Rik

I would never have thought it possible to fit four full-sized Blood in a double-sized bed, but for our queen, we made it so.

The only way to make it work at all was for her to sleep on top of us. It was a testament to the depths of her exhaustion that she managed to sleep so deeply on such rock-hard “mattresses.” Though surely Daire’s constant purr helped.

He was curled up tight against my side, his head on my shoulder. His fucking ridiculous hair in my face. Though she liked his longer hair, and Nevarre’s, so the rest of the Blood were already joking about starting a hair-growing contest. And yeah, my hair was longer too. The first asshole who thought to try and give me a trim would find himself short a few choice body parts.

Ezra crowded close to Daire, though if he moved an inch, he’d end up on the floor, and likely drag Daire off with him. Guillaume lay on his side facing me, his thigh locked over mine and Shara’s so he didn’t fall off. His position put her ass tight into his groin, so I don’t think he minded in the slightest. She had her face buried in Ezra’s chest, though I had no idea how she could sleep with that bear rug tickling her nose.

The six-hour mark approached, when I normally changed who was in bed with her. With her sleeping so deeply, though, I didn’t plan to jostle her with new Blood sliding in. The two newest Blood, the Zaniyah twins, were chomping at the bit for their chance to join her. Not that I gave a fuck. They could wait. She had plenty of Blood ahead of them.

Maybe it was petty of me, but I’d do nothing to make it easier for them to come to my queen’s bed. I still had a bitter taste in my mouth from how House Zaniyah had “welcomed” my queen to their nest by not revealing the geas laid on their blood circle. Shara had broken that geas, but it’d cost her greatly, and I’d certainly never trust a single person from Zaniyah again.

:Mayte’s here,: Mehen said from the guest-quarters door. :She’s asking to enter.:

I especially didn’t trust their queen.

I would have asked why, but it was only four o’clock in the morning. It could only be for one reason.

Shara had enjoyed her first foray with a queen in the grotto, but I wasn’t sure that she’d want to indulge again. She’d been very clear in what she wanted. She didn’t want us to touch the other queen. She didn’t want to touch Mayte’s Blood, which would make taking this queen into her bed more complicated, unlike the light and easy lovemaking we’d shared in the grotto.

:She comes alone,: Mehen added. :No alpha. No Blood.:

I huffed out a breath. Fucking hell. If my queen tried to go somewhere without me…

Every muscle in my body objected. Strenuously. Though I had allowed her out of my sight already, like when she’d taken Mehen. I’d hated every moment, even though she certainly hadn’t gone to him for sex, but to free him from his prison.

What if one day she ordered me to stay behind while she went to another queen’s bed? If she ordered us all to stay behind?

The thought made the rock troll heave beneath my skin, begging to be freed so he could smash down the entire house around us. Though the truth sliced through me, shredding my heart into ribbons. If she ordered it… I would do it. We all would. No Blood ordered his queen. Not one. Even her alpha.

Although it was petty of me, I gave the order to Mehen to allow Mayte inside simply to torment her alpha, who’d been forced to stay behind. :Cover yourselves if you can,: I told the rest of the Blood. :You know our queen’s opinion of pants around other women.:

Ezra tugged the sheet up over him and Daire, cursing under his breath when he almost fell off the bed. Guillaume grabbed the corner of the blanket and at least managed to cover his pertinent parts.

Dressed in a thin, long robe that dragged on the floor behind her, Mayte stepped into the bedroom, and inhaled deeply when she saw all of us in the bed. She tiptoed closer and met my gaze.

I felt a tickle in the back of my mind. Fucking hell. She wanted to talk to me through her bond with Shara. I debated for a moment, not relishing the touch of a queen in my head who wasn’t mine. But she was trying to be polite, I assumed, by not waking Shara, so I allowed her access to my mind. :Yes?:

:Thank you for allowing me to see her. I can’t sleep.: She laughed wryly in the bond, her gaze locked on my queen. :I wanted to be near her, even if…:

She didn’t finish the thought, but I understood completely. I wanted to be near her every moment, day or night, whether she wanted me involved in whatever lovemaking she wished to indulge in or not.

