by Vivian Wood
She led everyone into the delivery room. Cassie was propped up in the bed, looking exhausted but cheerful. Gabriel hovered over her, looking so proud he might burst. And in Cassie’s arms was the tiniest, reddest baby Kieran had ever seen.
“This is Marie,” Cassie said shyly, pulling back a bit of the blanket to show the baby off.
Echo and Alice were outright crying, Kira clung to Asher like an anchor, and all the Guardians were clapping each other on the back like they’d done something wonderful. It was ridiculous, but little Marie was indeed miraculous.
“Where’s her namesake?” Asher asked.
“Mere Marie is holding down the fort at the Manor. She’ll come visit the baby once some of us are there to take her place,” Rhys informed him.
Sera went over and cooed over the baby, which made something in Kieran’s heart wrench. He snagged Kellan’s arm and towed his twin over to the corner for a conference.
“This could be our life,” Kieran said.
Kellan arched a questioning brow.
“Our, like all three of us,” Kieran clarified. “If we’d just shake hands and stop trying to piss circles around Sera.”
Kellan was silent for a beat, then he nodded.
“Agreed.”
“It won’t be easy, but it’s what Sera deserves. Maybe fate knows what she’s doing.”
“I was thinking along the same lines, actually,” Kellan admitted.
“We’ll mark her together?” Kieran asked.
“Tonight,” Kellan said, looking grave. “Shake on it?”
They clasped hands, then embraced. When they broke apart, Sera watched them with a great deal of interest.
“We should let Cass here get some rest,” Sera announced a few minutes later. “Dr. Bristol is taking really good care of her, and Gabriel will be here too. The rest of us should clear out.”
“I could use a nap,” Cassie said, and everyone chuckled.
A line formed to congratulate the happy couple one more time, and then everyone filed out. All the couples broke up instinctually, leaving Kieran, Kellan, and Sera standing in the waiting room.
“Well?” she asked, her voice turning teasing. “Who’s going to give me a ride home? Or are we just going to stand here?”
“We both are,” Kellan said, holding out a hand to her.
She hesitated.
“It’s time to go home,” Kieran said when she glanced at him. He reached out and took her hand, Kellan taking the other.
Sera bit her lip, looking back and forth between them, a question written in her big brown eyes.
Kieran and Kellan nodded as one, and both chuckled when Sera’s knees gave out.
“You’ve got to stop fainting around us,” Kellan teased.
“Let’s get you out of here,” Kieran said.
Hand in hand with Sera, he led their triad out of the hospital and toward the biggest decision of their lives.
12
Chapter Twelve
Sera couldn’t help but feel a little nervous on the way home. Kellan and Kieran were silent the whole ride home. Kieran drove and Kellan gave Sera the passenger seat. They didn’t even look at each other, and the tension in the car bloomed until Sera couldn’t take it anymore.
She reached out and flipped on the radio, blinking in surprise when rap blared out of the car’s speakers. It made her wonder which of the Guardians was partial to rap, since one of them must have selected the station. They were all so rigid and controlled, she couldn’t imagine most of them choosing that type of music.
Asher, maybe? Since Asher was only something like mid-thirties and had lived a human lifespan so far, maybe he was young enough to appreciate it, unlike the rest of the Guardians.
Before Sera knew it, they were back at the Manor. She started to open her door and get out of the car, only to find Kellan opening the door for her. He grabbed her by the waist and laid her over his shoulder, ignoring her protests.
“Guys! Guys, I can walk!” she said.
She appreciated their commitment to getting her into bed, really she did, but there was no need for them to both jog up the stairs with her in tow, was there? That said, she did get a glorious view of Kieran’s perfectly shaped ass all the way up the stairs, so…
She’d call it a draw.
When Kellan set her down on the bed, she looked between them and licked her lips, her mouth suddenly quite dry. Both of them stood before her, tall and broad and ruggedly-shaped, expressions more intense than she’d seen before.
Sera bit her lip, summoning all her courage to say what was in her heart.
