A Lover's Worth (Spawn of Darkness Book 3)

by S. A. Parker

  Sol shakes his head. “You have a choice, now and forever. Nothing is forcing you to love us.” He clears his throat and shuffles from one foot to the other, and folds his arms over his chest.

  “Well … good.” Catastrophe averted. I feel bad for yelling at Drake now, though that golden tether’s holding strong, overlooking my crazy hormonal uterus like a champ. “Go sit down. I came here for a sex talk and we’re going to have a fucking sex talk.” I point to Sol’s little stone stool, and to my surprise, he obliges.

  I pan my vision around my four Sun Gods and draw a deep breath. This is going to be interesting. My vagina’s urging me on, chanting for me to lock the bastards down and rein their godly penises in for her personal pleasure only … though I think it’s important to remind the bitch that she’s incredibly outnumbered and will probably have to share their cocks with my pucker, hand, and mouth if this is ever going to work. Logically thinking.

  Aero closes his eyes and breathes through flared nostrils, fists clenching.

  Oops. “Sorry, Aero …”

  He draws a deep breath and opens his eyes, the remnants of darkness absorbing back into his pupils. “I’m fine.”

  He doesn’t look like he’s fine.

  “Okay, so there’s one of me, four of you. Drake said you’re all okay with this idea, so I’m just going to jump right in and talk about it. How’s this going to work?”

  They look between each other, then back at me, their expressions really fucking blank. Except Aero, who still looks like he’s in pain. I hope I haven’t misjudged this entire situation … how awkward would that be?

  “We’ve never shared one woman between all four of us, Dell. We’re just as much in the dark as you are.”

  “Thank you, Kal, for clarifying that for me. You get a gold vagina star.”

  He smiles, straightens his shoulders and eyes off the others, looking very fucking pleased with himself.

  “Okay, so who’s shared before?” I deadpan, because I’m leading this congregation like a badass.

  They do a group cringe.

  “News flash, boys. I’m proposing a harem … better get used to this shit.” At least Aero no longer looks like he’s battling an aneurism. However, he now looks like he’s trying to fuse with his tiny stool.

  “What’s your problem?”

  He shakes his head, clearing his throat while straightening. “Dell, we probably shouldn’t talk about this in your … state.”

  He’s talking about my hormonal uterus, and that just makes me really fucking angry. Even my beast has cracked an eye open. I let her loose for a second, leaning our fists onto the table and eyeing the fucker off. “Do you really want to go there, Aero?”

  He puts his hands up in submission, probably worried we’ll chew his cock off. My beast is very fucking proud of herself when I rein the bitch back in.

  “Sol and I have shared a number of times,” he blurts out, really fucking quickly.

  Maybe it’s not so bad being in heat, after all? My men are so busy tiptoeing around my spurting hormones that I bet I can get almost anything out of them. “Number of times?”

  He shrugs, mumbling something I can’t hear.

  “Pardon?”

  He clears his throat and offers me a sheepish smile. “Few thousand, give or take.”

  I choke down my next breath.

  Fucking Dawn and Day babies, that’s a bit excessive. No wonder he was trying to become one with his seat.

  I’m just standing here, staring at him, trying to absorb that not-so-little piece of information. I add a few thousand to that number because he’s probably underestimating significantly to save my hormonal shock.

  I glance at Sol, who’s smirking. He’s obviously proud of his shared cock mileage.

  Bastard.

  Kal puts his hand up like the teacher’s fucking pet. “While we’re at it, Aero and I have shared before, too.” He’s trying to catch a piggy back ride on that tidal wave of God sex I just absorbed. “Nowhere near that much though,” he hurries to add, grinning like he’s just become my favourite.

  “I see.” Fucking hell, these Gods.

  Seems Aero’s quite the exhibitionist.

  There’s a flash and Aero’s all up behind me, kissing down my neck, running a finger over the upper edge of my left wing, and taking complete advantage of my stunned fucking vigour. I groan, leaning my head back, exposing my neck to him.

  He grabs at the waist strap of my chastity belt and tugs my arse back into his crotch. I gasp at the firmness of his cock pressing against me, teasing my fervent uterus who forces me to grind against him.

