The Real You

by N. J. Nielsen

  “Rissa told me the demons know us because you and I have different base scents,” Claudius said.

  “That doesn’t explain everyone else, though,” Isiah argued.

  Claudius shrugged. “It could be because you are always glaring at Gabriel. While I simply try and ignore his existence completely. Besides, Mitch has always been able to tell us apart. But, in answer to your question—yes, ever since we mated, I’ve felt that people have been recognizing us more as individuals.”

  “I guess you’re right.” Isiah sighed. “It would be nice if the whole world saw us as different.”

  “As tender as this moment is, I need you two to get down into the den with the children and Mitch. I need you to keep them safe until we can eliminate this threat,” Remi said.

  Claudius’ voice trembled. “What’s going on?”

  “Apparently, the remaining guild members have called a hunt down on you.”

  Isiah was a little confused. “They want us dead because they’re afraid of change? Now that’s fucked up.”

  Remi ushered them toward the door. “Please, loves. Do this for me tonight, and later, once the threat is nullified, we’ll sit and figure a way out of this.”

  With a nod, Isiah and Claudius both kissed Remi. Isiah led his mate through the house to comply with Remi’s wishes. Sooner or later, their mate was going to have to realize he and Claudius were both men and not fragile little flowers that needed constant protection from the elements. He and Claudius had been looking after each other for a long time before they had the group surrounding them.

  “I just want this all to be over,” Claudius said as they entered Remi’s room in the den.

  By the barely concealed anger on Mitch’s face, Isiah knew his other mate wasn’t happy that he’d been relegated to the kiddie seat as well. “Is your being here Remi’s doing?”

  “He wants to keep us and the children safe,” Claudius said as he walked over to the couch so he could cuddle with their children. “Don’t be too mad at him.”

  “He also has to learn that we are grown men and that we can take care of ourselves. We’ve survived this long, so does he think we’ll freeze at the first sign of danger?” Isiah grumbled. He was more concerned if Remi himself was the target, and wished he could be out there to keep an eye on their mate.

  As soon as Remi stepped through the door, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, using his demon sense of smell to lead him in the direction of the person, or people, as the case may be. There was something oddly familiar about the scent permeating the night. Something niggled in the back of his mind, telling him to be wary of who they were about to confront. He stood listening to the night when images started to flit through his mind. Images of a person who he never hoped to see again.

  Fuck! I thought Jordon was dead.

  He swore he’d seen the life drain out of the bastard’s eyes the day of their last fight so many years ago. Maybe they had someone in their lineage who held the power needed to bring back the dead.

  But why would they? The guy was an asshole.

  He’d been gone for six years. So much had happened in the time between his death and his rebirth. If Jordon St. James was here now, it meant he was coming for the powers Remi had stripped from him. Remi felt better knowing his mate with the sought-after powers was safely tucked away in the demon den. Better still was the fact that Vance had placed a concealment spell on the place, so no one was getting through who wasn’t of their bloodline.

  As he made his way through the yard, he sensed the presence of Vance, Orion, Murtagh, Eric, Daven and Princess Telarah following in his wake. He breathed a little easier knowing he had backup. The other thing he sensed—Jordon hadn’t come alone. The man had obviously brought his own people in the hopes of taking them down.

  “So you really have come back from the dead,” Jordon sneered when they finally came face to face.

  Remi snorted. “I could say the same about you.”

  “Like you, I didn’t actually die. You stripping me of my powers saved me from the final death. You would still be dead if your bitch of a whore hadn’t come and stolen your body. I’ve waited a long time so I could get the powers locked inside you. So, now you’re back. I’ve come for what you stole from me.” Jordon snarled the last word.

  “I’ve got nothing that belongs to you. If you were half the demon you pretend to be, you would be able to tell I’m no longer in possession of your powers. I released them into someone else.”

  “Who?” Jordon demanded. “Who the fuck has my powers?”

  In reply, Remi gave him an innocent smile and a shrug.

  “Your powers are inside his human mate. I met Mitch along with those identical freaks they are protecting. I say we kill them all and save the world from their perverted ways.”

