by Liv Brywood
“Don’t do that.” He sighs. “Don’t take on that guilt. This is all Lexus’ fault. If you hadn’t gotten involved, no one would have known about Lexus’ plan to destroy shifters. We’re on the brink of war. There’s bound to be some backlash.”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better about it.”
He lowers the temperature of the stove and covers the pot with a glass lid. It’ll need to cool before it can be bottled.
He walks over to me and pulls me in for a hug. I lean into him and inhale his scent. Sometimes I wonder how wolf shifters don’t go crazy from their heightened sense of smell. Remus’ scent drives me crazy.
“None of this is your fault.” He strokes my hair. “I’ll take away your garden privileges if you say it’s your fault ever again.”
“That’s mean.” I pull back and mock glare at him.
“I can be very stern when I need to me.”
“Is that so?” When he gazes down at me, something shifts in his eyes. Playfulness is replaced by an intensity that makes me go gooey inside. My breath hitches in my chest, and my lips part. Remus doesn’t hesitate. He dips his head and presses his lips to mine.
I expect a sweet, tender kiss like the one we’ve previously shared. Instead, I get a burning kiss filled with passion. It’s enough to make my knees weak. He wraps his arms around me to hold me up. Our chests are pressed together. My knee slips between his legs.
“I have another confession,” he whispers against my mouth.
“Tell me.”
“I’m jealous.” He marks my neck with a trail of kisses.
“Oh?”
“You spent the night alone with Nyx. You’ve never done that with me.”
“How do you know what I did? Did he tell you?”
“He didn’t have to tell me. It was all over his smug face.”
“I told him not to gloat.”
“He can’t help himself.”
“Well he needs to try.”
“Right.”
“Don’t think about him.” I stroke his clenched jaw. “I’m here with you. I live in your house, not his. I consider your house my home now.”
“Even after what you did with him?”
“Yes. I wanted to talk to you about it.”
“I don’t want to talk about it right now.” His lips meet mine. He pulls me hard against him. I can feel his stiff cock through his jeans. His kiss is demanding and possessive. I love how aggressive he’s being. He’s usually never like this.
I’m not sure what I expect. He backs me up until my butt hits the workbench. My ass hits the lavender basket, tipping it over and spreading fragrant clippings across the table’s surface. Some lavender falls to the floor. As I’m trying to maintain my balance, I step on one by mistake. A fresh explosion of fragrant lavender fills the air.
His hands wind into my hair. He pulls hard enough to force my head up. Once again, he covers my neck in kisses.
“I’m making a perfume for you.” His breath tickles my ear. It sends a shiver through me. “I want you to wear it so I can smell it every time I’m near you.”
“I—thank you.” I don’t know what to say. He’s gone from not talking to me to putting his hands all over me. He still doesn’t seem to want to talk, but we need to. We can’t avoid this conversation forever. “Don’t you have questions about Nyx?”
“We can talk about that later,” he growls. “Right now, I don’t want to talk.”
He takes me by my shoulders and spins me around, so my back is to him. He pushes my chest against the table. I’m shocked and so turned on that I’m already wet.
As he runs his hands down my back, I moan. One hand travels farther down to squeeze my ass, while the other slides around to grab my breast. He caresses me roughly. I never expected him to be like this, but I like it. Maybe I’ve underestimated him. Maybe he’s wilder than I’d expected.
I reach around to press my hands against the stiff bulge in his jeans.
“Look what you’ve done.” He grinds his bulge into my hand. “You make me so fucking hard.”
I like this side of Remus. I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to experience it.
“Take your clothes off,” he commands.
Holy hell's bells, yes!
I do as he tells me. As I slowly strip, I enjoy the hungry way his eyes ravage my body. His predatory, possessive gaze sweeps down from my breasts to my pussy. He doesn’t even attempt to hide his lust.
I glance at the door. It briefly occurs to me that I don’t know when Nyx or Torak will be back. I just as quickly realize that, right now, I don’t care.
“Now what?” I ask.
“Bend over the table.”
How did I miss this about him? He’s so dirty. I thought Nyx would be the kinky one. Boy was I wrong.
I bend over the workbench. It’s built for someone of Remus’ height, so I have to stand on the tips of my toes. Fortunately, most of my weight is supported by the bench.
Remus moves closer. He uses his hands to spread my legs.
“You’re so beautiful and perfect.”
“Thank you.”
“But you’ve been a bad girl.” His tone is dark and dangerously sexy.
Without warning, he gives my ass a little smack. I jolt. A fresh wave of desire makes my pussy clench.
He rubs my stinging ass lightly. The sensation is the most erotic thing I’ve ever felt.
“I’ve been very, very bad,” I whisper.
“Yes, you have. Do you need a spanking? Because I think you do.”
My whimper of need is the only response he needs. His hand strikes my ass. I gasp and spread my legs wider.
“More.”
He whacks my ass with open-handed slaps until I’m burning hot and ready to do anything to please him. I never expected him to awaken my submissive side, but he has. He’s teaching me things I never knew about myself.
Without warning, he slips one finger inside me. I groan as he slides it in and out.
“You’re so wet already.”
“I need you.”
