by Ginna Moran
I smother my face in the pillows, my body exploding in the best possible way. Mikkalo moans, feeling my body clench and relax, reacting to the intense sensation he creates inside me. Whispering my name, he kisses my throat and then my shoulder blade, grazing his fangs in a way that makes me shiver until he finishes, pricking me with his fangs upon his release just for a taste.
His hands find mine, and he links our fingers together, keeping his weight off me but still cuddling me the way I like. Neither of us moves for a long while, relishing the sound of our rapid breathing and hearts beating. With Mikkalo so close, our bodies entwined, our love so palpable from the hot sex we had, I completely push away any lingering thoughts that don’t involve how good he makes me feel.
If Jameson didn’t knock on the door, I’m sure I’d ask Mikkalo to give into my desire again. And again. I know he wants to.
“Is Gwen asleep?” Jameson asks, keeping his voice low. “Bronx thought it would be best if I brought her food here.”
Mikkalo shifts off of me, feeling my muscles suddenly tensing in annoyance. He grabs the blankets and pulls them around us. I don’t stay in bed with him despite his quiet plea not to respond to Jameson. Instead, I roll from the bed and stretch for a second, testing my body for the aches that are only as annoying as Bronx’s suggestion.
Opening the door, I stand butt-ass naked before Jameson. His eyes widen, and he nudges me back to enter the room. Kicking the door closed, he stares from me to Mikkalo, now sitting up. They share an indecipherable look with each other. I step between them and place my hands on my hips, raising my eyebrow at Jameson.
“You look so starved,” Jameson says, licking his lips.
“She was pretty set on draining me,” Mikkalo responds for me from the bed behind me. His husky, sultry voice turns me on more, and I squeeze my legs together at the thought of being with him again.
Jameson flicks his gaze to me and back to his brother, a smirk playing on his tight lips. “I see you figured out how to save yourself. You’ll have to give me pointers later.”
I crinkle my nose and whack Jameson on the shoulder. He nearly drops the tray of food. Spinning on his feet, he sets it on top of a dresser. Jameson doesn’t back up when I close the space to him. He remains utterly still, keeping his arms at his sides as I stand on my tiptoes and nip his neck, tasting the decadence of his skin.
Unable to control himself, he tries to hook his hands to my hips to pull my naked body into his. I press my hands to his chest, smiling while not letting him get what he wants. I can see he wants nothing more than to distract me.
He play-growls at me. “Tease.”
I glide my tongue over my top lip, drawing his attention to my mouth. Stepping closer, I drag the collar of his shirt over to expose more of his skin. I suck the nape of his neck, fully set on messing with him, knowing how much he likes it.
“Do you know how dangerous it is to tease a vampire?” he murmurs, his fangs peeking from beneath his lips.
I rub my hand over his growing erection. “Mmmhmm, but it might be worse to tease a dhampir.”
Jameson catches me by the waist and kisses me, nipping my lip before his own to blend the drops of our blood together. My stomach complains at the fact that I don’t bite him harder or move to a place I can get a better taste of his blood. And with his hands holding me in place, I’m not so sure I can.
I suck his lip again, pulling away to meet his silver flashing eyes. “Careful, Jamie. I’m starving, and it’s still technically our time for...”
“Eleven minutes,” Jameson says, his voice deepening.
“Give our girl what she wants,” Mikkalo says, coming up behind me. He shifts my hair, kissing my shoulder again. “I’m going to start the shower.”
I spin in Jameson’s arms to kiss Mikkalo, and he draws my lip between his teeth, tasting the drops of blood seeping from Jameson’s nip. I hum, feeling the hard length of his shaft tease me again, but he doesn’t let me get carried away. He spins me back to his brother and heads to the bathroom, starting the shower.
“Bite me,” Jameson says, lifting me into his arms. “I want your mouth all over me.”
I grin and kiss him. “Want to join us in the shower?”
“Mikkalo, you better tell me no. Bronx wanted me to return right away,” Jameson calls out.
Mikkalo pokes his head out of the bathroom door. “Like our girl said. It’s still your time. If she wants to suck your neck in the shower, I think you should let her. She deserves everything she desires.”
