“Well, I might come up with something more. In due time, of course.”
Logan offered his chair to his mother, which she took gratefully. Diana liked the woman immediately. We could become good friends. She was close with her own mother and, in that moment, missed her just a bit more keenly than usual.
Because she was the last of her sisters to find her mates, she now knew that she would get to go home to visit—once she was officially mated.
Coming to this realm they’d all initially believed they’d left their own world, and their families, behind forever.
“Please tell me all you know of these ‘warlocks’,” Cynthia said. “I’ve heard tales over the years. So please, try and tell me everything.”
Cheri and her men spoke first, relating all the details of their encounters with Vincente and Emilio Fortuna, up to that set of twins’ unfortunate demise.
Then Meghan and her men spoke, and it became clear that the actions of Mario and Pietro were very similar to those of their older brothers.
In both instances, the Fortunas understood that pursuing their course of action would not stop what was to be, and yet they elected to carry on, regardless—to their everlasting peril.
“They were given the chance to turn away and, in their refusal to do so, sealed their own fate.” Cynthia sat back, frowning. “And the last two?”
Diana repeated the words Rick and Ed—Ricardo and Eduardo—had spoken to her as they’d begun to choke her.
Then Logan and Cameron gave a recounting of their battle and that these Fortunas, as the others had done, had withdrawn from the field after being bested the first time. But in these last two, there’d been a subtle difference. Both men had scanned their opponents and seen more than they’d thought they would.
“There was a strong resolve there,” Logan said. “And it was not one to continue on at any cost.”
“I had the same sense,” Cameron agreed. “It seemed as if they decided then and there to cut their losses for good.”
“Which leaves the father, who may be as mad as a March hare to continue on,” Cynthia said. “What else do you know of the family? No daughters? Just three sets of twins?”
“There’s another brother.”
Diana sat forward, that bit of knowledge just surfacing in her memory. “As they were stepping back, getting ready to flee, it was a thought…another brother but…”
Cynthia reached out her hand. “Take hold. I’ll help you remember.”
Diana didn’t even think twice. She took the older woman’s hand and immediately felt a calming presence. She blinked as the memory cleared.
“They were going to him. His name is Roman, and they believed he could help them, even though he was born without magic.”
Cynthia released Diana’s hand and sat back. “I doubt, very much, that this Roman was born without magic.” She looked at Cheri. “You said the power that you felt when you spoke the ancient words to protect the innocents was neither light nor dark?”
“That’s right. It was gray…but had a luminescence to it. It was a similar power to the one I later sensed in the shark that killed the first two brothers.”
“That’s the sense I had when I lost consciousness,” Meghan said. “After Mario and Pietro hit me with that tranquilizing dart. A magic just like that, a magic that kept them out of my head.”
“We need one more piece of information. There’s one thing I need to know about the patriarch of those boys. I need to know how many brothers he had and where he was in birth order.”
“Why, Mother?” Logan asked. “What can that tell you?”
Diana understood. She leaned forward. “You think Roman is the seventh son of a seventh son.”
“Yes, I do. Some myths are only that, pure fancy and imagination. And others are born of fact. You may very well have two unknowns in your path—the father and the youngest son. I think we can count on the father being evil. I don’t think we can know about the youngest son—not until we know.”
“That force I felt was incredibly strong,” Cheri said. “If it’s a force for evil, I don’t know how we can possibly defeat it.”
“Knowledge,” Cynthia said. “You need as much knowledge as can be reasonably gathered.”
“Research.” Ryan Jones smiled and rubbed his hands together. “Jer and I excel at that. We already did a little bit of digging on the Fortunas. We’ll just go deeper.”
“We’ll all search out our own sources,” Logan said. “And then we’ll see what we have when we do.”
When she’d accepted the opportunity the Concilium had presented, Diana hadn’t considered the possibility that they could all be facing a deadly foe. But what had started out as an adventure, and an opportunity to make a difference, had turned into something far more serious than anything she’d ever faced before.