  He laughs, running his canines along the skin of my neck. “Don’t be so shocked, baby. Seems you rather enjoy it, too.”

  “Stop talking,” I moan, fumbling for the key to my womb. “Fold me over the table and fuck me …”

  My randy uterus made me say it.

  He growls in my ear, sending tingles all the way to my toes.

  I’m vaguely aware of Sol standing. “Dawn, I’m about to shift you back to your fucking seat, mate.”

  Aero laughs against my throat, giving my hips another firm tug. “Don’t pretend like you’re not enjoying the show, Sol.” He flashes back to his tiny stool, leaving me all hot and fucking heady.

  Cheeks searing, heart racing, I clear my throat and drop the key back between my breasts, trying to compose myself as my uterus comes to terms with the fact that she’s not about to be coated in Dawn jizz.

  Aero smirks at the other three, paying particular attention to Drake as his eyes start their slow fade back to the safe, molten amber—proving he’s got more sense of control than we all thought.

  “Been practising?” Kal asks.

  Aero shrugs. “I’ve had to get used to the fucker lately. So yeah, I guess you can say that.”

  Kal nods, looking impressed.

  I scrunch up my nose, wishing I didn’t tear half my dress off in a fit of dramatic rage. There’s nothing to keep the scent of all my fertile juices at bay. Now that the tap’s been turned on down there, even I’m turned on by the smell of myself.

  Aero laughs and I huff out a sigh.

  “So, no sex when I’m in heat, okay? Not yet, anyway. I’m probably a few decades away from the ‘children’ thing.” I look at Drake, who’s pouting. “Sorry ...”

  He shrugs. “I’ve waited millennia to find a woman my beast approved of, I’m a patient man. At least Sap will be out of her teenage phase by then. I can’t imagine those years are going to be easy.”

  Smiling, I throw him a wink. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you through it.” Then I catch myself, realising I sound like a grade A God stalker. “As long as I haven’t gotten sick of your penis and moved to the East, of course.”

  Drake blinks rapidly at me, and I ignore my urge to lick his chin dimple ... with my vagina.

  I look at Sol and point to the contingency plan hanging between my boobs. “I’ve got this golden key now, so I won’t be needing a piece of your floor anymore. Yay for you.” I say that … but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a backup plan for my backup plan. It’s good for a girl to feel like she can stand on her own two feet, especially if her harem of Sun Gods decides they’re sick of her and her annoying wings. At least I’ve thrown him off my scent now. If a piece of his floor goes missing, he’ll probably never suspect it was me.

  Sol clears his throat, mumbling something in another language and making the rest of them roll their eyes. I frown. Wish I could talk arsehole. I feel a bit left out.

  “Okay, good talk. Anything anyone would like to add? A ‘team harem’ chant or something? I’m all ears.”

  “Me,” Kal cuts in, his voice sounding hard and serious.

  “You have a chant? Quick work.”

  “No, but I do have something in my pocket I want to share with the table.”

  I really hope he’s talking about his penis.

  “Wait,” I interject, and Kal pauses, hand wrapped around a piece of white par
chment that’s unfortunately not his penis. “How old is this table?”

  Aero shrugs, “As old as us.”

  “And it’s always had six tiny god chairs?”

  They glance at each other, then group answer, “Yes.”

  I do the calculation in my head … my mother, my four Sun Gods, and the King. Six chairs. Except my mother was only pulled from the world four-hundred fucking years ago.

  “Whose chair is that one?” I ask, pointing to the charred one next to Kal’s.

  They stare at it, saying nothing.

  “Hello? Anybody?”

  Kal shakes his head, looking as pale as a fucking ghost and avoiding my eye contact altogether.

  “Dell …”

  Finally.

  I turn to Aero. “Yes?”

  “You’re right, that chair did not belong to your mother.”

  It doesn’t take a genius to work that out, though it’s nice to be validated. “Then who did it belong to? And why the hell is it charred black?”

  He shakes his head, drawing a deep breath laden with emotion, “That’s a story for another time. It’s not an easy one to hear.”

