Unleashed

by Tiffany Roberts

  Nina shivered, panting and flattening her hands on Vortok’s abdomen to stabilize herself. They slid down his body, bumping into something long and hard. She opened her eyes and dropped her gaze to his cock. Due to his height, it was chest-level with her, but she hadn’t been focused on it while she’d kissed him. Now, she could look at nothing else. Though she’d glimpsed it on a few occasions — and had felt it against her body more than once — this was the first time she’d seen it in full, jutting from its sheath and the thick fur at its base.

  It was tan and deeply veined, longer than her forearm and thicker than her wrist. Though it was intimidating, almost frightening in size, she couldn’t resist the urge to touch it. She wrapped her fingers around his shaft; his girth was too great to allow her fingertips to encircle him completely. No fur covered him there — only hot, smooth skin.

  Vortok groaned. The sound rumbled from his chest, vibrating through his body. His hands fell to her shoulders, squeezing, but he held back his true strength. An echo of his pleasure swept through her, combining with Balir’s, and nearly carried her away when it fused with the sensations already flooding her. She tore her gaze from Vortok’s erection and looked up to find his eyes squeezed shut, his features strained.

  —too much, her touch, need more, more, more of her—

  A feeling of power filled her. Keeping one hand on Vortok’s abdomen for support, Nina tightened her fist around his cock and stroked in time to Balir’s thrusts. A great shudder shook Vortok. His breathing grew heavy, and he rubbed his hands up and down her arms and shoulders, occasionally hesitating as though he wasn’t sure what to do with them. His breath quickened, mingling with the gasps and moans coming from Balir and herself, and he bared his teeth, features contorting into a fierce expression of agony — or intense pleasure.

  Eyelids heavy, Nina returned her gaze to Vortok’s shaft, and watched, fascinated, as liquid beaded at its tip. She bit her lower lip, muffling her cries when Balir tugged her backside closer. The slight change of angle increased the pressure on her clit as he pumped faster and harder. Pleasure coalesced in her core, threatening to burst.

  Unable to resist, Nina lowered her head and licked the tip of Vortok’s cock just as Balir stiffened behind her.

  She fell with a splash, suddenly surrounded by dark, warm water. Straightening her back, she lifted her head above the surface to find herself alone.

  Panting, Nina climbed to her feet, body thrumming with unfulfilled desire and mind clouded with confusion. She brought a hand to her breast and cupped it. Balir’s hands had been there a moment before. His cock had been between her thighs, and Vortok’s…

  She licked her lips but tasted nothing; it reminded her that this was a dream, that they hadn’t truly been together, and she’d never actually tasted a man’s seed.

  Nina inhaled sharply as a shock of pleasure suddenly shot through her sex. She gasped again when the sensation repeated. Squeezing her breast, she pinched her nipple and tilted her head back. It was too much. It wasn’t enough. She needed…

  Nina’s eyes snapped open.

  More.

  A white ceiling dominated her vision as she stared up. She was surrounded by heat, filled with it, and her body only grew hotter with each passing second. She writhed, hips undulating as overwhelming sensations blasted through her. Large, calloused hands caressed and squeezed her breasts, their strong thumbs stroking her budded nipples. A tusked mouth gently nuzzled her neck and issued a soft, satisfied rumble that vibrated a broad, fur-covered chest at her back; she was laying atop Vortok.

  But the strongest sensation came from between her legs.

  Nina looked down, panting through parted lips, to find her legs spread wide. Her feet were hooked around the outsides of Vortok’s legs, and Balir’s head was between her thighs as he licked, sucked, and nipped at her sex. A white, nearly translucent substance was splattered on her belly; despite her inexperience, she knew what it was.

  This wasn’t a dream. This was real. Their scents mingled, thick and musky, to permeate the air.

  Balir’s hands slid up her thighs, his long, white fingers stark against her flesh. He applied pressure, keeping her in place.

  “Balir,” she breathed, eyelids heavy.

  His only response was to latch onto her clit and suck. Nina released a choked cry. She arched her back, thrusting her chest into Vortok’s hands as wave after wave of rapture blasted through her. It went on and on, consuming her, stealing her breath, her cries, her very being.