She was just glad—and her inner voice chuckled when she admitted it to herself—that she wasn’t facing this uncertain future alone. And she was very glad that she had Logan and Cameron beside her.
* * * *
The moment the three of them were alone again in the meadow, Logan turned to Diana. He stepped forward and cupped her face. “We need a promise from you. Until we get the bad guys, you don’t go anywhere alone. One or both of us has to be with you at all times.” He saw the pique and could even anticipate the argument that excellent brain of hers was marshalling. And then all signs of mutiny were gone, vanished, as if by magic.
Logan tried not to let that fact scare him.
“I was going to say I have my magic, it’s strong, and I’m a big girl and can take care of myself. Always have, and always will. But considering what happened to me just a few short hours ago, I think I’ll drop that attitude—for the time being.”
He nearly grinned and sent a zinger her way. But then he, too, recalled what had happened, and nearly happened, a few short hours before and, instead, kissed her forehead. “Thank you.” He could go one step further, couldn’t he? “Fuck, Diana, I was so scared. For a moment, I thought we were too late, and I knew I had no one to blame for that but myself.”
Cameron came closer and stood right at her back. Logan knew she could feel the heat of both of them. Did she realize that her soul was drinking that heat in, as if parched for it? Her eyes glittered, and as she tilted her head—probably so she could see Cam in her peripheral vision—a tiny smile teased the corner of her mouth.
Cam drew her back, inviting her to lean against him, and she did. Logan still cupped her face. He used his thumb to stroke the corner of her mouth and that smile and then moved his hands so they rested on her shoulders.
Her hands reached up and grasped his forearms. “The only one to blame for what happened, and nearly happened to me, are the Fortunas. Well, them and me.”
“No. We laid one hell of a shock on you. We don’t blame you one bit for taking yourself away, for grabbing some time to think.” Cameron’s words proved he knew their woman pretty well already.
That’s what happens when you dip into a person’s mind. Sometimes you end up receiving knowledge of all that they are.
“Why did you? Lay that shock on me?”
Logan opted for complete honesty. He really couldn’t do anything but. He knew Diana had been told that she would be unable to lie to either of them. They couldn’t lie to her, either. “You’re a formidable woman, Diana Reynolds. I recognized you the moment you parked your car in the parking lot at the office that first day. I looked down, saw you, recognized you, and my world tumbled upside down. Yet I knew it wasn’t time for us. Cameron wasn’t here, you see. And Mom was pretty sure there were a few years yet, before it was our time.” He shrugged. “I had to set us up as friendly rivals, or I’d never be able to keep my hands off you—or keep you from probing deeper and discovering all my secrets.”
“That makes sense.” Diana sighed. “This is all so not what I expected.”
“You expected to be the one to take the newbies in hand,” Cameron said. “To spoon-f
eed us pap and wipe our mouths with the cloth of your greater knowledge.”
His stepbrother was grinning so he knew Diana understood he was teasing her.
“I did, yes. That, exactly.”
“Well now”—he grinned at Logan and then down at Diana— “we can arrange for you to do that exactly—take us in hand—if you’ve an interest to.”
They had to win her heart and her mind. Logan was reasonably certain winning her body wouldn’t be a problem. He had only to inhale deeply to know she was already aroused. He pressed closer so she’d know he was, too.
“Is there a bed in that cabin over there?” he asked.
“Yes, there is. It’s a large one, too.”
“Good. Do you know what I think we all need right now? We need a time-out. We need to be together, to get to know each other, and we need to feel completely safe while doing so.”
“This entire area is under a spell of protection,” Cameron said. “I can feel it. It’s very strong magic. The strongest I’ve ever felt.”
“The Sylph, through the First Mother, reinforced the shield here, right after Cheri and her men encountered the Fortunas. The three of us and whoever we bring with us or agree to allow in may enter. No one else can. We’re all completely safe here.”
