by Kenna Bardot
I nodded, and went to do just that.
✽✽✽
Cel
It had been just eighteen minutes since I’d left the Infirmary. I’d immediately gone to the gardens for a breath of fresh air as soon as I had left - I needed the air to calm me, clear my thoughts. I’d burst out into my usual nightly run to try and escape any thoughts of Kai, broken and battered, swimming inside my head.
But I knew what I had to do, knew who I had to get.
But I also knew he had the night shift - he’d told me so himself just a week back - so it hadn’t seemed necessary to go to him or send him a message yet but even running in the cold, crisp air could not stop my thoughts from straying towards him, towards how he would feel.
I finally understood what he felt, why he worried all the damn time. I knew, in his place, I would want someone to tell me that something bad had happened to the little Kai.
I stopped mid-run and walked in the opposite direction, heading for the front doors of InkHaven and towards the school gates. When I could be certain no one would follow me, I took my spear out, put it together, and twirled it, allowing the red light to swirl around it before shooting into the sky as fast as I could manage and headed for AirQuarters. The night air sent prickles of pain through my skin. I hadn’t dressed for a night flight, still wearing my dark wash jeans and sage green shirt. I ignored it and pushed myself harder, nothing mattering but getting to Vali.
When I landed in front of his building, my feet were already on the move, hauling the door open and racing up the steps to the third floor. It was a daze, and I had no memory of anything I passed until my hand was beating on his door.
No one answered, I hadn’t really expected there would be as I collapsed in front of the door, slumping against it. I couldn’t go back. Not until I’d seen him and told him what was going on.
✽✽✽
Vali
I flirted with Ambrose, appreciating the way he looked at me - full of lust and enjoyment. I enjoyed him, enjoyed a lot of men and women even as my heart remained stubbornly on Kaia.
I cursed her for it even as I missed her sorely.
“Just wait for me there,” I asked Ambrose near the Airlift on the third floor of my building - my quarters were just a door down, and he didn’t really need to walk me to it. “Unless you want to come in?”
He replied, with a flirty smile, “Maybe after breakfast, sure.”
“Okay, that’s a -” I broke off when I saw the man leaning against my door, snoring quietly.
“Who’s that?” Ambrose asked.
“A friend from InkHaven,” I muttered, as I nudged Cel with the toe of my boot.
His eyes snapped open within seconds and met mine. “What the fuck, Cel?” I asked unceremoniously.
“Must have fallen asleep waiting for you.” He rubbed his eyes as he stood.
I pushed him away and opened the door to the apartment. Without invitation, he stalked in.
“The least you can do after I waited all night is to be less of a rude asshole.”
I glared at him, patience absent. “Look, I told you I had the night shift. You’re the one who fell asleep outside my room like a fucking stalker.” I shrugged out of my soiled uniform top - the reason I had come back to my room before breakfast in the first place - and replaced it with a clean shirt. “Look, I have somewhere I have to be with someone so could we get this over with?”
“What about Kaia?” Cel threw a dirty look at me, and I shrugged.
“She’s said multiple times that she can’t be mine. Am I supposed to be celibate in case she comes to her senses one day? Again, I ask, what the fuck are you doing here?”
Cel just huffed out a laugh and backed further into the hall. “Never mind. I hope you enjoy yourself.”
I followed him out of the room, shutting the door of my room forcefully behind me. I grabbed his wrist. “Shit. Cel, just tell me she’s okay.”
I glanced over towards Ambrose who was still waiting by the lift. He gave me a concerned look.
“Do you care?” Cel snarled at me after throwing a glance towards where my gaze had landed, and I was shocked. He seemed to genuinely care about Kaia. So much so, that there was such undistilled animosity in his eyes for me. When the two of us had been family for the longest time.
“What is wrong with you? Of course I care. What happened that you snuck out and raced here? That you even camped out in front of my door?”
“She fell down the stairs,” Cel finally admitted, a hand gripping my shoulder, tight. “I saw her, Vali, and…”
“Is she okay?” My voice took on an edge of panic as my hands fisted at my side.
