Chapter 32 Raven
Raven
Kai’s abs rippled and flexed under my hands. He wore nothing but a pair of loose pants, apparently immune to the cold. I silently wished I had the shifter ability to withstand low temperatures. Even with a blazing fire in here, my room was still chillier than I’d like.
Still, being in the vampire dorm was infinitely better than living in the witch dorm, where every witch apart from Glynda hated me. But my life as a sad social outcast didn’t matter.
The tension in Kai, the dark circles under his eyes, and the muted tone of his normally vibrant skin told me he was struggling.
His anxiety and pain radiated through the bond, and from the way he’d kept his distance all week, I knew he felt guilty for everything that happened after he left us on the island.
Kai wasn’t an alpha like Maverick or bossy like Zane. And he lacked the quiet confidence of Rasmus. But he was still my mate, and I loved his quiet nature and gentle demeanor.
Still, I couldn’t deny assertive Kai turned me on. When Kai and I had sealed the mate bond, he’d transformed into a feral beast.
The minute I told him I wanted to see his feral side again, his body tensed. Every muscle locked tight as his usually cool flesh pulsed with heat.
I could have sworn he’d grown larger, taller. But that was impossible, right?
“Raven, tell me you want this before I lose control,” he growled in a deep, sexy voice. A voice designed to turn a needy witch like me into a puddle.
“Um, I want this, but fair warning, it’s my, um, time of the month.” My face burned with embarrassment, and I was grateful for the terrible lighting in this bedroom. What if having sex with me during my period was a massive turnoff? My other mates didn’t seem to care, but Kai might.
Kai huffed out a shaky breath before turning to face me.
“I know,” he said. “I smelled your blood when I arrived back.”
Knowing he’d smelled me made me want to crawl into a large hole. No witch wanted to hear she smelled. Ever.
“Your scent drives me crazy, Raven. In the best possible way.” He inhaled and then groaned. “I don’t care if you’re bleeding. It means you’re fertile, which makes me even more feral.”
Oh. “If you’re sure…”
“I’m sure.” He picked me up and dropped me on the bed, tearing my PJs off.
Burning heat radiated from his bulging body as he pressed me into the mattress.
Nimble fingers slid between my thighs, pushing inside me.
I’d inserted a tampon after my shower, which he removed and tossed into the fire without ceremony.
Sharp teeth grazed the mating mark above my breast, sending a shiver of pleasure through me.
I knew Zane was nearby—I could sense his presence through the bond—but for once in his life he didn’t burst into my room.
Thank the goddess for that, as I wasn’t sure how Kai would respond if my incubus tried to join us.
“Raven, I can’t hold back.” Kai shuddered, fighting against his base instincts. But I didn’t want him to hold back. I needed him to take me, erase all the bad things that had happened when he left me back on the island.
The tether in my chest thrummed with power as my magic called to him. His aura glittered brightly, shifting from muted green to a bright turquoise threaded through with gold.
I wrapped my legs around his waist and arched my back. It was the invitation Kai needed to surge inside me. He shuddered again and paused while panting against my neck.
“I won’t leave you again. Whatever happens, you’re mine.”
I hoped he meant it because a demon father-in-law was as bad as a queen bitch mother-in-law, and we all knew how that had ended.
“I love you,” I blurted. Kai’s eyes shone in the light from the fire.
“You love me?” Salty tears slid down his cheeks.
“Of course I love you.” With all my heart.
“I love you too, my perfect mate.” When we kissed, my tears mingled with his. We’d come so close to losing each other forever, and I refused to let that happen again. If the mer queen came after us again, I wouldn’t hold back.
Kai belonged to me, and I protected what was mine.
We moved together, slowly at first, then faster as Kai lost control. He filled me, consumed me, until we came together in a blinding burst of magic and pleasure.
The fire in the grate exploded up the chimney while inky shadows filled the room.
I heard shouting from somewhere below, but since I couldn’t move, thanks to Kai’s freaky penis barbs, I decided whatever was happening was someone else’s problem.
