That was probably a good idea. “I’ve thought about it a little.” She bit down on her bottom lip as she considered her next words. “I loved being with both of you, but I don’t think I want that on a daily basis, you know?”
The memory of being between them, of being engulfed in so much sensuality, made her flush hot and reconsider what she’d just said.
“Agreed,” Mace and Blade said at the same time.
“But maybe like, once a year on our anniversary, we can be together like that.” She took their hands in hers, loving the instant comfort and affection that linked them. “You know, strengthen the mate-bond magic?”
“I don’t think that’s how it works,” Blade said, his voice going a little huskier at the topic of sex, “but it can’t hurt. If that’s what you want, we can work something out.”
Mace shifted on the couch to face her. “But what about the rest of the time?”
She inhaled a ragged breath as a wave of love and arousal washed over her, transferred through the bond from the guys. They were going to need her soon, and she couldn’t wait.
“What if you guys got adjoining suites?” she suggested. “We could have a door installed between them. We can just kind of play it by ear and need then.”
“I like that,” Blade said.
Mace agreed. “I do too.”
Another wave of desire rolled through her, and she realized that the guys were no longer paying any attention to the game. Their eyes, smoldering with banked heat, were on her.
She shivered with delight. “Technically,” she murmured, “it’s still our mating day. We could strengthen the bond even more—oof!”
She laughed as Mace hauled her into his arms and kissed her. Then her laugh turned to a moan as the kiss got hotter. A moment later, Blade was there instead, kissing her senseless.
Winding her arms around his neck, she held on as he lifted her off the sofa and carried her to the suite where they’d changed their lives forever. Mace kicked the door shut and prowled toward them, stripping off his shirt as he crossed the floor.
Smiling with anticipation, she let Blade put her down on the bed, where she admired her newdermoirethat announced that she belonged to not one, but two of her best friends.
They’d all known that nothing would ever be the same after the bonding ritual. And they were right.
Just not in the way they’d expected.
But now that she knew what to expect, she lay back on the mattress to watch the guys strip and soak up her good fortune. Someone Aleka could probably name had once said that greed wasn’t a money issue. It was a heart issue.
If that’s the case, she thought as two big, naked warriors descended upon her,I’m very greedy, indeed.
Epilogue
Revenant’s heavy footfalls echoed through the dark, narrow hallways, his gore-drenched boots leaving a trail of demon blood on the icy stone floor. People always associated Hell with heat, but the cold that permeated some of the underworld was, in some ways, even worse.
His black armor, shiny with the disgusting wetness associated with the butchery of battle, creaked as he strode past three dozen guards representing as many demon species.
The passageway seemed endless, so many demons—physical and mental. Revenant had grown up in these grotesque, twisted halls, raised by Satan himself in the bowels of this hideous stronghold.
He hated it here. Too many memories at every turn. He’d have razed the palace to the ground decades ago if it hadn’t been a strategic fortress at the apex of three regions run by warlords united only by a hatred of him. Those warlords were, in fact, why he was here. And why he was covered in gore.
“My lord.” The demon standing at the end of the hallway, his broad body blocking the entrance to Rev’s private residence, raised his clawed hand in a gesture of deference. “I assume the rebel leaders’ heads are gracing the fortress walls on spikes, and that their corpses are being boiled with root vegetables in my clan’s cook pots?”
“That’s…disturbingly specific.” Specific, but accurate. Gringe’s clan, in return for their mercenary services, demanded first pick of any dead enemies. Other clans and other demons got to scavenge the leftovers.
Gringe grunted. “Those rebellious heathens need to know what happens when they challenge the King of Hell.”
Whatever. Gringe and his entire clan wouldn’t hesitate to challenge Rev if they thought they could win or gain favor with Satan. Not that Satan could bestow any favors. Not right now, anyway. Revenant and his brother, Reaver, had locked that fucker up for a thousand-year sentence.
Thirty years later, Rev had managed to keep his enemies at bay, but he was no fool. As the centuries passed, and Satan’s release date drew nearer, Revenant would be contending with more frequent coup attempts. They’d grow larger in scale and involve more cooperative demon clans and factions.
“Sir.” Drudge, Rev’s Archon in charge of his intelligence and security apparatus, jogged up to him, his scaly feet clacking on the stone floor. “What did you want me to do with the traitors in the palace?”