He nodded hesitantly, “I took her to the Infirmary with Emerson and there were two Fire Mages working with her. They were there for the Tumult. That was hours ago and I’m sure she’s already healed by this time but-” I hesitated, knowing it would put Vali over the edge and his anger was already barely restrained.
“But what, Cel?” Images of Kaia flew across my mind, especially of her as she’d been as a child, lying at the base of a huge tree like a limp and broken doll.
“For a moment I thought she was dead. That’s how broken she was.”
A part of my brain shut down, and I knew what I had to do. My head snapped towards Ambrose. “Breakfast cancelled. Feed yourself.”
He gave me a startled glance but nodded tightly and walked off. I opened my apartment door and took out my Conduit - my ball and chains.
“Wait, Vali,” Cel protested. “Her guys are all with her. She’s likely fine now.”
“Don’t fucking care,” I snapped out at him and went towards the stairs instead of taking the Airlift. “I’m done waiting. I’m going to my woman, and I’m making her ass mine.”
Cel smirked. “Generally speaking, it’s considered kind to start with other orifices first where women are concerned. Romance and all that.”
I returned the smirk, muttering, “Smart ass.”
“I’m not sure how things went with Pia, but Kaia is-”
“Zeevar, you think Pia takes it up the ass?” I barked a laugh. “That bitch is all about herself. There’s only one hole she gives up frequently, and occasionally she’ll offer her mouth if she wants something from you. But never the ass. If it isn’t about her, she doesn’t do it.”
“Someone should teach her to focus more on her men if she wants to keep them,” Cel suggested, and I glanced at him sardonically.
“You’re welcome to it.”
I twirled the chain, allowing the red light to swirl around the spiked ball at the end before shooting to the sky.
I would make Kaia mine or kill someone - even myself - trying.
Thirteen
Kaia
Ronan helped me towel off my dripping wet hair as I wrapped a second towel around my body. Yelling from the bedroom hit us, the sound of the door crashing as it was thrown open.
“Stay here,” Ronan ordered, hauling open the bathroom door and letting in the sound of Alec Gaius’ stern, take-no-shit voice reprimanding whoever had intruded on my private space.
“Where the fuck is she?!” Vali yelled, and hearing that all too familiar fear in his voice dragged me from my moment of shock. I jolted forward, dropping the towel from my hair and pulling the door open to step through.
“Woman, I told you to wait in the bathroom,” Ronan growled from my side the second I stepped into the bedroom. His menacing gaze drifted over my towel clad body, but I chose to ignore him - holding out a hand as I did - in favor of looking to where Vali was fuming in front of Alec Gaius.
His eyes came to me, and he stepped forward, giving Alec Gaius a shove out of his way. Alec Gaius didn’t back off. He let him pass, but his stance was ready to spring to fight or defend, whichever was necessary. Vali’s eyes roamed over me, darting and looking for injury.
Oh.
He’d heard. Somehow, he’d heard that I’d been injured.
“I’m fine,” I assured him.
I glanced to the other men in the room, feeling predictably uncomfortable having Vali in the room with us.
“I was. Or so I’ve been told.” I shrugged.
Vali dropped his head, running a hand through his disheveled brown hair.
“I can’t do this anymore,” he whispered. My heart paused in my chest at the statement. Even though I’d had no choice but to push Vali away repeatedly, and I’d known the day would come when he finally, officially gave up on me and moved on, I hadn’t ever wanted that day to arrive.
And I never would have suspected he would walk away when I needed him most. When I needed all the men I loved with me. When I was only just starting to put the broken pieces of myself back into some semblance of a person.
“I understand,” I whispered with tears in my eyes, hating how pathetic my voice sounded. Ronan closed in, wrapping arms around my back and stroking my stomach through the towel to soothe me. His face went to the top of my hair, breathing me in and making me love him all over again for the show of support and the reminder that I wasn’t alone – and never would be.
Vali swallowed, watching Ronan’s hands move on me. Instead of the hatred I expected to see on his face, I found he’d tilted his head as though there was something intriguing in what he saw. His face was as shocked as I’m sure mine was, and I knew whatever reaction was floating through that pretty head of his was just as unexpected for him as it was for me.
“I thought I’d lost you again, Little Bird.”
