Chapter Seven
Gray
W atching Blake walk away shattered me as much as having Lottie in my arms healed me. But half a heart wasn’t enough when she needed us both.
“Where’s he going?” she murmured, wincing.
I withdrew as gently as I could, knowing she’d be tender as fuck after the way I brutalized her, marking my claim on her body, marking her again as mine.
As long as she lived, my scent would permeate her pores, cling to the walls of her gushing pussy. If Blake got his act together then his scent would mingle with mine, cementing our claim on our mate.
“Because he cares for you,” I muttered, running my hands over her body. “Did I hurt you? Much?” I clarified.
“A little.” Her impish smile told me everything I needed to know.
She’d be fine, even if I needed to take it easy with her for the next few days.
The first mating was always the hardest, and I hadn’t been sweet with her.
I waited for the familiar twinge of regret but it didn't come this time.
Somehow, she knew what to expect of me and accepted that.
Accepted me as I came, broken and fucked up and brutal as I was.
“You won’t always feel like this.” I nuzzled into her neck, inhaling her scent. Committing her to memory.
Lottie was everything my beast and I wanted. I’d have to shift in front of her soon, show her my other more monstrous parts, but first we had a little history to get through. And maybe a future. Because I sure as fuck wasn’t going anywhere without her.
“But Blake...” She twisted in my arms as I scooped her up and carried her toward the bedroom.
My thighs ached not with the strain of carrying her but from how I’d knelt over her on the bench. The stonework hadn’t done my bones any favors, that was for damn sure.
“Leave him for now, mate.” I kissed the top of her head. “He’ll come around.” Better be fucking soon, because otherwise he’ll feel it.
“Mhmm.” She made a dissatisfied noise in her throat I hated the moment I heard it.
“Fuck it,” I muttered, tossing her onto the bed and climbing over her.
“Whoa.” Lottie stared up at me with wide eyes. “You’re huge all over. I didn’t...” She swallowed, her hands and gaze coasting over me.
“Look your fill.” I waited patiently while she explored. When I didn’t stop her, she scooted lower, running her fine-boned hands across my stomach, then cupping my cock that responded instantly to her touch, hardening on command. “Damn, girl. I’ll go again but I don't want to ruin you.”
“You won’t.”
I twisted to look over my shoulder. Blake stood in my doorway, watching us with an amused look on his drawn face.
He was already feeling the bond’s pull, that much was obvious from his drained color.
The lack of energy where he propped himself up covered the unusual lack of hyperactivity he’d always had in excess with a smirk that sent blood roaring to my cock.
“Are you joining us?” I asked pointedly, raising an eyebrow.
You’re weak as fuck and it’ll get worse every hour you’re not with her.
He stared right back at me, his righteousness blaring out—an unusual expression on the shifter-whore of the year who screwed everything in sight that offered it up on a platter regardless of gender. What a hill to die on, quite literally.
Not that I thought he would die, but his stubbornness issues were a real damn problem. We weren’t on home soil. We rented an apartment in the middle of a city we both hated with no plan of what came next with a brand-new mate and a panther claw who despised us.
And a drug habit that hit two of the people I cared about most in the world.
“Join us,” I murmured, softening my tone. “She needs you, Blake.” We need you.
He nodded. “I'll join you. But no mark until you ask for it, sweetness. Whenever you’re ready.” He sauntered into the bedroom, trailing his fingertips along the back of my thigh displaying all the energy and playfulness he always had.
I knew what that cost him—the show he put on—and hated the fact my cock surged in Lottie’s hand.
She glanced between us with wide eyes. “Are you two together?” she asked in a hushed voice.
I shrugged. “He lets me dominate him sometimes,” I said easily. Not a lie, but an asshole move. Blake would hate it and he’d hate what I’d do when he put the brakes on the moment he acted out.
His fingertips traced along the base of my spine as he reached between my legs to caress my balls while Lottie worked my cock. “He likes to think he’s in control. But you can top from the bottom, sweetness. It’s not a ... hard ... ask.” He stroked my balls until I groaned.
The sound reverberated around the room as I took their ministrations, barely grasping that last straw as they gently manipulated me. For as rough and brutal as I could be in bed, this gentle handling, their worship, undid me.
I caught Lottie’s wrist in a firm, if sweet, grip and eased her hand back, giving myself some breathing room. Holding her eye, I waited until she nodded and then I reached back and gripped the top of Blake’s head by his hair, wrenching him between us all.
“The fuck you think you’re doing, playing with me?” I snarled when he stumbled, lacking the strength or energy or pretty much anything at all to resist me. “Did I say I allowed that? Fuck, I nearly came all over our mate. If I had, you’d be cleaning us both up. Actually...”
Mashing our mouths together, I pushed my tongue between his lips.
