It’s like electricity beneath our skin, growing hotter and more dangerous with each movement.
And then we hear a woman scream.
I freeze and look toward the exit from this room, opposite from the direction we’d come from. A man is dragging a woman out of the room. They’re both cast in shadows like the other spirits, but I can feel her fear radiating from every ounce of her body. He continues to drag her, disappearing into the darkness.
I’m running to save her, my magic gathering as I do so, ready to unleash on the bastard that would dare harm someone in this happy place. To my surprise, Orion and Blaise are at my sides. These men are unexpected in so many ways, but I don’t think I truly trusted them until this moment. Because just like me, they are willing to go head first into danger to save a stranger, someone who isn’t even human.
We explode into the darkness, then freeze in surprise. The room is identical to the one we’d just left, only there’s no music, and the dance floor is empty. I scan it, searching for the woman who had screamed, but I only see the blonde at the bar.
Rushing toward her, I call out, “There was a woman--”
“She wasn’t real,” the bartender says without looking up. “She was just a test.”
I stop in front of the bar, Orion and Blaise beside me.
“She was in danger.”
Finally, the woman looks up at me, and a moment flashes in my mind. Hades was hauling me to one of his parties, and I’d crashed into this woman, wearing a dark cloak. She’s looked up, her green eyes the color of fresh leaves, her face the color of freshly fallen snow. I’d had to keep going, she’d rushed away, but something about the woman had stuck with me.
“Who are you?” I ask.
She draws herself up taller. “I’m the one who keeps this path clean of any who are undeserving. Not all people, not all souls, should escape the Underworld. In fact, most shouldn’t. Good or bad, it doesn’t help the living to have the undead suddenly returning.”
“So...did we pass the test?”
She smiles. “You passed...this test.”
There’s a flash of light, and I must have blinked, because around us is simply a cave like any other. The club, the bartender, everything is gone. I turn and look back at the men. They look as confused as I am.
“Well, we passed,” I say, heart racing. “But we’re not done yet.”
“Did you think it’d be so easy?” Orion asks, and there’s an unexpectedly annoyed tone to his voice.
For some reason, it pisses me off, and I whirl to face him. “Listen, gargoyle, you don’t know me, and you don’t know the life I’ve lived, so don’t act like I’m some princess who can’t handle a challenge.”
He says nothing, but I keep glaring. And he glares back.
Blaise clears his throat. “If these are the challenges, dancing with pretty ladies and all, I think we can handle them.”
I look back at him, confused. Is he joking? “You don’t need to make fun of me.”
He looks shocked. “I wasn’t!”
I turn away from them both and tug my cloak closer. Orion could be a real ass, but I expected more from Blaise.
The phoenix grasps my wrist, and I look back at him. “I know I’m not some big, sexy gargoyle, but Orion made me part of his Brotherhood. Which means...which means we should all be together.”
There’s something in his eyes that I don’t understand.
“You don’t think I’m pretty. I’m a strange witch to you.”
He shakes his head. “We don’t know each other, yet, but you sure as hell better believe I intend to give this my best shot. And what’s more, you’re not pretty.”
I try to jerk away from him, but he holds on more tightly to my wrist.
“You’re stunning. Drop dead gorgeous. So beautiful that you take my breath away.”
I open my mouth to respond, but nothing comes out.
“Hecate, don’t write me off. I’ve got plenty to offer you.” And then he releases my wrist.
I comb my hair back behind my ear. I’m fucking ancient, so why does it feel like I’m a school girl with a brand new crush? Yeah, if Blaise ends up to playing me I’ll break every bone in his body, but if he means what he’s saying... Of course I’ll give the handsome phoenix a chance.
Orion surprises us both by saying, “I know she’s using us to get to the surface. She knows damn well she’s a beautiful temptress, and she no doubt used her powers on my brother. Once we escape, she’ll be long gone, and my brother will forget all about her.”
“Is that what you really think? Or is that just what you’re hoping?” I throw at him.
He scowls.
I turn and head for the tunnel on the opposite wall from where we came in. Tears sting my eyes, and I wish more than anything Andros was here to brush them away. The Underworld is filled with darkness and pain, but what if Orion is right? What if Andros reaches the surface and doesn’t want me anymore? I touch my stomach. What if he doesn’t want us anymore?
It’s a crazy thought. He loves me more than he loves himself, but it clings to me as I start back up through the tunnels. I thought I knew Andros better than anyone else, but what if Orion does?
17
Blaise
All I had ever wanted in my phoenix community was for a woman to see me as something other than a fuck buddy to hook up with before she met her husband. Hecate is beautiful, strong, and brave. She’d run straight into danger to help someone else. What’s more, the joy that lit her face when we danced had made my heart beat faster.
First, I was a lonely phoenix. Then, I was an outcast. And finally, I was a partner to an obsession with Orion.
What if now I could be a partner to a beautiful woman? What if I could share this woman too? It’s such a strange idea. But when I look at Orion, I have to admit there’s nothing more I could want than to share a woman with him.
If he could stop acting like an ass.