I sighed. “I’m still here, Vali.”
He nodded and turned to Alec Gaius so suddenly, grasping him around the neck and pulling him in for a smoldering kiss. Even ready and braced for a fight, Alec Gaius was taken by surprise by the unexpectedness of the action. Ronan went solid behind me, and Gale straightened to his full height as Alec Gaius raised his hands to shove Vali back a good foot. Emerson watched with wide, curious eyes from the foot of the bed.
I’d never noticed before that the two men were the same height, at just under six-feet tall, because Vali always cut a more formidable figure given his bulkier muscles. The two stood staring at each other for a moment, breathing heavily. The silence was tense as no one moved or spoke when finally Alec Gaius lunged forward and took Vali’s mouth in another kiss.
I froze in place, not daring to hope that what was happening could mean what I wanted it to mean- what I was so desperate for it to mean.
Gale and Emerson both looked to Ronan for guidance, and he bent his head to whisper in my ear. “Is he still something you want, woman?” His words should have sounded cruel, but instead they only made me tremble with the want of something I’d thought I’d never have.
I nodded to him. “I want the man I know he is. The man I’ve loved for so long. For all of us.”
Seeming to find whatever he needed in my answer, he cleared his throat and Alec Gaius pulled back from Vali and rubbed at the back of his neck with a sheepish smile.
“It’s your call, Alec Gaius,” Ronan said with a raised eyebrow. “He’s your rival. We’ve all hated him, because you hated him. Am I to assume this means you want in, Madden?”
Vali nodded slowly. “I don’t bottom,” he added, like an afterthought.
“Neither do I,” Ronan answered. “Luckily for the two of us there are three bottoms and a switch in our little group.”
Vali’s eyes widened, and he stared over at Gale for a moment who nodded in agreement and stepped up next to Ronan and I as Emerson took the other side.
“Fair enough,” Vali agreed, and turned to Alec Gaius to wait for the answer we were all anticipating.
Alec Gaius stepped into Vali’s space, his fingers working the buttons of Vali’s shirt as he gave a silent answer. Vali smirked at him and towards the fingers unbuttoning his shirt. His eyes found mine. “You okay with this, Little Bird?”
I bit my lip, watching Alec Gaius’ thick lips work the broad expanse of Vali’s light brown chest as he shrugged out of his shirt. Lottie had been right - Vali had been within my grasp. I could only be sad she wasn’t here to see it. Knowing he waited for an answer, I nodded, watching as Vali’s eyes heated. Ronan turned me in his arms, and I protested with a whine.
“I want to watch them,” I pouted, and his eyes lit with humor.
“Dirty girl.” He turned me back, his hands going to the spot where my towel tucked into itself. Vali watched me, even when Alec Gaius’ hands hit the button of his pants, and I felt Ronan smile into the top of my head as he dropped the towel and left me naked in a room with five men who were mine. Warm brown eyes darkened as they dropped from my face and took in the entirety of my naked body. With that, Ronan stepped away from me, letting Emerson disrobe and take my hand to tug me onto the bed with him. A glance over confirmed Ronan sat in Lottie’s vanity chair, Gale on his knees in front of him and opening up the fly of his jeans slowly. They whispered to one another, though Ronan still kept me in his sight, always my protector – even when I was safely locked in a room with men who loved me. He tugged Gale’s hair roughly, and I nearly winced. He’d always been harsher with Gale than he was with me, knowing the man could not only take it but enjoyed it, but there was something brewing between the two of them as they whispered to one another. Gale nodded at whatever Ronan said, and Ronan shoved him down to take his length deep into his mouth on the first plunge.
A sharp crack on the flesh of my ass made me gasp, and I turned back to look at Vali, who was stripping Alec Gaius’ shirt off slowly, button by button. He was staring at what I was sure was a reddening handprint on my flesh.
“That ass has tormented me for a fucking year,” Vali grunted. “You can’t wave it in my face and expect me not to touch.”
Emerson settled in against the headboard, grinning at me and tugging me up to rest my back to his chest. His hands took mine and held them, and I enjoyed the proximity and the cuddle while we enjoyed the show that Alec Gaius and Vali put on. Their tongues met, over and over, as they plundered each other’s mouths in something close to violence.
