by Elle Boon
His wolf howled, raking at his insides and calling him all kinds of a fool as he looked down into sparkling purple eyes. Fuck, he almost said screw being a gentleman and tossed Sky over his shoulder. In their bedroom, he’d feast on her with his lips, and body, then call his brother in to bring them food. Maybe he’d be satisfied enough he’d be able to roll over and give his brother room.
“Keep thinking that way, and I’ll beat your ass,” Raydon rumbled through their link. “Besides, she’s starving.”
“You two are doing that twin thing, aren’t you?” Sky tugged on his ear.
“Hey, it’s not me, it’s him.” River shifted her in his arms, loving the feel of her in his embrace.
She rolled her eyes, a grin splitting her lips. “I bet when you two were growing up, you played that card all the time.”
River froze for a split second, shuttered his eyes and his memories. “We only had each other for a long time. I guess it’s like second nature to speak to each other through our link. We will work on including you though. As our mate, we shouldn’t be rude like that.”
He turned from the wall he had Sky pressed against and made the way into the kitchen where he could smell the scent of bacon and eggs. Gourmet cooks weren’t on the list of things either man had wanted to be, but they could get by. Raydon already had a plate piled with bacon and a pan with scrambled eggs half done. They each liked scrambled eggs with cheese on top. Shit, they hadn’t asked Sky her preference.
Raydon pointed the spatula he held at them. “How do you like your eggs, hellmouth? I can make scrambled like a rockstar, over easy not too bad, but get fancy and you’re fucked, and not in a good way.” He winked.
Sky laughed. “I like scrambled with cheese and some picante sauce on the side.”
Raydon held the spatula against his chest and folded his hands as if he was in prayer. “Thank you, Goddess, for giving me a beautiful mate, but also a mate who is smart and doesn’t fuck with eggs.”
“Did you think I’d ask for something like, eggs benedict or what?” She wiggled on the counter where River sat her, joy emanating from her eyes.
His brother shrugged. “I’d have tried to make them if that’s what you wanted, but I wouldn’t have promised they’d have been good.”
Sky lifted her bare foot, hooking it around Raydon, uncaring about popping grease. “The fact you’d have made it for me, would’ve made it taste great.”
River coughed into his hand, the word bullshit smothered by his coughing.
“Hey, you calling me a liar, sir?” She raised her foot she’d had hooked around Raydon, the tips of her toenails had been painted, by one of the other ladies, a shocking orange. He wasn’t sure if Sky had even noticed until her eyes widened. “Who the hell did that, and why the fuck did they paint them orange?” She shuddered comically.
His brother snorted, flipped the huge pan of eggs over at once but didn’t answer.
“Ah, hellmouth, Joni said you needed a little color on your pale ass, her words not mine. But the only color that was on hand was orange since Halloween was the last holiday any of the ladies had celebrated, or some shit. I told them to leave your feet alone, but again, we were overruled. When one of your friends said you wouldn’t appreciate us if you woke up to gnarly feet, we just nodded and let them do as they wanted, barring you weren’t harmed.” He couldn’t keep the growl from his tone at the end.
“I can so hear Joni and Taryn saying that, those bitches,” she said with affection.
The toaster popped with four slices of bread, a perfect gold, next to Sky. She didn’t need to be asked, just started buttering them and placing them on the plate with the others. It was all so normal, so domestic, he had to turn away. “What would you like to drink?” he asked, turning from the vision of her was hard.
“Coffee with a side of coffee, a splash of milk and some sugar.” She laughed.
He looked back to see her legs swinging back and forth, no sign of discomfort. His brother looked toward him, a brow raised in question. He turned away, grabbing three cups out of the cabinet, pouring them each a cup of coffee, giving her a splash of milk. “Here you go.” He handed one cup to Raydon, then took his and Sky’s to the center island. “Sugar is right here.” The little dish they kept on the counter held three different variety of sweetners. He made note of which one she took, mentally checking their stock.
