by Kaye Draper
Idiocy.
Levi waved his hands, the silver markings on his skin lighting up as power coursed through him, ancient and primal as creation itself. He pushed and shaped, molding the magic to his will, giving his thoughts form. Then he stepped back and admired his handiwork—the network of fine filaments of magic essence that no one else would be able to see. It was passable.
His power was growing with every passing day, reawakening. He felt the effervescent fizz of his master’s pleasure and nervousness and he sent a thought her way, loving that he could share his thoughts and feelings with another being so effortlessly—especially after so long alone. He sent assurance and warmth through their bond. Silly girl, to be so afraid of such a natural thing as the bond between her and her lovers. He felt the moment when she realized he was there in her thoughts and emotions, the not-so-subtle sense of embarrassment and ire. He grinned and made a mental note to be sure to call her master when he saw her next. The woman seemed to absolutely detest the word and he used it only to get more of those subtle, amusing responses.
He’d make sure to call her master when they copulated as well. That was sure to be amusing.
Turning, he paced over to the pile of bags in the corner of the room, rifling around until he found Grace’s laptop. She had given him permission to use it whenever he liked, and he found it useful for learning the nuances of her time and culture. Taking the device with him, he went and curled up in one of the overstuffed chairs, settling in to do some research, since he wasn’t wanted elsewhere.
He tried not to feel wistful at that. One as powerful as he did not feel left out. He did not envy the humans or one little water-sprite halfling. Ridiculous.
Still, he would like to remember what it felt like...the touch of another being on his skin.
Chapter 30
Grey would have thought she’d be past the blushing and embarrassment at this point. After all, she’d been naked with all of the people in the room at one time or another. And Mat and Steff had definitely inducted her into the world of sex with multiples. And yet, here she was, fire engine red. It didn’t help when she felt a comforting nudge from the creature in the other room, a sort of warm, amused sensation that radiated out through their link via the stone around her neck. For fuck’s sake. She didn’t need a sea monster listening in on her sexcapades—even if he did seem to think it was all just boringly normal.
She slipped the necklace off and set it on the nearby dresser. Probably wouldn’t keep him from prying, but at least it gave the illusion of privacy. Luca ruffled her hair, her tilted smirk saying she knew just what Grey was thinking. But she just shrugged, as unconcerned by weirdness as she always was. Grey huffed and Luca stepped closer to slide her slender fingers through Grey’s hair and tilt her head back for a kiss. Her soft lips glided over Grey’s, the touch somehow heated and questioning all at once.
“If you’re uncomfortable, say so,” Luca breathed, pressing her willowy body to Grey’s, cupping Grey’s face in her hands so she was forced to meet that searching dark blue gaze. Grey shrugged, then glanced around the room at the others. “I just...believe me, I want all of you. But I have no clue what I’m doing. And the siren stuff....”
Mat came to join Grey and Luca, wrapping an arm around Grey’s back, hand curling over her hip as he pulled her close so he could press a kiss to her temple. “Here I thought we got all that embarrassment out of your system before we left Etna Island.”
Grey shook her head. “Sorry to disappoint.”
Mat just leaned in and brushed his wicked lips over hers, smirking, his hazel eyes hooded. “Believe me, I could never be disappointed.” Pulling back, he winked. “It’s hot to see you all flustered.”
Grey glared, but Luca chose that moment to press a lingering kiss to the spot just below Grey’s ear, making her knees go weak. “I agree,” the devil woman whispered against Grey’s skin.
Grey didn’t know what to say or do. Her siren side was screaming out for her to take, to gorge herself on pleasure and adoration. Her human side was frozen, stuck in a constant loop of “No way do all these amazing people actually want me .”
Help came from a surprising source. Steff stepped up and took Grey’s hand, giving it a squeeze. His warm brown eyes were full of understanding. “You’ve helped me out so many times,” he said with a grin. “Let me help you this time.” Turning, he planted a hand in the middle of Mat’s chest and pushed, gently backing him up toward the long, low chaise at the end of the bed. “Let me take this one off your hands. We’ll give you something pretty to look at while your nice bandmates take care of you, okay?”
