She wanted him to be there so she could let herself go and surrender now and again, resetting her muscles and nerves and clearing her mind.
A slow grin spread across her face.
Not that she had a ton of memories to sort through, but she was almost positive she never had sex like that. She wouldn’t be able to forget being rocked that way, not in this lifetime.
It was primal, it was passionate, it was everything she didn’t realize she needed as she pulled her hair up into a bun on the top of her head and hopped down the steps.
Zura was upstairs having breakfast with her Nightmares in her room. Melas was invited but she needed coffee and they seemed to be having more than enough fun without her. After spending so long constantly standing over Zura’s shoulder, she wanted to give her opportunities when she could for her to stand on her own.
In the blink of an eye, everything could change and they would both lose their taste of freedom. They should take as much of it as they could. While they could.
She hated the ominous thoughts invading her mind, trying to overtake the memories of last night. There would be time enough to get all gloomy later, right now she wanted to float on this euphoric high a night with Ridhor left behind.
As soon as she turned around the corner into the kitchen, a mug of coffee was in her hands and a kiss was pressed to her cheek. Ridhor grinned down at her, his red-orange hair pulled up in a high bun at the top of his head, the sides of his head freshly shaven and his beard— trimmed.
Looking at him in shock, she lifted her hand to his beard. What was normally a thick beard hanging down to the centre of his chest was now maybe an inch or two long. He trimmed it to frame his face, flaunting his sharp jawline and giving her a better view of his very kissable lips.
Her fingernails scratched through his beard to his jawline, her opposite hand lifting her mug to her lips to take a long, slow sip.
Ridhor’s eyes were locked on hers, flashing with question as he watched her gaze take him in.
He looked like some sort of Viking warrior with his burnt-orange hair and long burly beard, added to the sheer size of him, he looked ready to conquer. The shorter beard took a little bit of that danger from his appearance and replaced it with a seductive and more modern bad-boy vibe. It took him from a ship, swords swinging to a motorcycle. A different kind of edge, but she liked it.
Smiling lightly, she dropped her mug and pressed another kiss to his lips. “I like this.”
“Yeah?”
She did, she realized as the muscles in her stomach clenched.
“You do.” His nostrils flared, and he smirked at her. “I found it got in the way last night. This should be more manageable.” He lifted a brow. “For next time. Plus California is dreadfully hot.”
Next time. The words made her legs feel unsteady under her as she moved around the counter to sit, a sly smile on her face. A plate of bacon and eggs appeared in front of her. “Yum, thank you.”
“Zura already ate, but she took some muffins upstairs.” He told her.
“You made muffins?” She teased.
“The baking is more Andrei’s thing. There are cookies there too. He is the baker and will make the full meals, I do breakfast.” He leaned back against the counter, his eyes watching her as she bit into a piece of bacon and licked some of the greases off her bottom lip.
“You cooked for Zura and me before they got here.” He had. Three meals a day even though she offered to help. They’d been good, hearty meals too.
“I can cook in a pinch, but Andrei is who you want in the kitchen. He’s a wizard in here.”
Melas sat on his words for a moment before looking at him. “Are wizards real?”
He chuckled. “Yes.”
She read the History of the Seven Realms book several times, but she skimmed through quite a few entries. There was a lot to go through and she figured she could always revisit the book when she needed it.
It was a heavy book.
“What realm do they belong to?”
Ridhor came around the island, settling on the stool beside her knowing there would be questions. Getting comfortable, he reached over, resting a heavy hand on her thigh. It felt like it belonged there, such a comfortable gesture that would have had her balking a few months ago, blades sinking into flesh. “Casters belong to either the Dark or the Shadow Realm depending on where their power comes from. Most Casters such as Witches, Wizards, Sorcerers, Mages and the like gain their powers through some type of ritual that pulls powers from beings from either realm. Wherever that power is pulled from determines where they would belong.”
She took that in. “Do you visit your realm often?”
Pausing, he got a faraway look in his eyes.
Silence stretched on making her think the answer wouldn’t come.
“It’s been a long time. I’ve no family left in the Realm of Beasts, so I have no reason to be there.” He said finally.
“Oh.” She didn’t know what to say. She knew people often apologized for people’s loss but she never understood that. She wasn’t responsible for it and apologizing for something she didn’t know about until a moment ago felt empty. Instead, she gently leaned into him.
They sat there together in silence for a while, Melas slowly eating her food as Ridhor traced slow circles over her back.
Andrei stepped into the room, his whistling breaking through the silence as he got himself a cup of coffee and grinned at the two of them. “Well, would you look at these two? All grins, wearing a perfume of pleasure.”
Melas summoned the annoyance she promised she would direct at him, levelling him with a pointed stare. “I don’t know why you even bother acting like you don’t know what happened between Ridhor and me last night. We both know you were in the room, lurking in the shadows like a perv.”
He at least had the decency to dip his head in shame. “It’s not my fault. One minute I was in my room minding my own business, the next thing I know I’m drowning in your scent and watching from the shadows. I don’t know why you’re mad at me, it was hot as hell and deserved an audience. Orren was there too.”
