by Emily Dawn
Then I’m being flipped onto my back; my panties are torn off. Aleksandr’s mouth closes over my wet pussy before I even know what’s happening. Then he’s sliding those two magic fingers inside me while his tongue works my clit. Vance is lying down beside me, fisting my hair in his hands and kissing me as if our lives depend on it. Another orgasm rips through me and I need both of their dicks inside me. Vance flips me onto all fours and lines himself up. I reach for Aleksandr and tell him to kneel in front of me so I can suck his dick while Vance takes me from behind. I don’t do as good of a job as usual because with every thrust from Vance I come undone a little more and can’t concentrate on getting Aleksandr off. Within a few minutes, I come in an almost violent wave, Vance comes right after, and I 128
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continue to suck Aleksandr’s dick until he comes in long, hot bursts and calls out my name. We collapse on the bed, each of them on either side of me.
After a few minutes, I work up the energy to speak. “I can’t move, but I’m cold.” I was hoping they’d move closer but instead they both get up, Aleksandr lifts me and Vance pulls the covers down. They lay me down, cuddle on either side of me, and cover us up. We all fall asleep fast and easily, enjoying the closeness and rightness of what we just shared.
129
Twenty
Lenna
I wake up still pressed between Vance and Aleksandr. Early morning light is streaming in through a crack in the curtain. I prop my head on Aleksandr’s chest, and I realize it’s not moving. He breathes when he’s awake but not when he’s sleeping, interesting. And a little creepy. Vance is stirring behind me, his hand moves down to my hip where he presses me back into him.
“Good morning, killer,” he says with a gravelly voice.
I roll over to face him. “Good morning.” I cuddle into his chest, wanting just a few minutes more of them both before I have to go home and get ready for Sunday dinner with my aunts. I press a kiss against his jaw. “I need to call an Uber. I have dinner with my aunts today.”
Aleksandr rolls over to spoon me and wraps his arm around my waist. “Stay with us today, amica mea.” He brushes my hair
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aside and starts kissing my neck. I feel his fangs graze my shoulder. “Plus, we need to train with magic today.”
“I haven’t seen my aunts in weeks. They’ll hunt me down if I don’t show today.” Not to mention, I miss them. Then an idea takes root in my mind. “They live on about 25 warded acres north of the city. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if you guys came along with me.”
The guys lift their heads to look at each other, and they do that irritating silent conversation thing again. “That’s really fucking annoying. Just so you know.” They both look down at me confused. “The silent conversations you guys all have with each other.”
“We’ve been a unit so long I don’t even notice that we’re doing it,” Vance says. “We’ll work on actually speaking, so you’re in the loop. Also, you don’t need an Uber, you have the Shadow Express right here,” he gets rolls over and gets out of the bed. “I’ll be right back.”
I move back against Aleksandr, and his hand moves up to cup my breast. He nips my shoulder again, “you smell so good, Lenna. You feel so good, right here in my bed. I don’t want to let you go,” he grinds his hips and erection against my ass. I turn 131
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my head so he can capture my lips in one of his intense and passionate kisses. In one swift motion, he’s rolled onto his back, taking me with him. I slide my body down in position and slowly onto him. I ride him slowly, enjoying the way his eyes rake up and down my body. Then he flips us over again, never breaking our contact and starts thrusting into me hard and fast.
We come at the same time, “te amo in aeternum, amica mea,” he breathes against my neck. I don’t understand what it means, but I’m too blissed out to care.
Vance walks in a few minutes later, showered and dressed.
He’s holding shorts and a t-shirt. “I brought these for you, so you don’t have put your dress back on,” he hands me the clothes. After I’m dressed we shadow jump to my apartment. He tells me they’ll pick me up in an hour.
I take a shower, put on some black workout leggings, layer up with a couple of sports bras, and put on a green tank top. I don’t bother with makeup or doing anything except throwing my hair up in a messy bun. I check Hunter’s room and see he didn’t come home again last night. Weird but then again, he knew I was either going to be here with Vance and Aleksandr or not here at all. I leave a note for him so he knows I’ll be home tonight after dinner.
