Chapter Nineteen
Meg woke to Beck gently pushing his way into her body. Her eyes fluttered open, and she was on her back with Beck above her.
“Good morning, wife,” Beck said as he moved his hips and worked his way into her.
“Good morning,” Meg said with a smile.
She didn’t protest his treatment of her. It was all a part of being Beckett Finn’s woman. Meg hooked her legs around Beck’s waist as he began to thrust in earnest. He buried his face in her neck. Meg was happy he hadn’t gone back to that polite lover this morning. A small part of her feared he would retreat again, and she wasn’t sure she could handle it. The night before had been everything she could have hoped for. She could handle fighting him for control every inch of the way, but she would rather die than have Beck treat her the way he had before. Now that she’d really tasted his passion and all that could exist between the three of them, she knew she could never go back.
Meg wasn’t even warming up when Beck started to come. It didn’t matter. Beck opened the bridge between them, and Meg nearly wept at the pleasure he took. It felt so good to feel what he felt. He loved to fuck her, and it was so much more than simple sensation. He loved her. Everything about her. It came across in the emotion he pushed toward her. She was his, and he was a better man for it.
Beck’s whole body tensed. His balls drew up almost painfully, but he welcomed the sensation.
Meg gave over and, for a few seconds, almost became Beck. His thoughts and emotions flowed over her as though she was the one having them. Beck loved that she was so warm and tight. Beck drew out just to shove his way back in. She was his, his to protect, to love, to fill. He was sure now that she wouldn’t fight his claim on her. That fact gave him great peace. Beck was smiling as he pressed deep one last time and shared his orgasm with her.
Meg felt his deep contentment as he crushed her into the mattress. It took him a moment before he had the energy to roll off her, but even then, he gathered her close.
“How are you this morning, wife?” Beck asked.
Meg opened her eyes and smiled at him. Every cell in her body was sated and languid.
“I’m surprisingly rested after everything you and Ci put me through last night. Where is he?” Meg looked around.
Cian wasn’t on her other side. When they had finally settled down to sleep, Cian had been pressed to her side. It was funny how she had gotten used to having him against her at night. She supposed she would quickly get used to sleeping in between her husbands.
“Love, we bonded fully last night,” Beck said, gently brushing back her hair. His eyes were warm, but there was a tight set to his mouth. “You do know what that means? Cian and I are together now. We’re one, thanks to you. I’m the dominant personality. I absorbed him, but he’s here with us. He’s always going to be with us.” Beck put a hand to her heart. “He’ll always love you, wife.”
Tears began to well in her eyes. A feeling of panic threatened to overtake her. Cian was gone? How was that possible? She’d believed that by becoming the bridge between them, they would be stronger individuals. How could she have lost Cian? “I don’t understand.”
“Dominant personality, my ass,” came a sarcastic voice from the doorway. “It looks like you’ve absorbed a great deal of my personality, brother, but I assure our wife that I am still here.”
Meg sat straight up in bed. Cian leaned against the doorframe, his lips quirked up. Beck laughed at his own joke. Meg picked up a pillow and hit him in the head with it. “Jerk.”
There were tears in Beck’s eyes as she drew her gown over her head. “I’m sorry, love. I couldn’t help it. He’s right. I absorbed too much of his personality.” Beck sat up and regarded his brother. “It feels good to laugh. Did you get any of mine?”
“I suppose I did,” Cian allowed. “After all, I am up before the two of you. I decided I should go check on the fields. I put work before pleasure. It’s horrible. I’ll have to fight the instinct.”
“Well, I woke up knowing full well I had a lot to do this morning,” Beck said, pulling Meg back into bed. Meg couldn’t help but laugh as he pressed his lips to her neck. “And still, I couldn’t force myself away from our very warm, very sexy little wife. I think I’m going to enjoy having a piece of you inside me, brother.”
Cian rolled his eyes. “I’m glad for you. Unfortunately, I think the piece I took of you got stuck up my ass. If the two of you are finished fucking, I would like for you to join me outside. Something’s happened.”
Beck went still. “What is it?”
“You’ll have to come outside to see,” Cian said solemnly. “I really can’t describe it to you.”
Beck kissed her again and gently eased her off his lap. “Cover up, love.”
He rolled out of bed and pulled on his trousers. He shoved his shirt over his head and lastly, made sure his sword was secure across his back. Meg just grabbed her robe. Cian led them out of the bedroom, toward the door of the cottage.
“What on earth?” Meg asked as she was drawn into the living area. The ivy she had woven around the doorway had invaded the house. Thick vines of green had come in through the door and the windows.
Cian grinned broadly. “You’re not on the Earth plane anymore, lover. And here, things just got a little more complicated.”
