Page 32 of Fool's Bargain

She was a girl after my own heart, taking her pleasure from one satyr while giving to another. Dorian’s glistening cock slipped from between her lips and her hips ceased their undulations over Kyril’s face as she turned to me in surprise.

“Theo, who is she?” I whispered to my teacher, who had appeared at the concert mere moments after my own arrival. He’d looked surprised at first, then shocked when I explained that not only had Neph sent me after them, but that I was also answering a call from Fate via Deva’s music. Now we were here and the woman from my vision was right before me in the flesh, every bit as naked as I remembered. Every detail of her elaborate markings was true to what I’d seen.

“Her name is Zarya. She is amazing, isn’t she?”

My heartbeat thudded hard. This woman looked like a nymph. All that was missing were the swirling irises and she’d be indistinguishable from any of my sisters. Except she wasn’t one. She was even better because she was mine. I was so sure she was the one, it didn’t quite register that my teachers had found her first. I’d answered a call from Deva Rainsong and the route to the end of such a call was never a straight path, or so I’d been told.

Steam rose up from the pool beside us, but the air was still cooler than I preferred and I was grateful for Neph’s instructions to pack for colder weather. But my leathers suddenly felt too constricting considering how very naked those three were, yet I didn’t want to insinuate myself into the fun without an invitation.

I strolled over, pausing right beside them and holding my breath, hoping that I didn’t have to explain to her what my presence really meant. Had she heard a call too? It was supposed to work both ways.

She gazed up at me, our eyes locking for a beat that seemed to last an eternity. After a second her lips parted with a little gasp as recognition seemed to hit. Something akin to elation shot through me with that look, though I had no idea why. I’d just arrived while she already looked thoroughly pleasured, Dorian’s flagging cock barely inches from her mouth and his fingers still tangled in her hair.

“Ione,” Dorian said in a breathless rasp. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Hoping to have my turn, if you’re almost finished.” I lifted one eyebrow, gaze tracking from Zarya’s face to Dorian’s naked body. How strange that not more than a few hours ago I’d fucked myself while thinking of him pleasuring her. My vision had been detailed but this was even better than the fantasy. A smile tugged at my lips as I let my gaze fall down between her legs where Kyril stared up at me, his tongue still teasing aftershocks from her pussy. She was too breathless to speak, her confusion both arousing and endearing.

I smirked as I squatted down in front of her, lifting my hand to cup her chin, and swiped my thumb across her lower lip. When I pulled it back, the pad of my thumb glistened with moisture. “Never let a drop of this man’s essence go to waste, my love. He is too delicious.” Then I slid my thumb into my mouth, sucking it clean of Dorian’s sweet flavor.

Theo’s footsteps closed the distance behind me and he squeezed my shoulder. I sent a silent thank-you through the faint meld we still shared but didn’t take my eyes off her. She was just how I remembered her in the vision, with straight, black hair and fair skin marked by elaborate, colorful designs all the way up her arms and across her chest.

“She was at the show when I went back for the booze,” Theo said. “Apparently Neph sent her after us when we didn’t show for the party in the Haven.” He snorted. “You guys couldn’t wait? I was coming right back.”

Dorian cleared his throat. “She’s only one woman, Theo. We can’t all go at her at once. Besides, she insisted on saving you the honor of fucking her first.”

“Did she?” Theo’s clothing hit the ground beside me and he moved to stand at Kyril’s head, peering down. “You finished feasting yet, brother? Care to give me a go before you wear her out?”

Their overeager attitude toward her finally sank in. “Wait,” I said, standing and pressing my hand to Theo’s chest. “How the hell did you three wind up finding her? She’smine.” I would fight for her too if I had to.

Beneath my hand, a brilliant symbol flared to life over Theo’s solar plexus. I snapped my hand back with a start.

“I beg to differ,” Theo said. “The Diviner herself promised to help us find a mate. These marks led us to her.”

“My ownsoulled me,” I said. “I saw her face in a vision this morning during my meditations. Ever since, I’ve been hearing music I’ve never heard before. Isn’t that how the chimera’s hounds work? They sing to our souls and lead us to our soul mates.”

“You heard a song?” she asked, startled by that detail. She gently urged Kyril to cease his teasing, reached out to grab Dorian’s arm, and hauled herself to her feet. Kyril sat up and turned to face us, licking her juices off his lips. A pang of envy shot through me and I resisted bending down to sample her from his mouth. “Was it this one?” Then she took a breath and sang a verse of a song.

I was thrown back into the vision, the music thrumming inside my mind, and I began to sing along as if by reflex. The rhythm of the drumbeat filled my head and her voice sank under my skin. She gravitated closer to me, her eyes bright and hypnotized with wonder.

“What the fuck is happening?” Kyril asked, standing and taking a step closer to us, shoulders tensed. “Ione, Zarya isourmate.”

She and I locked gazes and she shook her head slowly, the song trailing off. “Not just yours,” she rasped. She drank me in like I was sustenance, her gaze sliding down my body. I longed to meld her, to know what thoughts were going through her head. She’d already become acquainted with three powerful satyrs, yet she still seemed eager to know me just as intimately. This could not have been a mistake.

“You see that I’m yours?” I asked.

“Deva sang that song with me today. By singing it, she said it would help her hounds find you. That our souls would resonate to the same music.” She glanced at the three men, frowning. “Didn’t you hear a song too?”

Theo shook his head. “Not unless you count the one we danced to. But your nature called to us. That can’t have been an accident. Music or no music, I believe we are fated.”

Even I had to admit her draw to the three men was visceral. She flexed her fist involuntarily, as if suppressing a need to reach out and touch them. I resisted the urge to reach out and touch her. It had to be her choice. If there was any chance I was wrong, I didn’t want to be the one to stand in the way of their happiness—three thousand years of torture meant they’d earned it. But I hoped I was right. Or that by some miracle she might choose us all.

She let her gaze drift between the three men. Theo stood shirtless, his jeans bulging at the crotch. The other two had grown hard again.

When she looked at me with a helpless expression, I gave a slight shrug. It couldn’t hurt to make the suggestion. “I am more than willing to share you with them if that’s what you wish. We are Thiasoi. They are my teachers. Together we can conquer your pleasure so thoroughly you will never want for more.”

Her mouth turned up at one corner and her eyes glinted with desire. “Once I have a taste of you, I doubt I’ll ever get enough.” She closed the distance between us until her nipples grazed the supple leather of my bustier. I was a few inches taller than her but she was naked and barefoot while I was in tall boots. Despite my stature, I was ready to surrender to her completely.

A zing of elation shot through me. She reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, then grazed her fingertips along the outer edge, bumping along the abalone studs that adorned the upper curve. I held perfectly still as she explored me, her touch grazing the side of my throat. My pulse pounded and my mouth went dry. Leaning up on her toes, she pressed her mouth to that spot, just beneath my left ear, letting her tongue trace the path of the blood flowing beneath my skin.

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