He lowered his lips toward my mouth at the same time as he lowered his body fully over me. When his thighs were parallel to mine, and his hips positioned right where I wanted them, he kissed me. This time, his kiss was gentle and soft, filled with something I longed for but didn’t dare give name to yet.
His kiss deepened, but didn’t ask for more than the openness I was already giving him. He didn’t prod; he met me halfway. And as my heart swelled, I didn’t bother to worry about what that might mean, we came together.
His first thrust was slow and gentle, gliding as if we had all the time in the world to share. He continued to kiss me while sustaining our rocking motion, our bodies slick and fitting together perfectly.
When he finally broke our kiss, it was only to hold my gaze. He was completely opening himself to me in a way I’d never experienced before. This was something new. For me. But maybe also for him judging by the way his face was soft, his eyebrows dancing along with his eyes.
Don’t cry, Evie. Don’t cry, dammit. But I couldn’t seem to help it.
‘Those are good tears, right?’ he asked, and I didn’t even feel embarrassed to be crying. He was right here with me. He must sense at least some of what I felt. Maybe it was the pregnancy, but maybe it was more.
Nodding, I didn’t bother to staunch the tears that rolled gently down my cheeks. Since I’d met the alpha, I’d been one big mess.
My neck stretched up as my head lifted to claim his mouth. His kiss continued to be gentle, and just what I needed—all that I’d needed without realizing it, or perhaps more accurately, without letting myself think I needed someone like him.
I didn’t want to close my eyes, but I had to do it. What sparked through his was too fierce, too powerful.
I gave up... I gave myself to him. Pleasure danced beneath my skin as he wound me up again.
The matching desire in me met every one of his thrusts. My thoughts turned blessedly silent as I devoured the fire in his eyes, the heat of his body, and the way he lit me up all the way to my core.
When our bodies were slicked with sweat and the scent of desire, he picked up the pace. Every part inside of me responded to his movements. And when I felt him begin to unravel, I met those open, bright eyes, and followed his climax into one of my own. Even as pleasure exploded through every nerve ending in my body and I was sure I’d melt, I didn’t let go of his eyes.
He didn’t let go of mine even as he struggled to keep them open, wincing against that fine line between pleasure and pain.
And still... his eyes held mine.
A scream ripped from my throat as a wave of pleasure mixed with a tinge of pain rocketed through my entire body. My thighs and buttocks clenched and I pointed my toes. My back arched as it jerked off his bed.
He held onto me until his body and mine entirely ceased their quivering. Breathing heavily, he kissed me once more.
“Mine,” he whispered against my lips, and I knew he was right, all the way to my vibrating core.
Whether I wanted it or not, I was his.
‘Dammit, Ev, answer me!’ Cass’ freaked-out call managed to find its way into my lust-addled mind. ‘Are you all right? If you don’t answer me right now, I’m coming to find you. I don’t care where you are.’
Brock’s knees were on either side of my hips, his hands on opposite sides of my shoulders, and he was kissing me like there was nobody else in the world that mattered.
And yet, here was Cass, inside my head.
But I couldn’t entirely blame my poor bestie. If he’d felt some of what I’d just gone through, out of context, it probably seemed like someone was torturing or killing me.
‘Sex. Brock,’ I managed to get out, Neanderthal style, but it’d be enough for the best BFF in the world. Now that Cass understood I wasn’t being skewered, he’d go radio silent. We’d long ago agreed that we wouldn’t interfere in each other’s love life. Did I think love? I meant sex. Sex life. And that usually meant I was the one not interrupting Cass.
‘Cass thought you were in trouble, huh?’
He startled me, and my lips stuttered against Brock’s as I discovered him in my mind.
‘You can hear Cass?’ I pulled my head back to look into Brock’s eyes. Like mine, they were glazed; we were managing this conversation with only part of our faculties.
‘Through you.’
‘Wow. That’s crazy.’
‘Maybe. Can we talk about Cass later, though? I’d rather not be thinking about him at the moment.’
Right. Pushing Cass from my mind, I matched the ferocity of Brock’s gaze. He wasn’t finished with me yet.
A slow grin crept across my face. Lucky me.
23 Aftermath
The next morning everything felt different. Brock and I were grinning at each other like fools, over breakfast on his porch. Last night wasn’t just sex. It was something else entirely, but I was going to avoid talking about it and labeling it for as long as possible.
“Pass the butter please,” I asked him, trying not to focus on the fact that he wasn’t wearing a shirt.
He beamed, handing me the butter and scanning my body up and down, pausing on my exposed legs.
‘Where are you? I’ve got news,’ Cass blurted into my head.
I didn’t want to return to reality yet, but I’d never ignore Cass, especially not when it sounded urgent.
