by Aria Winter
“Yes,” I reply without hesitation. I want to be her guard, her lover, her mate, the father of her children. I want all of this and more. But right now, she is simply asking me to bind myself to her as her guard, and this, I will do eagerly. “I can think of no other female I would ever want to dedicate my life to, Ella,” I murmur as she moves closer to me.
Her warm breath whispers across my skin as she leans in. “I want to be yours,” I breathe as she seals me to her with a vow and her kiss.
Her lips are warm and softer than I imagined, and as her tongue curls around mine, my entire body fills with desire and longing so great it takes everything within me to hold back.
I want to wrap my hands around her waist and flip her onto her stomach, driving into her over and over, filling her with my seed. I curl my hands into fists in my lap, struggling against my urgent need. I want her so much it is painful.
My cock is fully erect and throbbing with the desire to sheathe myself deep inside her warm, wet heat. As she continues to stroke her tongue against mine, I am lost.
She pulls herself into my lap, straddling my hips with her thighs. I gasp as the heat of her center presses against my cock. A sharp hiss escapes me as I struggle to keep from coming right then and there.
“Ella, please,” my voice sounds strangled, even to my own ears. “We must stop, or else I fear I may be unable to keep myself from—”
She pulls back, and I already miss the feel of her body pressed against mine. She stares deep into my eyes and nestles against me.
I run my hands through her long silken hair, trying to force my body to calm. I want her so badly; it is torture. But I also do not want to pressure her into mating.
“I’m sorry we did not come to you sooner, Ella,” I whisper. My hands trace over her silken gown. The rough lines of the scars on her back are easily felt through the fabric. I clench my jaw. I wish I’d killed the woman who did this to her. “If we’d known what you were going through, we would have come for you sooner.”
She shakes her head softly. “It’s all right. You’re here now,” she whispers. “That’s all that matters.”
My beautiful and brave Ella. I pray she chooses me as hers someday, for I will never want another female but her as my mate.
Chapter 24
Nyx
It has been two days. Kai has still not returned, and Cash, Finn, and Devon are patrolling the area, searching for any hint of intruders. Devon and I have been relegated to sleeping downstairs the past two nights while Cash and Finn make love to Ella, and not very quietly either, much to our dismay.
Devon acts indifferent, but I’m confident he feels as I do. It is difficult to hear her call out their names when she reaches her peak, knowing that they are allowed to worship her body and give her pleasure while we... are not.
I am happy for my brothers, even if I do envy them.
As I step outside the cottage to fortify the magic barrier, Ella’s voice stops me abruptly. “Wait!”
I spin to face her.
She smiles. “Can I come with you?”
“If you wish.”
“After you’re finished, we can train some more,” she offers.
I’ve been showing her mostly defensive moves the past few days. It is best to start with these first so that if she has need to defend herself, she has the tools to do so. Later on, we will begin moving to more complicated styles of fighting. But for now, she wishes to be able to fend off attackers if she must.
In truth, I love spending time with her and am thrilled she wishes to come with me while I check the barrier.
We are near the property’s outer edge, and I’m surprised she has not complained about the long walk. It is quite far, but she seems to enjoy it. And as we continue, we talk back and forth.
When we reach the barrier, I begin a more potent spell. That is why I wished to come out this far. I could have cast a weaker one closer to the cottage, but my nightmares of Ella’s death have plagued me the past few nights, and I want to make certain our shields are strong.
As I am casting, Ella begins singing softly behind me. Her lovely voice fills the air, and I am once again completely enchanted by her. When I finish, I creep back to where she is waiting nearby and listen as she sings.
A loud crack of thunder sounds overhead, and dark clouds roll across the sky so quickly, I stare up at them in shock. Is this some kind of side effect of my spell? It is well-known that all magic has consequences, both good and bad. And the power of my spell may be the reason this storm developed so quickly. There is no way it is a naturally occurring event.
The sky seems to open up, and rain pours down in thick sheets. I look at Ella. “We are far from the cottage, but there is a cave nearby. We can shelter there while we wait out the storm.”
She nods, her eyes wide. I take her hand, pulling her along behind me as we make our way to the cavern.
Desire burns through my veins so intense I feel as if I can hardly contain it. This, I know for sure, is an effect of the spell casting. It makes everything heightened, including longing and want. Something deep and primal unfurls from inside me at the thought of taking her to the cave. It is as if we are a mated pair and I am taking her to our burrow.
The sounds of her soft cries and moans of pleasure last night made me jealous, but it also stoked the flames of my need. I long to bury myself deep in her warmth. To fill her with my essence and claim her as my mate.
When we reach the cave, I turn to find her thoroughly drenched. Her simple white dress clings tightly to her form, outlining her breasts and the curve of her hips. Cool air blows through the cavern, and her nipples bead from the cold. The perfect outline of them, pink and visible beneath the cloth, makes my mouth water.
I have never seen a more beautiful or tempting creature before. As she moves toward me, I flex my fingers with want to touch her. But I will not unless she asks me to. I do not wish to presume that she wants all of us when she has only chosen Cash and Finn thus far.
