Chapter 25 Beyond All Expectations #2
The moment the words left my mouth, I wanted to crawl under the blanket and never come out. But he didn’t tease me or pull away. Instead, he chuckled softly, and his thumb stroked over the back of my knuckles.
“You don’t have to worry about that,” he murmured. “We waited for you. There’s no one else. There never was.”
My chest swelled with something I couldn’t quite name. Relief, maybe, or something deeper, something that made my heart ache in the best way. I burrowed into him, breathing in his moonflower scent.
“That was my first kiss, Simmy,” I whispered as I closed my eyes.
“Same, my love. Now go back to sleep. It’s too early to be awake, and we have a big day tomorrow.”
I let out a hum, nuzzling closer to him.
“Good thing Zane and Koa are asleep,” I mumbled drowsily. “Zane would probably demand a kiss, too—”
“Damn right I would,” grumbled a voice from behind me. “I’m also waiting for the nickname you still haven’t given me yet!”
With wide eyes, I turned to see Zane propped up on one elbow, his hair sticking up in all directions as usual and a smirk playing on his lips.
“And there goes the moment,” Casimir groaned, rolling onto his back and dragging me with him to sprawl across his chest.
“Since someone’s handing out first kisses.” Zane tugged on the hem of my nightie. “I’d like mine, too, please.”
Heat flooded my cheeks, and I hid them in the curve of Casimir’s neck, only for his growl to shake through me.
“I brought her here, and now you’re hijacking the moment. Not cool, Z.”
“Did I wake you?” I whispered, mortified.
“Beautiful, we all woke up the second we heard you tossing and turning and calling out in your sleep, but these jokers talked me into waiting to see if you’d ask for help instead of letting me go over and comfort you.”
“Oh.” I blinked.
“If you sleep in here with us at night, you won’t have to wake up alone after a nightmare ever again. Just food for thought,” Zane went on. “Now, since I alone remain nickname-less, a kiss only seems fair compensation.”
Another voice joined in from Zane’s other side.
“Even though I have a nickname, I still feel entitled to a kiss from our wife,” Koa murmured.
“They’re both awake?” I whispered.
“Do you want to kiss them?” Casimir’s low voice skimmed the top of my head.
Did I? It wasn’t what I’d come in here for. I’d only thought to curl up at the foot of their bed to be close to them, to hope their presence would keep Claudio out of my dreams, but the mate and beloved bonds drew me to them in more ways than emotionally.
My heart hammering, I nodded, but I kept my face shyly hidden in his throat.
“Well, then,” Casimir drawled with more playfulness than I was used to from him, “let me assist you.”
Next thing I knew, his strong arms scooped me up and wedged me between Zane’s smirking mouth and Koa’s watchful gaze, muttering at them to be careful of my arm and ankle.
“Right here, pretty girl.” Zane tapped his mouth. “I already know what your lips feel like on my skin, but now I’d really like to taste them.”
“I— What does that mean?” I asked in squeak.
His breath caught, a tiny fracture in his armor of jokes.
“Let me show you, sweetheart.”
Nervously, I leaned in, pressing my lips to his softly, the way Casimir had with me.
Before I could pull away, Zane’s tongue flicked out, tracing the seam of my mouth with a gentle lick.
I pulled back with wide eyes, my heart thumping in my chest. He waggled his eyebrows at me, clearly enjoying my reaction.
“You just went all innocent on me,” he teased, laughter dancing in his voice. “Didn’t know one kiss would turn you into a blushing mess.”
“What was that?” I whispered as a flurry of wings filled my belly.
“An appetizer.” His grin turned wicked. “To whet your hunger for more.”
My cheeks blazed hotter than ever, and I opened my mouth to ask questions when Koa’s hand gently cupped the side of my face, turning me toward him. His eyes, usually so gentle and soft for me, shimmered with something intense, something deeper.
“Remember what I said earlier, baby?” he whispered, leaning in close. “Time for me to prove it.”
He kissed one corner of my lips, then the other, his touch so light it felt like a whisper. When he pulled back slightly, his gaze searched mine, silently coaxing me to meet him halfway.
