Lords of the Were (22 page)

Rafe’s fingers speared up into her, causing a shiver of delight to pass through her entire body. He stilled and she knew on some level he was waiting to see if the shiver was of pleasure or fear. She made an effort to twist her body so she could see his face. If she contorted her spine, she just could.

“Come into me now, Rafe. Do it now.”

She flopped back down, unable to hold the awkward position, but Tim was there to ease her way. His strong arms supported her and guided her, his eyes watching her bound hands carefully to see she came to no harm.

She got her knees under her a little and pushed up, offering herself blatantly to the man at her back. Rafe’s growl preceded his advance and a moment later she felt the tip of his cock pushing steadily into the place he needed to go. The place she needed him. She breathed deeply as she fought to accept him, pushing out when she felt the need and sighing in pleasure when he was fully seated.

How she loved this man!

But the twins weren’t done with her yet. Moving carefully, still seated fully in her ass, Rafe rolled with her to the side, untwisting the handcuff

chain a quarter turn and giving her a little more leeway. Tim pulled the pillows away and sent them sailing to the floor as he moved in close.

Lifting her top leg over his hips, he shoved his hard cock up into her pussy, pushing steadily as her body welcomed him with only a little difficulty. She felt so full, so warm, so loved. This was what she’d been missing. This was what she needed, just as much as she could feel their need. Now they were truly one.

She accepted them both into her body and then they began to move.

Rafe pulled out, then moved back in as Tim echoed his movements in counterpoint. No matter what she did, she was filled, never left wanting, always a part of the men she loved.

Just the thought made her cry out in completion, but the spasms that wracked her body went on and on, unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. It was a little scary, but Tim was there, his warm eyes and his tender, loving hands as he kissed her. Rafe was behind her, nibbling on her shoulder, licking her neck in reassurance as she clenched and writhed on them both.

“It’s okay, love,” Tim whispered, settling his mouth under one of her ears, taking the opposite side of her neck as his brother. She knew what was coming next and they didn’t disappoint.

Both men bit down on the cords of her neck as they thrust home, faster, more sure now than they had been, as her body became one long, hot, writhing orgasm. Their teeth where sharp and broke the skin just slightly, but she felt no pain. Only pleasure lit her being from within, shining her up into the atmosphere and back down again, caught safe in her lovers’ embrace. God, how she loved them!

She felt them come simultaneously within her, filling her, driving her higher still as the pleasure went incredibly on. It was like nothing before and she knew she could never part from these two men. They were her life. They were her future. They were all that mattered.

“I love you both so much!” she cried, tears falling down her face as the beauty of the moment overwhelmed her completely. “I love you, I love you, I love you.” Her voice floated softly on the winds of pleasure as she chanted their names and her love for them both.

Her men were filling her, their teeth marking her, their tongues lapping up her essence, and they heard every word in their hearts.

Rafe especially needed to hear her complete loss of control and her surrender to them. He’d needed that reassurance and now he had it, deep in his heart, in his soul. He would never doubt her again—or his own power to please her, to love her…to keep her.

He eased within her, but was unwilling to leave her body just yet. He licked the last of her blood away from his lips, knowing he hadn’t really hurt her, but the need to mark her was inborn. Wolves didn’t need blood like vampires did to live, but blood was a powerful thing. It was the life essence and therefore precious. It communicated possession and power, and in the case of a feral wolf, it spoke of ownership and ancient magic.

It bound the wolf to his mate and gave her power over him in return. It made them both stronger.

“I love you, Allie, and I always will,” Rafe whispered in her ear as he settled beside her, finally able to remove himself from the warmth of her body. In his heart, he knew the warmth of her would linger long into this life and the next. He was sure of her now, as she had to be sure of him.

He saw Tim ease away from her too, getting up to run some water in the bathroom. He guessed his twin, much more together about Allie than he’d apparently been, was giving him a moment with her, and he silently blessed him.

Rafe rolled her so he could look down into her eyes.

“Did you hear me? I love you Allie, with all my heart.”

She cupped his cheek and the expression in her soft eyes pulsed through her heart.