“You know you want to,” I say, gliding my tongue down his throat. “You know I’m not alone in my needs.”
“Bronx is going to kick my ass,” he murmurs without breaking away.
I drag Jameson’s shirt over his head and glide my tongue from the hard muscles of his stomach and over his peck. “He’ll have to get through me, and there’s no way I’ll let him. You’re mine.”
“Damn,” Mikkalo says from the bathroom.
“Her protectiveness is so hot, right? I love it.” Jameson eases away to smile at me. “And you. A lot. I just thought you should know.”
“Why do you sound like you think something bad is going to happen?” I ask, grinning at him. I fiddle with his pants, unclasping the button. I don’t drag them down and instead glide my fingers into his boxers to play with his erection.
Mikkalo chuckles. “It might. I think I hear Bronx.”
“Then you better hurry and lock the bathroom door.” I laugh as Jameson rushes us into the bathroom, kicking the door closed with his foot. Mikkalo already stands in the shower, the steam engulfing the pretty small glass stall.
“Jameson.” Bronx’s voice muffles through the door, his deep voice full of annoyance already. “I need to talk to you.”
I hold my finger up to Jameson’s lips to stop him from responding. “He’s not here, Bronx,” I say. “If you want to leave a message with me, I might pass it on.”
Jameson grins against my hand and drops his pants on the way to the shower. I kiss him deeply, sliding my tongue into his mouth. Mikkalo makes room for us and soaks my hair, playing with the tresses as he adds in a sweet, citrusy-smelling shampoo.
“Hurry and bite me,” Jameson whispers. “I think he’s ten seconds away from breaking our no entering uninvited rule. If you’re sucking my neck, he won’t risk interrupting.”
“He’s right,” Mikkalo says, pressing his chest into my back.
Ohmyfuck, do I love the sensation of being squished between their slippery, naked bodies.
I turn my neck so that Mikkalo can reach my mouth for a kiss. “You’re really okay with this?” I ask the both of them.
Mikkalo kisses me again, gliding his hand around to my stomach. “Mmmhmm.”
Jameson tilts his head to expose his neck. “Fuck yeah. Way more fun than...all the other bullshit.”
“Let’s not talk about the bullshit,” I say, reaching down to lace my fingers around his cock. “Now, take a deep breath. Bronx is most definitely about to charge in here.”
Jameson releases a cross between a grunt and a moan as I sink my teeth into the sensitive skin of his neck. He drops me down a bit lower to feel how hard I make him without entering me. Silence falls between the three of us. I savor the taste of Jameson’s sweet blood and the softness of Mikkalo’s lips on my shoulder.
I only pull back at the sound of another tap.
“Gwen, brothers,” Bronx says, cracking the door an inch.
“You better lose the clothes if you take one step into this bathroom,” I say, meeting his dark eyes. “This is a bonding experience.”
Bronx growls in frustration. “Do you think this is some sort of joke, Gwen?” His question ignites fury inside me, poking at my already hurt feelings. It was easy for Mikkalo and Jameson to distract me from the fact that Bronx had disregarded me earlier, but now that I’m looking at Bronx, his face hard as he suppresses his reaction, I can’t stop from feeling like I’ll explode if I don’t give him a piece o
f my mind.
I don’t get a chance to respond, though.
Mikkalo stiffens, his anger mirroring mine. “Get out, Bronx. You’re upsetting our girl, and she doesn’t need this. I just got her to cool off and eat. You’re ruining it.”
“We have shit—”
Bronx doesn’t have a chance to finish his sentence. Mikkalo flies from the shower and at Bronx, the two of them breaking out into a fight. Their arms fly at each other with punches they manage to avoid, but Mikkalo knocks a shelf of folded towels off the wall.
Jameson flicks off the water and grabs one of the discarded towels to hand to me.
“Bronx, Mikkalo, stop,” I say, wrapping the towel around myself.
They don’t listen, and Bronx shoves Mikkalo into the wall.
“Bronx!” I yell, fisting my hands. “Enough!”
He flashes his fangs at me.
