Sent To A Fantasy World and Now All the Men Want Me #3

Chapter One

Another Adventure Begins…

Juggling three sexy men was tough, but someone had to do it. Toe-curling kisses, late-night cuddles, and being railed into oblivion wasn’t a job everyone could handle. Just call me the harem king—wrangler of knights, physicians, and hot-as-hell demi-wolves with the most adorable fluffy ears and tails.

Who am I kidding?

I freaking loved my life. And I loved the men in my life.

Men I couldn’t live without.

“Gods, you feel so good.” Maddox sank deeper into me and pumped his hips back and forth, slow but hard.

Lake nuzzled my neck and smoothed his hand along my rib cage. His light touches amplified the sensitive places on my body. Places all three of them caressed, kissed, and stroked.

Devoured.

“Let us hear you, love.” Briar caught my earlobe between his lips and gently suckled it. He then kissed down the side of my throat and stopped at my nipple, taking it into his mouth.

I cried out and arched up into him.

Lake growled against my chest, a deep, hungry sound. He and Briar each latched on to one of my nipples as Maddox thrust home, causing an eruption that started deep inside my core and exploded outward, turning me into a quaking, whimpering lump on the mattress.

“Evan,” Maddox groaned before coming hard. His abdomen muscles rippled with his release, and raspy rumbles left his throat. There was something incredibly hot about seeing a stern man like him be taken by pleasure. Even better that I was the one who gave it to him.

“I love the sound of my name on your lips.” I cracked a smile up at him.

He returned it before kissing me. As he pulled away, Briar caught Maddox’s lips in a soft kiss that caused warm flutters in my belly.

Their feelings for each other had strengthened over the months, going from rivals for my affection to friends, then to something even deeper. They loved each other now, a love that was clear in the tender way they kissed.

A different set of lips then pressed to mine. A faint trace of peaches came with the kiss. My sweet Lake.

Each of my men had a unique scent. Maddox was like leather and warm spice, whereas Briar’s scent reminded me of magnolia blossoms and honeysuckle. Lake smelled like the forest with an underlying hint of peaches—the latter not being noticeable until after we’d had sex for the first time. A sign we were mates and connected on a soul-deep level.

According to Lupin, the butthole wizard extraordinaire, all three of them were my mates. In my other life—the one I’d waded through before being sent to Bremloc—I never thought I’d fall in love once, let alone with three different men. Yet, there I was, loving them and being loved in return.

Yeah, it was a good life.

Maddox shifted to my other side, and Briar settled between my legs. He’d taken off his glasses, and light brown hair fell across his brow as his hazel eyes lowered to mine.

“May I?” he asked.

I wiggled my hips in a silent but eager response. He softly laughed.

Maddox had fucked me hard, but Briar came in to soften that beautiful ache, using his magic to ease any discomfort as he joined our bodies.

“Does our male feel good, physician?” Maddox murmured as he stood on his knees behind Briar, grazing his lips down Briar’s nape.

“Mhm.” Briar tipped his head back to meet Maddox for a sloppy kiss. Our sexy physician let go of that perfectionist behavior and allowed himself to be messy and uninhibited, surrendering to carnal desire.

Surrendering to us: me, Maddox, and our wolf.

Although I’d had an orgasm not even ten minutes ago, those familiar tingles returned as Briar nudged my prostate. The magic he’d used dulled the sting of penetration and created a euphoric glimmer throughout my body but also refueled my tank too. I was geared up and ready to unload again.

The pivotal moment that tipped me over that edge? Lake moved down my body and took my cock into the velvet heat of his mouth. His lips glided along my tip and down my shaft, taking me to the back of his throat. As that delicious wet heat engulfed me, Briar hit my sweet spot just right .

“Shit!” I came with a gasp, my hips bucking of their own accord, seeking more of Lake’s mouth and the mind-blowing sensation of Briar’s cock.

A strong hand slid under my neck and gripped the back of my hair, bringing my head up from the pillow. Firm lips then pressed to mine. My grumpy captain. He’d returned to my side while I’d been lost in the haze of pleasure and kissed me just as that pleasure rocked my fucking world.

Lake swallowed down every drop I had to give before pulling off. Fluffy white wolf ears jutted from his silver hair, and his tail—the same color and fluffiness—flicked from side to side. A sign he was happy.

