by Eva Chase
“I think our dragon shifter deserves to relax,” Nate said, his rumble of a voice even lower than usual. He dropped down beside me and applied his strong hands to my shoulders. A contented sigh escaped me as he started to work over the tensed muscles of my neck and upper back with his insistent thumbs.
I sank into his touch, letting him support me while he continued his massage. Aaron and West climbed onto the bed, each taking one of my ankles and easing off my shoes. I hummed happily at the enjoyable burn of their careful fingers stretching the arches of my feet.
Marco settled next to me and started to stroke his hand lightly over my belly. It wasn’t the same sort of release as the others were offering, but I wouldn’t have wanted much pressure in that area anyway. His caress sent delightful shivers over my skin.
Nate worked his way down my back, and Aaron and West eased up from my feet to my calves. My eyes slid shut. I gave myself over to their ministrations, feeling every kink and knot smoothed away. For a few minutes, between the joint massage and the fluffy duvet beneath me, I could almost have believed I was floating.
As Nate’s hands circled my waist so his thumbs could dig into the small of my back, a different sort of pressure formed between my legs. The heat flowed up to my chest and down my thighs. My heart thumped faster with it.
My hunger for my mates had never completely faded, but I couldn’t say I’d felt all that much desire in the last month since my body had gotten increasingly unwieldy. But right now? Oh, hell, I desired. There were other kinds of knots inside me that only these men could release.
My arousal must have scented the air. When I glanced down the bed, a spark had already lit in West’s eyes. He slid his hand up to my knee. “Can we do even more for you?” he asked, his voice so husky it made me shiver.
“Please,” I said. “I want— Mmm, yes, that.”
My wolf shifter had lowered his mouth to my leg, charting a course over the sensitive skin on the side of my knee. The stubble on his jaw in contrast with the tenderness of his kisses made the perfect mix of sharp and soft sensations.
With a pleased thrum in his chest, Nate scooted closer to me, pressing his lips to the crook of my neck. Marco eased up my dress to bare my panties and belly. He slipped his hand up under the fabric and flicked his thumb experimentally over the tip of my breast. At my eager gasp, he grinned.
Aaron kissed my hip as West continued his slow scorching path up my inner thigh. Nate cupped one of my breasts with a gentle squeeze while Marco teased the other nipple until it stood stiffly at attention. With all that pleasure coursing through me, the immense bulge of my belly didn’t seem all that awkward. After all, our daughter was a result of moments of pleasure like this.
When West’s mouth reached my core, my breath shuddered. I arched up toward him as much as my body would allow. He swiped his agile tongue over my clit, sending a bolt of bliss straight through me, and dipped lower to tease over my opening.
At the same moment, Marco lowered his lips to my breast and sucked the tip into the heat of his mouth. I moaned, every nerve quivering.
West went back to devouring my clit. Every flick of his tongue sent fresh quivers of pleasure all through my limbs. He slicked a finger over the liquid arousal on my folds and eased it inside me with careful pulses. Another moan escaped me. I tried to push into his hand, wanting more, wanting him deeper. Wanting everything my mates could offer me.
Nate trailed his fingers along my jaw and captured my lips with his. Marco tested the tips of his teeth against my nipple. Aaron was peppering kisses all along the side of my body. And West—West was summoning ecstasy with every stroke of his tongue and his fingers.
My hands balled in the duvet, my breath breaking into pants. I kissed Nate back hard until his tongue twined with mine. Marco reached to fondle my other breast while he continued to have his way with the first. Then West sucked hard on my clit with a swivel of his finger, and I shattered with a cry of pleasure. The release rolled over me in a shimmering wave.
The wolf shifter drew back with a grin. The heat flowing through me pooled again around my core. Some part of me wasn’t quite satisfied yet.
“Aaron,” I gasped out.
One look in my eyes, and my eagle shifter knew what I needed. He undid his pants with a jerk of his wrist, kicking them off to the side. His cock already jutted at stiff attention, so thick and hard my mouth watered at the sight and my sex dampened all over again.