Meg’s eyes grew round with wonder as she walked outside. The marigolds she had planted in the flowerbeds at the front of the house had multiplied overnight. The blooms were huge and each petal brimmed with life. Even the grass around the cottage seemed greener and lusher than it had the previous day.
“Cian, what the hell happened here?” Beck asked.
Cian winked at Meg and let go of her hand. He pulled a large nut seed out of his pocket and held it up for their inspection. “Well, brother, I think I happened. You should probably stay back.”
Cian knelt down and shoved the seed into the ground. It was a bare second before the dirt rumbled. Cian was forced to step back. The tree shot up, fully formed from the seed Cian had planted. Meg heard Beck curse under his breath.
“What does it mean?” Beck asked, his mouth hanging open. He walked slowly around the new tree, inspecting it from all angles. Meg did the same and was awed with the vitality of the thing. It was so alive. The tree looked as though it had been there for ten or fifteen years, not mere seconds.
“You know what it means,” Cian replied, looking more serious than Meg remembered him ever being. “Look at the fields, brother. Look at the fields, and tell me the legends were wrong.”
Meg turned with Beck and gasped as she took in the lush fields that had replaced the struggling ones. Crops that shouldn’t be harvested for a month were ripe and ready to be picked.
“Someone needs to explain this to me,” Meg said, since her husbands seemed to be speaking their own language.
“It’s an old legend, Meg.” Beck bent over as he inspected a particularly luscious strawberry plant. “Back in Tir na nÒg, the legend had it that when royal symbiotic twins were born, if they found the right bondmate, she would bring them into their true power.”
“So now Ci is some sort of agricultural deity?” Meg asked.
It was hard to believe the question came out of her mouth, but she was starting to accept that things worked very differently in her new home. She’d negotiated a trade deal with goblins just a few days ago. Why couldn’t her new hubby become a god?
“I’m a Green Man.” Cian spoke slowly, seeming to savor the words. “All things green and vital answer to me.”
A wind suddenly whipped around Meg’s skirts. It was an odd wind. It was strong and seemed happy to stay where it was. Meg turned around and had to catch the hem of her skirts as the wind blew from underneath and exposed her legs.
“What the hell?” Meg moved to Cian, who was laughing at the wind’s antics.
“And I’m a Storm Lord,” Beck said. Wonder filled his voice as he lifted a finger and the little wind calmed. It brushed gently against her cheeks, as though giving her a kiss. “My power comes from the winds and the rain. That’s amazing. I could call the rains if I wanted. I know how to do it. It’s like the information has always been in my brain, but now I can access it.”
Cian’s hand found hers. “That’s how I felt this morning.”
A thought occurred to Megan. “So you got the power to do cool stuff with plants, and Beck can make it rain.”
“Lover, Beck can bring the power of a storm to our aid, and don’t discount what I can do,” Cian warned her. “I can trap an army in the vines and grass I can pull from the ground beneath us.”
“I get that,” Meg said with a frown on her face. “What I don’t get is how this helps me. You two get superpowers, and I get what?”
Cian smiled broadly. “You have a power, Meggie. You have a magical pussy. It was sleeping with you together that brought us into our power. That vagina of yours is pure gold, lover.”
Meg gave Cian a playful shove and rolled her eyes while he and his brother had a good laugh.
“Don’t go expecting to use it on anyone else,” Beck said as though the thought had suddenly occurred to him. “That only works on the two of us.”
Meg walked up to him and gave him a saucy smile. “Yes, Beck, I was planning on opening up shop. I was going to hang a sign on the cottage door and charge for it.”
Beck’s eyes narrowed. He exchanged a glance with his brother. “This is that sarcasm thing she warned me about, right?”
Cian leaned in for a kiss from his wife. It was swift and sweet. “That it is, brother. Our sweet Meg is very good at sarcasm. I don’t think we have to worry about her with other men. Now that you’ve let yourself off the leash, I suspect you’ll be between her legs three times a day. Try to remember I need her, too.”
Beck stole a kiss as well, though his was neither quick nor sweet. His tongue plundered like the pirate he was. When he let her go, Meg held on to his arm to steady herself. “I promise nothing, Ci. And you seriously underestimate me if you think it’s only going to be three times a day.”
The downside to having two husbands suddenly became very obvious to Meg. “Let’s talk about this, boys.”
Whatever else she had to say was lost as two of the villagers were riding up to the cottage. They rode swiftly, each man leaning forward in the saddle with great determination. The very air around her became tense. Beck reached for the sword on his back. It was in his hand as they made their way back to the cottage.
“Your Highnesses,” one of the young men called out. Both of the men dismounted and made courtly bows.
“Niall, Eiric,” Cian greeted the men. “What has happened?”
“’Tis the miller’s daughter,” the one Meg thought was Niall said. There were tears in his eyes.