I wouldn’t mention how cute I thought it was though, at least not in front of Maddox and Briar. It made him self-conscious.

“Muffin lord down.” I sank back down on the pillow. “I think y’all killed me.”

“Yet, you’re still blessing us with that mouth.” Maddox playfully nipped at my lips. His eyes shifted to Lake. “Would you like a moment alone with him?”

My belly fluttered.

Lake had grown more comfortable being intimate with me in front of Maddox and Briar and regularly participated during steamy times like tonight. But when he and I had sex, it was just the two of us. It would take him more time to be that vulnerable around them. The fact Maddox knew that and considered Lake’s feelings… well, it showed he’d become more relaxed around Lake too, no longer seeing him as a threat.

“What do ya say?” I asked Lake with another little wiggle.

The glow of the lit fireplace reflected in his irises, making them flicker like purple flames. “No, it’s all right.” He lay over my lap, hugging my upper thighs as he rested his head on them. “This is what I want right now.”

I lowered a hand to his head and slid my fingers through the silky strands. Lake’s ears twitched at my touch, and he relaxed more against me.

“Suit yourself.” Maddox got out of bed. The logs in the hearth popped as he bent to stoke them. Firelight danced across the muscles of his back and wide shoulders.

The muscles… and the scars. A few covered his back, and more showed on his abdomen and ribs. They’d come from the Fenrir demon that had attacked him and his unit shortly after I’d first met him. It was when my affection for the surly knight had really sparked. I’d realized how much I liked him. How afraid I was of something bad happening to him.

As the flames grew higher and crackled along the logs, the slight chill in the room lifted, and warmth tingled along my skin. It warmed even more once Maddox returned to bed and settled in beside me. Briar snuggled closer on my left, and Lake continued to rest across my legs on top of the blanket, his cheek pressed to my thigh.

The four of us had found a rhythm that worked for everyone, a song we all enjoyed. Or maybe a baking metaphor would suit us better? We each had an essential ingredient that made the best muffins around.

And man, were they delicious.

“Are you warm enough?” I asked Lake. He’d covered up with a knitted blanket.

Lake nuzzled my thigh in response. Soft puffs left him moments later. My wolfy must’ve been tired.

After Briar and Maddox fell asleep, I lay awake listening to the crackling fire. I was exhausted but had too much on my mind to sleep. Nights had become that way in recent months. A lot had happened.

There was the heightening conflict with the kingdom of Haran because of the attempted kidnapping of Prince Sawyer. I had been kidnapped instead—long story. Also, worrying about Maddox and the rest of the knights should war break out.

But what had my mind racing the most? Lupin’s last visit, when he’d revealed something so profound I still couldn’t wrap my head around it.

“I’m saying the reason you never felt like you belonged in your old world and why you feel so at home here… is because this is your home. Both of your parents were born here. And so were you.”

My mother, Cynthia, had been called the Beauty of Exalos. She’d loved to bake, too, and had dreamed of having her own café. Just like me.

I hadn’t told Maddox, Briar, or Lake about Lupin’s visit yet. Which was kind of silly. They had accepted it when I’d told them I’d been whisked away from a different world and placed in theirs. It wouldn’t be too hard to accept that I’d actually been born there. The problem was I had trouble coming to terms with it.

Why had my mom given me to Lupin? What had she been running from? And what happened to her afterward?

And the bigger question: who was my dad? Lupin had been annoyingly tight-lipped on the matter, saying it was “too dangerous” to reveal his true identity. Theories bounced around in my head, none of them reassuring. Maybe he’d been a war criminal. A no-good thief. Someone who’d committed a heinous act against the kingdom.

I sighed and forced my eyes closed. Tried to force those thoughts away. A different thought then surged forward. A memory.

Rowan.

His dark auburn hair and topaz eyes. His cocky little smile. And the shake in his voice during the night of the autumn ball when he’d found me on the castle balcony and dropped his face to my throat.

“You’re a treasure unlike any other.”

Nearly two months had passed since that night, and I hadn’t seen him again. Probably for the best. I mean, he had kidnapped me once in the hope of persuading Lord Onyx to allow him passage into the Shadow Realm. I would’ve been the peace offering for Rowan to get in the demon lord’s good graces. Why? He had mistaken me for Prince Sawyer.