“I love you too, Rafe. I thought you knew that, but I don’t mind your showing me at all. In fact, you can show me some more later, okay?” She lifted up wearily and kissed his mouth, then dropped her head back to the pillow. “But right now I’m going to be unconscious for a while.” She smiled dreamily as she drifted off to sleep in his arms and he found himself grinning from ear to ear.

Tim found him that way, but Rafe didn’t care. His twin knew him better than any being on the planet. They were a part of each other the way they were fast becoming part of Allie, only just slightly differently.

They were two halves of the same soul. Allie was joining her soul to theirs, making them complete. It was an amazing gift.

Tim tossed a wet washcloth at him. It splatted against his chest while he was occupied watching Allie sleep. He looked up at his twin and grinned.

“She’s an angel sent to earth. Isn’t she, Tim?” Tim stopped by his side of the big bed and his expression softened as he watched Allie sleep.

“You’ve got that right, Rafe.” He pulled the blankets and comforter out from where they’d been kicked to the bottom of the bed and folded them neatly, ready to be pulled upward to cover them all. “Clean up our angel, then yourself. We need to catch some z’s before we find a way to keep her—and all of us—safe.”

The reminder of their predicament brought Rafe back to the moment.

In the bliss that was Allie, he’d almost forgotten the cloud of threat hanging over them all. He took his brother’s advice and softly petted their mate, cleaning her up so she wouldn’t wake up sticky, then he padded out to the bathroom and did the same for himself.

When he got back to the bedroom, Tim had already released her hands from the cuffs and pulled the covers up over them, though Tim and he really didn’t need the blankets at all. They were able to regulate their own body temperatures well enough that they were practically never cold. Still, Allie needed them and there was something very comforting about snuggling close under the covers with her in their arms.

Rafe padded up to his side of the bed and slipped under the blanket, glad when Tim raised no objection to his pulling Allie around to face him and snuggle deep into his arms. He needed this just now. Tim knew it and gave him space. There was no better man on earth, Rafe decided in that moment, than his twin, and no braver woman than their mate, Allie.

She took them both on and never complained. Even when he turned all caveman on her, she took it mostly in stride and he loved her for it.

That thought firmly in mind, Rafe finally drifted off, getting the restful sleep he’d need to face the threat to his newly made family. No one would harm his mate. No one. He and his twin would see to it.

Dante fed from the fey warrior who had been his friend centuries ago just as dawn kissed the sky. He then slipped into the death-like sleep of his kind. But for the first time, he had some—awareness, he guessed he would call it—of what transpired in the world around him while he was reduced to sleep. He actually felt the air heat as the sun brightened the sky, though the sun was still forbidden to him. Still, even this small thing would have moved him to tears had he been fully awake and able to express the emotions stirred in him by the first knowledge he had of the sun without pain in hundreds of years.

He had the half-fey blood powering his system to thank for it, he knew. He was also aware of other changes Duncan’s blood was making in his ancient body. He felt the energies of the earth as never before, swirling around and through him, and he realized dimly in the haze of sleep, he could probably direct them with his will, if he so chose. The idea was startling.

Certainly Dante had already mastered some of the magic required to shapeshift, but never had he been so aware of the vast power of the earth and its creatures, or seen it so clearly. It was as if a veil had been lifted away from his eyes and only now was he seeing the reality of the world around him.

When he woke fully, just as the sun set, the differences were even more pronounced. While he’d slept throughout the day, Duncan’s blood

had integrated fully into his system, sharing its power and teaching him new ways of seeing, of sensing, of feeling. It was utterly amazing.

Duncan was there, watching him as Dante opened his eyes and began to breathe. The man stared down at him, his eyes assessing while Dante took in the golden glow surrounding the fey warrior. He was seeing his aura, he realized dimly in one corner of his mind, the immense energy that always surrounded the knight, in tangible form.

“Well?” Duncan asked, a concerned smile on his face. “Are you going to turn renegade on me and make me hunt you down?” He offered a hand to help Dante sit up. After due consideration, Dante took it.