“Alright, let’s eat. You gonna sit up there and chow or want to eat at the table?” Raydon asked, pointing toward the big wooden table set up off to the side of the kitchen.
“Do you guys eat there often?” Sky snagged a piece of bacon, chewing delicately while Raydon transferred food onto plates.
“Nah, we usually only eat there when guests come over or when we want to impress someone, which has been...never, until now. We tend to eat at the bar here.” River tipped his chin toward the barstools.
Sky swallowed the bite in her mouth. “I like that better. Seems more intimate. Besides at that big table, where would I sit if you both sat at the heads? I’d be like the monkey in the middle.” Her face turned pink then red as her words hit them all.
“Hellmouth, you would never be the monkey in the middle. Female, our mate, but never monkey,” Raydon growled, pulling her toward him, the food forgotten.
River made sure his twin had turned all the burners off then proceeded to get the plates and silverware set up. Through their link, he felt his twin’s satisfaction as Sky accepted his domination. She may be a badass part dragon, wolf, human, but she gave to them what they needed. They wouldn’t take her or her gifts for granted.
He dished a helping of cheesy eggs onto Sky’s plate along with bacon and toast, then did his own, sitting down with his cup of coffee and waited for his brother to finish making out with Sky. When it seemed Rye wasn’t in any hurry, but he could feel Sky’s hunger, he growled. “Our female is hungry and needs food, brother.”
Raydon grunted, but after another minute, he and Sky came around the counter, then they all three dug into the meal, moaning in unison as they filled their bellies with perfectly seasoned eggs and bacon, cooked just right.
Sky pushed her plate away. “What’s on the agenda for today? And no, I’m not ready for that.” Her eyes glowed, saying she wasn’t really sure, but River didn’t push.
“You asked that before, but we got distracted,” Raydon laughed.
She giggled, remembering why they’d gotten distracted. Their names for their dicks. “I hope you both realize I’ll be using that knowledge at some point in the future. Unless you want others to know, you best give me what I want, when I want, and no, that doesn’t mean in the bedroom. However, I will reserve that as well.”
River pushed his plate away, then tugged her into his arms. “Hellmouth, you’ve got some things to learn about us. First thing, we don’t need a bed or our bedroom to want to make love to you. Second thing, we don’t embarrass easily, and third,” he paused for a moment. “We always get even.”
There was no doubt what he was talking about as he spoke and shifted her on his thick thighs, letting her feel what she could only describe as a third leg. Holy shitnshynoma, no way in hell could she take that, and surely, its twin at the same time.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” River gripped her chin between his thumb and finger.
How was she supposed tell him this mating wasn’t going to happen, when not only their wolves wanted it, but so did she and that bit of dragon inside her. She bit her lip, shaking her head.
“You can tell us anything, love,” he spoke softly like he was talking to an injured animal.
Raydon reached over, pulling her lip from between her teeth. “Hellmouth, tell us what’s made your scent so damn offensive. Whatever it is, we will fix it.”
She hated this fear, the uncertainty, the feeling she’d felt since she’d been a little girl under Keith’s wrath. Goddess, she was tired of being less than, of being the wimpy wolf. “What if I can’t be what you need?” That was as close to what
she felt that she’d say out loud.
River looked at Raydon, but she didn’t sense them speaking to each other, which was good.
“The Goddess wouldn’t have created you for us if you weren’t meant for us. If she didn’t think you weren’t the piece we were missing, then she wouldn’t have sent you here. Our entire life, we’ve known there was a piece of us that was out there. When we scented you, even if our alpha had forbidden it, we’d have hunted you to the ends of the Earth, or beyond, to find you. You’re that perfect one. The female who soothes the ragged edges we both have, making us level.”
“That’s a lot to put on me.” She looked from one man to the other, sincerity shown in their gorgeous eyes. Goddess, she truly was a fool if she didn’t give them a chance. Hell, what was she saying? She was doing more than giving them a try, she was going to give them her all and prayed she didn’t screw things up.
“That’s better,” River said.
