Chapter 29
ARIES
M ia’s monster is bigger than I thought he’d be. Not that I’m jealous. I’m not. But fuck… he even has a forked cock and tongue. The things he can do with both…
“Ries, where’d you go, man?” Bones snaps his fingers in front of my face.
I take a swig of my whiskey, breathing into it as the spicy liquid sloshes in my mouth. Nox smirks as I eye him over the glass. This fucker knows the effect he’s having on me. He was literally designed for sin.
“I’m good, just processing,” I rasp as the whiskey burns my throat.
Draven snickers. “Right. Sure you are. Anyway, we need to discuss some rules.”
Nox presses his shoulders back and curls his tail around his legs. “Shouldn’t we do that when Mia is awake? I think she’d like to have a say in her own life.”
I nearly choke on my next sip .
Draven glares daggers at him. “No. These are the rules amongst men. I’d say gentleman but I don’t think there’s anything gentle about us. I’m sure we’d all like our own time with her so let’s be civil and figure that out.”
The way Nox sizes him up is hysterical. This nightmare man could literally knock Draven out just by blowing in his direction. But I have to give my broody friend credit. He’s vicious and violent in his own right. And he’s not backing down to anyone. Horns or no horns.
Bones clenches his fists as he takes a step between Draven and Nox. “Everybody chill. My hands have barely healed from the last fight. And I don’t think Mia would appreciate us getting blood all over her kitchen floor.”
Now Bones might be shorter than all of us but he’s the only one I’d bet money on against this towering monster. His strength lies in his recklessness and obsession with pain. He’d probably get off on Nox tossing him around the room a bit.
Nox flexes his jaw and takes another step toward Bones. “Shhh. You’re embarrassing yourselves.”
Fuck.
I slide in between them and place a gentle but firm hand on Nox’s chest. “Easy, big guy. Everyone is tired and a little too fired up. Let’s all just take a second to breathe and calm down.”
He licks his lips as he eye-fucks me. “You’re going to be fun.”
My cock twitches in my pants. The heat emanating from his chest onto my hand stirs a longing in my gut. I just hope Bones doesn’t mind me playing out this new fantasy. “I’m all kinds of fun. You have no idea.”
He slithers his tail around my ankle, sending shivers up my back. Fucking hell. I almost let out a moan when he snakes it up my thigh, nearing my entrance.
Bones hisses. “He’s teasing you, Ries. Can we get back to focusing on Mia? ”
“Is someone jealous?” Nox chuckles but withdraws. He steps away and leans back against the wall. “I think she’ll rather enjoy watching all of us… get along.”
I don’t get flustered often. Probably never. But the thought of having our little lamb sandwiched between all four of us gets the blood in my dick pumping so fast I feel like I could cum just standing here.
Draven loosens his tie. I’ve never understood why he bothers to wear one. He always acts like they’re choking him. He lets out a deep sigh of relief when it no longer touches his neck. “You’re right. We’ll let her decide. If this is going to work, we have to try to not kill each other.”
“How diplomatic of you, dark one.” Nox smirks like we are the most amusing things he’s ever seen.
Bones relaxes his shoulders and unclenches his fists. “Dark one? You call him that because he’s half nightmare. You can sense it.”
Draven shudders and downs the rest of his gin.
Nox nods. “Yes. Our souls are damned. Cursed. And forever connected. No matter where you go, Draven. You will crave me and her.”
Something tells me that we all will. I break free from his hold and another shiver trails up my spine when his tail slithers away from me. “Our little lamb has sacrificed a lot to bring you here.”
“Indeed,” Nox drawls. “I plan on honoring that sacrifice by giving her whatever she pleases.” He looks down at my crotch and smiles.
Fucking hell. I get why Mia couldn’t resist him. He’s the epitome of carnal desire. Everything he says and does is dripping with delicious blasphemy.
Bones and Draven can deny it all they want, but I see the way they are looking at him too. It’s unavoidable. We don’t just want to fuck him. We want to be fucked by him. And he knows it .
“Did you tell her to burn down the poison fields?” Draven snaps.
Nox stalks toward him, his tail slithering behind his legs. “No. I would never have put her in danger the way you have.”
Draven tilts his chin to glare up at him. “You’re blaming me for her almost dying?”
Nox’s eyes darken. “Yes. You forced her hand. Mia was never this reckless until she met the three of you. Be very careful what you say to me next.”
It’s Bone’s turn to diffuse the situation. He places a hand on each of their arms. “Tranquilo. He’s right, Dray, it was all our faults for her setting the baneberry on fire. And you , Nox, it’s your fault she’s so fucking sleep deprived that she wasn’t thinking clearly. Now, can we all get over it and concentrate on making our little pyro happy?”
I laugh out loud at that. “Don’t let Mia hear you call her that again.”
“Fine,” Draven grits out. “Consider it water under the bridge.”
Nox’s smirk returns. “Agreed. We can save our anger for the bedroom.”
And my cock twitches again. Fuck. This man, er—nightmare, whatever, is quickly becoming the new shiny toy I want to play with.
Bones blows out a deep breath as he side-eyes me. “Good. Now let’s make our girl a pot of coffee and at least pretend to enjoy each other’s company.”
Nox goes back to his post against the wall by the breakfast table while Draven lights up a cigarette and glares out the window. The tension has simmered for now, but it’s only day one. I have a feeling we have a lot more to work out in the days and weeks to come.
“Here, let me help you,” I murmur to Bones who is unsuccessfully trying to grind coffee beans. “You have to plug it in first.”
He snickers. “I know. Fuck. I’m distracted.”
I lean into him. “I will always want you more than I want him. ”
He turns his face toward me, his lips almost brushing mine. “I know. I just have to get used to this new dynamic. As long as we still have our own private moments, I’m cool.”
I inch forward and plant a soft kiss on his lips. “I promise. You’re mine before you’re anyone else’s.”
He nips my lip with his teeth. “And don’t you ever forget it.”
When I look up, Nox is watching us with that look of amusement again. He may not understand our bond, but it’s no different than the way he feels toward Mia. The possessiveness he has toward her… it’s the way we all feel toward her, but especially with each other. Maybe in time, he’ll be included in that as well.
At least for now we have an understanding. Once Mia wakes up, once she’s in the same room with all of us, the dynamic will change once again. Hopefully she can handle the four of us without losing her mind and killing us herself.