by Eva Ashwood
“Sorry guys but we have to cut the rations in half. I don’t know when we’ll find food again, and we’re getting close to crumbs. We can always hunt and forage if we need to, but I’d rather not unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
The guys just shrugged. We all remembered this from our last time in the challenge too. I had spent an entire month constantly tired and hungry.
Trace chuckled, running a hand through his hair. “At least we have food this time. I’m pretty sure by this time in the last challenge, we had gone days without food. I’ll take a little over nothing anytime.”
Lachlan laughed. “So, you like blue balls, aye?”
Trace punched his burly friend in the shoulder. “Okay, maybe not anytime.”
As we sat around the fire, chewing our rations as slow as possible to make them last, a strange sense of peace settled over me. Yes, I was in a deadly and threatening realm where the gods ruled. Yes, those same gods seemed determined to kill at least a portion of the people they blessed with magic, for unknown reasons. Yes, I was exhausted and still hungry.
But I was with my men.
Firelight reflected off their faces, each so different and yet so breathtakingly stunning. Sometimes it was impossible to believe that a year ago, the only one of them I had known was Merrick—and I’d been dead set on avoiding him, terrified of the feelings he elicited in me.
Now, my life was completely different. It didn’t resemble my old life in any way.
Well, except for the fighting. Maybe that part will never change.
As if Merrick could read my mind, he polished off the last bite of his rations and brushed off his hands, leaning back against a large boulder on the cave floor. “I have to say, if you’d asked me a couple years ago where I thought my life would lead me, I wouldn’t have predicted this. Not even close.”
Trace huffed a breath. “Same.”
Lachlan and I murmured our agreement, although none of us sounded bitter about it. I knew I wasn’t.
Merrick’s gaze moved around our little circle. “When you all manifested your magic, how did your friends feel about it?”
I shrugged, shifting to the side to lean my head against Trace’s shoulder. Lachlan, never one to be left out, scooted closer on my other side, and I rested my hand in his lap, threading my fingers with his.
“I really never had that many friends,” I admitted. Then I squeezed Lachlan’s hand. “But I do know that Lach lucked out. Over the break, I got to meet the guys in his motorcycle club, and they were super accepting. They asked a question here and there, but they didn’t act any differently toward me or him. My trainer at the fight ring couldn’t even look me in the godsdamn eyes after he found out I was a magic user.”
From the looks on the other two men’s faces, they hadn’t had the same good luck. Trace turned his head slightly, pressing a kiss to my hair. It was such a simple, unconscious gesture of affection that it made my heart squeeze.
“I thought everything would be fine at first,” he said quietly. “Especially given the kind of people that I was around. But as soon as my bandmates, or my former bandmates now, found out about it, they got really standoffish to me. It was the same with most people I told. It was awkward as fuck, and they all told me they felt for me, didn’t know what to say, or told me they’d be there for me… and then I never heard from them again. Shitty as hell.”
Lachlan glanced across the fire at Merrick. “What about ye? Ye still got people that back ye up?”
Merrick gave a wry smile, shaking his head. “Besides you guys? No. Most of my old friends and acquaintances, honestly, don’t even know. When I found out about it, I was too afraid to find out what their reactions would be. Most of the people in my circle were people I’d known my whole life, and I wasn’t prepared to face the possibility that they would turn on me. So when Oberon and his team showed up to collect me, I asked if I could go with them immediately. They had to pull some strings to get me into the academy ahead of the semester start, but it kept me from revealing my new magic to my friends and family. Oberon was happy with that. I think the fewer people who know, the happier the school admins are. At least, the fewer non-magical people who know.”
“Yeah.” I shivered, and it had nothing to do with the chilly air in the cave. The fire was beginning to warm the space, but it couldn’t banish the trickle of fear that ran down my spine. “There are so many secrets and half-truths that surround Magic Blessed. I fucking hate it.”
“Same.” Trace grunted.
“What about you, Ari?” Merrick’s voice was soft, and when I looked up, my gaze caught on his. The firelight danced in his eyes, making the amber hue of his irises shine as if the flame burned inside them.