“You’re sure?” he murmured as he bent over me. Nate nuzzled my shoulder, still supporting part of my weight. I couldn’t have asked for anything more delightful than the feeling of all my mates so close around me.
“Go gently,” I said. “I’ll be fine. She’ll be fine.” My hand drifted to my belly, just briefly.
Aaron slid his cock over my folds, and I whimpered. A ragged breath escaped him as he pushed inside. Oh, God, yes, this was what I’d been missing. That fantastic heady rush of being completely filled.
As the avian alpha moved in and out of me with measured thrusts, I realized I wanted to be filled even more. My mouth was still watering for the taste of my mates. I gripped Marco’s shirt, and he met my gaze with a lifted eyebrow. My hand slipped down to the waist of his slacks. His erection strained against the fly.
“Oh, princess,” he rasped. With a few quick movements, he’d freed himself. I flicked my tongue over the head of his cock, and he groaned.
Nate began stroking my breasts as I welcomed Marco into my mouth. He rocked into me with the same steady rhythm Aaron was setting between my legs. West swiped that sharp tongue of his across the recently massaged arch of my foot, sending a giddy tremor through me alongside all the other swells of bliss.
I bucked to meet Aaron as well as I could, urging him faster. He let out another groan and followed my cue. Marco’s fingers closed around my hair as his hips jerked.
“I’m there,” he warned in a shaky voice, so different from the feline alpha’s usual self-possession that it turned me on even more. I squeezed my lips around him to encourage his release.
He came with a low guttural sound, a salty tang filling my mouth with a rush. Aaron clutched my thigh, torn between caution and desire, and I clamped my hand over his, rising to meet him even more deeply.
“I want you,” I gasped out. “I want all of you.”
He plunged into me again, and again. His cock penetrated me at just the right angle to hit that perfect place inside me, and my body exploded with pleasure. The sensation crashed through me, leaving me slack and trembling and smiling uncontrollably. Every inch of my body seemed to be singing with joy.
Aaron followed me a moment later with a bow of his head and a harsh inhale. Then he was easing himself out and down onto the bed beside me.
All four of my mates tucked themselves around me, so that every inch of me really was enveloped by the most joyful warmth I could imagine.
“I love you,” I said with a sudden bubbling of emotion from the depths of my chest. “I love you so much.”
“Oh, Sparks,” West said, tucking his head against my waist. “It’s an honor to be able to say I love you.”
Nate brushed a stray strand of hair from my cheek. “You’re everything I ever hoped to have in a mate and more.”
“The only woman I’ve ever loved and ever will,” Marco said, his voice almost a purr. “My Princess of Flames.”
Aaron smiled. “Every time I think I couldn’t love you more, the feeling keeps growing. I’m not sure there is a limit.”
Surrounded there by my mates, I let my eyelids slide shut. Just for that moment, nothing at all weighed on me, nothing at all could penetrate the haze of happiness that contained us. And in that circle of peace, I drifted off too.
Chapter 6
Ren
“This isn’t my kind of Christmas,” Kylie said cheerfully as we tugged a satin tablecloth straight in the feline kin’s banquet hall. “Give me paper streamers and dorky plastic Santas.”
I shook my head at
her with a smile. “I can only imagine the looks of horror I’d get from these shifters if I dared to disgrace their alpha’s estate with anything even slightly tacky.”
“Me too,” Kylie said. “That’s why I think it’d be worth it. Let them squirm.” She winked at me and straightened up, brushing her hands together. She must have recently re-dyed the bright pink in her hair, because her pixie cut gleamed almost neon under the crystal chandeliers. “Okay, what’s next?”
My best friend had flown down from New York to meet up with us here in Florida even though she’d also be joining us for the final celebration on West’s estate, much closer to her home. “Why only have one Christmas with my bestie when I can have two?” she’d said. “Anyway, I know you. You’re going to need someone jumping in to make sure you don’t try to do everything yourself, mama-to-be.”
