CHAPTER 20

~ A Psychic Breach ~

 

Despite Callie’s protests and her desires to spend some time examining the objects from her past lives that the guardians had called her talismans, Kazar and Nyle are quite insistent that Callie go to bed early.  Even with Morna’s pronouncement that their human was stronger than before, the males are worried after she’d had such a scare earlier and two visions in one day. 

“You need to rest, my love,” Nyle says earnestly as he carries her into the bathroom to bathe her.  “But first, a soothing bath.”  Once there, he sets her on her feet and delivers a quick, affectionate peck on her lips.

Callie chuckles and remarks; “I am quite capable of bathing myself, Nyle.  As much as I enjoyed the attention last time you helped me in the bath, I get the feeling that you and Kazar need some time without me in the way.”  Her thoughts fly to that beautiful and savagely sexy scene she had witnessed in the kitchen earlier, and she feels guilty for coming between the two lovers just by always being around and being so needful of their care and attention.

Instantly Kazar is standing before her.  She wonders momentarily if she will ever get used to vampire speed.  “You are never in the way, Beautiful One.”  He gently cups her face and forces her to meet his gaze.  “You belong with us, and we are not complete without you.  Just as importantly, we want you with us… always.”  He smiles as though the very idea of her being with them makes him wildly happy.  “So, how could you possibly ever be in the way?” His last words have taken on a rough and growly tone, emotion making his voice come out sounding harsher than intended. 

Callie mistakes the emotion for his frustration with her and she looks away.  She simply does not buy their easy statements that she’s not an intrusion into their lives.  After all, she is the late arrival in an established and committed relationship.  The phrase “a pair and a spare” keeps running through her mind, but she doesn’t dare speak it aloud.  She has no doubt these honorable, loving, and protective men would argue the point.  But Callie believes it to be true even though these men behave as though their relationship will magickally accommodate a third person just because destiny demands it.  They attribute it to fate and claim that fate doesn’t make mistakes.

And yet, she still isn’t really buying it.  Fate cannot fix everything, smooth over every rough patch their unusual mating will encounter.  That will take effort and a willingness to accommodate and compromise from all three of them to make this work. There’s no getting around the fact that she’s going to be in the way at times.  These males are accustomed to only having to deal with each other.  And now, suddenly because some god or goddess of fate decreed it, they are three. 

But instead of voicing an opinion that she knows will likely begin an argument and possibly hurt some feelings, she changes the subject to ask about something that has been troubling her for days.  “Why does everyone insist on calling me beautiful one?”

“Because you are,” Nyle says without looking up from his position kneeling by the tub where he is preparing her bath with some wonderful orange and spice scented bubbles.  She longs to soak in the soothing hot water, to be comforted by the pleasing scents and her mates’ presence.  She’s actually quite eager to let go of her concerns for their futures, and just be.  For a time, anyway.  But Nyle’s instant response makes her wonder what they see when they look at her.

Callie turns to look in the mirror.  While she looks less gaunt and exhausted than earlier, she still looks pale, tired, and quite ordinary in her appearance.  She isn’t even in the same class with these two men when it comes to looks, and she doesn’t even want to think about how little she has to contribute in terms of abilities.  After all, she’s nothing but a frail human who might not even survive birthing the child that’s growing in her womb. 

She pushes those dark fears from her mind.  For now, her focus is in on her looks and the odd title so many use for her.  “I have a mirror right in front of me and eyes in my head,” Callie quips dryly as she critically assesses her pale features in her reflection.

“Perhaps,” Kazar challenges lightly.  “But I do not believe you actually see what is right before you in that mirror, Beautiful One.”

Callie just shakes her head and says; “But there’s more to it than that.  Even women have been calling me beautiful one, like it’s a name or something.”

Nyle chuckles and turns from the tub where he has been stirring the water to raise a froth of luxuriant bubbles to look up at her from his kneeling position.  “You really do not know, do you?”