“So we’re safe from those assholes who tried to kill you?”
“We’re safe from everyone,” Diana said.
Logan had waited long enough. He moved his hands and cupped her face once more. He lowered his mouth to hers. He brushed his lips against hers once, twice. Then he settled down, settled in, and drank.
His tongue dueled with hers. With broad and juicy dips and swirls, he tasted her—they tasted each other. He suckled, and when she suckled right back and stroked his tongue with her own, his cock hardened. He had no trouble interpreting her non-verbal suggestion. Then he lifted his head, set his hands on her shoulders, and turned her toward his brother.
He watched as Cameron kissed her, as he enfolded her in his arms and plundered her mouth with his. Diana’s arousal had grown, and he swore his mouth watered, watching her respond to his brother with as much passion as she’d responded with to him.
They’d never shared a woman before because they’d wanted her to be their first, and their only. But they’d discussed between them how it might be done. They’d both hoped that, when the time came, it would be a celebration they’d want and need and not feel it was an act that had to be done out of necessity.
We have nothing to worry about in that regard.
Cameron lifted his head, and Logan stroked Diana’s hair. “Can we do that, baby? Can we stay here, the three of us? Can we have you?”
“Only if you understand that I don’t need to be seduced. I’ll take what I need. And only if you let me have the two of you, too.”
Logan felt his smile take over his face. “You can have us as many times and in as many ways as you want.”
They didn’t need magic for this next step. Logan took Diana’s right hand, and Cameron took her left. Then, hand in hand in hand, they walked toward the cabin.
Chapter 5
Arousal fluttered in her belly, sending tendrils of excitement to her nipples and her clit. In the home place, Diana had enjoyed a couple of lovers. That was healthy, normal behavior, and the experiences had taught her what she liked, and didn’t like, about sex.
Turned out she liked just about everything.
This was different. She’d been celibate since coming here, to this world. People who knew her might find that surprising. For her, that, too, had been healthy and normal behavior. In accepting the offer extended to her by the Concilium, Diana had been giving a promise, of sorts. She would mate with whoever was destined to be her mates and be faithful to them for the rest of her life.
Oh, she’d spouted off about not being sure about Logan and Cameron, and at this point in time, she didn’t feel that loyalty to them, that commitment, in her heart. Not yet. She could not, would not, pledge herself to them today. She could not, would not, pledge herself to them until she felt that commitment, love, and devotion in her heart.
Today, however, was the beginning of the process. And she couldn’t deny the sweet arousal wending its way through her. She hungered, and that hunger was for these two men, and for them alone.
They hadn’t wasted any time but had walked through the house to the master bedroom. Before them, a large four-poster stood, waiting. Around the room, a dozen or more candles appeared, their gentle flames casting a soft light and a light fragrance.
They certainly know how to set the mood. I’ll give them that.
“You’re going to think everything to death, aren’t you?” Logan stood before her, that half-grin, half-smirk on his face. She felt his magic, but more, she felt his masculine power.
“I tend to do that.”
“I know. It’s what makes you a kick-ass representative of Weymouth Parsons.”
“Such a trait, however, is less desirable in a lover.” Cameron stood at her back. His softly spoken assertion tickled her ear.
“I guess it is.” Diana shivered in response to the heat of them, to the scent of man that filled her and took over her senses. “But I don’t know how to shut that off.”
“We do. Will you trust us?” Logan’s gaze held hers, and for once, she saw no humor there in his eyes or on his face. She saw only desire, and it was desire for her.
He didn’t ask her if she did trust them, but if she would. Clever, clever man to put it just that way.
“Yes. For this time, and in this place, I will trust you.” She swallowed, not knowing what was coming but understanding her pledge just given was about to be tested.
“Excellent.” He leaned forward and placed the gentlest of kisses on her lips. Then he stood back, and as he looked at her, her clothing vanished.