Grey grinned back at him, and at the way Mat’s one eyebrow rose in surprise. “I appreciate the assistance.”
Mat spluttered. “But—”
Steff shoved him down on the chaise and shut him up with a scorching kiss, tangling his hand in Mat’s hair and yanking his head back. And, yeah, Grey could watch that all day. Mat was about to get owned.
Luca laughed and shook her head, her hand stroking slow circles on Grey’s hip. “There’s that nuisance taken care of.”
Mat managed a muffled mutter at the insult, but it turned into a groan. Grey didn’t turn to see what Steff was doing to him, her attention on Luca and Ethan instead. Holding out a hand to the drummer, she arched a brow in question. He gave her one of those slow, hot smiles she loved so much, taking her hand and bringing it to his mouth to nibble playfully at her fingers before pressing a kiss to her palm, wrists, along the soft underside of her arm. “Hi.”
Grey’s heart fluttered like an idiot teenager with her first crush. “Hey.”
Luca drew Grey into another kiss, her clever tongue darting into Grey’s mouth, egging her on, deepening the kiss until Grey was at the mercy of that wide mouth and those wicked hands on her body. Ethan’s solid heat pressed up against Grey’s back as Luca’s willowy form pressed to her front, sandwiching her between the best of both worlds. Grey’s entire body lit up with yes.
Ethan’s big, warm hands gripped her hips, and she could feel his hardness against her ass, his lips trailing along her neck and shoulder. Grey slid her own hands down Luca’s back to cup her pert little butt, fitting them closer together. Pulling back, Luca slid her graceful hands up under Grey’s shirt and between the two of them, Ethan and Luca got Grey stripped in record time. Grey helped Luca out of her clothes and pulled her back toward the bed, pushing her down and crawling over her lithe, supple body, pressing kisses and soft bites to all that smooth, perfect skin. Ethan joined them, but he hesitated, his muscular chest and arms on display, but the rest of that glorious body still hidden under his jeans.
“You okay?” Grey asked, pushing herself up to kneel between Luca’s legs. Steff had only been half right earlier—Luca was more wicked than he knew, but Ethan really was the nice one. She remembered Mat teasing him about sharing before. Maybe Ethan just wasn’t into group stuff the way the rest of them seemed to be.
Ethan shook his head, a faint blush coloring his cheeks. Hooking his thumbs in the waistband of his jean, he glanced briefly at Luca, then away. “I’m fine. I just...ah....” He let out a gusty sigh and glanced at Luca again. “I know you’re not into guys and I don’t want to be a complete creep. But I don’t think I can not look, you know? I’m sorry, Luca. You’re one of my best friends, and I don’t really feel that way about you...but you are an attractive woman.” His face was so red it looked painful. “And the two of you together....”
Luca huffed a laugh and slid up to sit against the headboard, her own face looking a bit red. “Eth. It’s fine. Really. I’m not gonna get mad. In fact....” She tilted her head, slanting a dark blue gaze between Grey and Ethan. “I totally get it, okay? I have no interest in dick. But I sure as hell want to watch you make her scream with that thing.”
Ethan barked a laugh. Grey just rolled her eyes. They were all ridiculous, herself included. “Can we just agree that if anyone does anything one of us doesn’t like, we speak up? No judgeme
nt. I love you all, but if we have to keep doing all this talking , I don’t know how much more I can take.”
Steff chuckled. “I agree. Talking is a good idea sometimes. But so is doing. ”
Grey glanced at him to find him standing at the end of the chaise with his dick all the way down Mat’s throat. Mat’s head was upside down, and she could clearly see the way he swallowed around Steff’s cock. “ Ohmygods ,” Grey breathed in appreciation.
Steff sucked in a breath, slowly pulled out, then, in excruciatingly slow motion, fed Mat his dick again, pressing himself in so deep it was a wonder Mat could still breathe. Grey closed her eyes and forced herself to fight the overwhelming urge to be male right now so she could have a turn.
