Natural Consequences (46 page)

Alex took his cue from Onyx: like her, he hung his coat up on the rack beside the door.

Despite mutual hopes and desires, none of them knew who would or should make the first move. Every experience had its own mood and context. He didn’t feel the least bit awkward, though, and much like the silence in the car he found that promising.

“What do you think?” Molly asked Onyx, still smiling quietly.

“Oh, you know what I think already,” Onyx said, blushing a bit in spite of her comfort. “The question is what you want?”

Molly glanced thoughtfully at Alex, then back at Onyx. “Yeah. I’m there with you. Might not be the wisest thing, but it feels right.”

Alex waited. Onyx turned to him and explained. “Two things. First, our bedroom is kind of a disaster, like the rest of this apartment. We didn’t expect company. There are dirty clothes and books and disorganized bits of make-up everywhere.”

“’I’m shocked,’” Alex deadpanned, “’shocked to discover that gambling is going on in here.’”

“Shit, he just quoted
Casablanca
,” Molly blinked.

Onyx couldn’t help her grin. “Told you he was cool.”

“What’s the second thing?”

“Witch stuff. We need a minute. You can watch, if you want. So, uh… that time we got together… I was being careful. I had my defenses up.”

He cracked a grin. “Okay, I know this is gonna sound like a total line, but the whole thing with Lorelei means I’m sterile and I can’t catch any diseases,” he said, scratching his head.

Molly and Onyx both erupted in laughter.

“No, it’s true!” Alex laughed back. “Succubae aren’t meant to spread misery—at least, not like that. I mean they spread all sorts of hate and drama anyway, but that’s about scheming, not…” The ladies kept laughing. He sighed and said, “Look, the point is, whatever you want me to do to be ‘safe,’ I’ll do it. Condom, magic spells, whatever. I don’t need it, but I don’t expect you to
believe
that.”

The laughter abated. “Wait, wait,” Molly chuckled, waving her hands. “So all these women you’ve hooked up with—“

“You realize I can still at least count ‘em all on my fingers, right?”

She paused to laugh again. “They do expect you to wrap it up, right?”

“They usually don’t even think about it,” he admitted, looking at the floor. “It’s a succubus cootie thing, I guess.” Eventually the laughter from that died off, too. “Again, though,” Alex pushed on, “anything you want me to do—“

“Not you,” Onyx interrupted, putting a hand on his chest and bringing herself to a measure of calm again. “Us. I mean it’s good to know that you’ve got the birth control and the STD protection covered,” she giggled, “but I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about the other stuff with your, um… demon cooties.”

“I don’t understand.”

“We want to be naked with you,” she told him, perfectly serious despite her mirth. “Totally naked. Full disclosure, kind of. We want the whole you. And if there is anything different about you because of Lorelei… we want that, too.”

His brow knit with concern. “I thought you said that it wasn’t really a thing?”

“Oh, I didn’t say that,” Onyx corrected. “I said it’s not mind control. Nobody’s going to do anything with you that they wouldn’t do with another guy they found really attractive. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t horny out of my mind just sitting next to you without my defenses up the other night. It might’ve been even worse for me ‘
cause I know what I’ve been missing.”

“Still gonna get back at you for that,” muttered Molly.

Onyx rolled her eyes before looking at Alex again. “We want to be just as vulnerable as you are, otherwise this isn’t fair.”

“Y’know, I’m not used to talking things out ahead of time,” Alex said.

“Different strokes,” Molly shrugged. “The way we see it, you shouldn’t do a thing if you can’t talk about it.”

He nodded.
“No, it’s not a complaint. Anyway. What do you want me to do?”

“Nothing,” Onyx said. “You wanna watch, go ahead. Just give us a minute.”

The pair walked into their ritual room—no more than four steps away from the living room. Alex saw them join hands as they moved, which seemed equally casual and solemn. He had never given much thought to personal rituals until he’d fallen in love. He had seen Rachel pray, though, which had the same quality. It was at once second nature and still a conscious choice.

