Tangled Innocence (13 page)

Nadie grinned, her face brightening, then looked at Jace and
Dante. “I think I’m going to like your brother, Jace.”

Jace growled. “As long as you like me more.”

Nadie rolled her eyes. “Alpha much?”

“You bet your ass,” Jace said.

Torrent snorted then took two steps toward Dante, his arms
wide open. Dante held out his own arm, blocking the bear, but the twitch of the
dragon’s lips told Jace his mate was enjoying himself.

“You can hug me but don’t lift me,” Dante warned, a small
tendril of smoke escaping his nostril.

Very intimidating.

“You’re family, you deserve a bear hug,” Torrent explained.

Dante lifted a lip and bared fang.

“But since you’re our Dante, I’ll restrain myself,” Torrent
said solemnly, and then he grinned. “Maybe.”

By the time Torrent finished his bear hugs and let them
start walking the short distance to their folks’ place, Jace’s sides hurt with
laughter. If he hadn’t loved his brother before, he would have right then
because, with Torrent’s gentle and not-so-gentle care, the tension had all
dissipated. Nadie and Dante actually looked ready to see the rest of the
Goodwins—rather than nervous or worried about the other things on their agenda.

Those things would come, of course, but the fact that they
could smile made Jace want to bring Torrent into a bear hug of his own.

Jace’s family home came into view, and his bear relaxed, at
peace. The three-story log cabin-like home had to be big enough for all eight
of the Goodwin grizzlies and any friends who stopped along the way. Plus both
sets of grandparents often stayed for long visits.

 
The bear realm did
not consist of perfect royal houses. Rather they ruled by brute force when
needed and lived on their own during times of peace. Jace’s family was stronger
than most and ruled in times of war and great peril. However, during times of
peace, each den remained separate, the members free to live as they liked. If a
bear crossed borders and went out of control, the other families dealt justice.

It was the way of the bears, and it worked for them.

Nadie froze beside him and looked up at him wide-eyed.

“Feel like Goldilocks, baby?” he teased.

She snorted, and Dante punched his shoulder.

“Really?” Dante asked. “A three bears joke? I expected
better from you.”

“What? It’s not like I made a knight and windmill joke when
I met you.”

Dante and Nadie chuckled. “Actually, you did, but I let that
pass,” Dante said with a smile.

“Well, don’t just stand out there. Come in and let me meet
the girl. Oh, and, Dante, you better move those buns to greet me proper. It’s
been too damn long.”

Jace smiled at the blonde woman who stood at a petite six
feet. “Nadie, I would like you to meet my mother, Sydney.”

His mother smiled, pure delight in her eyes. While generally
any stranger would have been offered cool eyes and a stare down until they were
measured, Nadie was his mate and, therefore, family.

“Hello, Mrs. Goodwin,” Nadie said politely.

His mom wrinkled her nose. “Nadie darling, you call me
Sidney, Sid, Mom, Momma, or Ma. Mrs. Goodwin is my mother-in-law. Now come in
so I can dote on you properly.”

Soon they were surrounded by bears and warmth. They towered
over Nadie, but his little mate took it in stride. He introduced her to his
father, Gordon, his sisters, Sasha and Lorena, and his other two brothers, Ivan
and Red.

“Red, you’re the mechanic,” Nadie said, smiling when she was
introduced.

Red, the quietest of their group, nodded. “That’s me. Your
car should be fixed soon.”

Nadie’s eyes widened. “Oh! Thank you. Just let me know about
the bill. I’m so happy you had time to take care of it.”

Red’s eyes narrowed. “You’re family. You don’t pay.”

Nadie blushed. “But then how do you make any money? You seem
to have a lot of family.”

The room broke out into laughter and Jace pulled her to his
side. She fit just right against him, tiny in a field of giants.

“Red makes money from others outside the family,” his father
said once they all quieted down. “With family, we barter our services. So you
can pay Red back with something he needs and you can provide easily.”

Jace growled, low, deep.

His father scowled. “Get your mind out of the gutter, boy.
You said Nadie was a teacher? Maybe she could help teach something, huh? You’re
lucky I don’t beat you senseless for that.”

Jace ducked his head, heat crawling up his neck. He felt
Dante’s hand on his shoulder and Nadie’s arm on his waist.

“We’re all a little stressed right now, and Jace just wasn’t
thinking,” Nadie explained.

