Magic Gambit (Hidden World Academy Book 3)

by Sadie Moss

  “Maybe if we take care of them, there won’t be a prophecy issue at all,” Theo adds, sounding a little hopeful.

  Cross and Bianca both look like they’re not all that certain they share Theo’s optimism. I can’t blame them. “She said hi, by the way,” I tell Bianca. “I think she misses you.”

  “I miss her,” Bianca says quietly. “No offense to you. But she’s been my best friend for ages.”

  “Totally fair.” I take her hand and squeeze it, and the dark-haired girl gives me a small, grateful smile.

  “The good thing is,” Cross adds, resting his hand on my knee, “Roxie told you where the lair is. And Hawksmith doesn’t have any idea that we know its location.”

  “Lair?” Theo cocks a brow. “That’s a bit melodramatic, isn’t it? As if it’s the place where super villains lurk around making evil plans to take over the world.”

  “Isn’t that exactly what’s happening?” Cross counters pointedly, and the two of them launch into a debate over the difference between a headquarters and a lair.

  “Ugh. Is this their form of foreplay?” Bianca grumbles to me under her breath, rolling her eyes. I hide a smile behind my hand.

  I mean, if we’re talking about weird forms of foreplay, I could point to her entire interaction with the captain of Anzac’s guard. But I keep my lips zipped.

  “Well, we’ll have the element of surprise, which should help. But we’ll still need to move on this fast, before they realize what we’re planning,” Kasian says, interrupting the heated debate over hideout terminology. “I recommend we all get some sleep.”

  Ugh, he’s right. We need to rest. None of us besides Bianca have slept in over forty-eight hours at this point, and I’m feeling it now. I want to pass out for a week.

  “It’s already late. Let’s just ditch the analysis tomorrow and sleep instead,” I suggest. We need it. We need to be sharp for this fight.

  “Ugh, I’ll second that,” Bianca says, standing up and stretching her lithe limbs.

  “Agreed. In the evening we can do recon at the cult headquarters and figure out a way inside that doesn’t involve being kidnapped like Roxie was,” Theo says.

  “Fantastic.” Bianca flips her hair over her shoulder. “While you guys do that, I’ll go back to the fae and see if I can convince Anzac to help us with the fight. If we’re serious about trying to take Hawksmith out, we’ll need all the backup we can get,” Bianca says.

  “Are you sure that you’re the best person to speak to the fae?” Kasian asks. From Cross or Theo, that would probably come across as snarky, but from him, it’s a genuine question. And I don’t blame him, honestly. Given how Bianca behaved the last couple of times…

  …oh.

  Oh, I bet that’s exactly why she wants to go back to the fae. She wants to see the captain of the guard again.

  I bite my bottom lip, torn between amusement and worry. “All right, but just try to be polite to Anzac. He’s not going to tolerate your snark for too long.”

  “I will be perfectly respectful, the way I always am,” Bianca sniffs.

  “Good luck,” Cross says to her in a tone that means do not screw this for us, and she gives him a sarcastic little salute and heads out.

  The door closes behind her, and it’s like I’m a puppet whose strings have been cut. All of a sudden, every molecule of my body feels the exhaustion I’ve been holding at bay for hours, and it takes a supreme act of will to stay vertical long enough to throw on a soft nightgown and brush my teeth. Then the guys and I all pile into my bed. It’s a somewhat tight fit with four bodies, three of which are large and masculine, but we’ve been making it work. We all press close together, and the immediate rush of body heat makes me feel like I’m surrounded by the best blanket in the world.

  All of them touch me somehow, and I find a way to reach out and touch them back, and I let the rhythmic sound of their breathing lull me to sleep.

  I sleep forever, and it feels absolutely glorious.

  I don’t even dream while I’m asleep. I’m that dead to the world.

  When I finally wake up, it’s just before dawn, and I feel… good. Less exhausted, for sure. But I’m not ready to get up yet though, not by any means.

