Chapter 13 #2
"She's been lonely without you," Taveth said, his pale eyes never leaving Tarshi's face. "The bond between us is strong, but it couldn't fill the void where you and Sirrax should have been."
I shivered at his words, at the raw honesty in his voice. It was true—no matter how complete my connection with Taveth felt in the moment, there had always been an aching emptiness where my other mates should have been.
I looked between them, these two men who wore the same face but couldn't have been more different in personality and power.
"I need both of you," I admitted, my voice trembling with the weight of the confession. The words hung in the air between us, heavy with implications that made my pulse quicken. I had meant as mates, but the words went deeper than that as I looked up at Tarshi.
Tarshi's eyes darkened at my admission, and I felt his arousal spike through our bond.
"Both of us," he repeated, his voice rough with desire.
His hand moved to the nape of my neck, his fingers tangling in my hair as he pulled me closer for a kiss.
His lips were soft against mine, familiar, filled with months of longing and relief at being reunited.
I melted into him, my body remembering the shape of him, the way he tasted.
When we broke apart, I turned to Taveth, seeing the hunger burning in his white eyes.
He leaned forward, his shadows reaching for me like living things, and captured my mouth in a kiss that was entirely different from Tarshi's.
Where Tarshi had been gentle, Taveth was possessive, demanding, filled with the darkness that always lurked beneath his surface.
Both bonds hummed with life inside me—Tarshi's warm and golden, Taveth's dark and electric.
I felt dizzy as I pulled back from him, caught between these two men who were so alike yet so different. The air in the room felt charged, electric with the tension building between all three of us.
"I've missed you so much," I whispered to Tarshi, my fingers tracing the familiar line of his jaw. "Every day, every night. I felt so empty without you, without Sirrax, without the others."
"I know," he murmured against my temple. "I felt it too. The bond was like a wound that wouldn't heal."
Taveth's hand found my free one, his cool fingers intertwining with mine. "I tried to fill that emptiness," he said quietly. "But I understand now that I never could. Not completely." He looked up at Tarshi.
"Show me," he said suddenly. "Show me how you touch her. I want to see."
My heart stuttered at his words, heat flooding my cheeks as I realized what he was asking, but Tarshi was already shifting me in his lap, arranging me so I was facing outward toward Taveth while still cradled against his chest.
"I've been dreaming of this," Tarshi murmured against my ear, his hands beginning to roam over my body with familiar expertise. "Of having you back in my arms, of showing you how much I've missed you."
His touch was gentle at first, reverent, as if he couldn't quite believe I was real. His hands skimmed over my arms, my sides, reacquainting themselves with the shape of me. I melted back against him, my body remembering how perfectly we fit together.
I watched Taveth's face as Tarshi's hands moved over me, seeing the way his white eyes tracked every caress with hungry fascination. The shadows around him writhed restlessly, responding to his arousal, but he made no move to interrupt or interfere.
Tarshi's fingers found the lacings of my tunic, working them loose with practiced ease. "I dreamed of this," he whispered against my neck, his breath warm against my skin. "Of undressing you slowly, of seeing every inch of you again."
The tunic fell away, leaving me bare from the waist up, and I felt Taveth's sharp intake of breath. His gaze burned over my exposed skin, taking in the marks that decorated my throat and collarbone—his own claiming scar, but also the older ones that belonged to Tarshi and Sirrax.
"Beautiful," Taveth breathed, his voice rough with desire. "You're so beautiful, Aeveth."
Tarshi's hands cupped my breasts, his thumbs brushing over my nipples until they peaked under his touch.
I arched into his caress, a soft moan escaping my lips as pleasure shot through me.
Through our bond, I could feel his satisfaction at my response, his joy at being able to touch me again after so long.
"Touch her," Taveth said, his voice thick with arousal. "I want to see how you make her feel."