“Hmph,” his father said. “Let’s eat the food your momma’s
spent all morning cooking and talk about how stressed you seem to be.”

Jace relaxed and led his mates to the dining room where a feast
containing every one of Jace’s and Dante’s favorite foods was served. Damn, he
loved his mom. Seriously, there had to be at least eight honey dishes—come on,
he was a bear—and seven roasted meats. His dragon loved the stuff—though back
in the day Dante would have preferred to do his own roasting.

Times changed, but dragons didn’t change as quickly.

“I didn’t know what Nadie liked, so there’s a bit of
everything,” his mom explained. “I’ll know better for next time so she gets
exactly what she wants.”

Nadie put her hand on his mom’s arm and smiled. “Everything
looks amazing, Sydney. I don’t see a single thing I wouldn’t eat. Plus, these
two guys here make sure I never go wanting, so I’m taken care of. Thank you so
much for doing all of this.”

If Nadie did nothing else to show her worth and love in his
mother’s eyes, she’d be golden for the rest of her life. Right then he knew his
mother had fallen in love with his mate like a caring mother would. As soon as
she found Nadie was also planning to learn to use her new powers to protect
herself, Nadie could do no wrong. After all, in a maternal bear’s eyes, someone
who cared for others and knew how to fight back and protect her cubs was the
perfect mate.

Nadie—and Dante as well—were perfect for not only him, but for
his family as well.

Fate, it seemed, had gotten something right.

If only they could keep it.

At that dark thought, everyone sat down and began eating. He
served Nadie and then himself, with Dante doing the same on the other side. She
just rolled her eyes as they took care of her. She’d get them back later and
force them to sit down and relax, but right then, he just wanted to pamper her.

Based on the smile on his mother’s face, she hadn’t missed
the action.

He gorged himself on honey chicken, honey pies, and honey
ribs while everyone talked about lighter things around him.

“Honey?” Nadie whispered.

“Yes, dear?”

Nadie rolled her eyes.

“Bears, Nadie. Bears.”

“I guess I shouldn’t make any getting
stuck-in-the-honey-tree jokes, then,” she said, her eyes filled with laugher.

“Oh my God, let me tell you the story about the time Torrent
and Jace got stuck in a tree!” Lorena said, her smile bright.

From that moment, each sibling and his parents deemed it
necessary to explain to Nadie each and every embarrassing event from his
childhood. He had a feeling if he wasn’t careful his mom would bring out the
photos.

Dante, the traitor, even told a few stories of his own, but
those had been when they’d first met and had been adults. He still loved
hearing them, and by the smile on Nadie’s face, she did too.

Once people started to slow down, the conversation turned
from stories of the past to what the Conclave had told his dragon. His family
sat in silence once Dante finished speaking, the tension and worry in the air
palpable.

His father spoke first. “We know of the Conclave through
Jace. As god-touched, he was allowed to explain his role as Mediator and where
his duties originated. I always thought of them as a council with too much
power. Now I see that a few of them—if not the whole of them—are bullies as
well.”

Dangerous words if they had not been said within the
confines of his home. Jace had shielded his house from prying ears, much like
Dante had done to his own. Only private dwellings under those projections were safe.

At least as safe as Jace could make it.

One never knew who was listening.

“Not all agreed with Alexander,” Dante put in.

His father nodded. “Then they are potential allies. I see
your path unfolding only in certain ways. One, you agree with the Conclave and
serve out your five hundred years of training and then any time they need after
that.”

Jace and Dante both growled while Nadie, sitting between
them, patted their arms.

“Stop it, both of you,” Nadie admonished. “He’s laying it
all out, not telling Dante he should leave us.” Jace settled somewhat at her
words but was still on edge.

Jace’s father nodded at Nadie before continuing. “The other
options are trickier. Find another dragon to take Dante’ s place. If you find
one who would not only have the power but isn’t cruel, all the better.”

“There is a dragon who works for Alexander,” Dante said
slowly. “I believe his name is Rock. I don’t know him well.”

“Check him out,” his father ordered.

“We will have to go to the dragon realm,” Dante said.

Nadie clutched Jace’s hand. “We?”

Dante leaned over and brushed a kiss on her lips, letting
Jace relax. “I need to introduce you and Jace as my mates. It’s required of my
house and will allow you to fall under my protection.”

