Chapter 22 Same With You
Seri
Casimir deposited me on the center of our enormous bed with surprising gentleness given his obvious urgency.
The mattress dipped as Koa knelt at the foot of the bed, his hands wrapping around my ankles to remove my sneakers and socks one by one.
His touch lingered, thumbs pressing into the arches of my feet in a brief massage that made me sigh with pleasure.
As Zane’s hands moved to his belt, I held up one hand.
“Wait.” The word came out reed-thin. My palm pressed against Casimir’s sternum, feeling the jackhammer pulse beneath warm skin. “I want… I need to…”
They froze instantly, three pairs of eyes snapping to my face with varying degrees of concern.
“What’s wrong?” Casimir was already looking me over as if to check for injuries.
“Changed your mind about royal impalement, sweetheart?” Zane’s eyebrows climbed toward his hairline.
“Which is perfectly fine if you did.” Koa shot him a glare.
“No.” I shook my head, my cheeks heating as I gathered my courage. “No, I just… I want to try something different.”
“Different how, beloved?” Koa asked gently.
I scrambled to sit up, my heart pounding in my ears.
“I just… You’re always… ” My fingers sketched helpless patterns in the air. “Touching me. Thoroughly. And I love it, but it doesn’t give me a chance to, um, do the same with you.”
“Bat’s bones,” Zane choked. “Are you suggesting—”
“You want to explore us?” Casimir’s voice was sharp, and I dropped my eyes to my knees.
“It’s only fair, right?” I mumbled.
“Fair?” Zane growled. “What’s fair about me busting a nut before I ever bury myself inside your sweet—”
“We don’t have to!” I quickly backpedalled and curled in on myself. “I was just curious.”
“Curiosity is not wise for you to cultivate, Serafina. It will only ever end in tears for you.”
Arabesque’s taunt echoed through me, tearing away the small bit of confidence I’d had moments ago. Then, more devastating, a different voice, rough and feral.
“Seems it’s your lucky day, little dove. Stay awake and count.”
And my body jerked involuntarily with the phantom pain of what had followed.
“Forget it.” My bottom lip quivering, I plucked at Steve’s hem, feeling miserable now and wishing I could disappear. “I wouldn’t be any good at it, anyway. I don’t know what I’m doing. I’d just disappoint you. Maybe even hurt you. It was a stupid idea.”
Thwack! Casimir’s palm cracked against Zane’s shoulder with a sound like a gunshot.
“Ow!”
“Fix it, menace! Now!”
And Zane dropped to his knees in front of me, his fingers hovering over my foot like it might shatter.
“Serafina Cimmerian. I am a jackass. A cretin. The human equivalent of a yeast infection.” His thumb brushed my ankle bone with aching tenderness.
“I just get stupid when you look at me like you want to unwrap me. You wanna map every inch of us? Hell, yes. Take your time. I’ll even color-code myself like one of Cas’ damn anatomy charts if it helps. ”
“We’re yours to learn. However you want.” Koa’s hand drifted lower, calloused palm skimming my ribs. “And we don’t need expertise. We just need you.”
Casimir’s jaw worked silently for three full breaths before he leaned down and his big hands framed my face with unexpected tenderness.
“You could never disappoint us. Your desires,” his throat bobbed, “are our blueprints for bliss.”
“Let me be your first test subject.” Zane’s grin turned self-deprecating as he spread his arms in mock surrender. “Can’t possibly make more of a mess than I already have.”
A hiccup of laughter escaped me, the sound startling me and them.
“You’re all ridiculous.” The tremors in my hands eased.
“How about we start small? The second you tap out, we pivot to something that doesn’t make you,” Zane gestured at my white-knuckled grip on the bed sheet, “relive bad shit.”
“Is that what happened?” Casimir went statue still. “I thought it was nerves. Fear of the unknown. Not…”
“The memory Zane tried to read. The one Brummy started to show him.”
The silence shackle cut off any more explanation, but that was all they needed to understand. Casimir’s nostrils flared as his eyes glowed with anger, and a low rumble vibrated out of Koa’s chest.
“We may not know what your step-cunt or Claudio Kane said that day, but we know it was a lie.” Zane’s fingers crept over my knee, his touch feather-light. “You can do anything you want to do to us, honey.”
“What if I freeze?” I whispered.
“Then I’ll carry you to the new hot tub and soak with you,” Koa offered, “while Cas feeds us grapes and Zane serenades us with his charming song choices.”
“Hey, my “Livin’ on a Prayer” slaps and you know it,” Zane muttered, but his eyes never left mine. “Seriously, darling. We’ve survived chimera infestations and cursed artifacts. Your trauma’s just another monster we’ll gut together.”
“Always, Seri.” Casimir kissed my cheek. “Always.”
