by Lacey Thorn
Drew watched his brother claim their mate, watched him take her body and bring them both to pleasure and it was all he could do to keep his seed from spilling from his body. He tried to allow Sorran the moment after, just to hold Alea and revel in what they had shared, but he was hard-pressed not to shove his brother aside so that he could share the same thing with her. He had waited long enough and even one breath more was more than he could stand.
Sorran glanced up and Drew knew that his brother read him well. With a nod he slowly eased from Alea’s body and both of their gazes dropped to her sprawled thighs now wet with this first act of passion between mates. Soon Drew’s desire would rest there as well.
He replaced his brother between her thighs and lost himself for a brief moment in the welcoming smile on her lips. This was a woman he could love, might already be falling in love with. This was where his future would begin and end, with this woman. His solace and comfort, his hope, his dreams all culminated into this one person and how being with her would change him and his perception of everything around him as well. Without thought he bent and engaged her in a full-body kiss, rubbing her nipples with his chest and her pussy lips with his cock.
She moved her arms, grasping his shoulders, and her knees rose to cup his hips. Still doing a slow glide along her wet pussy, he reached down and spread her lips, allowing his cock to kiss the opening of her channel. With one long, slow thrust he was seated, his hips flush to hers, his balls hard against her buttocks. She was wet, so wet that he could drown in her. She was tight, so tight that he felt sure he would never pull free of her. But he did, again and again as he rode between her thighs with a fiery intensity that set them both ablaze with the beginnings of orgasm.
Harder. Harder. Faster. Faster. He couldn’t stop, couldn’t fight the need to take, to claim, to mark. He bent to her shoulder, his hips pistoning, and sucked at the tender skin where her neck connected, branding her with his teeth and tongue. She cried loudly and bucked, driving him further than ever before. He was so deep that it felt as if her very womb was sucking his shaft, eager for the fluid it held. With a harsh cry he came, his seed spurting from him to her in hot bursts.
She clung to him, her body trembling in the aftermath of what they had shared. And he held her tightly against his chest, rolling so that she rested atop him. He knew Sorran knelt beside them, knew that he ran his hands up and down her spine. It was a moment that they all needed to share, a linking of more than bodies—of minds and souls and yes, even hearts.
“You will mate with us?” Drew murmured against the top of her head, breathing in the scent of her and them, of sex and passion. “You will wear the mark of the Xandova on your belly for all to see?”
Alea lifted her head and moved her hands so that they rested on his chest before tucking her chin atop her clasped fingers and looking him straight in the eye. “Yes, I will wear your mark. Yes I will be your mate. I’d like to ask one thing of you in return.”
“Anything, Alea.” It was Sorran who breathed the words from behind her, his hands stroking her so softly that if she were a cat she would be purring.
“I’d like you both to wear my mark as well,” she stated.
“What is your mark?” Drew asked calmly, as if it were nothing for a woman to ask such a thing of a warrior.
She reached down and tugged at the sleeve that still rested on her arm from elbow to wrist and slowly removed it. Underneath, in the middle of her forearm was a silver band that encircled her arm and when Drew lifted her arm and looked closer he was able to see that they appeared to be tiny feathers interlocking.
“Where did you get such a mark? How?” Drew asked her, moving her arm so that Sorran could take a closer look.
“Vulcan. He gave it to me by placing his beak on my flesh,” she told them. “I’d like you to share it as well.”
“If Vulcan wishes to mark us as well,” Sorran whispered, “then we would be honored to wear it.” He gently placed his lips against her mark and traced it with his tongue.
“He wishes it,” she assured them and it didn’t surprise her when they just nodded and accepted her words. They didn’t ask her how she knew such a thing or scoff at her. Perhaps it was because of their relationship with Caspian. Perhaps, she hoped, it was because of the blooming of love between them.
“We will do a ceremony of our own,” Drew stated, “right here. We will place our brand on you and then Vulcan will place his on us. Then we will all be united as we should be and none shall ever doubt the bond we share.”
Alea nodded and tucked her head down against his chest. She was very tired and her body was already floating toward sleep. She felt Drew shift until they were on their sides and then Sorran was snug against her back. The last thing she felt was both of their hands stroking soothingly over her body.
Then Drew placed a kiss on her forehead and Sorran one on her shoulder and one of them whispered to her, “Sleep.” And she did.
* * * * *
Bram glanced toward his brothers and shook his head. After an entire day of talking they had finally calmed everyone down and made them see the increased importance of moving quickly to unite everyone in one central location on the island. As soon as possible the warriors would be leaving to ensure that their families and villagers began the trek toward the palace that had once been known as the Temple of the Goddess of Altair. It was what had to be done. At least until the mystic’s call sounded and the Island Guardians united. But that was one thing that Bram couldn’t tell the warriors. Not if he wanted them to accept him and his brothers as the new leadership.
“So where do we go from here?” Finn questioned, automatically turning to the brother who happened to leave the womb first, Bram.
And just as always Bram took the lead and set the course for them all. “I think it best if we split up for just a bit. I think one of us should head back to the palace, see if Mother is there, and speak with Father. One of us should travel with the men from village to village and oversee the moving of our people. And one should remain here to ensure that no one is left behind or allowed to change their minds about how important this is.”
