Power of Three

by Jenna Castille

Janice gave him one of her brightest smiles. “Yes, I really think it is. He needs a keeper.”

  “I think he is a keeper.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Thank God I’m the one who can feel emotions. I’d hate for either of the guys to realize just how scared I am to talk to Ryuu. He turned to them, the hopeful look on his face almost puppyish. Janice put her hand over her stomach as it clenched in response. Their presence seemed to fill him with a giddy expectation. She wasn’t sure how she felt about being responsible for such a reaction in someone she barely knew.

  Thankfully, Eric stayed his take-charge self. He stepped around her to meet the other man head-on. “Ryuu, we’ve talked things over. We’ll do the ritual with you.”

  Ryuu’s hopeful look dimmed a bit but he forced a smile to punctuate his short bow. “Thank you very much. My city will be grateful for your aid in this matter. You will not regret helping me.”

  The underlying pain in his answer pulled at Janice’s heart. Damn, why are all the emotions so much stronger now? Is it really Eric’s fault? She stepped forward and touched Ryuu’s cheek. He pushed into the caress for a split second before pulling away. Janice moved closer. “We’re willing to discuss everything else with you later,” she assured him, reaching out with her emotions to convince him of her sincerity. “You’ve gotta consider that you dropped a hell of a lot on the two of us. The ritual is time sensitive and has to be handled now. But don’t give up hope on the two of us outside of this craziness. We just need a chance to work through it.”

  “But you will work through this with me?” His lips trembled slightly beneath his weak smile.

  His fear was so apparent even Eric sensed it. He put an arm around the slighter man, cuddling him into his side. A smirk teased Janice’s lips as she sensed the quick stab of Ryuu’s arousal at the contact. Eric didn’t seem to notice. “We’ll give it a go, the three of us. But you’ll have to bear with us on the whole relationship thing. We’ve had nine months, just the two of us, and we’re still working things out. So you’re gonna have to deal with Janice dragging her feet. The woman can’t make a firm decision to save her life.”

  “Me? Just me?” she asked, hands on her hips and foot tapping. “Yeah, I’ve been the one taking her time lately but it took you three months to ask me out in the first place. And let’s not even talk about how long it took you to sleep with me.”

  Snuggling Ryuu closer, Eric defended himself. “Hey, you can’t blame me. I didn’t want to be rebound boy.”

  Janice chuckled. She took the opportunity to move in on Ryuu’s other side. She placed a hand on Eric’s shoulder and gave Ryuu a quick wink. “I can’t see him staying anyone’s rebound. And he’s nobody’s boy.”

  A sly smile slid across Ryuu’s face. He leaned back against Eric’s arm and patted his chest. “I don’t know. I think having him be the boy every once in a while might be fun.” He gave Eric a hot glance beneath lowered lids. “You’d be my boy, wouldn’t you?”

  Janice snickered as a blush rose all the way to Eric’s hairline. “Ohh, I wouldn’t have guessed the idea had such appeal.” She laced her fingers with Ryuu’s and rubbed both of their hands across Eric’s chest. “We’ll have to keep that in mind, eh, Ryuu?”

  “Definitely.”

  “Cut it out, you two,” Eric growled but he didn’t brush off their hands. “We need to decide on when to do the ritual.”

  Ryuu ducked out from under Eric’s arm to face the two of them. “There’s no decision. We do it now. There is no time for delay.”

  “Don’t you have to set things up or something?” Janice asked, puzzled. Surely a save-the-world kind of spell took time to put together. “You can just jump right in like this?”

  “You think I don’t have everything ready?” he asked in return. “It’ll take only a few minutes for me to set up the bedroom. I’ve been waiting for months, years. I just needed you two to get off your asses.”

  “Oh, so you’re a take-charge kinda guy.” She looked back at Eric, considering. “He’s like that too. Guess we’ll have some butting heads over who’s in charge in this relationship.”

  Ryuu eyed her, his gaze filled with a tempting, dark knowledge. “Not really. I can go both ways. And, if memory serves and things haven’t changed, so can Eric. Not to mention we all know who’s really in charge around here.”

