April’s Fools

by Ophelia Bell

  “Ugh, don’t remind me.” I draped my arm over my face.

  “If it’s any consolation, I think we need you too.”

  I lifted my arm off my eyes and squinted at him. “What for?”

  He gave a helpless shrug. “Because we’re lost without each other but still incomplete without mates. We thought we had to make a choice between the two, but if you’re as perfect as you seem, maybe we won’t have to.”

  My gut twinged. “So it’s them you want. I saw how Gray and Murdoc were together. Am I just a means to an end then?”

  “No, that’s not it at all. You would be our fulcrum. The center of the wheel where we’re the spokes. Only a woman as powerful as you are could be what we need. Having you would give us a chance, but make no mistake, you’d be the center of our lives if you choose us all.”

  I covered my face again and groaned. “No pressure. I mean, if I choose all of you, I have to worry about my ability to keep you all happy. But if I pick just one or two, then I’m obviously tearing you apart. Tell me again why being alone is not an ideal answer to this dilemma?”

  The bed dipped as he lay down beside me, his touch gentle when he pried my arm away from my face. He looked both stern and understanding, giving me a glimpse of the leader Gray had described. “I never said being alone wasn’t a good answer. But the fact remains that you need us for the next few weeks. Left alone, the power of your estrous could have adverse effects on your sanity and the world around you. Without a safe way to channel the magic, you’d be putting yourself at risk.”

  “So I may as well not leave this bed is what you’re saying. Don’t get me wrong, if two days ago you’d told me I’d be surrounded by six of the sexiest men on the planet whose entire purpose was to give me orgasms all day, I’d have said sign me the fuck up. But this is happening to me at the absolute worst time possible. My studio’s destroyed. The project I need to have complete in three weeks is back at square one, and there are crazy chaos creatures chasing me and my dad. My career should probably be the least of my worries, but if I survive this, I sure as fuck hope my only prospect isn’t becoming the love slave for a bunch of dragons.” His smirk made me pause and smack him on the shoulder. “What? This shouldn’t be entertaining. We’re talking about my life.”

  He held up a hand. “I know. First of all, you wouldn’t be our sex slave unless that’s what you want. I don’t know if there are other options for managing your estrous, but we can bring Tate and the other two up to weigh in on that. Would that at least alleviate some of your worries? Shall I call them?”

  My answer stalled when the infernal urge flared low in my belly again, like a hunger pang except it wasn’t my stomach that needed to be filled. I let out a groan and pulled Stuart back by the hand when he started to leave the bed. “I think you were about to do something a minute ago that I need you to finish. I take it your tongue is just as agile as Gray’s, yeah?”

  A wicked smile spread across his face as he took me in again, his eyes flashing with an inner light. “I’ll let you be the judge,” he said as he slipped down between my legs again, the twin tips of his tongue tickling the air.

  19

  April

  A few more orgasms and a long shower later, I finally started to feel human again. Which was possibly somewhat ironic since I really wasn’t as human as I’d always believed. A lot of my beliefs had been tested in the past twenty-four hours, including my capacity to develop feelings for people I barely even knew. Was it a compulsion? Was it magic?

  Or was it just that all three dragons had worn their feelings and intentions so openly in their auras? Maybe my power to see their auras meant they simply couldn’t hide their natures, and it gave me insight I’d never had with past boyfriends. These powers hadn’t existed when I started college, that was for sure. They were still so new I didn’t entirely understand them, but I couldn’t deny that they had opened up a vast new world for me to explore. And my creative, curious self wanted to dive right in and see where things led.

  I think that curiosity might have been the only thing keeping me from going stir crazy and freaking out about my loss of control over my career. I hoped I could bounce back from this. I liked to think of myself as a pretty easygoing person. But until I talked to the gallery manager, I wouldn’t know if I had any chance of salvaging my show, and judging from the care the guys had taken about making calls, I was pretty sure contacting anyone by phone was a big no-no under the circumstances.