‘On Brock’s porch,’ I told him.
‘Having sex?’
I rolled my eyes, while Brock laughed across from me. I’d forgotten he could hear Cass and me.
‘No. Come over,’ was all I said, blushing a little.
I looked at my alpha. “Can you put a shirt on so I can concentrate?”
A huge grin swept across his face, and he stood, leaning forward to kiss me chastely before disappearing into the house. Mercifully, he returned clothed. Across the field, my friends came into view. Cass, his little wings fluttering, and Molly with her hair in a purple top knot.
“How old is Cass?” Brock asked.
“Like two hundred.”
He was an old bastard, that was for sure.
“And the pink fur... was he born like that or…?”
My eyes widened as my friends approached. “Shhh. We don’t talk about that.”
It had taken me years to break Cass out of his hot pink fur insecurity. Brock simply chuckled, and put his hands in the air in defeat.
Cass couldn’t fly high enough to get up over the railing because his wings were comically small, so instead he dropped to the ground and took the stairs, with Molly behind him.
My demon imp partner was wearing a pair of sensible, black biking shorts that reached his knees. Very unlike him.
I eyed him suspiciously. “What’s going on? You’re dressed weird.”
He looked down at the boring shorts and sighed. “I was up all night with Molly poring over Calista’s files. Mack finally sent them over.” He held a small stack of papers.
“What did you find?” He’d piqued my curiosity and I hated waiting.
His wary gaze went to Brock. “Is he in our group now?” His voice indicated that he’d prefer I say he wasn’t. Cass was the jealous type. Anything that threatened our friendship made him rabid.
“Yes. He’s with us now,” I confirmed. After last night, I was sure I trusted the alpha.
My reassurance had an effect on Brock. His body posture softened, and he leaned into me, but I pretended not to notice.
Cass sighed, as if resigned to the new arrangement. “Alright, prepare yourself. Molly, you may present our findings.”
Molly perked up, smoothing her ACDC t-shirt over her ripped jean shorts, and straightening her posture. “Well, to put it bluntly, Calista is one of triplet sisters.”
The moment the words left her mouth, my spoon crashed to my plate. “What? How? Where is the third?” I asked in a rush.
Calista was loose and the second was locked up. There’d better not be a third crazy scary siren out there to find. It had to be a mistake, right?
Molly started to pace. “That’s the thing, we found old records of the founding supernaturals and what year they got here, who’s in their family, etcetera…”
“Okay…” I was hanging on her every word.
Molly stopped pacing to look at me dramatically. “Calista and her sister were some of the original sirens to come here, and they reported that their third sister got left behind. Behind ‘the gate.’ They filed a loss form and everything.”
I shot to my feet. “The gate? She mentioned a gate?”
Holy shit!
Molly nodded. “So we searched all the lore we could get our hands on, and it turns out these three sirens are super evil. Like, they steal humanity’s soul to get more powerful, kind of evil. And when they’re all together, that’s exactly what they do.”
My heart began to pound. “Steal humanity’s soul?” I was aware that dark sirens lured unsuspecting men, and fed off their souls every few years to keep them young, but what Molly was saying sounded bigger.
“I remember hearing stories of three siren sisters a long time ago.” Cass answered this time. “If Calista finds the gate and gets her sister out, the two of them will for sure manage to free the other one from prison. And then the siren triplets will be too powerful to stop. Humanity could go extinct.”
So… no biggie?
I paced, unable to remain still as all the information swirled in my head. “How did we catch Calista, and the other one so easily the first time?” I asked Cass.
He shrugged, hooking a thumb into his waistband. “Either they let us catch them, or Calista’s done something to become ten times more powerful since then.”
“Like partner with a witch,” Molly chimed in, referring to our earlier theory.
I nodded. “Or she’s fed on some human souls.”
Molly blanched, but Cass nodded. “Or both,” he added. “I’ve heard that sirens can give their gift of immortal beauty to another. That could be how she’s paying the witch.”
“With human souls?” I asked.
Cass nodded. “Like bind your witch powers to me, and I’ll add fifty years to your life and make you look twenty again.”
Holy shit!
Witches weren’t immortal. They died after a hundred and twenty so years, and they looked old as hell like the rest of the humans. Youth would be a powerful motivator to a witch. I needed to contact the human police, and find out if they had any recent unsolved murders.
Brock, who hadn’t said a word, stood.
“Where are you going?” I asked my baby daddy.
“To get my shotgun. I don’t like where this conversation is going.” He disappeared into the house and reappeared thirty seconds later with two weapons. One he handed to Molly, the other he kept for himself. “If I remember correctly, you know how to use that,” he stated.
Blushing, she accepted the shotgun with a nod.