28. Chapter Twenty-Nine #5
I pushed Luca onto his back and knelt between his thighs instead of climbing onto him immediately.
I stroked his cock first, then leaned down and sucked him deep, tasting myself and the others on my tongue as I bobbed over him until his careful control finally cracked and his hips started lifting toward my mouth.
Only then did I rise, straddle his hips, position him beneath me, and sink down.
“Luca, stop holding back. I want you harder.” I breathed to Luca as I rolled my hips over his cock and watched the muscles in his stomach tighten beneath my hands.
Luca's green-gold eyes darkened, and his hands finally tightened around my hips.
He thrust up hard.
I moaned as the force drove him deeper.
“Harder.” I told Luca as I planted both hands against his chest and tightened my thighs around his hips, holding his gaze so he could see I meant it.
He gave me harder, driving up in deep, powerful strokes that forced the air from my lungs.
Tavian's fingers found my clit again, Malek's mouth closed around one breast, and I rode Luca through it, demanding more with every roll of my hips.
“Faster—fuck—right there—” I gasped to Luca as my nails dragged lightly across his chest and my body started shaking, my hips meeting every thrust he gave me.
When I was close again, I pushed my hair aside and found the lower edge of my left gland below Malek's bite, leaving enough untouched skin that Luca wouldn't disturb the fresh mark above it.
“Here. Mark me. I want your bite while we cum.” I told Luca as I touched the spot with two fingers and held his gaze, leaving the location and permission completely clear.
Luca surged upward and bit down on the next hard thrust. Pain and pleasure hit together.
My pussy clamped around him so tightly he groaned into my skin while Tavian's fingers worked my clit without mercy.
I came with a long, continuous croon that left my throat raw.
Luca's knot swelled against me.
“Inside. Give it to me.” I ordered Luca as I locked my legs around him and pulled him closer, my body remaining open around him while I made the invitation explicit.
He pushed forward slowly enough that I could stop him if I needed to, then the knot slipped inside and locked deep, stretching me open one final time.
Luca came hard, pulsing inside me while I held him and kept crooning through the aftershocks.
We stayed locked.
Tavian shifted beside Luca's left shoulder and Malek settled on the other side so I could reach both men without twisting my hips around Luca's knot. I took Tavian back into my mouth, stroked Malek, then switched between them while Luca's knot kept me full and throbbing beneath me.
I didn't stop until both of them came again, Tavian down my throat and Malek over my hand and stomach, while Luca remained locked inside me. By then my arms and thighs were exhausted. I settled back over Luca and finally stopped moving while his knot gradually began to soften.
For a while, none of us had much to say.
My neck hurt in three distinct places, my body was oversensitive everywhere, and Luca remained inside me while the last of his knot slowly went down.
Tavian kissed my shoulder, and Malek carefully moved my hair away from the bites without touching the broken skin.
Their scents had changed around me. Cedar, citrus and spice, sandalwood and herbs were all stronger against my skin, while my own honey, jasmine, and vanilla clung to them in return.
I didn't hear anyone's thoughts or suddenly know where they were without looking.
There was no new voice inside my head and no strange awareness telling me exactly where one of them was.
The difference was quieter.
The restless feeling that had followed me through temporary nests for months was gone.
My Omega had three fresh marks it had very definite feelings about, every familiar Alpha scent was around me instead of trapped in an old shirt or fading piece of cloth, and I was tired enough that lifting one arm sounded unreasonable.
I was exactly where I wanted to be.
“This is the best day I've ever had.” Tavian told me as he stared openly at the marks along my neck, his purr nearly as loud as Luca's while one hand rested over my thigh.
“You say that about food.” I reminded Tavian as I reached for his hand and linked our fingers.
“Different category.” Tavian corrected me as he squeezed my hand, apparently unwilling to give up future opportunities to praise Luca's cooking.
“I knew it.” Malek told Tavian as he ran his fingers gently through my hair, dry amusement returning to his voice while he carefully avoided the fresh bites.
“I never said food wasn't important.” Tavian defended himself as he looked toward Malek with complete seriousness, making Luca laugh against my cheek.
Hearing them argue about food after everything we'd just done made me smile.
Permanent marks hadn't turned them into different men.
Tavian was still going to defend food with unnecessary passion, Luca was still going to start worrying about whether I needed something the second the sex ended, and Malek was still going to make comments with a perfectly straight face and pretend they weren't jokes.
When Luca's knot finally softened completely, he withdrew carefully and immediately checked my face.
“How are you feeling?” Luca asked me as he brushed damp hair away from my forehead, concern already taking over now that he had room to fuss over me properly.
“Sore, exhausted, and very happy.” I answered Luca as I let my legs relax into the bedding and took stock of the ache running through my thighs, cunt, and newly marked glands.
“That order seems accurate.” Tavian told me as he rubbed one palm slowly over my shin, amusement returning to his eyes now that he knew I was okay.
“Water.” Malek told me as he moved out of the nest and reached toward the supplies near the doorway, his usual practical focus returning as soon as there was something useful he could do.
“I missed how romantic you are.” I told Malek as he came back with a cup and crouched beside me, catching the small movement at the corner of his mouth.
“You'll survive.” Malek replied as he handed me the cup, keeping his fingers around it until I had it securely.
I drank while Luca cleaned me carefully and Tavian pulled one of the blankets free from the mess we'd made of the nest. Malek checked each mark without touching the broken skin, then adjusted the pillow beneath my head while Luca handed me sliced fruit and waited until I actually ate some.
My camera case and personal bag still sat near the entrance where I'd abandoned them when Tavian came running at me. Patagonia dust marked one corner of the case. Inside were work notes, travel documents, and a drive filled with photographs I couldn't wait to sort properly.
None of it looked strange sitting inside an ancient hidden temple.
Tavian rested one hand over my ankle while Luca settled close enough for our shoulders to touch. Malek lay behind me with one arm loosely around my waist, careful not to put pressure against my sore neck.
Across the room, Tavian's dark stone remained on my shelf beside my hair tie and empty memory-card cases. The drawer still held the clothes I'd deliberately left behind, and my camera equipment sat only a few yards from the nest with three months of work inside it.
I was going to take another job eventually. Maybe the next one would be shorter and maybe it wouldn't. There would be other animals, other temporary rooms, and probably other nights when I made a small nest somewhere far from this rainforest.
Then I'd return with new photographs, too much laundry, and stories Tavian would almost certainly interrupt halfway through.
Being their mate didn't take any of that away. I could consider three people I loved when I made decisions without handing those decisions over to them, and they could miss me without asking me to stop doing work that mattered to me.
Home didn't have to stop me from leaving. It could be the place where my camera cases sat beside my nest and nobody asked me to choose between them.
For the first time, I had both.