They faced one another in the center of the ritual circle, now holding both hands. Alex watched from the doorway. “Perfect love and perfect trust,” said one, and then the other.

The words struck a chord for him. It sounded lovely. He also realized there was probably much more to it than he heard on the surface. It was something for a later conversation.

Molly turned to one shelf, reach
ing into it without stepping outside the ritual circle. She drew water from a jar with one cupped hand, allowing it to drip through her fingers without concern. Alex noticed her murmuring something quietly in a language that sounded faintly familiar to him. She turned back to Onyx, who stood waiting, and raised her cupped hand to let the water drip from between her fingers onto Onyx’s head.

Onyx had her eyes closed until Molly was finished. Then Onyx repeated the ritual for Molly with equal grace.

They looked to one another, and then turned to him. Alex stepped back out of the doorway to allow them to exit, with Onyx coming up first to place her hand on his firm abdomen. Molly slipped around his other side, standing enticingly close. He could feel her nose brush up against the side of his neck as she inhaled deeply.

“Can’t actually smell anything different about him,” she murmured. The redhead was close enough that Alex felt her t-shirt brush against his forearm—and her breasts pushing gently against his bicep.

Onyx worked her hand under his shirt to touch his skin. “Yeah, I can’t tell any difference, either,” she said. Alex felt a welcome, almost electric sensation at her touch, but couldn’t say it was different from any time she’d touched him before.

They pulled away then, leading him into their bedroom. As they warned him, there were clothes strewn about and other ordinary signs of life. He’d have been intrigued, were
the moment not so charged.

Standing at the foot of the bed, they turned back to him one at a time. “So we’ve talked about this,” Molly grinned, surprising Alex with the hint of shyness in her expression, “but you’re the only one here who’s ever been in a threesome before.”

“Not this threesome,” he noted, and found himself again surprised—this time by his own confidence. He closed the distance between them again. “Every situation is different.”

“Still,” Molly nodded. She looked him up and down, searching for words and finding none, and liking it in spite of her verbal frustration.

Alex caught on. “So it’s important to pay attention to both of your partners,” he said, coming around one side of Onyx, “unless everyone’s straight, but I haven’t been in that situation before.” He brushed back the hair that dangled over her neck and slipped one hand around the front of her waist. “But in a situation like this, I figure a fair way to get started is to sort of… team up on someone.” He beckoned to Molly with one finger as his lips fell softly against Onyx’s neck.

She inhaled sharply, her eyes widening as Molly stepped up to her with an eager grin. “Hey, wait,” she protested without actually objecting one single bit, “Molly is the one who—
“ Onyx was interrupted by her lover’s kiss, which she accepted gratefully. Their mouths and tongues slid together, finding comfort and excitement as always, while they both felt Alex’s hands moving between them up and down Onyx’s shapely body. When Molly finally let Onyx speak, the younger witch said, “Molly got left out last time.”

Undeterred, Molly slid down the shoulder straps of Onyx’s dress and smiled at her. “I’m sure everyone will make that up to me tonight.”

Onyx felt Alex bring his hands down across the front of her hips. “Ohh… but shouldn’t we start with you?”

She felt a grin against her neck. “Nobody needs to take a number,” Alex reassured her. “You just move where you feel right. But to be honest,” he said, glancing up at Molly with meaning, “you’re the one wearing the complicated boots.”

“Huh?” Onyx whimpered.

“Point,” Molly nodded.

Alex came out from behind her, and together with Molly guided her to sit down at the foot of the bed. Then he and her girlfriend both knelt in front of her and each took up one of her boots and got to work unlacing.

“These things are complicated,” added Molly in a loving complaint.

“Seriously,” Alex agreed.

Onyx watched, reveling in her growing arousal. “You didn’t complain last time I left them on.”