What stopped Rowan from going through with it? Learning that I, while considered a muffin lord and even a thorn prince among those closest to me, was not, in fact, anyone of actual importance.

Wind pushed against the side of the cottage, rustling the branches of the tree outside the window. Lake made a soft sound and snuggled closer. I dropped a hand to his hair and petted the soft strands. Maddox’s arm tightened around my waist while Briar’s hand rested on my belly.

Despite all the chaos in my head, my heart was so damn full with the three of them surrounding me. And with that, I finally dozed off.

***

The soft clinking of a belt stirred me from sleep. Maddox stood beside the wardrobe, fastening his armor. Faint light filtered in through the window as dawn approached.

I sat up in bed and squinted at the glass. “Is that frost?”

Maddox turned to me. “It is. The weather’s shifting. Winter will be upon us soon.” His boots were heavy on the wooden floorboards as he neared the bed. Something about him decked out in his armor like this thrilled me to no end. Leather and a layer of chain mail. Sword sheathed at his side. “Apologies for waking you.”

“Don’t be sorry.” I slid my arms around his neck. “I love seeing you in the morning before you leave.”

Maddox caressed my jaw and drew back. “I feel the same. Waking up to you is the best part of my day. And returning home to you at the end of it.”

“Home.” My throat wobbled. “Not sure I’ll ever get used to the sound of that.”

Lake’s ears twitched, and although his eyes remained closed, I suspected he was awake too. He’d shifted lower on my legs during the night and lay closer to the foot of the bed. Almost like he’d been guarding us as we’d slept.

“Where’s Briar?” I asked, noticing he wasn’t in bed.

“Downstairs. He wanted to have coffee ready for when you woke.”

“Mm. Coffee. He knows the way to my heart.” I reached down to pet Lake’s hair, and his ears flicked again before his eyes opened. His purple irises held a faint glow in the dimly lit room. “Morning. You want an omelet for breakfast?”

“An omelet?” Lake’s ears perked up.

Fuck. It took all my willpower to keep from aweing out loud. “Yep. With cheese, bell peppers, and tomatoes.”

“And spinach leaves?” His tail wagged once in his excitement.

“Anything you want.” My heart was about to explode.

“Spoiled mutt.” Maddox huffed under his breath, but the trace of a smile on his lips gave him away. He had a soft spot for the fourth member of our family, whether he admitted it or not. His deep blue eyes moved to me. “If he gets an omelet, I get a muffin.”

Lake stretched before sitting up. “You say I’m spoiled, yet you’re the one always making demands, knight.” A light dusting of silvery hair covered his chest and dipped beneath the hem of his pants. Not a whole lot but enough for me to slide my fingers through. I fucking loved it. “If you want muffins, I’ll bake them for you.”

A snarl skewed my captain’s lips. “I don’t want your muffins.”

I snorted. “I can make both. Stop bickering.”

Lake tried to hide a smile but failed.

Most people would look at Lake and see danger. Demi-humans weren’t treated too well to begin with; however, it was even worse for demi-wolves. People saw them as ravenous beasts no better than the demons and monsters that prowled through the dark wood.

But Lake had a gentle soul. He loved to take care of his plants and crops. He smiled at sunrises and had a playful side. He was sweet and loyal. Precious beyond words.

I threw the blanket off me and sucked a breath in between my teeth as a chilly draft fanned across my bare skin. Yep. Winter was coming, all right.

“I’ll grab your sweater.” Lake was off the bed and rummaging through my clothes within seconds. He returned with pants and a baggy sweater that Briar had given me.

It still smelled like Briar as I pulled it on. Which made me miss him. “Let’s go downstairs. A handsome physician is waiting for us. Coffee too. Can’t forget about that.”

“Put these on first.” Maddox tossed my slippers in front of me. “I don’t want to hear you whining about your cold toes.”

Typical Maddox. He picked on me even when being considerate. The jerk.

But he was my jerk.

“Yes, sir,” I mumbled and shoved my feet inside.

His hand slid into mine as we headed for the door. He said nothing, but there was a squeeze to my fingers that sent another flutter through my belly.

Correction: he was my sappy jerk.

Lake grabbed the bottom of my sweater as we descended the stairs, and I smiled back at him. A mistake. I was clumsy enough on flat ground, often tripping over my own two feet. My slipper caught on the edge of the next step, and I yelped, preparing for my inescapable death roll down the staircase.

