and lets his hands run up and down my body as he nibbles gently on the back of my neck, running over the sensitive scar of my mating mark before laving it with his tongue. I’m surrounded by stimulation from all sides and my body tries to squirm but there is nowhere for it to go.
Asa’s body is hot against my back and Greg licks slowly at my core. He isn’t driving me toward orgasm, just keeping me in a cloudy state that makes me want to grind down on his mouth, but he holds my hips captive.
The snick of a bottle barely pulls me from the carnal revelry. Slick fingers run down the crack of my ass and massage my tight opening there. We’d gone as far as a finger or two in the past and it had been an odd sensation.
Asa’s erection rests against my ass and I let myself feel nervous at his size. They’ll take their time preparing me, but it will still be a tight fit. Even without Greg’s monster cock in my pussy.
Asa must notice my nerves because he laughs. “Having regrets now? Trust us, Zephyrine. You’ll take both of our cocks so well, darling. Don’t you want to please your mates? Don’t you want us to fill you up with our cum?”
Filthy, so filthy. All hesitancy that Asa must have felt about doing this now is gone and he slips a single digit past my tight ring of muscle.
“That’s it, Zephyrine, work with me. Breathe, you can take it.”
“I want her on my cock,” Greg says, voice rough with wanting.
“Can you keep from coming?” Asa lifts an eyebrow at him and Greg blushes but nods.
“I want that,” I say.
“You have to take two of my fingers before you get his cock. Work for it, Zephyrine.” Asa watches me closely and I try to relax against this light invasion. Do what he’s instructing me to do. I must do well enough because Asa slips another finger in and starts using them to stretch me.
“That’s it, good girl.” Asa’s penetration burns but I breathe through it.
Greg’s body bucks under me, his hips thrusting into the air, desperate. I whimper and Asa laughs darkly before sliding us down Greg’s body.
I grind down on the head of Greg’s cock at my opening and the thick member stretches me as I take him as deep inside of me as I can. Greg’s tendons stand out on his neck and his face looks pained.
“Easy, little bird. Let’s not torture the man.” Asa sounds too amused in my ear and I try to slow the buck of my hips.
“I can feel his fingers inside you, Zeph. It’s driving me crazy; I can’t wait until I can feel his cock.”
I can’t wait either, but I know Asa won’t let me go too fast. Neither man will allow me to hurt myself no matter how much my body wants to take everything at once.
“Please.” it slips out as I slowly rock up and down Greg’s cock. Asa takes deep breaths; we’ve reached a point close to breaking his steel-clad control. I sigh as the third digit goes in.
“You want my cock stretching your pretty little ass, Zephyrine?”
My face burns at how lurid that sounds. How much I want it. Greg pants, watching us with eyes full of lust and longing. The notion of feeling everyone in this relationship at once makes my heart melt and skin heat simultaneously. I tuck my face into the side of Asa’s neck. The sweat on his skin is just one more sensation to this melee of desire.
“I want it all,” I whisper.
Asa kisses me before pulling my body off of Greg, letting his heavy erection slide free.
“Noo,” I whine but Asa chuckles.
“You’ll thank me in a moment. You can’t think it will be easy to thrust into your ass when Greg is already stretching you to the brink? This first time needs to start off easier than that.”
This first time. Relief makes me want to cry. The idea that this isn’t a goodbye no matter how much we are fighting right now, compels me to lean into this.
Greg is clenching his teeth with need but keeps his eyes soft as he gestures to me. Asa bends me all the way forward to lie on Greg’s chest, the warmth of our skin contact helping me relax even though my hea
rt is beating rapidly. Asa eases my legs from the harsh straddling position, so my hips are tilted just so.
Greg cradles me into his arms. “Just remember to breathe, Zeph. You’re amazing.”
The fingers leave my ass and are replaced by the head of Asa’s slick cock and he starts pressing into me. I choke a little at the pressure. I don’t think it’s going to fit, and I start to panic but Greg squeezes a nipple. The sharpness of it brings me back to my senses.
“Bear down Zeph, you can do it. Take the cock Asa gives you and then you can have mine.”
The impulse to snarl at Greg is strong. This is intense. Pain wars with lust in me and as Asa’s cock slips past the ring of muscle, I hiss. Everything pauses for a moment except the hands moving over my skin. I’m in such a state I can’t tell who is touching what. The beating of my heart slows a little and the invasion of my flesh isn’t as bad.
As I adjust to the sensation, I let myself relax and Asa slides in deeper and we both groan.
“Oh, little bird, oh Zephyrine.” Asa swallows on his reverent words and unmistakable pride blooms in me that I’ve reduced him to this. The sensations of this are so acute, every little thing magnified. The stick of skin touching skin; the pulse of the intimate stretch. As Asa’s flesh tunnels into mine, I rock my head back and forth on Greg’s chest.
I let out a little sound when Asa’s hips meet my ass. “That’s it, little bird, you’re doing so well.” Asa’s voice is gravel and I think we both might be panting.
Greg’s chest expands and he fists the sheets. Our eyes meet. “You’re so wet, Zeph. Does that pussy feel empty?”
It really doesn’t. I’m so full. Greg must see that on my face because he snorts. Asa’s fingers comb through my hair before he takes a hold of it. My eyelids go heavy at the pull.
“You started this, little bird. If you want to stop this, you’ll need to use your safe word. You promised Gregory a special treat; you don’t want to disappoint him, do you?” Asa asking that stings.