Chapter 15 – Vara
Never have I loved.
Not the kind that consumes the body until all thoughts and desires belong to the beings that claim your soul.
My soul.
It belongs to them.
Thorne and Layla are my mates. It’s clearer every day.
Like right now.
I’d never willingly cuddle up in a chair with a vampire on my lap while a gargoyle serenades us.
Thorne’s fingers expertly dance across the piano’s keys as he belts out When a Man Loves a Woman by Percy Sledge. He also changed the lyrics to say two women and switched all instances of ‘she’ to either they or them.
I roll my eyes at how adorable that is.
The gargoyle amuses me. He’s broody as fuck when he’s around anyone other than Layla and me. We get to see this special side of him. His smile that’s a little lopsided. His dark blue eyes that always look haunted brighten when he’s with us.
I hadn’t expected to be so attracted to him. I honestly thought Layla was the center of our bond, and my appeal for Thorne was only because of her. But I find my feelings for him to be equally as strong as the ones I have for Layla.
Do they both feel the same?
Layla’s face is lit up with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen. Her hands are clasped in front of her as she watches Thorne play the piano and sing. She glances up at me every once in a while, as if making sure I’m also enjoying the one man show.
When Thorne ends the song, she claps enthusiastically, bouncing in her seat on top of me. I ignore the spark of desire that rolls through me… until remembering that my mates and I share pleasure.
They turn their heads to me, eyes darkening and fangs bared.
“V,” Layla purrs. She leans in and brushes her lips over my neck. “Do you need us right now?”
“I always need you,” I say, gasping as Layla’s cold hands slide down my chest and stomach before cupping my pussy.
She pushes past the thin layer of cloth that barely qualifies as underwear and slips her finger inside me. The chill of her skin in my heat makes me shudder.
“So wet for us,” Layla hums, pumping in and out slowly. “Here’s what’s going to happen.”
My cunt clamps down around her fingers at her demanding tone. I just love when she’s a boss.
“Thorne and I are going to make you come. Then we’re all going to cuddle and talk some more, because you’ve been holding out on us.”
Her thumb grazes my clit, and I arch off the chair.
“I want to know about all your adventures.” She kisses my neck. “All your hardships.” A kiss to my sternum. “And all your desires.”
Layla covers the peak of my breast with her mouth and bites down. I scream as pain ripples from the wound, but it quickly turns into pleasure as she drinks from me while lashing her tongue over my taut nipple.
Her fingers pump into me faster, harder, and I close my eyes.
When Layla has had enough of my blood, she unlatches from my tit and removes her fingers. Seconds later, I’m being lifted off the chair. Thorne sits back down with me on his lap. He spreads my legs open wide, and Layla settles between them.
The tip of Thorne’s tail finds my asshole. It’s self-lubricating, and he slathers it up and down to prepare me.
Oh fuck.
I might like to be in control, but submitting to my mates is…
nice. I let myself relax into Thorne’s hard body.
My wings have unwillingly extended, too weak with pleasure to keep them against my back.
They don’t get in the way as Thorne undresses me, ripping off my sheer top to cover my breasts with his hands.
Layla’s bite wound hasn’t healed completely and while it’s no longer bleeding, it still aches as Thorne pinches and pulls my nipples.
A pleasurable pain.
I look down my body, watching as Layla slides two fingers inside me.
With her other hand, she fishes Thorne’s bulbous cock from his sweats and fists it.
Then she guides the tip to my asshole. I scream out when Thorne slides into me, in one quick thrust, to the hilt.
He fucks me slowly at first, then finds a rhythm in tandem with Layla’s fingers. Neither of them is holding back.
“Holy shit. Fuck.”
“That’s it, V,” Layla says. “Let us hear how well we fuck you.”
Her mouth descends on my clit, sucking it into her mouth and lashing her tongue over the sensitive bundle of nerves.
“You’re so fucking good at that, Lollipop.”
She whimpers at my praise and adds a third finger, moaning as our shared pleasure intensifies.
I groan at the vibration of Layla’s moan against my clit and bury my hands into her hair, gripping the curly strands roughly as Thorne pounds into my ass.
The gargoyle’s hands are still playing with my breasts, pinching and pulling my aching nipples.
His tail whips around behind Layla, anxious to be part of the action.
“Put it inside her, Thorne,” I say between gasps.
Layla’s still wearing shorts, and I smile when I hear the fabric rip. She jerks and moans when Thorne’s tail slides into her.
We’re a tangled mess of sex.
A gargoyle cock in my ass, his tail in our mate’s pussy, the vampire’s fingers inside my cunt, and her mouth on my clit.
The moment Thorne picks up speed, deliciously destroying my asshole with his thrusts, I reach my orgasm. My walls clamp down on Layla’s fingers and once I’m done shaking, she removes them and shoves them into Thorne’s mouth so he can lick them clean.
That’s when he comes, his cock jerking as cum splatters the inside of my asshole. Stars burst over my vision for a second time, blackness threatening to take over.
Thankfully, I don’t pass out.
I watch, drunk off the ecstasy of two orgasms, as Layla chases her release. Her eyes are black, mouth open, and fangs out. Thorne’s tail starts vibrating, fucking her rigorously. I tug down the material of her tank top and pinch her nipple, sending her over the edge.
Layla collapses on top of me, a silly grin on her face. Thorne tucks his cock back into his pants before adjusting us so we’re both laying on top of his wide and muscular body.
My wings have retreated to my back, but Thorne’s wings are now out. He cocoons us inside while we bask in the headiness of our orgasms.
My heart beats a little faster. Layla puts her palm over my chest while Thorne caresses our arms with his palms.
We all sigh at the same time.
Fuck.
I’m in love with these two.