“Bri?” Meg asked, feeling her stomach clench. She was a sweet girl of barely sixteen years. Meg had spent an afternoon with the girl and her parents. What had happened to her?
“Yes, ma’am,” Eiric confirmed. “There’s been an accident. Her father begs Your Highnesses to come and figure out what has happened to his daughter.”
“How bad is it?” Beck asked the men.
“’Tis bad, Your Highness,” Niall replied. “Very bad. The miller needs his Kings.”
Cian and Beck shared a look between them.
“One of us should go and one should stay here with Meg until we determine if it’s safe,” Beck said.
“The women have gathered at the miller’s house,” Eiric offered. “Bri’s mother is very distraught. The queen would be very welcome there.”
“Assign a guard to the house,” Cian ordered.
“At least three,” Beck added.
Beck turned to her, but Meg knew her duty. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll get dressed and go to Bri’s mother. Niall can take me. You and Ci go and find out what’s going on.”
Beck sighed and leaned down for a kiss. “Stay safe, wife.”
Meg held Beck’s hand as she reached up to kiss Cian. It felt so right when the three of them were physically connected. “You two do the same. Come and get me when you’re done.”
Beck whistled, and Sweeney appeared from the fields where he tended to run free during the day. As her husbands followed Eiric, Meg raced into the cottage, promising Niall she would be swift.
Meg quickly changed into soft brown trousers and a linen shirt. She shoved her boots on and laced up the black vest that completed the outfit. She had a more formal dress, but she wanted to be prepared to work if she had to.
Meg grabbed her satchel and draped it across her shoulder so it hung over her torso and rested against the opposite hip. She made sure she had the small medicinal kit Flanna had taught her to use. Just as she was going back out the door, the vampire computer caught her eye. She picked it up and slipped it into the satchel. It couldn’t hurt. If nothing else, it played movies from the Vampire plane. Perhaps a movie would entertain the children.
“I’m ready, Niall,” she called out as she walked through the door. “Niall?”
He was on the ground, his head at the oddest angle. Meg tried to get to Niall, but before she could reach the young man, a hand grabbed her arm. Ice seemed to flow up her skin, causing her to shiver.
“Not so fast, Your Highness,” a deep voice said.
Meg’s stomach turned as she looked up into red eyes. They smoldered from a cadaverous face. Meg remembered that face. It haunted her dreams. The Planeswalker’s skin was taut across his sharp bones like a corset that had been pulled far past its wearer’s comfort.
“What do you want?” Meg asked, forcing herself to breathe deeply.
There was no point in struggling. She could feel the strength in the demon’s claws. At this point, the wicked talons the demon possessed were merely brushing against her skin. Meg had no doubt they would sink into her flesh if she gave him the slightest provocation.
“What do I want? Oh, so many things, Your Highness,” the demon said with a rueful sigh.
He towered over Meg at roughly seven feet. His body was long and thin to the point of emaciation. He stared down at her. Those eyes were pitiless pools regarding her with curiosity. Meg didn’t know that she wanted a demon curious about her. “You really are their queen, you know. Even the hag has figured that out. Tell me something, have the twins come into their magic, yet? I rather think so. I can smell the power in this place now.”
“Why don’t you ask my husbands?” Meg tried. She knew it wouldn’t work. Niall was dead not three feet away. The Planeswalker hadn’t come to request an audience.
The demon chuckled. “I think not. I have a contract, you see. Someone is paying me to take you off the plane. Odd, isn’t it? You’re just a little cash cow, sweetheart. I made money stealing you from your plane, and now I make money taking you back. The village hag is paying me handsomely to get rid of you. She wanted me to kill you, but I told her she didn’t have enough to pay for that. I will have to stay away from this plane for a while as it is. If I killed you, I suspect the warrior half might never stop hunting me. I gave the hag a spell to take care of him, but I don’t trust her to get it right. I can’t have the warrior pursuing me.”
“The intellectual half wouldn’t be too happy, either,” Meg commented. She was trying not to think about the hag the demon mentioned. It was impossible. Someone in the village wanted to hurt Beck and Ci. She started to panic. They were in the village right now. What if Bri’s accident had really been a trap? “I don’t want to go back.”
A sly smile split the demon’s face. He showed jagged, sharp teeth. “Of course you don’t, dear. You’re a pathetic little nothing on your plane. Here, you’re a queen.” He shrugged. “It’s kind of a crappy kingdom, though. At least on the Earth plane you’ll have running water. Look at it that way, dear.”
“No,” Meg said, pulling her courage around her. “I won’t go.”
“You’re going to be trouble, aren’t you?” the demon asked. “Oh, well, we can do it the hard way, then.”
As the demon brought his fist down on Meg’s head, she wished she’d been smart enough to lie.