Alex stopped. He looked at Molly, who kept unlacing. “She leaves them on?” he asked with obvious interest.

“Sometimes,” the redhead grinned. “Not tonight.” She tugged one boot off and ran her hand up her girlfriend’s leg as Alex finished his work.

“I’m spoiled,” said Onyx.

“Wait for it,” both of her partners replied.

As soon as everyone was barefoot, Alex knelt on the bed at Onyx’s side. She looked up at him as he unlaced the back of her dress, and then to Molly as she, too, came up onto the bed on her knees at her other side.

Overheating despite losing clothes, Onyx turned to grab at Molly’s belt. She unbuckled it with practiced hands as Molly swept off her t-shirt, revealing a black satin bra and smooth, inviting skin.

Onyx let out a little gasp as she felt Alex gently sweep one hand over her naked shoulder and across her collarbone to her chest, just above the valley between her breasts. It seemed such a simple thing, just a hand on her skin, and yet it felt so good. She felt his leg and hip against her back as he shifted himself up, strong and steady enough for her to lean against. Her head tilted backward and up, allowing her to watch as Alex locked lips with her girlfriend in a mutually hungry kiss.

She saw Alex slide his hand along Molly’s arm and then run his fingers through her short red hair, just the way she liked Onyx to do it. She noticed the way Molly’s body moved, and saw her breath quickly grow heavy, and knew her girlfriend would not be the one to break off that kiss. Even while arousing Molly like that, Alex had the presence of mind to slide his fingers between Onyx’s breasts, gently stroking her and making her want more. The sights, the sounds and the sensations of it all left Onyx panting.

She dimly remembered something about a two-against-one sort of strategy to this, but he must have just been trying to reassure them. Alex seemed able to occupy both of them at once just fine.

* * *

Rachel moved through the glass and drapes of the balcony door without a sound. She discovered a trail of rose petals leading across the apartment toward the bedroom. Scented candles provided soft illumination for their home. Without thinking about it at first, Rachel’s eyes glanced to the wine rack, spotted a particular empty slot, and took in a shaky breath.

Lorelei was going all-out tonight.

When it came to mortals, Rachel could see love and devotion as easily as an ordinary man or woman could see shapes or color. She felt every bit as much love from Alex in the throes of raw, dirty, bent-over-the-couch passion as she received from him in their most tender moments. Yet when it came to Lorelei, Rachel was just as dependent on faith and trust as mortals were with one another.

She knew Lorelei loved her. She knew that what they had was real and honest. She knew that she and Lorelei would
be together millennia from now.

S
he also understood that what she “knew” about Lorelei was no more certain than what she “knew” about the Almighty. In the end, it was still faith.

Lorelei didn’t have to romance Rachel like this to make the angel feel loved or appreciated… and had to know that. She didn’t have to shower Rachel with all this girly stuff that the angel damn well adored despite her normally crass disposition. The effort meant even more because it was so unnecessary.

Any time now, Rachel knew, she would start feeling the shared sensations of their other lover’s hot shenanigans. Thinking would be hard. Between that and the attentions of a wicked seductress, Rachel knew she might very well be pleasured out of her mind. Her comment to Lawrence had been no idle boast.

She realized, standing there with a trail of rose petals leading to the bedroom, just how vulnerable she was to Lorelei.

Sharp teeth brushed against her neck. Strong, taloned hands seized her from behind, grabbing her from under the arms and tugging her close. Rachel gasped as she was lifted off her feet.

The teeth at her neck quickly retracted into a deep, sucking kiss. Rachel gave in to it
, moaning in appreciation. She felt Lorelei’s breasts at her back, their skin separated only by Rachel’s thin white dress and whatever Lorelei wore. The succubus smelled amazing as always, and felt as warm as ever. Rachel wanted to just give in, to go limp and surrender… but could not.

“I hope you have no plans to go anywhere tonight,” hissed the sinister voice of her lover in her ear. “I have no intentions of letting you
leave.”