Chapter 16 – Cerberus #2
His expression is confused. “But there’s something out there.”
I tug him harder. I’ll survive this fight, but this man won’t. And I could never live with myself if he was hurt.
The wailing comes again.
He breaks free from my grip. “I think someone’s hurt. You go back to the bar. I’ll check it out.”
“Are you serious?” I say, pulse pounding. “Haven’t we gone through this already?”
“Go back to the bar,” he orders, then races into the woods.
I stare after him for a minute. This man is an absolute fool. I don’t want to fight the creature in those shadows, and I know what it is and how to kill it. What the hell is wrong with a person who runs toward danger?
And why do I find his recklessness oddly attractive?
I follow slowly after him, circling behind the trees, creeping through the shadows.
When I come to a clearing, the moon only slightly obscured by clouds, I see the wailing creature. One of Hades’s Soulless. I don’t know why my father sent such a dangerous beast to the human world, but I’m beginning to realize that he doesn’t value the human life in this town much.
Draven moves slowly closer to it in the woods. He calls out to the creature, and I know he hasn’t yet seen it. Doesn’t know yet what he faces.
I grit my teeth, irritated by this cocky human man.
Then, searching the woods, I spot a heavy looking stick. Picking it up, I continue to circle behind the Soulless creature.
When Draven is perhaps ten feet from it, he stops short. “What the hell?”
My pulse races. But the fool still doesn’t run.
I can’t believe I’m really going to have to do this. In front of him.
Slinking closer in the shadows, I see when the creature is close enough to attack. It raises its sharpened claws, clicking its sharpened teeth together.
Draven reaches behind him, as if for some unseen weapon, and I leap out. Hitting the creature as hard as I can, I watch as its head goes flying. A second later, its body tumbles to the ground. And like the dogs, it turns to ash and melts into the ground.
Slowly, Draven’s gaze meets mine. “What—?”
Heart racing, I shrug. “That thing looked dangerous.”
I expect so many things from this man, but not the anger that leaps into his eyes. “I told you to go to safety.”
“Just like in the club,” I tell him. “And just like in the club, I’m telling you that there’s no way you’re going to run at danger, and I’m going to run away.”
He moves closer to me. “Where have you been all my life?”
His words should be corny. We should both be laughing. But we’re not. We’re just staring at each other, his words ringing so true within us that the knowledge is almost too much.
It’s hard to breathe as I stare at his inhumanely beautiful eyes and try to find the right words. “Draven… I don’t know how long I’ll be here. This town isn’t home for me. So whatever’s between us can’t be anything.”
Regret flickers in his eyes. “It can’t be anything for me either.”
Some of the pressure lifts from my chest.
“Want to go to my home?”
I know what this means, and I don’t hesitate to nod.
He takes my hand, and we leave the woods.
“Any idea what that thing was?” he asks.
I shake my head, forcing out the lie. “Maybe some creepy thing someone in town made to scare people?”
He doesn’t answer for a long minute. “Yeah, that’s probably it.”
When we reach the sidewalk, he moves even faster, his movements telling me he’s on high alert. I easily keep pace with him, my heartbeat racing as we climb the stairs to our apartments. Time seems to slow when his key scrapes the lock, and then he pushes the door open.
This is it. No going back now…
He takes a step forward, and a voice shatters the quiet night.
“What took so—?” Soren’s question dies on his lips as he glances at me.
I don’t know what to do now, so I stand in the doorway frozen. I should have considered the fact that the other man might be there. Somehow I’d gotten so caught up in the idea of taking things further with Draven, it’d slipped my mind.
A second later, Kage comes out of the bedroom, completely naked. “Did you manage to talk to her?”
When he glances at me, he freezes too.
Soren pulls me further into the apartment and closes the door behind me.
“She’s here, with me,” he says, and there’s a challenge to his words.
Kage moves closer to me, and my gaze moves down to his beautiful cock. Beneath the scrutiny of my gaze, it hardens, and I find myself struggling to breathe. This man is handsome. Striking. If the others weren’t watching, I’d already be on my knees before him.
But Kayla said I had to pick just one man.
My gaze moves to Draven. He’s watching me closely.
“I want you in my bed,” he says, his declaration simple and to the point.
My mouth feels dry. “I want that too.”
Kage moves even closer, invading my space.
My gaze goes to him. “I can only have… one of you?”