I’d grumbled something about how I already had four alpha mates hovering over my every move, but I hadn’t really protested the idea. I didn’t get to see Kylie anywhere near as often as when we’d been making ends meet on the streets together. She was the one who’d really helped me get back on my feet after I’d fallen in with a bad crowd, stealing just for the privilege of getting to sleep on a concrete floor and share a little food. We’d finally gotten an apartment together, ready to build a new life, when my mates had found me.
Of course, I hadn’t exactly left Kylie behind as I’d moved into my new new life as queen of the shifters. She’d fought alongside us in the battle against the vampires—and caught the interest of one of West’s lieutenants, a fennec fox shifter named Felix. West had sent Felix to New York to act as liaison with the new vampire king, and as far as I could tell Kylie and him had been honeymooning it up together ever since.
“The candle sticks are in that box,” I said, hustling over to it as I pointed. “I’m thinking four per table, spread out at equal distances.”
“I don’t think they’re going to measure the spaces in between them,” Kylie said.
“Have you met these people?” I said, only half joking. “Some of them totally will.” The feline kin, like cats everywhere, didn’t take all that well to authority—especially when the person calling the shots for them wasn’t even feline. They gave Marco a hard enough time of it now and then, and he was one of them. They’d been skeptical of me and my questionable upbringing in human society from the moment I’d turned up. And calling them finicky would have been a huge understatement.
“They’ve been going a little easier on you, haven’t they?” Kylie said as she grabbed a few of the silver candlesticks from the box. “I mean, you’ve been kicking butt since you showed up. What could they possibly complain about?”
“Mostly I get the impression they’re still reserving judgment,” I said. “Which means, waiting until they find a moment that they can judge, when they’ll happily jump all over me for making a mistake.” Which was why I wanted this particular celebration to be absolutely perfect. Why wasn’t the wine here yet?
But the tablecloths were almost as shiny as the chandeliers, and the wine that had arrived was an uber expensive Italian red that Marco had approved of, and the kitchen staff were whipping up all sorts of delicacies from rare ingredients I’d ordered in from around the world. The feline kin liked to feel they were a little superior—well, tonight I was going to cater to that sensibility completely. Other than the little surprise I had planned for the end, which I was hoping would appeal to a different side of their natures.
This night had better work out without a hitch.
As if echoing my anxiety, my daughter twitched restlessly inside me. I paused for a second with my hand braced against the table, the other rubbing the shape of her through my belly. Hey there. Settle down. And can we try to keep those heels away from my liver?
“Are you okay?” Kylie said, her eyes wide, immediately on high alert.
“Just a normal bit of kicking,” I said, straightening up. “She’s definitely a strong one—and she doesn’t let me forget it.”
“Hmm. Sounds like someone else I know.” Kylie grinned, but her gaze lingered on the bulge of my belly, concern still shadowing her face.
“Hey,” I said, giving her shoulder a squeeze. “I’m all right. Really. I’m pretty sure it’s the job of all babies to make their moms as uncomfortable as possible in the last few weeks so we’ll be looking forward to the part where they come out more than dreading it.”
Kylie laughed. “Okay, okay. You know, you’re my first friend who’s gone the mom route. I don’t have any practice at the whole godmother thing yet.”
“You’ll get plenty,” I promised, and then couldn’t help waggling my eyebrows at her. “And maybe I should be watching for you to ‘go the mom route’ sometime soon? You and Felix just seem to get cozier and cozier.”
Kylie laughed again, but she also blushed. Ah ha. A year and a half was by far the longest I’d ever known Kylie to be hooked on or hooking up with a guy—clearly they had something special. Not that I could picture her totally settling down any time soon.
“I was worried things might go off the rails when we moved in together,” she admitted, her voice dropping. “But… it’s actually been even better. Not that we never have little arguments or anything, but he gets me. And I get him. It’s the first time I’ve ever had that. With a guy, anyway. Obviously he’ll never replace you as bestie.” She tapped me playfully with her elbow and went back for more candlesticks.