Ethan was looking even more flushed and uncomfortable, though, and Luca just looked bored at the male display, so Grey took pity on them and got back to the matter at hand. Sliding to the edge of the bed, she undid Ethan’s pants and shoved them down, freeing his thick, hard cock. She took her time to really enjoy the beautiful man, running her hands up his thick thighs to cup his balls, sucking him into her mouth and swirling her tongue to catch the wetness that sprang from his tip. His hands tangled in her hair and Grey took him deeper, her body thrilling at the thought of having him inside her.
Luca’s hands cupped her breasts from behind, stroking and kneading, one hand slipping down to rub Grey’s clit, slow and torturous. Pulling off Ethan, breathless and needy and completely over her modesty, Grey turned and pushed Luca back down on the bed, gripping her slick black hair as she plundered that wide mouth, trailing open-mouthed kisses along her throat, pausing to suckle at those perfect, pert little breasts, tugging gently at the silver hoops there, then sliding lower.
Grey crouched with her butt in the air, tossing a look over her shoulder at Ethan, who was watching it all, one fist wrapped around his own cock. That sweet boy-next-door expression was rapidly melting into something darker and sharper, and it did things to Grey’s insides. She returned her attention to Luca, parting her folds with a long swipe of her tongue, pausing to lave her clit, making her buck and mewl under Grey. Ethan rustled around, finding and donning a condom. His warm hands slid over Grey’s back, caressing the curves of her hips and ass, then the bed dipped as he knelt and positioned himself, his thick cock nudging at her wet folds.
The siren in Grey sang at the nearness of her lovers. She pressed her hips back as Ethan filled her, slow and deep at first, then matching Grey’s increasingly desperate pace. She slid two fingers into Luca’s hot core, smiling against her sweet flesh when she felt Luca clench and tense. Ethan slammed into her and Grey moaned against Luca’s sensitive skin, glancing upward to meet Luca’s dark blue, lust-drenched gaze. Luca’s cool water magic flared in Grey’s awareness, calling to her, and she reached out for it, taking it inside herself as Luca came apart under her, crying her name and shuddering through her orgasm. Ethan gripped Grey’s hips hard, fucking into her with abandon, a bit of his essence twinning with her aura as he came, a growl muffled against Grey’s back.
Grey rocked back into him, wringing every ounce of pleasure from him. Ethan withdrew and flopped down on the bed beside Luca, both of them flushed and gasping for air. Grey kissed them both, wanting to cuddle up and enjoy the glow. But her own body was still lit up like a torch, insisting she wasn’t done.
“Grey.” Mat’s voice was low and husky—like a guy who’d just had his throat thoroughly abused. The sound of it lit up every nerve in Grey’s body. She turned to find him and Steff sitting side by side on the edge of the chaise watching her, while Steff deftly slid a condom over Mat’s flushed cock. “Do the rest of us get a turn?” Mat asked with a sultry smirk.
Grey laughed and slithered off the bed to join them, straddling Mat’s lap and sinking down to ride him like this was an everyday occurrence. She could feel the pressure of his piercings through the condom, rubbing her just the right way, but she really needed to figure out birth control so she could have the full experience. Though if she was male.... She shuddered at the thought.
Mat gripped her ass to keep her from falling backward, thrusting upward to meet her, burying himself deep as he sucked and nibbled at her throat. One hand snaked down between them to work her clit, sending Grey screaming over the edge, clamping down on him as they both came.
Mat pressed a kiss to her lips, his hazel eyes shining and his expression dopey. Then his eyes slid to the side. Steff was kneeling beside them, enjoying the show. His brown eyes met Grey’s and he quirked a wry smile at her. “In the spirit of honest communication and all...I’m feeling really jealous right now.”
Grey laughed and clambered clumsily off Mat, that thing inside her still not quite satisfied. “Oh?” She glanced at Mat, who looked like he was about to fall over. He leaned back and braced himself on his elbows, sleepy-eyed and drooping. “I’m not sure he’s got it in him for another go,” she said with a smirk.
Mat rolled his eyes. Steff stood and reached for Grey, sliding a big hand along her cheek. “I didn’t mean I was jealous of you , idiot. I meant I was jealous of Mat and the others.”
