Broken Pentacle

by Eden Rivers

  And provide a hell of a distraction in the process. If she didn’t leap into a discussion on what to do with the information she and Alec had just gained about Jaimis’s location, maybe Alec would cut her a bit of slack. Relax his guard enough that she could… Detecting a familiar nudge at her thoughts, she slammed her shields down tighter, hoping Alec would end up with a headache for snooping.

  Sky’s stomach lurched, but she did her best to ignore the sour lump of fear lodged in her belly. “Jaimis is close by, keeping watch through his minions. If we have to face him, I’d like to do it from a position of strength. That said, I have a hell of a lot to gain from this. And both of you may have everything to lose if my broken magic unbalances your power.”

  “If what happened with Matt and the others can be duplicated…” Alec hesitated. “It seems there’s a fair chance it might pull your power back into balance, fix what got broken.”

  The fact that Alec was interested in pursuing the possibility set her on edge. If they were game to try, she honestly didn’t know if she’d have the guts to go through with this. A stronger bond. Less privacy. The risk of damaging their power, tainting it with hers. And then there was the bit about a ménage with Alec and a wounded witch. Farfetched, at best.

  Sky glanced from Alec to Zach, their expressions equally serious in the dim light. “I don’t know. Maybe it could work, but it’s risky as hell.”

  “No. The larger risk lies in not trying.” Zach fidgeted with a corner of gauze on his bandage. “This is it ‑‑ I recognized that as soon as Alec described what happened with Matt and the other two gaining each others’ gifts. It fits my foreseeing that the three of us can only walk out of this if we join together so tight, there’s no room for failure. Bound together so close that each of us would sooner die than see harm come to another of the three.”

  All cheerfulness and light, that. Sky shivered, and Alec smoothed her hair under his hands, petting her like an injured animal.

  “How do we start?”

  Holy Hecate, this cop had the heart of a lion, and more courage than common sense. “Injured arm, ménage, see any problems there?”

  “I’m sure you’ll both be gentle with me. And the healing sets more every hour. I swear I can feel the flesh knitting together.” Zach shuddered. “Laura’s got quite a gift, but the process gives me the willies. Anyway, what’s first?”

  “A small dose of common sense.” Alec eased her closer to Zach, and as Sky leaned against the ex-cop’s chest, Alec stood up and stretched. Moving to the edge of the circle, he raised his arm and cut a clean doorway, stepped through, and sealed it behind him without even disrupting the energy flow. “I’ll be back.”

  As he disappeared down the hall into the back of the cabin, Sky struggled with the logistics. Even if the guys were game to try this, she didn’t know how to trigger the event. No doubt they all had their insecurities and petty jealousies, if Alec’s interpretation of what happened with Lena and the two men was right, and those were among the prerequisites for a power-sharing rite. Hell, it ate at her every time Zach and Alec brought up a bit of their past, and she didn’t doubt it galled Zach to see her monopolizing Alec’s attention. How Alec felt was anyone’s guess.

  “You’re thinking too loud. Oversharing. And I suspect Alec’s feeling a bit torn, so you might want to go easy on him. As for me, I like you well enough. Just sort of strange, all getting thrown together like this.”

  Ignoring Zach, Sky continued to fret over the details of a power-sharing rite. No doubt with their pesky three-way psychic connection they fulfilled the requirement of a strong bond. But what in the blessed world could they use for a catalyst to get the whole thing rolling?

  “Alec said Matt and the others combined light spheres. I can’t summon one without risking a short circuit, and goddess only knows what my energy will do if I let it out to play.”

  “The point’s combined magic, not combined light spheres. Your psychic gifts are stronger than ever, so if we use that as a jumping off point…”

  Zach trailed off as Alec strode back into the room, naked and gorgeous, all bluster and determination. He carried an armful of folded blankets and a clear glass bottle full of amber fluid. Shifting his armload, he pointed at the sphere of light and created a door, stepping through as easily as he’d enter an everyday room. One fucking powerful witch. Again, the circle settled back into a shimmering, uninterrupted dome, just as if he’d never broken the pattern of power.