  “Well that’s a fucking cop out. What you really mean is that you don’t think I’ll cope.” I fist my hands, trying to ease my urge to launch across the table and scratch his face in hormonal rage.

  Drake strokes my wings, making them puff out dramatically. The tension in my body dissolves. “We’re telling you it’s hard to talk about, babe. Can you trust us on this, and trust that we’ll tell you when the time’s right?”

  He strokes my wing again, and I slap him away. “Do you actually intend on telling me?”

  He looks disappointed that I asked. “I do, Dell. When the time’s right.”

  Bastard can’t lie. He must be telling me the truth. “Fine. Keep your secrets. I can appreciate your limitations, unlike some people.” I shoot a condescending glare at Sol, who conveniently avoids my eye contact, then gesture to the parchment in Kal’s hand, “What’s that?”

  Kal’s stature loosens, his face softening. “This is the reason I arrived late. A messenger delivered it as I was leaving.”

  He hands it to Sol who skims over it, curses really fucking colourfully, and passes it on.

  “What is it?”

  Drake frowns. “Suspicion. Has anyone seen you with your wings out? Aside from us?”

  “I don’t think so, I’ve been hibernating in your God caves.” I pause, before looking at Kal, eyebrows raised. “Cassian?”

  “He wouldn’t have said anything.” Kal levels me with a predatory glare.

  I guess that’s the end of that line of thought.

  “Actually,” I say, digging deeper into my memory. “When you guys ripped away my happy web and let me free fall from the sky, I did see a flash of red feathers in the clouds. I thought I was imagining things …”

  Sol growls, deep and guttural. “He has to be testing us, trying to weed out the rumour. He probably doesn’t believe it himself, but he knows the prophecy and he’s working it to his advantage.” He slams his hand down on the table and I jolt. “With a warded fucking invite that we can’t avoid.”

  They grunt, nod, mutter amongst themselves while I’m standing here getting really fucking salty. How dare they leave me and my hormonal uterus out of this conversation. I snatch the parchment from Drake’s hand and dash to the water’s edge, four Sun God’s hot on my heels. I turn, throwing them all a steely gaze.

  The parchment is beautiful, flecked with lemongrass. I give it a sniff, noting an odd metallic scent, before reading aloud the words elegantly scripted in black ink.

  ‘You are hereby invited to dine with King Edom Sterling, keeper of balance and ruler of all, at seven clicks past mid sun. Dress to impress and attend in the company of your greatest female pleasure.’

  I look at each of them, picturing my white wings spurting from my back at the most unfortunate moment, and causing each of my Sun Gods to get spit roasted in the worst possible way.

  No. Not happening. “I can’t go to dinner with the fucking King!”

  Okay, I know that’s a bit presumptuous of me, but they do seem to enjoy me and if this thing is warded, then I’m not sure I have a choice in the matter.

  Sol clears his throat, glancing at the others then back at me. “You’re not …”

  “Huh?”

  “First things first,” Kal states, holding up his magic hands. “We need to get those gorgeous fucking wings in.”

  I sense a distraction but smile, mind emptying like a bucket with a very large hole in it. A really fucking fertile hole. I lean forward on the table, splayed wide like a delectable, feathery feast and, ignoring the group groans, close my eyes and settle in for the ride. “Work your magic, big boy!”

  Chapter Ten

  They delivered me to the kitchen in the Day Kingdom, asked Nex to prepare me a feast, then took off into the Bright in a real godly hurry. Apparently it’s already six clicks past noon—time flies when you’re having sex talks with Sun Gods and smoothing over immortal drama.

  Nex is great—he even asked me where I’d like to sit, then had one of the helpers set up a table on an overhanging balcony for me so I could eat while watching dusk snatch the light from day; a brilliant performance best described as looking like someone vomited gold glitter all over the Day Kingdom.

  Stunning.

  What a bonus that my dinner seat also offers me a perfect view of Sol’s main entertaining hall and balcony, directly below and to the right of my perch. Hard to miss my four Sun Gods down there, looking delicious in the metallic God gear I love so much.

  From my vantage point I can see Aero’s gaze darting around, shifting from one foot to the other like he’s nervous.

  Hmmm. What’s going on?