“Is this a hate fuck?” I teased, and Emerson chuckled against my back.
“No, baby,” Alec Gaius said with a sardonic smile. “This is us working out the hate, so we can fuck you together.”
I swallowed, a fresh flood of arousal dampening between my legs at the promise in his voice. That was one storm I would not object to being caught in. Vali took off Alec Gaius’ pants next, deftly unbuttoning and then unzipping them so Alec Gaius could quickly kick them off. As soon as they were both stripped, Alec Gaius dropped to his knees and stroked Vali with his hand. My eyes caught on his length, knowing that he could give Gale a run for his money. Alec licked him from root to tip, and Vali’s head fell back on a groan of pure pleasure.
I shuddered in Emerson’s arms, a faint shiver at the pure sex of that groan. Sometimes I wondered if Vali could make me come with his voice alone; it was just that sexy, and I was determined to try one day. Emerson laughed in my ear, and I joined in, helpless to resist that sound.
“I love our little group,” he murmured sweetly.
“Oh?” I teased. There was no doubt in my mind that all of us loved it.
“And you. I love you,” his voice was serious, the confession clearly from the heart and meaningful in spite of the circumstances most would probably find less than romantic. “Probably most of all, but don’t tell them that,” he teased.
“I love you too,” I whispered back on a smile. “My sweet Emerson.”
“I know you do, Precious.” He used our joined hands to spread my legs, baring the area between them to Vali’s gaze. His shaft was buried in Alec Gaius’ mouth, but those eyes tracked the movement and zeroed in on the space without hesitation. Emerson guided my hand to the bundle of nerves at the apex of my thighs, and I took the cue to play with my clit even though it brought a blush to my cheeks to perform in front of Vali so soon after he joined us - when he’d barely
touched me at all. Alec Gaius’ gaze flicked over to me, and he pulled back from Vali, releasing him with a wet plop.
“I think he’s ready to fuck you, baby. I got him all ready for you.” Alec Gaius chuckled, and I bit my lip. Emerson sat me up, taking his warmth away from my back to join Gale and Ronan at the other end of the room. Emerson pressed kisses to Gale’s spine, reaching around to stroke him as Gale let Ronan use his mouth.
A hand grabbed my ankle, and dragged me down the bed so quickly I shrieked. Alec Gaius was suddenly next to my face, kissing me softly and slowly. When Alec Gaius pulled away, Vali’s face filled my vision as he loomed over me, and I squirmed beneath him, pressing his hard length against me.
He chuckled as his tip hit the wet heat of me. “Not yet, Little Bird. I’ve waited a long time for this.” And his lips crushed down onto mine to silence my protest - ravished my mouth even as his hands explored my body.
A kiss from Vali Madden without guilt?
It was a thing of beauty.
My arms wrapped around him, enjoying his masterful dominance and the way his thick bottom lip felt plush against mine. I licked the seam of his lips, inviting him to deepen our kiss. He didn’t disappoint, cupping the back of my head and angling his head to fuse our mouths together in a way that felt like I may never breathe again. My hips tilted up and rubbed my core against his shaft in my need.
He broke our kiss on a groan, trailing his lips over my neck gently and bringing goosebumps to the surface. A sharp bite at my shoulder made me yelp, and he chuckled against my skin and soothed the indentations with his tongue. Those lips continued on a path down over my collarbone and found the swell of my breasts. Squirming against him, I whimpered and wondered if he would bite me again.
Instead, his tongue flicked my nipple before drawing it into his mouth and sucking. Hard. My back bowed on the bed as I moaned, feeling Alec Gaius shift at my head.
“You look so tiny beneath all that muscle,” he murmured, taking my chin and turning my head to face him. His swollen head pressed to my lips, and I opened for him immediately. The taste of him hit my tongue, and I moaned with a full mouth. Alec Gaius didn’t give me a reprieve, thrusting in slowly to hit the back of my throat on a long, low groan. I chuckled, knowing my men enough to know Alec Gaius had been on the receiving end of Ronan’s dominant appetites during our separation.