8. Aflora
Warmth.Beauty. Passion.
I reveled in it, rolling around in the grass and soaking up all the magic. “There are so many types of earth,” I marveled out loud, speaking to no one in particular. “So much life!”
There were plants from all the fae realms, including some from my own. And the human world, too.
“These are tulips,” I said, encouraging one to blossom. “So very different from the orchid.” Which was beautiful and white but required much more attention than the tulip.
I returned to the tree again, leaning against the trunk and sighing happily. “Such a mighty oak you are,” I praised. “Strong and big, with a stunning girth.”
“Is that a euphemism?” Zeph asked as he approached with a plate in his hand. “Should I be jealous?”
I giggled, high on life and drunk on the earthy vitality surrounding me.
Zeph’s lips curled as he sat across from me. Kols trailed behind him with another plate and a large mug.
“Spritemead.” The word escaped through my lips on a prayer, my mouth suddenly parched. I reached for the frosty glass, practically panting with need.
“That look is giving me so many ideas,” Kols said as he lowered the mug for me.
I grabbed it and took a big sip, my heart rejoicing at the splendid flavor. Yes, yes.
“Was she like this in Central Park?” Kols inquired as he sat down beside Zeph.
“Yeah, only topless as well,” Zeph replied.
“No wonder you fucked her up against a tree.” Kols set the plate down on the grass, the salad patty and dragon steak making me squeal in excitement. I handed him back the spritemead and dove right into the feast.
No silverware required.
Just hands.
And food. Delicious, amazing food.
Zeph’s plate cradled a loaf stuffed with mouseberries. A red pudding rested beside it, causing my eyebrow to inch upward. “What’s that?” I asked around a mouthful of salad patty. I’d forgotten all about my hunger, and now it returned with a vengeance.
“Sweet paste,” he replied.
That certainly wasn’t something from the Elemental Fae world. “What’s in it?”
“Blood.” No hesitation. No mincing words. Just a single statement that had my stomach churning. “You need it, pixie flower.”
I shook my head, denying him. Because, no, I did not need blood right now. Particularly, not with my food. Yuck. Drinking from my mates was one thing. Imbibing with my meals was entirely another.
“You’re ascending as a Midnight Fae,” Kols said gently. “Blood is how we connect to the dark source, Aflora.”
I gagged, the salad patty suddenly losing all flavor in my mouth.
My head moved back and forth in denial. No.
“Hmm, I think she needs a little coaxing, Kols.”
“I think so, too,” the Elite Blood agreed. “She had no problem with blood last night.”
“No, she definitely didn’t.”
“So maybe we need to engage in something similar to inspire her?” Kols suggested, setting the mug of spritemead down in the grass.
“It’s like you can read my mind,” Zeph drawled, his finger swiping through the red paste. I half expected him to bring it to my lips, but he lifted his hand to Kols’s mouth instead.
And proceeded to paint the texture along his lower lip, his gaze on me the whole time.
Then he slowly leaned sideways, his attention shifting to the other man, and licked the paste from Kols’s lip before dipping his tongue inside to kiss him thoroughly.
My Elite Blood mate groaned in approval, his eyes falling closed as he lost himself in Zeph’s embrace, the two of them indulging in each other as much as the taste of the food.
Fire licked through my veins at the sight of them, my stomach tightening in expectation.
Then Kols took some of the paste with his own finger and drew a line down Zeph’s neck that he followed with his mouth, licking his skin clean in the process.
If you were shirtless, I would do this to your breasts, Kols whispered into my mind. Then I’d bite your rosy nipple and sink my teeth into your flesh to really taste you.
My thighs clenched in response.
Zeph created a zigzag pattern along Kols’s throat and used his opposite hand to begin unfastening my Elite Blood mate’s shirt. His mouth followed the path down, the buttons releasing ahead of his tongue until he reached the other man’s navel.
“Fuck,” Kols breathed, falling to the grass.
“So easy,” Zeph murmured, skimming his teeth along Kols’s lower abdomen to his hip. “Do you think Aflora would help me lick your cock clean if I decorated it with sweetness?”
Kols groaned, his eyes falling closed. “Don’t make promises you won’t keep.”
“I would never do that,” Zeph replied, his palm going to Kols’s groin.
“Liar,” Kols growled, arching into his Guardian’s hand.
Zeph chuckled. Then he popped open the button of Kols’s slacks and drew down the zipper.
No boxers.
Just bare skin.
My lips parted, my pulse skipping several beats.
Zeph bent to press a kiss to the growing arousal, then his smoldering green eyes met mine. “What do you want to do, pixie flower? Torture Kols?” He reached for more paste and traced an inviting line down the other man’s thickening length. “Or please him?”
