“I think we had better sit down and have a chat, right chaps?” Easton’s smooth British voice made her shiver every time it flowed over her, his voice helping to calm her. How was he able to do that? Not even Jazzy could calm her when she was “in a tizzy” as her best friend liked to say.
Ariana threw up her hands in aggravation and sat in her favorite chair with all four of the guys sitting across from her. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she exhaled it slowly before she spoke. “Tell me why I should trust any of you?”
“Trust us how? Not to tell anyone or not to hurt you? Because we won’t do either. Well, we will tell the other two on our team because they would need to know. But other than that, no one.” Gray frowned at her.
“More like not to throw me into a mental institution,” she mumbled under her breath.
“What? Why would we do that?” Jayden appeared annoyed she would even think such a thing.
“Wait, you heard that?”
“Shifter hearing is much better than a human’s, Sugar.” Jay smirked at her and winked.
Sugar? Did he just call her sugar? No one had ever given her a pet name before. Yet here these guys came storming into her life, not even fifteen hours ago, and they were already giving her pet names. And making her so crazy she cracked her wall? Shaking her head, she tried to think of a logical way to explain this. There was no way it could be the guy from her past. She had stabbed him-- killed him. So, it had to be someone new. Just her luck, why did the crazies always find her? Besides, they were cops! There was no way she could tell them! They would throw her in jail and throw away the key.
She couldn’t, no, more like damn well wouldn’t, leave her girls. No, it was best to keep quiet and handle this on her own like she always has. So, what could she tell them to get them to leave her alone, so she could think? With all this male hotness it was really hard to get her brain to focus. Not to mention, she was still pissed at Aiden’s dirty, rotten trick even if she was grateful for it. Stubborn? Yeah, that was her.
“No reason,” she said, giving a strained laugh. Raised eyebrows, narrowed eyes, and crossed arms from all the guys was their response. Okay, not good enough. Ariana decided to ask them some questions. Their answers would determine how she would proceed.
“Okay, fine. You guys are all shifters, right?” She figured she should start with an easy one.
“No.” Aiden leaned forward and rested his arms on his legs.
At her confused look, Gray clarified, “Aiden, Jay, and I are shifters. Easton is a Light Mage, Roman is a Dark Mage and Mateo is a Seelie Fae.”
Her heart stopped beating, she stopped breathing. OH. MY. GOD. Alaina’s words ran through her head. At least one shifter, one Light Mage, one Dark Mage and one Fae.
FOUR?!? I have to have four men!
Well no, it could be more.
No, it wasn’t possible! There was no way these six men where her fated mates! Oh My God, there’s six of them! Okay, chill out. It doesn’t mean they were all her fated mates. Hell, none of them could be her fated mates. Yes, that was more likely…right? Besides, as smoking hot as they were, they probably already had mates.
“Umm… by any chance are any of you mated already?”
“Why? Like what you see?” Gray snickered.
She sighed. “I know it’s weird for me to be asking this but please answer the question.”
“No, none of us are.” Aiden responded this time. “Why does that matter, Ariana?”
“Well fuck me sideways.” Ariana didn’t mean to say that out loud. Crap on a cracker. She put her head in her hands.
“We would all love to darling, just say the word.” Easton’s comment shocked her so much she damn near fell out of her chair as her head snapped up.
“Wait, what?” She looked at each of them in turn, wide eyed. Expecting at least one of the guys to voice their objections. None did. Well, shit. Now what was she supposed to do?
Jayden
Good God, she was abso-fucking-lutley stunning when she was pissed. Like an avenging goddess.
Watching her push Aiden around like that had made him rock hard, and he had stayed that way. Getting even harder when she had accidently said fuck me sideways. Hell yes! He wanted to fuck her sideways, up against a wall, in the shower, and on her bed. Hell, he wouldn’t even mind taking her right here. His dick agreed with him. Jumping at every dirty, nasty thought and picture that went through his head. Jayden started to fantasize about how it would be.
