Eventide of the Bear (The Wild Hunt Legacy #3) (41 page)

For now… “Yes, little bear. We should.” The rightness of the moment filled Ryder, moving him forward. She was all pale, smooth skin covering luscious curves. He ran his finger down her arm. “I want to touch all of that silky skin.”

“Aye. You have too many clothes on, sweet honey bear,” Ben agreed and undid the back hooks of her bra.

Ryder slid the garment off and filled his palms with her full breasts.

Her pupils dilated.

Ben reached around to unzip her jeans and knelt to tug them down to her ankles. Since she was barefoot, Ryder gripped her waist and lifted her up so Ben could slide everything right off.

“By the God, you’re beautiful, Emma,” Ryder said. A confused flush lit her face and saddened him. She still didn’t believe she was lovely. He’d only been working on her insecurity for a few days. And now, he wouldn’t see her achieve complete confidence. Wouldn’t be the one to help her become more secure.

“Yes, you are so very beautiful.” Ben stood. Brushing Emma’s hair to one side, he kissed the curve of her neck and put his arms around her so he could fondle her breasts. “Mmmhmm, I do love these.”

Her laugh was husky with arousal and sadness. “You’re male. Of course you do.”

Stripping down, Ryder tossed his clothes in a heap on the floor. The cool air felt like a shock against his overheated skin.

She stared at his erect cock. “Um…I thought we were showering.”

Fuck, she was sweet.

“Oh, darlin’, you know we’re going to do more than that.” Ben turned her head far enough to ravage her mouth. “A lot more,” he whispered. His eyes revealed his sadness, even as he smiled down at her before pushing her gently into Ryder’s arms.

As Ben undressed, Ryder pulled Emma closer, storing up memories of how her smooth skin felt against his. How her female form padded her muscles to make enchanting curves for his hard hands to caress. Her breasts flattened against his chest as he tightened his embrace, and her stomach and pelvis cradled his shaft in softness. His whole body tightened with desire as he bent and took her mouth.

He looked up. Ben had disappeared. The shower turned on.

All right then.
He lifted Emma and cradled her close to his chest. As always, her expression held wonder, as if being carried made her feel special. If only he could stay, he’d carry her everywhere if that’s what she needed to feel as beautiful as she really was.

The warmly hued Mediterranean master bath had granite tile flooring and brownish-gold marble countertops. Smoky glass surrounded a shower easily capable of holding three people. An equally massive soaking tub stood in front of the arching tower windows. “Obviously built by a comfort-loving bear.”

“Damn straight.” Ben lowered the overhead lights to a seductive dimness.

When Ben held open the door to the rectangular shower area, Ryder carried Emma in. Water fell in a steady stream from three overhead rainfall devices. Hand-held showers hung neatly on the left and right walls.

As Ryder set Emma on her feet, Ben entered the shower, closed the door—and pushed her under one of the downpours.

Her hair was drenched immediately. Rather than screaming, she laughed. “You’re an evil bear.”

“Aye,” Ben agreed.

Ryder shook his head. Fuck, was anything finer than the way she enjoyed life? How could his love for her keep growing? He could swear the feeling had started the size of a pea and now felt more the size of a mountain—and the ache at the thought of losing her had grown to that size as well. If only they could stay.

Understanding in his gaze, Ben nodded to a container on the wall. “Shampoo.”

“Right.” While Ryder lathered Emma’s long hair, Ben started washing the dirt from her body, making chiding noises when he found scrapes and scratches. “Gonna have to talk with those cubs, tell them to play a little less rough.”

“Don’t you dare,”
Emma managed to say, “or I’ll wallop you.” Her last words sounded strangled as the scent of the males’ desire surrounded her, pulling her into a whirlpool of need. They both chuckled—and caressed her with firm, callused hands.

As Ryder’s strong fingers massaged conditioner into her hair, her eyes closed with pleasure.

Ben stopped soaping her breasts to tease her nipples to hard points.

“Benjamin.” Her attempt at a teacher’s admonishment was ruined by the tremor in her voice. Her whole body seemed to shimmer with arousal. “You two were the ones who needed showers.”

“You got a point, darlin’.” He filled her right hand with soap gel. “Clean us up. Me… then Ryder.” The utterly confident command sent a thrill of awareness through her.