His mouth curls into a sinfully delicious smile. “Not a chance. You can have us all, any way you want us.”
Soren clears his throat. “We won’t be here in another day or two…”
“So best make the most of it,” Kage says, still staring at me, his dick deliciously hard.
“We can’t afford any distractions,” Soren continues.
His words shake my confidence. Sex I understand. Distractions? Worrying about tomorrow?
Those are things I can’t handle.
If I think about those things, I’m going to run. I’m going to leave these men and this possibility behind. So I know I need to act now.
Take a deep breath and do it!
Reaching for the hem of my shirt, I tug it off and toss it onto the floor.
Then, undoing the button and zipper on my pants, I drop my clothes on the ground, along with my shoes.
Standing in nothing but my black bra and underwear, I raise my head as if I’m confident and walk past all of them to the bedroom.
I’m aroused and confused by these men, but I know what I want. I want them to touch me. I want them to make me forget that I’m going to have to leave this town soon. The dogs were one thing. The Soulless a whole other. Hades must know I’m here, and I can’t afford to stay much longer.
So I’ll enjoy tonight, and then I’ll carry with me the memories of these men.
Whether I understand them or not.
When I reach the center of the bedroom, I turn around. Kage follows quickly after and comes to stand before me. Draven follows more slowly after, his gaze running over me from head to toe.
Not wanting to overthink anything, I drop to my knees before Kage.
I can sense his heart racing as I lean closer and wrap my lips around his cock.
A groan tears from his lips, and a thrill moves down my spine as I take him in and out of my mouth. My hound sighs within me. She is an alpha. But so are these men. She can kneel to them.
I continue to work Kage’s cock, and his hands bury into the back of my hair, holding me closer, pumping me faster.
“Fucking hell!” Draven groans.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watch him strip off his clothes. Working one perfect cock, I glory in the sight of every inch of Draven’s muscles as his clothing hits the floor. When he moves closer, hard cock free and eager, I grab him with my free hand.
He makes a strangled sound.
When I continue to pump him, he begins to move. Rocking in tune with my strokes. Both men stand before me, and yet, I’m the one in charge. The one capable of bringing them pleasure.
I try not to think about what Soren is doing when Kage jerks his cock free of my mouth and draws me into a standing position. With confident movements, he strips off my bra and then yanks down my underwear. A string of swears leave his lips, and then he lays me back on the bed.
My body aches for them. To have these big men inside me as I spread my legs and lay back.
Now I truly understand what it means to be ready for a man. To be so wet and slick that my body demands a hard cock within it. Draven and Kage taught me that. And I’m excited to experience this type of sex for the first time. To see what more pleasure they can bring me.
But instead, I feel lips between my thighs.
My eyes open, and Kage is before me, nestled between my legs. He spreads my bare pussy wide, then presses his lips deeper inside of me.
Oh, this man knows how to touch me. Knows already how to drive me wild.
A moan tears from my throat. Stars speckle the outside of my vision. One of my hands tangles in the back of his hair, and I pull him closer, urging his amazing tongue to continue its slow exploration of my body.
Draven lies on the bed beside me. His mouth catches mine, and I surrender to his kiss. So hard and possessive, sending sparks of pleasure straight to my core.
And then one of his big hands closes around one of my nipples, and my body is overwhelmed by pleasure. If this is sex… I’ve been doing it wrong all these years. This is something different. Something life changing.
But this time, I’m not scared.
My friends say this is human sex. That it doesn’t have to mean anything.
And so I won’t overthink it.
When Draven breaks our kiss, and his mouth moves to my breast, I’m in ecstasy. But as my head lolls to one side, I see Soren standing in the doorway. His gaze is darkened with arousal, his hands clenched into fists at his side, and his erection straining his pants. And yet, he remains where he is.
I want to tell him to join us, but I can’t find the words. Even if I feel like something’s missing without him here.
And so, as the two men touch me, I imagine all three of them are there. Working my body into a frenzy. I imagine that whatever wall Soren has put up between us comes crumbling down, and I feel completely content surrounded by them.
At last, Kage rises from between my legs. My core trembles, clenching around nothing. Wishing for more. And Draven moves back as Kage wraps my legs around his back and stands.
Instantly, I feel his hard cock brushing my core, and I gasp, digging my nails into his shoulders.
And then Draven is behind me, his erection pressing against my ass.