  She breathed raggedly as she slowly descended from her peak. Balir moaned and gave her one slow, final lick, making her twitch when the tip of his tongue flicked her clit. He massaged her thighs, and a content, rattling purr sounded in his chest as he climbed onto his knees.

  His long, pointed tongue emerged to slide over his lips, licking away the moisture glistening on them. It was both erotic and embarrassing. She’d never… She hadn’t thought… The only experience she’d had was with her own hand, experimenting with what felt good. But this! This was more than she could have ever imagined. Just thinking about his head between her thighs made her ache all over again in want for more.

  It didn’t help that Vortok continued to stroke her breasts, body rumbling with a purr of his own.

  “I’ve tasted nothing sweeter,” Balir said huskily.

  Vortok slid one of his hands down her stomach and past her pelvis to dip into her sex, brushing over her clit. Nina moaned. He lifted it away after that teasing hint of pressure and slipped the tip of his finger between his lips. Nina turned her head, following his action.

  A satisfied hum swelled in his chest. “I want a taste of my own,” he said. “A deeper taste.”

  Balir settled his hands on her knees. “Have you made your choice, Nina?”

  Nina returned her attention to Balir, her gaze dipping to his cock. It extruded from a parted slit on his groin, veined and shiny with its own secretions. Though not nearly as large as Vortok’s, it was intimidating in its own way; it was pointed at the tip with ridges of plated scales running along the top.

  She stared at his shaft, quite aware of Vortok’s hardness pressed against her back. She recalled the look and feel of it within her hand; would it feel the same in the real world as it had in the dream? Despite reaching a climax, she craved more. “I—”

  Her attention moved past Balir at the sound of crunching snow. The loosely packed snow at the shelter’s entrance crumbled as Aduun crawled through the opening, bits of white clinging to his fur. A brisk, freezing wind flowed around him, sweeping inside, raising goosebumps on Nina’s skin.

  Once clear of the entry, he rose onto his knees and stilled. His nostrils flared with a deep inhalation as he swept his gaze over Nina, Vortok, and Balir, his spindle pupils shrinking and dilating rapidly.

  “What is this?” he asked, voice low. Dangerously low.

  Nina quickly lifted her legs off Vortok’s and brought her knees to her chest as she sat up.

  Vortok settled his hands on her shoulders. “Aduun…” he warned.

  Aduun’s jaw tightened. His quills slowly rose in agitation, and his beast blasted Nina with sudden, overwhelming thoughts.

  —mine she is mine they cannot have her—

  “You have marked her with your scent,” Aduun growled, shifting closer, attention settling on Balir. His nostrils opened wide again. “And her scent is on you.”

  “Aduun,” Nina said, attempting to rise, but Vortok held her in place.

  Her mind reeled as Aduun lost his tenuous control of his aggression and a wave of crimson smashed into her. He darted forward with a roar, smashing into Balir.

  Vortok wrapped his arms around her and turned away from the thrashing limbs and tearing claws, shielding her as bits of snow and dirt flew. The sounds coming from Balir and Aduun were wholly animal; they were two beasts battling for a mate, for their pride, for survival.

  “Stop it!” Nina screamed, struggling against Vortok’s hold. “Let me go! They need
to stop before they kill each other!”

  Flecks of blood splattered the roof of the shelter, bold crimson against stark white. Pain and rage bombarded Nina, so powerful and sudden that she couldn’t protect herself against it. She gripped her head, clenched her teeth, and squeezed her eyes shut.

  “I said stop!” she screamed again.

  The shelter was suddenly silent but for the ragged breathing of its occupants and the howling of the wind outside. Even the torrent of emotions had ceased.

  She pushed against Vortok’s arms again, and this time he released his hold without resistance. She fell onto cold dirt, shivering now that the cold air had been given a clear path of entry, and lifted her head to look at the fighting valos.