“And which do you suggest that I do?” Finn asked matter-of-factly.
“I’d like you to go to the palace and deal with ensuring its readiness for the influx of people headed that way.” Bram turned to Tanner next.
“You want me to go from village to village?” Tanner asked.
“No. I’ll do that. I think of all of us you are perhaps the most persuasive and easygoing. It will be best if you stay here and oversee everything.”
“You really think it should be me to stay?” Tanner seemed surprised at this but Bram just smiled and nodded.
“You have the charisma, the charm. Our warriors trust in you and you will be able to reassure them with calm. I am more of a strategist so I am best placed in the villages. And Finn is a born organizer, so obviously he should be at the palace.” Bram looked at both of his brothers and they all nodded in agreement. “The last village I will head to is the one in the east where Mother sent Farrah, and where the Guardian of Earth is. You should both meet me there to assure the safety of the Guardians.”
“And what of Alea?” Finn asked.
“We have to trust in what Mother said, that the Xandova have arrived to take care of her.” Bram shook his head wearily as if the weight of the world were on his shoulders, or perhaps just that of one small island. “I pray to the goddess that Mother is well.”
“She will be fine, Bram,” Tanner said with confidence that didn’t quite make it into his eyes. They all knew that their mother could care for herself, but none of them was exactly sure of what she might do in her grief over the death of her husband and mate, Prince Micah.
“We should all pray to the goddess that you are right,” Bram stated quietly.
No one said anything for a long moment until finally Tanner broke in. “And what of the Guardians? Any ideas of what we should prepare for? Of where the next few
days will even lead us?”
“No,” both Bram and Finn answered at once and all three brothers broke the tension with a laugh.
“There is no preparing for this. We can only watch and wait and jump in if and when we are required to.” Bram’s voice was quiet but filled with a resolve to do what their mother had prepared them for.
“And if one should die,” Finn murmured and they all looked at one another. “Are either of you prepared to die for a Guardian?”
“I don’t know,” Bram said quietly. “I just don’t know.”
And it was Tanner who looked both of his brothers in the eyes and said with no hesitation, “I would protect them with my last breath. For my people, for my island. Yes, I would die for them.”
And that, Bram thought, was why when the time came it should be Tanner who held the title of prince, no matter the order of birth.
Chapter Four
Alea was content to lie between the hard, warm bodies of her lovers and soon-to-be mates. They had passed the eve exploring one another until she felt they knew her body better than she did. And she hoped to be just as familiar with theirs eventually. Drew was still in front of her though he had turned onto his back at some point in the night. She was lying with one leg bent over the top of his thigh, her head pillowed on his chest. Sorran was behind her, one big hand curled over her resting on her breast, and just knowing that it was there made the nipple pebble and push against that warm palm.
“Hmmm…” Sorran moaned in her ear. “This is the way that I should awaken every morning for the rest of our lives.” He nibbled kisses along her shoulder and neck and she turned her face to look into his grey eyes.
“Morning,” she spoke softly, still a little shy though she had no idea why. Sorran kissed her, a soft exploration as if he were rediscovering her.
His hand squeezed and plumped her breast, plucking the nipple between his thumb and forefinger. She tried to turn over and face him but his hands held her in place, allowing her to feel the hard ridge of his erection firmly against her buttocks. His lips claimed hers again, leaving her breathless and wanting. Everything and more.
There was a rustle in front of her and then she felt Drew’s warm breath across the tops of her thighs. He slipped his tongue over her nether lips, teasing at her flesh without really giving her what she suddenly wanted so desperately. She moaned and tried to open her thighs to allow him fuller access but she was hampered by Sorran’s firm hand on her hip and by Drew’s hands on her thighs. It seemed that they planned to tease her a bit this morning.
Drew licked and sucked at her, never quite getting the nub that pulsed and throbbed with desire, but coming close several times. His tongue slicked over it once and she almost came, would have had he stayed there just a moment longer. But he seemed to know that and moved to suck and lick at her plump nether lips. She could feel how wet she was, how swollen the folds of her pussy were. Sorran caressed her hip with one hand while continuing to play with her nipple and breast with the other. And his kiss. His kiss was pure bliss.
Drew finally nudged her thighs apart and Sorran helped him by catching her knee in the bend of his elbow and holding her wide. Drew spread her lips with his fingers, gathering her spilling juices and coating her in them. Several times he dipped his fingers inside her and then moved them back to her anus, painting the small opening with her own fluid. He lifted his head to Sorran and said something about fire oil and then he dived back to her pussy.
His tongue breached her opening, plundering and fucking her while she bucked toward his face. He strummed her clit now with his thumb, just a gentle brush back and forth and then in a circular motion around it. She was so close to the sweetest release when she felt his tongue replaced by a finger and then two. Firm strokes in and out had her shouting with ecstasy as waves of sheer pleasure coursed through her. His tongue was there again licking softly as she came and his fingers were once again at her anus.