Idon’t remember falling asleep, but I wake still wrapped in Thorne’s wings and arms. Layla is beside me, staring at me with a smile.
“You look peaceful when you sleep,” she says.
My eyes widen, causing her smile to falter.
“What is it?”
Thorne must have been listening to our conversation, hearing Layla’s concern, because he releases us from his hold. I sit up and rub my hands over my face.
“How long was I out?”
Layla glances at her phone. “About three hours.”
“What is it, Vara? You can tell us.” Thorne says, his deep voice calming the panic swirling inside my chest.
I sigh. “Sleep doesn’t come easily for me. I toss and turn while trying to shut off my brain and by the time I finally fall asleep, I’m awakened by a nightmare. I typically only get a few hours of sleep per night.”
I stand and walk into the kitchen for a glass of water. Thorne and Layla follow.
“Your hands are shaking,” Layla whispers, watching me gulp down the water.
When I set the empty glass on the marble countertop, she takes my hand. Thorne is beside her, his eyebrows pinched.
“It’s the first time in hundreds of years since I’ve slept so peacefully. No dreams, no nightmares. I’m rested and happy, but I’m also freaking out just a little bit.”
Layla laughs. She laughs.
“Sorry,” she says, covering her mouth with her free hand, which Thorne immediately pulls down. “I’ve never seen you...”
She waves a hand up and down my body.
“Panicked. Vulnerable.”
I scoff.
She buries her face into both of her hands this time, shaking her head.
“Ugh, I’m not explaining myself well. I just mean that it’s okay to be vulnerable and weak sometimes.
You don’t always have to be defiant and strong, Vara.
” She steps to me and reaches up to cradle my face.
“Tell us why you’re freaking out about this.
Because I bet it has something to do with you always relying on yourself and never having anyone to watch over you. ”
Shit.
She’s right.
Thorne grabs my empty glass and refills it, and I take a sip of the water when he hands it back to me.
“I’m old; 2,056 years on this Earth. The first couple hundred years were wonderful.
I had a family: parents, siblings. I was to wed the son of a prominent sphinx couple and have a litter of kits.
I was happy for the most part. My family were guardians for temples in the southern region of Egypt.
We took pride in that job. Until humans discovered us.
They found one of our golden feathers. My parents were killed first, then my sisters.
I was the youngest, the fastest, so I fled.
Like a fucking coward, I let them die. I didn’t save them. ”
My eyes find Thorne’s, and I realize our stories are eerily similar. Both of our lives have been ruined by human hunters, our families murdered because of their greed. I think that’s why I’m so passionate about this unveiling plan. It will offer protections for us. At least, that’s the hope.
“I hid away in a cave for hundreds of years and when I emerged, my species had been slaughtered. The sphinx I was set to marry, gone. The temples I was destined to protect, looted and destroyed. I had failed on so many levels. A lot of innocent humans also died, all because of the greedy men who murdered everyone I knew and loved for golden feathers.”
Layla’s arm wraps around my waist, and she leans her head on my chest. Thorne is on my other side and since he’s slightly taller than me, I’m able to lean into him.
Their nearness, their touch, soothes me until I’m no longer shaking.
“I tried to move on. I had to. But I was broken.
I had nothing. All my belongings were stolen by the hunters.
I was forced to pluck my own golden feathers to melt down and sell for money.
Do you know how painful that is for a sphinx?
It took years to amass a small fortune. I surrounded myself with luxury and supernatural beings, but I never let any of them get close.
I knew that one day, hunters would find me again.
I was careful to mask myself when around humans, but it only took one time showing my true form to a human I thought I could trust. They betrayed me.
They told others about my golden feathers and once again I was hunted.
I fled to America. I heard about a fast-growing metropolis led by a vampire queen named Mildred.
How easy it was to hide amid tall buildings and within crowded sidewalks.
I arrived in New York City and pleaded with her to give me sanctuary.
“It was actually her idea that I should open nightclubs for supernatural beings. Places we could go with no judgment, where we could be safe. I found witches to set up wards and laid out some ground rules, and nearly a dozen clubs later, here I am.”
Layla frowns. “And your sleep?”
“Centuries of loss, you’re bound to be haunted by those you once loved.
They live in my dreams but most of the time, I relive seeing them slaughtered.
I was there when it happened. I was crouched in a tree as knives were plunged into my parents’ chests.
As my sisters’ heads were both chopped off.
Sometimes their deaths play on repeat, in both my waking and sleeping hours. ”
A bell rings, notifying us that the sun will soon be rising. Layla’s UV protection shades begin lowering.
“Right, well, I didn’t mean for a wonderful night together to end so... morbidly.”
“We all have similar horrors that we lived through, but at least we have each other now,” Layla says, smiling and squeezing my hand. “We will never have to go through life alone again. You do realize that, Vara, don’t you?”
I nod. “It’s still strange, and it might take me a while to get used to it, but waking up after a few hours of peaceful sleep with you by my side, both of us in Thorne’s arms, was more than I could have ever asked for.”
My phone rings, and I scowl.
“I know you two are about to retire for the day. I wish I could stay. I have a few daytime human networking events to attend. I know you have some meetings tonight and a week full of events.”
Layla pouts, and I clutch her chin, running my clawed thumb over her bottom lip.
“Don’t worry, Bug, I’ll see you Friday at the unity event.”
It’ll be the first big event with high-profile humans who we’ve formed relationships with.
Friday will be the test. We’ll reveal ourselves to them, introduce them to other supernatural beings and gauge their reaction.
We’re not worried about them exposing us to the world.
These humans have reputations to uphold.
They’re not going to risk sounding insane by telling people of our existence, no matter how true it is.
I just want to get this over with so I can live the rest of my life with my mates. The question, though, will that be in a peaceful world, or one ravaged with war?