“There’s something we need to talk about before we get any closer to… all this,” she said, gesturing toward the bed.
Kieran and Kellan’s twin expressions of confusion were almost laughable, if the moment weren’t quite so serious.
“You can tell us anything,” Kellan said, reaching out and snagging her hand.
“This is less to do with me, and more to do with you two. I told you I wanted you both, and I meant it. And I understand if you two need boundaries, if you don’t want to share every moment with me for the rest of your lives. But if you two tell me you’re willing to share our lives, to be a family…” Sera hesitated, rubbing the back of her neck. “I need to know that you two are serious, that you want to be part of this as much as I do. Together.”
“Of course we do,” Kieran said, but the glance he gave Kellan made Sera’s stomach do an odd flip.
“Don’t rush into this, guys,” Sera insisted. “You have to want this, really want all three of us to be together. What if we do start a family? We might not know… whose child is whose, specifically. You know? Can you guys handle that? Or will you both compete for the rest of our lives? I can’t watch you fight over every little thing for decades to come. I won’t.”
“Sera, that isn’t an issue,” Kieran said, his tone sharper than Sera liked. She arched her brows and crossed her arms, eyeing them both.
Kellan turned from Sera to Kieran, a softly bitter twist to his lips.
“Don’t make this about the past,” Kellan said.
“I’m not. It’s not,” Kieran said, sounding defensive. He glanced at Sera, as if worried that she was going to see something she shouldn’t, more than he wanted to let her see.
“This is what I’m talking about,” Sera said. “The two of you have been two halves of a whole for so long, you can’t let me in. We have to become three pieces of the same puzzle if this is ever going to work.”
Kieran’s whole body was tense, his fists clenched, his jaw rigid.
“You don’t understand,” he said.
“No? So tell me,” Sera said.
Kieran looked at Kellan, who was nearly as tightly wound as his twin.
“Tell her,” Kellan said, shaking his head. “If this is what’s holding us back, she deserves to know.”
Kieran just stared at Kellan with a stony expression.
“Fine. I’ll tell her, then.” Kellan sighed and turned to Sera. “When we were young, we were pitted against each other. The Faerie Court is a dangerous place, and everything is ruled by politics. Kieran and I were victims of that system, from birth.”
“But why? What do children care about politics?” Sera asked.
“Our grandparents were the Queen Regent and the Prince Consort for aeons, and then they passed away suddenly. Their death was suspicious, but the Court was too wound up about choosing a successor to care. Our mother was second in line to the throne, and our Aunt Maeve third.”
“So when you said your parents were killed…” Sera asked.
“By our own family, no less,” Kieran said, finally adding his bit. “After they died, we learned not to trust anyone except for each other.”
“The important thing to understand about our upbringing is that the tragedy was inevitable, in a way. Two strong Fae Princes, each with a unique set of powers. Life and death, a perfect balance. Together, we can do nearly anything.”
“And people were th
reatened by that, I’m guessing?” Sera asked.
“Damn right,” Kieran said, looking grim. “The only way to keep us from dominating the entire Faerie Court was to drive a wedge between us. From the time I understood words, I knew that I was the Dark Prince, and Kellan the Light. He was good, I was bad.”
“They told me I was weak, that Kieran would always be strong, always control me,” Kellan said.
Kieran gave Kellan a surprised look.
“They said that to you?” he asked.
“Even Father, yes. Mother was the only one who ever told me we were equal,” Kellan said, an old anger simmering in his gaze.
Kieran snorted, shaking his head.
“They told me that I was weaker, because I couldn’t create life. I could only take it, taint it.” His amusement was black as night. “The bastards. Playing with kids like that. It was cruel.”
“But you brought it into the human realm with you,” Sera reminded him gently.
“We never meant to,” Kellan said earnestly. “It’s just… our whole young lives, we were raised to compare ourselves, to compete. Being identical twins only made it worse, since success or rejection couldn’t be based on something as shallow as our looks, or something like a natural ability.”
