Double Your Pleasure Bundle (28 page)

At least she hadn't gotten pregnant by him, all the gods be thanked!

"And you wanted more? But why come here?" Nomios persisted. "Why offer yourself to
us
?"

"Because I want a better life!" Melis exclaimed. Under the pressure of three pairs of golden eyes, she confessed: "Stathis—that's the boy I thought I was in love with—told his friends what I'd let him do to me. They started hounding me to let—let
them
..." Remembered rage choked her.

"What an ass," Phorbas remarked, with surprising sympathy. "But so many young men are. I'm sorry he treated you badly."

"But that's not all, is it?" asked Agreus.

"He—he married someone else. He was already betrothed and he never said a word to me!"

She was
not
going to cry. She had already wept so many tears.

"Then one of the boys I rejected told Mama and Papa that I'd become the village whore, so they cast me out. Without a dowry, without a family, I'm no one! I thought that maybe if I was a
philtata
, I'd be respected...safe. I'd have a home again!"

A thoughtful silence followed. Her hopes plummeted, though Nomios's strong, wonderful hands continued to knead her shoulders.

"And now you know that I let myself be despoiled," Melis added, in a small voice, when the silence became unbearable. "Do you want me to leave?"

She quailed at the thought of walking back down the mountain in the dark. But she might not have a choice, if the three of them rejected her now.

"No, by Dionysos! You don't get to escape from us
that
easily!" Phorbas exclaimed, slipping his arm around her waist as if he was afraid that she might rise and flee into the night.

"Sounds like you're still mostly a virgin," said Agreus, putting one large hand on her knee. "If you've only had sex one time, and with only one youth."

"Who probably didn't know what he was doing," Nomios added, sounding disgusted. "They never do at that age. Just grunt and thrust and hurry to finish. I bet he didn't even give you a climax."

Those words were so close to the mark that Melis stared at him in astonishment.

"I'll bet you don't even know that there are all kinds of way of having sex," Nomios continued. "But we'd like to teach you."

"For example, we could do it slow and gentle and teasing, and make you beg for it." Agreus smiled flirtatiously at her, and her face grew hot.

Nomios's cool hands stilled on her shoulders. "Or we could try it fast and hard and rough," he said, silkily. "It might leave you with some
very
interesting bruises."

His fingertips touched the pulse at the base of her throat, and she knew he felt how her pulse had jumped at his suggestion. Nomios chuckled, sounding delighted. "Brothers, we could teach our new
philtata
all kinds of things!"

Melis felt a hot throbbing between her thighs as her body kindled enthusiastically at their suggestions.

Stathis had finished so quickly, leaving her hungry and unsatisfied. But to be caressed, kissed, taken by
three
men...experienced, powerful men...

"Oho, I think she
likes
the idea of being ravished," Phorbas said, with disturbing insight.

He reached out and turned her face toward him. Cupping her chin in the cool palm of his hand, he studied her intently.

"Such a pretty mouth." Phorbas rubbed a callused thumb over her lips, and her heartbeat raced in response to the rough caress. "It'll be fun learning how to please you, so that we can make you scream with pleasure."

A wave of heat rushed through her, loosening her limbs, making her crave the treatment that Phorbas's words promised.

Nomios put his arms around her and spoke, his chin resting on her hair, his chest vibrating against her shoulders. "Little honeycomb, we like you. We want you to belong to us."

Relief rushed through her. They weren’t going to send her away, after all!

"If you say yes, then it's time to take the first step in formalizing your bond to us by making an offering to the goddess," Agreus said, his voice low with desire. He squeezed her knee. "
Will
you say yes to us, and become our
philtata?
"

All three of them were touching her, making her feel desirable. Safe.
Wanted
.

"Yes," said Melis.

Her voice shook, and it was suddenly hard to breathe. She had hoped fervently for the moment when she would finally be protected again. She had never dreamed it would be like
this.

"What kind of offering should I make?" Melis asked, looking around the sanctuary hall's bare interior.

Most of the temples she had visited conducted a lively trade in flowers, fruit, votive plaques, statuettes, and live animals just outside the hall.

But she had seen no such booths or pens on the grounds of the Temple of Lilith. A terrible thought struck her.

The goddess doesn't demand human sacrifices, does she?

Chapter Six – Offering

Agreus smiled at her, showing even white teeth. "A kiss. The goddess demands only a kiss as tribute, though it's doubly-significant if you offer Her your first kiss from a Child of Lilith."

"This will be your first kiss from one of us?" asked Nomios, lifting a lock of her unruly chestnut hair and tucking it behind her ear in an oddly affectionate gesture.

Melis nodded, and told him what she had told Sophia. "Before today, I'd never even
seen
a Child of Lilith. I was afraid that you might just be fairy tales."

Phorbas laughed at this. "No, we're flesh and blood, all right. With certain
needs
..." He leaned close and nibbled at a sensitive place on her neck, just below her ear. A jolt of pure pleasure raced down to the place between her legs. "Mmmm, can't wait to taste you," he murmured.

Melis shivered in response, a little frightened by her strong reaction to his touch.