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My phone buzzes, and it’s a text from Aleksandr that they’re downstairs waiting for me. Ross gets out of the back seat when he sees me come out and I slide in between him and Vance. As soon as the door closes, I’m hit with the scent of freshly baked bread. I grab Hayes’ shoulder, “Is that bread I smell?” I take an exaggerated whiff again and groan.
“It is,” he states without so much as a glance at me. I don’t know why he is so standoffish with me, but it’s pissing me off. If I’m such a bother to him, why even come along? Vance is crazy if he thinks Hayes has the same feelings for me as the rest of the guys, he can barely tolerate my presence. I give Aleksandr the address, and Hayes punches it into the GPS.
“Since we have to travel to a different realm, I had some charms made by a veil witch for each of us. There are only two crossings per charm, so we have to get the amulet before coming back,” Hayes tells us. “I think we should leave tomorrow. We can’t waste any more time trying to get Lenna caught up with our physical abilities. If that’s even possible, to begin with,” he mutters under his breath.
“You’re not the first to underestimate me,” I say back. It’s a lie and I know it, but damn. Does he always have to be an asshole? It’s worse than usual this morning. I’m seething 133
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between Ross and Vance. The latter of which runs his fingers through my hair and rubs the back of my head. Ross sets his hand on the inside of my knee and pulls it alongside his. Their touches soothe me, and I relax into both of them. Ross smells like pine and sage, and when I close my eyes, I’m transported to the forest.
I’m jostled awake as Aleksandr pulls onto the gravel drive leading to my aunts’ house. I ask him to pull over so I can jump out. I always like to park outside the ward around the grounds, so I walk through it and feel their magic on my skin. I walk up to the ward with my head tilted back as the warmth, safety, and strength of their combined magic mixes with my own. I know within seconds there’ll be a stunning gray wolf running toward me. I motion for the guys to get out and join me just as a wolf darts out of the woods. Usually, Gloria would shift back right away to pull me into a hug, but she stays a wolf because of the guys. I’m sure she senses they are Supes but doesn’t want to shift back totally naked in front of them. I kneel and wrap my arms around her neck, rubbing behind her ears. “Hey, Glo,” I press my forehead to hers and then stand up. We walk down the driveway to the house.
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Gloria runs ahead and pushes open the screen door before disappearing inside. The house looks the same way it looked when I was a little girl. It’s a brown and green craftsmen style, with a huge wraparound porch. Planters are full of herbs, plants, and flowers in every free space. Hayes walks over to a large pot of rosemary and holds out his left hand, whispering an incantation and the parts of the plant that had been browning turn green again. He’s nicer to plants than he is to me, I think to myself. It must be written all over my face because Ross smiles at me like he knows exactly what I’m thinking. I shrug and motion for them to follow me around the side of the house.
Zora is bent over in the garden pulling carrots and potatoes out of the ground. Her flawless mocha skin is glistening with the tiniest bit of sweat. Her long silver dreadlocks are bunched together to keep them out of her face. She stands up and turns
to me, her stunning emerald eyes radiant. “Lenny Lamb!” She opens her arms and I run to hug her. She squeezes me tight and rests her forehead against mine. “Who are your friends?” She asks in a whisper. I’m about to answer her when I smashed between her and Gloria, who has run out of the house.
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“You never come home anymore, Lenny Lamb. We miss you,” Gloria squeezes me until I think she’s going to break my ribs.
I grunt out a laugh as she releases me, “It’s only been a month.”
“Seven weeks,” Zora corrects me.
“But who’s counting?” Gloria points at the guys, “who are they?”
“Gloria, Zora, these are my,” I pause trying to figure out what they are. They’re not just clients. They’re more than friends but I can’t really call them boyfriends because I’m sleeping with more than one of them and want all of them,
“Aleksandr, Vance, Ross, and Hayes.” I point them each out.