Before she could ask what he was talking about, he lifted her until she was straddling his lap, making her acutely aware the only thing separating her flesh from his extremely large dick was his jeans and possibly his underwear. Did they wear underwear, or were they commando men? The question had her leaning backward. “If you kiss me like you mean it, I’m afraid you’ll have me over this counter in no time flat. I want to...get to know you both, first. Does that sound stupid?”
Raydon chuckled, the deep sound eased some of her fears. “Hellmouth, the fact you didn’t tell him to fuck off was a good start. How about you get dressed and we head into town for a little pseudo date, while River and I clean up in here?”
She grasped onto the reprieve with both hands, then reality struck. “I don’t have any clothes.”
River spun on the stool with her in his arms, setting her feet on the cool tile. “Actually, you do. While you were out of it, Taryn brought a few of your things here.”
She saw a little color bloom on his cheeks at the admission and fell a little more in love with him, but she wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easily. “Then why didn’t you give me something of mine to sleep in?”
His smile turned positively wolfish. “Because I wanted my scent on you while you slept.”
And just like that, she turned to a pile of goo. Gah, one of these gorgeous men was bad enough, but two? She had no chance of saying no to anything they wanted. Of course, she didn’t think she would ever want to. A small voice inside her head gave a mocking laugh, the sound familiar but grating. Sky frowned, lifting her hand to her temple as she stepped away from River.
“You alright, love?” Raydon asked, his hands settled on her hips, stopping her backward motion.
She nodded, then shook her head, then nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m going to take a quick shower and get dressed. Where are my clothes again?”
River and Raydon glanced at one another, then back at her, making her angry. “Don’t do that twin talk.”
Raydon’s hands tightened on her while River lifted his arms up. River spoke first. “We said we wouldn’t, and we won’t.” The words, unless it was for her safety, was left unsaid.
An argument was the last thing she wanted, yet for some unknown reason a little part of her longed to...incite one, which was so unlike her. A slight pain stabbed her behind her right eye, but she didn’t let the guys know, hiding the discomfort behind a smile. “Sorry, I’ll feel better once I’m showered and dressed in my own things.”
Leaning up on her toes, she pulled first River down for a swift kiss, then did the same with Raydon. She could feel the heat of their gazes while she hurried away. The pain eased the further away from them she got, but the voice inside her head reminded her of the nightmare. Without thinking about it, she began building a wall between her conscious mind and the other female she could feel waiting to pounce, in her mind. She didn’t know why, but she felt an urgent need to keep it blocked. Once she was sure the wall was thick and impenetrable, she grabbed her things out of the places her guys had said they’d be. “I should probably be mad, but I’m not,” she whispered, smiling at the neat rows of her things hanging across from theirs. Her guys were organizers. She ran her hand over their shirts, all color coordinated from black, to navy, to grey and then a few other colors. She wondered if they had their names inside, so they didn’t wear each other’s, then dismissed the questions.
“Shower, then questions.” Why she was talking to herself she didn’t know, but for whatever reason, she didn’t want to be inside her own head.
Once her shower was done, she grabbed a fluffy towel off a heated rack. The fact they had one was amazing and showed how different their lives were. Yes, her family had money, but they weren’t allowed to have such things, not under Keith’s rule. He was a bastard of the first order. “Gah, I’m so glad he’s dead.” Her wolf snarled in agreement.
At the mirror, she wiped the fog off so she could see herself in the light of day, without the need to hurry. Her mind whirled as she saw a red tint on the right half of her torso, even on the back half. Luckily her face didn’t have the weird rash, if you could call it that as the weird mark literally covered her right side, bisecting her with a straight line down the middle, not like a rash would with some bleeding onto one side or the other. She ran her hand over the redness, worrying there’d be raised skin, but there was nothing but smooth flesh beneath her fingers. Worry had her reaching for Lula through their link. “Lula, I need you.” If this was part of her dragon manifesting itself, surely the dragon female would know.
