Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Huntley
H ot water sluices over my shoulders, easing the ache of fresh bruises blooming across my ribs and back. Scottie didn’t hold back during our training session—not that I wanted her to—and she got a few impressive hits in. The force behind her kicks proves she’s leveled up since she left us.
I’m not sure if it’s the addition of her squire powers or not, but I’m glad.
I truly want her to be the best she can be.
And, if I’m being honest with myself, there’s a part of me that believes that if she excels here, we really can have it all.
Zane hasn’t said much, but I know he and Scotland spent hours naked and reconnecting. Whatever they got up to, it’s like a thousand-pound weight has been lifted off Zane’s shoulders.
He’s got a spring in his step and a smile in his eyes I haven’t seen since it all went bad.
Steam clouds the glass walls as I press my palms against the tile, letting my head drop forward. Bran’s video message plays through my mind as it has a hundred times. His stern expression as he explained the “complications” of my relationship with Zane while serving as his protector.
The concern is valid, but the way things are evolving between all of us, Scottie now has the same conflict of interest. Did she mean it when she said she’s picturing all three of us with her?
It seemed so.
The door slides open, bringing a rush of cool air that raises goosebumps across my skin. Scottie steps in, her presence welcome and yet a shock. The angry edge that’s defined our encounters these past weeks is gone.
“Do you mind the company?” Her voice carries none of its usual tension as she moves closer, water darkening her flaxen hair.
“Come on in, the water’s fine.”
“So is the view.”
I glance over my shoulder to find her checking out my ass. “Like what you see, princess?”
She presses up behind me, reaching around me for the soap. “I love what I see, but I’m more of a tactile person. I prefer to close my eyes and experience the world around me by touch.”
I chuckle as she turns the bar over in her palms and works up a lather. “Then, by all means, make sure I didn’t miss anything.”
As her soapy hands roam over the chiseled planes of my abs and up to the hoop piercing my nipple, I focus on not getting ahead of myself. Her being here doesn’t mean she loves me. It could just mean she wants to reconnect.
She presses her lips against the bare skin of my shoulder, apologizing to a particularly nasty bruise. “That was some workout session we had, Viking. It looks like I did some damage.”
It was. And while I told Jack I could handle whatever Scottie threw at me, she made a liar out of me. “You’ve gotten stronger—much stronger.”
I turn to face her, and the froth of soap suds washes down my body. Her heated gaze tracks the marks she left on my body. Her fingers trace one particularly vivid bruise on my collarbone. “I’m sorry if I got rough. I came in to make it up to you.”
Her touch ignites something warm in my chest—something I haven’t felt in a very long time. The mention of making things up to me makes my cock thicken and take notice. “I’ll survive. Don’t feel obligated to do anything you don’t want to do.”
“I wouldn’t. You know that.”
I do. Scotland McCullough does nothing she doesn’t want to. Which is why it’s so incredible that she’s reconsidered and wants to stay. “The squire magic suits you.”
She steps under the spray and lets her head fall back. Water slicks over her body and rushes over her flesh in sexy rivulets. When she closes her eyes and lifts her hands over her forehead and hair, I get a glorious look at just how beautiful she is. “That sounded genuine.”
With her arms up to smooth the water away from her face, her breasts are raised and gloriously round. My fangs drop and I test the sharp tip with my tongue. “It was genuine. I don’t know why I was surprised. Everything about our life has always suited you.”
She straightens and drops her hands, stepping against me. “I’m sorry I never picked up on your feelings, H. And I’m sorry for the hurt it caused you.”
I’ve got a foot of height on her, so when she reaches up to kiss me, I have to bend down to claim her lips. The kiss is sexy and slow, her tongue sliding into my mouth to duel with mine.
Focused on the kiss, I startle when her hand closes around the length of my cock and she gives me a squeeze. My heart races as the kiss deepens.
She tastes so fucking good—like a warm spiced wine with the subtle metallic bite of human blood.
As she devours me with her mouth, I consume her right back. With another squeeze, she eases back and smiles down at my cock trapped in her grip. “Any objections to me having my way with you?”
I bark a laugh. “Has any man ever said yes to that question?”
With her gaze locked on my body, she rinses the last of the soap she spread over me and sits on the small, built-in ledge. After flashing me a conspiratorial smile, she bends forward.
I hiss as her lips part, and my length sinks into her hot little mouth. My hips jerk as her tongue slides over my blunt tip and then circles to collect the pre-cum leaking at the slit.
Blood pulses in my shaft, the pressure building at the base of my sac.
I never let randoms touch me like this—to go down on me. Too personal. Too intimate for an act that means nothing with a stranger.
With Zane, it means something.
And now, with Scottie, it does too. It means everything. I watch, absorbed, as her cheeks hollow as she sucks me off.
Holy fuck, it’s a pretty sight.
She consumes my cock, dreamy decadence dancing across her face as her erotic purr pegs me in the chest.
“You have a gift, princess. Your mouth is heaven.”
She tilts her head back to blink up at me, her tongue swirling around the girth of my cock. As she nibbles down my stiff as granite shaft, I fight not to blow early and lose this connection.
I don’t want this to end.
I never want this to end.
Soft kisses deepen toward hunger and grow to a rough and greedy demand. She tugs at my sac, manipulating my skin, fingering one orb and then the other, all the while taking me deep into the back of her throat.
