Chapter 7 #2
“We don’t want to push you too far,” Axl says, but he’s grinning down at me in challenge.
“I won’t break,” I fire back. “You know I won’t.”
“But you did,” Jax says, and it’s all I can do not to flinch. “You did break. Because of us. Because of our power.”
“I know. I can’t begin to dissect everything that happened. And I don’t want to.”
“Darling,” Pierce says. “We need to.”
“I know we need to, but you don’t understand . . .” I touch my throat, then slide my fingertips down my sternum and outward across my breasts, lingering there as I look directly at each of them. “I need you more.” And I do. Like I need air to breathe.
Kal flashes a grin before leading me toward the bathing chamber. Warmth radiates in my heart as I lean against the doorframe and watch him start the water. His blue eyes meet mine, comforting and caring as ever, and my body tightens at the flash of desire in them.
I glance over my shoulder at my other mates. Axl’s long black hair is wild over his bronze shoulders, and his muscles are on full display, his Legend jacket already shed and tossed over one of Jax’s sofas.
Jax’s jacket is still on, his hands shoved in his pockets, his moonlight skin making his indigo eyes more stark. He’s contemplative as he watches me as if I might crumble any second.
“Can’t you feel it?” I ask, suddenly worried they can’t feel it. That they don’t feel the bonds like I do. That I’ll always need them more than they need me because I’m a Chosen, not a half-god prince—
“You mean that undeniable instinct to claim you right here and now?” Axl asks, his raspy voice cutting through my thoughts. “Fuck yeah, we can feel that.”
His words silence my doubt.
“We just don’t want to overwhelm you,” Pierce adds.
“You won’t.” I sound confident, but I have no way of knowing beyond this instinct driving me. “I know everything didn’t go as planned, but I’m here, and I love you. All of you. For now, can’t that be enough?”
“That’s more than enough,” Kal says.
“Good. I can’t hide it from you. And I won’t waste time pretending that I don’t want all of you.
I do. Right now. No waiting.” I turn to enter the bathing chamber, but I stop, realizing how that sounds.
I glance over my shoulder apologetically.
“But only if you want me. Don’t follow me in here if you’re truly not comfortable.
I’ll never force any of you to be with me. ”
Axl rolls his eyes, already hauling his shirt over his head and tossing it to the side. “That’s the most ridiculous shit you’ve ever said.”
Pierce slides his jacket off and lays it neatly over the back of one of Jax’s couches. “Honestly, it’s like you don’t know us at all,” he teases, brushing by me as he enters the bathing chamber, his passing touch sending chills over my flesh.
Kal smiles softly at me from where he’s near the bath.
And of course, it’s Jax I’m holding my breath over. We had so little time together before the Athanry. And his emotions before . . . He was so angry.
“Reckless little butterfly,” he says, stopping in front of me. He gently grips my chin, his long, lithe fingers tipping my head back. “So eager to put your life at risk again?”
I shiver at the intensity in his gaze. “It’s my life to risk,” I counter, giving him the same energy. “And last time I checked, I have each of your powers on top of mine. Maybe it’s you four who will be at risk from me losing control.”
The reality of that statement catches up with me, a sliver of doubt creeping over the insatiable need to be with them.
Jax’s grip on my chin tightens, a slick smile shaping his lips. “Now that’s something I can’t wait to see.”
Warmth floods beneath my skin, adding to the ache in my core. Still, I don’t look away. “You haven’t said it.”
He tilts his head in question.
“That you want me.” I swallow hard. He hasn’t said it. And I don’t know why, but I need to hear it from him.
Jax’s eyes slide along my face, tracing the curve of my jaw still in his grip, before he moves that hand down and around my throat. My pulse skitters as he strokes his thumb over my skin. He holds me there, anticipation squeezing my lungs tighter with each second he doesn’t answer.
Push and pull. That’s me and the Nightmare. Fight and flee and fight some more. I half expect him to kiss me instead of answering, but then he parts his lips.
“That’s one thing you’ll never have to worry about,” he says. “I want you more than I want my next breath. And that’s before the primal mating bond instincts.”
I whimper at the declaration, at the kiss he seals it with. And I damn near drop to my knees when he smiles at me—my smile. Not the Nightmare’s terrifying signature, just Jax’s.
He passes me and enters the bathing chamber. Butterflies take flight in my stomach as I close my eyes for a moment, then follow a breath later.
The chamber is dark, save for a few candles that I’m guessing Kal lit, the golden light flickering against the black stone that makes up the room.