He loses control.
Chapter 9
Trouble
I CRASH INTO BRONX, KNOCKING him off his feet. He flips me over and gets on top of me. Gripping the front of his shirt, I force him to yank me up with him. His eyes flash crazy silver, but he doesn’t direct his anger toward me. He tries grabbing for Mikkalo.
I pinch his chin. “Bronx, calm down,” I say, trying to get his focus on me.
Bronx flashes his fangs at me again. He releases a scary-ass growl, darting his gaze away from me. Jameson risks yanking me away from Bronx, and Everett materializes between us and shoves Bronx into the wall.
“Get yourself under control before you accidentally hurt Gwen,” Everett snaps, pinning him with two hands.
Bronx struggles and snaps his teeth at Everett. I’ve never seen him act like this toward his brothers. It pisses me the hell off. Because, what the fuck? I can handle his brooding annoyance and anger, but what I can’t handle is his fury that has unleashed the part of his nature I’ve feared all my life. The part that screams at me to run for safety.
“He already did hurt our girl,” Mikkalo says, pacing in a half circle like he’s waiting for Everett to leave an opening so he can try to start a fight with Bronx again. I know he will try given the chance. My guys don’t put up with crap in regards to me. They might manage to control their possessiveness with each other, but their protectiveness is another thing, like how Jameson threatened to murder Mikkalo when he thought I was out to take down the region.
Everett stiffens at Mikkalo’s words and swivels to glance at me from over his shoulder. He drinks me in, starting from my face and working his way down inch-by-inch. I’m nearly certain he might try to steal my towel to see the skin I cover up and not in the way I like.
“I’m fine,” I say, talking to Everett. “Mikkalo’s not referring to my physical state.”
Mikkalo closes the space to me and embraces me from behind. I hug his arms to me, assuring he stays with me instead of letting his wild emotions get the best of him. My guys are definitely more reactive after any sort of intimacy. “Like that makes it any better.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Bronx asks, narrowing his eyes. I don’t know if his genuine surprise makes things better or worse for my hurt feelings.
Mikkalo presses into me to inch closer to Bronx. “You—”
I elbow Mikkalo in the stomach to stop him from forcing me in the middle. “It’s nothing.”
“Gwen.”
Spinning in Mikkalo’s arms, I face him, getting him to stop arguing with one look. “I know you want to stand up for me, and I appreciate it, but I don’t want to get into it right now, okay? I’ll get over it.”
He groans and rests his head on my shoulder. “Maybe he’d stop being a dick if he knew what a complete idiot he is.”
Bronx curls his fingers. “You think I’m being the dick and an idiot? I’m trying to secure our region while you and Jameson are fucking around with Gwen. You’re the head of our defense. Jameson is our communications lead. So if I have to be an asshole to protect our futures, then damn right I’ll be.”
Mikkalo lets go of me to charge at Bronx. Everett gets between the two of them, and Jameson yanks Mikkalo back. My human fear instincts go off like crazy. I automatically step back. My move doesn’t go unnoticed because everyone turns their attention to me. I clench my trembling fingers together. I should be happy that my sudden fear stops their fight, but it really sucks that it had to come to this. I hate that I can’t control my body’s reaction.
Bronx huffs a deep breath, closing his eyes. “You know what? You guys stay here with Gwen. I’ll do things myself.” Bronx disappears, slamming the door shut.
I know he left because of me, and it makes me feel a bit like crap, not because he hurt my feelings but because I know something is majorly up with him. He gets grumpy when shit gets out of control, but he never takes it out like this. And maybe we are in the wrong. But things could’ve been handled differently.
I cover my face with my hands, inhaling a few deep breaths to settle my tight nerves. “Someone should go after him.”
“No fucking way,” Jameson says. “He needs to cool the hell off. I was only gone for a few minutes—during my time with you, if I might add—and he acts like we’ve disregarded our jobs. Taking the time to give you what you need doesn’t hurt anyone. It’s dawn anyway. It would be worse not satiating your hunger.”
I glance to Mikkalo.