  Intrigued, Janice asked, “Who?”

  Eric stepped behind her and wrapped her in his arms. His warmth surrounded her. His breath sent shivers down her spine as he whispered in her ear, “You, of course.”

  “Mmm,” she purred, leaning into him. “I like the sound of that.”

  “Just realize, for the ritual certain…positions are set,” Ryuu warned as he watched the two of them with hooded eyes. “We’ll have to save our fun for later, now that there’ll be a later.”

  “Just gotta get in a couple more jabs, huh?” Eric tossed at Ryuu’s retreating back.

  “After all the waiting you’ve put me through?” he replied without turning. “Hell yes.”

  After their past and future lover stepped out of the room, Janice turned in Eric’s arms. “He’s going to be a hard one to handle.”

  Eric shook. Just as she wondered what was wrong, she heard him starting to snicker. Do men never really grow up? I swear their sense of humor stops maturing in middle school. She rolled her eyes and shoved at his shoulder. “Dumbass. Get your mind outta the gutter.”

  His snickers turned into a full-belly laugh as Eric hugged her tightly. It took him a moment to catch his breath but he held her close the entire time. “You’ve gotta be kidding. We’re about to participate in a mystical threesome. You walked in on me fucking another guy and didn’t run for the door. And you’ve finally told me you want to stay with me but you want to try having Ryuu join us. How the hell am I supposed to keep my mind anywhere but the gutter? Every time I climb out, something pops up to shove me back in.”

  This time Janice snickered. “What?” Eric asked.

  “Damn you. Now you’ve got me doing it. ‘Pops up’ and ‘shove back in’.” She touched a lock of hair hanging around his face, running it through her fingers. “We’ve so got to get laid.”

  “And you’re so not fooling me with that sex maniac talk. Don’t think I don’t realize that’s your favorite cover.” He took her hand, placed a kiss on her palm and held it to his heart. “I’ve got your number. You talk a big game but that’s all it is. So how about you tell me what you’re really thinking?”

  Janice stood still, curling her fingers in his shirt as she separated her thoughts from her feelings as well as Eric’s and Ryuu’s lingering emotions. What was she thinking, really? “I’m wondering if I’m insane for believing any of this,” she answered. “I’m wondering if I should’ve listened to Lisa and Tim. I wonder if I’m doing the right thing.”

  “So what?” Eric asked, honestly puzzled. “The way I figure, as long as you’re okay with it, we’ve got nothing to lose. So how about we just trust each other? We can handle anything that comes along so long as we’re together on it.”

  Janice rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes. Too much, she just had too much to deal with. She needed his support but it was so hard asking for it. “Trust. That’s not an easy thing for me.”

  “But it’s something you’re going to have to deal with if this is going to work,” Ryuu added from where he leaned against the doorway. “Everything is ready. All we need is the two of you.”

  Showtime, she thought as her throat tightened. She gripped Eric tighter. Insane. But at least I won’t be insane alone. And the guys are hot and they care about me.

  She took Eric’s hand and followed Ryuu into the other room.

  The only furniture was the bed and a single dresser with a set of samurai swords displayed. The Spartan furnishings kept the focus on the bed.

  Like the beds in both their rooms, Ryuu’s monstrosity sat low to the floor. But that was where the similarities ended. Large en
ough to fit six people comfortably, with black satin sheets that invited touch, it screamed decadence. Round, square and even triangular gold and red throw pillows littered the surface, giving Janice’s imagination a little boost. Oh the different positions possible with that many pillows to help a person, or two, brace themselves…

  Giant floor candles flickered throughout the room, the dim lighting bringing out all the senses. Light, scented incense burned in little brass containers at all four corners of the room. She feared the new age ambience would make her feel silly. Instead the sensuality drew her in.

  “So what do we do now?” Janice asked, eyeing the bed suspiciously.

  Ryuu stepped back from the two of them, giving them plenty of space. “Take a moment for yourselves while I start the ritual. After that, Janice has most of the responsibility.”

  “Me?” Janice squeaked.

  “Yes,” Ryuu replied between snickers. “As the Empath, you need to draw out Eric’s emotions and your own, looping them between you. Once I’ve completed my part I join the loop.”