She devours me, tracking what gets me hot, running her grip tighter as her lips slide up and down my aching cock. “Fuck. That’s incredible. I’m close, princess. You might want to?—”
She plunges forward, deeper, rougher. Her hunger doesn’t feel like an in-the-moment fling with an old friend. It feels like affection…possession.
The stealing of my heart.
Each time she eases back, her lips pause at the tip of my shaft, and a shudder racks through me, stealing a little more.
It’s too much.
Fisting my fingers in her golden hair, I hold her in place as my body seizes. The pressure of my release breaks free and my mind fractures with pleasure.
Head back, I lose time as wave after wave of ecstasy spills free. How long my release lasts, I have no clue—a minute, ten, a lifetime.
The orgasm destroys me, but it’s the look in her dark blue eyes that leaves me speechless. It’s the look I’ve dreamed of seeing there since I was a teenager.
Scottie is more than looking at me—she sees me.
The shy smirk on her face makes me chuckle after the way she just did me in. She kisses her way up my chest, her fingers running gentle circuits over the ridges of my muscles.
Her touch explores the few bruises still healing, and finally, she gets to the silver ring pierced through my nipple.
I lean back against the cool granite of the shower wall and wrap my arms around her shoulders, pulling her curves against my body.
I’m afraid to speak—afraid to break the spell.
A sly, feminine chuckle fills the shower as she bites her bottom lip and bats her eyes at me. “I hope you don’t mind me taking point on this one. It may have taken me seven years, but I wanted to return the favor of how treasured you made me feel that night. I should’ve known better than to think the worst of you. I’m sorry.”
I chuckle, making no attempt to hide how blown away I am. “Apology accepted.”
Scotland’s scent has always been addictive, but tonight there’s something more…something that smells dangerously close to hope.
Tucker
I let myself into the royal residence and head toward the Squire’s Suite, hoping to catch up with Scottie. She and Huntley had one hell of a workout, and I want to make sure she didn’t overdo it to prove how capable she is.
“She’s not there,” Zane calls from behind his father’s massive teak desk. I change direction and stop in the doorway of his office. The air is thick with anticipation as he studies me. “She’s otherwise occupied at the moment.”
“All right. Not an issue. I just came to check on her.”
“She’s fine. She’s more than fine, actually. So, you can go.”
The slight annoyance in his tone has me reading between the lines. “She’s with Huntley?”
He stands behind the desk and leans into his balled fist. “She is.”
I take in his posture and shrug. “Is that supposed to bother me?”
“It doesn’t?”
I chuckle. “No, but it seems to bother you. Everything all right there, Zane?”
He picks up the miniature dagger letter opener from the top edge of his blotter and twirls it in his hand. It’s wicked sharp, and based on the ancient filigree and the black gemstone in the hilt, I’d guess it’s a replica of the famous Vasari Diamond Dagger.
He lifts his chin as he stares down at me, his gaze narrow. “It really doesn’t bother you?”
“That Scottie is happy and sexual and exercising her right to choose? No, not at all.”
He lets out a long breath. “Or not choose.”
I lean my shoulder against the frame of the door and cross my arms. “Sour grapes?”
He grunts, rounding the desk to sit on the edge and face me. “If I’m being honest, yes. I’d love for things to be the way they were when I was the center of her universe, but I also recognize how much stronger and more vibrant she is now that she stands on her own.”
“She’s an amazing female.”
He nods and looks down at the letter opener.
I draw a deep breath, a mix of nerves and determination steeling my resolve. This isn’t just another chat. It’s the segue into a much needed man-to-man conversation about Scotland.
“I know there’s history between you three,” I start, waiting until he looks up to meet my gaze before continuing. “You’ve got a piece of her soul and Huntley and Scottie are of one mind more often than not. I understand that connection is rooted deep and I respect that.”
He nods slowly but doesn’t interrupt.
“But I have a piece of her heart that I intend to cherish and nurture. I love her and my bear claimed her as our mate.”
Zane leans forward slightly, his interest piqued, but still cautious. “And what do you think that entitles you to? We all love her.”
“Exactly. So, I’d like to explore what a four-person love affair looks like. If we know where everyone’s expectations lay, there will be less of a chance for things to go wrong.”
Zane rubs the back of his neck as he considers my words. “Fair enough. What do you expect out of this?”
I shrug, my mind racing through possibilities. “While you and Huntley are both attractive men, and I’m fully supportive of your relationship, I’m not looking for anything physical with either of you.”
He raises an eyebrow but keeps quiet.
“I’m all about Scottie,” I add, my voice steady now. “She’s my passion and my focus. But…”
Zane leans back again, crossing one ankle over the other. “But…?”
A small smile creeps onto my face. “The idea of watching you two with her or the three of us doing her right…yeah, that could work for me.”
His eyes narrow slightly as he processes what I’m saying.
“I’m not self-conscious and don’t mind sharing a bed with you guys if we’re working together to please her, but I won’t be crossing swords.”
A chuckle escapes him. “Good to know.”
The room falls quiet, and I laugh lightly at myself and the absurdity of this conversation. “And that’s it.”
Zane shakes his head. “I need a drink. Do you want a drink?”
“Hell yeah,” I reply without missing a beat.
Zane pushes up to his feet and moves toward the small bar tucked away in the corner of the office. After pouring two glasses of something amber, he hands one to me and clinks his against mine.
“To new arrangements?” he says with a smirk.
“To new arrangements,” I echo, before tipping it back and downing it in one go.