by Ophelia Bell
“Fuck me hard, so I can watch you, now,” she said.
At first his brows drew together, then he smiled. He braced both hands beside her head, his elbows locked, and bent to kiss her.
“Hold on.”
The first stroke was a test, but after that Rafe’s jaw clenched and he slammed into her relentlessly. Every emotion seemed to pass through his eyes and Rowan caught pieces of all of them through their bond. Some were heartbreaking for their intensity. His love for her, and the torture she’d put him through after running. She felt his anger toward her, which he took out on her with a vengeance now, but mostly she simply felt his love and desperation, and finally relief that they were together again.
Through it all, her own responses welled up, blasting back at him in full force until his eyes grew wet with understanding. They kept hold of each other’s gazes, their bodies moving more frantically as the pleasure built up, until neither of them could hold back any longer. Rowan’s skin prickled with power and through the narrow slits of her eyelids she could see the same glow around Rafe. The energy was pulled off him as though by a vacuum, every bit of it flowing through her and into the stone at her back.
The heat of the Verdanith grew agonizing, in spite of her tolerance for heat. Before, it was only a hot presence that was mildly uncomfortable. Now it actually hurt.
She tried to sit, but the others moved to hold her down again.
“Not yet, Princess,” Numa said. “When the pain subsides you can move. But the Verdanith is fully powered now, which means we can channel energy to the Twins.”
“What’s happening?” Rowan asked, alarmed both by the pain and the six immortal dragons linking hands around her. Light channeled down through their bodies and into the stone at their feet, converging beneath her with even more heat.
“It’s marking you, little one,” Gavra said. “You and the seed you carry will be connected to it. And through the power we’re channeling now, we are forging your child’s connection with the Twins. From this moment on, our child and the Twin Catalysts will have the Verdanith’s power to draw from, as long as the Verdanith remains whole.”
Our child. He’d said the words so casually, like the child was his.
“It will be my child. I hope you guys realize this. Mine and Rafe’s. We will raise her. We are her parents.”
“Yes, that is best, but we have a final condition,” Ked said.
“Jesus Fucking Christ, you and your conditions. What is it?”
The large, black-haired man seemed amused by her irritation. “We’d like to see you again, this time each year. Not for any ritual, just to… debrief us on the state of the race. We tend to retreat when we’re not needed, but we’d like an opportunity to be more involved.”
“More involved with my ass, you mean?” she shot back at him.
Ked smiled. “No other ass would do.”
Breath of Fate: Chapter 9
Kris gently closed the door to Issa’s chamber. She was still unconscious, which terrified him. With every second her energy seeped away into the children in her womb. He scrubbed his hands over his face and looked around the sitting room at all the expectant faces of the Court’s mates.
“How is she?” Camille asked.
“Not good.”
“Tell us what you need us to do,” Dimitri said, resting a comforting hand on Kris’s shoulder.
Kris looked back at his friend, at a loss for words at first. They were all here to help. To give what they could to ensure his mate’s survival along with their babies. But Issa was in no condition to entertain another in their bed. He would have to do it for her—take their Nirvana and transfer it to her while she slept. He wished desperately that he was more than just a conduit. His capacity to store the energy absorbed during sex wasn’t as strong as other dragons, yet he could channel it through himself for days, and what little he could store, he could give away at will.
He wished for an altar like the one in the temple, but they were far from there and nothing of the sort existed at the Monastery. Transferring enough energy to his mate would take time, so he had to be smart about it.
“You are the Udara the Council spoke of, aren’t you?” He looked at Dimitri and the petite, dark-haired woman by his side. Thea, Kris had heard the others call her. Their auras were stronger than the others, which was evidence enough of what the Council had said.
Dimitri placed his palm at Thea’s back and their auras pulsed with even stronger magic as though they fed off each other. If he could channel their Nirvanas to Issa, that might be enough. Or at least a good start.
“We’re something, that’s for sure,” Thea said. “The Twins were willing to break laws to have us both.”
