Page 47 of Fool's Bargain

“There’s no guarantee we can convince Fate to let them go if we do this,” Theo’s deep voice rumbled.

“Are you on board or not?” I asked, giving him a glare.

“I go where you go, Zarya.”

“And you’ll make it good for Ione? It’s her first time, after all.”

He arched a brow and Ione chuckled. “Come on, Zar,” she said, tugging on my arm. “Let’s go back to bed where it’s not so fucking frigid.”

I reached out for Theo’s hand and a split second later the three of us landed at the foot of my bed.

“Save your power for the trip to Fate,” Theo said. “The blood meld will let us combine our magic into one pool, but we’ll need every drop.”

“Uh huh, I get it.” I pushed him onto the bed, then nudged Ione. “Get started, you two. I’ll go get us a knife.”

From the kitchen I snagged my small but razor-sharp paring knife. But when I returned to the bedroom, the pair of them were just lying there, holding hands. “What did I just say?”

“We aren’t doing this without you,” Theo said.

“It feels wrong without you here,” Ione added.

“All right, then. I’m here. Do I have to choreograph the entire thing?”

Ione eyed the knife. “Why not just start with that? It’ll be different once we’re melded, I’m sure.”

“Who wants to go first?” I asked, holding up the knife.

Theo chuckled. “Why don’t you and Ione start?”

I slipped out of my robe and had the presence of mind to grab a clean hand towel out of the basket of fresh laundry resting on my armchair. When I turned back to Ione, her eyes were wide, swirling maelstroms. She scooted back along the bed as I came close, until her back hit my pillows. I climbed on the bed, straddling her lap and tugging the silky belt of her robe open.

“Take this off. If we get blood on it, I’ll never forgive you.”

She obeyed, shrugging out of the robe and tossing it to Theo, who returned it to its hanger on the back of my bathroom door.

“Are you ready?” I asked, pressing the sharp tip of the knife to the very base of my left palm.

“Yes,” Ione said.

I pressed until a sharp spike of pain shot into my hand. My entire body flushed with adrenaline and I hissed as the knife slipped from my hand. Ione scooped it up and a second later her own hand bled in the same spot as mine. She tossed the knife aside and held up her hand to me.

“Will you accept my blood and the link it offers? Will you protect my heart and my soul as if they were your own?”

Her words reverberated along the bond we’d already forged, the gravity of them sinking in. This was forever, what we were about to do. This wasn’t something I could ever avoid or run away from. But this was also everything I’d ever wanted, especially if it let us get Dorian and Kyril back.

“I will. Will you accept mine? Protect my heart and soul as if they were your own?”

She nodded. “Dion’s balls, yes!”

I grabbed her wrist, drawing her bleeding palm to my mouth just as she did the same with mine. The flavor of her blood covered my tongue, sinking in like rich wine. Her tongue teased against the puncture I’d made in my own flesh, stinging at first, then burning with pleasure as she sucked for a moment, then released me.

“So sweet,” she murmured, her eyes dark pools as she pulled me into a kiss.

We were lost in each other for only a moment before a big hand slid down my back and Theo rumbled in my ear, “Don’t hoard her, lover. This goes three ways.”

I cast a sidelong glance at him, then lifted Ione’s hand to my lips once again. I drew more of her blood onto my tongue, enjoying the soft gasp from her. Then I clasped Theo by the back of the neck and pressed my mouth to his, giving him his first taste of Ione’s blood. He leaned into the kiss, his big hand cupping the back of my head just as he reached for Ione with the other one. She let out a soft affirmation as she took his hand, the blood from the cut he’d made already dripping down his wrist, and gave it a long, slow lick.

A resonant growl rose up from within Theo’s chest, vibrating through our kiss, and I reached between us to stroke him. He released me and glanced down when Ione’s hand joined mine, watching us both stroke him for a second before clasping a big hand at the back of Ione’s head.

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