Hooking his feet behind my ankles, Tarshi pulled my legs apart, his hands sliding down to my belt. Taveth moved forward, taking the waistband of my woollen breeches in his hands and tearing them apart. I gasped as the cool air drifted between my legs as I was bared to him.
“Better,” he said. “Too many clothes.”
“I agree,” muttered Tarshi. “And I like your style, brother.” He reached down, and I moaned as his hand slipped between my legs, my body responding instantly to his familiar touch.
The sensation of his hand between my legs while Taveth watched sent heat spiralling through my core, and I couldn't suppress the moan that escaped my lips.
"She's so wet," Tarshi murmured, his voice filled with wonder and desire. His fingers moved against me with the expertise born of months of intimacy, finding exactly the spots that made me arch against him. "I've missed this. Missed you."
Through our bond, I could feel his arousal building, matching my own as his fingers worked their magic.
But I was also acutely aware of Taveth's presence, the way his white eyes tracked every movement, every reaction.
The shadows around him writhed with barely contained hunger, and I could sense his desperate need through our connection.
I whimpered as Tarshi's fingers circled my most sensitive spot, my hips moving instinctively against his hand.
The pleasure was almost overwhelming after weeks of feeling disconnected from this bond, from this perfect understanding between us.
Taveth's white eyes were fixed where Tarshi's hand moved between my legs, his shadows writhing with barely contained hunger.
"Show me how she likes to be touched," he said, his voice hoarse with desire.
Tarshi's fingers slipped lower, teasing at my entrance before sliding inside me with a slowness that made me gasp. My back arched against his chest as he began to move, his thumb continuing to work my clit in slow circles.
"Like this," he said, his voice thick with arousal. "She likes it slow at first, building the tension until she's desperate for more."
I was already becoming desperate, my body trembling with need as he worked me with the skill of someone who had mapped every sensitive spot. The mate bond between us pulsed with shared pleasure, amplifying every sensation until I felt like I might shatter from the intensity of it.
Taveth leaned forward, his pale eyes burning as he watched Tarshi's fingers disappear inside me. "May I?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
I nodded, unable to form words as pleasure coursed through me.
Taveth's hand joined Tarshi's between my legs, his fingers sliding alongside his brother's in a way that made me cry out.
The sensation of both of them touching me at once was overwhelming—Tarshi's familiar warmth contrasted with Taveth's cooler touch, the shadows that seemed to follow his fingers adding an electric quality to every caress.
"Gods," I gasped, my head falling back against Tarshi's shoulder as they worked together to drive me higher. "I can't... it's too much..."
"You can take it," Taveth murmured, his free hand coming up to cup my breast, his thumb rolling over my nipple. "You're so strong, so perfect. Let us worship you the way you deserve."
The dual sensations - Tarshi's skilled fingers between my legs and Taveth's possessive touch on my breast - sent me spiralling toward climax faster than I had expected. My body trembled between them, caught in the perfect storm of competing sensations and overwhelming pleasure.
"That's it," Tarshi murmured against my ear, his fingers curling inside me in a way that made me cry out. "Let go, love. We have you."
I shattered between them with a broken moan, my body convulsing as waves of pleasure crashed over me.
As the aftershocks faded, I found myself boneless between them, my breathing ragged and my heart still racing.
Through the mate bonds, I could feel both of their arousal burning bright and urgent, their need for me as overwhelming as my own satisfaction.
Tarshi pulled his fingers away, slipping them into his mouth as Taveth dropped to his knees before me and without warning, took my clit into his mouth, sucking hard.
I cried out at the sudden intensity, my oversensitive flesh still throbbing from my climax.
The pleasure was almost painful, but I couldn't pull away from his mouth, couldn't escape the relentless pressure of his tongue.
"Taveth," I gasped, my hands fisting in his hair as he worked me with single-minded determination. Behind me, I could feel Tarshi's arousal through our bond, his body hard against my back as he watched his brother devour me.
My second climax hit me like lightning, sharp and sudden and so intense I saw stars.