  I still intended to bring it up. The guys had surprised me so far, and not just with their ability to make me climax a dozen times in the span of a few hours. Maybe they had other magical tricks up their sleeves. As much as I hated relying on anyone, I was at their mercy, so may as well take advantage of it.

  By the time I made it back downstairs, the house was filled yet again with the delicious aromas of cooking food. This time I smelled something sweet and fruity that made my stomach rumble loudly. Someone was baking a pie, or multiple pies. I smelled strawberries and fresh lemons, then remembered that we used to have a lemon tree that Dad would make fresh lemonade from around this time of year. There was also more than enough canned fruit in the pantry for about a hundred pies.

  I paused at the base of the stairs, the kitchen and breakfast nook just visible through the arched doorway. All six guys were busy with some task or other in the kitchen, their easy banter evidence of how close they were, and the way they all coexisted in the same space proof of how well they worked together as a team.

  Out of curiosity, I shifted my vision to view their auras, and was enthralled by the way those bubbles of energy that surrounded them seemed to merge and flow around each other. No wonder I’d been ten times as comfortable sleeping between Murdoc and Gray. I must have been protected by twice the magic.

  I still wasn’t clear on how I was supposed to fit in the middle of all that, as appealing as the thought was. I genuinely liked the three dragons, and was pretty sure my feelings weren’t limited to the way they satisfied my physical needs. Even though I didn’t know the ursa beyond their names, watching them made me want to get to know them.

  Stuart’s warning popped into my head, and for the first time, I had the chance to give it some thought. They weren’t allowed to fuck me, so maybe that would give us the opportunity to have something deeper. Though I couldn’t imagine feeling any more connected to someone than I was to Gray or Murdoc, or Stuart for that matter, and we’d started with them screwing me. In spite of chasing that pleasure, somehow we’d still managed to connect on a level far deeper than I’d achieved with any past boyfriend.

  “You just going to stand there and stare?” a deep voice said, and my head jerked to the side. Tate was no longer in the kitchen but now stood in front of me, all brawny, bearded man with his arms crossed across his chest, making his biceps bulge in the dark blue flannel shirt he wore.

  “Just enjoying the view.” I leaned casually against the bannister and not so subtly let my gaze roam down his big body. “It isn’t every day I have six beautiful men in my kitchen cooking, not to mention on guard to stand between me and the horrors of the crazy world that are out to get me.”

  His cheeks flushed pink above his beard, and he blinked. He cleared his throat. “We have big appetites, so it’s only fair for us to take care of cooking. If there’s anything special you want or need, we’ll do what we can to provide it.”

  I quashed the urge to say “you” and just shook my head instead. Where the hell had that impulse come from? This freaking estrous had evidently turned me into such a complete sex fiend it was in danger of spewing out of my mouth when I talked.

  Tate nodded once and continued to study me for a second longer, then rubbed a hand over his short beard. “You know, it isn’t healthy to ignore your instincts, at least not if you’re as filled with ursa magic as you seem to be. Ursa females are trained from a young age to articulate their needs. Remember to communicate with us, and we’ll get you through this.” He took a step cl
oser to me, towering over me even though I still stood on the bottom step. His warmth wrapped around me just by his proximity, and he smelled like fresh sawdust. “So, let me ask you again. Is there anything you need?”

  “Considering you can’t fuck me, I’m not exactly sure what you want me to say.”

  His lip twitched, and he shot an annoyed look toward the kitchen. “Was that what Stuart told you? That we couldn’t fuck you?”

  “Did he lie?”

  “Not exactly, but there are always loopholes. For example, you have enough dragon magic in you that we could potentially risk it. Dragons have control over the behavior of their own sex cells. They can’t get pregnant unless both parties want to. So basically, all three of those guys were shooting blanks with you, and unless you were consciously aware of a desire to get pregnant, they can’t impregnate you. Now, you are equally strong in ursa magic, and in estrous right now on top of it, which means to an ursa male, you’re at the peak of your fertility. If we fucked, there’s a pretty strong chance we’d get you pregnant.”

