April’s Fools

by Ophelia Bell

  “Service me,” I said, smirking. “Somehow, I like the sound of that.” I hopped up onto the kitchen island, letting my legs dangle off the edge. Murdoc closed the distance, settling between my knees and smiling down at me, his hands on my hips. His hair had dried into rich golden waves that begged to be touched.

  “Well, we are at your service,” he said in a suggestive tone, then bent to brush his lips across my ear. “Just say the word, sweet thing.”

  “Murdoc,” Gray scolded, smacking the other man on the ass before turning back to his meal prep. “Let her breathe.”

  Murdoc scowled, then winked at me. In a conspiratorial voice, he said, “He’s only being this bossy because Stu isn’t here yet. If you ever want to be smothered by a sexy dragon, Stu’s your man.” He moved to lean beside me, his hand slipping beneath the hem of my shirt to rest against the bare skin of my low back as if he was compelled to keep touching me. The second he made contact, though, half the building pressure in my lower abdomen seeped away, calming me in the process.

  “Remember when you almost went feral after the war was over, Gray? Stu had to chase you down and challenge you to a duel to keep you sane.”

  “A duel?” I asked, brows shooting up in interest. “Like with swords or pistols?”

  “Nah, dragon duels are a challenge for power. The loser submits to the winner. So I guess in a sense, no one really loses.”

  “That’s easy to say for someone who’s never lost before,” Gray said, pulling plates out of a cabinet and setting them on the table in the breakfast nook. The utter domesticity of the scene made my heart melt.

  Murdoc tilted toward me again, his big hand sliding around my waist. “He loved it. He’s just too shy to admit it.”

  “Shy?” I asked, laughing. “Are we talking about that guy?” I pointed at Gray, who shot me a chagrined look, his cheeks reddening. “The guy who happily fucked me in the middle of my hot shop, then fought off an attacker stark naked?”

  “It’s just very personal,” Gray said in a subdued tone, darting a look out the window at the dripping gray sky and rain-soaked lushness of the island with the Sound beyond. He took a breath as if bracing himself to face us, then turned and gripped the back of a chair, spearing me with an intense look before focusing on Murdoc. “I was so far gone it took both you and Stuart to subdue me. That was the moment I knew the three of us had a bond that could never be broken. That I—that we—belonged together.”

  His voice broke, and Murdoc left my side, striding around the table to his friend and hauling him into a fierce embrace. He held Gray for a second, then slipped his hands up to curl fingers into Gray’s thick, dark hair. When they kissed, my body lit up like my insides had caught fire.

  The kiss was both tender and passionate, their auras tangling and fading from pale silver to lavender and then darker. Not red the way Gray’s had turned when we made love the day before, but purple.

  My curiosity got the better of me, so I tested my powers again, pushing outward with my mind to try to connect to theirs, asking a silent mental question because so much of their exchange was left unspoken. They didn’t answer, but I felt their awareness expand and their emotions rather than their thoughts flood into my mind through our mental connection.

  With a gasp, I covered my mouth with my hand, overwhelmed by the intensity of the love they had for each other. I also felt Gray’s concern for the four friends who hadn’t arrived. And finally, I felt the strength of their combined hope that I would accept what they offered, and that I would be willing to become the core of their group and allow the six of them to stay together.

  “No pressure.” I let out a shaky laugh.

  The pair parted and turned to look at me. “What do you mean?” Murdoc asked. “It’s not a difficult choice. You would be adored beyond your wildest dreams.”

  “But how do you know? I’m a stranger to you guys. I had a hard enough time making friends growing up and sucked at keeping a single boyfriend happy, much less six. My work is all I’ve cared about for years, and I’m kind of failing miserably at that right now too.”

  I gave a helpless shrug, my heart in my throat when they rounded the table, coming back toward me. Gray took my hands and looked deep into my eyes. His touch calmed me, but I still bit my lip, anticipating a speech about how it was just going to be a temporary thing while they protected me from whatever otherworldly thugs were chasing me, and serviced me through this screwed-up transition my body was going through.