  Aduun was atop Balir, pinning the slightly smaller valo to the ground. Blood glistened on their claws from fresh cuts on both of their bodies. They were looking at one another with confusion on their faces, as though they’d just woken from a dream to find themselves in their current positions. It didn’t matter to Nina.

  The anger rushing through her now was her own.

  She stood up, and though she had to angle her head down to avoid hitting the roof, she strode toward the two with her fists clenched at her sides. She slammed her hands into Aduun’s shoulders.

  Dazedly, he fell backward off Balir, landing on his ass.

  “The choice is mine!” she yelled, glaring at Aduun. “Mine! You do not get to decide what I do or who I do it with!” Her vision blurred, but she was too angry to care about the tears filling her eyes. “Balir is your tribe, your family!”

  The confusion on his face faded, and his expression hardened. Pride, however bruised, tipped his chin up, and bitterness lowered his brows. “And what choice were we given?”

  His voice was low, but Nina flinched as though he’d yelled in her face. She crossed her arms over her breasts and looked away from him. “You’re right. You weren’t given a choice,” she said flatly.

  “But it is clearer with each passing day that, even given a choice, all three of us would make the same one,” he continued.

  Nina frowned, shifting gaze back to his. “What do you mean?”

  “We all would have chosen you.” His features softened, though the easing of his brow was nothing compared to the gleam that appeared in his eyes. “What was done was done, Nina. You blooded our heartstones. But even if you choose none of us, our want for you will not diminish.”

  Her lips parted as she searched his face. She glanced at them one at a time — Vortok sitting nearby, staring at her with a blend of desire and concern; Balir, sitting up with his face turned toward her, his unseeing eyes downcast but somehow hopeful; and Aduun. Proud, stubborn, selfless Aduun, with more openness, vulnerability, and regret on his face than she’d seen from anyone.

  “I can’t choose one of you,” she said, stepping closer to Aduun. That hard, guarded light immediately reformed in his eyes. She briefly touched her fingertips to his cheek. “Because I’ve already chosen all of you.”

  Surprise slackened his jaw and rounded his eyes; she felt the same emotion from all of them, keeping them silent for a time.

  “What do you mean?” Balir finally asked.

  “I want you all as my mates. All for myself.” She turned toward Balir. “It is not uncommon among other valos tribes.”

  “It…it is not the way of our people,” Balir said, uncertainty tinging his voice.

  Nina knew that. She’d seen into Orishok’s past, his history, his tribe. They chose a single mate, just as he had with Quinn. It was the same for the northern valos’ pairings.

  “I want all of you,” she said again, glancing at Vortok, “but I will not have you fighting over me. I will not be the thing that tears you apart. It will be either all of you…or none of you.”

  Their jumbled emotions swept over her, too confused to sort out. There was happiness there, from each of them, but it was laced with uncertainty, possessiveness, and jealousy. This was new to them. In most ways, it was also new to her. She knew only that such relationships were common among the other valos and that the individuals involved in them seemed to share powerful bonds with each other.

  She had no idea how those relationships worked, but she wanted to figure it out with these three valos. With her valos.

  “We are changed,” Aduun said, looking at Balir, Vortok, and finally Nina again. He drew himself onto his knees; the ceiling was too low for him to stand beneath. “That does not mean we must abandon the ways of our people.”

  Nina’s heart plummeted. She looked away, shivers intensifying as the cold in the shelter deepened.

  “But why should some of those traditions not change, also?” he continued. “We are different, and the world is different. Would it not be folly to continue the way we were when those lives are only memories?”

  Aduun lifted a hand and cupped her cheek in his palm. “I accept your choice. I cannot say there will be no conflict between us, but for you…I will try.”

  Elation struck Nina with such swiftness and power that she nearly leapt at him. Grinning, she covered his hand with hers and looked hopefully at the others. “Balir? Vortok?” she asked.

  Balir moved onto his knees and extended a hand, placing it on the other side of her face. “For you, Nina. For our tribe.”

  The three of them shifted their attention to Vortok.