He lowered his mouth to demonstrate, eliciting a sensual moan from Kols. Then he created another alluring red trail and invited me with his eyes to join him.
I promise you’ll like it, he whispered in my mind. And I’ll reward you for tasting it, too.
His gaze lowered to the apex between my thighs, his nostrils flaring with enticement.
He meant to reward me by licking me there. With the paste.
Dear Fae, I thought, swallowing thickly. How…devious. And so very Zeph.
His irises pulsed in response, his expression expectant. He knew I wouldn’t decline. Not with an offer like that.
But if I hated the taste, it would certainly spoil the mood.
Only one way to find out. I shivered, taking in Kols’s pulsating shaft and the promising gleam in Zeph’s green eyes.
Trust me, he murmured to me. You’ll enjoy every minute. And so will he.
I slid the plates to the side, leaving them near the discarded mug of spritemead. Then I crawled over to Kols.
His pupils dilated as he watched me, his muscles flexing along his torso as he clenched his fists at his sides. “Thank fuck,” he said, his tone thick with need.
I lowered my mouth to his abdomen, kissing him just below his belly button. Then I started downward with my tongue, tasting his skin along the way and reveling in his renewed life. A hint of sweetness taunted my nose as I inched closer to his groin, the paste boasting a subtle aroma that reminded me of hot cocoa—a decadent drink Elemental Fae enjoyed making with cinnamon and floral berry infusions.
Blood wasn’t a staple in my diet.
But I’d tasted it from my mates before.
And it hadn’t been horrible.
Actually, it’d been rather erotic.
Swallowing, I moved the final few centimeters to Kols’s pulsing erection and tentatively licked the tip.
He cursed in response, his body strung tight from what probably felt like the ultimate tease. “Aflora,” he murmured, his fingers brushing my jaw.
Zeph caught his wrist and placed his hand by his side once more. “No touching.”
“I fucking hate you.” It came out on a growl, Kols’s desire a hot sensation against my mouth.
“You’ll love me again in a second,” Zeph promised.
Rather than torment my mate more, I closed my mouth around his head and started a path downward. His hiss encouraged me to go deeper, the food painting his skin an intriguing flavor that had me groaning in response.
Because it was good.
No, it was delicious.
I took as much of him as my throat would allow, then released him to lower my mouth to the base and finish licking him clean.
Zeph added more paste in the next second, having retrieved the plate once more. I indulged in another taste, and then another, treating Kols like some sort of decadent treat.
His hands were fisted at his sides again, his arousal hard and throbbing in my mouth. Zeph switched focus to Kols’s mouth, kissing him deeply while I licked him to completion.
It was erotic.
Hot.
Perfection.
Zeph reached for me, his fingers threading through my hair as he helped guide my pace, his opposite palm against Kols’s throat. “Don’t come yet, Kolstov.”
My Elite Blood mate growled in response, causing Zeph to chuckle darkly. “Sadist,” Kols accused.
“Mmm, but you already knew that,” Zeph replied, kissing him again.
His control was resolute, his grip unyielding as he continued to dictate my movements as well as Kols’s pending orgasm.
The display had my thighs straining, my insides burning with an intensity that reminded me of the source.
Heat spilled through my veins, lighting me on fire from within, and I realized I was feeling Kols’s growing pleasure. He couldn’t contain it, the arousal spilling into his bonds as he pushed his need to me and Zeph.
“Cheater,” Zeph stated on a low groan.
“Let me come and I’ll share that, too.” Kols’s tone held a promise and a threat in it, his voice deep with yearning.
Zeph hummed in a considering manner, his grip forcing me to take Kols even deeper. His gaze slowly lowered to mine as he remained beside Kols from above. “Are you ready to swallow, pixie flower?”
Yes.
“Out loud,” he encouraged, not allowing me to move upward. “Say it around his cock.”
“Yes,” I managed, the sound slurred and obstructed by Kols’s pulsing heat in my mouth.
“Fuck,” Kols panted in reply. “Fuck.”
“Is that your preference? Instead of her swallowing?” Zeph asked, his attention returning to the Elite Blood.
Kols made a dark noise, his fingers digging into the ground beside us.
Zeph smirked knowingly, then he slowly lifted my head up to the tip and plunged me back down again. A shocked gasp escaped me, the penetration deep and cutting off my airway.
But the responding growl from Kols made it worth it. He shook beneath me, his abdomen clenching as his release shot into the back of my throat.
I swallowed because there was no other option. Not that I desired one. Tasting Kols was like a reward, his essence one I craved and needed to survive. He lifted one hand from the ground, his knuckles brushing my cheek as he continued to come undone, that solitary beautiful touch a display of gratitude while he came apart beneath me.