Her thigh was dropped and then she was turned slightly so that she lay partway on her belly. Her buttocks were spread and she felt the slow trickle of something oily being rubbed into her anus and then the invasion of a finger that pushed deeper and higher inside her. A burn began but not the kind of burn that one associated with pain. No this burn was all about hunger and need and suddenly she was thrusting back onto that finger and wanting more.
“What…what…” she tried to breathe the question out but the hunger was too strong, too heavy inside her now.
“It is called fire oil, Alea,” Drew answered her and somehow she knew that it was his finger exploring her flesh back there. “It is an oil that will work with your body, making you writhe and burn for one of your warriors to take you. Right here.” He thrust his fingers deeper inside her ass and gave them a slow turn before pulling them back out.
“Yes,” she cried. Yes to wanting him there. Yes to them being her warriors. Yes to anything that would ease the burning ache building hotter and higher inside her.
Sorran lay beside her and once again she was maneuvered to the position they wanted. This time she was lifted until she sat astride Sorran. He grasped his cock with one hand and held it steady while Drew helped her straddle him and slide her body over it, taking Sorran into her pussy. She kept sliding down his length until she could feel him flush against her, his balls a tight, hot weight against her buttocks. And that only made the burn hotter while doing nothing to satisfy the aches building in her.
“Please,” she cried out, her eyes pleading with Sorran as she bucked against the firm hold on her hips, wanting to slide her body up and down his shaft.
“Soon, little warrior,” he crooned to her and gently eased her forward until she lay on top of him and he could take her mouth with his. His kiss was anything but gentle. He invaded her mouth, consumed and took but gave her everything of himself as well. It was a kiss of lovers, of mates. It was fire that added to the burn already building inside her.
Drew moved into place behind her and she felt Sorran shift his legs and then Drew’s knees were planted just behind hers and she knew that he straddled Sorran as well. Her buttocks were spread wide again and one finger became two as Drew rubbed her flesh, building the fire higher and higher. She screamed and bucked, wanting, needing more.
“Now,” she demanded, the pleading gone from her voice, replaced with the voice of the newly awakened woman she was. “Give it to me now.”
Husky chuckles met her ears and finally she felt the first push of Drew’s swollen cock head against her anus. He leaned into her and nipped her flesh, driving his cock against the tight ring of muscle just inside.
“Take me,” he commanded. “Relax, little warrior, and let me in.”
“Yes,” she gritted out between her teeth and pressed back into him, aiding his entry. They all cried out as Drew thrust deeper, rubbing against Sorran’s shaft as it rested snugly inside her pussy. One more thrust and he was fully embedded. Alea felt heavy tension, a fullness to the point of bursting. But it wasn’t enough. She needed more, needed everything that they could give her to take her back to that euphoric sensation that only came with the explosive orgasms they gave her.
For a moment, one moment that seemed like an eternity, no one moved. It was just the three of them, lost in a treasure of unparalleled delight. No one moved. It felt as if no one even tried to breathe so loathe were any of them to lose the intimacy they now shared. Until finally none of them could stand the stillness. First it was Drew who did a slow withdrawal while Sorran thrust deeper. Then they reversed and it was Drew pumping into her ass while Sorran pulled back from the snug clasp of her pussy. Back and forth they went while she tried to stay sane between them.
Harder and faster the rhythm grew until it seemed they both filled her as one and retreated as one. Harder and faster they stroked her flesh, building the flames higher and higher until she was afraid that her very skin would catch and burn. Sorran latched onto a nipple while Drew pulled her up against him and nipped and sucked at her neck and
shoulder. Both of her mates bit down at the same time, just a sharp nip of teeth against flesh. Neither one hard enough to break the skin, but just enough to send her tumbling into one orgasm after another. They coursed through her, leaving her arms and legs trembling, her head heavy on her shoulders.
First Drew cried out and she felt the wash of his seed as it spurted again and again into her ass. Then it was Sorran who filled her, his fiery heat pulsing into her as he found his own release. They collapsed together though her men managed to turn them so that once again she was sheltered between them. Sorran was no longer inside her but Drew had somehow managed to keep his softening shaft just in her anus. She had never felt so relaxed in her life, not even after the previous night of loving they had shared.
Sorran’s mouth nudged closer to hers but this time he didn’t try to kiss her.
“What are you doing?” she queried though she enjoyed the fan of his breath against hers.
“Breathing your air, little warrior. Just breathing your air.”
* * * * *
“For me? For me!” Asme could barely force the obscene words past her lips. “What could have ever made you think that I would wish for the death of one of my mates?”
Still he didn’t turn to her. Still he kept his back to her as if the shame were too great. And it should be. His shame should rival her anger.
“Answer me, damn you!” she demanded of him. “Why did you kill Micah, Prince of the Isle of Altair, our mate…your brother?”
Godar finally turned and his eyes were so bright with hatred that Asme found herself stumbling back. But what shocked her even more was when she realized she was no longer hearing his voice in her head but with her ears.
“For you. For us.” His face was that of a stranger.
“You lie. You murder and seek to share lies with me. You speak when before you couldn’t?” She sneered the question at him. “Why the sudden change, Godar? Were the lies and deceptions worth where we now are?”