Chapter 20 Bechora
After Archer left, I decided to take part of his advice and find Zypher. As much as I wanted to continue being upset with him for keeping something major from me, I just wasn’t. Maybe it was the bond, or maybe I was shedding my old human propriety. Either way, I wasn’t actually angry at him.
Gabriel followed me across campus, weaving through the crowd of students and families toward Daemonium House.
The moment we stepped inside, several demon students turned their attention to me.
A few started to rise from where they sat scattered around the common room, but Gabriel bared his fangs, and they stayed put.
Part of me was relieved, even if I knew the reprieve was only temporary.
When we reached Zypher’s room on the top floor, I knocked. My heart plummeted to my stomach when he opened the door. Dark circles ringed his eyes, his hair was a mess, and his clothes were wrinkled. Regret rolled off him in waves, and I couldn’t help stepping into his space.
“Zypher…”
“Dilectus,” he whispered, almost like he thought I was a figment of his imagination, before his face twisted into a pained grimace. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I whispered back, wrapping my arms around his waist.
He pulled me closer, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of my head, and inhaled deeply before stepping back and ushering us into his room.
I let my eyes scan the space as he shut the door behind us.
I’d been here a few times before, but after spending so much time with all of us in my dorm, it felt like I was seeing it for the first time.
Unlike Shadrie and me, he had a dorm to himself.
The living room area and small kitchenette were the same as ours, but instead of both doors leading to bedrooms, one led to his bedroom and the other led to an ensuite bathroom.
I turned back to find both of my mates looking at me like I might disappear if they looked away for too long.
“You look like hell,” I said softly.
A ghost of a smile tugged at his lips, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I haven’t exactly been sleeping.”
Guilt twisted in my chest. “Zypher…”
“I should have told you,” he cut in, his voice low but steady. “From the beginning. I knew that. I just–” He scrubbed a hand through his hair, pacing once, as though he needed the movement. “I wanted to carry that weight for you as long as I could with everything else you have to bear.”
My chest tightened at that. “I don’t need you to carry things for me. I’m stronger than I look.”
“I know, Dilectus. You are the strongest female I’ve ever known, but you are still human.”
Behind me, Gabriel moved closer, his presence settling at my back. Zypher cast his eyes to the floor, his shoulders hunched as if he expected my response to be painful.
“I should be mad,” I sighed. “But I’m not. I get why you kept it from me. All of this. The prophecy, the Academy, what I am… It’s overwhelming. I just needed a beat to process the added responsibilities of being your mate.”
His head lifted, eyes finding mine as something in his expression shifted toward relief. The distance between us disappeared as he closed it in a few steps. He lifted his hands to cup my face like he needed to be sure I was real. That I was actually here and saying the word.
“Dilectus…” he breathed.
I leaned into his touch without thinking. “I’m here,” I whispered.
Something broke in him at that. His forehead dropped to mine, his breath warm against my skin as he exhaled so heavily it seemed like he’d held his breath the entire time we’d been apart.
“I won’t keep anything else from you, I swear it,” he muttered. “I can’t bear being apart from you like this again.”
“Me either,” I replied softly.
He leaned down further, his lips brushing mine, almost hesitant as if he was still giving me the chance to pull away.
I didn’t. If anything, I leaned into it, my arms wrapping around his neck to pull him closer.
That was all the permission he needed. The kiss deepened, slow and certain, as if he was anchoring himself to me in this moment.
Gabriel’s hand settled at my hip, reminding me of his presence.
I broke the kiss, turning my head slightly to meet his gaze.
“You know… the best part of having a fight is the make-up sex,” I said, batting my lashes playfully.
Gabriel chuckled, his eyes darkening as his hold on my hips tightened. Zypher’s hand slid from my jaw into my hair, tilting my head just enough to draw my attention back to him.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“Yes,” I breathed.
Zypher’s eyes searched mine for one final heartbeat, then the last threads of hesitation snapped.
His mouth claimed mine again, this time with a hunger that stole the air from my lungs.
The kiss was deeper, hotter, his tongue sliding against mine in a slow, deliberate dance that made my knees weak.
Gabriel’s chest pressed firmly against my back, his hands smoothing up my sides as he dipped his head to brush his lips along the curve of my neck.
“Selir, I missed this,” Gabriel murmured against my skin, his voice growing rough with need. “Missed you between us.”
A shiver ran through me at his words. Zypher’s hand tightened in my hair, angling my head so he could deepen the kiss, while Gabriel’s fingers found the hem of my shirt and slipped beneath it, tracing warm circles over my bare waist.
