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“If you want me to stop, baby girl, I will.” Kenan’s voice says from behind me, the thick head of him against my entrance but maintaining control. I feel the hesitation in his words and watch as Tobias’s eyes flick to behind me. A quiet conversation happening for just the briefest moment has Kenan pulling back.

“Don’t you dare stop, Kenan.” I move backwards, which has Kenan pushing into me, at a much more rough pace than was planned.

“Fucking hell, Kitten,” Kenan groans as he continues and I ride Tobias once more – taking Kenan inch by inch.

“God,” Kenan groans when he’s seated inside me. “You feel incredible.”

The feeling of fullness is overwhelming — both of them inside me, connected to me and, through me, to each other. For a moment, none of us move, the only sound is our ragged breathing filling the tent.

“You okay?” Tobias asks, searching my face for the slightest moment of discomfort, and looking back towards Kenan, who is leaning down to kiss the back of my neck.

I nod, because this is the most ‘okay’ I have felt in a long time. I feel incredible, worshipped … loved.

When they begin to move, it's a careful choreography — Tobias withdrawing as Kenan pushes forward, never leaving me empty. The discomfort and awkwardness leave, replaced by a pleasure so intense I can barely breathe.

Kenan’s arms wrap around my waist, pulling me flush against him. Tobias’s upper body follows and Kenan’s other hand tangles into Tobias’s hair. They move faster now, finding a pace that has me crying out with each thrust. I moan, stars blooming behind my eyes as I sit between the two of them. Not a moment passes without one of them thrusting, kissing, or biting my skin.

The pressure builds inside me, a tidal wave that threatens to crash over all of us. When I feel Tobias’s rhythm quicken— I know he feels my pussy clenching around him. Kenan’s teeth scrape against my shoulder, his fingers twisting my nipple while Tobias twirls the other. My breath quickens, and I fall over the abyss of pleasure that’s been begging to be released.

I clench around both of their cocks, my body shuddering as mind numbing pleasure rolls through me. I arch my neck against Kenan, who catches it gladly in his hold as my fingers dig into Tobias’s chest. My eyes are closed as lips seem to graze every part of my upper body while the stars and the euphoric feelings keep me happily captured.

Tobias follows in his own orgasm shortly after, his fingers digging into my hips as he empties himself inside me with a groan. Kenan’s hand tightens around my throat as he grabs Tobias’s neck as well. Pressing us all closer together, his thrusts become more erratic and he chases his own release. His forehead presses against my shoulder, and I feel rather than hear Tobias’s name along with mine as he finally stills from pulsing deep inside me.

We stay this way, locked together in a tangle of limp bodies. Then, with careful movements, Kenan eases away. I whimper at the departure because of my sensitive state, but his hands are there, immediately cupping my ass, soothing me as he lifts me off Tobias, and pulling me into his chest before turning slightly.

I collapse between them on the bed, my body still trembling with aftershocks. Tobias brushes damp hair from my forehead. “You’re remarkable,” he murmurs, pressing a kiss to my temple. Kenan stretches out beside me, his hand finding Tobias’s across my body, their fingers intertwine on my stomach.

“This will change everything,” Kenan whispers, while I give into a sleep that desperately calls to me.

“It already has,” Tobias replies.

Chapter 24

Standing at the edge of the tent, the canvas flap is pulled back just enough to let a little of the glow from the lanterns outside spill across my bare feet. Tobias and Emerson sleep together tangled in the sheets that still smell of us – sweat, sex … and something really close to hope.

I step outside, careful not to disturb them as the air hits my skin. I flex my fingers, still feeling the ghost of Emerson’s skin against mine. My lips are still tingling from feeling them both. The way Tobias looked at me earlier, it was like something broken had finally been mended. The way he let go of that carefully crafted control he loves so much beneath my touch, as he always had, reminded me of all the years we’ve shared.

I run a hand through my dark hair while my gaze drifts to where The Carnival grounds end. Most would assume it’s just a shadow lurking beneath the light of the lanterns, but I know better. All the souls trapped within its grounds do. I see how it pulls and twists, begging to be released and remembered. The In-Between bleeds through there, that realm where we exist during the seven years between manifestations on Earth. How it decides where we appear, what darkened trees or plains we take over … I don’t know. But the In-Between remains.

I remember my first time there, the way the landscape had shifted and warped around me. How I screamed until my throat bled as the Patrons took their turns with me. Now, I look up at the sky, the beauty of the true stars that twinkle in the darkness. It’s something I enjoy immensely, because the second worst part of the In-Between is that when you stare into the darkness, you just know something is looking back at you.

The worst part? The amphitheater. The fucking amphitheater, where they bring the new ones to entertain the Patrons.

I can still see their hollow eyes. Creatures that traded their souls for power, for pleasure, for the chance to feast. Not only does The Carnival deal with the souls of the innocent, but it will make a very pleasurable deal to those who are evil to their core. Those who are a plague on everyone around them.

Even after all these years, I can still feel their hands. Not completely dead, but not mortal either. Some sick, twisted entity caught between life and death, seeking nothing more than to control. I know how they held me down, their hands cold and dry as paper as they ripped my clothes. As their hands went between my legs, while they —

“Can’t sleep?”

I flinch, my hand automatically reaching for the knife I keep on me. Not that it would do anything for the souls in the In-Between, but it’s a reflex to at least try to protect myself. I take a sigh of relief as Tobias stands a few feet away, wearing nothing but loose dark blue pants that hang low on his hips. His chest is bare, the intricate tattoos beautiful despite their meaning. He told Emerson a shortened version of the truth. Some are symbols that I don’t understand – some I know are icons. Things he thought or saw in his mirrors as he took the white tickets, he is the one to feel if they have enough magic or “potential” to stay.

“Fuck’s sake,” I mutter. “Make some noise next time.”

“Sorry,” he smirks, walking closer to me, “thought you could feel me when I’m watching?”

I smirk, but an awkward silence stretches between us. Normally I can, the way his glacier eyes feel as they track the lines of my body is something I’ll never forget. Even if I don’t consciously know he is there, my body seems to. My dick will twitch with memories, or my hair will stand on the back of my neck – except when I’m lost in the darkness of the In-Between.

“She’s still asleep,” he says, breaking the silence and nodding toward the tent. Emerson. A safe topic, the one that for some reason has brought us back to where we were. We can discuss her, because it’s the one thing that we share. The years between us feel like a crevice, both of us too stubborn in our own ways to want to approach it.