by Vyne, Amanda
The metal catwalk vibrated under her. Brit gripped the railing and pulled herself to her feet as gunfire blasted around her. The roars of Drachon reverberated up and through the steel like electric currents, and the metal framework squealed and lurched beneath her. The hazy blue glow of her sister was just visible, and Brit could hear the eerie scream as Meghann set a Guardian on fire when he attempted to grab one of the women. And there were Drachon, their bodies so much bigger than any others around them. They provided cover for the women as they escaped, but it was the sight of two Drachon in particular, their soot-stained faces rising through the smoke and flames, that drew Brit’s attention and made her heart leap.
“Tag! Vin!” Brit screamed down to them. Their beautiful eyes turned up to her as one, the look of horror mirrored on both faces. Brit realized they weren’t looking at her; they were looking off to her right. She turned, and her breath caught at the sight of the weapon leveled on her.
Gideon bled into existence from the empty space in front of her, his dark eyes sad as he wrapped an arm around her and brought her to his chest. It felt like she jumped from a plane—the sound of gunfire and screaming, the feel of energy around her, her very breath was ripped away from her with a hissing rush of air. His deep voice filled her ears in the absence. “I’m sorry, little doctor, this was the only way.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Vin could see her through the smoke, high up on the catwalk overhead. Her beautiful face lit up when she saw them, her screams echoing in his head. His heart stalled. The most debilitating sense of helplessness pressed down on him like a flood of churning water, stealing his ability to breathe. Three floors above him, he saw the gun being aimed at her, could feel the absolute determination of the Guardian to take her out. He’d never reach her in time. Beside him he could feel the shattering roar of pain from his brother.
Time slowed as the Guardian’s finger squeezed, and fire belched from the muzzle. Vin dropped to his knees, the fight around him fading away as he watched the path of the bullet. He closed his eyes, preparing to feel the rending of her from his very soul, but the shattering he expected never came. He looked up at the catwalk, and she was gone. Then her scent exploded around him, and she was there standing before him. Behind her he could just make out the fading shadow of Gideon, his dark gaze hard as he disappeared.
Tag touched Vin’s arm, his eyes focused up on the catwalk where the Guardian that attempted to kill their mate was searching the crowd through the sight of his weapon. “He’s mine.” Tag cast one glance at Brit, tucked his weapon in the waistband of his jeans, and leaped for the edge of the catwalk. Tag caught the bottom rail with hand and ripped out the metal beneath the Guardian with his other.
Brit’s fingers dug into Vin’s arm, and he could hear her silent cry for his brother. The man dropped through the hole in the metal grating, flailing, unable to get his bearings before he landed on his back. Tag dropped down, his boots landing on the Guardian’s chest. Watching over his shoulder with satisfaction, Vin turned to shelter her from the sight of Tag finishing off the bastard. His dragon roared in unison with his brother’s when the man’s life left. No one threatened their mate and lived.
“Take good care of my sister, dragon,” Meghann warned him in a deadly tone. He turned, and she stood behind them, encased in a flickering electric flame, eyes bled completely to a cerulean blue. There was no pupil, no whites of her eyes, just that blue that seemed to seethe with the flames that encased her entire body. “Both of you.”
Tag flanked Brit on the other side.
“Meghann?”
Vin could feel his mate trying to battle the confusion and shock to reach out to her sister. He pulled her against him when she would have reached out to her. “No, little love, you can’t touch her now.”
The seemingly sightless blue orbs of Meghann’s eyes turned to Brit, and for just a moment the flames around her dimmed and the sapphire fury in her gaze retreated. “Live happy, sis.”
Then she burned brighter as a rush of new Guardians bled through the hole in the wall, eyes black, claws slashing. He watched for a long moment as she spun and dipped, more graceful than a dancer, more destructive than any weapon, incinerating those in her path. She seemed like a fairy next to the brutal fury of the Drachon around her.