He reaches forward to gently move my head so I can see him from the corner of my eye. He gazes at me as he licks the finger he’s removed from my center.
“You taste as sweet as you look.”
My brain can’t bring forth any coherent words, so I sigh and lay my cheek on the table. I crush more lavender in the process. Remus removes his shirt and unbuckles his belt. The moment I see his cock, I instinctively arch my back in invitation.
“I know what my little witch wants.” He strokes his huge cock.
“I want you.”
The change in our dynamic blows my mind. For all the years I’ve known him, I’ve only ever seen his easygoing, always-down-to-meditate side. Never in a million years would I have imagined we could be like this. I always saw him as the type of guy who would give a woman a rose petal fantasy of slow, sensual sex. I’m glad I was so totally wrong. I like this much better than a rose petal fantasy.
“Hang on tight, baby,” he croons.
He pushes his cock into my slick folds. I reach forward to grip the edge of the workbench as he buries himself in me to the hilt. He doesn’t yield. He sends sensation after sensation of pure, primal pleasure through me. I’m overwhelmed by him. There’s no one else I’d feel safe enough to surrender control to, but it feels so right with him. It’s perfect.
He leans forward so his mouth is against my ear. “You like it deep, don’t you?”
“By the Goddess.” I groan and arch my ass against him.
He slides deeper still. With each thrust, I let out a cry and crush another sprig of lavender. The scent is all around us now, and it mixes into our hair and settles onto our damp skin.
Remus pounds into me hard enough to make the workbench slide forward with each impact. He slips his hand beneath the workbench and finds the apex of my dripping core. With movements that are gentle in comparison to what he’s doing with his cock, he teases my clit.
“Damn it.” I cry out.
“Don’t hold back now. Come for me.”
I do as I’m told. My orgasm rips through me and, apparently, inspires his own. He howls as he comes. Heat floods my center as he thrusts deep and buries his cock inside me. I pulse around him, milking his cock for every last drop.
Later, he slides out of me. I nearly fall when he’s not supporting my weight anymore. He scoops me into his arms.
“Come on, sweet witch.” The tenderness is back in his voice.
“I had no idea you were so naughty,” I murmur.
“I’m only naughty for you.”
“I’m honored,” I say in a teasing tone.
He smiles. “Let’s get you somewhere where we can relax.”
He carries me into the main house. Thankfully, we still have the place to ourselves. He brings me into his room and settles me onto the bed. The room is cold, but he covers me with blankets before I begin to shiver.
He lays beside me and pulls me into his arms. We lay in comfortable silence for some time before thoughts of Nyx and Torak start to creep into my mind.
I should bring it up now. Remus deserves to know everything.
“I know you have something to tell me.” He intertwines his fingers with mine.
“You must be a mind reader.”
“I know you.” He kisses the back of my hand. “You’ve clearly got something on your mind. I’m pretty sure I can guess what it is.”
“You can?” I laugh nervously.
“You like Nyx. And Torak too.” His words are so blunt I struggle to respond.
“I—”
“You’ve slept with Nyx already, right? That night you were gone. That’s what you were doing, right?”
This is it. The moment he starts to hate me forever.
“Yes.” I have to be honest with him now.
“I knew it.” He doesn’t sound angry at all. In fact, he sounds almost satisfied that he guessed correctly.
“What?”
“Look. I care about you a lot. I’ve never felt this way about anyone else. And I know you care about me too.
“But?”
“No buts. I know you care for the other guys too. It took me a while to get used to the idea of sharing you, but I want you to know I’m okay with it. I’m willing to share if it means I can be with you from time to time.”
“I don’t know what to say.” I can barely speak above a whisper.
“You don’t have to say anything. Just let me hold you.” His smile is so warm and caring, I fear I’ll cry.
“You amaze me.”
He tucks my head under his chin and strokes my hair. I don’t know how I got this lucky. I thought he was going to hate me, but it’s anything but that. I don’t want to speculate about how much he cares, but if he cares enough to share me with Nyx, then he must be head over heels for me.
But I still need to talk to Torak. I don’t want to wait too long. He’s just as mad as Remus was, but I hope he’ll be as understanding. I won’t know until we talk, but I hope it goes well.
16
Torak
Out in the garden behind Remus’ house, I pluck absentmindedly at my guitar. I play a nondescript melody just to keep my hands occupied. It’s a beautiful, warm day. Birds chirp and insects buzz through the fields. A thick, hairy caterpillar inches slowly across a broad sunflower leaf towards its brilliant yellow flower.
My mind has been on Iris since our kiss. For the most part, it’s been great for my career. Songs have been pouring out of me. Lately, I can’t sit for ten minutes before lyrics will start to coalesce in my head. But, it’s not all good. I’m tormented by painful longing. The memory of her soft lips on mine twists my heart into a knot. I keep replaying the kiss over and over in my mind while I stare off into space with my mouth hanging open. The other day, Iris caught me like that while I was sitting at the kitchen table.
“What’re you daydreaming about?” She’d fixed me with those warm, bottomless eyes. A lazy smile spread across her face.
