Immortally Theirs [Legends & Myths] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)
Page 11
Her hand went to her pocket and she breathed a sigh of relief. The water bottle was still tucked deep inside her pocket. She took off running across the empty parking lot as fast as she could. The slamming of a car door sounded behind her. She didn’t have much time, but she knew where she was going. She prayed Christian and Stefan were on their way. She needed them to take care of Mark before he had time to leave.
She didn’t bother following the path, but raced across the middle of the lawn and through the shrubbery beds, disturbing the resident peacocks as she ran. She thought she could hear heavy footfalls behind her, but she didn’t dare look back for fear it would slow her down or she’d trip. Her leg ached horribly and she could feel blood oozing down her arms and legs, but she could see her destination. She closed the remaining distance and raced through the archway into the grotto of the legendary fountain.
She spun toward the door, certain now that she could hear Mark’s footsteps as he chased her. She pulled the bottle out of her pocket and fumbled with the lid, trying to get it open. Dammit, why had she screwed the lid on so tight?
“Hello, Claire.” She jumped as Mark walked into the grotto, his voice as calm as death.
The lid finally came off the bottle and she raised it with a shaking hand as Mark approached her. Just as she pressed her lips to the bottle, Mark swung his arm and hit her across her face. The open bottle flew out of her hand and landed on the ground a few yards away. Despite the pain exploding in her face, she dove for the bottle, her one consuming thought to reach it.
Mark kicked his leg out and landed a blow in the middle of her right thigh. She heard the snap and cried out in pain, knowing Mark had broken the bone that had never healed well since the last time he’d broken it. She crumpled to the ground, but her focus never left the bottle that had rolled into a dark corner, spilling its precious contents across the dusty ground. She didn’t even know if there was any water left in it. She just knew she had to get to it, that without it she would never see Christian and Stefan again. She dragged her useless leg and crawled across the ground. She got to within a few inches of the bottle and stretched out to reach for it, but Mark grabbed the ankle of her injured leg and yanked it. She fought through the blinding pain and her fingernails raked the ground as she tried to claw her way to the bottle. Bloody trails from her fingertips left marks as she was dragged back.
Claire screamed, no longer able to contain the excruciating pain tearing through her thigh. Mark flipped her over onto her back and sat down on her torso, his legs straddling her.
“You stupid, stupid bitch.” He leered her, his voice still calm. “Did you really think you could run from me? Did you actually think I wouldn’t find you?”
She shook her head. “No, I knew you’d find me.”
He cocked his head. “Then why run?”
She needed to keep him talking. The longer he talked, the more likely it would be that Christian and Stefan would get here before Mark left. Even if they couldn’t save her, they would have the satisfaction of killing him.
“I just wanted to get away from you for a while. To do something fun and daring.”
“Is that what you were doing with the man on the sidewalk you were mauling earlier?” Mark gripped her left arm and put his weight on it, sending searing pain through her old injury. “Did you find the excitement you were looking for?”
She grinned in spite of her pain. Mark had shown the calmness of a paid assassin up until now. But Claire knew her next words would drive him into a murderous rage. And they might be the last words she would ever speak. “I found more than that. I met two incredible brothers. And I had the most amazing sex with both of them at the same time.”
Mark’s face contorted with anger and Claire knew her words had hit their target. “You slut! You know I’m just going to kill them next, don’t you?”
His fist struck the right side of her face and she heard, more than felt, the crunch of bone. Hands wrapped around her throat and squeezed. She tore and scratched at Mark’s hands, but they didn’t budge. He just squeezed harder. She couldn’t breathe. She gagged, but the sound that escaped her was weak and pitiful. She felt a final crushing pressure against her throat and then her vision blurred.
She thought she heard footsteps and then felt Mark’s weight lifted off her. She clawed her hand into the ground, wanting to get back to the bottle. It was her last thought as darkness finally consumed her.
Chapter Twenty-One
Claire could see light behind her closed eyelids and she felt a soft breeze against her face. Something soft formed the place where she currently rested. She felt wonderful. For the first time in a long time, her arm and leg didn’t ache. In fact, she felt no pain at all.
She didn’t dare open her eyes, though, afraid of what she would see. She remembered the crushing pain against her throat and the suffocating lack of oxygen. She knew she had died. She must have crossed into the otherworld. Something about that didn’t make sense, though.
Since a light reaper had never shown up, she knew Atticus would have taken her soul to his master. But Claire couldn’t imagine that the master of a being known as a dark reaper would treat his captured souls to as much comfort as she currently felt. Maybe a light reaper had shown up after all, swooping in at the last minute to take her to a better place. She worked up the courage to open her eyes. Her vision was a little blurry as her eyes adjusted to the bright light, but she sighed in relief. Yes, a light reaper must have come, because two blond-haired angels looked down at her.
One of the beautiful beings shook his head at her. “You are in so much trouble.”
The other angel leaned in. “Deep, deep trouble.”