  “April, the difference is that we already know how special you are. You’re absolutely not a failure, and you don’t have to prove anything to us. I know it’s tough to accept right now, but just wait until the others arrive. Murdoc and I both believe you’re our answer. But if six is too many, at least consider keeping one of us.”

  Murdoc’s lips twisted to the side, and he made a disgruntled sound. “Two would be better. I think you need both an ursa and a dragon mate to balance your magical surges. You’ll have time to choose.”

  But could I choose? As uncertain as I was that I could ever be enough for even one of these wonderful men, I still wanted more. It had been less than a day, yet I had a hard time imagining either of these two leaving and was a little terrified that when the others arrived I might feel the same about all of them.

  Gray slipped his arms around me, and I melted against him, tears pricking my eyes.

  “You don’t have to decide anything today. In fact, forget Murdoc suggested making a choice. Come eat and try to enjoy yourself while the ebb in your power surges lasts. Afterward, I have something to show you that I think will cheer you up.”

  He steered me to the table, then served up an enormous pot pie bubbling with aromatic juices, and two golden brown and crusty loaves of bread. It wasn’t until it was in front of me that I realized how ravenous I was, my other need somehow drowning out the pangs of hunger that erupted in my stomach at the scent of fresh food.

  16

  April

  For a little while, the need to eat overtook my need for sex, but I was barely done swiping the last hunk of bread through the gravy when an acute spike of need gripped my core.

  The world went red as my body flushed with heat. My vision tunneled, and my breathing grew rapid and erratic. The swelling sensation in my abdomen had been bearable but now was suddenly too intense to ignore, and a desperate moan escaped my lips as I dropped my last piece of bread to grab hold of the edge of the table.

  Two sets of hands pushed the dishes to the side, and Gray pulled me onto his lap, cradling me as Murdoc undressed me.

  “We’ve got you, sweet thing,” Murdoc said, urging my arms up as he stripped my tank top then yanked down my shorts. Then Gray turned me to face the other chair where Murdoc sat. I straddled Gray’s lap, meeting Murdoc’s concerned yet hungry gaze.

  I reached for him, succumbing to the urge to comb my fingers through his silky hair. He leaned toward me, dipping his head as if anticipating my needs. The golden strands flowed across my fingers and palms like cool water, and I shuddered at the abundance of sensations that bombarded me with the feel of him under my hands and my skin beneath his touch as he swept his hands down my naked body.

  Leaning in to kiss Murdoc meant lifting up off Gray’s lap, and when I did, I heard his zipper drop, then felt the hot tip of his glorious cock press between my folds.

  My mouth opened wider on a moan when Gray pushed into me, and Murdoc plunged his tongue into my mouth, devouring the sounds. He let me support myself on his shoulders as we kissed, and Gray fucked me slow and deep. Murdoc slipped his hand between my thighs, and my core clenched hard around Gray’s cock. The first orgasm began like a hairline crack in my endurance, and a moment later, I shattered, letting out a shuddering moan into Murdoc’s kiss. Gray grabbed my hips and hissed as my spasms took him over the edge, his hot seed flooding my channel.

  The climax only left me partly satisfied, and I dropped my hands to Murdoc’s jeans, scrambling to unfasten them so I could h
ave more. In the back of my mind was the smallest bit of shame at what an uninhibited sex fiend I was being, but right there beside it was Gray’s hushed voice assuring me I was nothing of the sort. This was natural, beautiful, and any male of the higher races would be honored to be the one to see me through the ordeal.

  The only ordeal at the moment was getting another big cock into my aching pussy. I slipped off of Gray, heedless of his hot, sticky seed flooding down my thighs, and once Murdoc’s hard, velvety cock emerged, I moved into his eager embrace. He shifted his hips forward on the chair, staring up at me with raw hunger as I braced my hands on his shoulders and leveraged myself over his lap, then sank slowly down on his cock, sighing in relief as the pressure inside me eased again.

  I combed my fingers through his hair again and pulled gently. “Show me your horns.”

  His brow furrowed, and he darted a glance around us. Behind me, Gray said, “Just shift a little. She wants a taste of dragon.”

