Page 60 of Magic Hunted
In the distance, rows of vegetables were visible through draping tree limbs filled with fruit. A faint breeze rustled the large fronds of the plants overhead.
“Three times? Once at the most,” Dias said, coming up behind me. I shivered as his body heat merged with mine.
“Haera is being generous. You bit the sand at least four times. She chose to look the other way out of pity,” Savvas said, moving to stand on my other side.
I glanced away to hide the smile that came too quickly to my lips. They’d won me with humor. Sharing stories of themselves, chatting freely with me. I’d always been a pariah. Never known what it meant for someone to seek me out for my company. To purposefully talk to me.
“What about Ashir?” Dias said.
“What about me?” Ashir said, sidling to my other side. Wherever we were, they always surrounded me, protecting me with their bodies in no particular pattern. Sometimes Savvas would be behind me, and Ashir and Dias on either side. Sometimes it was Dias. They had an unspoken arrangement that always had me in the middle.
“Taredd’s given you special treatment. I think he likes you more than Haera,” Dias said.
“I’m not in the running. Haera is his favorite,” Ashir said.
“How could she not be? She’s my favorite too.” Dias’ hand curved across my shoulder, stroking its hollow. Their hands on my skin woke a place inside me that sparked to life every time they touched me. I leaned backwards, my body swaying without conscious effort. My hair ruffled as a sigh escaped him when my back met his chest and a similar sigh flowed from my lungs.
He leaned over my shoulder, his lips teasing my temple. “I wish you could see what we see when we look at you, magic. I wish you could see the woman everyone sees.”
The truth of his words sank into me and grew hooks. I shivered as I turned in his arms, the lightness of the moment passing into something heavier. His gaze bored into me, dark and intense and I couldn’t look away. My abdomen grew heavy and my core throbbed. I slowly pressed my breasts and hips against his hard planes, reveling in his firm, hot body against mine.
“Can I kiss you, magic?” His voice was tight. His words a plea. One I couldn’t deny.
I nodded, languid desire unfurling deep within me. Inside my chest, the awakening light gray of dawn bled through the inky darkness. Pinholes of white light through, illuminating inside me, breathing lightness into me.
Dias dipped his head. My breath stuttered when he closed the final distance between us and claimed my lips with his.
Ashir reached around me to cup one of my breasts and Savvas purred, the gentle sound vibrating through my body, zinging straight to my clit. Arousal dampened my seam as desire roared to life. Never far away, if I were being honest with myself.
“Does it feel good kissing Dias, my heart? Is he kissing you the way you need to be kissed?” Savvas whispered, his hot breath tickling the flyaway strands of my hair.
Dias licked into my mouth, stroking his tongue against mine in a lash of passionate fire. I collapsed into the space between the three of them as Savvas and Ashir stepped closer.
Savvas nudged his nose along my neck, gently kissing a path from my shoulder to my ear while Ashir kneaded my breast and circled my nipple with his palm. Their scents blended. Cinnamon contrasted with fresh earth and the heady tang of citrus, becoming another scent all together.
Desire. Need. Mates.
My panther whispered in my ear, her needs merging with mine.
Yes. The simple word resounded through my mind, unfettered with darkness. It was pure and light andright.
Awareness cascaded across my skin, my cells blooming for their touch alone that had nothing to do with any bond and everything to do with the arousal shooting through me.
“Mate,” Ashir rasped. The word filled with intent and question simultaneously. He stroked my cheek, the gentle touch at odds with the heat simmering off his skin.
My chest vibrated as my panther rose to the surface and purred.
“My heart!” Savvas said, his face shining with awe. “I hear your panther.”
Dias smiled at me and it was like the sun shone from behind rain clouds. “She’s beautiful.” His tone was almost reverent.
“She’s purring for us. Purring for your mates,” Ashir said.
Mates. I looked at them, not as shifter alphas, but as a massive pool of affection I wanted to dive into. My knees buckled as a wave of arousal crashed through me, taking with it my ability to reason because what I felt was beyond all logic, even though there were no soul-lights to guide my way. No bond telling me what I should feel.
So if there was nothing to tell me what to feel, why was my blood flowing like lava? Why was my clit throbbing for attention? Why were my nipples so tight they were as hard as stone?
But then I didn’t care because for once I wanted what I never allowed myself to have. For once I just wanted to be wanted. To be loved.