Confusion swept over her. Why would she be in trouble with two angels? She raised herself up on her elbows and blinked. Two sets of golden-honey eyes looked back at her. She looked around. This wasn’t Heaven, it was Christian’s bedroom. She looked back at the two angels. No, these weren’t angels grinning back at her. They were men. And they were both naked. Very, very naked. Okay, so maybe this was Heaven, after all.
“I didn’t die?”
Christian arched one eyebrow. “Oh no, you died, all right.”
Stefan narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, you were a mess.”
She crinkled her forehead, trying to remember. “But, the water bottle…”
“It had just enough water left in it to resurrect you.” Stefan rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Your bloody claw marks led us straight to it.”
Claire tried to remember details from the grotto. “Mark?”
“Dead.” Christian’s lips turned up in a malicious grin. “Very dead. Atticus got a soul, after all.”
Claire’s mouth fell open as realization dawned over her. “Then I’m…I’m…”
Christian leaned in close to her and narrowed his eyes. “Immortal. Which means we have lots and lots of time to punish you.”
“Punish me?” Claire’s voice squeaked.
Stefan nodded. “Oh, yes. There will be much punishment. Years, decades…probably centuries of punishment.”
Claire shivered, not entirely sure she would mind the type of punishment these men might dish out. “And when will this punishment start?”
Christian pulled the sheet away from her body and she realized she was as naked as they were. “Immediately.”
“Immediately?”
Stefan’s fingertips brushed a path up her thigh. “The sooner the better.” His fingers didn’t stop at the top of her thigh. He kept going, his fingers parting her soft curls and raking through her wet folds. One finger pushed into her pussy and then he pulled it out. He put the wet finger in his mouth and sucked off her juices. Her muscles clenched and she felt her cream flow as she watched him.
“Mmm, delicious.” His fingers resumed their exploration. He found her clit and lightly skimmed his fingertips over it. Claire fell back on her pillow and lifted her hips up to him, wanting to grind into his hand.
“Oh, no you don’t.�
�� Christian’s strong hand pressed down on her and pinned her hips to the bed. “Punishment, remember? You don’t get to come until we say you can come.”
Stefan crawled between her legs and hovered above her, supporting his weight on his arms. “But don’t worry, love, we will let you come. Over and over and over.”
He moved his hand back between them and reached for his thick cock. Claire’s breath caught in her throat in anticipation. He dragged his engorged head between her folds and her pussy muscles clenched with need. He pressed his cock against her entrance and she shuddered. He pulled back, not entering her, and rubbed his stiff cock against her sensitive clit. She cried out and tried to wrap her legs around his hips, but Christian held her down.
She reached out, intending to grab Stefan’s shoulders to pull him toward her. Christian seemed to move with lightning speed and he captured her right wrist and then the left. He pinned her hands to the bed above her head and leaned down over her, his piecing gaze searing her with its heat. “You don’t listen very well, my darling. I think more drastic measures are needed.”
He reached over to the nightstand and Claire’s eyes widened as he picked up what appeared to be silken ropes. Her breathing came hard and fast as he fastened the ropes to each thick bedpost and then slipped the looped ends over her wrists and ankles.
In spite of the years Claire had spent as Mark’s captive, this form of captivity didn’t scare her. In fact, it increased the desire flowing through her. She knew she could escape the bonds if she wanted to. She didn’t want to, though. Her chest heaved under the brother’s heated stares as she was stretched out for them. They took in all of her, their intense gazes raking over her body and making her pussy cream in anticipation of what was to come.
Stefan pressed his cock against her entrance again and slid his head inside, but then he pulled it back out and teased her sensitive lower lips with it. He rubbed it over her clit and she almost came undone, but he pulled back again. Claire cried out in frustration and gripped the ropes binding her to the bed.
Christian leaned down over her and his penetrating stare bore into her. “Are you ever going to scare us like that again?”
She shook her head, just needing them to get on with it and give her what she so desperately wanted.
“I didn’t hear you, baby.” Christian’s gaze didn’t waver.
“No, I won’t.” Her breath came in gasps and her body quivered from head to toe.
Christian kept his eyes focused on hers. “I don’t know, brother. What do you think? Enough punishment for now?”
Stefan rubbed his swollen head against her clit again. She couldn’t take it anymore. She threw her head back and cried out, her arms and legs straining against the bindings.
“I think we should let her off the hook. For now.” Stefan ground his pelvis against her. “But leave the ropes. I like her like this.”
Claire cried out with a mixture of joy and relief as Stefan finally slid his hard cock inside her. He moved with infuriating slowness at first, sliding all the way into her before pulling almost all the way out. Christian closed the distance between them and possessed her lips with his. Stefan increased his pace, thrusting his cock into her again and again, harder and harder each time. Flesh slapped against flesh and tongues dueled and danced.
Christian reached his hand between her body and Stefan’s and found her clit. He stroked the sensitive bundle of nerves while his tongue thrust into her mouth and Stefan slammed into her. Being bound, prevented from touching them while they worked her body into a frenzy, was too much. Stefan withdrew again and then reversed course, hitting home at the same time Christian rolled her clit between his fingers.