Ben…and Ryder. Both of them. She wasn’t sure if the trembling in her center was from anticipation or anxiety. After she’d spent the night with Ryder last week, Ben had warned her that he and Ryder would soon share her.

He’d even been preparing her so she could take them together. Now the time had come.

And he’d given her something to do, bless him. “Wash you?” She hadn’t been very forward in their lovemaking, but the sensual set of his lips said he’d enjoy it if she touched him. A shiver of delight ran down her spine. She could enjoy him just as he did her.

She wanted to please them so badly her fingers trembled. Could she show how much she loved them with just her touch? “Hold still,” she told Ben before glancing at Ryder.

Smiling slightly, the cat leaned against the marble wall, the water hitting his finely sculpted shoulders and chest. His eyes were dark with lust as he waited.

For her.

Oh Goddess, she was going to miss them so much.

Swallowing past the thickness in her throat, Emma flattened her left hand on Ben’s broad chest, feeling the short, springy hair tickle her palm. Water streamed in rivulets between the muscular planes of his pectorals.

“Maybe some soap, pretty bard?”

She heard the rumble of his deep voice. Eventually the meaning registered. “Oh. Of course.” Her right hand had the soap gel, didn’t it? She sudsed his chest and had to remind herself to scrub. Slowly, she worked from his chest to his ridged abdomen. His whole body was a testament to power and strength. The reddened scar on his shoulder was only the first of the collection of past hurts, all showing how he’d fulfilled the God’s trust in him and guarded the clan.

She ran her fingers down a taut muscle diagonally from his stomach to his hip, then traced the crease between his hip and thigh. And tried to swallow again.

Emerging from trimmed brown hair, his cock was massively erect and darkly engorged.

To tease him—and herself—she detoured to cup his full, heavy testicles, instead. When she fondled them, he growled in approval.

But his patience was limited. Within a minute, he moved her hand to his erection.

“Oh? You want this washed, too?” she asked, trying for innocence…and couldn’t suppress her laughter.

He huffed, half in exasperation, half amused.

She closed her fingers. He was thick and hot in her grip with engorged veins swirling around the base. Irresistibly masculine. She gathered more soap and stroked up and down.

By the time she’d made sure his cock had reached previously unsurpassed levels of cleanliness, low growls accompanied his exhalations, and his eyes were alight with a menacing promise.

He gripped her wrists and pulled her hands from his groin. “Ryder’s turn, honey bear, or I’ll push you against the wall and take you right now.”

His rasped threat sent heat pooling in her pelvis.

It wasn’t easy to move away from Ben…but the minute her gaze met Ryder’s, her feet took her right to him. Oh, he had such a magnificent face and body. A couple of inches shorter and not as broad as the bear, Ryder had the lethal, sleek muscles of a cougar-shifter.

His gaze held hers as she ran her hands over the dark, taut skin of his biceps, his hard, contoured chest, and his lean ribs.

Steam billowed up, wrapped around her, and turned the males to shadowy forms.

Exploring more from feel than sight, Emma stroked down Ryder’s tight, flat belly to find his heavy erection. Ben’s was thicker; Ryder’s was longer. His male musk blended with the light pine fragrance of the soap and made her think of sex on a mountaintop.

Last night, Ben had shown her how much he enjoyed her lips on him. Would Ryder?

Unable to resist, she knelt and took him in her mouth. First, the velvety, spongy head and next, the silkier shaft with the skin so tight…

His groan mingled with the quiet
whooshing
of steam through the pipes and the sound of falling water from the rainfall showerhead.

Wanting only to please him, she used her hand and mouth, and heard his breathing change. Her other hand was on his thigh, and she was delighted beyond measure when she felt the uncontrolled quivering of his muscles.
I love you, Ryder.

With a deep growl, Ryder lifted her easily to her feet. “You are too good at that, little bear.” His kiss was slow and deep and lovely.

She glanced at Ben, but he shook his head to the unspoken offer and pointed toward the shower bench. “We have other plans for you, honey bear.”

“Come here, my female.” Ryder led her to one side of the shower and seated himself on the hip-high stone bench. The bench was wide enough he could lean back against the wall with his feet on the floor. His cock rose straight up in invitation. He patted his thighs and smiled slowly.