The look on her face was almost enough to summon the Reapers to carry them away, dark and threatening. She looked at Ridhor who lifted his shoulders. “I didn’t invite them.”
“I thought you saw him. He was standing at the foot of the bed, clear as day. Then, he was just gone.”
What?
The image of Ridhor and her together sent heat pulsing through her as it played in her mind. The flash of silver eyes meeting hers before intense pleasure blurred the room.
Voyeurism wasn’t something she thought she would have to address, yet here she was. Dropping her fork on her plate, she wiped her lips with her napkin. Her onyx eyes burning a hole through Andrei.
What bothered her most was how oblivious she’d been.
She only noticed Andrei when she was leaving the room. He was there the whole time, she should have known. Remembering Orren was there too, her mind too clouded to take note made her scowl.
“Are you upset?” Ridhor’s knowing eyes were trying to read her.
“I’m trying to understand how I didn’t notice them there. Our survival depends on me being able to sense these things.” It was disappointing. She enjoyed letting go last night but let her guard drop a little too far. Had it been someone else in the room besides Andrei or Orren, it could’ve cost her life.
Ridhor’s hand rubbed the length of her back. “We were a little preoccupied.”
“I’m always preoccupied.” Her words had more bite than she realized.
Everything was changing. She was changing.
Those small changes were making her sloppy. They somehow managed to squeeze through a crack without her even noticing. It made her uneasy.
This morning she admitted to herself she wanted Ridhor around.
She was becoming soft.
Right now, that wasn’t an issue. In a few days, she would be in a big city with a l
ot more going on and surrounded by people. It would be easy for someone to get close enough to her or Zura to take a swipe at them.
She suddenly felt unprepared for it. Her confidence wavering.
“Maybe you didn’t sense me because I was just sucked into the room.” Andrei was trying to appease her, watching the way she pulled back into her mind.
Her mind flashed to the night she was pulled into Orren’s room, so unsure if it had been a dream or not. She was positive now it wasn’t.
For someone like Andrei, watching didn’t seem out of character. She assumed he smelled her arousal and took advantage of the opportunity to watch her and Ridhor together. It could be a perfectly normal thing, she still didn’t understand how everything worked with magical beings. She knew they weren’t monogamous, orgies and creeping into a room unsuspected to watch could be just another Tuesday.
Hearing he’d been pulled into the room would have been something she laughed at and thought was an obvious lie, but the same thing happened to her.
“Is that normal?” She asked. “Being pulled into someone’s room?”
Ridhor thought about it. “Not really. Typically beings need to use portals to hop from place to place. Some Mages can jump or blink but none of us are Mages. Shimmering is the most seamless way to do it, but Andrei wasn’t gifted the ability with his other Vampire traits.” He turned to look at her, considering the possibility she could very well be a Mage. “We don’t think you’re a Mage.”
“Blood Mage does sort of make sense.” Andrei thought about it. “It still wouldn’t explain her having Zura, but it would explain a lot of the other stuff. Her combat could just be an acquired skill because of her lifestyle.”
Snapping her fingers, she brought their attention back to her. “Can we put the speculation about my species aside for a moment and talk about the fact that apparently both you and Orren watched Ridhor and I have sex last night.”
Andrei’s eyes got a faraway look. “And what a show.” He said breathlessly.
Stalking over, she punched him in the stomach.
Doubling over, he held his hand up as he tried to suck in a breath. “Got it. Should never have been there without your permission.” he wheezed.
Ridhor chuckled lightly, but his eyes widened and the sombre look returned to his face when she turned to look at him. Clearing his throat, he nodded. “Definitely never without your permission.” He agreed.
“What the hell is going on?” She frowned. “Why were you even there?”
Forcing himself to stand, he rubbed a hand along his belly. “Probably not the time, but it is insanely hot how strong you are.”
Melas threw her hands in the air as she blew a tendril from her face that fell from her bun. “For fuck’s sake, Andrei.”
“What has he done now?” Orren stepped into the room.
Turning her scowl on him, he took a step back. His gaze went to Andrei, then Ridhor. Question in his eyes as he tried to figure out why she was directing this fury at him. “What have we done now?” He corrected.
Melas crossed her arms over her chest. “Did you enjoy the show last night?” Her black eyes searched his, challenging him to lie to her.
Understanding rippled across his face before his eyes met Ridhor’s. “It’s not my thing to intrude on someone’s sexual acts without invitation. One moment I was in the dreamscape, the next I was in Ridhor’s room. As quickly as it happened, I was in the dreamscape again. I honestly wasn’t entirely sure what happened.”
“Like when we had sex.” Her slip of the tongue surprised her. Her plan to never talk about it going out the window when she said it without thinking.
Andrei’s jaw went slack. “You had sex?”
“Which was why you were asking me what happened when an Incubi visits you.” Ridhor’s gaze hardened as he processed what she was saying. She found herself watching his face, unsure of what to expect. They spent the night together, which usually came with intimacy and feelings of jealousy.
Nothing happened.