  The clock’s blocked by Kasian’s head, so I can’t see what time it is unless I want to actually get up and crawl over him to see, but I can tell it’s almost dawn because of the gray-blue tint in the darkness outside the window. Pre-dawn light has a softness to it, making the world feel still and peaceful. I want to bask in it for ages. Forget about the cult and all the responsibility that’s on my shoulders, on all of our shoulders, and lie here warm and safe with my guys.

  That’s not possible, of course, but at least I get to have this moment.

  And it’s a nice moment. It’s good. The four of us are all piled up together with our limbs crisscrossed until I can hardly tell where one of us begins and the other one ends.

  Even if I don’t get to keep this forever… I’m pretty damn lucky to have had it at all. I don’t know how I got so fucking lucky, but I’m grateful for it. I should appreciate that more, I think. Nothing lasts forever. Of course I want another few months, another year, another decade with these guys.

  I love them, so I’m greedy.

  Aren’t all of us greedy in love? Always wanting more?

  But this is good. This is wonderful. This is more than I could’ve ever hoped for.

  Cross, on my other side, nuzzles me softly with his nose. It takes me a moment to realize that he’s actually awake, instead of just cuddling closer in his sleep. He’s so snarky all the time, he would die if any of us told the rest of the world that he’s a massive cuddler. Theo hasn’t even so much as hinted that he’ll tell anyone though, and I know he never would. The guys might snark at each other, but they really do care about each other now, and that warms my heart.

  “Something on your mind?” Cross whispers, his lips brushing against the shell of my ear as he tries to keep quiet. He doesn’t want to wake the others just yet either, I think, and that’s a sweet thought.

  “You’re a sweet person,” I whisper.

  Cross chuckles softly, barely any noise, just an amused exhale against my skin. “Hold on there, cupcake, you can’t go saying things like that. Someone might overhear.”

  “I won’t tell,” I promise, smiling. “But I mean it. You can be however you want with us, we won’t tattle. I like that you’re sweet with us.”

  “Just for you,” Cross murmurs. Then he lifts his head just enough to meet my gaze, his sea-green eyes warm and sleepy. “I want to be a lot of things for you, Gabbi. I want to give you… everything.”

  He hesitates before the last word, as if he’s searching for the right way to say what he means. He doesn’t seem satisfied with the word he came up with, but I don’t need him to keep searching. Because I know what he means.

  “I want to give you everything too, Cross.” My fingers brush gently down the side of his face, and I feel him lean into my touch. “Everything I am.”

  He turns his head and presses his lips to my palm. Then he leans in and kisses me properly this time, and my fingers slide through his rich brown hair. We kiss again, and again, soft and sweet, and it’s nothing like how I would’ve thought kissing Cross would be if you asked me to think about it when I first met him.

  But that’s the beauty of dating someone. You get to see all these sides of them that you wouldn’t otherwise, the parts of them they hide from everyone else. And I love getting to have that privilege with Cross.

  As we kiss, I feel Theo and Kasian stirring on my other side. “Looks like somebody got started without us,” Theo teases, his voice thick with sleep.

  His lips find my neck, and I arch into his touch, kissing Cross a little deeper as tingles spread across my skin. There’s a rustling under the covers, and a lump that I’m pretty sure is Kasian moves around under the blankets. Theo rolls me onto my back as Cross breaks our kiss, and the two men trail warm lips down the sid
es of my face and over my shoulder as Kasian settles between my legs.

  We’re all still wrapped up in the bubble of warmth we created under the blankets, like a little nest, and I can tell we’re all half-awake by the languid, unhurried way we touch and kiss each other.

  Kasian’s hands run up my thighs, and I can feel the heat of his breath against my pussy through my panties. I undulate my hips in silent invitation, and I feel his chuckle more than I hear it. I swear the vibrations of the sound go right to my clit, making a little whimper fall from my lips.

  “What’s he doin’ down there, cupcake?” Cross murmurs against my skin as he peels down the thin strap of my nightgown, his voice teasing. “This?”

  He tilts my head toward him again and kisses me deeply, just as Kasian tugs aside the crotch of my panties and puts his mouth on me. My fingers and toes curl, my entire body going taut as both men kiss me at the same time, their tongues moving in almost the exact same rhythm.