:She sleeps like this every night? With so many?:

:She would sleep with us all not on guard duty if we had a big enough bed.:

:Oh.: Her eyes widened and she nodded. :If she graces us with a visit again, I will see to it. May I lie with her? I don’t mind being on top, or squished. Whatever’s necessary.:

:It’s not that simple.:

Her gaze dropped to the floor, her shoulders drooping. I didn’t want to send her away if Shara would like waking up to see the other queen’s eyes shining back at her. But she wouldn’t be pleased if Mayte touched any of us, even to get close to her. Getting everybody out of bed, naked, while not letting the other queen get an eyeful...

:We could shift, one by one,: Guillaume suggested.

Ezra growled out a curse—softly, because Shara stirred and nuzzled his chest. :I don’t want to leave. Not for her.:

:Yeah, I get that,: Guillaume replied. :Me, neither. But which would Shara prefer? After one more night, we’ll go home to her nest and have her to ourselves again. Mayte only has two nights, and this night is nearly over.:

:The stud has a point.: Ezra grumped, but acquiesced, letting his bear flow up to the surface as he carefully slipped out of the bed.

Guillaume’s hell horse was trickier, without the same flexibility as the grizzly. He chose instead to drop backwards off the bed and shift from the floor. Watching a hell horse try to tiptoe so his gigantic hooves didn’t ring loudly on the tiled floor and wake our queen made me choke back a laugh.

:You’re next,: I told Daire.

He’d flattened out enough beside me to cradle Shara’s head on his chest, taking up more room without Ezra at his back. He inched closer, his purring shaking the bed. :She’ll wake if she doesn’t hear me.:

Probably true, but maybe she would want to wake up, now that her queen had come to her. :Go. If she wakes and wants you back, then she’ll call you.:

Daire shifted to his warcat and Shara rubbed her face in his fur. Even in her sleep, she tangled her fingers in his fur and held on. Daire let out a pleased little huff as if to say, “I told you so,” and continued purring without leaving.

I looked at Mayte, standing silently as the Blood left the room. Her eyes searched my face. :She doesn’t want them to touch me, does she?:

:Not at all. But she doesn’t want to touch your Blood, either.:

:I’m grateful that she allowed me to keep my Blood at all.: She sidled closer, coming around the foot of the bed to the opposite side. :I’ll be careful. I won’t touch anyone but her.:

Without Guillaume against her side, Shara’s lower body sagged down to the mattress, though she still draped across my chest. Mayte slid in close to her, and pressed her face into the hollow of Shara’s lower back.

Even though Mayte’s bond was not mine, I felt an intense surge of pleasure and longing in the bond. She breathed deeply and lightly stroked her fingers along the curve of Shara’s hip. She kept her touch soft and gentle, but I still felt the stirring in Shara’s bond. She didn’t lift her head or move to indicate awareness, but she touched my bond. :She’s here?:

:She asked to be near you while you slept. She came alone, and agreed to touch no one but you.:

She lifted her head, and I felt the leap in Mayte’s bond. Hope, longing, agony that she might be sent away. Shara rubbed her face against the warcat’s neck, but released him. :Go, my furball purring machine.:

He rumbled deeper into a lower register that made my bones throb, but agreeably hopped down lightly and padded to the door. She watched him go, and laughed softly when he flipped his tail from side to side and looked back over his massive shoulder.

:Even when I’m a warcat, you can’t stop staring at my ass.:

:You know it. Thank you for shifting so she didn’t see how gorgeous you are.:

She rolled over a little to look into my face. I lifted my head, pressing my lips to hers. :Would you like me to leave too, my queen?:

Slipping her hand around my nape, she held my head, as if she feared the strain on my neck. When I would crack every vertebrae in my spine to be close to her. :No. I want my alpha to stay, unless you wish to leave.:

:Never.:

Mayte sat up on the edge of the bed and slid the silken robe off her shoulders. “I’m at your disposal, my queen. How may I pleasure you?”

Shara

Waking up with the assurance that I’d never be alone again was wonderful, though I had never woken up to the smell of flowers before.

Mayte’s dark hair fell loose about her shoulders, trailing over her full breasts. Her nipples were hard, peeking out from behind her hair, and I suddenly wondered what they would feel like on my tongue. What mine would feel like on hers.