“I think we can save that for later. Right now, I want to test these new powers you’ve given me.” His head swam as he tried to rise too quickly from the cot in the run-down house he’d found and secured in a remote area just inside the national park. It was his safe house and he’d taken a chance bringing Duncan back here, but he thought he knew the knight well enough to risk it.

“Careful now.” Duncan steadied him. “It might take a while to adjust.

Can you tell me what you’re feeling?”

“It’s my eyes that are giving me trouble. I keep seeing this glow all around you. It’s golden and bright. Like I imagine the sun might be if I were so blessed as to see it once more.” He sat perfectly still, willing the dizziness to pass. “Your aura, right?”

“Hmm,” Duncan agreed. “This is a good sign.”

“Good for you maybe, but if the room would just stop spinning, I’d feel a whole lot better.” The wry tone sparked Duncan’s laughter and Dante was glad to have the knight there, though he’d been a loner for many centuries now. Since the loss of his brother, Dante hadn’t wanted to let anyone near. Then Erik had befriended him almost against his will, and been ruthlessly slaughtered by the were. Since then, Dante had kept

himself apart. He had no friends, but Duncan had been one—of sorts—

centuries ago.

“I believe it will settle in time. You just have to get used to this new way of seeing. It’s the way I see things, you know. Though I can usually turn it on and off at will. In time, you may learn the same control. This gift can be very helpful. Particularly in our current quest.”

“Damn, I almost forgot how you knights always have to be on a quest of some sort or other. We don’t do that in this day and age, my friend.

You need to get with the times.”

“Nonsense.” Duncan clapped him on the back and went over to the small kitchen area, to pour himself a glass of water. He’d apparently gotten supplies for himself from somewhere, since Dante had little need of such amenities as food and water. “You also were once a knight, my friend. You can’t have forgotten the thrill of the noble quest over these many years, any more than I.”

“I’ve forgotten many things over the centuries, Duncan. I’ve deliberately tried to forget, but they keep coming back to haunt me.” Duncan sighed heavily from across the room. “You will not want to hear this, but I believe it is time you knew.” Dante’s attention was snagged by the serious tone. “What is it?”

“There is no kind way to say this, so I will just say it plain. I think the Venifucus slew your brother and had something to do with the misunderstanding that ended in Erik’s death.”

“But why? What could they hope to gain?” Anger stirred in Dante’s heart.

“It is my belief they’ve been trying long and hard to join you to their cause. One of your skill and strength would be a powerful weapon on their side. All they have done over these many centuries to hurt you and try to break your spirit could easily have resulted in your turning toward their side, if you’d been weaker of character.”

“I’m no longer a knight, Duncan. I’ve done bad things in my time. My soul is far from pure.”

Duncan had the gall to laugh. “Bad, perhaps, but evil? Purely evil? I think not, Dante. For then my blood would surely have poisoned you. I bespelled it so.”

Dante sat back, stunned. “You took a big risk, Duncan. A poisoned vampire is a deadly one. If your blood had turned to poison in my body, I’d have been certain to kill you before I died.” Duncan nodded once, somberly. “It was a chance worth taking. Now I am even more certain of you and you’ve proven your purity of heart. We can move forward with no distrust between us.”

“At least not on your side.” Dante was more than a bit put out by the idea that his so-called old friend would test him in such a dangerous way, but on reflection he guessed he knew why the knight had done it. It had been centuries since they’d seen each other, after all. A lot could happen to change a man over such time. “What makes you believe the Venifucus have been targeting me through—” He trailed off, unable to complete the thought.

“Through your friends and family? Through the ones you loved?” Duncan sighed and moved forward to sit in a hard wooden chair he dragged over from the small dinette.

“When last we knew each other, it had been less than two centuries since your brother’s untimely death. I took it upon myself to do a little investigating. As you should know—or will soon learn—the magical remnants can linger for centuries after certain events. The vile energies of murder linger longest of all. I found remnants of the Elspian Ring’s murderous power all over your ancestral lands, Dante, and especially at the site of your brother’s death. Remnants of his spirit lingered too. His death was no less than murder by magical means.”