Brim landed next to them and yelled, “Get your mate out of here!” The light of battle was bright in the man’s eyes as well as something else as he tracked Meghann’s path through the battle. “My guys have got it from here.” He looked down at Brit. “Don’t worry, little sister, I’ll bring her back.” A small smile curled his lips, his pupils elongating before he charged back into the fighting with a roar.
“Let’s take our mate home,” Tag rumbled, the residual fury of his dragon adding an edge to his words.
“Meghann!” Brit screamed and tried to follow.
“I’m sorry, love.” Lifting a struggling Brit into his arms, Vin followed his brother through the flames and blood. Dragon seething too close to the surface, he clung to her through the entire flight home, not even letting her go when he climbed into the helicopter. Tag must have sensed his desperation, because he didn’t try to take her from him. He just sat next to them and stroked her legs, her hair as though he too needed the touch to reassure him.
Brit was silent, still, as he carried her to their apartment. He was too much of a coward to even attempt to breach her thoughts. He wouldn’t be able to take her revulsion, her rejection of him. All of this, all of those women, some of whom hadn’t survived, was because of him. She’d read the evidence of his depravity, the depths his research had led him to. Even her sister had suffered because of him. How could she ever forgive that? Forgive what she’d seen tonight?
Tag started the shower and stripped, stepping into the basin when steam rose from the dual streams. Vin carefully undressed her and handed her into the shower with his brother so Tag could care for her. Wanting to get rid of the evidence of this night, Vin reached down to pick up their clothes and winced when he noticed her once-white lab coat. It was small in his hands, torn at the shoulder, and heavily stained with dried blood. She was always smoothing and straightening her lab jackets, so white and pristine. It felt as though it were a violation of who she was. His chest clenched. He’d brought her to this. Vin turned to leave the room.
A small wet hand wrapped around his wrist, and he looked up into her deep blue eyes, the thick lashes beaded with water. “I need you.”
BRIT EXHALED, A lightness infusing her as she realized how true it was. She did need him, as much as she needed Tag. As much as they needed her. “Stay with us.”
He stared at her, his eyes darkening to a deep green. She stepped from the shower, water dripping from her, and reached for the buttons of his shirt. She pushed it over his wide shoulders, the stains and tears telling of what he’d endured to reach her. The shirt fell to the damp floor. She traced the four longs scratches on his chest and knelt in front of him, removing his shoes, pulling his socks from his wide masculine feet. From her knees she unbuckled his pants and pushed them down his hips with the soft cloth of his boxer briefs. He watched her, and she could feel his fear, fear of not being what she needed, fear of hurting her, fear of disappointing her. They gnawed at her.
He was such a big man. She laid her hands around the tops of his thighs, and the thick muscles bunched beneath her palms. Her hands looked small against his dark skin, and he was hard under her fingers. Strong. And yet vulnerable. Had she pushed him away so much that he was finally giving her the space she thought she needed? Now, when she realized what she really needed was them?
Brit looked up into his eyes, such a beautiful green. “Don’t give up on me.”
That deep crease she loved so much trenched between his eyes, and he reached down for her hands, drawing her to her feet. “Never.”
She pulled on his hands, leading him into the shower, where Tag watched them silently, understanding without words. “Then don’t leave.”
<
br /> Vin framed her face with his hands, pushing her wet hair back. “I brought all of this down on you. I want to give you the space you need to work through it. I want to give you everything you need.”
“I need you, both of you. I need what we are together.” Brit drew in a deep breath, and she let her eyes slide closed, the feel of Tag’s fingers massaging in her fragrant shampoo, drawing the last of the tension from her. Opening her eyes, she stared straight into Vin’s, held his gaze and opened herself to him so he could feel her, so there wouldn’t be any more doubts. “I thought what I felt for you would make me too weak to do what I know I have to, but now I know that I can’t do it without you.”
Vin hauled her to him and buried his face in her neck, his big body trembling. And she was surrounded by them, in the heat of their love and their desire, and yes, their overprotectiveness. Sometimes they were overbearing, and sometimes—okay, most times—she would get frustrated and irate over it, but she understood they only did it because they needed to provide for and protect her.