  Four gorgeous High Fae women wander onto the balcony, chatting and giggling like they fucking own the place, drinking pink champagne out of crystal flutes …

  What the twat?

  Hackles rising, insides seething, I glare at them in their corseted gowns fitted to complement their bodies perfectly, showing just the right amount of skin to make them appear sexy without looking like whores. They arch their necks, pushing their breasts out, throwing sultry glances at my Gods—my fucking Gods.

  “Bitches,” I mutter. “I know what you’re up to, trying to catch the attention of my oversized penises.” I pick up a dinner plate, take careful aim …

  Kal flicks a knowing look over his shoulder at Aero, who nods and leaves.

  He’s probably going back inside to collect more women.

  Bastard.

  I get back to my dinner plate dilemma … which one do I aim for? Fuck it, any one will do. I pull my arm back as Aero flashes right beside me and almost makes me shit myself.

  “What the hell, Aero?” I drop the plate and it shatters, causing four gorgeous immortal women to look my way. “Nothing to see here,” I mutter, giving myself a little tap down to make sure I didn’t piss myself either. “That was not kind!”

  He quirks a coy smile. “Sorry. I could hear your pondering and wanted to come and give that hormonal uterus of yours a wee pep talk …”

  I lift a brow. “Oh really?”

  “Mhm. We’ve found a way around the warded invitation, and I don’t want you to feel threatened.”

  “How so?” My voice cracks at the end, but I try to ignore that.

  “We had to get creative. We can’t have those gorgeous wings of yours popping out in front of the King, not when we’re at our weakest and you’re not yet ready to defend yourself.”

  He’s missing the point entirely. Or … perhaps he’s doing that purposefully? “How did you work your way around it, Aero?”

  He clears his throat, looking a little awkward, making my curious nerve arch an eyebrow. “We, ah, worked out we could take a different type of ‘favourite female pleasure’ without going against the grain of the ward.”

  I gesture for him to hurry the fuck up and spit it fuck
ing out. The bastard’s pussyfooting around my question, probably hoping I back down. Surely he knows me better than that by now?

  He sighs. “We’re each taking our favourite blrrrjb.” He mumbles the last word so quietly I can’t fucking hear it.

  “Say what now?”

  He coughs, looks away. “Blrrrjb.” Perspiration is beginning to build on his forehead.

  “What the fucks a blrrrjb?”

  He winces, drawing a deep breath. “Blowjob, Dell. Fucking blowjob, okay? But it’s no big deal, they mean nothing to us now. They’re just a means to keep you safe. We can’t take you, so …”

  Yeah, this time I feel the very moment I close off from him. It’s like a gate shutting around my heart. I’m not sure how I missed it when I did it the first time, probably because I was so riled up. Now, however, my heads clear as fucking crystal—aside from my raging hormones, that is.

  Aero frowns. “Did you just cut me off?”

  I smile ever so sweetly, doing my best to repress my inner hormonal bitch who wants to slice his fucking testicles off. “Mhm. I’m practising. Am I doing well?”

  He nods, scratching his head. “Yeah, can’t hear a thing …”

  “Go me! Now, run along—it’s rude to leave your guests waiting. I’ve got pudding to eat; custard filled sponge roll with a very thick drizzle of clotted cream. Nex is a great cook. Isn’t he?”

  “Fucking Nex,” Aero grunts. “He better not lure you onto his cock with his pudding, or I’ll slash the fucker.”

  Wow. Someone’s got double standards.

  “Anyway, you took that a lot better than I thought. We won’t be long, baby.” He brushes a hand along my cheek and I repress the urge to swipe it away like a psycho bitch.

  I wave at him. “Don’t rush!” Did that sound condescending? I hope not.

  The moment he flashes back to the balcony, I ask one of the helpers waiting at the door to fetch me a small pickaxe and some godly fucking alcohol, because there’s no way I’m staying here tonight while my Sun Gods hang with their favourite blowjobs.

  In fact, I’m picturing my new harem … four really fucking sexy High Fae who sure as hell won’t hang out with their so-called favourite blowjobs without giving me the chance to prove my own blowjob expertise first. I don’t always bite the bastards off.