They moved together like we’d done this before, instincts leading us.
Zypher broke the kiss to trail his lips along my jaw, down to the sensitive spot just below my ear.
I gasped as Gabriel’s teeth grazed his mating mark on the other side of my neck, his hands sliding higher until his thumbs brushed the underside of my breasts.
“Bedroom,” Zypher growled, the word vibrating against my throat.
Gabriel didn’t need to be told twice. He scooped me up effortlessly, turning me to face his chest. My legs wrapped around his waist instinctively as he carried me the short distance to Zypher’s bedroom.
My demon followed close behind, shutting the door with a quiet click that sent a thrill up my spine.
The room was dim, lit only by the soft glow of a single lamp on the nightstand.
Gabriel set me down at the foot of the bed, but he didn’t step back.
Instead, he pulled my shirt over my head in one smooth motion, tossing it aside.
Zypher was already there, hands spanning my ribs as he kissed me again—slower this time, savoring.
Gabriel’s fingers worked the clasp of my bra, letting it fall away, so cool air kissed my heated skin.
I reached for them both, one hand fisting in Zypher’s shirt, the other tugging at Gabriel’s. “Too many clothes,” I whispered, half-laughing, half-breathless.
They obliged with matching wicked smiles. Shirts disappeared. Skin met skin. I was surrounded by hard muscle and warm hands—Zypher’s calloused palms mapping my back, Gabriel’s smoother ones cupping my breasts, thumbs circling until I arched into the touch with a soft moan.
Zypher guided me backward until the backs of my knees hit the mattress.
I let myself fall, pulling them with me.
They followed, bracketing me on either side, their bodies pressing close.
Gabriel captured my mouth in a searing kiss while Zypher’s lips found my collarbone, then lower, tasting every inch of newly exposed skin.
When his mouth closed over one nipple, I cried out, fingers threading through his dark hair.
Gabriel pulled back just enough to watch, eyes blazing. “Look at you,” he murmured, voice thick. “So perfect between us.”
I reached down, palming both of them, feeling how hard they already were. Twin groans filled the room. Zypher’s low and rumbling, Gabriel’s sharper, more urgent.
“Bechora…” Zypher warned, but there was no real protest in it, only raw want.
I squeezed gently, stroking them both. “I want you. Both of you. Right now.”
The last of their restraint shattered. Hands and mouths explored without hesitation. Gabriel settled between my thighs, spreading me open with reverent fingers while Zypher kissed me senseless, swallowing every gasp as Gabriel’s tongue found my center.
Pleasure coiled tight and fast. I bucked against Gabriel’s mouth, one hand gripping Zypher’s shoulder, the other fisting the sheets.
Zypher’s fingers pinched and rolled my nipples in time with Gabriel’s strokes, pushing me higher until I shattered with a cry that echoed off the walls. They didn’t give me time to come down.
Zypher rolled me onto my side, facing him, and hooked my leg over his hip.
Gabriel pressed in from behind, his chest to my back, his cock sliding hot and heavy against my ass.
Zypher kissed me deeply as he pushed inside me in one slow, perfect thrust. I moaned into his mouth at the stretch, the fullness.
Gabriel waited until I adjusted, then notched himself against my entrance from behind, slick with my arousal.
He entered me carefully, inch by inch, until I was completely, deliciously filled by both of them.
For a moment, we all stilled, breathing hard.
“Move,” I whispered, voice breaking. “Please.”
They did. Slow at first—alternating thrusts that made me feel every ridge, every pulse—then faster, deeper, more desperate.
Hands gripped hips and thighs. Mouths devoured skin and lips and whispered praises.
The room filled with the sounds of skin on skin, ragged moans, and my name spoken like a prayer by two different voices.
Pleasure built again, sharper this time, spiraling out of control.
I came hard around them, clenching and trembling as wave after wave crashed through me.
Zypher followed with a guttural groan, burying himself deep as he spilled inside me.
Gabriel thrust once, twice more before he too came with a choked curse, hips stuttering against my ass.
We collapsed together in a tangled, sweaty heap, hearts hammering in sync.
Zypher pressed a tender kiss to my forehead, then my lips.
Gabriel nuzzled the back of my neck, his arm draped possessively over my waist. For the first time since I’d asked them for space, I felt light.
Laughter bubbled in my chest and burst free unbidden.
“Maybe we should take Archer’s advice more often,” I giggled, pressing my forehead against Zypher’s chest.