Claire’s body and her world came undone. She screamed into Christian’s mouth, his lips still firmly pressed to hers as his tongue slid against hers. Her muscles clamped down and Stefan cried out his release as his cock jerked and spurted inside her. Christian continued to stroke her clit and she tumbled over the cliff again and again, her body convulsing in wave after wave of pleasure.
As her body finally spiraled down from her numerous orgasms, Christian released her lips and pulled back. A mischievous glint shone in his eyes. “So, about that promise you made to take our last name.”
Claire’s eyes widened and panic gripped her. “You haven’t changed your mind, have you?”
Stefan scoffed. His cock was still buried inside her and it jerked. “Not a chance, love. You made sure you became immortal. Now you’re stuck with us forever.”
Christian released her bindings and then propped himself up on his elbow at her side. She wanted to wrap her arms around both men, but her limbs seemed to have turned to mush. Christian drew a circle around one of her nipples with his fingertip and her skin erupted in tiny bumps. “We just thought a nice little ceremony might be appropriate. Maybe something in the courtyard.”
Stefan winked at her. “Right in front of the fountain.”
Claire grinned. She wondered what all those visitors over at the Fountain of Youth Archeological Park would think if they knew the real fountain of youth was located in a private little courtyard in the middle of the Historic District. The idea of taking Christian’s and Stefan’s family name in front of the unassuming fountain sounded perfect.
She sunk into their embrace and let the rhythm of their breathing lull her into relaxed bliss. Her body had never felt so good, so strong and ache-free. And it felt so right to be with both of these men. She smiled as the truth of what she had become settled over her. She was immortal. And she was theirs. Soon she would share their name, as well.
Her forehead crinkled as a question occurred to her. “De la Fuente. What does it mean?”
Christian chuckled and nuzzled her ear. “It means of the fountain.”
Claire laughed, the coincidence too perfect. “Of course it does.”
The three of them rolled on the bed, laughing as the sound of life-giving waters that bubbled in the courtyard below drifted up through the open doors.
Epilogue
Two Months Later
Christian rounded the corner and came to a stop. He’d walked the corridor leading to his bedroom every day, the room he now shared with Claire and even Stefan on most nights, although both he and his brother also liked to steal her for some one-on-one time occasionally. But today felt different. The electrician had finished installing the special lighting Claire had requested and the soft light highlighted specific aspects of the mural she had spent so much time painting over the last couple of months. She had also removed the heavy draperies that had obscured the windows and now sunlight streamed in, brightening the corridor and reflecting off the kaleidoscope of colors adorning the walls.
The mural had started out much smaller, with the Poinciana tree gracing the wall and ceiling above the bedroom door and the courtyard fountain depicted next to it. But Claire hadn’t been satisfied with that. She had extended the mural along both walls leading down the corridor until there was no space left unadorned. The effect was stunning.
The entire corridor now resembled the courtyard that could be seen from the windows lining this hallway. The wall with the windows had been painted to resemble the front of the casa, its weathered coquina walls and dark wood accents rising regally to the ceiling. Along the opposite wall, Claire had painted a row of orange trees, their white blossoms shining in the sunlight. Beneath their canopies was the rendering of the new fire pit and benches Claire had insisted they install in order to sit outside and enjoy the garden once the weather turned cooler. Tropical plants had been painted all along both walls, just as the actual plants filled the garden downstairs. Claire had spent hours in the garden, adding to the many colorful plants that had been growing there for years, until the entire space bloomed with color and fragrance.
Christian smiled as he thought of how easily Claire had adjusted to her life here at the casa and to her immortality. She was a force to be reckoned with, no longer timid and unsure of herself. The scope of this mu
ral was a reflection of the way she had embraced her new existence. He had tried to be angry at her for taking such drastic measures to ensure her immortality, but his happiness at knowing Claire would be with him forever had won out. The mural she had painted had brought life and beauty into this corridor, but she had brought life and beauty back to his heart.
Claire stood at the other end of the corridor with her back to him. Christian walked toward her and then rested his hands on her shoulders. “It’s finished?”
Claire shook her head and then turned her head to him with a smile that never ceased to light up his world. “Almost.”
Claire bent to pick up a paintbrush, the smallest one in her collection, and dipped it in the dark-gray paint sitting next to her brushes. She knelt and leaned toward the wall where the fountain was painted, obscuring Christian’s view while she worked. After a few minutes, she stood back up and turned to him, a smile playing across her lips and a sparkle in her eyes. “Now it’s finished.”
Christian leaned down to get a closer look at the changes she had made. She had painted a small heart onto the fountain containing the initials C. C. S. Christian looked up at her and smiled. “Christian, Claire, and Stefan.”
Claire nodded and Christian turned back to the painting again. In the bottom corner of the fountain, the artist’s name had been added. Claire de la Fuente. Heat flared in Christian’s heart and flooded through his veins. If he lived to be a million years old, he would never tire of seeing his name attached to Claire’s.
He stood up and turned to Claire, pulling her into his arms. “Thank you.”
Her eyebrows pulled together. “For what?”
Christian rested his forehead against hers. “For this. For the life you brought here. For bringing Stefan and I back together. For giving me a reason to exist. For being my wife. For all of it.”