That was the second time in just a few hours he’d rendered her naked with his power. “You’re getting pretty good at that.”
“Hush.”
Logan’s clothes disappeared, and Diana took the opportunity to let her gaze drink in his body. His chest held a nice dusting of hair, and his cock—already hard—made her mouth water.
“I can hardly wait to take you in hand.” She grinned as she said that. Her grin turned to a frown when something black appeared in his hand.
Behind her, the sound of a metallic clang made her jerk.
Logan held up the object in his hand. “You’ll have to wait a bit on that, sweetheart. We have other plans for you first.” Then he stepped forward and blindfolded her.
She opened her mouth to protest and then shut it. Cameron drew her arms together in front of her and fastened something soft around her wrists.
“Let go, now, Diana. Let go, and let us have you.”
It was the hardest thing she’d ever done, especially after what had happened earlier. It took her a moment. Then she remembered that here stood the two men who were destined to be her mates and who had already saved her life.
She sighed and used every bit of her will to just…let go.
Magic lifted her and laid her on a soft, cool sheet. The bed dipped on both sides of her. Someone raised her arms over her head, and another clang let her know she’d been cuffed to the bed.
She could be free with a thought, and yet her thoughts were only on submitting, on truly letting go, as if she was indeed their captive—or their sub.
Lips and hands kissed and caressed, heat penetrated, and the scent of them, two hot males, permeated her soul. Her arousal, now that she was held captive, soared free. Each touch, each taste, sent her high and then higher still. Her left nipple accepted the lap of a rough tongue then pebbled hard inside a hot, sucking mouth. Her flesh tingled as lips, opened and moist, brushed against the side of her breast and the sensitive area beneath.
A gentle hand on the side of her face turned her head, and a hot, wet mouth covered hers.
She drank deeply, even as her lover’s tongue commanded hers to yield. His mouth suckle
d hers, and Diana sank deep into the moment, into the wonderfully liberating experience of surrender.
The flavor of her lover just made her thirst for more. Hands pushed, and in submission, she parted her legs wider to obey the unspoken request.
Her lover ended their kiss, nuzzling her cheek and ear, and she had the sense he was looking down her body.
The puff of warm air, the sound of inhalation, and a sweet kiss on the inside of her thigh drew a moan from the depths of her soul. Then a tongue brushed her slit, bottom to clit, and Diana couldn’t prevent her hips from undulating, seeking more.
Soft masculine chuckles vibrated against her already moist folds. Then her lovers began to consume her as one’s lips and tongue caressed and teased her pussy while the other’s captured her mouth once more.
Oral feasting, above and below, sent shivers and quivers of arousal and need cascading over and through her. Diana drank. She pressed her pussy toward a hungry mouth, and she reveled in the silent, dark lovemaking transforming her.
As if pushed to the limit, lips tore themselves from her mouth. She felt movement right there on her left and sensed this lover’s next demand. His heat increased, and she inhaled, drawing in the scent of his cock.
Diana’s need to give eclipsed her need to take, joyously so. She opened her mouth, and when she felt the hot, soft brush of a cockhead on her lips, she made a humming sound of pleasure and sucked him in.
A tiny gasp carrying just the barest hint of an accent told her which lover’s cock demanded her attention. She sucked deeply, letting her tongue stroke the hard yet silken shaft. His taste added to her arousal, and she focused all she was on giving him pleasure.
A tongue swirled around her clit as fingers brushed her slit and then delved deeply. Diana gasped around the cock in her mouth as those fingers began to rub back and forth over her sweet spot. Then lips captured her clit, sucking it into a hot, wet, mouth.
Diana came as the first stream of jism coated her throat. She sucked and swallowed and soared, all thinking gone. Only feeling remained, and only the sensations of touch and taste and the purest, most exciting pleasure filled her.
The Gifted 3: Passions Ascended (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 5