Page 47 of The Maestro's Mates
Not that he’d known many gargoyles that had survived long enough for that to happen.
“I won’t put you through that,” Pavel continued. “You are both young and have hundreds, maybe thousands of years ahead of you, and none of them should be spent taking care of me. There are two of you. You can have happiness without me.”
He hadn’t been looking at the two men, and so the cool hand against his face startled him. It was Justin who turned Pavel’s face toward his own. The sweet expression Pavel found there made his heart catch in his throat.
“And when do you get to be happy?”
Pavel shook his head. “I’ve lived for a very long time, I don’t need?—”
Justin put a finger up to the gargoyle’s lips, stopping the words on his tongue. In a single motion, Justin turned andstraddled Pavel. It was a good thing there was a pillow between Justin’s ass and Pavel’s cock, because it was rock hard and at attention.
The sight of the man was a treasure. Those thick blonde curls bounced as his lithe body, clad only in tiny white briefs, pressed up against Pavel’s torso. Justin’s arms snaked around his waist as the vampire’s head rested on his sternum.
His words came softly, spoken directly into Pavel’s chest.
“When doyouget to be happy?”
“I…” Pavel glanced at Sebastian, whose smirk had widened into a grin.
“I’m sure you thoughtIwould be the pain in the ass, but Justin is going to keep both of us wrapped around his finger.”
Pavel was stuck, and worse, hewantedto be. He reached down, putting his hand underneath Justin’s chin and lifting his head until he could see the man’s eyes.
“You shouldn’t be taking care of me. I’m older. I’m the gargoyle. I should be taking care of you.”
“Shh.” Justin wore an annoyed expression now, and for a moment, Pavel imagined what it would be like if the vampire ever got truly angry. It would be terrifying and, God help him, sexy as hell.
“If we are mates, then we take care of eachother.” Justin’s voice contained a hint of steel. “That’s not a burden.”
Justin didn’t know what he was getting into. Neither of them did. They wouldn’t want him anymore, once they found out he would fade away into unliving stone. Pavel was certain of it. He wanted to save them from that.
But in this moment of weakness, he wanted his mates more.
He craned his neck down and kissed Justin tenderly. The blonde man’s eyes widened with surprise, then closed as he kissed back. If Pavel’s kiss had been a first foray, Justin’s was an assault. It was filled with hunger and raw desperation.
Justin’s lips were soft, but his hand on Pavel’s neck was rough, using his vampire strength to pull the gargoyle toward him. For a moment, Pavel thought he would be devoured.
After a few moments, though, Justin pulled away. Sebastian had put a hand on Justin’s shoulder, stilling him. The witch locked eyes with him.
“We are your mates, Pavel. We won’t force you to be with us. If you don’t want to do this, you need to say so.”
It was wrong. It was a bad idea. It was, in fact, the worst idea to saddle these two with the curse of his fate. But at this moment, that knowledge wasn’t enough to stop him. These were his mates. They smelled and tasted like his. He knew he would regret it later, but he couldn’t help himself.
“It’s a mistake. But God help me, yes. I need you both. Right now.”
Chapter 18
Sebastian
Hearing those words, Sebastian couldn’t hold himself back any longer. His mouth was on Pavel’s, the gargoyle’s soft beard tickling his chin as he thrust his tongue into the man’s mouth. Pavel didn’t take even a moment to be shocked. Instead, his hand immediately went to the back of Sebastian’s neck, holding him tight as Pavel gave as good as he got. Their tongues wrestled for dominance, and Sebastian thrilled at the battle for control. His mate was strong, and he loved it.
Next to him, he could sense Justin, who was moving more carefully, slowly trailing kisses down from Pavel’s shoulder to his left nipple. Even as Sebastian and Pavel kissed, Sebastian could feel the hungry curiosity emanating from Justin as he explored Pavel’s body.
Pavel tasted of sweet smoke, the earthiness of a charred peach, and Sebastian would never get enough of this man. He absolutely would not let Pavel get away, no matter what the gargoyle thought should happen.
As Justin latched onto Pavel’s nipple, the gargoylemoaned into Sebastian’s mouth, and God, he was so hard, Sebastian must be leaking precum all over Pavel’s stomach. It was impossible for him to get any more turned on.
Until Justin ran his hand down Sebastian’s back, that is, his slender fingers finding their way tentatively to Sebastian’s underwear. The elastic stretched against his skin as Justin slipped beneath the waistband and cupped Sebastian’s ass.