Grey snorted at her own stupidity. “Oh!” Then she was sliding into a different body, stepping into Steff’s embrace so she could go up on her toes to kiss him. “This?”
He chuckled and gripped Grey’s ass, lifting him up even further, so his toes barely touched the ground and their cocks pressed together. “Mmm...yes, please.”
Grey kissed Steff deeply, reveling yet again in the difference between all her lovers. Steff’s touch and taste were all his own, and she was pretty sure she was coming to love him just as much as she loved everyone else in this room. Pulling back, she went back down on flat feet, tilting her head back to gaze up at the tall, blond Adonis. “Tell me what you want.”
He smiled and ran a hand through Grey’s hair, then down to cup his cheek. “Anything. I just want...you.”
Grey shuddered at the raw, honest emotion in his voice, in that heated brown gaze. Then he went to the bed and waved a hand at the others. “If you’re not into butt sex, now’s your chance to run.”
Luca barked a laugh. Ethan ran a hand over his face, but they both took turns drawing Grey into a soft kiss that spoke of acceptance louder than words ever could.
Grey expected heat and desperation. It had kind of been a marathon in here, and Steff had to be about ready to explode by now. But Grey was shocked instead by tenderness as Steff made love to him, worshipping his body, whispering teasing endearments while he prepped him, like they were the only two people in the world, before he slowly, reverently slid home.
Steff’s brown eyes were full of wonder and such painful need , that Grey felt like he was drowning. The bigger guy fucked him in even, steady thrusts, wrapping one big hand around Grey’s throbbing cock and stroking him with this pressure that always seemed to be just right and not enough all at once.
When Grey finally came, it was like a slow, massive unfurling, a heat that spread out from the inside and obliterated everything around it. He came back to himself with his face pressed to Steff’s chest, the other guy braced on his elbows, their breath mingling as they fought to draw in air.
“Holy fuck ,” Grey said on a shaky exhale.
Steff shook his head, his silky curtain of golden hair falling around them like a waterfall. “Yeah.”
They parted and Grey found himself in the middle of a pile of limbs, lost under the butterfly touch of glancing kisses and sleepy caresses. “What was that?” he murmured sleepily. Because...shit, he’d never felt anything like it.
Luca brushed Grey’s tangled curls back from his head and gave him a wry look. “Siren thing, I think. I felt it too.”
Ethan patted Grey’s hip. “We all did.”
Grey lifted a hand to study the faint, pulsing turquoise energy that suffused his now completely visible aura. “I think...I think this is what Levi was talking about. I think I’m just finally...well fed. Sated.”
Mat snorted, throwing an arm
around Steff’s lean waist to pat Grey on the stomach. “If that’s what it takes to top you off, I think we’re all willing to pay the price,” he said gravely. “Just...not again until we’ve had some sleep.”
Grey rolled his eyes. “You guys aren’t even the least bit bothered that I just like...sucked your souls or something?”
Steff scoffed and nuzzled into the junction of Grey’s neck and shoulder. “That’s not the only thing that got sucked, sweetheart. I think we were all too distracted to care.”
Grey wriggled around so she could meet his eyes. “Really,” she said softly. “Steff, I don’t want to be... her. ”
His expression softened, growing serious. “You’re not. It’s not even remotely the same. With her it was all dominance and...force of will. But with you it’s different—like an invitation. Like a choice.”
Grey reached out and traced a finger along Steff’s angular jaw. “Promise?”
He huffed. “Shh...sleep. Let me enjoy holding you before you grow tits again.”
Grey snorted. “Just for that, I should change back.” But he was too tired and comfortable to bother. And he really did like how small and oddly treasured he felt in Steff’s arms.
Chapter 31
L ucifer’s East coast tour was going well, with sold out venues and amazing reviews and press. But Grey was having a hard time basking in the glow of success. There was always the looming worry about the other supernatural creatures and their games, and just who was going to show up demanding the kleidí next.
So, she was hardly surprised when a siren slipped into the booth next to her at an exclusive, but out of the way, New York club. Luca, Mat, and Steff were dancing, and Ethan had stepped out to use the restroom, leaving Grey alone at their little corner booth nursing some mixed drink Mat had insisted she try.