Underneath the centaur’s anger, Nick heard a genuine kernel of concern. “I honestly didn’t think Barnard would do something like this,” he said. “I mean, I knew he was obsessive, but I didn’t think he’d try to kidnap me.”
“Well, he did, so you, O great Bearer, need protection. I’m appointing these two,” Chiron pointed at Aidan and Liam, “as your official bodyguards. You go anywhere, they’re on your ass like dumb on the Tea Party. I’ll clear it with their grotto later.”
Nick had his mouth open to object, but Liam spoke first. “I don’t know if Nick wants me around him, Lord Chiron,” the tall mer said. “It might be better if you assigned a ranger to be his other guard.”
“No.” Nick was surprised at the force in his voice. “I need to get to know you, remember? And you need to earn my trust. You can’t do that if you’re not here.”
He knew he’d said the right thing when Liam’s expression lightened with relief. The mer gave Nick a little bow, hand over his chest. “If you’ll have me, chuisle, I won’t leave your side.”
“Neither will I,” Aidan chimed in, green eyes sparkling.
So much for objecting. “Fine. You two are my bodyguards. So what’s next?”
“Next, we get back to work,” Chiron said. “Let’s blow this place and go to your cottage. The decor is giving me hives.”
Nick smothered a laugh as a genial Ian shot Chiron the bird.
****
The sun was dropping in the west by the time Chiron finally let Nick take a break. The afternoon had been spent in intensive anatomy drills on both himself and the mers, and he was sure he could feel his brain whimpering despite Pythia’s encouragement.
“I suppose that’s good enough for today,” Chiron allowed, clopping near the hallway that led to the kitchen. “We pick it up again tomorrow at nine. And I swear to Gaia if you’re not here I’m sending the Wonder Twins after you.”
“I’ll be here,” Nick said tiredly.
Grunting at that, Chiron disappeared.
“Is he always this cranky?” Aidan asked from the corner of the couch where he’d been banished after annoying the centaur with his fidgeting.
“As far as I can tell, yeah.”
Chiron’s just concerned, Pythia said. You have a great deal to learn, and none of us know what Thetis’s timeline is like.
Nick considered the golden snake wound around the staff. “Did you ever meet her?”
Thetis? Once or twice. She struck me as very strong-minded but fair. It grieves me to learn what happened to her. But if her plan is as dire as it sounds, then she must be stopped.
“No shit.”
The snake’s head canted to the side. We can take this up tomorrow. Get some rest, Nicholas. And with that she was gold-painted wood again.
Hefting the Rod, he headed into the master bedroom and put it away in the closet. The bed looked insanely soft and comfortable, and he felt an intense urge to do a face-plant into the coverlet and let sleep take him away.
Someone cleared their throat, and he turned to see Aidan and Liam in the bedroom doorway. “Where should we sleep, Nick?” Aidan asked.
That was a good question. He scrubbed at his face, trying to think. “Do you need to go back into the water?”
“No, we’re good for a day or two at least.”
“Okay. I guess there’s always the guest rooms.”
A flicker of disappointment ran through those green eyes, but Aidan nodded. “We’ll let you get some sleep.” He turned to leave.
“No.”
Nick’s eyebrows went up. “Excuse me?”
“No,” Liam repeated, calm but unmovable. “We’re supposed to be your bodyguards, according to Lord Chiron. That won’t be easy if we’re sleeping in separate rooms. We need to sleep in here with you.”
Annoyance bubbled to the surface, tempered by the allure of curling up between his mers. “Look, no offense, but I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said, trying to sound firm. “I’m really tired, and I don’t think I’m up for anything tonight.”
Liam stepped even closer. “We’re not supposed to leave you alone,” he said, hazel blue eyes shadowed in the twilit room. “Listen to me, chuisle. You’re exhausted, and understandably so. You were threatened by your former lover, and then you had to deal with one of the most powerful gods on the planet, followed immediately by a long study session. You’ve done enough for the day. Let us help you relax.”
That low voice, like a cello with its rich intonation, was impossible to resist. “Just relax?”
Liam smiled. “More if you’re in the mood. But it’s up to you.”