Agreus rose from his place at Melis's side, and came to stand before her. "I'll kiss her first," he said, authoritatively.

He knelt before her, his handsome features intense with emotion, and put his hands on her shoulders. "With this kiss, I ask you to be my
philtata
, in Lilith's name."

He leaned forward, his face slowly drawing closer to hers, giving her time to pull back if she wanted.

She didn't want to. She had only been kissed by one other man, and she longed to discover whether the fire Stathis had kindled in her could be repeated with someone else.

Agreus's lips were cool as they brushed hers, gently at first. Their touch raised tantalizing shivers down Melis's spine as his firm mouth nibbled and caressed her lips. His golden eyes were half-closed, as if he were enjoying the experience as much as she was.

Slowly, he deepened the kiss, like someone savoring a sweet pastry, and licked at her lips until they parted to admit him. Unlike Stathis, who had plunged his tongue into her mouth as if ravishing her with it, Agreus courted her with swift, teasing touches of his tongue against hers.

Melis felt desire blossom in a sweet, throbbing ache between her legs. Her hands rose and slipped around his neck. His curly hair was soft and springy under her fingers as she pulled him closer, wanting more of his mouth.

He chuckled softly against her lips, as if pleased with her boldness. Then his kiss changed, and Melis's world shrank to the wet, hungry urgency of his mouth on hers.

When Agreus finally drew back, Melis felt as if something ancient and powerful had awakened inside of her. Something that hungered for the press of his hard body against hers.

She stared at him, every inch of skin alive with the desire for
more
.

His golden eyes were hot as he returned her look. He leaned back in to give her one more lingering kiss. "You rouse to my touch. Lilith has blessed me," he said, softly, reverently.

Every line of his body screamed reluctance as he pulled away from her embrace, and rose to his feet.

Nomios moved around the bench to take his place kneeling at her feet. His expression solemn, his voice as formal as his brother's, he said, "With this kiss, I ask you to be my
philtata
, in Lilith's name."

He cradled her face in his hands, looking at her as if she were something beautiful and precious. Then he began to kiss her, swift, light kisses that fluttered against her forehead, the lids of her eyes, and down her cheeks. Each touch of his lips left shivers in their wake.

She was tense with anticipation when his mouth finally closed over hers. Nomios kissed her deeply, appearing to enjoy her taste just as much as Agreus had, and made authoritative love to her mouth with his tongue, exploring every sensitive ridge and fold until she was clutching at his shoulders and panting.

His expression up until now had been sardonic, to match his words. But as he brought the kiss to a close and drew away from her, he gave her a smile of surpassing sweetness.

"Lilith has indeed blessed us," he said, sounding sincere.

He lifted her hands from his shoulders, and kissed each of her work-hardened palms in turn before stepping away.

"My turn!" Phorbas said eagerly, flinging himself down on his knees before her. "In Lilith's name, I want you for my
philtata
, so I'm going to kiss you now," he announced, eschewing his brothers' formality.

He grinned up at her, his face alight with mischief and desire, and Melis couldn't help smiling back.

Phorbas didn't bother with a slow seduction of lips, like Agreus and Nomios had. He rose on his knees, and urged her legs apart. When she obeyed, he moved forward to kneel between her knees, put his arms around her waist, and then slid his hard body against hers

His kiss was brash and demanding and just as arousing as the other kisses had been. Phorbas plundered her mouth, pressing himself against her until he was nearly sprawled on top of her.

For an instant, Melis thought his weight might topple them both backwards off the bench, but then she felt a hard male body brace her from behind.

"Really, baby brother, do you intend to ravish her on the spot?" Nomios drawled, his voice back to a sarcastic tone.

Phorbas ignored him but pulled back long enough to tell her, "You're so beautiful and you taste so good." Then he slanted his lips over hers once again, and devoured her mouth with eager ferocity.

Melis wrapped her legs around his torso and her arms around his neck, pulling him close, enjoying the feeling of hard male muscle against her soft curves. Phorbas was sliding his hands up and down her back as he kissed her. She felt the insistent press of his erection against her inner thigh, and her body responded with shocking heat.

She
wanted
him.

She wanted
all
of them, and wanted them as soon as possible.

What was happening to her?

Phorbas's kiss ended when Agreus grabbed him by the neck and pulled him forcibly away from Melis.

"Enough, Phorbas," Agreus snapped. "Lilith has blessed you, too...in case you had any doubts," he added, dryly.

Phorbas licked his lips. "Do think Theodoros will make her choose which one of us she's bound to? I've never heard of a
philtata
charm binding more than two people at a time."

"Then we'll make him bind her three times, one charm for each of us," Agreus said, confidently.

Feeling completely off-balance, Melis stared up at the three of them, lined up between the bench and the altar. "The kisses—were you testing me, just now?"

And did I pass the test, or fail it?

"Yes," answered Nomios. "When we saw you at the auction, we hoped that you might respond to each of us, but this was the only way to know."

"What would have happened if I only responded to one of you?" She couldn't help looking at Phorbas.