  “Filched a bottle of Laura’s massage oil. I’m sure she intended it for medicinal purposes, but Matt let slip a few too many details about what happened that night, and I think we might need it for other reasons.”

  That sent a shot of pure fear through her. No one had so much as touched the sweet little rosebud that guarded her ass since what happened with Jaimis. Even without her memories intact, she knew from the injuries she’d borne that she’d been violated. Raped. And every instinct bristled at the thought of adding an edgy element to sex. Let alone introducing a potentially frightening move into the mix with two men.

  As Alec placed the bottle of oil on the floor and set about spreading the blankets, one on top of the other, she felt a trickle of anxiety rippling over him. This wouldn’t be any easier on him than on her. Or on Zach, with his injured arm. “Well, don’t we just make a messed-up little threesome?”

  “We’ll all be careful, no matter what happens. No one’s going to get so out of control that we end up hurting each other.”

  She wished she shared Zach’s confidence, but from Alec’s brief description of what happened during the prototype for what they were about to try, she got the impression that out of control would be the name of the game. Still, with the potential return of her powers as the prize, she couldn’t back away from this opportunity. The thought of her aura, glowing pure violet around her, unsullied by ugly dark smudges and tears, filled her with hope. Not to mention the return of her ability to kindle flame, call a light sphere, and work spells. Craving those things brought tears to her eyes.

  “This can work, Sky, I know it can.” Alec smoothed the third blanket onto the pile and held his hand out to her. “We’ve just got to come up with a starting point.”

  Right, something making use of her undamaged psychic gifts that would produce a collision similar to exploding light spheres. No problem.

  When Alec pressed at her shields, trying to ferret out how frightened she was, she laughed at the obvious solution. “Okay, so we drop our shields, our minds bare-ass naked like they haven’t been since we were kids. And then we throw ourselves at each other, linking thoughts so hard and fast we ‑‑ hopefully ‑‑ create some sort of disturbance.” Or just plain knock ourselves unconscious. That would be fun.

  Sky sat, legs folded yoga style, and faced the two men. As she took several slow, deep breaths, she conducted another mental security check of the area and suspected Alec and Zach were doing the same.

  Although she almost wished for an intervening event, she sensed nothing more than the thoughts of the guards around the perimeter of their forest stronghold. Nothing. No sign of danger ‑‑ unless you count what we’re about to do.

  “We’re good to go.” Alec sat with one knee touching Zach’s thigh, and the other pressed up against her shin.

  Instinctively reaching out to grasp Zach’s hand, closing the circle flesh to flesh, Sky forced herself to peel away the layers and layers of mental barriers. When she got down to the bare bones protection, she balked.

  “We won’t hurt you, Sky.” Alec sat before her, as naked and vulnerable as the day he’d been born, without so much as a whisper of power protecting his mind.

  That level of trust sent erotic warmth simmering through her, along with a contradictory swarm of cold, clear terror. I can’t do this.

  “Sure you can. Alec’s right. We won’t hurt you. And you won’t hurt us.” Zach grimaced, and she felt the remnants of his shields crumble like dry sand.

  It hurt, baring herself so
completely. Hurt until her teeth ached, and her eyes stung. But when she sloughed off the last bit of protection, leaving herself open to them, she knew there was no going back.

  “Seems wrong, throwing ourselves into each other’s minds with everyone so defenseless.”

  Fuck, if her tough cop caved on her now, she’d never see this through. “Second thoughts?”

  “No.”

  “Let’s do this, then. On three, press outward, or rather inward, with all you’ve got, diving deep, holding on strong. The rest…” She shrugged. “Who knows what’ll happen. But it’s worth a shot.”

  “One. Two.” Oh, fuck. “Three!”

  Chapter Eight

  Plunging into Alec and Zach’s minds with every bit of mental energy she could muster, Sky slipped inside their skin, felt their awe as they pressed inside her. Everything froze for a moment, caught in the confusion of seeing through three sets of eyes, hearing through three sets of ears. And then, as she’d hoped ‑‑ and feared ‑‑ nature rebelled at the impossibility of what they’d accomplished.

