Chapter 24
Even the lighting in the bathroom had been replaced with dim light orbs.
He’d entered a stall just in case someone else came in and took a moment for himself.
As soon as he walked back out there, there’d be more noise and people.
Nix had already lost track of the names he’d been introduced to—and it annoyed him that he’d even tried to remember them all, because it wasn’t like he was going to be able to identify them later.
Everyone was wearing a damn mask.
As far as first meetings went, Demons Passing was probably the worst place they could have held them.
Many of the Essential members, at least the ones high enough up the chain of command, he’d interacted with at the Night of the Nightshade, but tonight he was meeting members of the High Council and the like. Important people.
Was he going to let Lake down if he couldn’t remember any of them? Would he embarrass himself and the others?
Tonight was supposed to be about finally getting the chance to have some fun. To allow himself to stop thinking about Dew and Juri and Hendrix, and all the horrible things that had happened since Nix had received that letter from Branwen.
He planned to focus on the good things, the things he’d gained.
The things he wanted.
With a sigh, Nix flushed the toilet out of habit and opened the stall door, only managing to slide a single foot from beneath the threshold before he froze.
Lake was directly across from him, leaning back against the edge of the granite-top row of sinks. His ankles and arms were crossed, and he’d removed his mask and set it off to the side. At the sight of Nix, the corner of his mouth turned up, the expression almost imperceptible, but very familiar.
A shiver ran down Nix’s spine before he could help it, and his hand tightened on the edge of the door.
“What are you doing here?” his voice came out low and breathy, far more suggestive than he’d meant for it to be, and he immediately cleared his throat afterward and forced himself to straighten to his full height.
“Why?” Lack tilted his head. “Was the invitation only for West?”
“I was kidding when I said that.”
“My mistake.”
Nix held his ground, then, when it became apparent Lake wasn’t going to move, jutted his chin out toward the sinks. “I have to wash my hands.”
“By all means. Who’s stopping you?”
His eyes narrowed behind the mask. “Go stand by the door.”
Lake chuckled. “Do you really think that’s far enough?”
“No, but I doubt you’ll leave if I ask.”
“Good guess.”
The Imperial was going to do as he pleased no matter where he was standing.
Not seeing any other way to go about it, Nix moved forward, heading toward the basin next to the one Lake was blocking. He took his time lathering his hands with orange-scented soap, then rinsed them with the same unhurried motions.
Anticipation grew to exponential levels, coiling in his lower region until he was so strung up, even a twitch of movement from Lake had him jolting like he’d been shocked by electricity.
Lake laughed and then acted, twisting around to cage Nix against the counter with his large frame. He sealed his front against Nix’s back, bending down to run the tip of his nose up the curve of the nape of his neck before planting a kiss there.
“Take off the mask,” he ordered, in the tone he’d always used when he was Maestro. When Nix didn’t immediately follow the command, he merely rested his arms at either side of him and waited.
His hand shook slightly when he lifted it, but Lake tutted him when his fingers connected with the metal shielding his face.
“Not all of it,” Lake said. “Just the bottom half. I want you looking like our first time, Songbird. Don’t you get it?”
Both of their firsts, the one on the app and in person, Nix had been wearing a mask.
“Here.” Lake’s hands lifted. “I’ll help you.”
The hidden buttons at the sides of his jawline were pressed, and the bottom part came away. Lake carefully set it down next to his, but his hand was back a second later, capturing Nix by the nape and pushing him forward so he was forced onto his tiptoes.
The move caused his ass to lift and rub against Lake’s front, the bulge between Lake’s thighs unmistakable.
“Lake.” Nix gulped and tried to keep his cool. “The Haunt is only in a few hours.”
“A few hours too many. And that’s not what you should be calling me right now, is it?”
“West and June—”
“You’re my Royal Consort,” he reminded. “You were mine first. Are you saying I don’t deserve a taste before the main event?”
“We both know you aren’t going to stop at just a taste.”
“This is happening, Songbird,” he replied. “Call me what you’re supposed to, and I’ll at least lock the door before we begin.”
Since Lake was here alone, that meant the others already knew what the Imperial was planning to do and hadn’t followed. Anyone who entered the bathroom now would be coming to relieve themselves, not join in, and Nix was already nervous enough about not knowing the faces behind the masked guests.
