5. Masquerade
Christy
The kettle sang on the stove, whistling at a brutal pitch that had me cursing under my breath as I picked it up quickly. I poured the boiling water into my teapot over the fresh leaves, set it down, and decided I’d lost it.
I’d invited the two phantoms who were stalking me to breakfast.
Two devilishly handsome phantoms.
Ray and Erik were opposites. Where Erik was dark, Ray was light.
When Erik wasn’t in his monstrous phantom form, he looked like a tall, broad-shouldered man with black hair, pale skin, and eyes that shone like oil in the sun. Glimmering with darkness, with something depraved. When those eyes met mine, a silent thrill rushed through me.
Ray, on the other hand—he made me feel safe. I didn’t know him. But I felt like I knew him. He had bright green eyes, tan skin, brown hair that he could tuck behind his ears.
Both of them were transparent, and yet they could touch. Ray had held my hand, and I’d certainly felt him as if he weren’t a spectral creature.
Science had never been something I was good at. I couldn’t even attempt to understand how they were possible. But everything I knew to be true in this world had been tipped upside down in the last twenty-four hours.
And now I wanted to sleep with two masked phantom men.
What the hell was I thinking?
A soft knock echoed through my apartment and I glanced up. “Come in,” I called.
They could have opened the door. Instead, they walked through the door. Okay then. I ran my fingers through my hair, stressed that I wasn’t cut out for this. How could they be so sure I was the one? Did I even want to really date someone? And two someones?
Yes. The answer was, secretly, in the tiny box locked away in my heart—yes.
It’d been far too long since I’d been touched, and Erik had two monstrous cocks that I couldn’t stop thinking about last night.
And Ray . . . His was unique too. I didn’t get enough of a look since it’d been dark, which was a shame.
And just made me want to push both of them back into the bedroom and demand they take their clothes off.
“Good morning,” Ray chimed, beaming at me. “How did you sleep?”
Awful, because getting myself off once last night had only made me more greedy. It was like every part of my body hungered for more. “Well enough,” I said. “How’d you sleep?”
“Well—”
“Phantoms rarely sleep,” Erik interrupted.
I shivered as he neared, his dark eyes raking over me until he was close, only inches between us. I looked up at him, studying the way his mask clung to his features. He cocked his head, his lips pressing together.
“What is it, angel?” he asked.
He was amused. Amused by me, I guessed, though I had no idea why.
“You have questions,” he continued. “Or maybe you couldn’t sleep well because you were busy thinking about us. Wondering what it would be like for us to ravage you.”
“Erik,” Ray growled. “We should have a proper breakfast—”
“Well, I am hungry.”
His words hung in the air, and I wasn’t lost on their meaning or the way they made me feel.
I’d never been the kind of person who wanted to immediately jump into bed with someone. But I was a curious person, to the point that it often got me in trouble growing up. There was chemistry here, even though I felt like I was out of my depth with this whole fated mates business.
But damn it. On a basic level, I wanted him. I craved him. Both of them, in fact.
“I have work in three hours,” I said. “And will need to be presentable for that.”
“Plenty of time,” he whispered, slowly lifting his hand. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, the graze of his fingertips making me tremble with want. “Although truthfully I think Ray would like to have you between us for far longer than that. He just wants to be a gentleman right now.”
“Is he?” I asked, my eyes darting past Erik to him.
“Not at all,” Erik murmured.
His fingers slid back into my hair and he tugged at the band holding it back. I sucked in a breath as he pulled it free, my bun unraveling. He gripped it gently, tugging my head back until the curve of my neck was exposed to him.
“Should I stop?” Erik asked.
“No. I think I will die if you stop.”
My dark phantom smiled, his fangs sharp and making my pussy pulse. “Can I kiss you?”
“Yes.” My eyes fluttered as he leaned in, his mouth hovering above my pulse.
“Can we touch you?”
“Yes. Please.”
Ray suddenly appeared behind me, his hands settling on my hips. I gasped as he tugged me back, my ass pressing against him. I felt the outline of his cock and my mouth dropped as I realized—these two were going to destroy me in the best fucking way possible.
“See what I mean?” Erik chuckled. “He’s just as depraved as I am, sweet angel. We are demons. Creatures of the night. And fate has chosen you to be ours. Although, knowing fate—perhaps you are as twisted as we are.”
Perhaps I was.
I wanted this. More than I knew how to express. These strangers on either side of me didn’t seem so strange. In fact, their hands on me felt right. Their presence—it felt right.
“How long have you been watching me?” I gasped.
“Far too long,” Ray said, his voice thick.
“I do not apologize for it,” Erik mumbled.
I didn’t want either of them to be sorry, because I certainly wasn’t, at least in this moment. “I want you,” I said. “Both of you. Please kiss me.”
“I will when I choose.”
Erik was very dominant, but it was in a way that I enjoyed.
Ray pressed a gentle kiss to the top of my head and breathed in deep, inhaling my scent. I pushed my ass back against him, rocking my body and rubbing against the outline of his erection. He moaned, his grip on me tightening.
“Christy,” Ray groaned. “You’ve no idea how long we’ve waited.”
Erik kissed me first, and not on the mouth.
His lips brushed the hollow of my throat, gentle.
Easy. My pulse fluttered as he made his way up my neck, kissing along my jaw, until finally his lips pressed against mine.
I parted mine for him, his tongue prodding.
So tender for someone who looked like he wanted to eat me.
I melted under their touch. It wasn’t the champagne that had made me want them last night, it was them. Plain and simple. I wanted their hands all over me, and I wanted to satiate this thirst that had overtaken me.
I arched up, winding my arms around Erik’s neck. He stiffened in surprise, but then I was kissing him, begging him to go deeper, to not let go.