  “We three have lived as brothers since we were young,” he said. “We have shared our tents, shared our furs, our spears, our food, and fires. We have bled for each other, and we have made each other bleed. But we have remained a tribe, a clan, throughout.” He crawled forward, his mane brushing against the snow overhead. He spread his huge arms to the sides, and before anyone realized what he meant to do, wrapped Nina, Balir, and Aduun in a massive hug. “We will do all those things and more, time and again. Why not strengthen that bond by sharing a mate? She is more than worthy of having three males protecting her.”

  Nina laughed and turned in his embrace to wrap her arms around his thick neck. The fur of his mane tickled her bare skin, and the collective heat of their bodies chased away the biting cold.

  “I have three mates,” she said with no small amount of wonder. She’d left home to seek a companion. A human mate. Instead, she’d found these three powerful men, valos no one else knew existed, lost members of her father’s tribe. They were her links to the past, her pathways to the future.

  Vortok eased them down but didn’t break the circle of his arms; she felt his happiness strongest of all, as though he could barely contain it. She knew, somehow, that this was the old Vortok, the man he used to be, shining through.

  “I…am sorry, Balir,” Aduun said.

  “You do not need to apologize, Aduun,” Balir replied. “We are all guilty of falling prey to the beasts we harbor, from time to time.” He turned his head toward the open entrance. “I smell blood.”

  Vortok released the others but kept Nina tucked warm against his side. Easing back, he sniffed the air, nostrils flaring. “The two of you certainly splattered enough of it around.”

  Nina frowned, surveying Balir’s and Aduun’s cuts, which were already sealing. “Their wounds are healing.”

  “No. Not our blood,” Balir said, voice strained. “From outside.”

  “My hunt was successful,” Aduun said. “We need only build a fire.” He dipped his chin toward the side of the shelter.

  Nina followed the gesture to find a pile of grass and dung tucked in the corner. “When did you do all this?”

  “While you slept.”

  He’d done all this…alone. He’d taken it upon himself to trek out into the storm while Vortok and Balir remained at her side to keep her warm and safe.

  Among…other things.

  Smiling, Nina moved closer to Aduun, cradled his face, and brought her mouth to his. He flinched, jaw tensing beneath her palms, but his lips soon yielded to hers. He settled his hands on her hips.

  She knew this was not a surrender; it was curios
ity. The tips of his claws grazed her skin as his fingers flexed, sending excited tingles through her, rekindling a flame deep within her core. She stepped back before the flame heated any further.

  Aduun stared at her, his half-lidded eyes burning with promise, and she threw up her mental shields as his thoughts turned to the pleasure he intended to share with her and the primal claiming he envisioned.

  “You and Balir see to the fire,” he said, his voice deep and gentle but leaving no room for argument. “Vortok, come tend to the kill with me. We will need to fashion tools and dig another shelter, so you may cure the hide.”

  His eyes lingered on her another moment before he turned and crawled back outside.

  Vortok moved to follow, pausing beside Nina. One of his big hands cupped her backside and squeezed. She yelped, then laughed upon seeing the wicked tilt of his grin. “I still have not had my taste,” he rumbled before squeezing himself out through the opening.

  “Maybe later,” she called, blushing.

  Definitely later.

  Chapter Eleven

  Two days passed faster than Vortok could’ve imagined possible, sped on by seemingly endless activity. It was good to have purpose, to have distractions; his beast remained silent for long stretches, rousing only when Nina sparked his desires, which he’d had little time to act upon. There was too much to do. Meat to cut and prepare, hides to cure, tools to make of stone and bone. At almost all times, one of them was out digging through the snow to find adequate fuel to maintain their fires, and that was after Vortok had spent half a day moving dirt to make their first shelter deeper and digging a second to use for smoking.

  He would’ve liked some wood to build frames for stretching the hides, but he made do with the materials available. Balir, Aduun, and Nina all helped as needed, though they deferred to his expertise. He wasn’t sure if it was due to Nina’s intervention or the amount of work to be done, but the valos had avoided further conflict — though their lack of time to be intimate with her had likely gone a long way in keeping the peace. They were simply too busy, and Nina was exhausted by the time night fell. She pushed herself just as hard as the valos, if not more so.