“Yeah. If one of us wins over the other, it’s genuinely because one of us isn’t good enough. One is better than the other,” Kieran said, looking at his brother.
“Eventually we began a very long, very quiet war. We both fought to be the favored brother, in any and every scenario.”
There was a long moment of silence.
“I imagine that the small grievances and hurts start to pile up over time. Especially when you’ve been together for almost a thousand years,” Sera surmised.
Both brothers dipped their heads, and she could sense their hurt and shame. Sera reached out and took both their hands, squeezing them tightly.
“You two are wonderful, each on your own merits. I care for you equally, and neither of you will ever mean more to me than the other. Perhaps I should say, I promise that you will both be my favorite mate,” Sera said, trying to bring some humor into the situation. “If you two honestly want this, the way that I want this, you will have to decide that for yourselves. Can you live knowing that you will share not only a mate, but a family and a future together?”
The twins were silent, staring at each other intently.
“More importantly,” Sera said, “Can you forgive each other? Here and now, start over. Leave the past behind and start a new path, hand in hand with me.”
She started to pull her hands from theirs, thinking to give them a few moments of privacy to talk. To her surprise, neither man would release her from their grip.
“No,” Kieran said to Sera, without looking away from Kellan. “You’re our mate. You need to be here.”
Sera stilled, waiting. Seconds ticked by, then a full minute. Finally, Kieran spoke again.
“I forgive you. I absolve you, Kellan.”
His words rang through Sera’s head and heart, filling her with joy.
“And I you, Kieran. Of everything, for everything. We start anew, right now.”
Sera’s eyes filled with tears as she stared up at them.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you both. I am the luckiest woman in the world.”
“We would do anything for you,” Kellan said. “We want to complete the bond with you more than either of us has ever wanted anything, I think.”
Both brothers turned their gazes on her at the same time, and Sera’s whole body began to heat with slow, simmering anticipation.
“I don’t really…” she said, then hesitated. “I don’t know how to start.”
“Sera,” Kieran grated, reaching down and taking her hand. He turned her palm face up and placed a searing kiss against her inner wrist. “What do you want? You want to touch me? Touch me, then.”
He brought her palm against the rock hard wall of his stomach, raising a brow. Sera bit her lip and tilted her head, flushing when she realized that she wanted to see them… all of them.
“Can we… wear less clothes? I want to see you,” she admitted.
Two bright grins stunned her momentarily as the brothers both stripped off their shirts and jeans, torso muscles rippling with each little movement. Soon, they were clad in nothing but tight boxer briefs, white for Kieran and black for Kellan.
A funny reverse, she thought, of the Light and the Dark. God, they were beautiful to behold. The moment was lost when Kellan drew her to her feet and turned her, fingers brushing the nape of her neck as he brushed her hair over her shoulder and slowly unzipped her dress.
Two sets of hands peeled the dress from her body. One brother unclasped and removed her bra, the other slid her panties down her legs. Two sets of hands explored her bare back, her ass, her hips. She closed her eyes, inhaling a shaky breath as her two lovers cupped and squeezed her breasts, pinched and rolled her sensitive nipples.
“What do you like, Sera?” Kellan purred in her ear.
“I…” she started, shaking her head. She didn’t know. It was too much. She wanted it all, every touch and stroke, every whisper against her skin… all at once, somehow.
“Turn around,” Kieran told her, his big hands guiding her. The brothers shifted without speaking. Kellan sat on the edge of the bed and pulled Sera down to sit on his lap, facing Kieran as he stood before her. There was a practiced gentleness to their movements, as if they’d done this before, shared a partner just in this way, but Sera found she didn’t mind.
All she could think of was the way Kellan’s long, heavy cock pressed against her back. The way Kellan touched and teased her breasts as Kieran drew Sera’s long curtain of hair out of the way, back over Kellan’s shoulder. Kieran cupped Sera’s jaw, the rough pad of his thumb grazing and pulling down her lower lip.
