3. Cami
CHAPTER 3
CAMI
W armth flooded my veins, causing me to cross my legs in response.
Fae . I was on fire again, just like I’d been while straddling Az what felt like hours ago now. And it was a completely inappropriate response to the hostility unfolding in the small space before me.
Ajax had crafted a living area—not too dissimilar from the one we’d just vacated—in order for us to speak freely. However, he’d created it quickly, as evidenced by the vapid walls and general lack of furnishings.
Not that either male seemed to notice.
They were too busy squaring off on a rug that appeared to be only partially woven.
Az had just finished explaining who Vivaxia was and what she’d done to him, including the part about the taming spell.
All the while, Ajax had simply glared at him. Silently. Broodingly. No questions, just listening while Az had told him about the Virtuous Fae, how Lucifer had basically saved Az from a lifetime of servitude, and was now going into some details about what had led to the creation of the Hell Fae Kingdom.
Lucifer fell.
He took his light with him.
Then created a new source of power in the pit of despair.
The Nightmare Fae, also known as the “abominations” the Virtuous Fae had unceremoniously discarded into said pit, all thrived under Lucifer’s freshly created Source.
Kingdoms were born—such as the Netherworld, Barren Lands, and Marsh Lands—where the various Nightmare Fae took refuge. “And the Hell Fae Realm began to thrive,” Az went on now.
All while this heat continued to blossom inside me.
Heat that was making me tingle in unspeakable ways.
Why am I so aroused? I wondered, swallowing as I tried to push away the strange hormonal response to Az’s words. This should not be turning me on .
Mmm, I disagree , a silky voice replied, one that had my breath catching in my throat.
Melek?
Hello, sweet angel. Having fun in Ajax’s little paradigm? he murmured into my mind, his mental voice holding a hint of breathlessness that nearly made me frown.
Only, my teeth sank into my lip in the next instant as a fresh wave of fiery need licked down my spine. Melek!
Oh, how I can’t wait to make you scream my name like that, he returned on a pant I could practically feel against my skin. Fuck, Ty is going to rip me apart, Cami. And do you want to know why?
I swallowed, an image slamming into my mind of what Melek’s words meant. Because the sensual way he’d voiced them told me he hadn’t meant rip me apart in a violent way, but in a sensual one.
You… you’re having sex right now, I realized. That’s… that’s what I’m feeling?
Yes, he whispered back to me. Ty is fucking me while thinking about you.
My lips parted. What? He couldn’t possibly mean that. Why…? Why would he be thinking about me? Did Lucifer know about the dreams?
Melek seemed to.
Had he told Lucifer?
Had Lucifer learned about them through Melek?
My heart skipped a beat. I didn’t want Lucifer knowing about those forbidden fantasies. Primarily because I couldn’t seem to control them. Or deny them.
I hated Lucifer.
And he had made it very clear that he hated me, too.
Ajax’s furious growl yanked me out of my mind, returning me to the argument unfolding before me. “You should have fucking told me! It was my damn job, Az.”
I blinked. What?
“Your job as Warden was to guard the prison. My job was to tame the beasts. You were never in any danger.”
“Oh, fuck you,” Ajax spat back. “This isn’t about danger . It’s about keeping the truth from me. For not trusting me.” He shoved Az back with both palms on his chest, causing my eyebrows to fly upward.
“It wasn’t?—”
“I spent ten years guarding Nightmare Fae,” Ajax snarled, interrupting Az. “Now you tell me this bullshit about reneged deals and black souls? That those beasts weren’t real Nightmare Fae?”
Oh . My brow furrowed. Ajax never knew about the black souls?
Ah, is that the direction Az’s conversation went with Ajax? Melek asked with a pleased sigh. I bet Ajax is taking that reveal well.
He looks ready to kill Az, I whispered back to him as Az and Ajax squared off before me.
“What do you want from me?” Az was demanding after saying something I’d missed while talking to Melek. “You want to tame me again? Hit me? Hurt me?”
