“Salina?” Cyrus whispered.
“Selene,” Jake corrected him.
“I love you,” I said to Cyrus. Then to Jake, “I love you.” And Lex. “I love you.”
“We love you too,Selene,” Jake said. It felt even more momentous coming from him.
“I don't know when it happened,” Lex said.
“But it has,” Cyrus finished. “I love you, you beautiful, brave, annoying woman.”
The semi-adoring words didn't stop. They kept falling from their lips as they moved closer, hands hesitating at first, then sliding over me possessively. A feeling of “at last” poured through me. It was as if I'd been waiting my entire existence to be touched by these men. My heart hurt, it beat so powerfully. Then it acclimated, and I realized that love isn't painful at all. It's a pleasure so sublime that it has no equal.
And I wasn't alone in it.
Their words were unnecessary. I could feel their love. It seeped through their hands, lips, and bodies. From their flesh. It was in their intoxicating scents. Everything about my hounds screamed that they loved me. Beyond mortal love. Beyond anything I thought was possible. They were worth every second of torment that I had endured to get to them.
“Look at me.” I stopped Cyrus as he moved down, between my legs.
All three hounds focused on me.
“I have been cursed for centuries, masked in mortality, and tormented for stealing love.” I stroked their chests and cheeks. “But I'm grateful for all of it because it led me here. I need you to know that. You were worth it. Each of you is worth a hundred times what I suffered.”
“Selene, you will never be tormented again,” Cyrus vowed.
“Oh, I know, baby.” I grinned. “You don't have to protect me anymore. I will protect you.” I began to glow again. My moonshine encased us in love, magic, and safety. “Nothing will hurt us now. And no one is ever coming between us again.”
The men started to close in on me.
“But.” I lifted a hand.
They paused.
“Know that once we claim each other, there is no turning back.”
“Sweetheart, we've always known that.” Jake leaned down and kissed me.
The kiss sent pleasure surging through my body. How had I been so ignorant of this? I never knew that love could make physical sensations more erotic. More luscious. Just more. I arched into Cyrus's mouth, opening for him. His hot tongue split me as I tangled tongues with Jake. Meanwhile, Lex fed at my right breast, his shaft pumping against my hip.
So much to feel. I couldn't process it all. Oh, wait. Yes, I could. Things that were too much for my human brain were nothing now. I could think faster. See clearer. And I knew that this wasn't just destiny, it was also the path to my perfect joy. I gathered my hounds to me—one hand in Jake's hair, the other across Lex's broad shoulders, and my left leg hooked around Cyrus.
I didn't need them to be inside me. I could claim them at any time. All I needed was their willingness. And they were certainly that.
My magic traveled through my moonlight. And my moonlight already flowed from me. All I had to do was send it deeper. Into them. Past flesh and bone. Deep into their souls.
The men cried out, bodies arching as moonlight shone through their skin. The light claimed them, burning away the bidents from Jake's chest, Lex's back, and Cyrus's arm. With the marks of Hades vanishing, their hips simultaneously jerked forward while their hands clutched me and their shafts anointed my new/old body. I sighed as the hot liquid hit me, the sensation adding to the glorious rush of magic that returned to me—holding pieces of them inside it.
I hadn't lied to Hades when I said these men were now mine. I might allow them to continue working for him, but it would be voluntary. They were not beholden to Hades anymore. Little did he know that when he offered me this deal, he was contracting with a goddess. And when you give something to a goddess, you don't get it back. I agreed to unmask Silas for him, and I did. Hades agreed to give me a new life and these three men to go with it. He had. Our bargain was nearly complete.
Now, for the final piece. I agreed to mate this Cerberus.
Holding the shuddering men close, I kissed their cheeks and whispered my love to them until they recovered. It didn't take long before they were staring at me with utter adoration, their hands stroking me again, and their words as loving as mine. Their bodies also rose to the occasion, and I sat up to put myself in the center of their circle.
“You're mine.” I looked each man in the eye. “Now, you get to make me yours. Together.”
They looked at each other.
Jake slid onto his back before me. Lex got to his knees beside him. Cyrus remained where he was but also got to his knees. Nothing more needed to be discussed. They knew what to do. Instincts were kicking in.