Jace held back a scowl at that. He did not like the dragon
realm, but to complete all aspects of their mating, he would journey there.

“You said options,” Nadie said. “What’s the other one?”

His father raised his head, his lips thinning to a firm
line. “We fight.”

Jace held back a sigh.

He’d known that was the only other feasible option, as
finding a suitable replacement was beyond farfetched. But it still hurt to hear
it.

The Conclave had untold powers. If they were to fight, Jace
was not sure who would win.

“The bears would stand behind you.”

Jace frowned at his father’s words even as they warmed him.

“And if you die fighting?” Jace asked. He had to.

Nadie flinched beside him, and he took her hand, running his
thumb along her wrist.

“Then we die beside family fighting for what is right,” his
mother put in. “Absolute power will only corrupt. If my son and his mates
cannot live in peace because of the selfishness and cruelty of a Conclave of
others we’ve never met, then we must fight.”

Dante squeezed his shoulder, and Jace gave in. A fight for a
future that would be dictated by them and not a power they didn’t understand
was on the horizon.

They would fight if necessary.

They would die for one another.

He looked around at the power of his blood and of his heart.

But what of the cost?

Over a month later, Nadie still couldn’t get a grasp on how
much things had changed. The woman in the bathroom mirror was not the same
woman who had decided to walk out of Dante’s Circle and never return. She
hadn’t changed physically except for the spread of dark ink splashed with
blood-red roses.

Nadie loved the ink, though she had never thought she was a
tattoo person. The image of long lines of ink down a certain dragon’s arms
filled her mind, and she clutched the sink, a wave of deep, unending need
shocking her system.

Jace had joked with her about how long she would last until
she needed one of them again, and she had laughed. Oh she knew how weak her
human half was compared to her other one. She was a starving succubus, desire
running through her veins more potent than blood. She couldn’t last long
without release, without the life force of one of her men. The dependency
chided, but Dante said she would find her equilibrium soon.

He also said that both he and Jace craved her just as much,
if not more. Their own dependency was masked by the dominance of their beasts.

So far, with their testing, she had been able to last only
twelve hours at most until, as Dante had once put it, she would need to
feed
again.

She felt like a leach.

A leach who got to be with two of the most sensual and
dangerous men she had ever met.

Nadie ran a hand over her face, frustrated as hell she
couldn’t just get over it and learn to be this new person. It wasn’t that she
hated this new feeling, no, far from it. She’d never been the prudish and
proper little girl her parents wanted her to be—had tried to force her to be.
The frustration came from the fact that she didn’t know how to control it. She
hated feeling helpless. She’d felt helpless for two years every time she was
near Dante but couldn’t do anything about it. Two years when her body would
grow weak, her limbs heavy, her mind ready to break.

Now it seemed she was back to square one.

She shook her head. No, that wasn’t right. She was just
being melodramatic. It wasn’t like before where she felt undeniably at odds
with everything in her life and could only cling to the thread of what she
thought she could feel with Dante.

Now she had two men in her life who truly cared for her, and
she thought they soon would love her. She wasn’t delusional in the fact that
love was an option, but not a fact yet. That would come. She might have loved
the dream of Dante when she was younger, but now she was falling in love with
the man and dragon he was. Jace, too, had entered her heart in all the best
possible ways. She wasn’t ashamed of what she had, and she’d hurt anyone who
said she should be.

Another reason she wouldn’t be introducing her two men to
her family. She didn’t want the heartbreak and the tension. She’d begun cutting
ties years ago, and as with Becca and her mother, she’d sever them completely.

Strong hands clutched her hips, and she closed her eyes,
inhaling that spicy scent mixed with dark chocolate and danger. She leaned
back, her dragon’s chest hard and perfect for her.

“You’re thinking too hard,” he mumbled, his hands gliding
over her hips, her stomach, between her breasts in a soothing exploration.

She moaned into him, that inner power stretching after
waking up from a nap, reaching out to the man who held her with such care. She
moaned, rocking her body back. His erection pressed against her back, and she
let her head fall to the side, baring her neck for him. Dante licked along the
line of her neck then bit down.

Hard.

She gasped, the fire of his bite shocking her, her body
shaking. He held on, his teeth scraping against her before he licked around the
bite, soothing.

When her knees finally stopped shaking, she swallowed hard,
clearing her head. “What…what was that for?”