As my heart rate slowed and my skin cooled, the swirling shadows faded away and the fire burned down. Kai rolled to the side, his arms wrapped around me. We remained joined, locked in place, and my thoughts drifted.
“If we had babies, would they have tails?”
Kai made a strange choking sound before he brushed some hair away from my cheek.
“If we had a mer baby, then he or she would have a tail in the water, but the baby could also be a witch. Or something different.”
“So our baby wouldn’t drown? That’s good to know.”
Kai chuckled. “No, a mer baby can’t drown. Unlike you.” He fixed me with a stern look. “I promised I’d teach you to swim, so in the morning, we start lessons.”
Damn it. That meant I needed to get up early, which didn’t fill me with joy.
“Don’t worry, pet,” Zane announced when he burst in wearing nothing but a pair of black silky boxers. “I’ll wake you up nice and early with my cock.” He pretended to think. “Or maybe my mouth.”
“I should go,” Kai said, trying to pull away now that his cock barbs had retracted, but Zane shook his head.
“No leaving our mate, fish boy. You upset her last time.”
Shame flickered through the bond once again, but I was having none of it. Kai had apologized, and I’d accepted his apology. It was time to move on.
“You’re staying,” I told Kai, not willing to accept any pushback from him. “Once the fire burns down this room is freezing, so I need all the body heat I can get.” I grimaced at the slick between my thighs. “But first, I need another shower.”
My bear appeared in the doorway. “I’ve run you a hot bath, little mate. Go jump in while we change the bedding and drag a second bed in here. This one isn’t large enough for all of us.”
“You’re all sleeping with me?” My eyes widened as I stared at Maverick and then at Kai. My merman might not want to be part of a cuddle pile. His brow furrowed before he nodded.
“Yes, I’ll stay. But I might end up on the floor if I get too hot.”
“But the floor isn’t nice.” A grubby blue carpet covered the bare floorboards, but I wouldn’t want to examine it too closely.
“The floor is fine. It’s much cleaner and nicer than my old room.”
“Fucking wolf shifters,” I muttered under my breath.
“There’s at least two fewer now, my darling,” Zane told me with a much too cheerful grin. A grin that said he’d been up to no good while I was busy with Rasmus and Kai.
“Where’s Rasmus?” I hoped he didn’t mind my spending, um, quality time with my merman so soon after we were intimate.
“I’m here, and no, I’m not offended in the slightest, mea amica. Jealousy isn’t a vampire trait.” He licked his lips as he scanned my naked form.
“My room isn’t large, and it will feel small with you lot in here as well as me. Oh, and Kenji.”
“Count me out of the cuddle pile,” my familiar said. “I have places to be.”
“Places?”
“Yes, places. Be back later. Scream if you need me. I might not respond.”
“How comforting.”
“Bath, little mate. Now.” Maverick’s alpha-infused order had me up and out of the bed before I could think.
I pulled a blanket around myself and held my head high as I left my warm room.
My skin pebbled in the cold air outside my room, and I wrinkled my nose at the musty smell.
Ugh. The sooner Maverick’s construction crew friends fixed all the many shortcomings of this neglected building, the better.
I turned when I heard footsteps behind me. Kai had wrapped a fluffy pink blanket around his waist. He flashed me a shy smile before taking my hand.
“I wouldn’t want you to drown in the enormous tub.”
“Enormous?”
He didn’t reply until we reached the main bathroom on this floor. I’d avoided it thus far as the smaller one was closer to my bedroom, which meant less time freezing my ass off with wet hair.
“Yes, enormous.”
Kai pushed the bathroom door open, and my jaw dropped at the sight of a huge, modern space.
A glass screen shielded a walk-in shower on one side, and to the right there was a massive bathtub large enough for at least five adults. Everything looked shiny and new, from the sparkling white tiles to the gleaming faucets.
Maverick’s uncle and his crew had been busy. Far busier than I realized. I’d assumed they were only fixing the roof, but they had clearly spent at least some of their time renovating this now luxurious bathroom.
Steam rose from the tub, and when I peered in, rose petals floated on the surface of the scented water. Roses? Oh my goddess, had Zane raided Miss Windborne’s hothouse?! She would kill us all.
