Behind us, a sound tore through the cavern. Half growl, half curse. It was raw, guttural, and it made the fine hairs on my arms stand up. The air temperature spiked instantly, the scent of ozone abruptly overpowered by the smell of wood smoke and molten gold.
Kaelen.
Flynn’s lips curled against the sensitive pulse point of my throat, his teeth grazing the skin there. "Do you hear that?" he murmured, sounding amused, triumphant. "The Dragon is jealous."
"I don't care," I breathed, tilting my head to give him better access.
That wasn’t entirely true. I couldfeelKaelen’s jealousy, a scorching brand searing through the bond. But it wasn't the petty jealousy of a spurned lover. It waswant. A mirror of Flynn’s hunger, but darker, more controlled, yet no less intense. It was the slow, deliberate burn of a warrior used to commanding armies, now confronted with something,someone,he couldn’t simply order to surrender.
Flynn’s teeth scraped over my collarbone, his breath hot and damp against my skin. "Liar. You feel him burning."
I tangled my fingers in Flynn's shaggy hair, yanking his head back just enough to force him to meet my gaze. His amber eyes were wild, reflecting the golden light pulsing beneath my skin like twin mirrors. "Prove it," I whispered. "Make me forget him."
His laugh was a dark, hungry thing that vibrated against my chest. Then his mouth was on mine again, consuming, his hands sliding under the ruined fabric of my tunic. His palms were rough and calloused, scratching delightfully against my ribs. The moment his bare skin met my bare waist, the golden veins flared so bright the cavern strobed like the heart of a forge, casting jagged, dancing shadows against the ancient walls.
The bondscreamed.
And then Kaelen’s control snapped.
One second, Flynn and I were a tangle of limbs and teeth and desperate hands. The next, a wave of heat and dominance washed over us, overwhelming and absolute.
Kaelen was there, his presence immense. He hauled me off Flynn’s lap with a possessive snarl, his fingers digging into my hips with a force that brooked no argument.
I barely had time to gasp before he spun me around, pressing me flat against the cavern wall. The stone was cold and rough against my back, biting into my skin, but Kaelen’s body was a furnace against my front. His chest heaved, pressing me into the rock, his golden eyes burning with something feral, something that looked less like a man and more like the beast buried beneath.
"Mine," he growled, the word a decree, and his mouth crashed against mine.
It wasn’t a kiss. It was a conquest.
His tongue swept past my lips, claiming every inch of my mouth, marking me, tasting of smoke and gold and something ancient and terrifying. His hands were everywhere at once, one tangled in my hair, yanking my head back to expose the column of my throat, the other mapping the curve of my waist, my hip, my thigh. He touched me as if he were memorizing the terrain of a battlefield he intended to ravage and rebuild in his image. I could taste the dragon in him, the fire and the storm, and gods, it burned in the best way.
Flynn didn’t protest the interruption. He crowded in behind me, forcing me to use him instead of the wall that Kaelen had originally pinned me against. My back now rested against a wall of wiry muscle instead of one of stone, his hands joining Kaelen’s in their exploration.
The dual touch, fire and storm, the Dragon's rigorous control and the Wolf's chaotic instinct, sent my senses reeling. I was trapped between them, a conduit for their power.
Kaelen’s fingers dug into my hip, possessive and anchoring, while Flynn’s hands slid up to cup my breasts, his thumbs circling my nipples. The sensation was too much and yet not nearly enough, a sharp, electric pleasure that made me arch between them like a live wire caught in a feedback loop.
This.This was what I wanted.
I didn't want gentle and slow. Nor did I want the careful, measured touches of a lover who feared breaking me. I had been broken my whole life by silence and blood.
I wanted to beconsumed.
I wanted the fire and the teeth, and the hands that left marks. I wanted the bond to burn me alive and forge me into something new.
Kaelen’s teeth found the red mark Flynn had left on my throat earlier, biting down hard enough to make me cry out, a sharp sound that echoed off the damp walls. The golden light beneath my skin exploded, searing through my veins, and I couldfeelthem, all of them, through the bond. Kaelen’s possessive triumph, Flynn’s wild satisfaction, the way their desires tangled with my own, a knot of need so tight it was nearly painful.
Then the earth shifted. Thane was there.
His presence was different. It was a quiet rumble of thunder in the distance, a steady hand settling on my hip. He grounded me instantly, even as he stoked the fire higher.
"Easy, brother," he murmured, his voice a low, vibrating distinct bass, rough with intent.
His touch was large, encompassing, but unlike the frantic heat of the others, it was heavy and sure. He pressed a kiss to my exposed shoulder, his lips warm against the goldenmarks spreading across my skin like wildfire. His scent wrapped around me, fresh pine needles, damp earth, and a faint hint of deep forest honey, cutting through the acrid smoke and the metallic tang of the storm. He was the anchor that kept me from floating away, a balm and a brand all at once.
Elias was the last to join us, drifting in like smoke. His long, cool fingers threaded into my hair, tilting my head back just enough to divert my attention from Kaelen's assault. I met his gaze; his turquoise eyes were glowing, bright with a luminescence that wasn’t just magic. It was awe.
His mouth found mine, his kiss slow, deep, and devastatingly poetic, a counterpoint to the frantic heat of the others. It tasted of ashes and ancient sorrow, of a hope so fragile it might shatter. When he pulled back, his breath was unsteady, his forehead resting against my temple.