He didn’t want to admit it, but he was already getting aroused at the thought of both of them touching him. “I … okay. Yes.”
The tall mer took his hands, lifting each one to his mouth in turn and kissing it. “Yes, Maighstir," he said with a smile.
It sounded like “master” with a Gaelic lilt making it into “maister”. His last bit of resistance disappeared, and Nick felt boneless with pleasure at the anticipation of what was to come. “Yes, Maighstir.”
“Mm. Good boy.”
****
Liam let Nick’s hands go. They dropped to the human’s sides, and Nick’s dark head tilted, exposing the long line of muscle and tendon just waiting to be decorated with bite marks and sucking kisses. Oh, their chuisle knew how to lure attention.
But Liam knew how to wait. Instead of putting his mouth to Nick’s offered throat, he whispered, “Now, we’re going to take off your clothes.”
A shiver ran through Nick at that. Liam paused, trying to judge if it had been caused by lust or fear. The reality of the situation came back to him—the last time Nick had played with anyone, his trust had been shattered and his body damaged. They were swimming through shark-infested waters here, and one wrong move could drive their mate even further away from them.
He bent close to Nick’s ear again. “If something upsets you, you will tell us immediately, do you understand? We’ll sit down tomorrow and have a long talk about what you can and cannot do, and I swear to you that Aidan and I will respect your limits. But tonight is purely for your pleasure and comfort.”
He heard Nick swallow, and the shivering died down. “Good. Now, take a deep breath.”
Their mate’s ribcage expanded, filling with the air all his kind needed. “Another.” Liam ran his hands over Nick’s shoulders, enjoying the feel of the curved muscle there. “Good. I’m going to take off your shirt.”
Moving with deliberation, he slid all the buttons through their holes, tugging the smooth fabric off and tossing it to the side. He took in a soft breath, admiring Nick’s body. His muscles weren’t as pronounced as a mer’s, but his back and shoulders had beautifully delineated hollows and rises that implied strength and agility. Liam’s mouth watered with the sudden urge to bite into one firm shoulder.
Instead, he ran just the pads of his fingertips across Nick’s skin, tracing the outline of his upper body. On the other side Aidan had stepped closer, running his own fingers along Nick’s chest and abs. Their mate made a soft, hungry noise deep in his throat, and Aidan flashed that irresistible smile. “I think you like this, chuisle.”
“Mmm.”
Liam leaned close, nipping Nick’s earlobe again. “Use your words,” he ordered gently.
“Yes, I like this, Maighstir.” The response was soft, almost dreamy.
Liam caught Aidan’s eye, then glanced down meaningfully. At the same time he slid his hands down Nick’s arms, gently ringing his wrists and drawing them behind his back. “You’re still wearing too much.”
“Far too much,” Aidan agreed, sinking to his knees. Liam watched over Nick’s shoulder as the other mer started undoing Nick’s belt, teasingly drawing the leather through the loops, before easing down his zipper. Nick made another noise, deeper this time.
He likes being restrained and controlled. Liam felt his own desire rise, and firmly corralled it. Tonight is for him, to
show him he belongs with us.
Nick gasped suddenly, twitching in his grip. Glancing down, Liam saw his other mate planting an open-mouthed kiss at the base of Nick’s hardening cock through his underwear.
“Did I say you could do that, boy?” he asked Aidan, putting a growl into his voice.
The green-eyed mer leaned back, face shadowed in the room’s dim light. “I’m sorry, Maighstir. I couldn’t resist a taste.”
Liam was tempted to correct him, but their focus had to remain on Nick. “I’ll deal with you later,” he rumbled, and saw goosebumps rise on Nick’s skin. The idea obviously appealed. “Hm. Would you like that, chuisle? I could tie you to the headboard and make you watch me punish Aidan. I’d bend him over the end of the bed and turn his ass a lovely red as you watched. Then I’d put him on his hands and knees and fuck him while he looked at you.”
This time both his mates groaned at the image he’d created. “I wouldn’t let him come for a long time,” Liam murmured, enjoyed the sensation of his own cock plumping out and pressing against the fabric of his shorts. “And every time I thrust into him, his mouth would come closer and closer to your cock, almost close enough to suck it. But never quite close enough. And all the time I was fucking him, all you could do is sit there, hard and aching so badly, and watch us.”