“Guys, these are my aunts Gloria and Zora.”
Everyone stares each other down when Gloria stalks across the yard to Aleksandr. “Aleksandr Zaytsev. I know who you are and what you’ve done. I will tear you limb from limb if you so much as breathe incorrectly near Lenna.” Her wolf flashes through her eyes, and she growls.
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When she walks, she walks away from him; I raise a questioning eyebrow, and he looks thoroughly dejected. He doesn’t return my look, and Hayes leans over to say something low enough that I can’t pick it up. I grab Vance’s hand and yank him to me. “What the was that about?”
“You’ll have to ask Alek. It isn’t my place to tell you. I’m sorry,” he flicks my nose, “Lenny Lamb, huh? Interesting name for a wolf.”
I roll my eyes at him but don’t pull away when he links his fingers with mine. “I was hoping I could do some training with the guys out in the meadow before dinner? I’m helping them with a search. They want to use their magic.”
“Absolutely,” Zora answers. “We’ll hold dinner until you are back.” She walks over and takes the basket of bread Ross has been holding onto.
I lead the guys along a trail through the woods, oak and maple trees blocking out the worst of the heat from the sun.
When we reach the edge of the clearing Hayes gives out directions, “Alek and Vance, stick the shadows in the woods.
Ross will shift, and I will use my magic to chase and attack her.”
He looks over at me, “ready Lambchop?”
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When I look over to answer him, I notice Ross is striping down to shift. He has a lithe runner build. Long, lean muscles bunch and bones crack as he shifts into his fox. I’ve never seen him in fox form before, and he’s beautiful, much bigger than a mundane fox. His fur is the same color as his red hair. His green eyes show the same intelligence as they do in human form, and his tail looks feather-soft. I’m reaching out and running my hand over it before I even realize what I’m doing. His body shivers and I swear it seems like he’s smiling.
When I look up at Hayes’ scowling face, I feel a weird pang in my chest at his obvious disapproval. “Bring it, Grumpy,” I say over my shoulder as I walk into the clearing. I’m not even halfway to the giant oak tree in the center when I feel roots coming up from the ground around my ankle. I yank my foot of their hold with my shifter strength then take off running in the opposite direction. Ross is running toward me, teeth bared and right before we collide I jump, easily clearing him and landing in a crouch near the tree line. I see a blur run past me when a gust of wind picks me up and holds me against a tree. Another blur goes past and takes me with it. I land a punch to Aleksandr’s kidney, and he stumbles. I jump away from him as soon as I see Hayes calling on the earth again. I feel the ground tremble as a hole forms below me. I grab a tree branch just as I 138
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start to fall in. Vance jumps out of a shadow behind me and then jumps to the other side of the clearing. I sweep my leg out to knock him down, but he moves just in time. Another blur and Alek is sparring with us too.
I feel like I’m doing okay considering I’m not using weapons and can’t use my magic. I’m definitely not winning, but I’m at such a disadvantage that not being tied up by a bunch of vines is a decent outcome. After an hour of this, I hold my hands up. “I need a break,” I flop onto the ground with my arms and legs stretched out. Ross walks over and lies down beside me, resting his head on my stomach as I scratch behind his ears.
Alek, Vance, and Hayes are circled up, probably dissecting my performance and how much it’s lacking. A shifter who can’t shift is almost as useless as a human. Ross shifts back to human form, his head still on my belly.
“What’s going on up there,” he taps my temple gently, totally at ease with his nudity.
“Just thinking about how useless I am being a shifter who can’t shift. I’m always at such a disadvantage.” I’m running my hands through his hair like I had been doing with his fur before,
“I doubt that was even a challenge for any of you.”
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“You kept leaping over me,” he shifts so he’s lying beside me, his green eyes still bright from his fox. “That was pretty badass. “And you dodged most of Hayes’ attempts to throw magic at you. You’re crazy fast in human form.”