Kill or fuck? Melek mused into my mind. Because I prefer fucking. Which brings me back to why Ty is fucking me now…
My blood heated again. Melek ? —
I told him that I want to tie you up and watch him take you , he went on before I could finish my thought. Now he’s fucking me while thinking about your sweet pussy, angel.
I gasped, his crass words utterly unexpected. Melek.
Gods, it makes me so fucking hard thinking about him being inside you. About me caressing you, praising you for taking our king, and ensuring you feel worshipped while he desecrates your body.
My thighs clenched, my lips parting in shock at the vivid commentary. Melek had flirted with me before, but never like this. Never so bluntly. So erotically .
I can’t hold back much longer, little angel, he murmured, the sensuality in his mental tones causing my nipples to bead in response. I need you to know what I intend to do to you. How I plan to please you. The future we’re headed toward together as us, and with Ty.
I shook my head, not caring at all that he couldn’t actually see me. Lucifer hates me.
Does he? Melek asked, a breathy quality to his voice. Or is he just scared of what you might mean to him?
I swallowed, still in denial about everything he was saying. Every hot emotion he awoke inside me. This is insanity.
Then it’s right, he whispered back to me. Pleasure isn’t meant to be sane. That would be oh so boring, Cami. Pleasure should ignite an inferno inside you. Burn you. Make you question your very existence because all you can feel is euphoria so heavy you can hardly breathe.
My chest ached in response to his description, my lungs ceasing function. Melek…
That’s it, little angel, he praised. You feel it, don’t you? The flames. The intensity. The power brought on by enigmatic sensations.
His words morphed into a groan I felt through every inch of my being, his mounting rapture rippling through my existence and sucking me in with him.
I gripped the seat beneath me, needing to remind myself that I wasn’t there. I wasn’t him. But, oh, I felt like I was him. I felt everything .
Lucifer’s thrusts.
His growls rumbling against Melek’s chest.
I could practically see them fucking in the bed, Lucifer deep inside Melek as they faced one another.
He’s fisting my cock, Melek moaned into my mind. Stroking me in time with his punishing pace. Gods, I wish you were here with us, little angel. All wrapped up in my ribbons. Panting. Begging us to take your pussy together.
I crossed my legs, my core throbbing with renewed need. All I could feel was Melek’s pleasure. All I could hear was his pants. All I could think about was what Lucifer was doing to him.
Hot.
Hard.
Masculine.
Energy.
Fuck, Melek groaned. Ty’s using me just like he wants to use you.
I shivered, my forbidden dreams haunting my thoughts. Every evening, I woke up aroused. Ready. Wet . All because of Lucifer’s big, strong body overwhelming mine.
It didn’t make any sense.
But I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
His heat. His strength. His exotic appeal.
He’s thinking about you, Melek goes on, causing my nails to bite into my leather chair.
Or was it a bench?
I couldn’t remember.
And I wasn’t about to open my eyes to find out. I was enjoying the visual playing out behind my eyes far too much to stop now.
He craves your submission, little angel. I can taste it on his tongue, hear it in his mind. He wants to bend you over and make you take all of him. Melek released a sound of elation, one I swore was a breath against my ear. Oh, fuck, he’s picturing his hand in your hair as he forces you to suck my cock.
I swallowed, Melek’s taste suddenly filling my senses. How are you doing this?
We’re bonded, he panted. You can feel me. And I can feel you.
Goose bumps trailed down my exposed arms, his fingers seeming to stroke my skin even from a distance. Because he wasn’t here.
Or I… I didn’t think he was here.
I opened my eyes, half convinced I would find myself in bed with Melek and Lucifer. And instead found an erotic display featuring two other men.
Az had Ajax pinned against a wall, his chest heaving with the effort. My Midnight Fae mate had blood on his swelling lip, and Az had bruises forming along his jaw.
The marks wouldn’t last. But the evidence of a fight certainly existed between them.
Ajax’s shirt was torn.
Az’s bare shoulders were bulging.
And both men appeared ready to kill one another.
Their chests heaved, their lips parted. A growl emanated from Az, one that made my toes curl in response.