Hecate stumbles in front of me, and I catch her, wrapping my arms around her to keep us both from falling. Being in these tunnels is like climbing continually up a mountain. If we lost our footing, we could roll back, and not be able to stop until we caught one of the plants growing on the sides of tunnels, or got caught at one of the spots where the tunnel had a rough turn. It’s not something I want the sweet witch to experience.
She looks up at me, and lit by the flames from my wings, her face is breathtaking. “Thank you.”
The woman sounds exhausted.
“Let’s stop for the night at the next resting place,” I call to Orion.
He pauses in front of us, almost out of the light from my wings. “We’ll keep going.”
“I don’t need to rest,” she says, but her eyelids flutter closed for a few seconds too long.
“Well, I need to rest,” I say more loudly.
Orion shoulders rise and fall as if he’s sighing. “Fine.”
I pick up the witch and she cries out as I hug her to my chest.
“You don’t need to carry me!” she exclaims. “I can walk myself!”
“Well, maybe I want to carry you. Ever thought of that? Are you really going to refuse a touch-starved man of the pleasure of holding you?”
There’s laughter in her eyes when she says, “I really doubt a handsome phoenix is touch-starved.”
My chest swells. She thinks I’m handsome? “As an outcast of my people, and the partner in crime to a certain grumpy gargoyle, I haven’t really had a lot of opportunities to romance the ladies for a while.”
Her laughter falls away. “Why are you an outcast?”
My pulse picks up. How can I possibly explain what happened that day without her hating me?
Orion’s voice comes from above us. “He made a simple mistake with grave consequences, and the fools wouldn't forgive him.”
She gives a small smile. “We all make mistakes.”
I return her smile. I’ll have to tell her the full story eventually, but for now, this is enough.
To my relief, she relaxes in my arms and rests her head against my chest. As I carry her through the tunnel, I find myself hoping she’s always tired. She weighs nothing at all, but the feeling of her soft body against mine makes me feel...strong, powerful, hell, even manly. I could carry her forever.
“Resting place!” Orion chimes from up ahead.
Asshole.
I sigh and keep going until I spot the opening to the cave that Orion stands in front of. He gestures for us to go in, and I do. This room is similar to the last one, however, half the room is one massive lake. There’s more of the trees, more twigs and branches scattered throughout the place, and another ring of stones. I carry Hecate all the way to the stones, then just hold her there.
She lifts her head and looks at me, a small smile on her lips. “You can put me down.”
“Do I have to?”
She reaches up and strokes my face. The hairs on my arms stand on end, and I lean into her touch. Her smile falls away, and her gaze roams over me in a way that gets Little Blaise jumping.
Hell, good job, big fella. We are definitely interested in the beautiful witch.
“Put her down and let's get moving on setting up,” Orion says gruffly.
I reluctantly set her down.
“What can I do?” she asks.
I grin. “Nothing. I’ll take care of the fire, and Orion is the chef between us.”
“You sure?”
“We’ve got you.”
She removes her cloak and lays it out, then goes to the river. I go around collecting wood, while Orion starts pulling the pots and plates out of his pack. When I glance over at Hecate, she’s dipping her hand in the water, studying it. I turn my back to her and collect a few bigger pieces of wood, then take them to the circle of stones.
When I look up again, Hecate is sliding the straps of her dress down. The blue material falls off her body, spilling onto the ground in a pile of fabric. My greedy gaze moves down the curves of her back to the slight side-boob I can see then to her round, perfect ass. Little Blaise is currently hard as a rod, as I watch as she sinks into the water.
She disappears completely beneath the surface, and I look at Orion.
His mouth is hanging open as he blatantly stares at where she was standing. Then he catches me noticing him, closes his mouth, and shuffles the cookware in front of him.
“See something you like?” I ask, smirking.
“No,” he says angrily.
“You sure? Because your hard dick says otherwise.”
We both look down at the same time to see the very clear outline of his dick standing out along his leg. I feel smug as hell that he finds her attractive, but also relieved. If this whole thing is going to work, we need to all fit together. He might think that his brother will forget all about this woman, but I barely know her and will never forget her.
“I don’t find her attractive.”
“Prove it,” I counter. “You’ve been wanting a bath...go bathe.”
“With her?” he asks.
I grin. “Unless there’s a reason you can’t…”
That’s one thing I love about Orion: he never backs down from a challenge. So when he rises in an angry motion and goes to the edge of the river, I’m watching and waiting. Hecate has surfaced and is swimming around the water. When she sees Orion approach, she stops swimming and watches him.
He reaches for the buttons on his shirt and stats to undo them, then drops the shirt onto the ground. Next he removes his pants, and I’m not surprised to see he’s going commando, like usual. His shoes, socks, and pants hit the ground, and then I’m staring at man-ass. Which isn’t my thing.
I turn back to the naked woman in the water and realize she’s staring pretty damn hard at his package. It’s a little annoying, but I didn’t blame her. I’ve, unfortunately, seen Orion naked. I have always been proud of Little Blaise. But after seeing his anaconda, I felt like Little Blaise was accurately named.
