Page 40 of Sunken Empire

I get caught up in the moment and tilt my head back with a laugh. When we stop spinning, smiles grace Zanthus and Zale's faces as well, but doubt creeps back in.

"What happened down below?" I try again.

With my head now tucked beneath Zeph's chin, I can only watch the other two's exchange as they look to each other then back to me.

"Well," Zale starts, "we were honestly expecting you to be able to communicate with us underwater like we can with each other."

"Wait, what?" I ask stupidly.

"We can speak telepathically to each other while in this form," Zanthus clarifies. "As our mate, we assumed you would have this same ability."

"So, I am in fact defective," I blurt.

Zale shakes his head, closing the distance between us to softly yank me from within Zeph's arms and into his. His mouth secures itself to my own, leaving no room for argument. Our tails brush against each other and I let out a gasp of sound that’s quickly swallowed by him. The sensation is damn near the same of having him bury his face between my thighs again. Another brush against the back side of my tail near the top has my head tilting back while my eyes roll up in my head. Zephyr's soft chuckle in my ear lets me know he's the one responsible and doesn't feel the least bit sorry for it either.

The angle in which my head has fallen back against his shoulder leaves the perfect opening for Zale to lean down to flutter his lips across my throat. Not one to miss an opportunity, Zanthus is the last to make his way over to us. Locking my chin between his thumb and index finger, he guides our lips together. As soon as they touch, I open mine, matching him step for step with greedy aggression. When his scales skim against the side of my hip, I don't fight another groan.

Before being brought into this realm, and even a little while after if I'm honest, I would've been ashamed at my behavior now. Having the attention of three men on me at once. Hands, mouths, and fins touching all over. One indistinguishable from the next. Zanthus had said sex was more fun in our human forms, but I still feel that fire settling deep within my lower belly. The thought of the four of us crowded in my bed upstairs is enough to send my magic racing beneath my skin again, shifting my tail back into my human legs. Instantly, I wrap them around Zale's waist, and I feel him smile against my skin. Zeph's teeth sink softly into the meaty part of my ear, and I rock myself against his brother while grabbing a handful of Zanthus’ hair and yanking him even tighter against me.

"I think we're slacking in duties and leaving our mate wanting, brothers," Zale says, his breath whispering across my heated skin.

Zeph chuckles in my ear. "Want to move the party upstairs, little siren?"

Upstairs, downstairs, right here in the water. How about any or all of the above? If it wasn't for knowing we'd all end up with sandy cracks, I'd tell them not to bother with the trouble of going up. I'd gladly take them all right here. However, I'd rather not have sand in places that shouldn't have it for days to come. So, instead, I break away from Zanthus long enough to lock gazes with him then Zale before giving them a nod.

Zale wraps an arm around my lower back and one underneath my thigh as his brothers move away, leaving me to miss their warmth immediately. As they shift back into their human forms, the magic is like a caress against my skin, much stronger than the other times I've felt it. Something tells me that we're missing a piece to our whole puzzle. Then the number pops back into my head. It can't be referring to us, because we're already a group of four. Still though, the feeling nags at me.

"Why do you think I can't talk to you the way you do each other?" I ask, leaning my torso back and capturing Zale's gaze.

His eyes flick from mine down my naked chest then back up again as he seems to be finding the right words, "My assumption places blame on the unbroken curse more than anything to do with you personally, damselfish. You may have given us our magic back, but we're still trapped here. Until all is said and done, I don't think any of us can expect the normal of what we were used to before."

"I'm sorry," I whisper sadly, letting my eyes drop to his chin.

"Don't be," he says, touching our foreheads together. "That just means we have more time to appreciate and love on our beautiful mate before we're thrown back into chaos. I could get used to the idea of keeping you naked in bed for the next couple of months."

"So scandalous," I tease, barely containing my smile. "Would they have allowed that in the kingdom? We would've been the talk of the royal court, my prince."

His cheeks pull up as his smile mirrors mine and he confesses, "I used to hate that title, but I think that's only because you weren't the one saying it."

Warmth radiates through my chest, drawing me toward him. I let my lips drag down his jawline, the small amount of scruff there leaving a slight scratchy feel on my face.

"You never did answer the question," I whisper in his ear. "Would we have been in royal trouble? My prince."

I tack the last on just to see if it'll spur another reaction from him, and I'm not disappointed. His chest shudders with a shaky breath as his arms tighten around me. Glancing over his shoulder, I catch Zeph's gaze as he watches us. Noticing my attention on him, one side of his lips pulls up, and I shoot him a quick wink. This earns me a teeth-showing smirk. Gods, my mates are freaking gorgeous. All three of them. I don't even have to look to the front where Zanthus leads us. I can picture his ass in those jeans just fine without the visual.

Taking Zale's face between my palms, I stare hard into the depths of those blue eyes, thinking I must be the luckiest woman in the world, before smashing our lips together. He doesn't stumble or miss a stair at the distraction. I think it's a safe bet to say we both trust the other two to guide us to the room safely. Like I thought downstairs, I wouldn't really care if he decided to lay me down on the rug right here in the hallway. I just need to be close to them and have one of them inside of me right now.

I'm not even aware of where we are in the Keep nor where we're headed. I'm so concentrated on my mate that it isn't until I feel a soft mattress at my back that I realize we've made it somewhere.

"Are we going to be allowed to walk all over the kingdom naked when we get there?" I tease, running a hand down Zale's bare chest.

He and Zephyr chuckle as Zanthus actually cracks a smile himself and replies, "I'm truly beginning to wish I had mind reading abilities. Is this the kind of random thing you think about every time we're intimate, love?"

I catch his gaze and snicker. "Maybe, or it could be a lot worse." Slowly dragging my eyes down the front of his naked form, I pause dramatically on his cock already standing at attention and waggle my eyebrows playfully.

Zeph jumps onto the bed beside Zale and me, jostling us slightly as he drops his face to my left breast and captures the nipple between his lips. His breath fans against my skin as he murmurs, "I love the off topic questions, though, I must say I'm with my brother on this one. I'd love it even more to know what's always going on inside that beautiful crazy mind of yours, little siren. Don't squander the element of surprise."

The last is said with a quick scratch of his teeth across the already sensitive flesh, drawing a moan from me. I might have something interesting to tell them if my brain hadn't in fact sputtered to a stop. So I say the only thing I can think of at the moment. "Please."

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