“Evan!” Lake’s arms came around me before I fell. With me secured against his chest, he turned his face into my neck and exhaled. Soft noises left him, like little growls. “Be more careful.”

Our fated mate connection impacted him differently than it did with Maddox and Briar. When I was kidnapped months ago and taken to the dark wood, Lake had been the one to track me down. His acute senses as a wolf had helped, sure, but it went deeper than that. Lake could sense me on a soul-deep level.

“Say my name, and I’ll hear you,” he’d told me once our fated mate bond had awoken. “I’ll always find you.”

And he had.

“Shall I throw you over my shoulder to carry you?” Maddox asked, moving to the step below mine. “You may not make it to the kitchen in one piece otherwise.”

Lake’s body shook with a low laugh.

“Is everything all right?” Briar asked from the foot of the stairs.

Excited little zaps went through me upon hearing his voice. I peeked around Maddox’s massive biceps and grinned at Briar. “Hey, Doc. Everything’s okay. My slipper had a mind of its own and tried to escape.”

“Yes,” Maddox said. “Blame the slipper and not the clumsy muffin lord wearing it.”

Once we’d reached the ground level, Briar greeted me with a kiss to my temple—his favorite spot.

“I promise I’m okay. But I may need another kiss to be sure.”

Briar laughed under his breath before capturing my lips. He tasted sweet. “Hungry?”

“As if you even need to ask,” Maddox muttered. “His stomach is an endless pit. He’s always hungry.”

I sneered at him, which earned me one of his rare full-blown smiles. The four of us then advanced toward the kitchen. Briar had lit the hearth in the reading room, as well as the larger one in the main dining area, chasing away the chill in the air.

As I caught a familiar smell, I groaned. “Is that fig bread?”

“It is.” Briar caught me around the waist. “I made the dough yesterday and let it prove overnight so it could go straight in the oven this morning.”

I looked at Lake, then at Maddox. “Both of you were wrong earlier. I’m the spoiled one.”

Lake nuzzled my nape, and Maddox held my hand tighter. The three of them surrounded me, pressing against me from all sides. I loved being an Evan sandwich. How I’d gotten so lucky to have them in my life, I’d never know, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Because they were my world. My best friends. My soul mates. The men who’d shown me what it was like to truly love. And how to live.

After breakfast, Briar and Maddox each kissed me goodbye and left for the castle. I’d packed banana nut muffins and turkey-and-tomato sandwiches to take with them. Lake then helped me prepare for the workday. We gathered ingredients and mixed batter for cupcakes and other pastries I’d placed on the menu for the week—I changed it up sometimes.

Miles soon joined us. We frosted cupcakes with buttercream and used cream cheese frosting for carrot cake loaves, then baked pumpkin loaves. A seasonal item.

Then, it was time to open the café.

The cold morning didn’t stop people from finding their way to the Brewed Muffin. Customers piled in, their cheeks pink from the cold, and ordered steaming mugs of coffee to help warm them. Food orders came in: jam-filled croissants, porridge with sliced fruit, omelet muffins, pumpkin waffles, and cranberry scones.

Peter and Alice, the two miracle workers who helped keep the café running smoothly, flitted around the dining room taking orders and delivering them, as well as wiping off tables once the occupant left to make room for the next waiting customer.

Miles stayed with me in the kitchen. “Would you like me to frost the next batch of cupcakes now, Mister Evan?”

“Yes, please.” I glanced up from the bowl of chocolate cake batter I was stirring. It wasn’t even noon yet, and my feet and back already ached.

Totally worth it. This café had been my dream for so many years. A dream I never thought attainable in my other life.

The café was a dream my mom had too. As I poured batter into cake pans and put them in the oven, I thought of her. Wondered what she’d been like. Beautiful and kindhearted, according to Lupin. What else? Had her voice been light and airy or richer? What about her laugh? Had it been musical, or did she snort like me? How much did I resemble her? Did we like the same things?

An ache spread through me. I’d never get those answers. How was it possible to miss someone I’d never met?

“Mister Evan? Are you all right?”

I blinked, finding myself in front of the oven holding a platter of cookies. “Oh. Yeah, I’m fine.” I set the cookies on the counter and smiled at him. “Just lost in my head today.”

