Taboo Kisses (35 page)

Sameya would’ve killed him for that alone, but the sorrow on
the
Empress’ tear-stained face
stayed
her ruthless judgment.
“My gift to you, E’Neskha, is Lucius’ life.” She stepped to face the male siren and
met his gaze. “I allow you to live only because of your sister. You’re prohibited
from ever making a bid for the Atlantian royal seat. From today onward you’re exiled
from Atlantis, forbidden to return, and you’re to never raise arms against your sister.
You’ll be faithful to her, as she deserves, for the years of love and compassion she
gave to you. If you attempt to break any of my commands, you’ll be reaped immediately.”

She released him and faced her former leader. “E’Neskha, I’ll expect you to depart
Atlantis as soon as you formally
surrender
your position and swear in a temporary ruler.
” The Empress nodded and Sameya went on.
“
Where’s the witch?”

“The kitchen,” the Empress said in a watery voice.

Frustrated by the turn of events, Sameya headed for the kitchen. Falling in beside
her, Gabriel easily matched her pace as he clasped her hand in his. She could feel
Maximus at her back, but both of her guys were silent.

Kat sat at the kitchen table picking through a bowl of candies. The witch looked up
when they entered.

“It’s time for you to return home.” Sameya opened a portal to the earth realm and
indicated it with her hand. “Now.”

“Is everything okay?” Kat peeked at the men as she rose from her seat.

“No. But the Atlantian future isn’t devoid of hope. We’ll see you soon.”

“Go, Kat,” Maximus said as he placed his palm
low
on Sameya’s back.

No one spoke as the witch went through the green mist. Once she disappeared,
Gabriel
squeezed
Sameya’s
hand
, as if he could sense how numb
she
felt
.
“I’ll break the serenade as soon as we’re on
Earth
, Gabriel.”

“I
knew
you did it to protect us all.”

She peered up at him. Thank goddess, she had these men in her life. They’d make leaving
her homeland a little easier.
It didn’t matter that she’d already been thinking of leaving Atlantis with her guys.
What struck her most was the fina
lity of it all.

Her vampyr palmed her shoulder. “Sameya—”

“
I’m okay
.”
She was a long way from being okay, but thankfully t
he only hint she would fall apart any moment was the twitter in her voice.

She
hadn’t expected things to proceed in this manner. She should’ve known E’Neskha would
go soft when it came to Lucius. He might be her brother, but he was more like her
son.

Silence
stalked
them
as they
strode
to her apartment. The moment the doors closed behind her, Sameya went to her hands
and knees and wept. She was losing her past to gain a future. The memories would remain,
but she’d never peer at the mystical waters again. Never watch the golden fish
catch the sunlight as they
jump
ed
across the Great Lake during spawning season. Never again take a hike up Blue Chimney
Mountain
.

Gabriel scooped her into his arms and sat on the sofa, cradling her. She
shifted to straddle his lap and wrap
her arms around him,
as she buried her face in the curve of his neck. His embrace the s
olace
she needed to calm her
mixed-
up emotions
.

S
he
could live with
never see
ing
her
birthplace
again. These men were her future.
Being with them felt right.
And she’d have the comfort of knowing she’d saved Atlantis from a ruler that would’ve
resulted in her homeland’s decline. The things she’d seen in Lucius’ head that she
hadn’t forced him to share…he would’ve debilitated Atlantis and its citizens.

“I’m sorry you’re upset, Sameya.
” Reminiscent of a feline, Gabriel rubbed his cheek against her hair.
“Maximus and I will do everything in our power to make
you
happy.”

The sofa shifted, she suspected it was Maximus taking a seat beside them.

Leaning back, she
confirmed the vampyr’s presence as she
met her cat’s gaze. “
Don’t misunderstand my grief, Gabriel. The idea of never seeing
Atlantis
….” She choked up all over again. He captured her face and kissed her forehead.

“I understand.” Maximus
shifted onto his knees and massaged the back of her neck
.
“My family disowned me for mating Gabriel.”

How horrible! “I’m sorry, Maximus.”

“I’m not. He’s worth
the sacrifice…when he’s not being a pussy.
”
He winked at the shifter.

She smiled as Gabriel
growled
at Maximus
. T
he guys chuckled. Amazing how quickly these two had burrowed into her heart.
“You two are my future.”
She kissed both of them
, astonished how important they’d become to her in such little time
.
“Take me to your…no. Take me to my new home and
officially claim me
.”

She wanted to be theirs more than she’d ever wanted anything in her life.

“‘Officially’ doesn’t matter. You’re already ours, naleah.
We”—Maximus motioned between himself and Gabriel—“never planned to give you up.”

Sameya peered between them.

“Nope
,”
Gabriel confirmed. “We were committed to convincing you we’re worth keeping around.”

“Kidnapping you if necessary,” Maximus’
s
deadpan was so convincing she was uncertain of his sincerity.

Gabriel nodded his agreement.

Shaking her head at their alpha-ness, she climbed off the tiger’s lap. “I need to
talk with Dart, see if she’ll go with us. And the Zions—I assume Thrax and Nero will
join me, but I can’t take it for granted.”