“The Twins?” Kris asked. He looked at Dimitri and then at Thea. “You were with him and his brother before, weren’t you? I remember Dimitri talking about you during the expedition. Have you always been with twins?”
Thea opened her mouth to answer, then closed it again, giving him a curious look. “What does that have to do with this?”
“My children are twins. Please, come with me.”
He opened the door again and led them into the chamber. Lanterns glowed around the large bed where Issa lay. She appeared so peaceful and beautiful, her face smooth and free from worry. Kris moved up onto the bed and gestured for Thea and Dimitri to follow.
Without speaking, Kris took Thea’s hand and placed it on Issa’s swollen belly. Beneath his own palm, the warm presence of the babies surged and pressed outward. Thea gasped.
“Dimitri, feel this!” she whispered, urging Dimitri to place his own hands next to hers.
Issa’s belly visibly shifted, the unseen lives within her seeking out their hands.
“They are killing her,” Kris said. “There is only so much I can do alone. They are drawn to you. If I can transfer your Nirvana to her, it could save her life.”
“Do you mean like the ritual when we woke them?” Dimitri asked. “We just have to—ah—have an orgasm while we touch her, right?”
Kris grimaced. “She’s not in hibernation. She’s weak and depleted of power. If it weren’t for the babies, she’d have shifted to her true form, but they keep her from doing so. She needs to be conscious before sex can help her directly. But I can channel your power to her.”
Thea and Dimitri shared a long look.
“What is it?” Kris asked. “You will help, won’t you?”
“Of course we will,” Thea said. “It’s just that we haven’t been together without the Twins in a really long time. And it’s never been just the two of us.”
“It won’t be the two of you now,” Kris said. “You have me.”
Thea smiled and lowered her gaze. “Right, I’m still getting used to how you guys work. Um…should we just start, then?” She raised her head again and met his worried gaze. Her eyes were bright with determination and excitement.
Before Kris could answer, Dimitri wrapped his arms around Thea from behind and whispered. “Remember the first night we were together?”
Thea’s eyelids drifted closed and her lips parted. Swirling eddies of power tangled with their auras, growing bright enough that Kris had to shift his eyesight to avoid the blinding glow, but even with the magic hidden from his sight, his body was aware of the power filling the air around the two. His cock swelled in response, as hard and erect as it had been in the presence of the Council’s nearly overwhelming power.
Dimitri unfastened the buttons of Thea’s shirt enough to slip one hand inside and tease fingertips along her breasts beneath the fabric. She gasped and tilted her head back against his shoulder. Thea’s eyes drifted over Kris’s chest, the gaze tracing his tattoo. The design sparked to life in response to the simple look from her. She reached out a hand, beckoning him to come closer.
Kris closed the gap, tentative at first. He hadn’t been with
any woman besides Issa since they had mated, in spite of her suggestions to leave the mountain once in a while for fun. Then, when she became pregnant, he had vowed to stay with her through it.
Thea’s power drew him to her as much as the soft pull of her hand when he gripped it. Her lips were cool and soft under his and her fingertips gentle as she raked them through his thick hair. The kiss was both tender and patient, as though she were waiting for him to take it further. Her arousal was so undeniable he didn’t have a choice and plunged his tongue between her lips in a desperate sweep. He would take everything they could give him.
Between their bodies, he raised his hands and found the buttons of her shirt, tugging at them until the garment fell open, revealing a lacy bra that held up her full, creamy breasts, her nipples clearly visible through the pale fabric. Dimitri pulled the shirt off her arms and unfastened the undergarment, then cupped both ample mounds and held them up to Kris.
He accepted the invitation, clutching at the swell of Thea’s hips while he suckled at each dark-pink tip until she moaned in pleasure.
The power was a whirling bubble that encompassed the three of them. Out of the corner of Kris’s eye, Issa’s belly surged. Quickly, he must do this quickly for them.