  “Sounds easy enough,” Eric said, putting his arm around Janice’s waist.

  “Yeah, I do all the work. Isn’t that just peachy.” She wiggled out of his hold. “I’ve got two men and I’m still doing most of the work. Eric gets to enjoy himself and I have to keep it together enough to concentrate on using my ‘powers’ in a way I’ve never tried before.”

  “Look at it this way. Eric will be instinctively increasing everything you give him. That’s what a Catalyst does. All that energy that you’re just learning to control goes to him and he has to keep it together long enough for me to join you. That won’t be easy either.”

  Janice crossed her arms against her chest and pouted. “As long as I’m not the only one doing the work.”

  Eric couldn’t let that go. “Oh and you make it sound so horrible. Hot, exotic, mystical sex. Nope, that doesn’t sound like something Janice would like at all.”

  “Oh bite me,” she snarled.

  “Bare it.”

  “Yes, please do,” Ryuu laughed, leaning against the wall. “Since I have to be a spectator for the first part, entertain me.”

  “Anything in particular you wanna see?” Eric reached out to twirl a lock of Janice’s hair.

  “Whatever you want to show me.” Ryuu gave Janice a heated look and winked at Eric. “This is about the two of you to start with.”

  So that was how he wanted to play it. She could do that. She grabbed Eric by the back of the head and she slammed her mouth across his, prying his lips open with her tongue and lapping at the roof of his mouth. She angled their faces to give Ryuu the best view as she deepened the kiss, teasing Eric’s tongue out to play. She licked at the inside of Eric’s mouth, eliciting a deep groan. Finally she took his lower lip between her teeth, tugging before letting go. “Mmm, exhibitionism. I like it,” she whispered, licking her lips and savoring his taste.

  “You hedonist,” Eric taunted once he regained his breath. But he didn’t waste time yanking off his shirt.

  “You know it and love it, I might add,” she replied, making short work of her own black pants and blue silk shirt. She stood with her hands on her hips in her lacy black bra and tap pants, watching Eric watch her. The heat of his gaze warmed her skin and, for a moment, it was just the two of them.

  “Damn, sweetheart. You take my breath away.” His arousal filled the room and sending an answering surge through her.

  Janice was tempted to compare Eric’s reaction to her with Ryuu’s effect on him, but shoved the thought from her mind. It wasn’t a competition. This was about team effort. But the thought brought Ryuu back to the forefront of her mind. She noticed he seemed strangely quiet. She looked over her shoulder. He stood stock-still, eyes alone moving as they raked her body from the tips of her toes to the crown of her head. She reached out to feel his emotions, his desire, slamming into her. She gasped and stumbled back a step.

  Ryuu shook himself and gave her a sheepish grin. “You can’t blame me. This is my first time seeing you in a lifetime. And I still have to wait for my turn.”

  Janice grinned at Ryuu as she stepped closer to Eric. She wrapped her arms around Eric’s bare torso, rubbing her partially clothed body against him before tangling her fingers in his hair and bringing his face down for another deep, wet kiss. When their lips parted she cast a coy glance at Ryuu. “Shouldn’t you get with the chanting? I mean, you can’t join us until then, right? If you want your chance with me, you need to get with the program.”

  Ryuu snorted, rolling his eyes. “I wish,” he muttered. “I’m not getting a piece of you until later.”

  “Why not?”

  “You’ll understand soon enough,” he replied, but his eyes sparkled as he watched Eric wrap his arms around her and unhook her bra. She let the cloth fall to her feet.

  Eric cupped her chin, bringing her mouth back to his. “I know you want to make sure Ryuu feels included but you better not forget about me,” he whispered against her lips.

  “As if I ever could.”

  Eric whipped off her tap pants so quickly she was left blinking. He swept her into his arms, carrying her to the bed. He carefully lowered her, her skin gliding against the black satin. Mmm. She wiggled slightly, enjoying the way the cloth both slipped across and clung to her body.