His manhood lay against his belly, thick and proud, and he reached down to stroke himself without breaking eye contact with her.
She arched her back, pressing her breasts harder into Kellan’s touch as she darted her tongue out to brush Kieran’s thumb. A low rumble escaped his throat, and Sera looked up at him with hooded eyes as she wrapped her lips around his thumb, drawing it into her mouth, sucking on it teasingly.
“Fuck, Sera,” Kieran ground out. “Your mouth feels good. Perfectly hot and wet. I can’t wait to feel your delicious mouth wrapped around my cock while Kellan fucks your tight little pussy from behind.”
Sera moaned, his dirty talk setting her aflame.
“Oh, you like that?” Kellan whispered in her ear, his lips against the sensitive skin of her neck making her shiver. “Mmmm, you are a bad girl, aren’t you?”
Kellan’s hand left her breast and trailed down, down until two thick fingers brushed her lower lips. Sera moaned and bucked her hips against him, desperate and hungry for more.
“I can’t wait to taste you here,” Kellan whispered, exploring her slick slit with his fingertips. “Right… here?”
He brushed her clit with the softest of strokes, and Sera couldn’t help herself. She spread her knees apart, giving him greater access.
“Oh, you do like that, hm?” Kellan said. “Maybe my brother will give you a little of what you need, Sera.”
Kellan pulled Sera back on the bed, still laying atop his body. His big hands kept her thighs parted, his lips moved over the nape her neck as he ground his heavy, hard cock against her ass cheeks. For a moment, Sera was confused.
Then Kieran dropped to his knees before them and buried his mouth against her aching sex, making her cry out.
“Oh! Yes! Yes!” was all she could manage.
Kieran’s lips and tongue worked at her clit, driving her to the brink of insanity. When he slid two long fingers deep into her tight channel, Sera nearly screamed with the pleasure of it.
“He’s got to get you ready so you can take my cock, darling,” Kellan whispered, pinching and tugging her nipples until she thought she could die f
rom want. “I want to fuck you harder than you’ve ever had in your life, and I want you to take all of it, and love it. This time, I’m just going to take that beautiful pussy while my brother fucks your mouth. But next time… next time we will take you together.”
As Kellan said the last, Kieran pressed a fingertip against her rear entrance, working with a gentle but firm pressure until he could slide his finger deeper, deeper. The sensation overloaded every one of Sera’s circuits, her orgasm ripping from her body almost painfully as she screamed her pleasure aloud.
Neither of her mates slowed down, not for a moment.
Kieran stood as Kellan sat up once more, supporting Sera’s suddenly-heavy body. Sera let them control her, let Kellan turn her over so that she was on her hands and knees. Kellan positioned himself behind her, Kieran before her at the edge of the bed.
“Open your mouth, darling,” Kieran said, his brogue thick as molasses.
Sera licked her lips, looking up at him as he fisted his thick cock and presented it to her. Keeping her lips and tongue soft and pliant, she glued her gaze to Kieran’s as he fed his length into her mouth. He cupped the back of her head, adjusting the angle until she could take him deeper, a little at a time.
“Fuck, Sera. Your mouth… Gods, you feel good. I’m not going to last,” he swore.
He moved in gentle strokes, guiding her movements, doing most of the work. Which was a good thing, because Sera felt Kellan grip her hips, rubbing the thick crown of his cock against her inner thigh. He nudged her knees apart, positioning himself at her aching entrance, then used his free hand to angle her hips just so.
He thrust deep, filling her body as thoroughly as Kieran filled her mouth and throat. Sera moaned, her body stretching pleasurably to accommodate his size.
“You like this, darling? Having two mates fucking you at the same time, making you quiver, taking you hard?” Kellan asked.
To punctuate that, he began to move faster, harder. Sera’s eyes nearly rolled up in her head as Kellan stroked into her already-sensitive flesh again and again. She wanted to call his name, to groan, but she could do nothing. She watched Kieran’s expression, watched his body tighten, watched sweat break out over his whole body.