“Obviously, or I would not be asking.  I’m not the kind of woman who fishes for compliments.  I do not put any stock in flattery, so why would I waste my time actively seeking it?”  She turns from the mirror and smiles at her would be mates.  “Honestly, I put little stock in the opinions of others about me in general.  I know my strengths and my weaknesses.  Right now, I’m just trying to figure out why people are calling me Beautiful One.”

Nyle rises to his feet and leads her over to sit on the bench near the tub where he again kneels before her.  With painstaking tenderness, he eases the slippers from her slightly swollen feet.  “Your name, Callie, means beautiful.  And I googled to make sure, but it also seems that in every single incarnation you were given a name that means beautiful or lovely.”  He rises up to kiss her lips as Kazar watches from his position leaning against the vanity. 

Kazar shrugs.  “It’s bound to be significant.”

“Maybe,” Callie agrees quietly, still feeling doubtful but not willing to say so.  Feeling totally comfortable with her men and being somewhat distracted by their conversation, she raises her arms to help Nyle as he deftly removes her tank top.  When he sits back on his haunches to just take her in, she blushes under his scrutiny.  Her blush deepens when he informs her that the name fits.  Nyle moves to remove her yoga pants, and she raises her bottom from the bench, but continues chatting about the odd experiences of the day.  In the back of her mind, she’s amazed at how comfortable she is being bared before two such perfect specimens of manhood.  But in this moment, her real focus is on her men and not her naturally restrained nature.

Once she is clad in only her mismatched undies, a neon pink jersey bra decorated with cartoon daisies and a pair of plain black cotton panties, both men are drawn to be nearer to her, to touch, to taste, to savor her presence in their lives. 

Kazar moves to sit next to her on the bench, where he gently turns her face toward him so that he might claim her mouth for a kiss.  And holy moly, can the man kiss!  With a tender declaration to cherish her, always, he draws her out of her reserved shell, and inflames the passions she keeps banked deep in her soul.

Kazar nips, licks, teases, and caresses her lips with his own and his tongue until she opens in a gasp of pleasure as Nyle’s hands trail down from her shoulders over her chest to cup her very average sized breasts in his strong hands.  Kazar capitalizes on her distraction and uses his tongue to explore her mouth and coax her tongue to join him in a dance as old as time. Nyle’s talented fingers tease her nipples through the material of her bra before tugging the cup down to expose the dark coral colored tip.  He groans and tells her she is beautiful before his mouth captures the tip for an exploratory lick, suck, and nibble which makes Callie moan and arch into his compelling ministrations.

Just as Nyle exposes her other breast to give it the same type of adoring attention, Kazar slowly slides his hand over her distended belly, leaving no doubt in her mind that he adores her and the child she carries.  Her ecstatic emotional response causes the baby to do joyful somersaults in her belly, as Kazar’s hand moves down lower still, until his long fingers slip inside the elastic waistband of her panties.  His skilled touch teases her nearly hairless mound and causes her to shudder in pleasure just as he finds her center. 

For a fleeting moment, she wonders if she should be embarrassed that she is already so wet, swollen, and very sensitized after just a few kisses and a bit of attention shown to her breasts.  But Kazar’s words ease those worries instantly.  “So responsive, so deliciously wet,” he purrs against her lips in a deeply accented voice which reveals his ancient heritage.  Those talented fingers wickedly tease her clit with a light touch, around and around, only to barely brush over the swollen little bundle of nerves randomly.  “So perfect,” the vampire murmurs.  “So ours.”

Nyle growls after releasing the nipple he had been gently suckling to move his hands lower and peel the cotton panties from her body.  When she raises her hips to help him, Kazar’s fingers slip easily inside her slick entrance to make her moan and jut her hips forward, seeking deeper penetration.  “Giotán blasta, you smell delicious.  I want to taste you.  I want to eat you up.”

Kazar laughs wickedly and withdraws his fingers which had been teasing her sweet spot, making Callie whimper in protest.  But her attention is focused on her males when Kazar offers his slick digits to their mate and orders, “Suck her essence from my fingers.” 