Blake opened for me, sucking on my tongue eagerly though he lacked his usual fervor that would have had us wrestling with all our strength for dominance across the bed.
Normally fists would have flown until I pinned him down and worked him over until we were both spent in a puddle of cum and sweat, his hole gaping while I teased him some more.
His moans increased and when I pulled back, I found Lottie stroking her hands all over his back and stomach, exploring him. My smirk matched her coy little smile.
“You said we’re all mates, right? That means all of us, not just you and me, and me and him, right?”
I nearly dropped Blake’s head, tightening my grip on the asshole just in time to find his startled gaze I was sure matched mine in everything but color.
“That’s right, sweetness,” Blake breathed. “We’re all mates together. Forever.”
“Then fucking well mark her,” I growled.
He shook his head. A small, suicidal smile played on his lips. “No.”
I snarled again, having no idea what the hell he was playing at, but I’d had enough of his bullshit for one night. “Fine.” I shoved him forward and down, so he face-planted in my lap. “If you don’t want to bite, then you can suck instead.”
Fully expecting to find his teeth imprinted on my flesh, I had the pleasant surprise of welcoming his hot mouth around my leaking cockhead. His tongue wrapped around my length, wetting me nicely before he deep-throated like I taught him, making those delicious gagging sounds.
Lottie watched him, pure joy lighting her pretty eyes as she played with his hair. “I want to help,” she whispered, glancing shyly up at me.
I swallowed back a wave of arousal that nearly had me shooting a second load straight down Blake’s throat. “Come here.” I gestured for her to straddle my hips, leaning back to let Blake work.
She straddled me high, her ass bumping his shoulders. “Like this?”
“Yeah.” I cupped her chin and drew her mouth to mine, kissing her deeply while our mate sucked me hard. A soft groan left me as she ground against my stomach, and the sounds that came from her were a whole lot more frustrated. “Want more, honey?”
“Yes. I want both of you.”
Blake released my cock from his throat, taking time to lave my balls with his tongue before he rolled onto his back and gripped her thighs, pulling her down onto me.
Lottie whimpered, spreading herself wide as her nails dug into my shoulders. “Oh, that’s really—”
“Sore?” I added, glancing down at where Blake positioned himself beneath us and made a vee with my raised knees to support her and give him room to work. “Blake’s gonna help you with that, honey. Let him soothe you, okay? He’s gonna make you feel like a fucking queen.”
I knew the moment she bottomed out and he licked around her swollen flesh where my cock stretched her a second time. Her eyes flew wide, and barely a breath later her head tipped back on a long moan, though her nails still dug into my shoulders.
“Good?”
“So good,” she murmured, letting us both take her weight in the ultimate trust exercise as she gave herself over.
She might not wear both our marks yet, but she had accepted Blake. He had to fucking know that, or his stubbornness issues had blinded him to a girl who had already fallen in love with his crooked version of fucked-up chivalry.
“We’re gonna stay just like this.” I gathered her close, letting my cock thicken inside her.
My spines filled out in her heavy warmth, nestling into her tender walls.
If she moved, I’d scrape her again. That meant both pain—and a deluge of pleasure.
A single thrust would bring her to orgasm, again and again.
She’d flood us both with her slick. That could come after.
Right now, Blake offered himself up as tribute and we would be the lesser mates to ignore him.
Lottie nestled into my shoulder, letting her cheek rest against my neck as I traced patterns on her back, pretending I didn’t want to fuck her senseless while Blake licked around her swollen flesh, stroking the base of my cock and my laved balls with his tongue.
The sensations rippled along my spine until I was ready to blow my load inside my girl without ever moving.
Then, curling one hand around the back of her neck and holding her tight in place, I began to move.
Slow at first then faster I pummeled into her, running one wave of pleasure into the next while she shattered in my arms, screaming my name into my shoulder.
And all the while I sawed in and out of our mate, Blake lay beneath us, licking and sucking at my balls, flicking his tongue around the edges of her cunt to soothe the damage I created. His tongue left warm stripes on my tingling sac until I came with a roar, settling myself deep inside her.
Lottie sobbed softly into my chest, overwhelmed with everything we did.
And when I pulled out to get her a warm washcloth, my cum dribbling from her tender hole, I settled her over Blake's waiting mouth where he licked and sucked and soothed her until her cries became moans.
I returned to find her riding out her last orgasm of the night on his face as the sun rose across the windows in a fragmented display of golden light.
She collapsed in my arms, letting both of us clean her, and was out before I could tell her what my heart already knew.
One night with my mate and I loved her. I’d always love her.
Which meant that drugs and the ex were my problem. Something to be fixed before we left New York City. And I had the feeling we wore out our welcome a few nights before.