Not that he’s small. Hell, there’s a reason the female phoenixes sought me out...
As he sinks into the water, I start the fire, tossing around the wood a little too hard. Had I been the one to challenge him about this? Man, I’m an idiot. I’m like one of those hot actors all the women fawn over, who then goes to stand next to a football player and looks tiny and delicate. It’s enough to get into a guy’s head, not that I’m particularly insecure.
When the fire is burning well, I grab Orion’s pot and throw in enough water to get it boiling. Then I sit back and watch. Hecate and Orion are trying pretty damned hard to focus on washing themselves in the water, but even I am catching their stolen glances. The tension in the air seems to be growing and growing, until I internally curse, toss the contents of the dried soup packet into the water, and go to the water’s edge.
I strip down too and dive in, scrubbing until I feel clean. Then I look at Hecate and find her smiling at me with a mischievous glint to her eyes.
“Proportionally, we’re pretty even,” I blurt out.
Her eyes go round.
“What I mean is...for my height...Little Blaise is plenty big. If that giant over there didn’t have an anaconda, he’d look like a man with baby hands.”
She bursts out laughing.
Orion seems closer. “Stop calling it that.”
Calling it that? “You mean you don’t like the name Anaconda for your arm-sized dick?”
His cheeks actually turn red, and I realize that I have no clue how experienced he is with the ladies. “Yes, stop calling it...that. Actually, stop talking about it altogether.”
“Orion, how many women have you had?”
He glares.
“You’re an immortal, so if I guess six women a year…” I start to count on my hands.
His glare deepens. “Gargoyles are more focused on killing monsters and protecting humanity. We’re not phoenixes, fornicating and switching partners like some kind of swing dance.”
I freeze. “Woah, are you...are you a virgin?”
His eyes widen. Hecate’s eyes widen.
“I’m not discussing this with you!” he shouts, and it hits me that I’ve gone too far.
I have a way of speaking first and talking after, but I have always been careful about that with Orion. Have I royally fucked up?
“Andros was a virgin when we met,” Hecate says softly.
We both look at her. She’s staring down at the surface of the water.
Orion has the strangest look on his face. “So, you were really lovers?”
She glances up at him, those golden eyes of hers surprised. “Of course.”
Orion turns and heads out of the water, and I feel like a total jackass. I know he and his brother are meant to share a woman. The fact that Andros had lost his virginity with this woman, and Orion wasn’t part of their relationship, must have been painful.
Hecate swims closer to me, watching him. I look away as he surfaces and begins to dress, but she continues to stare, not that I blame her. “It’s so strange. I’ve loved Andros for so long, but he’s made it clear that we need to be lovers...together. But how do I even try to broach those walls of his?”
“Just a little at a time?” I suggest.
She finally tears her gaze away, and then it hits me how close we are, and the fact that we’re naked. “A little at a time?” she says, sounding out of breath.
Little Blaise gets harder. Uncomfortably hard. I don’t know how the hell Orion has been a virgin all this time. I haven’t fucked a woman since we met up together, and it feels like I need to come more than I need air.
“And what do you want?” she asks.
It’s hard to think straight, but I try to tell her honestly, “I just want to belong. Orion is my family now, which makes Andros my family too. And even though phoenixes don’t commonly share women, I’m part of a gargoyle Brotherhood now.”
“I’m nervous to try it,” she admits.
I realize we’re closer now. “Yeah.” I can’t
think any more.
“But I like your idea of a little at a time.”
“You already kissed Orion,” I blurt out, my gaze going to her lips.
She lets a rush of air out. “So maybe we should too?”
I don’t point out that it’s a little different because we’re naked, because I don’t give a shit. I’m shaking a little as I close the space between us, and then I run my fingers through her long, wet blue hair. In the water, she looks like some kind of mermaid, and not at all like a powerful witch.
She leans closer.
I lean down.
And then our lips touch. At first we’re just brushing them against each other, and then I press harder, deepening the kiss. To my surprise, she lets out a tiny moan, and I use the opportunity to slide my tongue into her mouth.
It’s like sparks explode between us. I’m not thinking as I devour her mouth, and she gives it right back to me. Heat travels through my blood, heading straight for my cock, and I put a hand on her back and pull her against me. The second her hard nipples touch my chest, I groan. I want to reach down and stroke them. I want to reach between her thighs and see if she’s wet for me.
But I don’t. Because I told her we’d go slow.
It takes everything inside of me to break our kiss and pull back, but then we’re both staring at each other in surprise. Had I thought that she was just some beautiful woman I’d try to find a connection with? Hell, the connection is definitely there.
She turns away from me, a small smile on her lips, and heads for the shore.
I look after her and see Orion by the fire, stirring the soup, but his gaze is locked in my direction. My stomach flips a little. Orion is the most important person in my life. We are going to have to have a serious talk about this. I want to explore things with Hecate so that I don’t end up on the outside in this Brotherhood, but I also won’t leave Orion behind either. It’s all of us together. It has to be.
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