With a concerned wrinkle in his brow, Miles nodded and checked the cupcakes cooling on the rack.

“I promise,” I added.

“You’ve been on the go since I arrived this morning and haven’t stopped to take a breath since. Please take a break if you need one.”

“Nah, I’m okay.” I exaggerated an inhale, then expelled it. “See? I’m breathing.”

Ever since my kidnapping, my work family worried over me nearly as much as my men did. Miles, Peter, and Alice had kept the café running in the days I was gone, but even once I’d returned, they’d barely let me work at all, insisting I take it easy and rest.

Almost two months later and they were still like that. The silly worry bugs.

Seeming less worried, Miles swirled chocolate buttercream on one half of the cupcakes and used vanilla frosting on the other half, making each one picture-perfect. As a demi-bear, he stood close to seven feet tall, and rounded furry ears jutted from his brown hair.

Just like with Lake, some people took one look at him and made incorrect assumptions that he was wild and dangerous. All because he was a demi-human. In reality, Miles wouldn’t hurt anyone. He was softhearted and had a passion for baking and decorating desserts.

I was lucky to have him. As both an employee and a friend.

“Another order,” Alice chimed as she entered the kitchen. Her blond hair was styled in a pixie cut, and with her short stature, she kind of reminded me of a pixie. An observation I’d mentioned out loud once, earning me a hard tickle to my ribs. “A bowl of squash soup.”

Our menu had a selection of desserts, soups, and sandwiches. The soup was a seasonal item and had gone over surprisingly well with customers. Potato was our top seller, but squash and tomato were popular too.

“Coming right up!” I spun around to the large pot on the stove and spooned a generous amount into a bowl. The Brewed Muffin didn’t skimp on the goods, that was for sure. You got what you paid for.

“I’ll brew more tea,” Miles said once noticing we were running low.

Green tea with lemon was our recent best-selling flavor, especially with the colder days upon us. I had fun coming up with new ideas for the menu. Not all worked out though.

When brainstorming tea flavors a while back, I had experimented with a rose-infused tea despite my aversion to anything floral flavored. Other people liked it, so why not? The tea must’ve known my heart hadn’t been in it because I’d failed epically.

Briar, bless him, had been my first victim—er, taste tester. He’d taken one sip and held it in his mouth, not wanting to hurt my feelings by spitting it out. He had then forced a swallow and politely smiled at me before saying, “Perhaps not this one, love.”

“Now you know how it feels,” I’d responded, remembering the disgusting post-sex tonics he’d made all of us drink.

Maddox’s answering laugh had caused him to choke on a muffin.

The scent of peaches tickled my nose. Arms came around me from behind, and there was a soft nuzzle to my nape. “You should eat. It’s past lunchtime.”

In the beginning of our relationship, Lake had stayed upstairs during business hours. His presence could start an uproar among the people if he was spotted. Miles, Peter, and Alice knew about him though, so he’d started using the private corridor that was blocked off from customers to come downstairs to the kitchen during the day.

“I will soon,” I told him. “I just gotta brew more coffee first.”

“ I will brew it.” Lake pressed his lips to the back of my neck. It made me weak in the knees. Each of my men had their own spot. My nape was Lake’s. “You will sit at the table and eat.”

I huffed. “So bossy. Looks like someone has been taking lessons from Maddox.”

I felt Lake smile. “Please?”

“Fine. I’ll eat.” I turned to face him, tipping my head up a fraction to meet his purple-eyed gaze. My stomach chose that moment to rumble so loud it sounded like one of the demons from the dark wood. “I’m a little hungry, I guess.”

Once I was fed—and Lake appeased—I got back to work.

The busy rush never slowed, but it made time pass quickly. At sunset, once the café was closed and dinner was on the stove, Maddox and Briar returned. I greeted them at the door and was instantly pulled in for a hug by my grumpy captain, followed by Briar’s arms winding around me from behind.

“Welcome home,” I said, crushed between their bodies. “Lake and I made beef-and-veggie stew for dinner.”

Lake stood beneath the archway of the front parlor, his ears adorably perked up. His tail wagged once. Was he happy to see them too? “The carrots are fresh from the garden. Harvested today.”