“I’ll never forgive you,” Ajax snarled. “You made me stand there and watch him punish her.”
“I know.”
“You never let me in. You never confided in me. You left me in the fucking dark, Az.”
“Because you were so forthcoming?” Az demanded, a hiss underlining his words. “You opened up to me about your parents? Emelyn? Everything Constantine did?”
“Fuck you,” Ajax spat back at him.
“I’m not wrong,” Az pressed. “You never trusted me enough emotionally to open up. That wasn’t what we were to each other.”
“We just fucked.”
Az snorted. “You’re my outlet and I’m yours. A healing bond. A friendship founded in mutual need and destructive tendencies. That’s more than a fuck , Warden.”
“ Ex -Warden, Commander. Unless I accept Lucifer’s deal.” Some of his ire fled with the comment.
Lucifer offered Ajax his life back in exchange for a mating, I recalled, some of my sanity returning. You knew he was going to do that, didn’t you?
I hoped he would, yes, Melek replied, his breathless tone reminding me of his current antics. We’re all meant to be together, little angel. And it’s time to embrace the future.
What if I disagree? I asked him, infusing every bit of incredulity that I could muster. Unfortunately, it wasn’t much. Because that treacherous inferno was roaring to life inside me all over again, and somehow it was even hotter than before.
Then I’ll need to work harder on convincing you, he whispered. Consider this my opening argument on why we should mate.
I frowned. Wh ? —
My thought cut off on a wave of excruciating heat, the sensation rippling over me in a fiery rush of need that culminated in an explosion of supreme intensity.
Melek ! I vibrated with the passion overwhelming my insides, my core throbbing with a desire to be filled. To be complete. To be fucked .
Because I could feel Melek coming. Could feel his immense ecstasy. His violent shaking. His overwhelming, all-consuming rapture .
I experienced his climax as though it were my own.
And yet, I wasn’t truly falling apart.
It only felt like I was. In my mind .
That, coupled with the scene unfolding before me, left me panting. Wet. Craving .
“I’ll accept whatever deal I want to accept,” Ajax was saying, not caring at all that Az had grabbed him by the throat, their faces not even an inch apart.
“I won’t share you with him.”
“It’s not your choice,” Ajax retorted. “Your Phoenix might have claimed me, but that doesn’t mean I’ll acknowledge our bond or you.”
Az growled. “Whether you like it or not, we’re mates.” He pressed his lips against Ajax’s before he could reply, causing the Midnight Fae to try to shove him back. “You hate me. I get it. But I’m going to spend eternity earning your forgiveness.”
“I—”
Az kissed him again, this time harder, his hand visibly closing around Ajax’s throat to cut off his air.
My thighs clenched. My breathing quickened once again. My blood burned .
Mmm, that’s it, little angel , Melek murmured into my mind. Feel the bonds. Embrace our future.
Why are you doing this? I breathed back to him, confused by this new level of seduction. He’d flirted, yes. Kissed me a few times. But this… this was new. It was… a whole new level of intention.
We’re moving past our introductory period and into true courtship, Cami. I need you to know me so you can trust me. Otherwise, you’ll never let me tie you up. His exhale was a kiss against my senses, as though he stood right beside me with his lips at my ear. And Cami, I really want to tie you up.
Power erupted in the room, sending Az back a few steps as Ajax roared in fury. Then he launched himself at the other man, grabbed him by the nape… and kissed him.
My eyes widened at the virile display, the unexpected combustion of male energy coupled with erotic need.
Ajax’s violent outburst had culminated in an embrace that was all tongue and teeth as the two males devoured each other.
I practically salivated at the sight.
At the knowledge of Melek and Lucifer having just done something similar.
Of the fact that all these men wanted me, too.
We more than want you, little angel, Melek whispered. We want to worship you and make you our queen.
As though Az and Ajax had heard those same words, they stopped to turn toward me, their expressions riddled with savage need.
My heart stopped beating, their feral natures washing over me in a wave of unadulterated claim .
“I’m going to need that safe word, Cami,” Az said as they both started toward me. “ Now .”