Her glorious hair would spread around her as he laid her on the floor. While thrusting into her mouth with his tongue, he’d slowly glide his hands up under her shirt, revealing her creamy, smooth skin one glorious inch at a time before finally tugging her shirt over her head.
Her sleek toned torso on display, her breasts would strain her bra as she breathed heavily. He would quickly unsnap the bra and get rid of it, palming her generous breasts in his hands and flicking the nipple softly with his thumb before pinching it, hearing her moan. His brothers would watch as he pleasured their girl.
After kissing his way down her neck to her breasts, he’d take one in his mouth, feeling her squirm against him and hearing her mewl like a sexy little kitten. His brothers would give answering groans as they knelt and helped him take off her pants. Then they would worship her like the goddess she was.
Fuck! He didn’t think his cock could get any harder. He had to fight the urge to palm himself right then and there.
But hot damn. He couldn’t stop thinking about seeing her ivory breasts. He would lap at them like a cat lapped at milk, bathing them with his tongue and biting gently. Then he’d blow on them, just to see them pebble into hard points. Her breath would hitch and become rapid as she fisted her hands in his hair first. Then she would reach for his brothers, drawing them closer as they continued to stroke her sweet skin. Making her shudder in anticipation, he would kiss his way down her stomach, stopping to kiss each of her hips and sucking gently on the skin. He would try to take his time, to draw out her pleasure, when all he really wanted to do was dive right into her sweet nectar. As he gently pushed her thighs apart, Easton would finally claim her mouth, while Aiden and Gray would give their full attention to her breasts. And what would he do? He’d gorge himself on her.
First he’d play with her swollen and hypersensitive clit, sucking the nub into his mouth, rolling it around with his tongue, then gently biting in between hard and rapid flicks. He’d bring her to the brink again and again, never allowing her that sweet release she would be begging for as she thrust her hips up into his face. Until he had to grab her hips to keep her still and let him play. Only when she couldn’t take anymore would he dip into her honeyed warmth. Tonguing her sweet pussy so hard she would quiver and have goosebumps on her beautiful skin. Ariana would be so wet that is was dripping all over.
He’d slip a finger into her tight, wet pussy as she neared completion one last time. This time he would let her have her release, but not until he was ready. At first pushing in and out of her tight sheath slowly just to see how crazy he could make her, he’d then slide a second finger inside and increase the pace, curling them slightly to hit her G-spot and sending her flying over the edge as she screamed her pleasure into Easton’s mouth. Jayden knew she would be glorious in her release.
Having her gush all over his face as he lapped her up would be heaven. He couldn’t help the slow glide of his tongue over his lips. Shit is was like he could already taste her. After she stopped quivering, he would undress slowly, watching as her eyes tracked his every movement. He would kneel back down and settle between her thighs while his brothers got undressed. As she slipped East’s dick in her mouth and stroked Aiden and Gray, he would slide his hard as fuck, big cock in…
Jayden was snapped out of his fantasy by a loud, shocked gasp and a high keening sound. Focusing back on Ariana, he saw she was flushed and breathing heavily, while gripping the arms of her chair, staring at him in rapt attention. Almost like she heard what he w
as thinking.
She couldn’t do that. Could she? No, no one but Mateo could, as far as he knew. But, she did have a wild look in her eyes, along with something else…was that…terror? Why would she be terrified of his thoughts? He still had trouble believing she could.
Not that he was embarrassed if she did. Hell, he wanted her to know just how badly he wanted to be between her pale thighs, hear her screaming his name as he fucked her into…
Standing up from her chair swiftly and snapping Jayden out of it again before he could fall down the rabbit hole, she said in a choked voice, “Excuse me for a moment…I… I need to check on Zoey.” Ariana fled the room as if the hounds of hell were after her. What the fuck did he miss with his fantasy?
Frowning, he turned to his brothers. “What the hell did you guys say to her?”
“Us? Dude we didn’t say anything,” Gray replied. “After she said ‘Wait, what?’ she suddenly got…I don’t know… glassy eyed and looked at you. Then she started to breath heavy and get flushed. She was aroused and scared, I could smell that much.”