The word hung between us like a vow, a promise, a lifeline.
“All right, sunshine. Have at me.” Zane grinned, the real one that crinkled his nose, and nudged Casimir aside. “C’mon, who better to practice on than your most patient, devastatingly handsome—”
Koa snorted. Casimir’s eye twitched.
“—and humble mate?” Zane finished with a flourish, pressing my palm to his chest. His heartbeat thundered against my fingertips, betraying his playful tone.
He leaned in until our noses brushed. “Let me earn your forgiveness for my dumb-assery. I’d rather swallow glass than ever again be the reason you fold in on yourself like that. ”
“I can do anything to you?” I checked.
“Anything?” Zane’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Well, if you’re planning on pegging us, porn star, we’re fresh out of lube and strap-on dildos.”
Koa and Casimir immediately pelted Zane with pillows as he cackled and dodged.
“Pegging? Lube? Dildos?” I frowned. “I don’t know what any of that means.”
“Ignore him, Seri,” Koa advised. “He’s being deliberately provocative.”
“My specialty!” Zane grinned, unrepentant.
“Along with shitty jokes,” Koa and Casimir muttered together.
As they bantered, I bit my lip for a moment, then decided to be brave.
“All right, but please be patient with me.” I met their eyes one by one and saw nothing but love and encouragement.
“We’ll be whatever you need us to be,” Koa assured me.
“Yeah, pixie,” Zane smirked. “Look at us as your personal playground.”
At my nod, Casimir sat on my other side as Koa’s hand slid to the small of my back. Zane stood before me and guided my trembling fingers to the hem of his shirt.
“See? Not so scary,” he said as I pushed up the fabric. Then his breath hitched when my knuckles grazed bare skin. “Actually? It’s terrifying. In the best way.”
After he pulled off his t-shirt, I inspected him piece by piece. The planes of his chest, the dip of his navel, the way his breath stuttered when I traced a scar along his hip bone.
“Not there, sweetheart, unless you want me to— Hahaha!” Zane, dissolving into helpless laughter as I discovered a ticklish spot along his ribs.
He was all whipcord and sinew, his body built for speed and agility rather than raw power, but there was nothing lacking in his physique, each muscle perfectly defined, his freckled skin warm and smooth under my hesitant fingers.
“You can be rougher, if you want,” he mumbled as I traced the squares of his abdomen. “I won’t break.”
I shrugged, liking what I was doing, and trailed my fingers along the fuzzy trail to his waistband. His stomach muscles bunched under my touch, a small shiver running through him.
“Sensitive?” I asked.
“Only for you, precious.” For once, Zane’s usual snark gave way to something softer, more vulnerable.
“Still good?” Koa’s voice dropped to that husky register that always made my insides flutter. “Or do you want to switch up to me or Cas?”
“Quiet, Koala Bear. Queen’s conducting an inspection.” Zane’s voice wavered as I peeled his pants down his hips. His boxer briefs tented, and I hesitated, my hands faltering at the elastic waistband.
“Breathe, my love,” Casimir ordered, soft, firm, safe. His nose traced the curve of my neck. “He’ll stop if you say so. Your rules.”
Nodding, I slid the cotton down, and Zane made a sound like a dying engine as I freed his erection. I’d seen him naked before, of course. We’d shared a bed every night for nearly two weeks now. But I’d never had time to really look, to study the details of their bodies.
“It’s red.” I blinked.
“Genetics, baby.” His laugh cracked. “Compliments of dear old mum.”
“Looks like a peppermint stick.” Koa smirked.
“Fuck you! It’s majestic—”
“Can I touch it?” I murmured, suddenly shy again.
“You damn well better touch it!”
I reached out, skimming my fingertips over him, finding the skin impossibly soft over something so hard, warm and alive. He made a strangled sound in the back of his throat, his hands clenching by his sides.
“Seri,” he hissed, and I looked up at him through my lashes.
“What feels good, Zoodle?”
“All of it,” he groaned. “Anything. Everything.”
“Show me. How do you like to be touched?”
“Like this.” He covered my hand with his own, guiding me into a firm, steady rhythm. “Tighter at the base, lighter near the tip.”
I followed his instructions, watching in fascination as his breathing grew more ragged with each stroke. His tip already glistened, and I swiped my thumb across it and used it to make my hand glide more smoothly.
Koa rumbled little praises and Casimir’s arms tightened around my waist as I explored with careful fingers, Zane’s choked curses dissolving into breathless praise. His fingers spasmed as I learned his length and heat, all tangling with his night phlox scent.
“Warned you. Not gonna last,” he gasped, his hips jerking forward.
“That’s okay,” I said, increasing my pace. “I want to see.”
“Seri, angel—”
His voice shattered into a whine and his head fell back as a long, low moan tore from his throat, his entire body tensing.