He clutched the waist of Thea’s pants and frantically pulled get them undone and off her. Dimitri leaned back and hurriedly undressed himself, then moved back against the pillows, drawing Thea with him.
They seemed to sense his urgency, for which he was grateful. Yet he needed to be sure they were both as ready as he was. He reached behind Thea to Dimitri, groping in the dim light. Dimitri clutched his hand and tugged it down.
“You looking for this?” he asked in a gruff voice when Kris’s hand brushed against the hard length between Dimitri’s thighs. “Trust me, we’re ready, but we need your help to get her ready for me if we’re both going to fuck her.”
Dimitri held Thea against his chest and Kris bent and swirled his tongue around her nipples once more before slipping lower. Every inch of her skin left his lips tingling from the invisible power that clung to her. It grew more pronounced the lower he went, until he reached her wet center and latched on. She jerked at the sudden contact and then sighed, sinking back in Dimitri’s arms while Kris licked and sucked.
“Oh, God, Kris. You’re going to make me come like that!”
“I think that’s the idea,” Dimitri said, his gaze avidly latched onto Kris’s tongue. Dimitri continued toying with Thea’s nipples, every touch increasing the concentration of power around her.
Kris decided he would use them until they begged to rest, and it would begin with her. He plunged his tongue deep into her, enjoying the way her hips rose up to meet his mouth. He remembered she was one of the Twins’ lovers so she was no stranger to this kind of treatment. He fucked her pussy harder with his tongue, urging her closer and closer to the edge. He withdrew for a second, long enough to slick the length of his long tongue down over her ass, preparing for round two once he was done with this one.
Thea spread her legs and draped her thighs wide over Dimitri’s. Her pretty clit throbbed under Kris’s tongue and he lapped at it, pressing and sliding back and forth, alternating between teasing at her ass and toying with the swollen bundle. She’d raised her arms and wrapped them around the back of Dimitri’s head. The blond man bent and sucked at the flesh of her neck, his own hips rocking up against Thea’s ass. He’d get his turn soon enough, but now…
Thea cried out abruptly. The bubble of magic around her grew even more intense, like an electrical cloud that caused the fine hairs on Kris’s arms to stand on end. He latched his mouth tightly onto her pussy and plunged his tongue deeper. At the same time, he sank two fingers into her slick, wet ass. With his other hand he reached out to touch Issa’s belly, just in time for Thea to arch her back, her hips twitching and her orgasmic cry piercing the air.
The magic permeating the air abruptly surged through them as though the balloon had deflated, all its air being inhaled by his lungs. Except he cleared his resistance and let it pass right through him. The power invigorated him for a moment, leaving behind a small amount of residue, but the lion’s share of it sank into Issa.
The babies squirmed inside her and Kris could sense their excited need to absorb the power. Issa’s head tilted back and she emitted a breathy gasp before relaxing again into slumber.
“She needs more,” Kris said, raising his head.
Dimitri’s eyes were feverish and unfocused. He shifted his hips, urging Thea to rise up.
“That’s it, baby,” Dimitri said. “Take my cock in your ass like you love it.”
As Thea sank back down, encompassing Dimitri’s entire length, she reached for Kris and he went. Her lips grasped hungrily at his, sucking and biting like she was the one hungry for the power. It was as though he’d never even taken what she’d already given. Her aura had returned in full force, the magic pulled to it again like a cyclone.
“Fuck me now,” she said, her teeth gritted at the steady plunge of Dimitri’s cock into her ass.
Kris pushed her back against her lover and hovered over her for only a second before sinking his cock deep into her. Her wet heat grasped at him, squeezing tightly enough for his vision to tunnel with the pleasure. He fucked her hard and fast, his balls smacking against the wet shaft of Dimitri’s cock each time Kris withdrew and plunged back into her. The magic tingled on his skin as tangible as a Shadow’s caress, seeking its way into him. Each deep thrust of his cock sent her further toward the edge again. Dimitri’s harsh grunts escalated into a low, desperate groan. The pulsing of Dimitri’s cock in Thea’s ass as he came sent Kris beyond his own point of no return. With one final, brutal thrust he came, and Thea followed, her throat working soundlessly while her entire body quivered beneath him.