Apparently, my initial attempt to shift focus to Lachlan and his club instead of going into my whole story hadn’t worked. I should’ve known. These men knew me way too well by now.
“Well.” I shrugged, laughing lightly, even though my chest tightened a little. “I think I still have you guys all beat. Sure, none of your friends know because you didn’t tell them. But none of my friends know or flipped out about me developing magic because I never really had any good friends to begin with. Besides Vin and the other guys from the fight ring, and none of them dealt with it well.”
Lachlan made a low noise in his throat, like a wolf growling a warning, and I had a sudden suspicion that if Vin were here right now, all three of the men would have some choice words for him. I grinned a little in spite of myself, then glanced at the blond man across the fire again.
“It’s okay. I’m a big girl, I can take it. And it was mostly my fault. Merrick knows. I’ve never been a person you’d describe as friendly. I guess I kinda just push people away because it’s easier that way. I know what it feels like to lose somebody you love, and I know what kind of effect it has on you for the rest of your life. I guess somewhere in my brain, that turned into a mantra that I started to live by. A belief that I was better off alone.”
Silence fell as my words died, covering the cave like a blanket. I shifted uncomfortably, not liking this feeling of being laid bare. I had no fucking problem with nudity, and would’ve happily stripped down in front of any—or all—of these men. But peeling away the layers of my carefully constructed facade was terrifying. I was letting them see me. All of me.
The men all glanced around the fire at each other, and no one said a word at first. Finally, Merrick spoke up.
“Yeah, you were kind of a bitch back when I knew you in Boston. Still are.” He grinned. “A stone cold bitch—and I fucking love that about you.”
“A-fuckin’-men,” Lachlan said.
His laugh vibrated through the connection between us, and Trace reached an arm around my waist to tug me a little closer to him.
“We like you just the way you are, Snow. You’re a badass.”
Warmth ballooned in my chest, and a strange feeling, almost like butterflies, filled my stomach.
These men knew me better than anyone I’d ever known. Better than I’d ever allowed anyone to know me before. And they liked me for exactly who I was.
A sudden sense of sureness filled me, a confidence that I was right where I was supposed to be. With the people I was meant for.
I stood, slipping out from between Lachlan and Trace. All three men watched me curiously as I stepped away from the fire and turned to face them.
“Do you remember the cave during our first challenge?” I asked, shifting my gaze between each of them. “The one with the lake of fire.”
Something seemed to shift in the air, as if the very atoms around us began to vibrate with tension. Their expressions shifted, understanding and heat replacing confusion.
“Aye, lass.” Lachlan nodded slowly. “We remember. I don’t think any of us will ever forget that night. I know I won’t anyway. One of the hottest fuckin’ nights of my life.”
A grin curved my lips, and I reached down, grabbing the hem of my shirt and tugging it over my head. With careful
deliberation, I unclasped my bra and slipped that off too. The tension gathering in the air tightened by several notches, and I saw Merrick’s throat work as he swallowed.
Still watching them watch me, I untied my shoes and toed them off. Then I undid the button and fly of my pants, pushing them down my legs. I kicked them aside, leaving me standing in nothing but my panties.
The men’s gazes were riveted to me by now, and a swell of arousal and satisfaction burned through me as I slowly ran my fingers over the waistband of my panties, teasing them, drawing out this delicious moment. The air in the cave was cool, but not cold. Still, goose bumps broke out across my skin as I finally hooked my thumbs into the thin material and pushed my panties over my hips, letting the fabric fall to my feet.
“I want you.” My words were steady, full of the same confidence that burned through me. “We were in a cave in the godly realm when you all first agreed to share me. So I think it’s only fitting that a cave in the godly realm is where you all share me for the first time.”
“We do share you, Ari,” Merrick said, his expression unreadable and his body taut with tension. “None of us want to fight each other anymore. We know you want each of us.”
I shook my head, a smile curving my lips. My core was already throbbing with need, my nipples pebbled and my breasts swollen and heavy.
