Page 183 of Beasts of Mine

“Your appeal has been denied.” I answered Tavian as I passed the comb safely back to Luca, enjoying the offended set of his mouth far more than I should have.

“Malek?” Tavian asked as he looked toward him for support, raising both brows hopefully.

“She is correct.” Malek told Tavian, his expression completely serious while his fingers continued smoothing through the section Luca had finished.

“Luca?” Tavian asked, immediately turning toward his final possible ally.

“You created a knot.” Luca answered Tavian, holding up the rescued section of my hair as all the evidence he required.

“None of you appreciate talent.” Tavian muttered as he dropped back onto one elbow with wounded dignity. I laughed hard enough that I had to lean forward, and Luca caught my shoulder before I toppled sideways into him. The laughter faded gradually, but his hand stayed where it was, warm against me. Malek's fingers continued moving through my hair, slower now that most of the tangles were gone, while Tavian's palm eventually settled over my ankle again, his thumb tracing the bone in a much gentler motion than anything he'd attempted with my hair.

For a little while, nobody spoke. The room had grown darker around us, late sunlight turning the openings along the courtyard amber before fading beneath the canopy. Insects hummed outside the old stone walls, and somewhere farther away a bird called twice before the forest swallowed the sound. The stone beneath us had begun cooling after the heat of the day, making the warmth of the three men around me even more noticeable.

Luca's thumb moved once against my shoulder, Malek's fingers brushed the back of my neck, and Tavian's palm slid slowly from my ankle toward my calf.

The shift from teasing to something else happened quietly. Luca leaned in first and kissed my temple. When I turned toward him, the next kiss landed on my mouth—warm, slow, familiar. His tongue brushed mine and I opened for him with a soft sound that was already half croon, the vibration humming low through my chest as his hand tightened just enough on my shoulder to draw me closer.

Malek’s hand slid from my hair to the side of my neck, his thumb stroking beneath my ear while his mouth pressed against the opposite side of my throat. The deep, steady vibration of his purr traveled straight into my skin. Tavian moved closer, his lips finding the soft skin of my inner knee before traveling higher, open-mouthed and deliberate.

My breathing changed as slick gathered between my thighs, warm and unmistakable, while honey and jasmine strengthened through the blockers and mixed with cedar, citrus, sandalwood, earth, spice, and herbs until the whole nest smelled like us.

I kissed Luca harder, one hand fisting in his shirt. Malek’s mouth moved lower, his lips brushing just beneath my gland, while Tavian’s tongue traced the soft skin of my inner thigh. A small, involuntary croon vibrated in my chest before I could swallow it.

“There she is. Listen to her.” Tavian murmured against my skin, his voice already rough as his amber eyes lifted toward my face and his fingers tightened gently around my thigh.

Nobody tried to take over. Malek shifted when Luca needed more room, Tavian's hand slid beneath mine without knocking anyone away, and Luca kept kissing me while Malek's broad palm stroked down my stomach. No one seemed bothered by another Alpha touching me, and no one acted like he was waiting impatiently for the others to get out of the way.

Clothing disappeared in pieces. Luca lifted my shirt and Malek helped pull it over my head. Tavian eased my pants and underwear down my legs with more patience than I had ever seen from him, kissing each new inch of skin he uncovered. By the time I was naked in the middle of them, all three men smelled stronger—cedar and smoke, citrus and spice, sandalwood and herbs—and my own slick was already coating the insides of my thighs in a warm, glossy sheen.

Malek's mouth closed over one breast, his tongue circling the nipple until it tightened under the heat of him. Luca kissed down my stomach, open and slow, while Tavian settled between my thighs, amber eyes bright with hunger. He looked up at me once before lowering his head, and his tongue dragged through my slick in one long, deliberate stroke from entrance to clit.

“Fuck—Tavian—” I gasped, my back arching as my fingers twisted into the bedding and his mouth returned to me before I'd recovered from the first stroke.

Tavian moved slower the second time, spreading me open with his thumbs so he could lick deeper. The wet sound of his tongue moving through my slick filled the quiet room. Malek's arm tightened around my middle, holding me steady while Luca's mouth found the other side of my neck. Tavian sealed his mouth over my clit and sucked, his tongue flicking in tight, precise circles before two of his fingers slid through my slick and pushed inside me.

The stretch was easy because I was already so wet, but the sudden fullness still forced a sharp gasp out of me. He curled those fingers and found the place that made my thighs shake.

“Oh—god—” I moaned, my fingers tightening around Malek's forearm as Tavian curled them again and another jolt of pleasure rolled through my stomach.

Luca's hand slid down to cover one of my breasts, his thumb rolling the nipple in time with Tavian's tongue. Malek's mouth moved to my gland and he licked it carefully, no teeth, just the slow drag of his tongue that made more slick spill around Tavian's fingers. The combination of being filled, licked, kissed, and held pulled a long, shaky croon from my chest.

I was already close, and Tavian seemed to know it. He sucked harder, his fingers thrusting in a steady, wet rhythm—in, curl, out, in again—while the slick sounds grew louder. My hips jerked helplessly against his mouth, another croon breaking into a ragged moan as pressure gathered hard and fast low inside me.

I came with my walls clenching around his fingers, a sharp cry tearing from my throat as my entire body tightened. Slick coated Tavian's mouth and chin, and he kept licking me through the strongest pulses, slowing only when my thighs finally stopped shaking around him. When he lifted his head, his lips were shiny and his grin was wicked.

“Still banned from hair.” I managed, glaring weakly at Tavian even though my wrecked voice and trembling legs robbed the warning of most of its authority. Tavian laughed, low and pleased, wiping his mouth with the back of one hand before crawling slowly up my body.

“Want me?” Tavian asked, the playful edge disappearing from his voice as one hand braced beside my hip and the other rested against my thigh, his expression turning serious enough that the change caught my attention immediately.

“Yes. Yes, Tavian.” I answered him breathlessly as I reached for his shoulders and pulled him closer before he could mistake my silence for hesitation. He entered me slowly despite every impatient thing I knew about him. The stretch was thick and perfect, with slick easing the way while I still felt every inch as he pushed deeper—hot, hard, filling me until his hips met mine. A long, shaky moan left my throat while my walls fluttered around him.

“Evie—” Tavian groaned, his voice cracking as he buried his face against my neck and started purring hard enough that I could feel the vibration where our bodies joined.

Luca's fingers found my clit again, circling gently while Tavian held still inside me and gave my body time to adjust. Malek kissed my mouth, swallowing the softer crooning sounds I couldn't seem to stop making. When Tavian finally began to move, his thrusts were deep and steady, each one dragging through the slick with a wet, audible slide. Every time he bottomed out, blunt pressure struck somewhere sensitive enough to pull another helpless sound from me.

“Fuck—yes—” I moaned, lifting my hips to meet Tavian's next thrust as Luca's fingers tightened their rhythm against my clit and Malek's hand steadied my waist. Luca kept working me in small, precise circles while Malek's mouth moved between my lips and gland, scenting me heavily with one hand braced around my waist. I was surrounded by hands, mouths, purring, and the wet sound of Tavian fucking me without any part of it feeling like the men were fighting for space.

The second orgasm built fast enough that I barely had time to recognize it before my body tightened again. I came hard around Tavian's cock, my walls clamping down while a broken cry tore from my throat. Tavian groaned and thrust through it, chasing his own pleasure as the slick slap of skin against skin filled the nest and his knot began swelling at the base of his cock.