  Murdoc’s lips quirked. “Human dick isn’t enough for you, is it, sweet thing? Should we take you outside and give you a proper dragon fucking?”

  Was that an option? I stared down at him, mouth agape. Gray rested a hand between my shoulders, rubbing lightly. “We can work up to that. For now, just give her a little more.”

  “Anything you wish.” Murdoc’s silken waves shimmered with inner silver light and began to move as if in a nonexistent wind. Then his horns emerged, coiling from his temples and stretching back and up. I reached for them, but he tutted, his voice like velvet. “Be careful, April. You touch a dragon’s horns, he might fall in love.”

  I stared down into his eyes, all brilliant silver fire. Pale white scales were visible across his shoulders and over his chest, which still slowly grew as he shifted with even more deliberate care. His cock swelled inside me, and I gave him a pleased smile, then gripped the base of both horns.

  “Should I fear your love? Seems to me, it might be the answer to all my wildest dreams.”

  He bared his teeth and squeezed my hips, shoving into me hard enough to force my breath from my lungs. I stroked his horns, and he moaned, then lunged for my mouth and stole my breath entirely with a ravenous kiss.

  “Never fear my love, April. Just be prepared to be fucked out of your mind when you stroke my horns like that.”

  I released his mouth on a gasp, biting my lip and running my hands up the length of his horns, watching his face. He stared back with a challenge, and between my thighs, his cock swelled even more, stretching me wider with each slow thrust of his hips. I rocked faster, desperate for the friction, hungry for everything he could give me.

  When his body dwarfed me, his eyebrows twitched. “Don’t tell me this isn’t enough. Sweet Mother, if I keep shifting, you will get me at full size, and there isn’t room in this kitchen for my wings and tail.”

  Feverish with need, I glanced out the window to the torrential rain. The image of being fucked into the muddy earth somehow aroused me even more, and both men let out amused chuckles.

  “I think we can satisfy you without mud wrestling, April,” Gray said. “Murdoc, get up on the table and lie back.”

  Gray cleared the table of dishes, and Murdoc hoisted me up, somehow managing to keep his cock buried deliciously deep inside me as he repositioned on the table, holding me against his chest as he lowered himself. My knees pressed against the hard wood, and he bent both legs, propping his heels on the edge of the table. I gave him a confused look that melted into pleasure at the sensation of Gray’s hands sliding over my ass and teasing between my cheeks.

  “Are you going to fuck my ass?” I asked in a daze over my shoulder.

  Gray’s brows went up, and he smirked. “Not that the idea isn’t appealing, but right now, I think you need something different. Try to relax.”

  He slipped up behind me, between Murdoc’s spread legs. I watched him for a moment longer, transfixed by his transition when he began to shift like he had before, growing half again as big with beautiful alabaster scales appearing over his body and his gorgeous horns pushing up from his brow. He was huge and magnificent, and his cock resembled carved stone, but it was hot as a glowing coal when he pressed it at my already filled entrance.

  “Oh god,” I breathed when I understood his intentions. I buried my face in Murdoc’s neck.

  “If one isn’t enough, maybe two will satisfy you. What do you think, April?” Murdoc whispered, then traced the edge of my ear with a ticklish forked tongue. My entire body shuddered with want, and my core clamped down hard on him. His chest rumbled with a low laugh. “I thought so.”

  He gripped my hips and urged me to rise. When his tip was all that was left inside me, I felt the gentle probing of another thick cockhead at my opening. I moaned and dug my nails into Murdoc’s scales when Gray’s tip joined his. Then, as if they were a single unit, they pushed in together.

  Pleasure exploded inside me, and I bit down on Murdoc’s shoulder, struggling to keep it contained for just a little longer, to enjoy the exquisite sensation of two enormous cocks filling my hungry pussy. When they began to fuck me in tandem, I lost myself completely, writhing between them, desperate to get them as deep as they could go.

  If the last orgasm had shattered me, this one left me pummeled into dust. Their ramming cocks pushed me over so violently I worried I’d drawn blood from biting into Murdoc’s shoulder. If I hadn’t been wrapped tightly in his arms, I’d have blown away.