Dante’s gaze caught hers in the mirror. “We’re going to the
succubus realm in a few moments. While the mating bond is potent and others
should be able to sense it, I wanted to make a claim.” He grinned, slow,
sensual. “Plus I like having you come apart in my arms.”

Nadie blinked then smiled, liking how alpha her man was.
“What about me? Do I get to make a claim?”

Her mate’s eyes darkened, and he turned her quickly in his
arms before lifting by her hips to sit her on the sink. He brushed his hair to
the side, and she glimpsed the long lines of his neck, but
 
not before she saw a mark on the other side.

She licked her lips. “I take it you and Jace have already
marked each other.”

He smiled at her again, his eyes twinkling. “You took a long
time in the shower. We had to find
something
to occupy our time.”

She couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her mouth before
she pulled at his shirt so he moved closer. “I’m going to make sure none of
those women—and the men too—make a move on you. You and Jace are all mine.”

He grinned, showing very white teeth. “Of that we have no
doubt. Now sink those pretty teeth into my flesh. You don’t have sharp canines
like Jace or me, so a dark bruise will work just the same. Then we’ll find our
bear, and you two can mark each other before we go.”

She squirmed on the counter, this talk of claiming and
marking filling her with need.

Dante seemed to know exactly what she was thinking about,
but he didn’t move to help her with her ache.

“When we get home, we’ll enjoy all the tastes and
sensations, my sprite. For now, this will have to do.”

She scowled but moved him closer, craving his taste. He
growled underneath her hold, and she licked him, his salty taste settling on
her tongue. As he groaned, she bit down, not hard enough to draw blood, but to
mark him as hers. He rocked against her, his fists on either side of her as if
he was holding back his desire to crush her to him.

Her dragon, so strong yet so gentle.

Nadie sucked and licked until she was happy with her mark on
his skin. It definitely looked like a primal claim.

Perfect.

“I see we’re all getting ready to go then,” Jace said from
the doorway.

Dante grinned at her, that tongue ring of his glinting as he
licked his lips. “She’s all yours,” he whispered over his shoulder before
turning back to her. “At least for now. Once we get home though…well, I think
we’ll share quite nicely.”

Nadie rolled her eyes. It seemed she wasn’t the only one
pounding with need when it came to the triad.

“I’m going to be all hot and bothered when we go to the
other realm, you know,” she said, unsure if she actually cared or not that
everyone would know.

Jace moved Dante out of the way and leaned down to capture
her lips in a sweet kiss. She moaned beneath him, his tongue darting into her
mouth before pulling back.

“We’re going to a realm that thrives on sex and sensuality,”
Jace explained. “The fact that we’ll all walk in there with prominent marks,
need radiating off each of us, and a bond that they can’t challenge will only
help.”

“I’m so glad you guys are here to help with this, even
though it’s so weird that I’m not a human anymore.”

Jace fisted her hair behind her head and forced her gaze to
his. “You’re Nadie. You’re
our
Nadie.
That’s all that matters.”

She knew that he believed that, or he tried to. He didn’t
say that, without that hope, fighting for what they wanted, finding a way to
keep their Dante would be fruitless. Right then, though, looking into those
light green eyes, she didn’t want to think about that anymore. She deserved to
think about herself and what she wanted…if only for the moment.

“Now…about that mark,” he whispered before tugging her head
to the side and sinking his fangs into her flesh.

She cried out, not in pain, but from the scorching heat
shooting down her spine. She clung to Jace, wrapping her legs around his waist.
He growled against her, rocking his erection against her core.

He pulled away too soon, leaving them both in such need she
wasn’t sure she could walk.

“My turn,” he growled then moved his head to the side,
baring the unmarked side of his neck. She went at him as she had Dante, wanting
to crawl all over both her men, never letting them go.

Soon,
she thought
to herself.
Soon
.

The wind danced through her hair, and she took a deep
breath. The three of them stood in the clearing, waiting for the portal to open
to let them through to the succubus realm. Dante held the invitation that had
been sent by messenger just the week before. It had taken longer than she’d
thought for the succubi to get back to them about meeting, but the men said it
wasn’t unusual.

According to Dante, the entire paranormal world and its
realms knew the seven lightning-struck existed. Some were excited about new
life, others much more violent in their reactions. Nadie was the only succubus
of the group of women so far, and now she was about to meet the people that
could be her own.