“What do you like?” Eagerness tightened her voice. “You allow Blood to take Blood, so perhaps you like to watch. I can call Etzli or Tepeoyollotl to fuck me for you. Any way you like. Maybe you want them to hurt me. Or we can deny our Blood and make them watch us together. Torment them with what they cannot have.”

I tried not to frown, but none of that sounded… sexy to me. I did like to watch, at least when it came to my Blood, but I didn’t get off on watching someone being hurt, humiliated, or denied. Mehen had hurt Daire, yes, but it hadn’t been punishment or denial. Mehen had only given Daire what he wanted, and I’d been privileged to see how carefully the more dominant Blood had handled him. Rough, but not brutally so. Even the mighty king of the depths could be tender, and he’d controlled himself to make sure Daire was safe. That kind of rough lovemaking I’d watch anytime, day or night, and want more, more, more.

But I didn’t like the idea of making our men stand at the bed, watching their queens touch. Denying them. Making them hurt with need simply because I could. It was a fine line. I didn’t mind pain, or watching someone deal pain to their lover, as long as they were all getting off on it. Rik would never get off on that kind of play. If I made him stand beside the bed and watch while I touched someone else, even another woman, it’d be torture for him.

Not pleasure.

“I don’t like such games,” I finally said. “I don’t want to encourage any kind of jealousy, resentment, or denial among my Blood.”

Mayte relaxed, a soft look coming into her eyes that made my throat tighten. “And that is only one of the many reasons they love you so much. What would you like, my queen?”

“Just call me Shara, please. As for what I would like, I don’t really know. I’ve never been with a woman before you. Have you?”

“No. I still want my Blood, but I want to touch you too. I’ve never felt like this before. Knowing that you were here, under my roof, I couldn’t stay away. I had to be with you, close to you, even if you were sleeping.”

Staring at her, I felt my hunger stir. Need swelled inside me like a wave deep in the ocean. The wave lifted me higher, building strength. Pushing me closer to the beautiful woman in my bed.

I tasted her lips again, reveling in her softness. I loved a man’s rock-hard body, but she was lusciously soft. Her skin was like satin. Her hair, heavy silk sliding over her shoulder. Her lips were lush and full, opening for me, asking me to slide deeper. I took my time exploring her mouth, imprinting the taste of her in my head. I didn’t know when I’d ever come back to Mexico City, or if I’d ever feel like this for another woman.

I was so hungry, and she was a rare delicacy. I had to concentrate so I didn’t devour her.

My fangs ached, but I only pressed my lips to her throat below her ear.

She moaned. “Yes, Shara. Let me feed you again. Please, take what you need from me.”

I looked over at Rik to gauge his reaction. He watched me, his eyes heavy and dark.

Only for me.

You might think that such a healthy, virile alpha in his prime would be looking at both women. Mayte was naked, after all, and certainly beautiful. Most men had probably fantasized about watching two women make love.

But Rik was mine. Wholly, irrevocably mine. My rock. My always. Forever.

He looked at me like I was the moon and stars, and he’d die if he took his eyes off me for a single moment.

“Have your queen, Shara,” he rumbled, reaching out to rub his thumb over my bottom lip. “And have me too, as you want, when you want, how you want.”

My throat tightened, and my heart thumped hard against my ribcage like it wanted to escape. :I love you more than life itself.:

:And I love you, my queen.:

I pushed Mayte down onto her back. I tried to be gentle, but her breath rushed out on a soft gasp that made something perk up inside me. While I knew my Blood were predators, I'd never considered myself one, unless I was the cobra queen. But looking down at her shining eyes, her parted lips, her hair spread out on my pillow, I felt like a prowling jungle cat.

Mayte called jaguars. That was her gift. Was she calling something out of me? Something new?

I shivered a little, too turned on to worry very much about it. At least yet.

I leaned down and closed my lips over her nipple. The unique delicate hardness of a female nipple in my mouth made goosebumps race down my arms. There wasn’t any part of my Blood’s body that was so small, yet so hard, pillowed in softness.

Her desire became my desire. My hunger, hers. Lightly, I trailed my fingertips up her arms, across her shoulders and throat, down her flanks, while I sucked on her nipple. Softly, at first, but she pushed up against me, urging me on. Her bond glowed in my head. The more I touched her, the more she glowed like soft, pearly moonlight. Her scent warmed, growing sweeter and spicier the more I touched her.