Wearing a smug expression, her vampyr leaned against the cushions. “I already worked
out a deal with Dart. She’s
agreed to join
us.”

Impressive. But shocking Dart had shown herself. Even the Empress had never laid eyes
on Sameya’s brownie. “What’d you agree to pay her?”

“Reese Cups.” A lopsided grin exposed a fang. Soon they’d be inside her. At the idea
,
anticipation shivered through her. “A large bag once a month.”

Sameya laughed. “What a hard bargain Dart drives.”

“I asked her to pack your things and deliver them to our home.”

Arrogant to assume she’d depart with them.

“I spoke with the Zions.” Gabriel looped his arm over Maximus’
s
shoulder. “They expected to live with you wherever you reside.”

“You two thought of everything.” She wasn’t sure how to feel about that.
“And
you
were
both confident I would depart
with you.”

Maximus
adjusted
her
position, giving her no time to react to her sudden placement
.
Sprawled across their legs, with her head in the cat’s lap and her butt across the
vampyr’s thighs, she
scrutinized
them, surprised with her
abrupt
relocation.

Her bloodsucker laid his arm across her
abdomen
.
“Gabriel and I want you to be prepared about…his family.”

She shot a glance at the tiger
, her nerves twittering through her belly.

Gabriel put his fingers through her hair
.
“We have a marital custom. While they’ve accepted Maximus as one of their own, we
never participated in the custom because we wanted to wait for you.”

Refusing to jump to conclusions, she waited for them to explain.

“If you don’t want to do it, we won’t.”
From her
tiger
’s probing stare, she gleaned how important this ritual was for him
.

“It won’t mean we’re any less mated or married,” Maximus said quickly.
“The pride will still recognize our relationship.”

W
hatever th
e
tradition, it was obviously important to Gabriel.
“Go on.”

She attempted to sit up, but Maximus applied pressure to her belly. When she met his
gaze, he thrust his palm beneath her shirt and cupped her breast, applying slight
pinches to her nipple. Biting back her groan, she ignored his smirk.
The conceited vampyr
knew
how his touch affected her
.

Gabriel tilted her head back to
meet
her eyes. He licked his lips
,
and she noted his nervousness. “We mate
with
my pride
in attendance
.”

Sameya processed the idea. “You want us to have sex while they watch?”

“It’s the custom.” He shrugged. “And I like being watched.”

She liked
observing
him.
T
he first time she’d seen them together, they’d been having sex on the balcony
,
and they’d been pandering to the crowd on Bourbon Street. She was no prude; it was
common for soirees in Atlantis to end in explicit displays of carnal pursuit. The
Hall had seen more action than Sameya cared to
recollect
. She’d never been watched before.

A tingling at the base of her skull suggested t
here was more to his request. “If we don’t do the custom, how does this affect us?”

Gabriel hesitated. “Any of our children will not be recognized by the pride.”

“Or ours,” Maximus said. “I’ve been adopted into the pride.”

Unfair to punish children for the actions of their parents
,
and she couldn’t deny any child—especially any of her own—the blessing of family
and community. “We should do it.”

The gold of her tiger’s eyes flashed, proof he liked that she’d agreed. “I don’t want
you rushing into a decision. Think about it, Sameya.”

“I’m not rushing the decision.” She pulled Maximus’
s
hand from beneath her shirt and kissed his fingertips. “However, I won’t tolerate
anyone touching either of you.”
She would’ve never guessed she was the jealous type, but let someone touch one of
her men….
“I’ll serenade them before I permit it.”

“Fitting. Only Gabriel and I can touch you.”
Her vampyr
bent over and licked her pussy through her pants. “Want me to tell you what I plan
to do to you while they watch?”

“No. Surprise me.” She rolled quickly before either of them could halt her departure.
“But I plan to
give at least one of you a blow job
while they watch.”

Maximus’
s
eyes glowed green
,
and his fangs bit into his bottom lip.

Gabriel slashed his fingers through his hair and muttered, “Fuck me.”

She
grinned
and sashayed out of the room
as Maximus said, “She’ll be the death of us.”

“A fine death it’ll be.” Gabriel’s purr carried.

Making her men happy pleased her tremendously.

Chapter Twenty-Six

They’d left Atlantis and Sameya hadn’t allowed melancholy at the loss of her homeland
to set in. A bright future with mates she adored was her primary focus.

Dart was in heaven in the guys’ “estate”, as Dart called it, and in the first week,
Sameya had stumbled upon the brownie humming as she cleaned. The Zions had found paradise
in the thousand acres on which the house sat. She’d never seen them happier.

Before doing the mating custom, Gabriel wanted her to spend some time with his pride.
He thought she’d be less self-conscious of getting dirty with them if she knew his
family better. Honestly, she was impatient to showoff her mating marks. She’d been
with Gabriel’s family a week, with the ritual to occur momentarily.

The tiger’s sister, Bethany, was a surprise. Eight months pregnant, his sibling was
a delight, frank and to the point. Her mate was a quiet man who doted on his wife
and adored his woman. She and Sameya got along famously and went off for long walks,
discussing the differences in their life. She thought it helped her better understand
Gabriel’s easy manner, but also his determinedness to protect her like any alpha shifter.