"We wouldn't have forced you, if that's what worries you," Agreus said, calmly. "If only one of our kisses had aroused you, then you would have been bound as
philtata
only to one of us."

"But we're
really
happy that you find all three of us bed-worthy," said Phorbas. He was smiling, as if she had done something wonderful.

"We've waited a long time for someone like you," said Nomios, the long, silver curtain of his hair shimmering in the lamplight.

"And now," said Agreus, briskly. "We still have to make the other part of the offering before the binding ceremony starts."

"There's another part to the offering?" Melis asked, feeling mingled trepidation and anticipation.

She felt dazed with the onslaught of new sensations. This entire experience was so far out of the realm of anything she had expected—or dared to dream of.

"We only gave you one kind of kiss," Agreus said, huskily. "And now we want to give you another kind. It's customary to make an offering of your first climax as a
philtata
."

Melis blinked. They were going to take her now?
Here
, in the goddess's sanctuary?

She pictured Agreus bending her over the bench, grabbing her hips in his strong hands, and pushing himself inside her, just as Stathis had done.

Melis squirmed on the hard surface of the bench. Oh Aphrodite, she was so aroused it hurt!

Even if being taken hurt like she remembered, it would feel so good...and would Nomios and Phorbas want to take their turn next?

"Let me," Phorbas said, his voice dropping to a husky growl. "You've never been pleasured by mouth before?"

She shook her head, remembering what the other
philtata
-candidate had told her about Phorbas.

Glancing down, she saw his erection straining against the front of his tunic.

She stared at it, fascinated.
She
had done this to him. The sense of power it gave her felt...intoxicating.

His smile widened as he sank to his knees before her. "You'll enjoy this. I swear it in Lilith's name."

Agreus and Nomios watched as Phorbas slowly pulled up the hem of her scarlet gown, baring the entire length of her legs. When he tried sliding it up past her hips, she reflexively put her hands over her lap, trying to preserve her modesty.

"Oh, now
that
won't do at all," Nomios said, his tone gently chiding.

He moved, and an instant later, he took her arm in a firm grip, and pulled it away from her lap. Agreus copied his action with her other arm. The two of them lifted her wrists above her head, simultaneously holding her captive and supporting her.

Melis tugged experimentally, but their grip on her was as strong and unyielding as a set of manacles. She realized that she was now completely in their power. They could do anything they wanted to her.

Her heart raced, but it was excitement rather than terror. Their kisses had been wicked delight beyond anything she could have imagined. What wonderful, pleasurable things would they do to her next?

"Don't worry," Agreus told her, misinterpreting the wild pounding of her pulse. "We're not going to hurt you."

Freed of interference, Phorbas slid his cool, callused hands slowly up the outside of her thighs, then higher, pushing the red silk up around her waist.

"Open your legs for me," he said softly, his golden gaze burning into her.

Her face grew hot, but she obeyed him. She had never exposed herself to a man like this, not even Stathis.

The beautiful silk gown still covered her breasts and shoulders, but she felt utterly naked under Phorbas's hot eyes. 

"Wider," he urged her. His hands moved to her inner thighs, pushing them apart, leaving her with no secrets.

"Beautiful," he said. "And so ready for me."

He bowed his head, and she gasped as he blew a teasing puff of air across her hot, swollen folds.

An instant later, she cried out in surprise and jerked as she felt him lick her, a long, slow, teasing caress over aching flesh.

Fragmented thoughts tumbled through her brain. Stathis had
never
...she had never imagined that a man would want to put his mouth
there
...

Phorbas's nimble tongue swirled around her entrance then penetrated her with its thick, slippery length.

He made a sound of pleasure, as if he had just gotten a mouthful of sweet honey, and withdrew, exploring her sensitive folds with slow deliberation.

Melis cried out again when she felt the tip of his tongue touch the sensitive nub at the top of her folds. She writhed as he began tease her with tiny, maddening licks, too light to satisfy the maddening urge that burned stronger and stronger in her.

The other two brothers kept a tight grip on her wrists, though Agreus began to stroke her unbound breasts through the smooth fabric of her gown. The silk amplified the brush of his fingers against their sensitive tips.

Melis moaned and arched towards the deliciously-tormenting sensation as her nipples stiffened and Phorbas's mouth continued to tease between her legs with wicked skill.

She writhed under that exquisite torment, desperate for more. Phorbas rewarded her by deepening his kiss at last, drawing her into his wet mouth with hungry intensity.

Melis felt pleasure gathering in her belly like the coils of a fiery serpent, drawing tighter and ever-hotter.

She panted, feeling that
something
intense was on the verge of happening to her, and that she was balanced on a knife's edge of control.

"You need just a little bit more, don't you, sweet Melis?" Nomios asked, softly. His free hand snaked down and lightly pinched one of her stiff nipples through the thin silk. 

Sharp pleasure rushed through her, straight to the place where Phorbas's tongue was torturing her so deliciously, and exploded in a burst of brilliant sensation.

Melis cried out and writhed in the grip of the three brothers as her first climax moved through her like a tidal wave, bearing her on a wave of almost-unbearable pleasure.