The three of them washed each other in silence, hands slick with soap moving slowly over every dip and hollow, washing away the heaviness of the past. Tonight they would begin again, come together without misunderstandings and doubt and guilt. They dried each other, and Tag lifted her up in his arms and laid her on the cool, shimmery blue comforter that covered his huge bed.
He lay down on his side next to her and threaded his fingers through her hair, spreading it out on the quilt. “I always imagined you this way.” He ran his fingers over her jaw and down her neck. “I knew you would look beautiful on this bedspread the moment I saw it.”
Vin lay at the bottom of the bed, his lips brushing over her hip, smoothing his hand over the soft curve of her belly. He pressed openmouthed kisses over the flesh his hands explored, the wet heat of his tongue laving over her sending ripples of pleasure up her body to pebble her nipples.
“I never slept on it once without you,” Tag continued in that deep, husky voice that was just as seductive as Vin’s kisses. His fingers trailed over the swell of her breast, the tips lightly circling her aching nipples. Brit gasped and arched, running one hand over the soft stubble of his hair.
Vin blew a hot breath over the short hair of her pussy, his hand sliding beneath her knee to push it over and up. When he rolled to partially cover her, his chest imprisoned her other leg, and the feel of his mouth suckling hard at the skin of her inner thigh made her cry out. His tongue slowly lapped over the tiny ache he’d caused. She reached with her other hand to bury her fingers in his curls. “You’re so soft everywhere.”
“Everywhere,” Tag echoed, his lips tracing the skin around her nipple, his tongue circling the taut flesh.
A wash of wet heat flooded her pussy, and Vin’s chest rumbled against her pinned leg. He nuzzled the hair that shielded her lips, the tip of his tongue tracing the sensitive crease. He hummed in pleasure.
As though in sync, Tag drew her nipple deep into his mouth at the same time Vin stabbed his tongue into the depths of her pussy. Brit opened her mouth on a silent scream as pleasure tore through her, caught in the grip of a strong but brief orgasm that left her panting and feeling more on edge than before. She clenched her fist in Vin’s hair and tugged. He let her pull his head up, eyes meeting hers as he dragged his tongue slowly through her folds before giving up his treasure.
Brit throbbed. She ached. “I need you, Vin. Please.”
“Anything you need, love. We’ll give you everything.” He rolled to his back and pulled her atop him. He surged deeply into her with one smooth movement. He was thick and long, and she craved that feeling of fullness that took her breath away.
The bed dipped behind them. Tag knelt, straddling Vin’s legs, and reached out to grab her wrists, guiding her upright and pulling her arms around his neck. Imprisoning her wrists behind his head with one hand, he reached around her to tweak her nipples with the other. His mouth moved a wet trail down one arm and nuzzled into flesh behind her ear, pulling it into the suction of his mouth.
Beneath her, Vin gripped her waist in both hands, lifting her just enough that he could snap his hips, driving up into her. A shaft of pleasure so sharp it bordered on pain sliced through her as he continued to piston into her wet pussy, his green gaze devouring her body arched so helplessly in front of him. Tag shifted his hips forward until his throbbing erection pressed against her lower back. He anchored one of his arms securely around her waist, holding her steady for his brother’s frantic thrusts. Vin slid his hands in and rubbed his thumbs up and down either side of her clit as he slammed his hips up into hers.
“Please,” Brit cried out when pleasure tightened her body to the point where she knew she was going to snap. She knew she had to or she would burn up.
Tag brushed her hair from her face and cupped the back of her head, pulling her face to his so he could look into her eyes. “That’s it, baby, take everything you need from us. Let Vin give you everything we have.” His sipped at her mouth, drinking in her cries as his brother sent her over the edge. He didn’t give up her eyes, holding her gaze. It was incredibly intimate, making her more vulnerable than she’d ever thought she could be, looking into Tag’s green eyes and giving him the pleasure his brother drew from her. “So beautiful.”