“What. The. Flying. Fuck?” Jayden launched himself off the wall and started to pace. He was still hard as a brick, so it made it a bit difficult, but he managed. “Uh… Guys? I think she might be able to hear thoughts.”
“Why do you say that man?” Gray looked at him like he had just said he was a fucking pink unicorn who shoots rainbows out of his ass.
“I know it sounds out there. But hear me out. I was kind of having a fantasy about fucking her here on the floor with all of you.”
“What?!” Aiden shouted jumping off the couch.
Jayden winced. “I know, but she’s just so fucking stunning, all spitfire with hints of vulnerability. Plus, and here’s the kicker, my tiger keeps calling her his Mate…”
Gray interrupted him. “My fox has been saying the same thing since last night. He almost took over when she drove away. The asshole.” Shaking his head, he glanced at Aiden, who raked his hands through his hair again and sighed gustily.
“My wolf says the same thing,” Aiden stated softly, then looked at East.
Easton held up his hands in an I surrender motion, “Oi blokes, I don’t have an animal, but yeah, my magic keeps reaching out for her. It’s hard to rein it in.”
Jayden watched as East got that faraway look in his eyes that usually meant he was thinking about something.
“Professor, have you ever heard of a woman who had different species of mates?” he asked slowly. This wasn’t usually how it went with mates. Typically, it was either a Shifter, Fae or Mage. A shifter female could mate with a Fae or a Mage, but not both. Either they were all totally wrong and fucked, or…
“Hmmm… once. But there hasn’t been one of those in four hundred years give or take. The scholars think that the last one died before she ever had kids. If that’s the case, she wasn’t able to pass along her magic and abilities, which would explain why our war has gotten a whole lot harder. They were the Balancers of Light and Dark. Fierce warriors who would go into battle if they had to but preferred to stay in the background.”
Their heads turned so quickly to watch the hallway, Jayden was sure they all got whiplash.
Ariana strode back in with a glare for them all. When she focused her gaze on Jayden, her eyes iced over, and he felt chills sweep along his body. What the fuck did he do?
“Five hundred years to be exact. They didn’t die out, they were cursed.”
“What the hell are you two talking about?” Gray asked.
At the same time Jayden said, “Ariana, could you hear my thoughts?” That was the only thing he could think of. Jayden had to know the answer before he moved on to help solve another problem.
“To answer your question Gray, have you ever heard of The All-Seeing-Eye?” She looked at Gray, completely ignoring Jay.
His tiger raked his claws down Jayden’s insides. He really didn’t like her ignoring them. Jayden walked right up to her and bent down to stare into her eyes or tried to rather. She was looking everywhere but at him. He didn’t give two fucks if she wouldn’t look at him, so he asked again very slowly. “Ariana. Could. You. Read. My. Thoughts?”
Glancing up at him from under her lashes, she nodded minutely.
“Everything you heard…” he started, only have her interrupt him.
“Saw, actually.”
“Saw?” Aiden quipped.
“Well, his thoughts were so fucking loud, and he was painting a mental picture to go with it, so yeah, I saw what he was thinking. Usually it’s just thoughts. But if that person is fixated on something, then I don’t hear the thoughts so much as see them. I’m usually really good at keeping my mental shields up so this kind of stuff doesn’t happen, but I was in shock and not actively thinking about shielding. So, it slipped and allowed me to see…” She was babbling and blushing furiously, it was so adorable. But as he concentrated on her smell, he could taste her fear and nervousness along with her desire.
“Sweetheart, I can say with the utmost confidence that everything you saw is true.” Jayden smirked at her. Seeing her storm cloud eyes darken in worry and fear, he was blown away. He wanted to know what put that look in her eyes and then he would demolish her fear.