Nick’s head dropped back onto his shoulder. “Please, Maighstir,” he whispered.
“Mm. Such a good boy.” He nodded at Aidan, and the other mer finished taking Nick’s trousers down, then his briefs. “If you’re very good and earn it, I may let you come tonight. No promises, though.”
Still holding Nick’s hands behind his back, Liam instructed their chuisle to step out of his puddled clothing, guiding him to the bed. “Stretch out and hold the headboard,” he said.
Nick obeyed, grabbing the lower bar of the bed’s metal headboard. Even in the purpling light it was obvious that a thin sheen of sweat covered his skin, and his face was gorgeously flushed. Between his thighs, his cock already stood at attention, eager for the next part of the scene.
The small square of bandage on his chest caught Liam’s attention. Aidan had already explained about Barnard Whitfield’s taste for knives and nonconsensual bloodplay. Liam had had a very difficult time not tearing out the human’s throat earlier that afternoon.
Slowly, go slowly. Let Nick tell you what he needs.
He sat on the edge of the bed, running his palm over Nick’s abs. At his nod, Aidan did the same thing on the other side of the bed. “How are you feeling, chuisle?”
“Green, Maighstir.”
Liam frowned in confusion. “Green?”
Nick’s eyes fluttered open. “Green is for good, yellow for slow down, red for stop.”
“Ah. Good to know.” He also knew Aidan had memorized it, as he had. “Now, chuisle, we’re going to play with you. We need to learn your body, how it responds and what it likes. No matter what we do, at no time are you to let go of the headboard, do you understand me?”
Nick sucked in a ragged breath. “You’re not going to tie me up?”
It was half question, half statement. “Do you want that?”
“I … I do and I don’t. I liked being tied up, but…”
Liam understood. Barnard’s betrayal of trust had sullied the pleasure of physical restraint and surrender for Nick. It would be up to them to help him overcome the memories and learn whether or not he could give himself up again like that.
“I have an idea, Maighstir,” Aidan said softly.
“What is it?”
“You know those stretchy white things humans wear on their feet? Socks?”
“Yes?”
“Well, I know Nick has some. What if we tied his wrists with those? They’re stretchy enough that he can slip out of the bonds if he really wants to, but they’ll give him something to hang onto.”
The idea had merit. “How does that sound to you, chuisle?”
Nick went quiet for a long moment. “Just my wrists?”
“Yes. Your legs will stay loose. I want to watch you squirm.”
As he’d hoped, the image in his words made Nick’s cock twitch gently. “I’ll try it. But if I say red—”
“We’ll stop and untie you immediately,” Liam promised. And someday we will make that bastard pay for what he did to you.
After another pause, Nick nodded jerkily.
****
Aidan rolled off the bed and hurried to the chest of drawers where he’d watched Nick put away his clothes. The foot coverings were rolled up in balls in the top drawer. He grabbed a ball, peeling it apart and shaking out the socks. They were just long enough to serve as bonds, with the give that would let Nick know he could pull out of them at any time.
He prayed they would be able to help their chuisle past this, back to the point where he’d eagerly submit to them. Just the thought of Nick lying spread-eagle, lashed to the bed with soft cotton ropes and a blindfold stealing his vision, made his balls ache with anticipation.
Back on the bed, he handed Liam one of the socks, then took Nick’s left wrist. “Tell me if this is too tight,” he warned, wrapping the stretchy material around it and tying a knot. “Okay?”
Nick smiled up at him. “Yes, Maighstir.”
Aidan smiled back. He loved submitting to Liam, feeling his mate take complete control of his body, but being on the other side for a change was admittedly hot. With care, he tied the free ends of the sock around one of the headboard uprights, pulling Nick’s arm out straight but not putting tension on it. “Still green?”
“Yes.” Their chuisle was relaxing by increments as they worked, obviously enjoying the sensation of being bound. Aidan wondered what he would look like in a full body harness, arms bound behind his back. Kneeling, definitely, and with that lush mouth open and ready for our cocks.
Liam tied off his own sock, then settled back on his heels. “Nick, I want you to pull one of your hands out.”