  She heard the soft thump of clothes hitting carpet and sat up to watch a nude Eric stalk toward the bed. She’d never thought of a naked man as being beautiful. Hot, yes. Arousing, definitely. But not beautiful. But there was something beautiful about Eric, something that pulled at a piece of her soul the way a great work of art did.

  Love. It had to be love.

  She reached out for him as he crawled forward. He grimaced.

  “What?” she asked, indignant. I’m laying here naked and reaching for him and he grimaces?

  “This stuff looks great but how am I supposed to concentrate on making love to you when I’m too busy trying not to slide off the damn bed?”

  Eric slid, barely catching himself before crashing on her. Janice snickered. “I’m sure you’ll think of something. Just go with the flow.”

  “That’s what I’m trying to avoid,” he grumbled, struggling back up to his hands and knees, “flowing right to the floor.”

  Janice’s eyes narrowed as an evil little thought occurred to her. She shoved his chest, flipping him to his back. “Just shut up.” She licked at the strong muscles at the side of his neck before giving the column a quick nip. He groaned. “If it’s too hard for you, just lay back and enjoy for a bit.”

  He closed his eyes with a growl as she started a slow exploration. She knew his body as well as she did her own. She knew how his nipples would draw tight when she licked them then blew gently. She knew how he would groan when she kissed and sucked the inside of his elbow. She knew each sound he would utter, every twist and twitch of his body beneath her.

  But she adored watching his reactions unfold again under her direction, like a perfect piece of music.

  His body went taut with anticipation as she nibbled on his lower abs. She smirked as his cock pulsed, nudging her chin for attention. “My, my,” she said, taking him in hand and wiping the precum from the tip, “we’re impatient.”

  A groan and an arch of his back were his only replies. As she wrapped her mouth around the head, she reached out with her powers as Tim had described to her and felt for Eric’s emotion.

  His feelings, flaming hot and needy, slammed into her. If she hadn’t had her mouth on him already she’d have screamed under the onslaught. As it was, she fought not to put up her walls and to remember to breathe.

  As his desire filled her, her own increased tenfold. Her body tightened, her skin tingling. She felt her face flush as her cunt tightened and grew wet. She let the power of it roll through her as she took his cock deep in her mouth. God, it was a high like no other. She felt so close to him. How could she not trust in something so strong, so powerful? This emotion, solid and str
ong, would never change.

  Moving the wave back and forth, she savored the increase in power and the taste of his flesh until she heard Eric whimpering. She kept the path between them open but stopped actively increasing the power. No telling how long this had to last and if she kept it up, he would pop at any moment.

  She pulled her mind back to the physical realm, distancing herself carefully so as not to break the tie that bound them together. She stopped when she still felt his desire as a warm heat embracing her but when it no longer held the previous desperation. He was there with her, but not on the verge of losing control.

  She turned her attention back to his cock, tracing the underside of the head with the tip of her tongue, relishing his moan of pleasure. She held the base with one hand and took him deep again, humming as he slid down her throat.

  His hands fell to her head, fingers gripping her hair. “Yeah, just like that,” Eric groaned, thrusting up with his pelvis.

  She swallowed to take him a bit deeper.

  “Stop, stop. Wanna fuck you. Don’t wanna come yet.”

  Janice pulled back, savoring that hint of desperation coloring his desire. All this time, she’d had this power and never suspected she could use it like this. Was she stupid or something? She should’ve experimented more.

  She must have taken too long for Eric’s taste. He growled and grabbed her by her shoulders, dragging her up his body at the same time as he flipped over. “My turn.”

  Janice let her hands drop beside her head, giving him what he wanted. Her head fell to the side as he raked his teeth down her neck, one of her favorite hot spots. The pressure, just this side of pain, sent shockwaves down her body. Before her eyes could flutter closed she saw Ryuu standing by the bed. He chanted softly but his eyes were locked on the two of them, hot and hungry.

  She grinned. But Eric didn’t let her attention stray for long. Taking her breasts in both hands, he nipped at one then laved it with his tongue. She whined under the gentle attack. Her nipples were extremely sensitive and he knew it. He flicked one with his finger while he suckled the other, drawing it deeper and deeper into his warm mouth.