  Remi looked toward the new speaker and recognized the ass who’d gone to the banquet with Eric. Of course the twat would go sniveling back to his kin with tales of how a human had bested him. It probably didn’t help that Remi had taunted him while they’d fought. If he’d known Jordon was still alive, he would have gone about things differently.

  Staring right at Adrian, he said coldly, “I should have killed you while I had the chance.”

  “Coulda, woulda, shoulda, but you didn’t, and now here I am.” Adrian puffed his chest out. “Now we’re going to deal with you and the perversions you live with.”

  Remi tilted his head and studied him. “Is it the fact that it’s a multiple partner relationship, or more the fact we’re all male?”

  “Mating should be male and female,” Adrian and Jordon stated in unison.

  Eric stepped forward. “Then why did you go out on a date with me? I seem to remember you dogging my steps for weeks until I agreed to go out with you.”

  “I never…” Adrian paled as Jordon turned and glared at his kin.

  “I’m pretty sure you did. Even though I said I wasn’t interested, you kept hitting on me, and when that didn’t work, you called in your IOU so you could be my plus one to the banquet.”

  Remi realized the day warden was trying to rattle Adrian, and it seemed to be working, although Remi got the inkling the only reason Adrian had wanted to go out with Eric in the first place was so he would have the chance to try and take out Claudius, Isiah and Mitch. He would have succeeded with Mitch if Gabriel hadn’t already transferred Remi into Mitch’s body.

  Now he had another reason to be grateful. For as long as he lived, Gabriel Gillis would forever be welcome in his home as both family and friend. Remi ignored the byplay between Eric and Adrian and focused on the real reason they were all standing there. Jordon St. James had another think coming if he believed he was going to harm Mitch in any way to regain his powers. Taking a deep breath, he finally said, “I’m not going to let you harm my mate.”

  “It doesn’t matter what you want. The guild has given us sanction to bring you, and the army you are amassing, down. No matter what we do, we can’t be punished for it,” Jordan sneered. “I don’t know who you pissed off and why, but thank you for making this so much easier on me.”

  Remi fumed at the idiocy of the guild. “You want to think long and hard about starting a war with us. You attack, and we will retaliate.”

  “Oh, I’m not going to attack you today. I simply wanted you to know who was coming after you and yours. A war isn’t worth starting if your opponent isn’t prepared for the fight. Think of this as your friendly warning to get ready, because me and mine are going to bring you down. I’ve already killed you once, and it will be easy enough to kill you again. This time you will hopefully stay dead.”

  The shock in Adrian’s eyes told Remi he hadn’t known this part of the plan. The man’s gaze turned to Eric and almost looked apologetic at the turn of events. When Eric saw the same thing Remi had and started to say something, Daven clasped hold of his hand to keep him silent. Adrian was a conundrum in this whole saga playing out. Moments ago, he’d wanted to believe the worst of Adrian, but now
he had a small notion Adrian was putting on a show for Jordon.

  Jordon, on the other hand, needed to die.

  “Duly noted. Consider us warned,” Remi snarled.

  Everyone stood still as Jordon and his followers melted away into the night. Shit was about to happen and now they had to prepare. The guild to be brought down, seeing as they were bringing in outside help.

  If they could, Remi was going to do the same. As the saying went—all’s fair in love and war.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Claudius stood in the doorway of their bedroom, listening to Mitch and Remi talking about the danger aimed not only at Mitch, but the rest of them as well. As far as he could tell, their unconventional mating was the epicenter of a shit storm no one wanted to be in, but like he’d read somewhere once—it wasn’t about finding shelter in the storm, it was about learning to dance in the rain. And that was exactly how he felt about their mating. Even though he wanted to race out and kill Jordon, he also knew he needed to do the smart thing and make sure the house and surrounding grounds were secure. The guild couldn’t remove them from the house, as Simon, Murtagh and Princess Telarah had been the ones to buy the house with their own money. At least it was one less problem to worry about.