  “No built-in birth control for you guys, huh? So at what point in the relationship are you allowed to fuck a female? Or do you just not have the urge unless you’re mated?” I said it with a complete lack of irony even though we were standing here talking about the possibility of his dick going into my vagina as if discussing the merits of using custom batch versus recycled cullet for a glassblowing project.

  “After she marks us and chooses us as her permanent mates.” He held my gaze, but the subtlest of movements farther south had me dragging my eyes back down. My mouth twitched, and my face heated at the stiff bulge swelling at the front of his Carhartts. So it wasn’t just me.

  “I guess that answers my other question,” I said, casually pointing at his crotch.

  “That is something you don’t need to be concerned with.” His jaw flexed as if he was pissed more than embarrassed about the state of his body. He also seemed to tighten his arms across his chest, and I distinctly heard the crack of knuckles somewhere behind those enormous biceps.

  “Don’t I though? I mean, if you guys really believe I’m it for you, don’t I get to concern myself with your pleasure as much as my own? I hate relationships that are one-sided.”

  I left the top step, moved past the barrier of his aura right into his personal space. He dropped his arms and reflexively grabbed hold of my hips. I took advantage of the opening to slip close enough that I could reach up and touch his beard. I hummed to myself at how soft it was, and how very, very hard he was down below. When I tilted my hips against his, he hissed and slid his hands to my waist but didn’t pull away.

  “I didn’t say it was easy for us,” he gritted out, his breath hot against my ear. “You smell so good. Your own scent is intoxicating enough as it is, but beneath three layers of dragon…” He dipped his head lower, inhaling deeply as his nose brushed across my neck.

  A shiver coursed through me, and I stepped back, hyperaware of my dwindling control. I’d left the bedroom moments ago determined not to wind up there again for at least four hours. That was supposedly how long a break I had between these episodes of wanting to bang every man in sight.

  I debated heading into the kitchen, with the logic that I wouldn’t accidentally fall onto Tate’s dick if I was surrounded by people. But I didn’t entirely trust myself not to attack Eddie or Chayton for a hearty serving of hot, bearded man. Or any of the dragons just on principle.

  “Fuck, there has got to be another remedy for this. Are ursa females seriously fine with being out of commission for an entire month at a time, just being serviced?”

  “Usually, yes. Ursa males are well trained for it.” Tate grinned, then sobered at my glare. “Stuart said you might ask this question. The non-sexual options take more focus but can be just as effective. Ursa females who have dealt with it for several cycles learn how to channel the power into other creative tasks. Cooking, gardening, brewing. Glassblowing would work too.”

  I brightened for a beat, then my shoulders sagged in defeat. “It figures the one thing I really need to be doing right now is also the one thing that’d help, but I don’t have access to a goddamn studio.” I shoved past him, too irritated by that bit of info to bother being horny.

  I still was halfway back to the point of needing more attention—four hours off, my ass—but choosing to ignore it when I planted my ass in a chair at the table. The place had a formal dining room on the other side of the kitchen, but the guys had set the kitchen table again. Dinner rolls were already in a basket in the middle, and I grabbed one, sinking my teeth in and spite-eating while I watched them finish up dinner. A salad appeared in the middle of the table, set there by Eddie, who gave me a flirty wink. Then a pitcher of fresh strawberry lemonade. An enormous baking dish that bubbled with cheesy goodness and, finally, a platter covered in roasted meat.

  “Will food be enough for you for the moment?” Gray asked, slipping into the seat beside me and taking my plate to start serving me.

  “This is…unexpected? I figured we’d be stuck with pot pie or stew the whole time. Where the hell did you find lettuce?”

