Page 43 of Darkness and Deceit
Kai still hasn’t moved. He watches from the foot of the bed, gaze burning. Silent. Steady. His presence is pressure, but not the kind that overwhelms. The kind that anchors.
I reach for him. “You too.”
His jaw tightens. Then he moves, slowly, carefully, like he’s checking every step. When he reaches me, he crouches in frontof the bed, his fingers brushing over my knee beneath the blanket. “If you want out at any point,” he says, an echo from his same words not that long ago, his voice like smoke, “just say it.”
“I won’t,” I whisper. “Iwantthis.”
Simon leans in first. His lips press to my neck, just below my ear, while Vaughn kisses my shoulder. Their hands map over me like they already know where I carry tension and where I crave touch.
Every part of me is pulled taut, but not from fear.
From want.
Kai slips the blanket back just enough to expose my legs, trailing his fingers along my calves as he presses soft, grounding kisses to the inside of my knee. I exhale slowly, head tipping back as Simon cups my face and deepens his kiss.
The world fades.
There’s no nightmare here. No whispers. No chains.
Only their hands. Their mouths. The weight of their bodies and the warmth of their breath.
Simon’s hand slips beneath the hem of my shirt while Vaughn murmurs something filthy against my skin that makes me shiver and laugh at the same time.
They don’t rush.
It’s not about taking.
It’s about giving.
Kai’s hand finds mine and laces our fingers together as his lips travel lower. Simon helps me shed my shirt. Vaughn strokes slow circles over my hip bone like he’s memorizing it.
Their touches burn away the cold the nightmare left behind. Their mouths replace fear with heat.
When Kai finally presses his lips between my thighs, my back arches. I don’t bite back the moan. I don’t apologize for needing this.
Simon’s breath brushes my ear. “That’s it. Let go.”
And I do.
I lose track of whose hands are where, which mouth is on my skin, whose voice is rasping praise into my neck. I only know that I am here—held, wanted, worshipped—and for the first time in too long, I feel whole.
Pleasure coils through me in deep, rising waves—then crashes, pulling a gasp from my throat as I clutch at whoever’s closest. My body pulses with the aftershock as Simon kisses my collarbone and Vaughn brushes my hair back, whispering, “Good girl.”
Kai lifts his head, eyes dark and intense as they lock with mine. He presses a kiss to my inner thigh, then slowly makes his way up my body. His lips graze my stomach, my ribs, the curve of my breast. When he reaches my mouth, the kiss is deep and consuming.
I’m trembling, but not from fear. From need. From the electric current running through my veins, ignited by their touch.
Simon’s hand cups my face, turning me towards him. His kiss is softer, a counterpoint to Kai’s intensity. Vaughn’s fingers trace patterns on my hip, teasing and playful.
“More,” I breathe against Simon’s lips.
They exchange glances, a silent communication passing between them. Then Simon gently pulls me onto his lap, my back pressed to his chest. Kai and Vaughn flank us on either side, their hands roaming over my sensitive skin. Simon’s arms encircle my waist, holding me securely against him as he trails kisses along my neck.
“Tell us what you want,” Kai murmurs, his voice low and husky.
I meet his gaze, feeling a surge of desire at the intensity in his eyes. “Everything,” I whisper. “I want to feel all of you.”
Vaughn grins, a wicked glint in his eye. “That can definitely be arranged.”
