“You’re a fool,” Celine whispers angrily. Despite her words, her grip on his hair is tight, as if she’s worried he will do exactly as she demanded and leave her behind.
“Shut up and kiss me,” Luca says.
Celine pulls back an inch. “But this is risky. Our friendship?—”
“Will be fine.” He kisses her, harder this time. “A few kisses and orgasms won’t break us, Celine. I won’t give you up.”
“This possessiveness . . .”
“You fucking love it,” Luca grunts, dipping his hands to the backs of her thighs and walking her backward toward the couch. They tumble next to me, Celine’s fiery hair slapping my thigh.
“Alistair . . .” she whispers, sounding unsure.
I avoid eye contact in case Luca decides to get a head start on turning the supernatural population in Las Vegas into a mausoleum paved in poker chips or something. “I can give you privacy tonight,” I say. “But I have no intention of stepping to the side. If you want me, of course.”
I leave the question open-ended. Luca and Celine were slow to admit their feelings, but I’ve always known I can’t have one without the other. If they reject me now... Dread, raw and primal, tears through me as I wait for their answer.
I want them, want what they have even more, but nothing is worse than being permitted to stay somewhere while knowing you’re not wanted. I won’t force my presence on anyone.
“I want you, Alistair,” Celine says, her words decisive, as if she’s tying a bow. There’s satisfaction and weight behind each one, and when I look at her, I see the truth rune littered across every inch of her beautiful skin.
“Thank the gods.” I run my thumb across her bottom lip. It’s swollen from Luca’s kisses. The realization sends my blood rushing south. She’s so alive.
From his spot on top of Celine, I feel Luca’s eyes rake over me. Tension builds between us. My attraction to Celine was immediate. Luca snuck up on me. I meet his eyes, and the heat between us goes from a simmer to a boil.
His fingers wind into my hair, tugging my head forcefully. When his lips meet mine, I can taste his confusion, and I smile into the kiss. Luca prides himself on self-control, but he’s still a shifter. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to kiss me, so he’s giving it a try—and he’s giving it all he’s got, too competitive to settle for a boring kiss.
I nip at his lip, using my vampire speed to move until Celine is sandwiched between us, straddling his lap. Connecting our lips again, I grin as Luca gasps into my mouth. Celine kisses along his neck, and we feast on him together until his breathing grows loud and ragged in the quiet of her living room.
“Your fangs,” he groans.
“Your lip ring,” I toss back, running the tip of one fang over the black metal hoop. He shudders. I give him a softer kiss and pull back. “Well? What’s the verdict? You don’t have to spare my feelings; I’m a big boy.”
“I’m hard as a rock,” Luca says with a shrug. His voice is matter-of-fact, as if he’s telling me the odds of sunshine in thedesert. I chuckle. The urge to make them both mine is overriding every other thought and instinct.
“I cannot take all the credit for that,” I remind him. “Not while you have the most flawless creature in all the realms straddling your cock.” I smile as Celine giggles into his neck, then deliberately grinds on his lap.
“True, but I don’t think I’d mind you doing the same.”
“Good to know,” I murmur, imagining it vividly as I run my fingers along the tip of one of Celine’s wings. She trembles beneath my touch.Gods, if they turn me down now...
“Do you want me to stay or give you a night to yourselves?” I ask, desperate to play this right.
This moment between Luca and Celine has been building for a long time. I want them both, but they need time alone together, as I will want my own private moments.
“I’ve never had two men at once,” Celine says, shuddering.
“Neither have I,” I say drily. “But you can have us both another night if you’d prefer it. I won’t rush you, angel.” I glance at Luca to make sure he understands I’m including him in that statement too.
His hazel eyes morph, the pupils shifting to horizontal, reptilian slits as he sizes me up. “Are you trying to talk yourself out of a good time, Alistair, or are you scared you won’t measure up?” There’s enough bravado in his taunt that I don’t take offense.
Kissing up Celine’s neck, I taste her lips for the first time since the storeroom, sinking into her mouth like I belong there before pulling back. “If you’re sure, take us to your bed, angel.”
TWENTY-TWO
Unspoken rule of the Fringes #53:
Carve out the space you want. Nothing is free.