I tentatively pressed my lips to his, and he responded with a quiet hum of approval, his hand moving to cradle the back of my neck as if to anchor me there.
His lips were soft, but insistent, moving slowly in a way that left me breathless.
The world narrowed to the sensation of his mouth on mine, the gentle pressure, the way his hair fell in soft strands against my fingers when I reached up to touch it.
As heat built low in my belly, his hand at my nape tightened, angling my face as his mouth moved against mine.
“Enough, Ko,” Cas growled. “Going too far too fast.”
Koa pulled back abruptly, leaving me panting.
“Serafina,” he rasped as he dropped his forehead against mine, his chest heaving.
I dug my hot face into his throat, feeling the warmth of his bare skin against my flushed cheek as his fingers fumbled through my curls.
“Is this normal?” I whispered. “To feel this way with your mates?”
“How would we know?” Zane snickered. “You’re our first and only beloved. Feels perfect enough to me.”
“Perfect? Really?” My heart swelled.
“Absolutely,” Koa purred.
“And Simmy?” I didn’t raise my head, but I tensed as I waited for his answer even as I chided myself for being so worried about his approval.
But when he murmured, “Beyond all expectations,” a delighted smile tugged up my lips.
Zane’s palm splayed across my stomach then, pulling my back flush against him until I felt every defined ridge of his abdomen through my nightie.
“You’re crushing her,” Casimir’s huff sounded irritated.
“Am not. It’s called cuddling.” Zane’s chuckle faded into a contented sigh as he tucked my head under his chin. “Just wanna feel her heartbeat against mine.”
As he snuggled closer, something long and hard jabbed me in my lower back. I squirmed around, not because I was uncomfortable, but because whatever it was made my thighs clench together and my core tighten almost painfully.
“Cruor, Seri!” Zane grunted and took his arm from my waist to grab my hip and hold it still. “Stop moving before I bust a nut!”
“Before you what?”
“That, my little honey butter biscuit, is what Amabel meant about making your husband hard,” Zane growled in my ear. “Cas wouldn’t let me show you earlier, but now you can feel I’m telling the truth.”
“You want me?” I swallowed hard as I stared into Koa’s glittering eyes. “In a mate way?”
“You arouse us more than you know, beloved.” Koa’s slow grin made butterflies explode in my tummy.
“We fight to keep our hands off of you all damn day.” Wiggling a bit, Zane bent his knees into mine so his hard length nestled into my backside, making me gasp.
“Simmy? Is that true?” I whispered.
“Painfully so,” he murmured.
“Painfully?” My face wrinkled up in confusion.
“Let’s talk about it later,” Koa suggested, laying his palm on my neck and stroking my jaw with his thumb. “You need to sleep now. The wedding’s tomorrow, and I’m sure Zane will make it a long day for all of us.”
“Hey!”
“If he doesn’t scare off the officiant, Brumous will,” Casimir muttered.
“Hey!” I echoed Zane’s protest.
“I know you said you had no family, but are you sure there isn’t anyone you would like to attend?” Koa asked me for the third time now.
“I’m sure, but what about you three?”
“Well, Sebastian, but he’s dealing with something urgent in Belarus,” Zane said.
“We can wait until he gets back,” I offered.
“No telling how long he’ll be. But not to worry! Ko’s all set up to record the whole glorious event so he can watch it ad nauseum.”
“Ad nauseum?” I was starting to fall back to sleep, and my mind wasn’t up to much thinking at the moment.
“Yeah, he can be sick with jealousy that, one, we found our beloved before him and, two, our wedding was utterly spectacular.”
“Just don’t turn it into an utter spectacle,” Casimir muttered.
“Never.” Zane snuggled closer.
“Better rest while you can, beloved,” Koa chuckled.
A sleepy smile tugged at my lips as I relaxed, happy and warm, and drifted off to the melody of Casimir’s mumbled complaints about “property rights” and “fair distribution,” the soft rise and fall of Koa’s breathing, and the occasional snore from Zane.