I force my gaze away from her and move to find some wood. “I will start a fire to warm us.”
She nods and sits on a nearby rock.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice her shivering slightly. I turn to face her. “You should remove your dress so that we may dry it near the flames.”
She gives me a hesitant look as she nervously tucks a stray tendril of hair behind her ear. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course. Anything.”
She carefully removes her wet dress and hands it to me. I spread it out on a rock beside the fire, purposefully making sure to keep my gaze on the ground instead of her body. She is human. Nudity is not as acceptable to her people as it is to mine. And while she has grown more comfortable with me, I dare not presume it is all right to gaze upon her naked form.
“Cash and Finn said it isn’t wrong among your... kind to take more than one mate.”
My eyes snap up to meet hers, and I notice how she bands one arm across her breasts to hide them from my gaze, as if timid.
She continues, “I know that I’ve already bound myself to Cash and Finn, but they’re twins... and they said they were fine with sharing me, but...” her voice trails off.
I take her hand, anxious to understand what it is that she hesitates to tell me. I hope that she will take all of us as hers, but I don’t expect her to do this. I merely pray that it happens. “It is acceptable among our people. Not everyone takes more than one mate, but many of us do. What is wrong, Ella?” I pause as dread settles deep in my stomach. Maybe she is trying to tell me she only wants Cash and Finn. So, I make sure she knows that all of us will understand and honor it if that is her choice. I meet her gaze evenly. “None of us would ever try to pressure you into anything you do not want, Ella. My vow.”
“I realize the bond makes me feel closer to you all, but..” She lifts her gaze, her blue eyes staring deep into mine. “It feels like so much more than that.”
I tip my head to the side. “How so?”
A shy smile crests her lips. “I have feelings for each of you. Romantic ones. But I... I do not know if it’s wrong. I mean... I know you say your kind often take one mate, but would it create problems within the group if I chose to be with all of you?”
My heart begins hammering in my chest as hope flares inside me. “It is not wrong,” I quickly reassure her. “We feel the same for you as well.”
She blinks up at me. “You do?”
“Yes. But you must choose if you want us. It is the female who decides in our culture.”
She moves closer. “And you?” Her voice is full of lust, as her eyes bore deep into mine. “Do you want me, Nyx?”
I reach out and trace my fingers across the petal-soft skin of her cheeks. Her lips part slightly beneath my gaze. “Even now, I desire you more than anything I have ever wanted before,” I admit. “And it is difficult to hide this from you.”
She takes my hand and entwines our fingers as she pulls me close. “Then, don’t.”
The last of my control crumbles beneath her words. I wrap my arm around her back and pull her flush against me. My cock is completely engorged and painfully erect against her abdomen. When she reaches down and gently strokes the tip, I hiss through my teeth. “If you do that, I will be tempted to take you right now.”
She wraps her delicate hand around my length, staring at me with a half-lidded gaze.
“You are certain?” I rasp.
She nods once.
Dropping the illusion of my clothing, I gather her in my arms and push her back against the cave wall. I pull her legs up over my hips and notch my tip at her entrance.
Her core is already slick with arousal. Her gaze holds mine, and her lips part on a moan as I enter her channel. I thrust deep, sheathing myself completely inside her.
“So tight,” I rasp.
I groan as I stroke long and deep into her warm, wet heat. Her body is so soft and giving; I never imagined making love would ever feel like this. It takes all my strength not to come inside her right now.
But I force myself to hold back, wanting to bring her to climax before finding my own. I release a small burst of precum into her channel, and she gasps at the sensation. I need to soften her womb so that she opens to me, accepting my seed and sealing our bond.
She holds tightly to me, digging her nails into my shoulders as I pump into her.
“Oh, Nyx,” she moans against my ear.
I capture her mouth with a claiming kiss, stroking my tongue against hers.
She feels so good. I’m barely holding on to my control as I pick up my pace, thrusting hard and deep. I had wanted our first time to be slow and gentle, but my need is too great. The desire to fill her with my seed is like a burning force deep inside me, and I cannot hold back as I thrust into her.
As she approaches the edge of her desire, the small muscles of her channel flex and quiver around my cock. She releases a keening cry as she clamps tightly around my length. Her release triggers my own, and I grasp her hip, holding her firmly in place as my cock begins to pulse. I roar as my release erupts from my body, filling her womb with my essence.
Her entire form goes limp as she comes down from her climax, but I am far from done. I brush the hair back from her face and stare deep into her eyes before capturing her mouth with a branding kiss. “I must have you again,” I breathe against her lips.
She stares at me in wonder. “So soon?”
“Yes.” I begin to roll my hips against her once more.
Her head falls back, and she moans my name.
My desire for her is so great, I bear her to the floor and begin thrusting into her. My people are known for their stamina and vigorous mating frenzies. I never understood until this moment just how strong the drive to mate could be.
The need to fill her again with my seed is almost maddening in its intensity. I gaze down at her. Her long, silken hair fans around her head like a beautiful halo. Her lips part as she stares up at me with a half-lidded gaze.