Nick frowned up at the mer, then nodded. With a bit of effort, he pulled his hand free from the looping bond Liam had made. The tall mer made an approving noise.
“All right, you know you can get out of these at any time,” he said, taking Nick’s hand and pushing it back into its makeshift cuff. “Tell us how to slow down and stop.”
“Green for good, yellow for slow, red for stop,” Nick repeated obediently.
“Good boy.”
Nick glowed at the praise, looking so beautiful Aidan’s heart ached a little at it. He glanced across their chuisle’s body at Liam, switching to Gaelic. “He’s beautiful, isn’t he, Master?”
Liam’s gaze feasted on Nick. “Yes. And he’s all ours. I swear this, we’ll keep him safe from that bastard, even if we have to kill Whitfield to do it.”
“I have no problem with that, Master. But let’s not think about the pond scum now. We have a chuisle to pleasure until he’s screaming our names.”
“Mm, yes we do.” Liam shifted onto his side, stretching out along Nick’s body. Aidan mirrored him on the other side. Together, they began to stroke Nick’s chest and stomach, avoiding the small patch of gauze.
“Such hard little nipples,” Liam murmured, taking the pebbled tip on his side between two fingers. “Just begging to be sucked and bitten. Would you like that, chuisle?”
Nick’s throat worked, Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. “Yes, Maighstir.”
Liam bent over, licking the pebbled tip once before sealing his mouth around it. Aidan followed suit, tasting the fresh salt of Nick’s skin and using his tongue to play with the rigid little nub. Feeling wicked, he drew it between his teeth and carefully bit down, worrying it slightly. Nick gasped and swore at the sensation, wriggling underneath them.
“Stay still,” Liam ordered. “You’ll take this like a good boy, or I won’t let you come for a week.”
Nick whimpered, but his body steadied. Together, Aidan and Liam licked, sucked, and bit at his nipples, enjoying the noises he made. Aidan suspected it was the rea
son why Liam hadn’t gagged Nick in the first place.
Liam’s mouth drifted downward, tracing the curve of Nick’s pec leading to the ridged, finger-like muscles on his upper side. Aidan decided to do the opposite and go up, nuzzling the sleek crook where shoulder met neck before sucking kisses into that long, lovely line of tendon and flesh that led to Nick’s jaw. He could feel their chuisle trembling, trying to hold still.
He licked the sensitive spot under Nick’s earlobe, then brushed his lips across the whorled shell there. “You’re doing so well, baby,” he whispered. “I’m so proud of you.”
Nick’s mouth stretched in a dreamy smile. “Thank you, Maighstir.”
Aidan decided to lick his way around the shell of Nick’s ear, tasting the tang of the man’s skin there. Without warning, he sucked the upper curve into his mouth, rubbing his tongue against the smooth, firm flesh. Nick’s fists tightened around their bonds, and he gave a long, happy moan.
Aidan let Nick’s ear slide out of his mouth with a wet pop. “Oh, yeah,” he rumbled. “You like that, don’t you?”
“God, yes, Maighstir,” Nick said, breathless. “Oh, God, that went straight to my dick.”
Aidan had to chuckle at that. “We’re going to find every secret part of your body,” he licked a delicate stripe around the shell, “every inch that needs to be stroked or licked or bitten, and then we’re gonna be ruthless with them. We’ll make you come so hard you won’t even remember your own name. But I promise you, you’ll be screaming our names.”
Stormy eyes went wide at that, as did Nick’s mouth. Aidan took the opportunity to steal a kiss. Nick had the lushest lips, full but firm, and Aidan feasted on them, sucking on the lower one, then the upper. He licked along the tender inside flesh, feeling Nick’s tongue rise tentatively to greet his own.
He pulled back, just a bit. “You can kiss me, baby. I want you to do that,” he instructed, before dipping his head back down and sealing his mouth over Nick’s. This time there was no hesitation when their tongues met, and Aidan’s entire body thrummed with the sensual pleasure of feeling Nick’s tongue twine and wrestle with his own. Their chuisle surprised him by licking the roof of his mouth, setting off a short, sharp burst of sensation that forced a moan out of his throat.
Olympic Cove 2-Breaker Zone Page 18