CHAPTER 48 CORY
“I can’t do it!” Max hisses at me outside Mili’s cottage.
Since Chrysthinia told us we have to consummate our claims on each other, Max and Port have been whispering urgently to each other. Now I know why –Max is worried about sex with Milica.
“Well, you have no issues with Port, do you? Mili is part of us, too, so it shouldn’t be any different,” I say cheerily, clapping him on the shoulder for good measure.
Max sidesteps and runs his hand through his wild hair. “It’s not the same. You know it’s not the same. Port I trust, and I know he trusts me. But the faery ?”
“Max,” I sigh, “You two clearly have some pent-up tension. Perhaps this is an adequate a time as any to relieve it.”
“You don’t understand, Cory.”
I pace to him and stand, staring deep into his eyes. “Max, do you mean to tell me you’ve never fantasized about the faery?”
He frowns and says, “That’s not the problem; it’s the fact that - that you’re all too good for me. How can I –how can I participate in this sort of ritual when I’m not sure I even deserve to be here? You don’t know me, not truly. You don’t know the things I’ve done.”
This is the first time that Max has been really honest with me, I realize, and I know he means everything he’s saying. I nod slowly, my brows furrowing as I think. How do you convince someone you care for them, that they deserve your care?
“Well,” I start, slowly, “Why not focus on all that right now? Perhaps in time we’ll discover we truly can’t stand you.” Max scowls at me, but I continue, “I mean it, Max. Anything can happen; I can’t imagine that happening, but it technically could. Still, why does that have to be a problem for today? Right now, shouldn’t the only thing that matters be that Mili needs us? Needs you ?”
Max blinks at me, reeling from my words, and I continue. “We’re all killers Max. We’ve all had to be. But you’re not wicked, Kar is.”
Then, after a painfully long moment, his eyes harden with determination, and he nods.
We walk inside to the smell of nut- and honey-scented candles burning and the sight of dim light filtering through the closed curtains. Max sighs as Port comes up to him, kissing him softly on the cheek before pulling him to the bathroom.
“We’ll get undressed,” Port says, “And meet you and Mili in the bedroom.”
I nod in understanding –they may need a moment before we begin to prepare themselves. It is our first time lovemaking as a full group, and were I not as proud as I am, I might be a little nervous.
I inhale the almond and honey aroma and turn to the kitchen, where Mili is bandaging her damaged wing. “I’ll heal you,” I say with forced confidence. “After all this, I mean.”
Mili smiles weakly and nods at me before folding her wings back into herself. She walks to me and whispers, “Is Max okay?”
“He’s nervous,” I reply.
“I am too,” she admits. “I’ve never really done this. Max and I haven’t even ... we’ve hardly even kissed.”
“I’ll guide us.”
She smiles. “I know you will.”
Then I lean over and say to her, all earnestness, “I already told Max and Port, but if you ever want me to stop, or anyone else to stop, even for a second , you tell us. If anyone is uncomfortable, nobody continues. Okay?”
She nods but there’s something vulnerable in her eyes as she looks up at me, something searching and soft that seems to go beyond our usual back-and-forth. I take her hand, letting my thumb trace slow circles over her knuckles.
“I recognize you, noble faery healer,” I murmur quietly, the words carrying a depth that settles deep between us.
She studies my face, her expression softening, and after a moment, she squeezes my hand, her voice barely above a whisper. “I recognize you too, noble dragon, guardian of all that I love and of my heart.”
The simplicity of the words lingers in the air, yet they feel stronger than anything else we could’ve said. For a moment, it’s just us in that quiet understanding, a recognition of who we are to each other—neither perfect nor flawless, but chosen, respected, seen and claimed.
The bathroom door opens and Max and Port walk out, both completely naked. Max’s face turns completely red when he realizes the two of us are still clothed, and he tries to walk back into the bathroom until Port grabs him and keeps him from doing so.
“You’re supposed to be undressed!” he exclaims.
Mili rolls her eyes, but a smile threatens to grace her lips and I start to grin. “Mili, I think we ought to undress you,” I whisper, my voice low enough to rumble.
She shivers at the sound of my voice, and immediately the air in the room turns from playful and awkward to something more ... passionate. She looks up at me, all reverence and beauty, and I guide her by the hand to the bedroom.
Once we’re inside, I lay Mili back on the bed, and Max and Port come to either side of her. Her breath catches as I start to pull my shirt off, and I ask Max and Port through the bond to undo my belt and my pants.
I smell Mili’s arousal catching fire inside her as she presses her legs tighter together on the bed, desperate for a little friction. I immediately stop moving and command her, “Spread your legs, and don’t move until I allow you.”
She gasps at my order, but nods and pulls her legs apart. My pants now undone, I push them to the floor and let my quickly-hardening length spring free. I gently nudge Port and Max to either side of her by their shoulders, and watch as they kneel beside her. The sight of the three of them together, my packmates and my beautiful faery opening for me, sends fire through my veins.
Port starts to kiss down Mili’s side before lifting her blouse up. I bend over and remove Mili’s pants while Max unbuckles her undergarment from beneath her, his eyes lighting up with arousal of his own as he uncovers her breasts and hard nipples.
My hands send shivers down her legs, and my own cock jumps at the sight of goosebumps prickling on her skin. The feeling of skin on skin, my hands on her, seems to strengthen the magnetic power between us; I don’t know how much longer I can wait for her while she’s bare before me.
The faery whines softly as Max, quickly losing himself to the intimacy, runs the back of his knuckles down the side of her waist. Port takes her hand and begins to suck softly on her thumb, and I watch with delight as her legs pull themselves together of their own accord.
I lean forward onto the bed and push them apart by the thigh, tutting quietly. “Today, Mili, you don’t get to act on your own. You ask me for approval before seeking any pleasure.”
“I will,” she gasps, still writhing softly in my grip.
I tighten my hands slightly around her legs and whisper, “You’re ours. Understood?”
Mili’s whine turns to a full-blown moan and she nods. I cock my head to the side, tracing a small circle on her inner thigh with my thumb. She whines softly and my length strains at the sound, begging for her touch, begging to be inside her.
“I need you to tell me,” I say, my voice gravelly from desire.
I brush a hand up higher, until it’s nearly touching her folds, and she whimpers. “Yes, I’m yours.”