Her chuckle was a dry, raspy sound. “I agree.” I stroked her face, in awe of this beautiful, brave woman.
“You haven’t even heard what you would need to do.” She didn’t answer, and I realized she had used her energy. “Roya, I would need to claim you. To… to mate you now, here. We would be tied together forever.”
The crinkle was back. “I am dead,” she breathed. “Went to the Goddess’s paradise. Has to be.” Kavin’s eyes went wide, and Altair, his ear pressed on her chest, shot me a look that unmistakably said to hurry up.
“Roya, say yes,” I whispered in her ear. “Say I can come into your nest. Say I can be your mate.”
She exhaled as I waited for her to answer. But she didn’t inhale again. Was she… Had she…?
Fuck that. No. I refused to believe this was how it ended for my Omega, for all of us. “Roya!” I shouted, using my Alpha bark in my voice, harsher than I had ever been with her. “Roya! Answer me now!” Her whole body jerked at the sound, and then she took a long breath, her eyes flying open, outrage on her features. “May I enter your nest? Will you be my mate? Answer!”
“Asshole,” she sighed, the tiniest hint of gold gleaming in her eyes. “About… fucking… time. Yes.”
I tore my clothes away, using the damp cloth Altair handed me to wipe down my body. He had made a bowl of cushions and blankets. It wasn’t a real nest; Roya hadn’t built it. But it was what we had, and we would make it work.
Kavin and Altair stepped to the farthest edges of the bed, both smiling, though the strain on their faces was unmistakable. I lay next to my love, feeling for the first time her skin on mine, my chest flush against her breasts, though her skin was hot and too dry. I let my lips touch hers in the gentlest kiss I could give, afraid to hurt her, break her. My hands trailed up her sides, and small goosebumps appeared where they passed. I pressed the damp cloth on her, blowing cool air on the places I touched, and kissed her again, gently.
“Thorn.” Her growl startled me.
“Yes, little queen?”
“I’ve waited… long enough. Don’t want to die… before you figure out… how this works.”
The room erupted into laughter: Kavin’s, Altair’s, mine, and… I grinned. “Icarus! You’re awake.”
The man’s eyes were open, and he nodded at me. “I didn’t put my mating mark on her neck. That’s for you, Thorn. Primary consort, remember?”
My eyes landed on each of the three men in the room, and I felt humbled in a way I never had. These were the finest men I had ever known. Somehow, I would have to find a way to make them understand the depth of my gratitude for their presence in my life, and Roya’s.
“As you wish, little queen,” I said, and set my lips to hers again, my tongue teasing, tasting.
The scent of sour oranges and rot seemed to clear slightly, and I kissed her more deeply, letting my hands move over her skin. “I’ve dreamed of doing this for so long,” I growled and set my lips around one of the pink nipples, drawing it up into a tight bud with my tongue and teeth. She let out a small mewling cry, still too weak to respond fully. I switched my attention to her other breast, my hands skating down her concave abdomen, learning the lines, tracing my way to her mound. The golden curls there were every bit as soft as her hair, and her legs parted slightly as I allowed my mouth to follow the path my hands had taken.
Help me, Goddess, I prayed, and opened her folds with my hands, diving into the heat of her, tasting her.Help me heal my mate. The air filled with a bright tang of citrus, and the salt of the ocean. Leather and almonds, spice and smoke, and bright apples. The raspy breathing of her Alphas was the only sound other than the wet flick of my tongue on her, and her answering moan.
“Thorn, yes. More.” Her legs opened wider, and I bent to my task as if the fate of the world depended on me providing her next orgasm.
It did, for me. When her legs began to shake, I set my fingers to her opening. “Omega, do you want me?” I wondered aloud, but her answer was beneath my hand.
She was open, her slick slight but present, and my finger slipped inside. I crooked it, thrusting gently in and out as my tongue flicked hard at her bud again and again, never stopping… and after an eternity, she fell apart on my hand and mouth, her small cries like a bird, rising into the air.
While she was still shaking, I lifted myself over her and set the head of my cock to her opening, allowing the slick honey to ease my entrance into her. I pressed in all the way to my knot, which was swollen, red, and angry. She gasped as it bumped against her engorged lips, and I leaned to her ear. “I never thought I would have you, my queen. I never thought this day would come.”
Her lips curled into a small smile, and one hand drifted up to my face as I fucked her gently, slowly. “And I never once thought that the first time you made love to me, Thorn, there would be this many eyes on us.”
Her pussy clenched around me, and I almost laughed. “You naughty girl. You like it, don’t you? You like knowing that there are three other men staring at you like wolves, wanting to tear me away from you, wanting to fuck you themselves.” Her pussy tightened even further, and a splash of color rose on her cheeks. “They’re watching your slick spill out all around my cock, my love. Watching your face as you rise, as you unravel.”
I thrust harder, three times, four, and then a gush of her juices flowed out and I took the moment. In the next thrust, I pressed my knot halfway into her, and she cried out as pain and pleasure intermingled.
“You can take it, sweetheart,” I encouraged. “Relax, let me in. Let me claim you.” Those words did the trick. She arched her back and my knot slipped all the way inside, locking into place and swelling further as her cunt spasmed around me.
“I love you, Roya,” I groaned as my own orgasm began to tear through me. “I love you, and you… are…mine!” I set my teeth against the juncture of her neck and shoulder, and bit down, feeling her hot blood, a strange mixture of bitter acid and sweet honey, fill my mouth. She snarled, and the instant I pulled back, lunged for me, her white teeth sinking deep into the muscle of my pectoral. It was the best pain I had ever felt in my life.
“I love you, Thorn,” she gritted out, and I opened my eyes, staring into hers. They glowed, like a candle held too far away to make out more than the vague presence of flame. Suddenly, I felt a wave of lethargy and illness pour through me, drowning me.
I fell on top of her, my knot still inside her, but I didn’t have the strength to lift myself away. Strong hands landed on my waist and shoulders, though, and Roya and I were both rolled so we faced each other on our sides. Kavin’s intense gaze met mine. He wasn’t smiling, but… it had to be working.
It had to. And if it didn’t, at least I’d spent my final moments on earth inside the woman I loved, bringing her pleasure, and tying my fate to hers.