“Anyways, let’s get back to the All-Seeing-Eye thing please. I thought they were just myths and legends East,” Aiden said while pulling Jayden back a little from Ariana. He always was a buzz kill, the fuckerhead. Ariana flashed Aiden a look of relieved gratitude. Jay’s tiger didn’t like that at all, she had nothing to fear from him. Before he could reassure her further, East spoke up.
“Maybe Ariana should take this one Capt.” Easton was looking at Ariana in wonder and awe.
What the hell could give him that kind of look? Jayden hovered his hand over the small of Ariana’s back. Other than stiffening up, she let him guide her to the chair and sit her down. Jayden held up a finger in the universal wait signal and went to the kitchen to make her another cup of coffee. She seemed to live on the stuff, and he had a feeling she would need it.
Eight
Ariana
Ariana watched as Jayden went into her kitchen. It looked like he was making a cup of coffee, and she really hoped it was for her. She could use one of those right about now, the Irish way though with baileys in it. She couldn’t get what she saw in Jayden’s mind out of her head. It played on an endless loop. The way he saw her, the way he and the others had touched her. Like she was precious and fragile. Thing was though, she didn’t look like his version of her. Underneath her clothes, scars riddled her torso and back from the abuse she had suffered at the hands of that monster. Ariana’s self-doubts started to creep in. When they saw her, because she had no doubt now that they would, especially if they really were her fated mates then they would find her lacking and ugly just as she did every time she looked in the mirror. We are all our own worst critics. Maybe they wouldn’t find me ugly. Maybe, just like in Jay’s fantasy, they would find me attractive. She would never know unless she could get over her fear of touch.
She snorted. Like that was going to happen anytime soon. But then again… it had to. If what Alaina said was true, she only had eleven months left before she died, leaving her girls orphans. Ariana’s throat threatened to close. She would be damned if she let that happen, not when she could do something to change that. So yeah, she was going to try her hardest to make it happen. Seeing what Jayden had thought about her had helped a bit. To see a man think about touching her, and not for his enjoyment at her pain but for her pleasure and his, was astounding to her.
She knew not all touch was painful or bad. Ariana had slowly started to come to grips with it all with help from her therapist. But she still had panic attacks at any man touching her…or at least she usually did. For some reason, none of these men induced that blinding and instant fear in her, unless she was already having a panic attack. They had all touched her in some way, except for Gray and Aiden. He had gotten close but had never actually touched her. Sh
e hadn’t lashed out except for last night when Easton had come up behind her and had touched her shoulder. Then she had gone into attack mode, and he had to bear hug her to get her to stop trying to hurt him. Unfortunately for him, that had made matters worse. Her mind became nothing but a cloud of terror, and she had thrashed around before her training had kicked in. Her Sensi would be pissed and wipe the floor with her if he knew she had resorted to… well, acting like a victim. He would have been right too. She had fought hard to get away from thinking of herself that way. To become a strong and independent woman. Someone who could protect herself and her girls. Not some scared little girl as Aiden had put it.
She winced. “Sorry about laying your ass out on the pavement last night, East.” She smirked as she recalled his look of disbelief as he hit the ground. Ariana looked at Aiden and blushed in embarrassment. “And for almost attacking you Aiden.”
“It’s quite alright darling, but where did you learn that move?” East drew her gaze back to his at his question.
Ariana shrugged. “I took a lot of martial arts classes. I’m a red belt in jujitsu, a black belt in kickboxing, a purple in taekwondo, and a yellow in aikido. But I just started that one two years ago.” She glanced up as Jayden stopped next to her with a look of complete awe on his face. His arm stretched half-way out to hand her a mug of coffee in her second favorite mug. It had a grumpy cat on it with the words ‘I need coffee… right Meow.’ It always made her chuckle and cheer up.
Bless his heart. She sighed as her heart gave two solid thumps against her ribcage, before starting to race just a bit. Sad as it was, no one had ever made her a cup of coffee. That small act had just endeared him to her for life. She really did love her coffee. Reaching for the cup, she gently took it so she didn’t spill a single drop of the precious liquid. Her hands were still trembling slightly.
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