As before, Kris rested his hand on Issa’s belly, letting the magic slide through him and into her.
He pulled out of Thea and sat back, watching his mate for any sign of consciousness. Her eyelids fluttered slightly and she let out a sigh. A second later her lips curled at the corners into a small smile.
“Issa?”
Without opening her eyes, she whispered. “That felt good. Do it again?”
Thea and Dimitri lay on their sides in a loose embrace, their legs tangled together. They both laughed. “I’m ready when you are,” Dimitri said to Kris.
Soon Issa’s energy had returned enough that she insisted on participating. Dimitri and Thea enthusiastically accommodated her, even as unwieldy as her large belly made things. She turned onto her side and reached for Thea. “Let me taste him on you,” she said, shifting down the bed and shedding her sheer nightgown in the process.
Thea graciously turned onto her side and lifted one thigh to give Issa access. Kris silently rejoiced at the tiny quiver of pleasure that ran through Issa when her tongue pressed against Thea’s pussy, still creamy from Kris’s hot come.
The scent of his mate’s arousal grew even stronger, and he lay down facing her, his head level with her bare breasts and his hard cock resting against her thigh. He cupped her breasts and sucked, pleased to sense the magic growing around her in a way it hadn’t for quite some time.
Issa parted from Thea’s glistening folds long enough to meet Kris’s gaze and say, “I want you both now. Don’t hold back, please.” Her words held an edge of desperation, as though she knew she had to take as much as they were able to give.
Kris gestured to Dimitri, who nodded and moved around behind Issa. She lifted one thigh to allow Kris to ready her ass with his tongue. Dimitri wasted no time pressing the tip of his cock to her rosy opening.
Kris had by necessity coupled with Zak but had never watched another male take his mate before. He sat back on his heels and absorbed the impression of pure pleasure that Issa was immersed in. The memory of their first meeting had given him the same impression, but not to such an intimate
degree as it did now that they shared the bond of mates. Every stroke of Dimitri’s cock in Issa’s ass incited further pleasure, making her lap at Thea’s cunt with more fervor.
“Please, Kris. You too.”
The violet hue of her pussy was too enticing, the memory of how she had first seduced him with it making his mouth water. He bent and pressed his lips to the soft, velvet folds and drowned in her familiar flavor. Now that she was conscious she didn’t need him as a conduit so he could enjoy her again the way he used to before the pregnancy had become an exhausting ordeal. His cock throbbed again, his entire body alive with energy in response to his need to give her pleasure. The sweet throb of her clit under his tongue mirrored his own pulsing need. He kept teasing at it, swirling his tongue in the familiar pattern that drove her to distraction.
The chorus of their orgasms finally brought him back to the present. Issa’s gentle touch on his head made him stop, though he was loath to leave off pleasuring her.
He looked up into her beautiful face. Her eyes glowed with love and a level of energy he hadn’t seen for months.
“They need to rest,” she said. “And so do you, my love.”
“How do you feel?” he asked, tilting his cheek into her warm palm and resting his large hand atop her belly.
“Invigorated, but I can already feel the Twins absorbing it all. I think I can wait until these two are ready for more.” She glanced behind her on the bed to Dimitri and Thea who now snuggled together, dozing quietly.
“You don’t have to wait, love,” Kris said. “They are all here for you. Dimitri and his lover were just the best equipped to help you replenish quickly.”
Issa’s eyes brightened. “All of them came here for my sake?”
“They want to help. You mean the world to all of us.”
Issa shifted to the edge of the bed, exhaling a breath that shimmered into the purple gown she’d worn earlier. Before he could stop her, she strode to the door and flung it open. A moment later she was encompassed in the embrace of all their closest friends, finally getting the reunion that hadn’t been possible earlier in the day.