My heart warmed in response.
There was so much love and adoration in that graze against my skin.
I love you,he said into my mind. So fucking much, Aflora.
I love you, too, I replied, drinking from him both figuratively and literally.
He shot off one more trickle down my throat, then calmed beneath me, his explosion one I felt warming our bond and igniting a fire within me.
But I sensed he gave more to Zeph, using his orgasm as a way to punishingly taunt the other male. The Warrior Blood palmed himself, a growl mingling with a groan as he squeezed his shaft through his trousers. “I’m going to return that favor later,” he threatened.
“Good,” Kols replied, his tone lazy and sated. “I look forward to it.” He went to his elbows, his bronze gaze finding mine. “But first, I believe you owe our mate a reward. Unless you’d like me to do the honors?”
“You can help,” Zeph offered, his green irises smoldering with promise. “Lie down, pixie flower. And lift your skirt.” He swiped his finger through the paste again, leaving little to the imagination as to what he wanted.
And I wasn’t about to refuse.
So I did what he’d asked, lifting my skirt and showing off my lack of underwear.
Both men groaned in response.
Then I spread my legs and they cursed.
Kols moved to my mouth first, his tongue tracing the seam of my lips to demand entry as his palm went to my breast. I moaned against him, arching into his touch while returning his kiss with reckless abandon.
Alive, I thought. He’s alive.
I knew this, had been part of his resurrection, but the continued reminder of his existence set my soul on fire for him. Because he was mine. In more than one way—mine. And I would have been utterly destroyed without him.
I ensured he knew that by opening my mind to his, pushing him my feelings of gratitude and devotion, wordlessly telling him what he meant to me.
He responded with a broadcast of his own emotions, drowning me in his adoration and worship.
Then Zeph parted my folds with his tongue, demanding my focus.
Ohhh…
His finger followed his mouth, then he traced his touch, licking the paste from the intimate heart of me.
Who knew food could be so exciting?
I shivered as he did it again, then Kols’s lips trailed down my neck as his fingers deftly unfastened my blouse.
Goose bumps trailed across my skin, my body primed and ready to explode.
But a nibble to my clit told me I didn’t have permission yet.
You really are a sadist, I thought at Zeph.
He hummed in agreement, his mouth wicked and skilled and far too knowing against my sex.
Kols added to the fun, painting my breast with the remainder of the paste and doing exactly what he’d vowed to do earlier—decorating my nipple and taking it into his mouth. Then his teeth sank into my flesh as he drew my blood, his tongue licking the wound in his wake.
An inferno blazed through me, knocking out my senses and reducing me to a writhing mess of insane craving.
My two mates reveled in it, drawing me close to climax only to deny me the end result.
Beg, Zeph told me. Beg for what you need.
“Please,” I whispered. “I… I need to…” I jolted as Kols bit me again, this time on my other breast. “Oh!” I was going to die by the touch of my mates. Blow up in a source of madness and sensation. “Please let me come.” The words came out in a jumble—or they sounded distant to my ears, anyway—because I was too lost to their mouths and tongues and hands to think through my words.
Zeph made a noise of approval, his teeth sinking into my delicate flesh and eliciting a guttural scream from my throat.
It hurt.
It burned.
It captivated me entirely.
Fae…It was like he’d turned me inside out, drawing the deepest of pleasure from my soul with his teeth, and yanked the blossoming flames from me with a pull of his mouth.
Blood. My blood.
I felt him swallowing in approval, his yearning for me a searing kiss to my senses.
Now, Aflora, he said, giving me the permission I sought and craved. Come for us.
I didn’t have to think; I just complied, my body trained to his will and listening to him more than me. Stars blinked into my vision, darkness overtaking my senses, as I fell headfirst into a consuming ocean of ecstasy.
Down, down, down, I went.
Drowning.
Blissfully surviving on pleasure alone.
Shaking and combusting and losing myself to my mates.
They owned me. My heart. My soul. My body.
But I owned them in kind, their strength rooted into my spirit and yanking me back to life in my next breath.
Zeph’s mouth captured mine. Then Kols. Then Zeph again. Their hands were everywhere, stroking me with undeniable affection and grace.
Water surrounded me in the next second, my mates having taken me to wash off in a shower.
I barely felt the warmth of the droplets, my focus on Zeph and Kols and their exploring fingers and touch.
They did this to me—took away all my worries and concerns and introduced me to a world of sensation and living unlike any other.
Shade’s mind brushed mine, his knowing thoughts driving me onward.
Zakkai was there, too, his protective energy allowing me to completely let go and just be.
I collapsed into Zeph and Kols, let them bathe me, love me, cherish me, and indulged in everything they had to give.
My mates.
My loves.
My world.