“She won’t miss a few flowers, petal,” Zane scoffed from the doorway. “Now get your sweet ass in that tub before the water cools. Maverick emptied the tank for you, so the rest of us will have to take a cold shower.”
“I have no issues with that,” Kai said with a shrug.
“Well I do,” Zane huffed. “Not that cold-water shrinkage is a problem for me.” He dropped his pants on the floor, proving that no, he had no issues in the size department. Not that I was looking.
I quickly averted my gaze and dropped my blanket. The tub looked too tempting for words. The minute I sank into the hot, perfumed water, Zane hopped in behind me and pulled me back against his chest.
“Hurry, fish boy. I don’t mind sharing,” he told Kai with a lewd wink.
Kai hesitated.
“Please don’t go,” I pleaded. I hadn’t had my fill of my merman; he and I needed way more bonding time.
“If you’re sure?” Ignoring the incubus, he focused on me.
“Get into the fucking tub, Kai,” Zane said, sounding annoyed. “Our mate needs you.”
My merman muttered something I didn’t quite catch but dropped his pink blanket and climbed into the water opposite me. I stretched out and sighed with happiness.
Soaking in the tub with two of my hot, sexy mates. Was I living the dream as a strong, independent witch, or would this bubble burst in spectacular fashion?
Only time would tell.
By the time the water had cooled and I’d turned into a prune, my mates had washed every inch of me. Well, Zane had while Kai watched, his eyes glowing in the candlelight.
Yes, candlelight.
The power had gone out about ten minutes after we climbed into the tub.
Maverick appeared shortly after with a bunch of candles and lit them for us.
He blamed his uncle for fucking with the electrics, but I strongly suspected mice had chewed the wires.
I’d heard strange noises in the walls a few times, which usually meant mice from my previous experience of living on a farm.
If only the goddess had blessed me with a cute cat instead of a snarky kitsune. At least a cat would have earned its meals by hunting mice. Instead, I had to provide an endless selection of meaty snacks while enduring kitsune hair in my bed.
“I can hunt mice,” Kenji grumbled from his spot by the fire. “I just choose not to demean myself with manual labor.”
He’d appeared not long after we’d all crawled into the giant bed in my room. Only Rasmus had declined to join us. He’d kissed me goodnight and said he planned to read downstairs, as he didn’t need to sleep and would prefer to keep watch for threats to my safety.
Maverick had fallen asleep immediately, his enormous frame wrapped around me like a cuddly teddy bear. Zane lay on my other side, while Kai sprawled across the bottom of the bed, his arm resting on my legs. I’d asked if he was okay with that, and he promised he was.
“If we get overrun with mice, I’ll blame you.”
“You can always ask Professor Oakman to lend us his cat,” Kenji suggested. “I’d chase her while she chased the mice. Sounds like fun.”
“Don’t you dare chase that poor sweet cat!”
Kenji sniffed loudly. “Killjoy.”
My brain reminded me I had news for Kenji. “I got an email from Oakman saying he wanted me to go see him after class on Friday.”
There was a brief pause. “Did he say why?”
“No.”
I waited for Kenji to quiz me some more, but he stayed silent.
I had to admit I was curious about what Oakman wanted.
No doubt he had more questions about Kenji.
He’d seemed very interested when he discovered Kenji was my familiar, and I recalled him saying something about a research project he was working on.
I didn’t have a problem answering questions, but no way was I volunteering Kenji for any tests. Knowing Kenji, he’d refuse to help even if I asked.
A loud crack of thunder rattled the window, followed by a bright flash of lightning. Was it the work of the storm mage?
My heart twinged when I thought about Alar-dick. I prayed to the goddess he was thinking about me and wishing he’d acted less like a complete and utter asshole over the solstice.
He deserved to pine for me.
With a sigh, I closed my eyes and pushed thoughts of Alaric fucking Vane away. He didn’t deserve to take up real estate in my mind. I’d been blessed with four strong, sexy, and most importantly, loving mates. Pining after a fifth was plainly selfish.
And I was not a selfish witch.