  Holy hell, how do they do that? How do they know?

  The twin sensations on my mouth and my pussy make me feel like I truly am being devoured, like Kasian and Cross have teamed up to draw my soul out of my body. And just when I think I can’t take the overload of feelings anymore, Theo tugs down my nightgown’s strap on the other side, dragging it so low down my arm that my entire breast is exposed. His mouth closes around my nipple, and I let out a startled, dazed, hungry noise that I’m sure I’ve never made before.

  It gets lost in Cross’s kiss, which is still going, never ending, slow and wet and deep.

  Oh, fuck. I’m gonna come.

  It’s become as inevitable as the sun rising, and I can feel the orgasm building inside me like a balloon inflating. Pleasure makes my fingertips tingle and my stomach clench, and I somehow manage to move my hands between me and the two men encasing me. Cross and Theo are both lying on their sides, wearing nothing but their boxers, and when I slide my hands inside the waistbands of their underwear, my fingertips brush against hot, velvet-covered steel.

  A bead of precum is already seeping from Cross’s slit, and I run my thumb over it as the pressure inside me ratchets up even more. He and Theo switch suddenly, Cross tugging down my nightgown to expose my other breast as Theo tilts my head and claims my lips in a devastating kiss.

  I don’t know how the fuck he does it, but Kasian’s tongue matches Theo’s tempo as the handsome Englishman kisses me, sending my body spiraling higher. I’m grinding against Kasian’s face unabashedly now, shifting my hips slightly to get his tongue exactly where I want it. Where I need it.

  And then he’s there, and I’m falling.

  The orgasm pours through me like fire, making me writhe between the three men, wrenching my lips away from Theo’s as I suck in air like I’m dying. They ride me through it, worshipping my body as my muscles unlock and my heartbeat slowly starts to return to normal.

  The lump under the covers stirs as Kasian tugs my panties down my legs then crawls up my body. When his head pops out from beneath the blankets, he kisses me deeply, taking over for Theo and letting me taste the flavor of my own arousal on his lips.

  Jesus, why is that so fucking hot?

  I love the way each of my men taste, and I love that I know the differences between them. But I never would’ve thought I’d like my own taste. I do though, when it’s delivered by Kasian’s lips. When it clings to his skin, marking him in a way that makes me feel oddly possessive and territorial.

  He tastes like me. Like the most primal, intimate part of me.

  That thought sparks something in my chest, and even though my inner walls are still fluttering from the amazing orgasm I just had, I release my grip on Cross and Theo to grab Kasian’s ass, urging him toward me.

  He already discarded his boxers, so there’s nothing in his way, and he doesn’t hesitate for a second. He just slides into me, sinking into my channel in one long thrust. Noises of satisfied pleasure fill the room, and a second later, Cross and Theo throw off the blankets, exposing us completely.

  I miss the cozy little nest we had, but even as cool air hits my skin, Kasian’s body warms mine. His cock is thick and long, and it stretches me as he pulls out and thrusts back in, bottoming out inside me. My other two men shuck their boxers, and I watch as they both fist their cocks, watching Kasian fuck me with hungry gazes.

  God, I like this. I like it more than I ever thought I would—being with all of them like this.

  The connection between me and Kasian flows like a current between us, lighting up my nerve endings. And even though I’m not touching them, it extends to the two men on either side of us as well. They’re a part of this just as much as Kasian is, joined by the shared pleasure that seems to heat the atmosphere around us.

  My heels press harder against Kasian’s firm ass, pulling him tighter against me with every thrust, and Theo makes a noise that’s almost a purr. His hand strokes his cock in firm movements, and his gaze trails up and down my body, moving from the place where Kasian impales me to my breasts to my face.

  I watch him watch me until Kasian drops his head to claim my lips, and then I lose myself in the feel of the man above me. He kisses my mouth with the same loving attention he gave my pussy, and I clench hard around him, squeezing and milking his cock.

  “Fuck, Gabbi. I can’t hold on much longer,” he murmurs against my lips, but I don’t take that as my signal to stop what I’m doing. Instead, I work him harder, undulating my hips against his strokes and gripping him with my inner walls.

