Chapter 38 #2
“You nearly died multiple times tonight,” Thane says, not letting me finish.
“And I won’t…we won’t survive losing you.
Spend these precious moments with Knox. You need access to all your shadow powers when you compete tomorrow.
You won’t be as powerful as an immortal, or as powerful as you would be if we bonded, but it might just be enough for you to survive what the queen throws at you. ”
I lick my lips. I shouldn’t be nervous. I remember Knox treasuring me, and he was everything a girl could ask for. But those memories of the past are still conflicting against the new memories I have now.
Knox must see my indecision, because in a few strides, he’s beside Thane and pulling me to him. Knox stares at me like he’s looking at his whole world right in front of him, and my doubts slowly fade.
“Let me do this, Shade,” Knox says. “You must survive. Thane’s right. You need your powers. It pains me that I didn’t do this for you some time ago.”
My lips tremble. “But what if it doesn’t work? What if the curse doesn’t get removed, and I’m not strong enough to survive these games?”
Knox’s eyes darken, and he tightens his hold on me. “Then I will remember the taste of your lips as I turn this world to ash.”
Well, holy freaking smut gods. That shouldn’t do it for me.
If anything, I should be suggesting that Knox seeks the therapy he clearly needs seeing as that’s his plan for solving his problems if I die, but he presses his lips to mine, and I’m lost to the kiss.
Eventually, he moves his mouth from my lips, kissing a trail down my neck.
“I’ve hated myself from the moment I left you those years ago,” he whispers, and it’s not until he says it, that I realize just how much the thought had been weighing on me.
The memory that he’d left me. His words hang in the air, and I don’t answer straight away.
I understand why he left now. He had thought he was doing it to keep me safe, and to stop us from losing the war.
It’s obvious he’s regretted it ever since.
And even though I understand the risks of the prophecy, I can’t stop myself from whispering, “Never again, Knox.” Because these men are my mates, and now that I have all four of them, I can’t stand the thought of living without them.
Knox nods, and his serious gaze bores into me. “Never,” he agrees. He says it like it’s a promise, and I believe him.
Another thought occurs to me then, and I turn my attention to Thane.
“Is this okay?” I ask him, looking between the two men. “I mean, I know I’m fated to both of you, but I have no idea how this is supposed to work. I don’t want to come between you.”
Thane and Knox share a look, and they’re smiling when they turn back to me.
“We used to share women,” Thane explains, “but when Knox found you and he thought you’d died…”
“I couldn’t look at another woman again,” Knox finishes. “Thane was the only one I could love romantically.” As if to prove his point, he leans forward, capturing Thane’s mouth with his.
I blow out a long breath as they kiss in front of me, and moments pass before they both pull away, turning to me again.
“But you are the one who completes us,” Thane says, coming closer and sliding his hand around my back.
That’s the only answer they give me before Thane is devouring my mouth.
I can taste Knox on his lips, and Thane kisses me until my lungs burn for air.
Finally, he releases me, moving back to give us space, and Knox takes his place again.
My mate brushes his fingers along my cheek, and fire and ice trail wherever our skin touches. “You are the one we’ve been missing, my love. The only one who can make us whole.”
There’s such emotion in his voice that it makes my heart hurt.
When his lips crash against mine, I don’t hesitate to kiss him back.
The man tastes me like he never intends on letting me go again, and when his hand grips the back of my head, I moan into his mouth.
The memories of Knox and me together have been taunting me, and it feels so right to be in his arms again.
So damn right to have his fingers in my hair, and his hard body pressed against me.
Steel and citrus. I want to feel the way I did all those years ago, when Knox made me forget the world.
When he made me believe there could be more for me.
When he showed me that I was loved. Thane, Galen, and Raith have been showing me that in their own ways, but it’s different when I’m with each of them.
And Knox makes me feel like even death couldn’t come between us.
Our clothes disappear, and I grin against his lips as he pulls me flush against him. He curls an arm around my back, and when he leans me down, a plush mattress appears beneath me.
“Well, that’s handy,” I mumble, glad that we’re in my dream and not in the forest.
A scene materializes around us, and the darkness we’d been standing in fades away as a familiar bedroom comes into view. The bed beneath us has roses patterned on the quilt, and I giggle, remembering all the memories we’ve made on this dream bed.
My head falls to a pillow, and Knox moves between my legs. He slides the tip of his hard cock along my center, and I gasp, already too sensitive.
Leaning down, my mate kisses the hollow of my neck, and anticipation makes my hands tingle.
“I wish we had more time,” he rasps, and he moves his mouth to my breast, grazing his teeth along my nipple.
“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.
” His voice cracks, and tears well in my eyes. Because I do have some idea.