It feels like he’s looking straight into my soul and all I want to do is stay here, laying in the sun with him. He wraps a piece of hair that escaped my bun around his finger, his eyes never leaving mine. “It doesn’t hurt that it’s super hot to watch you go blow for blow with Vance and Alek, too. I know I can’t keep up with them like that,” he looks down at my mouth and licks his lips. “Can I kiss you,” he asks quietly.
Yes, I want to say. I don’t know what he knows about Alek and Vance, how we’re going to address it to people who ask. I decide to answer him honestly. “Yes, I want you to kiss me, but I slept with Alek and Vance last night. I don’t know what we are, how to classify anything, or what I want beyond right this moment. But all I do know is that I want to kiss you right now, more than anything else.”
He scoots to me and wraps his hand around my lower back to pull me close to him. His lips brush gently against mine, parting slightly so his tongue can trace mine. I tilt my hips against his and feel him harden against me. His hand never 140
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leaves my back, and his kiss is achingly sweet. I let him deepen it, and we lay there together kissing until I hear Vance approach.
“You pups about done here?” He asks with no malice or jealousy in his voice. “We’re hungry. Although you two are doing an excellent job of feeding me.” He shivers as I grind my hips against Ross again, flooding both of us with desire.
“Careful, killer, do that again, and we’ll all be missing dinner.”
He teases.
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Twenty-One
Aleksandr
Just as Ross finishes putting his clothes on, Gloria walks into the clearing and with two swords. She heads for Lenna, and they exchange words before Lenna grabs a sword. Their smiles are identical, that much at least must come Lenna’s father.
“Whoever yields does dishes!” Lenna shouts gleefully.
“You’re going down, Glo,” she points her sword at her aunt.
“I’ve been training with Aleksandr, and he’s been sword fighting for like 900 years.” She aims a brilliant smile at me that sends warmth flooding into my chest.
“We’ll see about that, Lamb,” Gloria says as she takes off running toward Lenna. Their swords clash, each one taking turns jabbing, parrying, lunging, and retreating. These two women are stunning as battle each other. Gloria, with the confidence and wisdom of an experienced fighter, doesn’t pull punches against her niece. She sweeps her leg under Lenna, who falls back but turns in mid-fall and springs back up with a grace
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most shifters do not have. Lenna
kicks her aunt in the shoulder, but Gloria grabs it as they both fall to the ground. Swords dropped, they’re now using their hand to spar.
After several minutes of each one trying to get the upper hand, Gloria falls back on the grass and says, “I yield. I’m too old to keep up with you now.” She holds her hand up in the air,
“someone help the elderly wolf up.” Hayes reaches out for her hand, hauls her up. He’s almost smiling, which means he enjoyed watching them as much I did. She claps him on the back, and they walk off toward the house, murmuring to each other. That’s a positive step. Lenna is watching them walk off with a slightly bewildered smile on her face.
She notices me looking at her and comes to walk with me.
“She trained me, in case you were wondering where my mad sword skills come from,” she winks and links her fingers with mine. “Let’s go to the house; I’m starving.”
“Lead the way, amica mea.”
We walk down the path together in companionable silence.
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makes me so scared. I love her deeper than I thought possible.
It’s barely been a week. I’m already thinking of how to redesign our house to include her, how to redesign our lives.
She stops and pulls me to her before we get to the house. “I don’t know what my aunt was talking about earlier. I know we’ll have to talk about it soon, but I want you to know that I trust you.” She rises onto her toes and pulls me down for a quick kiss.
It’s over too quickly as her stomach grumbles loudly. “I hope you brought your appetite. Zora is the best cook.”
“Hearth witches are generally pretty good cooks.” I agree.
We walk in, and the scent of steak, roasted potatoes and carrots, Hayes’ fresh bread, and wine hit my nose. Everything smells better than expected. Gloria is the far side of the round table; Hayes is on her left and Ross her right. Lenna sits down by Ross and Vance takes her other side. I sit down beside Hayes and Zora walks in with a salad to complete the meal.