“I’m with Jameson. Plus, if I go, one of us might not come back.” Mikkalo swings his arm, punching the wall.
I startle, and Mikkalo swears under his breath and disappears into the bathroom. Without having to ask, I know he won’t come out until his anger settles some. Unintentionally setting off my human rationale bothers the hell out of my guys, more so than it bothers me. The last thing they want is for me to be afraid.
Silence settles in the room, the only sound I hear is my heartbeat pounding in my head. Jameson digs through a dresser and pulls out some clothes. He dresses first, his shirt a size smaller than he’d normally wear, but it’s sexy as hell hugging his body the way I like. He grabs a too big T-shirt for me and helps tug it over my head. It’s long enough to cover my vagina, so I don’t mention that he should find me some underwear or pants or something.
Everett soundlessly watches the two of us, and I close the space to him and fall into his open arms. He looks like he could use some of my affection. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him get between Bronx and his other brothers, and I know it bothers him. Everett’s usually pretty neutral unless someone does something that might jeopardize my safety and health.
“I’m sorry you had to intervene,” I say, inhaling a breath of his calming scent. “I know you hate being in that position.”
“The only reason I did get in the middle was because I was worried about you. My brothers should know better.” He raises his voice just a bit, passively chiding Mikkalo and Jameson.
“I hope you know they’d never hurt me,” I say. “You should be more concerned about me accidentally hurting them. They’re not as tough as my wild ass.”
Everett’s blue eyes light up with his chuckle. “I suppose you’re right. Next time, I’ll let you handle them. Because really, I don’t know what’s worse. Getting between my pissed off brothers or not getting to enjoy the shower with you too.” His words are intended to be a joke, but I can’t help wondering if he did feel left out. Maybe Bronx too. We have our alone time and also some times where we’re all together, but we never discussed anything else.
I pout my bottom lip. “I’m sorry I didn’t invite you. It was a spontaneous idea.”
Leaning in, he pulls me closer by the small of my back. “I was only teasing. You don’t owe me an apology and shouldn’t feel bad. Plus, it would’ve been kind of crowded.”
I graze my pelvis to his. “We’d have made it work.”
“While I enjoy any time you give me no matter who it’s with, I love our moments alone, having you all to myself.” Everett’s breath tickles my ear. “I can’t wait to be the reason you scream in pleasure.�
��
I release a small puff of air between my lips, his voice turning me on. “Mmm, me too.”
Jameson whacks Everett on the back, cutting into our conversation. “Have you two not banged already? Because if you’re waiting for the perfect moment, you might be waiting a long fucking time.”
“Jamie,” I say, narrowing my eyes at him. “Only I can break the rules.” It takes everything in me to remain expressionless. Keeping our sex life a secret is mine and Everett’s thing. I’m nearly certain he’s never told any of them anything, and they just assume what they want.
Everett squeezes his fingers into my hips. “Gwen’s right. Stay out of our business. We do things in our own time.” Like pretty immediately. And sometimes during their times given the opportunity.
“Now might be good. You know, since Jameson mentioned it.” I hop into Everett’s arms and meet him for a kiss.
Jameson groans. “All right, let’s not get carried away. You’re going to learn that once you get our girl started, it’s hard as hell to stop.”
Everett slides his hands to my ass. “I’m willing to risk it.”
“As her health keeper, you should really prioritize Gwen’s needs. She hasn’t eaten her human food all day, and she doesn’t like when her dinner gets cold.”
I frown. Food is the last thing on my mind. “I’m not hungry.”
Jameson raises an eyebrow at me. “The hell you aren’t.”
“It’s just...Bronx.” A mixture of emotions swirls through me. “You’ve distracted me long enough.”
“Let him work through his own shit,” Jameson says.
I ease down from Everett’s arms. “I don’t like feeling like I’m getting between you guys. I just—will you help me find him, Everett?”
Jameson grumbles under his breath, knowing that my mind is set now that I managed to pull myself away from their attempts to distract me.
Flaring his nostrils, Everett looks at me like I’ve asked him the worst favor ever. But I already know Jameson and Mikkalo won’t, and there’s no way I’m walking around this place all on my own.