  He crossed the room to where Isiah was standing. The worry emanating from his mate was like a punch to the gut. Claudius hated it when his lover fretted over something. Kissing Isiah softly on the neck, Claudius began undressing him, placing a new kiss with each piece of clothing he removed. It wasn’t long until the sound of Mitch and Remi talking stopped and the two men in question joined him in showing Isiah some loving.

  His clothes soon followed Isiah’s, as Mitch and Remi helped strip him. Reaching behind him, Claudius grasped Remi’s thick cock and tugged him closer. He loved the way the man’s flesh hardened in his hand. By the time they were all naked, Remi had somehow managed to get them all onto their new bed. Claudius rolled onto his back and wrapped his legs around his lover’s waist. Right now, he needed his big strong demon to fill him up and make him forget the world.

  “Is this what you want?” Remi growled out as he tapped the head of his hard length against Claudius’ ass.

  “Yes, this is exactly what I want. I want your cock in my ass. I want someone else to ride my dick, while I’m sucking off whoever’s left over.” Claudius moaned as the lube was passed to Remi and his demon began to thoroughly stretch him out for the hard fucking he was hoping to get. Hell, Claudius thought maybe he could come alone from his lover’s fingers. “Fuck!”

  Remi grinned at him. “That comes soon. Right now, we need to figure out who’s getting fucked and who is getting sucked.”

  “I’m getting fucked.” Isiah groaned.

  Claudius smiled when he saw Mitch stretching Isiah out. He knew without a doubt that Isiah was enjoying the stretching as much as he was.

  He was brought back to what was being done to him when Remi pulled him to the edge of the bed. Heat burst through him as Remi slowly slid home. He loved being so full. Claudius’ cock has so hard by this point that he was desperate for some release. Claudius yanked Isiah to him, lifting his mate and moving him until Isiah’s ass was swallowing his cock. His lover was so tight that it was driving Claudius to the point of release. Claudius took a few steadying breaths, trying to calm his body. He wasn’t ready for this to be over yet. Opening his mouth, he gestured for Mitch to straddle his chest so he could take the man’s sexy-as-fuck cock into his mouth.

  He was fine until, as one, they all started moving. His body was overloading with the three very different sensations assaulting him. Fuck! If I die tomorrow, I’ll have died a very happy man. The heat building inside him crashed through his body, wanting release. Not yet.

  As Remi picked up speed in reaming his ass, Claudius hummed around the cock in his mouth. He couldn’t help but run his hands over Isiah’s thighs, encouraging his lover to go faster.

  “Touch my cock, Remi,” Isiah begged. “I’m so close.”

  He heard the frantic need in Isiah’s voice and brushed his finger across Remi’s hand as Remi worked it on Isiah’s cock. Mitch started to falter in the way he was fucking Claudius’ mouth. His lover was close to coming. Claudius wanted to give Mitch some added pleasure and breached his lover’s ass with two fingers, going in search of his prostrate.

  Isiah was the first to shoot. The way his ass tightened around Claudius’ hard length sent Claudius into a screaming orgasm. The vibration around Mitch’s cock was enough to set him off, and Remi rode him hard, yelling as he came and filling Claudius to the brim.

  Their first lovemaking session each day was always over fast. But they had the rest of their lives to take it slowly as they explored each other’s bodies. By now, they knew each other so well that it was hard to look at one of the others without imagining where you could touch one of them to elicit a moan, or send a shiver crashing through their bodies. He knew if he touched Mitch where his balls met his body, within a few caresses, Mitch would be ready to blow. With Isiah, it was kissing that turned him on faster than one could blink. Remi had been the easiest to work out. His demon loved being asked to fuck him harder. Claudius wasn’t above begging as he clenched his ass around his lover’s cock, especially if it meant Remi was willing to fuck him through the mattress every time. His own thing was being taken by all three of his men at once, which, thankfully, they were more than willing to do for him.