She only hoped they accepted her—at least to the point that
she’d understand her powers.

“Ready?” Dante asked, his hand firmly holding hers.

“Ready,” Nadie answered, breathless.

He blew a small tendril of fire, and she smiled, loving the
small sparks of his dragon. She’d yet to see his other form—nor had she seen
Jace’s. They were all getting to know their human halves, and hopefully soon,
she’d get to know their other ones as well.

The portal opened in front of them. Unlike the bear one,
which had been a splash of color and smelled of home, this one was…sensual.
Dark smoke spiraled and curled around the opening, a deceptive laziness she was
sure was meant to entice the summoner and summoned as one. Dark red spirals of smoke
mixed in with the black before fading away, purples and pinks taking their
place before the red made another appearance.

Dante pulled her forward, and soon the three of them were
surrounded by warmth…but not of home and hearth. No, this was velvet and silk
against her skin, dark chocolate and strawberries on her tongue, firm hands on
her hips and in her hair, a sin so inviting she almost moaned in response.

Once they made their way through and the portal closed
behind them, she sucked in a breath, her body cooling as they stood in a large
room.

Dante tugged her closer, his hand a proprietary grip on her
hip. Jace stood on the other side of her, his arm draped around her shoulder in
a move no one could dismiss as casual. No, the fact that the marks on all three
were blatant and in view of all others due to their hair being pulled back
hadn’t been enough.

Not by far.

Couples, triads, and more were scattered around the large
room, their bodies writhing as they lay with one another. Some were clothed,
the bare hint of skin and seduction more heady than the full-on nudity of
others. While none of them were actually having full-on sex—Nadie had a feeling
that would come soon—they all were so sensual and inviting that her inner
succubus stretched, wanting a piece of it all.

The dragon to her left and the bear to her right, however,
blocked her in, reminding her succubus that she was theirs.

Her succubus reached through her body, wrapping its power
around her, filling her with an inner need and peace she hadn’t known she’d
possessed.

“Welcome, Nadie Morgan, to the realm that may one day call
you their own,” a woman said in front of them, her voice like a whip on bare
skin, shocking yet intoxicating.

Nadie raised her head and met the gaze of the woman who’d
called her name, barely holding back from sucking in a breath at her beauty.

The woman’s long black hair fell in soft curls around her
breasts, bringing attention to the drop-dead gorgeous curves that seemed to
scream sex and desire. Red-painted lips were a sharp contrast to porcelain skin
and dark eyes. She had the look of a cinema siren rather than a succubus…or
maybe it was both.

She wore a cream silk dress that covered her body from neck
to toe, a very different look from the others in the room who showed more skin.
However, when the woman stepped closer, Nadie saw why the woman oozed
evocativeness and seduction. The slits up the sides of her dress reached the
tops of her hips—the fact that she wasn’t wearing anything under plain and
clear. But only when the woman moved a certain way could anyone see skin.

The tease was more of a tantalization than the blatant
exoticness clothes of others.

Bravo.

The woman looked between the two men at Nadie’s sides and
smiled a smile filled with such dark promise that no one could have mistaken it
for anything else. Nadie’s hackles rose, and she bared her teeth.

Dante and Jace were
hers
.

The woman raised a brow then smiled for real this time.
“Nadie, I am Corena, Queen of the Succubi.” She raised an arm, directing
Nadie’s attention to a man by her side that Nadie hadn’t noticed.

Her mind had been so focused on her own men and the woman in
front of her that she’d missed one of the most beautiful men she’d ever seen.
Full lips, a careless grace upon his face, dark eyes, and silky chestnut hair.

Oh yes, this man was sex on a stick but paled in comparison
to the mates at her sides. She pushed warmth through the mating bond—something
both had taught her to do—and her men growled softly at her side, accepting it.

“This is Dresden, King of the Incubi,” Corena explained.

Ah, yes, Dante had explained this. The realm was rumored to
be matriarchal. However, the queen had a king who acted more of a Consort than
king. Their relationship was rumored to be open to many partners—both casual
and with meaning—but the king and queen had ruled for hundreds of years, side
by side.

It was a love story Nadie wanted to know more of, but right
then, all she wanted to do was take her men back to their home and have their
way with them. The heat and carnal energy in the room was intoxicating.