  I was too destroyed to move, too incoherent to speak, and faded in and out of consciousness. Fucked out of my mind was right, but I was also blissfully satisfied by the time they eased out of my battered pussy, and Murdoc sat up, cradling me in his arms.

  He held me close, and Gray brushed curls away from my sweaty cheek, smiling tenderly. “Yeah, that’s about what it’s like to be fucked by two dragons. Mind-numbingly wonderful, huh?”

  “Mmm.” I couldn’t form any more coherent a response but just snuggled tighter against Murdoc, enjoying the entertained rumble inside his chest as he headed for the stairs.

  He settled me on the bed and lay down beside me, pulling the covers up over us both. Tucking me against him, he brushed lips over my temple and sighed. “April. Beautiful April. What the hell am I going to do if you don’t choose me?”

  A dozen different responses skittered through my mind, but my tongue was too heavy to speak. But I let one thought linger at the front as I drifted off: “Don’t let me make that mistake.”

  17

  Tate

  Flying on dragon-back wasn’t exactly my favorite way to travel. Chayton and Eddie weren’t fans of it either, as evidenced by their shivers cascading through me from behind. They weren’t cold, even though we were soaring above the clouds. They were just a couple aerophobic pussies.

  An agonized groan hit my ears, and I realized it was coming from me, not either of my friends, and not Stuart’s huge body carrying us at top speed through the air. We’d been aloft for several hours, ever since we’d met at the crack of dawn in Santa Fe and decided we’d make better time if Stu simply carried us to Seattle rather than fuck around trying to find flights and dealing with airport transportation. It was the smartest decision, but that didn’t make it any easier to endure being so goddamn far from Gaia’s sturdy embrace.

  “Did you know the turul call it ouranophobia?” Eddie said, evidently sharing my train of thought. Sometimes I wondered if living with three dragons for the past few years had rubbed off on us so well we’d actually become telepathic with each other. “Not that we have to fear that crazy bastard anymore, since Deva schooled his ass.”

  “Fear of the sky.” I laughed, and ice crystals fell off my beard, plinking off the tops of my fists where they gripped the bony protrusion of Stuart’s spine that I held onto for dear life. He wouldn’t let us fall, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t fucking terrified. Not that I’d let him in on that fact.

  I had a bigger fear of failing Gray, so I could suck it up. We’d had a single text from
Murdoc a few hours earlier, but all it had said was “bring food” so I had no idea what to expect.

  All we had were the coordinates the messenger had left with us and an increasing sense of dread that Chaos wouldn’t go to the trouble of chasing someone unless he stood to gain some advantage over Fate. But we wouldn’t know the whole story until we reached Gray and this so-called “convergence” of earth and fire. For all we knew, Elden was just making shit up and we were headed toward a newly awakened volcano.

  Behind me, Chayton let out a whoop that sounded more like relief than fear. I craned my head around as far as I dared to avoid losing balance. He was frantically pointing to the northeast of our bearing, where I could just make out the blinking red light at the pinnacle of Seattle’s most prominent landmark through the fog.

  “It’s the Space Needle! We made it!”

  The top of the huge structure seemed to hover ahead of us in the dense cloud cover like a spaceship and brought back tender memories of all the times we used to accompany Aella to the Stratosphere in Vegas for her weekly fix of adrenaline. Only the dragons ever went with her to the top though. Me, Chay, and Ed always opted to meet her on the ground after she completed her sky jump. As much as we adored that woman, her craving for jumping off tall buildings was probably the biggest clue that she was not meant to mate a trio of ursa.

  I patted Stuart on the flank. “Find a safe place to set down, buddy. We need to pick up supplies.” He let out a resonant snort and banked, heading straight toward the top of that building.

  “Whoa, are you sure about this?” I clutched my legs tighter around him and held on as his huge body tilted. It was midday, but socked in so thick I wasn’t worried about being seen. Still, I’d kind of hoped he’d set down on the ground, not six hundred feet up.