Before moving in with us, Lake had lived in a cottage deep in the woods where he’d grown his own crops. In the months since then, I’d encouraged him to start another garden here. Gardening made him happy, and I didn’t want him to give it up. And seeing the pride in his eyes as he showed me a vegetable he’d gathered made me happy.

“I look forward to eating it,” Briar told him.

Lake’s tail wagged once more before he ducked out of sight.

“Dear god, he’s too cute,” I said.

“I know someone even cuter.” Maddox took hold of my chin and tipped my face up. “Mouthier too.”

“You can’t just be sweet, can you? You always gotta pick on me.”

Maddox leaned down, so close I felt his breath on my lips. “You like it when I pick on you.”

Instead of stroking his ego by admitting that, yes, I did like it, I pushed him away and stomped toward the kitchen. His low chuckle rumbled from behind me.

After making our plates, the four of us sat at the table to eat and talked about our day. Briar and Thane, his apprentice at the clinic, had spent a chunk of the day in the storeroom, sorting herbs and making inventory notes.

“So, it’s slow,” I said. “That’s a good sign.”

It meant knights weren’t being mauled by demons. It meant that, even though tension with the kingdom of Haran was heightening and war was—possibly—on the horizon, there was no immediate danger. The calm before the storm? Maybe.

“Monotonous work, but slow, yes.” Briar placed his hand on top of mine and gently squeezed. “I heard business here was anything but. A woman who works in the castle came into the clinic earlier and said when she popped in here for a cranberry scone, she had to take it and go because there were no tables available.”

“Yeah, it was crazy today.”

Lake tore off a piece of bread and dipped it into his bowl of stew, sopping up the yummy juices. “Perhaps we could build a covered terrace for outside seating when the dining room is full.”

Briar nodded to him. “Excellent idea. We could also add a stone fireplace to keep customers warm in the colder months. In the spring, it’ll undoubtedly be the preferred seating area too.”

The two of them began discussing which side of the cottage to build the terrace that would give the customers the nicest view. I loved how much they cared about the café. An idea then rattled around in my brain about introducing to-go cups and containers for people who didn’t want to dine in. It was safe to say that the Brewed Muffin’s success wasn’t a fluke like I’d once feared. People really loved the place.

“You’re smiling.” Maddox pressed his knee to mine beneath the table. Briar and Lake were still engaged in conversation.

“I’m happy.” That happiness bubbled up stronger inside my chest. “Life is an adventure, and I’m excited to see where it takes me next.”

Maddox’s expression softened. “I know little about fate’s plan for tomorrow or any of the days after, but I know where life will take you within the next hour.”

“Oh?”

A touch of mischief shone in those deep blue eyes. “My bed.”

“ Our bed,” Briar corrected him. “It seems you still need to learn how to share, Captain. Although, if the lesson hasn’t sunk in by now, I fear it never will.”

Maddox’s lips skewed up.

Just as Maddox predicted, within the hour, I was flat on my back in bed and being fucked so good my toes curled.

Briar took me first, gentle and sweet, and then Maddox swooped in right after, flipping me to my belly and urging me to my knees. He pushed in and railed me hard, his big hands secured on my hips to hold me in place exactly as he wanted me.

Lake positioned himself beneath me and gave me sweet kisses as I lost my goddamn mind.

My voice cracked on a moan as Maddox brought me to orgasm. His soft grunts followed as he came too, his large body quaking from the force of it.

I peered down at Lake, and he offered me a tender smile that hit me square in the heart. Gently, he wound his arms around me and rose from the bed with me in tow. He paused to allow Briar and Maddox to each kiss me good night, and then he carried me from the room and down the hall to the guest room. It was technically his room now, the one he used when he didn’t sleep in there with us.

It was also where we shared the intimate moments he wasn’t comfortable enough acting on in front of them.

“Hey, you,” I whispered once he’d laid me down and settled between my legs.

A soft sound left his throat as he lowered his face to my neck. He lightly scraped his teeth along my jugular vein. “My Evan.” He guided his cock into place and pushed forward. “My mate.”

“My wolf,” I said, loving the way he filled me.

That night, Lake took me slowly and treated me like I was the most precious thing in his world. I wrapped my arms around him and pressed my face into his silver hair. Peaches and spring water. A scent I’d recognize anywhere.

Another day had come to a close, yet this amazing life with them was only beginning.