Utterly enthralled by the beauty of their interactions, Callie watches as Nyle slowly sucks Kazar’s fingers into his mouth, licking, sucking, and savoring her taste on their lover’s hand. 

“Suck harder,” Kazar commands masterfully.  Nyle’s eyes blaze with feral intensity at the edict, and eagerly complies as Kazar shoves his fingers ever deeper into his lover’s mouth until he withdraws his fingers with a popping sound, causing both males to growl savagely. 

Kazar leans down to kiss Nyle’s mouth, possessively, hungrily, making both men growl even more loudly as Callie watches enraptured by their connection.  Nyle reaches over and grasps Callie by the back of her neck to tug her closer.  “Kiss your lovers, aingeal míne.  Savor your honey on our lips.”

With an eagerness that surprises them all, Callie complies.  She attacks Nyle’s mouth, her tongue invading to seek out the heady concoction of their combined tastes.  She moans as she deepens the kiss, grasping the side of his beloved face with both of her hands as she takes possession of her male’s mouth, leaving her mark of ownership there.  As she pulls back, she nips his lip hard enough to draw blood and greedily sucks the red fluid from the wound. 

“You are mine,” she growls in a wholly inhuman voice.  “Always mine.”

She turns her attention to Kazar and he gasps because her eyes are glowing crimson.  “You as well, vampire.”  Reserved and stoic Callie is nowhere to be found as she claims his mouth with a fervor that speaks of great need and hunger.  She explores her vampire lover’s mouth boldly, with a savage intensity that astounds and delights Kazar.  Her tongue and lips are plainly marking him as her own.  With a wicked gleam in those eerie red eyes she withdraws just enough to nip his lip with teeth that are sharper than they should be, to draw blood, and greedily feast upon his life giving essence.  “Always mine,” she snarls just before she’s plunged into another vision.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

The bright sunshine of the Oklahoma summer morning illuminates the massive solarium, reflecting brightly off the ruby facets of her natural armor as the massive creature fights off her foul attackers.  Like a horde of locusts, the blood drinkers and flesh eaters converge on her massive body, working in concert and doing their level best to bring down the mighty behemoth.

Fire blasts from the giant mouth of the scarlet beast, driving back her attackers as they try to get around her.  But she’ll never allow these foul creatures to lay a hand on the precious soul she is protecting. 

NEVER!

The mighty beast roars so loudly that the remainder of the glass wall vibrates and shatters, just as her long and deadly tail armored with razor sharp ridges easily removes the heads of three Ghouls attempting to get around her left flank.  Before the attackers can rally again, reinforcements arrive to help the mighty beast drive the marauders from her territory.

With a triumphant roar, she resumes her humanoid battle form, her strong and battle-ready body is covered with gleaming, faceted, gem-like scales that reflect the sun in an intricate kaleidoscope of patterns in shades of ruby, scarlet, crimson, and blood red.  She strides toward the now open wall with the shattered glass fragments crunching unnoticed under her bare feet.  The warrior’s deadly glare is focused at a point on the top of the hill where the fleeing horde is rallying around a tall woman wearing gleaming black battle armor heavily decorated with gaudy golden scrollwork and a flowing midnight cape.  The tall woman’s jet black hair is waving wildly in the unnatural wind that is a byproduct of her foul magick.  She reaches up to brush the wild tresses from her face to expose a countenance that would be perfection were it not for the blatant malice distorting her perfect features.

“I’m coming for you, Dysnomia!”  The ruby warrior speaks in a calm and normal voice because the goddess can hear her perfectly well, even at this distance.  “You will pay dearly for invading my home.  I will gleefully feast upon the marrow of your bones after I’ve lain waste to your horde of minions.  You had better run, far, far way, little girl, and never come back to this realm.”

The evil goddess simply raises her chin in wordless defiance before she flashes away, taking her evil horde with her.