  “Eddie found the remains of a garden in back, and enough of the plants self-seeded to have a salad. And there’s a lemon tree back there too. That was quite a score.”

  “Not as big a score as the chickens,” Chayton said.

  My eyebrows shot up. “There are still chickens here? I remember them from when I was little but that was ages ago. I ought to give the caretakers a raise, I guess.”

  The others sat, and we all dug into the food, which was delicious. My mood vastly improved after devouring the first serving and continued to get better the more I ate. I was ravenous, and it wasn’t until the room went dead silent and I felt the six pairs of eyes on me that I realized they’d all finished while I was reaching for another dinner roll and cleaning out the pan of potatoes.

  “There’s pie,” Murdoc said. “That is, if you left room for it.”

  “There’s always room for pie.”

  We collectively cleared the table and cleaned up. Working beside them felt natural, like finding perfect glassblowing assistants who knew their way around a hot shop and could easily anticipate my needs. These six were a well-oiled machine. Everything was done within a span of ten minutes and the pie on the table ready to be cut. It felt amazing to be part of such synchronized purpose.

  The pie turned out to be lemon meringue and was every bit as delicious as the meal had been. I took a huge bite and savored the tanginess on my tongue.

  “Christ, I wish I could take you guys back to my studio and have you all assist me with my project. Since that’s not an option, I need whoever baked this piece of heaven to give me cooking lessons. I love the sex, don’t get me wrong, but at least pie would kill two birds with one stone, right?”

  Gray made an excited noise around his fork and swallowed. “I forgot! I found something this morning that you need to see. I think it’ll answer all your prayers.”

  20

  Gray

  April gaped into the interior of the barn when I rolled the door open and turned on the lights. She took a hesitant step in, then looked up at me in wonder. “This was here? How long has it been here?”

  “Judging from the dust and the age of the equipment, a little more than five years. And judging from the magic lingering all over the place, your mother was who built it.”

  Her eyes flickered as she shifted her vision to look for the telltale signatures people left behind wherever they went. Depending on how much time and emotional energy was expended in a place, the signature would be stronger, occasionally as strong as an aura.

  Tears sprang to her eyes, and she gravitated to Tate’s side, seeking comfort against his sturdy frame. Hope for a stronger connection between them warmed my chest, and my throat tightened.

  “I thought she just left. And she came back and did this? I’ve had the deed to this place for the past five years. Why wouldn’t she come see
me in person? Is she still alive?”

  I thought of the photo I’d examined in the library and bit my tongue. I wasn’t prepared to speculate out loud what her mother’s motivations were. I wanted to show the others first, to see if we had a consensus. It was likely April had no idea anyway, since her mother hadn’t been around most of her life. There was also a strong chance that the woman had been dead for at least the past three years.

  “She no doubt had her reasons. But it’s all yours now. Want to take it for a spin? I heated the furnace and the glory hole up a few hours ago.”

  April was wandering through the forge side of the studio, touching everything, taking ownership. Her eyes glinted with intention, and at the front of her mind, I could easily read her desire to create.

  Stuart appeared at her side with a blowpipe and steered her to the furnace. Then it was as if her muse took over. Within seconds, she was directing us like she was born to it, and we were all at her beck and call. Less than an hour later, I had the honor of setting a glass sculpture in the shape of a dragon inside the hot annealer.

  April was already at the furnace again, gathering more glass on the end of her pipe. Through the second project, I watched her aura fluctuate with the pale green of her creative energy. Sweat clung to her brow, and her wild curls drifted around her face. She blew them off in frustration and shook her head.

  Murdoc took the pipe to the glory hole to heat the glass up once more while I stepped in close and blew a wisp of smoke around the crown of her head. With the tiniest effort of will, I commanded my magic into a bandana and threaded magic ribbons through her hair, tightening it into a braid.

  When Murdoc returned with her half-finished glass sculpture, she was focused and ready, but paused just long enough to pull me into a quick kiss.