Her body broke out in goosebumps as she felt Ben move closer behind her. Two males. Anxiety dimmed her arousal. They were so big.

“Li’l bear,” Ben murmured as he caressed her shoulders with his strong hands. “You’ve taken my fingers back there before, but, yes, I’ll be larger.”

She gulped at the thought of just how large he really was.

“We’ll stop if you don’t like this,” he continued. “You never have to do anything you don’t want to do.”

Both males inside her. At her shiver, his hands tightened.

“I want…want to try.” She looked over her shoulder, up into his observant blue eyes, seeing both the hunger and the self-restraint. She’d never met anyone more disciplined. He’d take care of her, as would Ryder.

How could she not share herself—all of herself—on their last night together? This was right. The way it should be. “Yes.”

“
Cariad
, you are amazing.” He smiled, grasped her waist, and helped her straddle Ryder’s hips with her knees on the bench.

Cariad. Darling.
Her eyes blurred with tears for a second. How would she survive when they were gone? She looked down into Ryder’s hard face and saw the misery in his dark eyes.

He was hurting, too.
Oh, Ryder.

His lean hands closed on her bottom, and she felt the head of his cock press against her entrance.

When she hesitated, his lips quirked. “This part isn’t new to you, little bear.” Firmly, he guided her down. His cock slid between her slick, wet folds and in, stretching her, filling her completely, and leaving a dark hunger in its wake.

Oh, she loved the way he felt inside.

His hands tightened on her hips. His eyes were now half-lidded. “Fuck, yes.”

All along her nerve endings, she felt the hum of desire. Her clit throbbed a pulsing demand that she move. She lifted, almost all the way off his shaft, and started to lower, but his grip on her bottom stopped her. “Stay right there, Emma.”

“But—”

He curled a hand around her nape and pulled her down for a kiss.

As Ryder’s lips moved over hers, she felt Ben move closer behind her. “Hold on, darlin’. Let’s open you up a bit.” His lubricated fingers slid between her buttocks. A single digit pressed against her anus. Before she could tighten against him, he steadily pushed past the rings of muscle and inside.

He’d done that before, yet every time the foreign sensation was a surprise. Instinctively, she tried to straighten—and Ryder’s hand held her in place, keeping her mouth against his. Keeping her bent and accessible to his littermate’s touch.

Her head spun. New nerves awakened as Ben’s penetrating finger slid in and out, pumping slowly and steadily.

She made a helpless sound, and Ryder squeezed her nape. “Look at me.”

With an effort, she lifted her head and stared into his midnight-black eyes. He studied her, then smiled. “She’s good. Keep going, bro.”

A protest broke from her a second before he kissed her again, his tongue invading her mouth in the same way that Ben’s finger—now two fingers—took possession of her most private area.

The ease with which they moved and positioned her told her they’d done this before—many, many times; that particular thought was unappealing. Did they even know who they were mating? Was she just another body? Would they forget her once they were gone? She stilled, bowing her head.

And the males instantly stopped.

“Emma?” Ben leaned over her, his muscular chest against her back. “What’s wrong, darlin’? We can stop if you’re not happy.”

Ryder cupped her cheek with one hand, his gaze worried. “Tell us what’s in your head.”

“I just”—her uncertainty evaporated under the concentrated pressure of their attention—“just felt insecure for a moment. I mean…emotionally or something.” Now she felt as scatterbrained as a pixie. “Let’s just go on.”

Rather than moving, Ryder caressed her cheek, his chiseled face softening. “Insecure, huh? Little bear, do you have any idea how much you mean to me? To us?”

Her breathing stilled for a long moment. The desire in his eyes had hidden the love that was there as well.

Love.

Oh.
The world went hazy as her eyes filled with tears. “I…didn’t know.”

“Well, now you do.” Ryder ran his thumb over her lower lip. “We don’t have to take you at the same time, though.”

“I…” His thumb was slightly rough, yet warm against her lip. His cock was barely inside her. Ben’s hands were still on her hips, so big and powerful.

And her desire surged back to life with an added zing from knowing she’d mate with two males who…who cared for her.

Who she loved with all her heart.

With a wiggle of her hips, she smiled down at Ryder. “I want you both. Now. Together.”
Want to keep you, to be with you.