  Too blissed out from the bout of sex they’d had, Claudius didn’t complain when Remi lifted him into the center of the bed. Nor did he complain when a still-hard Isiah climbed between his legs and slid into his body, taking over the spot Remi had only moments ago given up. It should have been weird that he was looking up into a face so much like his own every time Isiah made love to him, but it wasn’t. Making love with Isiah always had him horny as hell, and today wasn’t any different. He could hear Mitch and Remi making out beside him, but he was too caught up in Isiah to take the time to look. Claudius lost the battle with his body when Isiah pegged his prostate over and over with a deep, demanding kiss to match the fucking he was getting. Heat filled his ass, then, a moment later, Isiah slid free.

  Before he had time to conjure up a thought, Mitch turned him to his hands and knees when he had taken Isiah’s place. Once more, Claudius was being ridden like his lover’s life depended on it, and he loved every second of being taken this way. Thrusting back against Mitch, he wanted as much of his lover inside of him as he could get. Sex with the three men in his life was far better than he could ever have imagined. Sometimes he wished they lived alone so they could walk naked in the house and fuck anywhere and at any time they wanted.

  “Fucking love your ass,” Mitch grunted behind him.

  The sound of their skin slapping together was like music to his ears. His body was sweaty as hell, he had everyone’s cum on him, and he realized there was nowhere else in the world he’d rather be than right there with his mates. It truly felt like his insides were on fire at the heat generated by his lovers reaming him. He knew he was the sluttiest out of all of them. The best part was his mates didn’t seem to mind at all. One or all of them took great pride in filling him whenever he needed them to.

  Glancing to the side, he saw Remi finger-fucking Isiah at the same time as they went down on each other. Reaching out, he then slid one finger into Isiah’s body alongside Remi’s, needing to be connected to the two other men in their bed.

  “I’m so close,” Claudius begged.

  Mitch reached around and squeezed Claudius’ cock. He began jacking Claudius off in the same rhythm he was pounding in Claudius’ ass. It was like fireworks were exploding inside his body, lighting him up from the inside out. Claudius’ imminent release was crashing through him. His balls were so tight against his body they ached in need. Mitch ground back so hard he could feel Mitch’s balls rubbing against his body. The way Mitch was loving on him sent him careening over the edge. “Love you all.”

  “I think we wore him
out,” Mitch said as he slid free of Claudius’ body and moved him so his lover was lying on the bed.

  Isiah sighed in relief. “Good. His worry was almost starting to drown me.” When the other two looked at him blankly, he went on to explain, “I don’t know why, but ever since we met, I’ve been able to feel what Claude could. I guess it’s on a parallel with a twin bond, except we’re not really twins or blood related at all. It must be the same for him. Today, it was as if I felt his worry, so when he felt mine, he got a double dose, which led to the round of fucking hot and sweaty sex we had. Not that I’m complaining. I really do love it when we have lust-filled sex.”

  “We all do,” Remi said as he pulled Isiah back against his chest. “We’re also just as worried.”

  “Do you think Jordon will follow through on his threat?” Mitch asked as he cleaned Claudius up then settled on the bed behind the man.

  Remi sighed. “I don’t know. I was shocked as shit to find the man was still alive. If he does have the backing of the guild, we could be well and truly screwed.”

  “I think we’ve all been screwed, and very nicely, indeed,” Isiah stated as he wiggled his butt back against Remi’s groin.

  “The guild is going to be a problem, isn’t it?” Mitch asked.

  Isiah sat up in the bed and moved until he was resting back against the headboard. It was hard to have a serious conversation about life and death when a person was naked, even if he was cuddled up in bed with his mates. “What are we going to do about them?”

  “For now, nothing.” Remi sat up in the bed next to him, and Mitch followed suit.

  “Should we leave? Maybe if we go somewhere no one knows us, we’ll be all right.” Okay, so maybe it was being chickenshit, but Isiah would rather live than wind up dead.

  Remi clenched the sheet in his hands where it had pooled at his waist. “If we did that, it would be easier, but it would also give the guild what they wanted. I’m sorry, and I don’t mean to be a prick about it, but I can’t let them win. I won’t let them chase us off because they’re afraid of change.”