I cried out, my body jerking against Taveth's mouth as he continued to lap at me through the waves of pleasure.
Only when I was trembling and oversensitive did he finally pull away, his pale eyes burning with satisfaction.
"Perfect," he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to my inner thigh. "You taste like heaven, Aeveth."
I was still catching my breath when I felt Tarshi shift behind me, his hands moving to unlace his breeches. The sound of fabric rustling made my pulse quicken all over again, desire already building despite how thoroughly they had just pleasured me.
"I need to be inside you," Tarshi said against my ear, his voice rough with need. "I've dreamed of this for weeks."
I nodded, barely able to think straight, let alone form a sentence.
Taveth helped Tarshi remove the rest of my clothes, and I watched as he stripped slowly in front of me.
When he was bare, I couldn't help but appreciate the lean lines of his body.
The silver veins beneath his skin pulsed more rapidly now, responding to his arousal, and I felt a familiar thrill of desire mixed with the ever-present worry about what those marks meant for his future.
He moved in front of me, his hand already wrapped around his thick cock, and I watched him hungrily as he fisted it slowly.
“Are you sure?” murmured Tarshi. His warm breath on my ear sent a shiver down my spine.
“Yes.”
“Lean forward,” he said. “I want to see you suck my brother’s cock.”
I gasped as Tarshi pressed me forward, his other hand keeping my hips pulled back against him.
I reached out, wrapping my fingers around Taveth's length as I leaned forward.
The weight of him in my hand was familiar now, but no less thrilling.
He was already hard, his cock thick and heavy in my palm, and I felt a thrill of power at the sharp intake of breath he made when I touched him.
"That's it," Tarshi murmured behind me, his own arousal pressing hot against my lower back. "Take him in your mouth."
I leaned forward obediently, parting my lips to take Taveth's tip between them. His hands came up to tangle in my hair, but his grip was gentle, letting me set the pace.
Behind me, I felt Tarshi positioning himself, the blunt head of his cock pressing against my entrance. The anticipation made me moan around Taveth's length, sending vibrations through him that made his grip tighten reflexively in my hair.
"Perfect," Taveth breathed, his white eyes burning as he watched me take more of him into my mouth. "You look so beautiful like this."
The shadows around his feet writhed with pleasure, responding to his arousal in ways that should have been disturbing but only added to my own excitement.
Tarshi pushed into me slowly, and I cried out around Taveth's cock at the exquisite sensation of being filled by my mate after so long apart.
The bond between us flared to life, singing with completion and rightness that made tears spring to my eyes.
This was what I had been missing, this perfect connection that went beyond the physical.
"So tight," Tarshi groaned behind me, his hands gripping my hips as he began to move. "I'd forgotten how perfectly you fit me."
I couldn't respond with Taveth in my mouth, but I didn't need to. Through our bond, Tarshi could feel everything I was feeling—the overwhelming pleasure of being filled by him again, the satisfaction of having Taveth heavy on my tongue, the intoxicating thrill of being desired by both of them.
Taveth's hand tangled in my hair, not forcing but guiding as I worked my mouth over him.
His pale eyes were locked on mine, drinking in every expression of pleasure, every flicker of need that crossed my face.
The intensity of his gaze made heat pool in my core, adding to the overwhelming sensations already coursing through me.
I became lost in the rhythm of it—Tarshi moving behind me with deep, measured strokes while I worked my mouth over Taveth's length.
Through the mate bond, I could feel Tarshi's overwhelming joy at being reunited with me, the way our connection sang with rightness after weeks of painful separation. But I was also intensely aware of Taveth watching us, his white eyes burning with hunger as he witnessed this intimate reunion. Then his eyes moved from mine to Tarshi’s, and I felt the dark pull on his mind.
“Brother,” he said slowly. “She said she wanted both of us.”
I felt Tarshi still inside me, his hands tightening on my hips.
“So she did.”
Oh gods.