“I thought I could do this,” Xae whispered.
“I never did,” I muttered.
“You both can,” Rath said as he laid a hand on Xae's shoulder. “It will be all right once Ember's magic joins us. Then we'll feel as close to Ember's next lover as we do each other. We just have to be strong until then. For him.”
Xae swallowed audibly as he leaned back to look at me. “For you.”
“Fuck,” I whispered as my hands went to his face. “No. No, I can't do this to you. I can't. Let's just forget this whole thing. We can take more missions. Maybe the three of us will be enough.”
Xaedren's head fell forward, and Rath knelt beside me to pull us both into his arms.
“We can't forget about this, Ember,” Rath whispered. “This is our path, and we will navigate it with bravery and honor. Someday, we will be the strongest fighting force that has ever walked this world. And it will be because of our resolve.” He kissed my cheek, then Xae's. “But we can forget about it for tonight.” He stood up and held his hands out to us both. “Come. There are feelings I wish to express. Physically.”
I grinned as I took Rath's hand and got to my feet along with Xae. We went to the bedroom together and shut the door to the rest of the world. Tomorrow would come and I'd have to try again, but for tonight, it was just the three of us.
Chapter Twenty
I woke up the next morning, cozy between my lovers. I was warm, safe, and happy. Listening to their even breathing, my head instantly filled with images of the night before, sending zings down my spine.
Rath above me, his lavender eyes alight with love and his hips pumping steadily. Xae below me, his wild hair spread across the pillows and his hands gripping my hips as if he never wanted to let go. Their flesh in my mouth, my hands, and my channel. The taste of their desire. The feel of it in my mouth. The delicious fullness of their bodies inside mine. The friction that sent sensations rolling up and down my body and slammed shivers into my chest. It was wondrous.
The best part was how great I felt afterward. Before I came back from the dead, or mostly dead, a lot of sex would leave me a little achy. But not anymore. Now, I healed like an immortal and that meant that even as my body stretched to receive my lovers and my channel was stroked over and over for hours, the strain on my muscles and flesh never manifested.
I yawned and twisted side to side, stretching. My movements woke my men, and they instantly turned toward me, big hands sliding over my belly and hips. They sleepily nuzzled me, their hard, huge bodies sandwiching mine. All those warrior muscles. All that thick hair. My hands wandered over what was mine, gripping greedily. Pulling, massaging, urging them closer. They made me feel tiny and yet so powerful. Treasured.
As I said, I felt great. Ready for another round of lovemaking. In fact, my channel was still oiled from the night before. Rath must have known that because he turned me onto my side and slipped his cock between my ass cheeks without slicking it first. That plump tip zeroed in on my entrance and popped inside. Rath pumped languidly into me, slowly bringing us awake with the zings of pleasure.
Dear Goddess, I loved morning wood.
Rath's head turned into my neck, and he kissed me there before whispering, “I love you.”
I wrenched my neck to look at him. “I love you too, Rath.” Then we kissed—a tender meeting of lips and tongue while below he delved deeper.
Meanwhile, Xae pulled back the covers and moved down the bed. I gasped into Rath's mouth when Xae took me into his. His bulging arm settled around both Rath's and my legs, and he groaned deeply as he ran his hand up Rath's flank to grab his ass and pull him into me. Pleasure bombarded me from front and back, sending my mind into a tailspin so that I had to pull away from Rath's lips. I couldn't focus on the kiss, could only moan as my men brought me into ecstasy.
Rath grunted, then pulled out. A hot stream hit my hip as he shuddered behind me. The wet sounds of him stroking himself through climax made me clutch at Xae's head and pull him up. As soon as Xae moved, so did I, turning onto my other side so I could watch the end of Rath's release even as Xae took his place.
I trembled and licked my wet lips as Rath fell onto his back, satiated. I would have taken longer to admire the sight, but Xae rolled me onto my hands and knees, and then mounted me more powerfully. His strong hands held my hips still for his wild thrusting, his cock going deep. Then Rath reached over and stroked my face. I couldn't hold back any longer. With a broken cry, I emptied onto the bed, my cock flopping with Xae's brutal bucking and my stare locked on Rath's face. But I couldn't keep eye contact for long. Back arching, I closed my eyes to enjoy every second of the savage pleasure. The locking of my limbs gave Xae greater leverage and even as I wound down, his desire rose.
“Ember!” Xaedren roared and pulled out.
My back was lashed by thick, warm ribbons, and I looked over at Rath to find him smiling softly at us. When the last shudders left Xae, I rolled over to lie within the curve of Rath's body, and Xae took his position on my right, still panting.
I looked from man to man and grinned. “Good morning.”
“Good morning,” they said together.
Chapter Twenty-One
Jath strode into the dining hall while I was eating breakfast later that morning with my usual group: Xae, Rath, Nex, and Keltyr. Keltyr had approached hesitantly earlier, looking at my men for any hint of rejection as he sat down. But they had nodded to him in welcome, and I gave him a wink. Jath, however, powered by our table without even a glance my way. I glared at him as he went to the buffet and got in line. He was all smiles with the other Wraith Lords in line, and then they laughed, and it really set my belly to boiling.
“I can help you with him too,” someone said.
I whipped my head left, then right, but everyone was eating. Then I realized whose voice it was. Orwhat'svoice. Of course, I couldn't reply. I didn't want to look crazy, nor did I want to explain that I'd been talking to the Death Magic. It had gone on long enough that my men would be livid with me for keeping it a secret. But my thoughts scoffed at Death. He couldn't manipulate someone's feelings.
As if he heard me, Death said, “I wouldn't be forcing him to love you, just arranging things to put you in a better light. Ingratiate you to him.”
I didn't want to know what that meant.