Seconds turned to minutes with no response from Lula. Panic had her breath whooshing in and out of her lungs. “Easy, she’s probably off doing dragon things. This is probably normal.” She tried to reassure herself, but that other voice in her head seemed to laugh at her. Sky sent a bolt of fire over the wall, making the other screech and retreat.
Her right side heated up but didn’t appear injured. “Alright, just wait for Lula to contact you. All’s fine.” She gave a nod at her odd reflection, then picked the towel back up. Fuck, what would her guys think when they saw her body? “Cross that bridge when you get there, and stop talking to yourself,” she admonished herself.
She left the bathroom, got dressed without looking at herself again. No need to look when she knew her two toned image was still there. Luckily, her face was unmarred. Hell, she’d have to invest in some really good makeup in order to cover that up. Sephora would be her new best friend. She laughed, getting her head stuck while she tried to pull the sweater over her head. “Oh for fuckssake.”
“Need a little help, hellmouth?” River’s hands pulled the sweater over her head, the slouchy thing finally settled over her properly.
“Thank you. I thought I was going to suffocate.” Hell, she was actually glad she’d put a tank on under the sweater, first, otherwise there was no way he’d not have noticed the red half of her torso. She wasn’t ready to answer questions yet.
Chapter Five
Sky walked out of the bedroom holding River’s hand. The calluses rubbed against her softer ones, making her wonder what they’d feel like on her other parts.
“Hmm, whatcha thinking about?” he asked.
She shivered at the deep timbre in his tone. “I’m so not answering that question, and since you and I both know our sense of smell is great, you must know I was thinking of...well, anyway. Let’s move along, shall we?” She swung their hands in a wide arc, laughing as he grumbled beneath his breath about injuring Mr. B. Today, they’d have a normal day if it was the last thing she did. Well, normal as a female dating two gorgeous twins.
“There you two are. Damn, you look gorgeous, hellmouth,” Raydon murmured, stepping in front of her. His hands cradled her face. “You smell even better, and I don’t mean like freshly showered either.” His nostrils flared, letting her know he could scent her need.
Sky slapped at his chest. “A gentleman doesn’t mention such things.”
Raydon bent, placing his lips next to her ear. “Never prof
essed to be a gentleman, love.” He bit the lobe, then traced it with his tongue. “Let’s go before I forget my promise.”
She tilted her head to the side. “What promise?”
River laughed. “We promised to take it slow and let you lead. However, if you keep smelling like need and want, he and I will both need to visit the bathroom for a cold shower and a hand to dick visit with ourselves even though we really want you.”
She snorted, then laughed as the two men growled.
“A hand to dick visit? I’ve never heard of that described in such a way.” She wiped tears of mirth from beneath her eyes.
Raydon punched River in the arm. “Brother, we don’t tell our female we’re gonna jackoff.”
Sky grabbed River’s hand before he could hit Raydon back. “You promised me a date. Besides, I know all about men and their need to wash their err, privates, really fast.” She let go of River, moving quickly toward the door to the garage before they could grab her. “You coming?”
Both men grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like not yet, but she ignored it, enjoying the ability to tease them without fear.
“What are we driving?” Sky asked.
River held a set of keys in his hand. “My Raptor.”
She looked from one to the other, not knowing what the heck that was. “A bird?” Sure, she had some dragon in her, but like Lula, she didn’t think it took keys.
Raydon slapped River on the back. “She’s not a woman impressed with vehicles, bro.”
Shaking his head, River grabbed her hand before leading the way out the door. Inside their garage sat two Harley’s, Raydon’s Monster Truck, Sky’s little car, and his Ford Raptor.
Raydon moved ahead of them. “That’s his baby that he’s spent way too much on buying then customizing.”
River flipped Raydon off, pushing past him with a smirk. “Come on, hellmouth, I’ll show you my girl. See that matte black beauty?” He pointed out his rig. At her nod, he continued. “That’s Ebony. She’s your chariot, built to my specifications. She can pretty much handle just about anything.”