  Light pulsed around them as the circle swallowed the extra charge of power, and for a few seconds, everything went dark, blurred behind a veil of midnight fog. The room seemed to tilt under her, and then with the force of an explosion, she felt herself ripped free from her connection with the men.

  “No!” Trembling at the loss, she groped around for them, fumbling blindly, but came up with no more than fistfuls of blanket.

  “Sky, stop! I’m here. We’re here!” Alec brushed her thoughts again, but gentle this time, asking permission to enter.

  She pulled him in, reassured by the familiar presence.

  Alec grabbed her around the middle and pulled her up against his body. We’re okay. Just got knocked loose by the surplus of power. He lay panting on his side, stretched out on the blanket. Before she had a chance to sink further into panic, her vision cleared, and she stared up at Zach’s concerned face hovering over them.

  Come back? Brushing up against his mind like a starving kitten, she shivered with relief when he completed the connection.

  I’m here.

  Back in contact with both of them, she felt more solid. Safer. The circle flared around them like the Aurora Borealis on crack, and with her shattered sense of equilibrium, the floor felt more like the rolling deck of a ship than wood anchored to earth. But with Zach and Alec close, she felt secure. Cherished.

  Alec slid his hand down her stomach, coming to rest over her pubic mound, and her body answered with a feral urge so strong, it left her reeling. With Zach and Alec close, and her body hell-bent on a one-way mission to close the remaining distance between them, she felt like the wolf and the rabbit, all wrapped into one.

  Rather than the wild free-for-all she’d feared, the men moved with caution and sensitivity, careful not to spook her as they pressed skin to skin. Zach pressed his hand just below her breast, and her heart hammered against his palm.

  “Boys first, then. Hate to make you wait, Sky, but I’m not going to touch you until you’re calmer. Less frightened.” With that, Zach clasped her hand but leaned down to kiss Alec, long and wet and hot enough to singe the hairs along the back of her neck.

  Alec reached up to clasp his friend’s face between his palms, murmuring soothing sounds against Zach’s mouth. Sky flinched when Alec grabbed the bottle of massage oil and thrust it into her open palm. He pulled away from Zach’s kiss and met her gaze, a world of uncertainty reflected in his eyes.

  “Just touch us? Anywhere, just so we know you’re with us?” The note of little-boy pleading in Alec’s voice had her swallowing hard, trying to cope with the shimmer of fear he projected along with his request.

  With shaking hands, she opened the bottle and tipped oil into her open palm, then set the container to the side. Rubbing the thin fluid along Alec’s calf, she kneaded the tight muscles until that part of his body gave in and relaxed under her hands. Moving up to his thigh, she started again, kneading and soothing, rubbing and stroking.

  Once she relaxed into the rhythm of her task, she reached out for Zach. She didn’t bother to readjust her aim when the first bit of skin her hand came into contact with was his ass. Rubbing the smooth, tight curve of his flesh, she stroked from butt to thigh and then back up again, whimpering under her breath at the backlash of pure lust she felt from the contact.

  Sweet goddess, he was hungry, so eager to crawl inside them, she felt his need like the heat racing ahead of a prairie fire. Her body trembled with delight, warm and pliant at the thought of satisfying him. But when Zach fumbled around until he found the bottle of oil, then set to work slathering it over the crack of Alec’s ass, she figured her inner lioness would have to wait a bit to come out to play.

  “Alec?” How to ask… Are you ready for this? Will you be hurt? Frightened?

  “I’ll take care of him, Sky. Always have.” Easing himself down beside Alec, Zach handed her the bottle, and she set to work soothing Alec as best she could, scooting up near his head and rubbing warm, sweet-scented oil over his knotted shoulders.

  “I want this, you know.” Alec assured her. “Scared shitless. But damned if I don’t want this.”

  Alec’s voice shivered across her senses like an aphrodisiac, and Sky wondered if she’d survive watching them have sex without bursting into flame and burning down to a pile of ash.

  “Tell me how.” Zach nuzzled his head against Alec’s neck. “Gentler for you if you roll over onto your stomach, but if we’re face-to-face, you’ll know for sure it’s me.”

