Chapter 43 Asher #2
I'm fighting a laugh along with the others at how flustered the priest is, but he finally has us all place our hands over a golden heart on a pedestal at the other end of the stage.
Reciting holy words, he instructs me to hold my hand over the heart first. Next is Heidi's intertwined with mine, and the other three are wrapped around ours.
The priest pauses like he's getting some interference from Paradise before he declares, "All hearts here are to be tied together, not only to the keeper's. This union is blessed by Arati on this day, who binds your hearts as one."
Everyone cheers again as the priest recites more holy magic to seal the deal. My heart starts to warm like I've never experienced before—
But my back? It starts to burn.
"Son of a bitch," I swear, using my non-entangled hand to try to feel it under my shirt. It feels fine, so what the hell was that about?
"Enough with the foul words up here, please,” the priest huffs, shooing us along. "You've been bound, so now—"
A host of emotions floods, none of them mine.
Concern, excitement, joy, worry…love.
Heidi's love.
I freeze to stare at her as I realize I'm feeling everything she is as she gazes at me. Her eyes widen as she realizes it at the same time.
Holy fucking gods.
Finally sensing her feels so good.
And I know she's feeling exactly how much I like it because a sudden wave of arousal joins the rest of our emotions. It's not just Heidi's, either—sudden realization, lust, and eagerness from all five of us is suddenly heating inside my chest as the four of us focus on Heidi.
She swallows. "So...those rooms in the east wing. How about we just—"
"Yes," I agree.
Ian is already scooping her up and darting out of this ballroom.
The audience is distracted by the next keeper walking onstage, which is a huge fucking relief because I need to be inside Heidi right the fuck now.
Kaenon, Zak, and I rush off the stage after Ian, occasionally bumping into audience members in our desperation to get out of here.
Distance must not affect Heidi's abilities when it comes to our new bond, because just as we reach the top of a set of stairs Ian took in the east wing, a sudden wave of unbelievable pleasure and lust hits me so hard that I have to brace myself against the nearest wall, groaning.
"Holy fucking shitballs," Zak swears, also having to stop as it hits him.
What the fuck is he doing to give her this feeling?
I find out soon when Kaenon follows his nose, hunting the scent of his mate until he throws open a door to one of the many quintet-style apartments in this wing of the castle.
Ian has Heidi pinned against a wall, her dress already on the ground with her bra ripped in half beside it.
He's thrusting two fingers inside her dripping pussy already while she gasps in pleasure, his tongue dragging up the side of her neck.
Fuck, she's just so gorgeous.
“Bed,” I rasp.
That's all I have to say before Ian follows us into what I assume is the main room, since it has a big-ass bed.
There's clearly no one living in this apartment, since it's set up almost like a hotel, which is excellent.
I appreciate Brigid Decimus's practical forethought for this Seeking.
It means we're not going to be disturbed as we make Heidi come until she passes out with pleasure.
Ian still has his fingers in her as he lowers her to sit on the bed, kissing down her throat and licking her nipples. The rest of us begin stripping, too overwhelmed with the sheer pleasure starting to beat through our bond to waste any time.
When I rip my shirt off and turn to toss it into the building pile, I hear Heidi inhale sharply, her surprise winding through the other emotions to get our attention.
"Your back matches my bracelet," she says, blinking.
Frowning, I try to feel it again before I spot a full-length mirror hanging near the closet in this room.
When I turn to check my back in it, I see that the phoenix on my back—the mark of Arati's blessing—is now intertwined with multiple symbols.
The circle of the House of Shifting, the triangle for a siphon, a square made of some kind of chain-like pattern…
and a strange collection of runes, each inside its own circle.
Glancing at the charm bracelet on Heidi's wrist, I realize she's right. The runes match.
I'm sure the complex markings on my back have a meaning, but we'll have to figure it out later.
Because when Ian toys with Heidi's breasts and playfully bites one of her nipples, more of her hot need—which is the most arousing fucking thing I've ever experienced in my life—makes Zak, Kaenon, and me moan before we join them on the bed.
Just as I get there, I freeze. "Shit. Protection."
That makes Ian pause, too.
Heidi opens her eyes and looks at all of us, the lust still thick in this room, before she blurts, "Fuck it."
Zak and Ian both let out surprised laughs, and Kaenon's brows go up.
"Fuck it?" I repeat, fighting my own smile.
"Unless you guys want protection," Heidi adds quickly. "It's just, we're bonded now, and I've always…"
"Always what?" I press, hope and need making my heart burn.
Her brown eyes are sparkling as she lifts a shoulder, one of her hands absentmindedly going to rub one of the nipples Ian was just licking and sucking. I'm positive my flirtatious little empath knows exactly what she's doing to us with that as she takes a deep breath.
"I want babies. I always have. And I definitely wouldn't mind starting now, unless you guys are opposed."
Both Kaenon and I groan as her words sink in.
"Opposed?" Ian practically chokes.
"Hells. I'm gonna die from being too fucking hard," Zak groans, adjusting himself.
"If anyone here is against it—" Heidi begins.
"We're not," I assure her thickly, gripping her chin to kiss her hard. "Let's just hope you're ready for the consequences of telling us that while you're sitting here being so damn fuckable."