“I don’t just want each of you. I want all of you. Together.”
My words hung in the air for three long heartbeats as I watched firelight dance over the men’s faces as they absorbed what I’d said. Then they moved, rising to their feet so fast it was practically a blur. All three of them converged on me, surrounding me with their warm, muscled bodies.
The fabric of their clothes seemed to scrape over my sensitive, delicate skin, making all of my nerve endings fire at once as Trace pulled me in for a deep, sensual kiss. The other two ran their hands over my body, touching me possessively as I drowned in Trace’s kiss.
When he broke away from me, Merrick took over, and the moment he and I separated on a gasping breath, Lachlan was there. I moved fluidly and effortlessly between all three of them, kissing and touching and undulating against them. They passed me around between them, and the feeling of kissing each of them, of being touched by so many hands at once, made my breath come faster.
Lachlan’s large thumbs brushed my nipples as he palmed my breasts, and Merrick stepped back to rid himself of his clothes. Then Lachlan passed me over to Trace so he could undress, and Trace handed me into Merrick’s waiting arms after kissing the breath out of me.
When they all stepped closer to me again, there wasn’t a stitch of clothing between us, and I groaned in pleasure at the feel of so much naked skin pressed against mine. I could feel three cocks poking me in the stomach, ass cheek, and hip, and I let my head fall back against Trace’s shoulder as my knees wobbled a little.
Holy fuck.
I had asked for this. But I’d had no idea it would feel this damn good.
As if to prove to me that I hadn’t even begun to scratch the surface of good, Merrick dropped to his knees in front of me, running his hands over my hips and thighs. His fingers teased my pussy, spreading my lips and flicking my clit as his mouth descended on me, and when his tongue joined his talented fingers, I cried out so loud the sound echoed back to me from the cave walls.
“So good, Ari. You’re so wet for us already. You taste fucking incredible.”
Merrick’s voice was a low rasp, and I felt the other two men respond to his words. For a moment, Lachlan, Trace, and I all watched Merrick eat my pussy like a starving man.
Then, as if the sight had driven them beyond any measure of control, the two men still standing with me moved simultaneously. Trace’s hands came up to squeeze and massage my breasts while Lachlan turned my head and claimed my lips in a fierce kiss.
Merrick licked and sucked my clit while Lach sucked and stroked my tongue, and when Trace shifted his attention to my nipples, tugging and pinching the sensitive buds, I exploded. Pleasure surged through me, starting in my core and radiating outward, making me shake helplessly in the men’s arms. All three of them held me up, letting me ride out the sensations as I rode Merrick’s face, digging my hand into his short blond hair as my hips rolled against him.
When he finally drew back, the lower half of his face glistening with my wetness, I was panting for breath.
He wiped his chin and rose slowly to his feet, his hands skimming over the dip of my waist and up the sides of my body as the other two men released me. Then Merrick clasped my face in his hands and kissed me deeply, letting me taste my essence on his lips.
He drew back, desire making his amber eyes burn like the fire behind him. “I want your mouth on me, Ari. I want you to suck my cock while Trace fucks you. Will you do that for us? Do you want that?”
A jolt of surprise and arousal flashed through me. That was the exact scenario I had described to Trace when I had first teased him with the idea of all of us together.
Fuck yes, I wanted that.
I nodded, my head bobbing quickly up and down. Still holding my gaze, Merrick stepped back even farther. Far enough away that I would have to hinge at the waist to wrap my lips around his cock, which jutted toward me, the vein that ran along the length pulsing slightly, the smooth mushroom head slightly darker than the rest.
Licking my lips, I bent forward, holding onto Merrick’s lean hips to steady myself. When his cock was at eye level, I darted my tongue out to lick the small bead of precum at his slit, then closed my lips over the soft, velvety flesh.
I heard him groan, and I heard the soft grunts of the two men behind me. Then I felt hands on my hips, and Trace’s cock teased my entrance, stretching me as he began to slide in with agonizing slowness. To encourage him, I slid my lips along Merrick’s shaft, taking the blond-haired mage deeper into my mouth. Trace seemed to take the hint, giving me more of his length until finally, he was fully rooted inside me.