  Alec reached up to grab Zach’s good arm, pulling him down behind him on the blanket, but he remained on his side. Wondering what he had in mind, Sky hesitated, unsure of her role until he reached out and grasped her wrist, urging her down alongside him. Face-to-face with him, she stretched out on the blankets, her body too high up against his for sex, but just right to make sure he’d look into her eyes.

  Zach nudged Alec’s leg until he lifted it and brought his knee up to rest on Sky’s hip, hot and sweaty. The combined scent of them, musky and salty and oh, so delicious, sent her half out of her mind. Summoning some shred of control, she set about stroking Alec’s arm, soothing him for whatever came next.

  Zach crooned a soft monologue as he stroked and petted Alec’s back, thighs, and ass. Alec’s body started to relax under their hands. He never closed his eyes, hardly even blinked, and Sky stared into their amber-flecked depths. His thoughts wavered hot and cold, hungry and scared, and she offered a mental nudge. Warmth. Reassurance. Comfort.

  The only hint that they’d set powerful magic in motion was the continuing flare of the circle around them, wild and bright and fierce. But inside its boundaries, Sky made peace with whatever might unfold between them and felt her body grow heavy, almost sleepy, as she snuggled close to Alec.

  When she slid her hand down his belly and found his cock, he moaned. She stroked her finger along the soft spot, root to tip, and then back again. When she tickled her fingers lower, cupping his sac in her hand, she felt the backs of Zach’s knuckles as he stroked the crease of Alec’s ass.

  “Sky first.”

  Unsure what Alec meant, she reached out to Zach, seeking guidance.

  Smaller fingers.

  “Oh.” Not like she’d never had her fingers in a guy’s ass before, just not for a long time.

  Scooting down a bit so she could reach, she leaned her head against Alec’s chest, losing herself in his scent, the warmth of his skin, and the press of his thoughts inside hers, twined together like mating cats.

  When she stroked his anus, Alec flinched. But Zach kneaded his shoulders, and soon Alec relaxed against her. Applying the slightest bit of pressure, she let her finger warm against the puckered flesh. Quivers of anticipation raced through her as she wondered what it would feel like to have Alec touch her there. Everything they could do here tonight felt new. Not like revisiting things she’d reveled in during hundreds of past encounters. More as if, just this moment, they�
��d invented sex.

  Alec slid his hand along her spine, and then lower to stroke her bottom.

  Right, fair’s fair. “Okay. But please, be gentle.”

  Not like he’d be eager to startle her with her own finger pressed just shy of entering, but the frightened child inside her demanded she ask for reassurance.

  “No one’s going to hurt anyone tonight, remember?” Alec’s voice sounded sleepy and far away, half drugged with the intoxicating power of what lay ahead.

  Alec shivered as she eased her oil-slicked finger into his ass. He pressed his leg tighter against her hip, his body trembling as she slid her finger forward another inch.

  “Mmm. Feels good.” There!

  Stroking the telltale swell of flesh, she managed to elicit a full-fledged moan on the first pass. As he melted into her, drunk with pleasure, she felt almost smug. Until he increased the pressure against her own little asshole.

  “I don’t know…” Fear surfaced again, edging out the ease she’d won.

  “You’re safe, Sky.” Zach wiggled out of his sling and reached his injured arm across Alec’s shoulder to touch her face. “Alec won’t hurt you.”

  “Never. Only good things here tonight, witch of mine.”

  For a moment, she forgot to breathe, but when his finger slid past the tension-tight ring of muscle, she inhaled sharply and nipped his chest. Where that gesture came from she had no idea, but he seemed to like it, so she followed with a nuzzle and another love bite, gentle and teasing.

  Ripples of heat spread through her as he circled her tight channel with his finger, applying gentle pressure, stretching her ever so slightly. She echoed his movements, stroking him in the same manner, and he rewarded her with a low, hungry moan.

  “Occurs to me I’m the only one not getting any action at the moment.” Zach’s voice held a mix of anticipation and amusement. “You think you could add another finger, Sky? Make him ready for me?”