When Knox walked away from me all those years ago, I’d known my heart would never heal without him.
It wasn’t just the fated mates connection, the entire world seemed to dull without him in it, and I see now that it was probably a mercy that I had no memory of him while we were apart.
But Knox never got that. He’s tortured himself for years, thinking I was dead.
Thinking that he was responsible. And when he lifts his head, staring at me with those dark eyes that are no longer cold and unforgiving, but filled with such awe and a gratitude that warms my heart, I wrap my arms around his neck and pull his lips to mine again.
I kiss him like I’m desperate to remind him that I’m here.
That I’m alive. And that…I still love him.
We could be interrupted at any time, and as much as I wish we could savor this, right now I’m simply content to have him, no matter how briefly it might be for.
His tongue moves into my mouth, tangling with mine, and I shiver, bucking my hips as he continues to tease me.
Thankfully he understands what I want, and he slides his cock inside me.
My lips pull from his as I gasp, pleasure rolling through my body as he moves slowly, giving me time to adjust. Nothing rearranges like it did when I was with Raith’s monster, but the man still makes me feel so full I struggle to breathe.
“I’ve missed you too,” I rasp to Knox between heavy breaths.
His lips quirk up as he smirks at me. “You’ve missed me or you’ve missed my…” he trails off.
I grin. “Oh, I’m definitely talking about the Kraken,” I answer, wiggling my hips as I urge him to go faster.
Much to my dismay he doesn’t pick up the pace, and he arches a brow. “The…Kraken? Please tell me you’re not referring to my cock.”
“Maybe,” I say with a mischievous grin. “It’s what I used to call him in my head back when you were first visiting me.”
Knox stares at me incredulously.
“You know, because you were plundering my depths and all that, and pretending your shadows were tentacles,” I explain, somewhat enjoying the slightly horrified expression on his face.
“Plus, I liked the idea that I could do this one day.” Biting my lip, I call out dramatically, “Release the Kraken!”
Thane snorts and his rumbling laughter fills the space. Knox looks completely bewildered for a few seconds, but then he smiles wickedly and starts moving faster between my legs. I moan, quickly forgetting about his peen nickname and focusing on the shadow daddy between my legs.
Before long Thane is watching as Knox thrusts into me, burying himself deep as I cry out, and I wonder how I could have ever forgotten this man. My mate who makes me feel like the world is on fire, and yet, also completely and utterly perfect. Even if we are still in my dreams.
Panting, I turn my head, my gaze connecting with Thane’s as Knox makes me feel a pleasure so intense tears are blurring my eyes.
“Will you join us?” I ask Thane, because he’s mine too, and I need him as well.
Thane’s heated gaze goes to Knox, and the pair of them share a long look.
“Are you sure, mate?” Thane asks, his intense gaze boring into me.
I nod, because it feels right. These men love each other, and they love me.
There’s a look of complete reverence on Thane’s face, and he rises to his feet.
Within seconds, he’s crouched as he presses soft kisses to my forehead, and then he moves around the bed, positioning himself behind Knox.
Thane grips Knox’s neck, and Knox leans further forward, giving Thane access to himself.
Thane works his cock into Knox’s ass, and it takes us a moment to find a rhythm, but soon we’re all groaning and Knox is thrusting even harder into me.
I moan, feeling every curve of his cock as it slides against my walls, hitting that delicious spot deep inside me.
Thane’s shadows flick around, teasing my clit while Knox bites my nipple, and the pleasure becomes too much.
“Knox.” His name rushes out of me, as the pair of them grunt, moving in tandem, picking up speed.
“You’ve always been so perfect, my love,” Knox tells me, and there’s such adoration in his gaze, that those tears blurring my eyes finally spill over, trailing down my cheeks as my heart feels like it’s about to explode.
Knox is my fourth mate. Mine. And I finally have him back.
The orgasm makes me scream as I tip over the edge, my release crashing into me with an intensity that makes my whole body feel aflame. Knox and Thane aren’t far behind me, and their muscles tighten as they shatter, the pair of them calling my name.
No one moves quickly after that. It’s not until we stop shuddering that Thane releases Knox’s neck and shuffles back.
Knox stays inside me for a little while longer.
It’s like he wants to remain connected to me for as long as possible, and he leans down, pressing a soft kiss to my lips.
“Never again,” he repeats, as if he’s picking up the conversation from earlier.
“But you must fight my mate. You do whatever it takes.”
I swallow hard. Instinctively, I want to tell him that my chances of surviving the games are still slim, but this man has already thought he’d lost me once, and I don’t want to remind him of the possibility that he might lose me again. “I will,” I whisper.