“Maestro,” Nix gave in, like they both knew he would, “please.”
Lake reached around him and grabbed his belt, but Nix panicked and tried to stop him.
“Wait, the door!”
“I already locked it when I came in,” Lake divulged with a dark chuckle. “Do you really think I’d risk anyone walking in on us?”
Nix glared at his reflection over his shoulder in the mirror. “You tricked me.”
“Would you like to cry about that, or would you like me to make you cry for…another reason?” He rolled his hips purposefully, rubbing his hardon against Nix’s ass. “You’re empty, Songbird.”
“We’re supposed to be at the party.”
“Are you skittish, or is this part of the act?”
Nix finally recognized what Lake was doing, lips parting in surprise. “How do you even remember that?”
Those comments were the same ones he’d made during their first video, when Nix had been trying to gain Favors from a random King on the Enigma app.
He’d struggled so hard back then, almost unable to get off with the camera filming him, until Maestro had taken control of the situation and led him straight into orgasm with nothing more than his commanding words.
“I remember everything that’s ever been said between us,” Lake told him, grip on the back of his neck loosening ever so slightly. “Enough stalling. Remove your pants for me. Let’s do this the way we used to.”
He wanted Nix to perform for him.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to—sex between them had always been cathartic in its own way—but they’d have their chance for this at the Haunt later.
Was he going to be able to handle going more rounds afterward?
He was under no misgivings, knew that he’d be fucked by all three of them, and he was looking forward to it.
But he also knew he wasn’t the only one who planned on letting loose tonight.
Could he keep up with their libidos?
“Since this is the way we used to,” Lake drawled then, cutting through Nix’s hesitation, “that means I’m not asking. Unbuckle, or I’ll do it for you and spank you with that leather strap first.”
The Imperial wasn’t as aggressive as West, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t still hurt, and since Nix wasn’t a big fan of the idea of having to sit through dinner with his ass feeling like it was on fire…
His fingers worked the belt open, the rattle of metal mingling with the sound of their breaths for a moment. He grabbed the zipper next, but paused, suddenly unsure.
Lake had ordered him to take off his pants first, but then it had changed to just his belt. Which command did he follow?
Seemingly sensing what the problem was, Lake snickered at him. “All of it, Songbird. Go ahead.”
As soon as they were loose, Nix shoved them down his legs, allowing them to drop to the ground. Then he waited for the next instruction.
“Eyes on yourself in the mirror,” Lake said, giving him a satisfied smirk when Nix did as he was told.
“I want you to see what I saw every time you entered the Enigma chatroom. Remember how you pleasured yourself for me? How submissive you instinctively were? You’re still good for me now, but you like pushing my boundaries. Back then, you were too timid to dare.”
“Do you miss it?” Nix asked softly. “That version of me?”
Lake gave a single shake of his head, arms sliding around to Nix’s backside. “I like every version of you.” His left hand grabbed one of his cheeks, pulling it to the side to expose him. “Every single one of them,” his thumb traced over his puckered hole, “is mine.”
Nix gasped as the blunt digit was forced past his defenses, the anticipation having been wracked up so high, even that small thing was enough to have waves of pleasure shooting straight down to his toes. He unconsciously clenched, a whine slipping out of him when that made Lake laugh knowingly.
“Who stretched you out this morning?” Lake asked.
“West.”
He hummed in mock disappointment. “He didn’t do a very good job of it, did he? You’re so tight right now. If I put my cock in, you might even tear.”
While the remark was clearly meant to turn Nix on, there was a fifty-fifty chance that it was actually true. Lake was huge, the biggest of all three of them, and even after thorough preparation, it sometimes still hurt when he initially entered.
Only, they both knew Nix got off on that now, too.
“He might not have done a good job opening me up,” Nix found himself teasing before he could stop himself, “but he did a great job training me to enjoy pain in the bedroom.”
“Oh?” Lake removed his thumb and then pressed in his pointer finger, slowly easing it in as he spoke. “Should I thank him then?”
“I can think of a few ways how.”
“I’m not Yejun, Songbird,” he said, though his tone was still husky and never lost its commanding edge. “You can’t make me fuck West.”
“I wouldn’t,” he replied. “I know neither of you would ever bottom. Kind of makes it hard—difficult!” he corrected his word choice and silently cursed.