Fuck, she was so soft. Her breasts filled my hands, her skin like fragile flower petals in my mouth. I quivered with the need to sink my fangs into the plumpness of her breast. To mark her as mine. To taste that sweet, hot blood simmering beneath the surface of her skin.

Was this how Rik felt when he touched me?

"Like a ravenous beast?" He moved closer, mindful of my wishes that he not touch the other woman. He leaned down and pressed soft kisses along my hip. "Yes. Every fucking time."

I shifted forward and flattened out on my stomach, giving Rik access to my legs and ass. He kneaded the muscles of my thighs and licked the hollow behind my knees.

Mayte tangled her fingers in my hair, pulling my head up a moment so I looked into her eyes. "I'm supposed to be pleasuring you, Shara."

"You are."

"But—”

"Is it alright if I touch you? If I taste you?"

She quivered beneath me, her eyes darkening. "Are you aware of what tasting a queen's desire does to a Blood?"

"Yes. What does it do to us?"

One shoulder lifted slightly, a wry, yet deliciously wicked, smile curving her lips. "I don't know. Would you like to find out?"

"Yes. Very much. And I'd like to feed from your thigh too. But I should warn you that I often feed so deeply that my Blood pass out. I'll try to hold back—”

"No," she broke in, her eyes flashing with emotion. "Don't hold back. Not for me. I want you all, Shara. I want to feed you as much as I can. I've given you so little in this arrangement. Surely you realize that you could have taken everything I have. Everything that I love. You could have even taken my daughter or killed her outright as a threat to Isador."

Her words thickened, as if tears clogged her throat, which made my eyes fill with tears too. "I would never hurt anyone like that, let alone you and your daughter."

"You could have, but you didn't. You wouldn't. Please, take me, any way you want. And if I pass out, or, goddess forbid, I die, so be it. Drain me as you wish. I make myself a willing sacrifice to Shara of House Isador."

Power swelled inside me, turning my desire even darker. Her words triggered something in me. Maybe it was the location, or the lineage of her house, but my predator side liked the idea of this sweet-smelling, beautiful woman stretched out on an altar for me to devour at will. :Don't let me hurt her,: I told Rik in the bond.

He rubbed his cheek against my calf, a deliberate rasp to help settle me. :As you wish, my queen, so it shall be.:

His words twisted inside me, his bond leaking a darker meaning. He would support me wholeheartedly if I decided to decimate her entire house after the mess with the geas. He didn't care about her in the slightest. But he did care about me, and he knew how badly I'd feel later if I actually hurt her.

I slid lower on her body, rubbing my mouth against her skin as I went. I scratched her with my fangs, fighting down the urge to feed. I'd wait. I'd wait until her cries hurt my ears, and her blood simmered with so much pleasure that her body couldn't contain it. Then I'd feast. But the silken heat of her skin against my mouth was a torment. I could smell her blood, rich and sweet like warm caramel, just below the delicate surface of her skin. Sweat beaded on my forehead, and my fangs throbbed in beat with my heart.

I kissed her stomach from one pelvic bone to the other. The skin in the crook of her thigh was paper thin, making me tremble with hunger. But I only licked the crease and breathed in her musk. She wanted me. She wanted this.

This was what Rik felt when he leaned over my pussy.

:Not even close.: His whisper was like distant thunder in my head, reverberating through my skull. He stroked his big palm up the back of my thighs and squeezed my ass. :You smell like the finest, rarest perfume in all the world. I'd do anything to breathe your musk. To taste your desire. There's nothing better in this world, except your blood. Even better if I can mix the two into a heady concoction that makes me doubt my ability to retain control.:

Yes, that was exactly what I was feeling now. That razor-wire dance of control. One misstep and I'd sink my fangs in her thigh and be done. Or I'd come myself. I could, easily, I realized. Desire hummed in me. If Rik slid his fingers between my thighs, he'd find me wet and swollen, aching for his cock.

Exactly like Mayte. Only she wasn't aching for him. She was aching for my mouth. My fingers. My tongue. My teeth.

She ached for me.