It killed me not to tell her my thoughts were about her, or more specifically, about our kiss. I wanted to drag her into my arms and press her body against mine. I wanted to kiss her and caress her and tell her everything I’ve kept locked in my heart. But Nyx was also in the kitchen making a sandwich. So, I lied.
“Oh, nothing. Working out some lyrics in my head.” My heart flinched at the untruth. It begged to be unburdened, but I couldn’t do it, not with Nyx in the same room.
She’d tilted her head and had scrunched her face doubtfully. I wonder if she ever thinks about the song I wrote for her, or about how hard she’d kissed me when she’d heard it.
I thought she was going to say something, but she kept glancing at Nyx. Then Remus came in from the shop to complain about an ornery customer and the moment was lost. With Remus and Nyx both there, it didn’t seem like the best time to express my undying love for our mutual childhood friend.
Although, they don’t seem to care about blurring the friendship line with Iris. Nyx and Iris seem to have gotten closer recently. Ever since they spent that night at his house, they’ve whispered in each other’s ears and have laughed conspiratorially. I’ve even seen them kiss when they thought no one was around. It made my chest go tight, my stomach flip, and my hands clench into fists. I had to dart outside to not howl and snarl at them.
And it’s not just Nyx either. She and Remus have gotten closer lately too. The other day, they came out of Remus’ workshop giddy and disheveled. Then they’d shared a quick, passionate kiss before they’d gone their separate ways.
I’ve never cared about anyone the way I care about Iris. Even though she’s clearly into the other guys, I still think our bond is magical. When she’s in the room, I’m drawn to her like a magnet. I can’t seem to pay any attention to anything else. When we’re apart, she’s never far from my mind, and when I allow myself to think about her, the music seems to flow forth naturally. It’s true what they say about heartbreak, it’s good material for art, but I can’t let this ache go on any longer. I have to let Iris know how badly I want her.
I set my guitar down and head toward the house. I will myself to be calm and strong, but when I step into the kitchen, I freeze. Iris is pressed up against Nyx, who is leaning back against the marble counter. His hands are on Iris’ back. Their mouths are locked together.
My heart sinks, and the words I’d wanted to say disappear down my throat. A prickling heat climbs up from my churning stomach. I’m not sure if it’s rage or grief, but I know if I don’t get outside right now, I’ll either scream or cry.
Nyx’s eyes go wide when he sees me over Iris’ head. He pulls away. Iris turns around, confused. She opens her mouth to speak, but I dart out the back door before she has a chance. I stomp along the path through the herb garden when the back door clangs open.
Iris’ call makes my heart leap despite my anger and confusion. I don’t know what I’ll say if she catches me, so I push on toward the center of the garden.
“Wait.” She jogs along the gravel pathway.
I run toward the gazebo at the center of the garden. I catch myself on the railing at the back of the gazebo, my breathing moderately heavily from the brief exertion. Iris sprints in behind me a few seconds later.
“Hey, you okay?”
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. I needed some air.” I try to avoid eye contact so she doesn’t see through me, but she’s so damn beautiful that it’s impossible not to look.
“You’re not a very good liar.” She smiles at me sympathetically.
“I’m fine. Really.”
“No, you’re not.” She crosses her arms and gives me a skeptical look.
“Fine.” I turn away to hide my shame. “I guess I don’t like to see you all over Nyx. Or Remus. I know you’re an independent woman. You can do what you want. It’s just that…” I trail off, reluctant to continue.
I plop down on the gazebo bench. She walks over and sits next to m
e. Warmth radiates from the point on my leg where her knee touches me.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she says.
“It’s okay.” Tears threaten to spill over. Disappointment grips my chest like a vise. “I-I assumed we had a connection. But it’s all right. I’ll get over it.” With great effort, I stare away from her beautiful eyes for fear I’ll lose control of my emotions and drown in my longing.
“No, you were right. We do have a special connection. I hate that I hurt you like this. I’ve wanted to talk to you. I just never found the right time. That’s completely my fault, and I’m sorry about that.” She places her hand on my thigh.
Hope blooms within me. “So, you do feel it?”
“Of course I do. But I’m a little confused.” She bites her lower lip and hesitates.
“Confused about what?”
“Well, I sense a strong connection with you. I do. But it’s also that way with Nyx. And Remus.” She looks away, shame apparent on her face. “I guess that’s why I was so nervous about talking to you about us.” She turns back to me. Determination and passion burn away the shame. “I’m in love with you. With all of you. And I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about that. Sometimes it seems like maybe I’m asking for too much.”
Relief washes over me. My chest loosens and my heart slows.
“No way. Nothing is too much for you. The whole world would be only a fraction of what you deserve.” I take her hand in mine.
“I don’t know…” She gnaws on her bottom lip. “What’s so special about me? Why do I deserve so much?”
“Are you serious? You’re incredible. You’re my muse. You’ve always been my muse. I didn’t realize it until recently, but I can’t remember the last time I’ve been this inspired. I’ve written more songs in the last three days than I have in the last three years. Every time I envision you, my heart soars, and lyrics pour out of me. I sit and daydream about you, and melodies seem to stitch themselves together. I need you. And if that means I have to share you, then I’m more than happy to share.”