“You’ve been holding out on me,” she called over her shoulder. “What’s my god-daughter’s name going to be, huh?”
“If I’m holding out on you, then I’m holding out on myself too,” I said. “I don’t know yet. I think I’ve got to see her before the right one will come to me.”
Kylie made a disgruntled sound. “Since when are you indecisive? You’d better spill the beans as soon as you’re ready.”
“Of course,” I said. My throat tightened a little. Maybe it wasn’t like me to waver over a decision for months. But my daughter would have her name for her whole life. She was the first person I’d ever given a name to. When I picked one, I wanted to be completely sure of it.
As I fished out the candles themselves, elegantly tapered cylinders of pure white that gave off a pleasantly warm waxy smell, a couple of feline kin passed the doorway and peered into the room. They only paused for a few seconds, but their vaguely impressed expressions as they took in the décor gave me a boost of confidence.
Maybe I could pull this off without any of Marco’s prominent families making snarky remarks about my tastes or approach. They were so good at getting in those subtle jabs. It was a delicate political dance, setting them in their place without seeming phased.
Who would have guessed that maneuvering cat shifters would end up becoming one of my main concerns in life?
Nate appeared a few minutes later holding a handful of forks. “Apparently each of these sets is equally fancy silverware,” he said, fanning them for my inspection. “I didn’t know which design you’d like more.”
I blinked at them. “Of course the feline kin’s kitchen would have five different sets for fine dining. Um… Let’s go with this one.” I tapped the one in the middle, simple and sleek. When in doubt, going with a less-is-more philosophy had served me well so far.
“Got it! I’ll grab the rest. And I think Aaron and West have settled on the plates.”
Kylie shot him an amused look as he left. “You’ve put all your men to work too, huh?”
“Oh, believe me, they insisted on pitching in however I’d let them. I had to give them jobs so that they weren’t following me around offering to take everything I’m doing off my hands.” But even as I said that, I smiled fondly. The whole parent thing was new to all of us. I couldn’t blame them for being nervous when I, well—
I pushed that thought away before it could completely solidify in my head and hustled the candles over to the tables. By the time Kylie and I had one in every holder, Aaron and West had arrived with the p
lates. I glanced at them and gave a thumbs up before motioning for them to help us set them out.
One of Marco’s attendants bustled into the room. “The French delivery is here!” she called. “Where do you want it?”
Oh, thank God. “Bring it here—no. Sorry. Have them take it to the kitchens.” The serving staff would bring around the wine. The feline kin weren’t much into buffet style dining.
The attendant nodded and darted away. I scanned the tables. “Glasses—we still need the glasses for putting that wine in.”
“I think Marco was seeing about those,” Aaron said.
“Well, where is he then?” I muttered. “The dinner is supposed to be starting in an hour.”
West gave me a wry look. “I think an hour is plenty of time to set up a few glasses.”
“More like two hundred,” I said. “Oh, and I should check the sound system. Crap.”
“Hey.” Aaron came up behind me and rested his hands on my waist. “It’s all coming together. You’ve thought of everything important. And if anyone suggests anything else, Marco will bite their head off.”
My mouth twitched at the image that provoked. My shoulders came down as I exhaled slowly. “I know. But I want them to have a good time because I pulled it off, not because he bullied them into pretending to enjoy themselves.”
“If they complain about this set-up, then I don’t think even the queen of England could impress them,” West said, making a face.
“Is anything else bothering you?” Aaron asked quietly. “Everything you’ve been doing this week—it is a lot.”
I made a frustrated sound and turned to steal a quick kiss. “I just want everyone to have a great Christmas. Nothing so weird about that, is there? You don’t have to worry about me—I say for the hundredth time.”
Aaron wrapped his arms around me. “We want you to have a great Christmas too, you know.”
“I am,” I said firmly. “The last two days have been wonderful. So we’re going to make the next two amazing too.” And then the five of us could have our own little Christmas, before everything changed all over again.