The two men looked at one another for a moment, a silent conversation happening she wasn’t a part of before Orren let out a breath and turned to meet her gaze again. “Neither was my intention. I apologize.”
“You apologize?” She frowned. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but it wasn’t an apology.
“I felt uncomfortable and confused afterwards. Nothing like that ever happened to me before. I can only imagine how it made you feel. You have almost no knowledge of magic and likely felt I took advantage of you. For that, I’m sorry.” Orren’s jaw flexed.
She had been uncomfortable.
Not that she felt violated, she could very well have not engaged. She wanted it, and in the dim lighting of Orren’s bedroom, she allowed herself to just go with something without question. It hadn’t been a dream but it was exactly what she wanted.
Not that she would have been nearly as brave if she knew it wasn’t a dream. That didn’t change anything now.
Pinching the bridge of her nose, she couldn’t help being annoyed with herself. First, she admitted she wanted Ridhor around, now she was admitting she wanted to sleep with Orren. It bothered her she didn’t know or understand what was happening to her.
“Can we just figure this out? It’s going to be awkward as hell if people keep popping up whenever I’m having sex.”
“We wouldn’t pop up if we were all invited.” Andrei grinned.
Orren’s eyes flashed with heat and she turned to see Ridhor’s pupils completely blown as lust took over. Christ, they were getting nowhere.
If she took Andrei’s suggestions it would be a tangle of limbs as she gave in to her desires and had what she thought would be her very first orgy. Fat chance, but it did something to her knowing they were open to it.
Turning to Andrei, she shook her head. “I think I’ll pass.”
“Spoilsport.” He murmured under his breath.
“Yeah, yeah. Who would believe there was a woman alive who didn’t want to be sandwiched between the three of you. Silly me, I have other things to worry about right now.” That was true. She still had no memories, no idea who or what she was, this whole mate thing hung over her head and to add a cherry on top, apparently they were all appearing in one another’s rooms whenever anything vaguely intimate was happening.
Not to mention being hunted.
Her plate was full. There was officially no room to explore what Andrei was hinting at.
“I always find I think better when sex has taken the edge off.” He wasn’t giving up, a sly grin on his face as his heated gold eyes surveyed her.
Two could play that game. “Oh, me too. However, I’m more than capable of handling taking the edge off all on my own.”
His mouth hung open, his hungry eyes dropping down to her middle before coming back up to rest on her face. “Now, that would be a show.” He ran his tongue over his bottom lip.
“I’m sure it would be, but it’s one you’re not invited to attend.” She turned to Ridhor, wanting to avoid the awkwardness she was feeling about reliving her moments with Orren, and not wanting to fuel Andrei on anymore. “Is there any way we can figure out why all this is happening? Ela may not be able to give us answers about me, but there must be someone else who, without touching me, can at least figure out the more vague details?”
He thought for a moment. “There might be a way we can get some answers without putting anyone at risk. Some things, people should just be able to sense. It seems a lot of our recent questions have to do with love.”
Melas sputtered for a moment, every muscle tensing. “Love?” She couldn’t keep her voice from being more than a squeak.
Andrei smiled at her. “Don’t worry, love. We know you’ve no intention of falling in love with any of us, Ridhor merely means it all has to do with love as a job.”
“As a job?” Melas was hit with another wave of confusion. She was getting tired of constantly being confused.
Orren nodded. “Yes.
I think we need to get in touch with a Cupid.”
35
MELAS
If someone told her she would be sitting in front of a large mirror, a Berserker’s hand drawing slow circles on her back to ease her tension as she felt the heated gaze of a Vampire while an Incubus called through the mirror summoning a Cupid, she would have told them they were off their rocker. It sometimes made her feel like her sanity was slipping when she realized this was somehow her life.
Ridhor turned, his eyes catching hers and holding onto them.
The longer he looked at her, the more at peace she felt. He had this way of reaching inside her. He didn’t completely rid her of her demons, she still felt them, lurking in the shadows. Instead, he pushed his own in and let them play with hers. Busying them so she could slip out of their hold and feel more herself for even just a moment.
She wondered if she was doing the same thing for him.
Reaching out, he wrapped her hand in his and they both let out a long breath.
This felt right.
As much as she was constantly trying to fight whatever was between them, she couldn’t lie to herself. There was something there. She wasn’t sure if it was the fire Alette had spoken about, but there was something.
A flicker.
Fear worked its way in, reminding her how dangerous a mere flicker could be when she was covered in gasoline. It wouldn’t be long until she caught fire.
Sighing, she avoided Andrei’s gaze burning her cheek and kept her attention on Orren. He’d been trying to get her alone all day. She thought it had something to do with knowing she’d been with both Ridhor and Orren. Like he suddenly felt he no longer needed to hold himself back and was hoping to climb her walls and get behind them with her.
She couldn’t afford to give him that chance.
Ignoring him was for the best right now.
The little pitter-patter of feet sounded around them as Zura played. She could feel the pull of Zura as she moved around the house. Her presence as evident to her as the nose on her face. She felt her at the door they left slightly ajar before she slipped inside.
Hidden In Darkness (A Seven Realms Book Book 1) Page 29