  “Fucking hell.”

  Cross is the one to rasp those words, almost like he can feel what I’m doing to Kasian. Or maybe he can just see it in both of us, see the way our movements have gotten sharper, harder, more desperate.

  The orgasm Kasian gave me earlier left me feeling wrung out, but my body is sparking back to life as he drives into me. I don’t think I can come again yet, but I want to feel him do it. I want to feel him let go.

  “Come, Kasian,” I whisper, wrapping my arms around his neck, palming the back of his head. “Come inside me. I want to feel you. Please.”

  I don’t think there’s anything I could ask of this man that he would deny me. And certainly not this. He draws back slightly to meet my gaze, and there’s so much desire and love burning in his coffee brown irises that it makes my heart lurch in my chest. Then he crushes his lips against mine and pistons his hips hard and fast, pushing himself over the edge.

  His cock pulses inside me, and he gives a low, shuddery groan as he comes.

  I can feel his body relax over mine as he gives a little more of his weight to me, the orgasm seeming to have made him as boneless as mine did earlier. Next to us, I can still hear the telltale sounds of Theo and Cross touching themselves, and I bite my lip as I turn to look up at Theo.

  “You know, I could help you with that.”

  A wicked smile curves his lips in response to my words, and he unwraps his fingers from his shaft with slow deliberation. He sinks back onto the bed, lying down and quirking a finger at me.

  Kasian presses kisses to my neck and jaw before finding my lips again, then he smiles and draws back, pulling out of me at the same time. He and Cross both watch as I crawl over to Theo, but when I move to straddle the tall man, he stops me.

  “Uh uh, love. Other way.”

  I blink at him, confused for a second, but then he makes a twirling motion with his finger and realization sinks in.

  Oh.

  Blushing slightly, I turn around so I’m facing toward his feet, then swing one leg over his lean hips so I’m straddling him backward. From this position, I can easily see Cross and Kasian gazing at me, and I meet their eyes, heat blooming low in my belly. I can feel the wetness seeping from me onto Theo’s stomach, but he doesn’t seem to mind it one bit—especially not when I fist his cock and begin to stroke him lightly.

  But he doesn’t let me have my fun for long.

  “Inside you, love,” he rasps, his thick length pulsing slightly in my grasp. �
��Now.”

  I could tease him more, but fuck, I don’t want to. Arousal is spiking in my veins again, and I desperately need to feel him.

  Rising up on my knees, I line him up with my entrance and sink down. It’s a little awkward at first since I’m not used to this angle, but when I look up and catch Kasian and Cross watching, the awkwardness is drowned out by a rush of desire.

  Holy fuck, they look like they want to eat me alive.

  Kasian, at least, already came. But Cross looks like he’s on the verge of losing it as he fists his cock at the base. The tip is dark and swollen, and more precum is oozing out, and the sight of him so far gone for me makes my clit throb and my breasts ache.

  I rise up and sink back down, falling into a rhythm as I fuck Theo. His hands grope my ass, teasing the small, tight hole and making me groan.

  “Touch yourself for them, minx,” he murmurs roughly. “Let them see you come.”

  God, I don’t even know if I need to touch myself at this point. I’m so close already. But I do what he says, mostly because I want to see the looks on their faces as they watch.

  Theo grabs my hips, helping control my movements as I bring both hands down to my pussy. I spread myself wider, letting them see everything as the fingertips of my other hand find the hard, sensitive nub of my clit, dancing circles around it as I push myself toward another orgasm.

  “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

  Cross repeats his favorite word over and over, his gaze zeroed in on me like a laser. He’s stopped stroking himself at all, but his chest is rising and falling fast and his nostrils are flared wide. And when I come hard, my back arching and my hips shuddering as I clamp down on Theo’s cock, his jaw clenches so tightly I’m not sure he’ll ever be able to open it again.

  “God, yes. Oh, fuck!” Theo’s fingers dig into my hips, holding me steady as he thrusts up into me from below, flooding me with his cum as his cock jerks inside me.