The soaking tub is laid into the floor, more a small pool than a tub, really.
Axl, Pierce, and Kal are already in the water, steam wafting around them.
They’ve each taken up a corner of the space, and I’m struck with the memory of the Athanry—them moving to the corners as I stepped through a liquid starlight door . . .
And died.
My chest tightens, my breath quickening. I focus on the purring bonds inside me. Listen to the needy demands of connection.
My mates.
I need to touch, kiss, and love my mates. Strengthen and solidify those bonds to whatever end.
Everything else will sort itself out later.
Still, my fingers shake as I rid myself of Jax’s jacket, then the nightgown I woke up in, letting them pool in a pile at my feet as Jax gets into the tub, taking up the free corner.
I step in, sighing with pleasure at the hot water against my skin.
I walk until I’m in the middle and bend my knees slightly to dip my shoulders, leaning back to soak my hair, too. When I tip my head up, I glance at each of them.
“Why so distant?” I ask, worry creeping into the anticipation flaring in my core.
“Your choice,” Kal says. “It’s always your choice with us.” He nods to his friends. “Whoever you want first.”
My heart expands in my chest, bringing a smile to my lips. “And if I want all of you?”
“Don’t tease us.” Axl groans.
“I’m not.”
“Are you sure, darling?”
“Yes,” I answer without a hint of hesitation. “I told you, these connections, these new bonds inside me are almost painful with need.”
That word—painful—has them all moving toward me, as if pulled by the very bonds I mentioned.
“Say it again,” Jax demands, always needing clarification before he allows himself to let go.
“I want all of you.” The words come out on a rushed breath.
“Who wants to make our mate come first?” Jax poses the question to the group, and I swear I melt.
“Me,” Axl says faster than anyone else, gliding through the water until he can reach me.
I gasp as he draws me toward him, his powerful arms wrapping around me the same time his mouth crashes against mine. It’s a homecoming, this kiss. Filled with passion and love and his playful energy I can never get enough of.
“Axl,” I say against his lips as his hands roam over my body, the warm water making his touch slick.
“Missed you.” He dips his hand between my thighs. His fingers brush over my heat, teasing that sensitive bundle of nerves that’s desperate for attention.
“Yes.” I breathe the word, rocking into his dominant touch as he strokes and circles my aching center.
“So close already, kitten?” he asks, drawing back enough to look down at me. “Wait till you feel her,” he says to the group. “So slick and hot for us. Needy little mate.”
I can’t argue. Can’t respond. Not when he’s sliding two fingers inside me, stretching me in all the right ways. I rock against his hand, driven on pure need as I chase the release building inside me.
“Stop toying with her,” Jax demands. “Let her come.”
“Says the king of edging?” Axl fires back, a teasing grin on his lips.
“Play nice,” Kal adds. “She has a long night ahead of her.”
I tremble, from their words, from the way their eyes are on me as Axl pumps his fingers, the heel of his palm teasing me.
His other hand comes up to cup the back of my neck, tilting my head.
“Impatient bastards,” Axl says before he slants his mouth over mine at the same time he increases the pressure between my thighs, plucking the last string that sends me right over the edge.
“Axl!” I gasp against his kiss, waves of pleasure rippling down my spine as my orgasm rips through me. I’ve barely caught my breath before he gently pulls his hand away, grinning down at me with a prideful look in his eyes.
“I love watching you come like that,” Kal says from beside me.
“Quite riveting,” Pierce agrees.
“My turn.” Jax draws me in close, claiming my mouth with a searing kiss. His hands are possessive as they roam down my back, dipping to cup my ass as he lifts me.
Immediately, I wrap my legs around his hips, trembling when his hard length strokes my oversensitive flesh.
This. I’ve needed this. Their touch, their support, all of it.
Pierce joins us, and his lips find my back, kissing across my shoulder and neck as his hands shift my hair out of the way.
He plants a kiss on the cloud mark at the base of my skull, and my heart stutters.
Thought empties out of my head as he positions himself behind me, rubbing himself through my wetness, then teasing my ass with his slippery, hard length.
Sandwiched between the two, it would be easy to lose myself entirely, especially after what Axl just did to me, but I manage to draw my lips away from Jax, reaching for Kal, who’s right there, ready to kiss me.
I moan against the feel of him, his bond flickering to life inside me. His power races down that invisible thread and back again without my permission, the sensation like a giant wave rushing toward the shore.
“Rylee,” Kal groans against my mouth.