Vin lifted his hips against her and rocked her over him, driving up into her twice more as he erupted, filling her with him. With them. When she went limp against him, Tag released her into his brother’s waiting arms. Brit sighed as Vin pulled her to his chest and kissed her lips. His green eyes were soft with satisfaction and something else. Anticipation.
“I want to watch your pleasure, love. To see it shine in those pretty blue eyes, and know that we’ve given you everything,” Vin whispered against her lips as Tag pulled her down and lifted her, positioning her with knees on either side of Vin’s thighs, ass in the air. Her body began to tingle with renewed life despite her lethargy of moments before.
Chest to chest, Vin continue to devour her lips, inhaling her little moans as Tag stroked his cock down the damp crevice of her pussy, rocking the hot tip over her sensitive clit. Tag placed openmouthed, wet kisses down her spine, and then he straightened behind her and trailed his hands up over the flesh still damp from his mouth, sending chills rising over her skin. He pressed his thumbs into the muscles on either side of her spine and stroked down until his hands spanned each cheek of her ass.
“I’ve dreamed of this ass,” Tag said in a ragged whisper, pulling her cheeks apart to draw the moisture from her pussy to the puckered opening he exposed. He stroked his thumbs over the sensitive flesh until Brit jerked and moaned into Vin’s mouth.
He spread her further open, fitting the wide tip of his cock to the tiny hole until the barest tip of him sank into her. Brit groaned and dropped her head to Vin’s shoulder at the burning sensation.
“Give me your eyes, love,” Vin whispered, and Brit looked up and was caught by the intensity of his gaze. He framed her face with his hands and looked deep as Tag slid into her with one hard surge.
“Oh God, Brit,” Tag groaned and spread her wider. She could feel his gaze there, watching his flesh part hers, the wet glide of him into her, back and forth. It scorched her, the knowledge that he watched and the feel of Vin noting every nuance of pleasure or pain that marked her expression. She felt vulnerable, open to them in ways she’d yet to experience. Brit trembled and fought the urge to retreat, to keep something of herself hidden—protected.
Vin kissed her lips, his eyes locked to hers. “No, love, stay with us. We need you as much as you need us.”
The heat of Tag’s chest blanketed her back, and he dropped his forehead to her shoulder. He surged hard into her, reaching around to rub the pulsing bud of her clit, and Brit felt herself break apart. She was flying, no earth and no sky, and the sensation should have been terrifying, but for once she felt sheltered. Even as Tag eased from her body, she felt strong arms curl around her, heard their soft words of lo
ve and comfort guiding her back.
“I love you, Britony.”
Brit blinked her eyes open. She could hear the steady beat of Vin’s heart beneath her cheek, feel the fading rumble of his voice. He stroked his fingers through her hair. “There is a lot about my past that I’m not particularly proud of. The truth of what I’ve done is hard to accept. Even for me.”
Pushing up from his chest, she looked at him, frowning at his somber expression. Tag sat on the edge of the bed, watching her as though they expected her to turn away from them.
“But if making different choices meant I wouldn’t have you here with me like this right now”—Vin smoothed his hand down her hair—“then I wouldn’t change a single thing.” His gaze was guarded.
Brit leaned in and laid her hand on his cheek, bristly from more than a day’s growth. “I see more than your truths, Vin. It was never about your past. It was about mine.” Tag reached out for her hand, intertwining their fingers. She clung to the solid feel of him. “I feel as though I have so much left undone, so many people that depend on me for their lives.” Katya and her unborn child. Her sister. All those innocent women. Brit closed her eyes and inhaled, letting their strength surround her. “After my parents’ deaths, I never wanted to get emotionally attached to another person, afraid of what I could be made to do, but I’m so tired of handling this on my own.”
“You’re not alone, baby.” Tag slid into bed and pulled her between him and Vin. She laid her head on his shoulder, feeling Vin curl behind her, his fingers sifting through her hair. Her eyes felt heavy, their warmth seeping into her.