Ray tugged the sleeves of the dress I wore to the side. His mouth grazed over my shoulders, leaving a trail of sparks. A soft whimper in my ear made me wet, and I wasn’t sure who it was from. Erik, Ray, or me.
Erik suddenly broke our kiss. Before I could protest, he spun me around. My hands landed on Ray’s chest and I leaned up, his mouth fusing to mine.
The skirt of my dress was hiked up and I gasped as claws tugged at the lace panties I wore, tearing them away from my body. Cool air kissed my bare skin. My fingers dug into Ray’s shoulders as Erik gripped my ankle, parting my legs.
“Should I stop?” he asked.
“No,” I panted. “Please don’t stop. I need this.”
Ray growled against my shoulder, a deep possessive sound that made my blood heat. I lifted my dress and tossed it to the kitchen floor, his eyes landing on my breasts.
I’d picked out a matching bra. The scalloped lace laid against my skin, and I knew it looked good. But seeing the pure approval heating his gaze was something I appreciated too.
He reached around and unclasped it.
And now I was naked between both of them.
I gasped and planted my hands on Ray’s chest for balance as Erik bent me over just slightly. Enough to show him everything. I realized that there really was no hiding. It was morning, the sun was out, and every window let the light in.
His hot tongue dragged over my entrance and I cried out. His tongue was long with a tapered end, I realized. Oh fuck. The tip brushed over my clit, but then he drew back.
“Turn her around, lift her. Have her back against your chest. Keep her legs wide for me,” Erik commanded.
Ray didn’t hesitate. My entire world turned as he lifted me with ease, putting me in the exact position Erik had demanded. My head fell back against his shoulder and I blushed as I looked down at Erik between my spread thighs.
He was on his knees and there were cracks in his skin, dark veins bulging as if he were trying to hold himself together. But that’s what had kept me up so late.
He was handsome when he looked human, but when I touched myself, I wanted the monster. The monster with massive sharp teeth and a frightening mouth, a body made of shadows, and glowing red eyes.
“Why do you hold yourself back?” I whispered.
Ray tensed as he held me, and Erik blinked.
“Do you . . . not prefer us as human?” Ray asked.
“No,” I said. “I do not.”
Erik met Ray’s gaze over my head. “See, my twisted mate. We have nothing to worry about.”
Ray’s chest rumbled, and I wasn’t sure he agreed. But then Erik began to change before us, his skin melting away to darkness, the mask that covered half his face the only thing familiar that remained.
“If I need to stop, you will tell me,” he said. “I may be depraved and twisted, but I would never do anything without your desire.”
I nodded, my throat tightening. “If I need you to stop, I will tell you.”
The tapered tip of Erik’s tongue dragged over the sharp points of his teeth. I wasn’t sure, but I thought he was smiling at me. I gasped as that same tongue dragged over my inner thigh, slowly inching closer and closer until he reached my apex.
My voice splintered through the room the moment his tongue touched my clit. I strained against Ray, but he kept his hold on me. I loved it, being held open like this, kept in place so I could be devoured.
I wanted more of that, I realized.
For so long, I’d had countless desires that I’d kept locked away. I’d done my research, of course. I knew all about my kinks. But I’d never been with anyone who was willing to explore them with me.
But with Ray and Erik . . .
It would be different. I knew it would be.
Claws dragged down my thighs, and the sensations made me whimper and moan. Erik licked my clit and then his mouth moved lower, the tip of his tongue prodding my entrance.
“Yes,” I gasped. “Please. I want you inside me.”
“Fuck,” Ray muttered.
“He’s jealous,” Erik chuckled.
“Fuck you, Erik.”
“I will. Many times. And while you’re deep inside our angel, too.”
I gasped as his tongue pushed inside me, thick and strong. My hips rocked helplessly as I took him deeper, drenched and needy. So fucking needy. I felt like I was running a fever with how desperate I was for them to fill me.
“You’re going to come for us,” Ray murmured against my ear. “And then I’m going to lay you down in your bed and fuck you, angel. I need to fuck you.”
All I could do was nod as I drowned in every sensation. Pleasure battered me, wave after wave, Erik’s tongue fucking me as if it were a cock. I cried out as he reached up for my hand, guiding my fingertips to my clit.
Nothing had ever felt this good before. I started to rub myself furiously, focusing on the way his tongue felt and how Ray’s grip on me was unwavering.
My nipples stiffened, my heart thrashing, my voice growing louder until I was certain all my neighbors would hear it.
But, I didn’t care. I didn’t care if the whole neighborhood knew I was getting fucked right now.
Finally, I hit my peak, screaming as I came. My orgasm shattered my body, everything clenching, my muscles spasming around them.
“Good girl,” Ray murmured against my ear. “You did so good for us, angel. I knew you were made for us.”
Erik kept lapping at me until he was satisfied and then he rose up. I realized that he hovered over the floor, never touching the ground.
“How do you feel?” Ray asked.
“Perfect,” I sighed, my eyes closing. More than perfect, and yet . . . “I want more. But . . . Well, you see, I have my own wants. It might be too much to ask for.”
“Nothing is too much to ask for,” Erik said, stepping closer to us. He pushed us back until Ray bumped against the counter. “What do you want?”
My heart was still pounding in my chest. I’d just come harder than I ever had before. And yet here I was, staring my phantom in the face and wanting to tell him about my kinks.
“I want to tell you no,” I whispered. “But I don’t want you to stop. It’s called CNC. Consensual non-consent. I want . . . to fight against both of you and to be ravaged between you anyway. No one has ever wanted to try that and I understand—”
“We will,” Ray interrupted. “I want that too.”
Erik tilted his head, his gaze on Ray. “Made for us,” he whispered. “It just so happens that CNC is something your kind gentleman loves.”