“You feel so damn good, Snow. And you look like the best kind of sin. Bent over for me, your beautiful lips wrapped around Merrick.” Trace’s normal smooth voice was rough, and I could feel his body shudder as he slowly pulled out and slid in again. “You’re gorgeous like this. You look so damn sexy, Lachlan has to fuck his fist just watching you.”
His words lit me on fire, and I cut my gaze to the side. I couldn’t turn my head much, positioned between Merrick and Trace as I was, but I caught sight of Lachlan standing close by, his gaze locked on me as he slid his hand up and down his cock, pulling at it with harsh movements as his abs flexed and tightened.
Then Trace began to fuck me in steady, long strokes, and I let the movement of my body dictate my rhythm as I slid my lips up and down Merrick’s cock. Saliva and precum ran down his shaft as he delved his fingers into my hair, gripping close to the scalp and guiding my movements. Trace’s hands were on my hips, his touch greedy as his fingers dug into my flesh.
“Bloody hell,” Lach grunted, the sound almost pained.
I knew how he felt. I was in an overload of sensations, floating away on the pleasure roaring through my body. It wasn’t just the physical pleasure of having Merrick and Trace’s hands on me, of Trace’s cock driving into my slick pussy or Merrick’s thick length in my mouth.
It was the feeling of wholeness. Of rightness.
As if I’d been waiting for this my whole life and had never known it until now.
“I want to feel you come,” Trace murmured, his voice rough. He slipped one hand around the curve of my hip, brushing his fingers over my lower belly before finding the hard nub of my clit. “I want to watch you lose control for us. Feel you milk me with that sweet pussy.”
Stars danced in my vision, and I clung to Merrick with a desperate grip as my mouth worked his shaft faster, taking him deeper into my throat each time. I could taste his salty essence on my tongue, and I knew he was close too.
I was so turned on that my entire body felt like it was humming with energy. Every nerve end
ing in my skin seemed to be firing at once, and the slightest touch made me moan. My breasts felt full and heavy as they swayed with the motion of my body, and my back was already arching, my hips shifting as I chased the pleasure Trace’s fingertips were giving me.
His movements became harder, more demanding, the thrusts of his cock matching the blur of his fingers, and it was too much for one body to contain anymore. I cried out around Merrick’s cock, licking and slurping him as an orgasm tore through me, making my knees shake and my body jerk.
“Fuck yes, Ari. Just like that. Oh, fuuuuuck.”
Merrick’s final word ended on a long groan as ropes of cum spilled down my throat. I swallowed over and over, taking every bit of him, and a second later, Trace cursed loudly, his thrusts falling out of rhythm as his cock pulsed inside me.
My heart was beating so fast it felt like it might explode out of my chest. Aftershocks of pleasure still ran through me, and I wasn’t sure I had ever come so hard in my life. I ran my tongue up the length of Merrick’s shaft as I slowly released him, licking the rounded head of his cock before pulling back.
He gripped my shoulders to help me stand as Trace pulled out of me, and before I could even catch my breath, Lachlan was there. Burning desire blazed in the Irishman’s green eyes, and he dragged me from Merrick’s hold like a caveman claiming his mate.
Lach’s cock was hard as steel and hot as a brand as he wrapped his arms around me, his lips crashing against mine. Every bit of pent-up arousal that had built up in him as he watched his two friends fuck me was unleashed in this kiss, and I gasped as his tongue battled with mine.
My own arousal spiked again, and I wrapped my arms around Lachlan’s neck as he lifted me into his arms. The head of his cock found my pussy, and without pausing, driven by a primal need, he slammed me down hard on his thick length, plunging in to the hilt. My head fell back as a scream of pleasure burst from me, and he growled, taking advantage of my position to run his lips up the column of my throat, licking and sucking. Tasting me.
His large hands gripped my ass, and he lifted me up and down as he drove into me, making each thrust so deep it felt like he might split me in two.