I feel the beginning of her climax as she tightens around my length. I thrust hard and deep and roar out her name as we come together.
Even as I come down from my pleasure, it isn’t enough. It is the nature of my kind to mate over and over again. The other shifters often joke about this, but they do not understand the intense need to drive into one’s mate several times in one mating. I can barely think beyond the soft feel of her body around mine. Nothing exists outside of this moment with her.
I am almost ashamed, but not too much so to tell her. “Please, I must take you again. I need you.”
Panting heavily, she reaches up to cup my cheek. She pulls my face down to hers and presses a soft kiss to my lips. “I am yours,” she whispers into my mouth.
Barely able to hold myself back, I stare down at her. “I do not want to hurt you or be too rough.”
She gives me a faint smile. “You aren’t hurting me, Nyx. I promise. I want all of you. Everything you would give me.”
Her words stoke the flames of my desire. I pull back and quickly flip her onto her stomach. I cover her body with mine and band my arms around her waist to hold her flush against me as I whisper in her ear. “Is this all right?”
She nods.
I use my knees to part her thighs then press my cock against her entrance. She moans, and her eyelids flutter open and closed as I enter her from behind.
I pull her back against me as I stroke into her. As I find a rhythm, I begin to move faster, pulling her against me as I drive hard and deep in a furious pace, wanting to push her pleasure to new heights.
She moans my name along with an incoherent string of words as I thrust into her over and over again. When she tightens around me and cries out my name, that is my undoing. I slam my hips against hers and hold her in place as my seed erupts from my body. I hold her tightly to me as I empty myself deep inside her.
As she lies beneath me, panting heavily and spent, my need is still not completely sated. Perhaps it is the knowledge that the prince still lives; therefore, there is always a chance she may choose him over us eventually.
Something dark and primal within me wants to fill her so full of my essence and give her such intense pleasure that she cannot even think of any other male, much less take another as her mate. It will be difficult to share her with my brothers, but not as hard as it would be if she took a human. They do not share, and I would not want to share her with a human male.
Something in the back of my mind prickles my awareness, drawing me out of my lust-filled haze. I look down in shock to find her staring up at me. She reaches up and traces her delicate fingers across my cheek. “I could hear your thoughts, my love. I don’t want the prince, Nyx,” she whispers. “I never did.”
My heart soars, and I smile down at her. I crush my lips to hers and begin to pump inside her again.
Her eyes go wide, and she opens her mouth as if to speak, but then I lift her leg, changing the angle of my thrusts and sinking impossibly deeper. She moans loudly before panting my name.
After taking her at least six times, my need is finally sated. Her body is limp in my arms as she stares up at me, threading her fingers through the hairs at the nape of my neck.
I love her so much; I want everything with her. I reach down and cup her cheek, running my thumb softly along her lower lip. “I have dreamed of making love to you many times, my beautiful Ella. I long to fill you with my essence and have kits with you someday, my beautiful mate.”
A slow grin curves her lips. “If we keep making love as many times as we did, it will probably happen sooner than you think.”
My brow furrows in confusion. “You would allow yourself to conceive so early in our relationship?”
“Allow myself?” she asks. “It would just happen on its own if we’re not careful. Which”—her gaze drops down to our hips, our bodies still joined together—“we’re not being careful at all right now. But I love you,” she whispers. “All of you, and I’m not worried. If it ha
ppens, it happens.”
I cup her cheek, searching her eyes. “Human females do not determine when their wombs open up to receive a male’s seed? They have no control of the release of their eggs?”
She shakes her head softly. “No. It all depends upon our cycle. If we make love while we’re at our fertile peak, conception can happen during that time if we don’t take precautions.”
Fierce possessiveness fills me as I stare down at her. A low growl of arousal rumbles through me as I slowly begin to roll my hips against hers once more. “And where are you at now in this human cycle of yours?”
“I—” She moans as I stroke long and deep.
I cup her chin, forcing her gaze to mine as I await her answer.
She stares up at me, her eyelids heavy with desire. “If I’m not right at my fertile peak, I am close. It’s been a few weeks since my cycle began and—”
I cut her words off with a passionate kiss. Cash and Finn may have mated her first, but I will mate her many more times than they did. I will bring her to climax so that her body will eagerly take in my seed, increasing the chances of it taking root deep in her womb.
It is tradition that a female bear a child to each of her mates if she has more than one. But the intensely possessive part of me wants to be the first to give her a child. I crush my lips to hers as I stroke long and deep inside her core.
A noise outside draws my attention, and I still. “What is—” Ella starts to ask, but I put a finger to her lips to silence her as I train my ears toward the entrance of the cave.
“Who is there?” a deep voice calls out. “Show yourself.”
Carefully, I pull away from Ella’s body. I motion for her to remain quiet and to hide.
She moves behind a large boulder, and I start toward the entrance to the cave.
I recognize the wolf shifter immediately. I straighten my shoulders and give him an icy glare.
His nostrils flare and he chuckles. “It seems like I interrupted something here.”
“This is our cave,” I growl. “Go find one of your own.”