FIVE
As soon as I realized that Alex and Mason had voices that were indistinguishable, the spacious living room, which had been filled with bright September sunshine, suddenly darkened a bit, presumably because of a cloud or two rolling across the blue sky. However, the room darkening might have just been my imagination. Either that, or a slight sense of dread because I had a mystery to solve and no way as of yet to solve it.
Part of me wondered if I’d even heard the mystery speaker correctly in the first place. After all, I’d been worked up and nervous to the point of being dizzy at the time. Another part of me wondered if the whole thing had just been part of a joke anyway. Maybe it would have made more sense to me if I’d been able to hear what the person on the other end of the phone was saying, I figured. As it was, even the mystery speaker’s voice had been just slightly muffled, being that he’d been several feet outside the office and I’d been inside.
Besides, I thought, maybe what I’d overheard was none of my business. I had bigger problems to deal with anyway. Namely, the fact that I was being forced to date two men I didn’t know, whether I liked it or not.
As much as I hated the thought of being forced to do anything with the two were-dragons who were currently sitting across from me, both of them frowning hard now, I almost hated something else even more. I hated the fact that even despite the fact that I was in my current situation against my will, the thought of how utterly, devastatingly handsome Alex and Mason were in person was still somewhere near the front of my mind. This felt somehow like a betrayal, although against who or what, I couldn’t even figure out. Maybe a betrayal against myself for not going through my current situation with any thoughts other than resentment.
Across the living room, a grandfather clock chimed the hour, and once it went silent, I fully expected Alex or Mason, or both of them, to say something snarky in response to what I’d said about not having expected to be pretty much forcibly taken from my apartment that day, on pain of prison time if I didn’t comply. I expected Alex or Mason to at least maybe cast an eye roll of disgust or derision in my direction to imply that me protesting against my current accommodations was somehow unreasonable or something.
However, a bit to my surprise, although both of them were still frowning, neither of them had any other negative reaction. Instead, surprising me again, Mason slowly got up, crossed the distance to where I sat in my overstuffed chair, and knelt beside me. “We completely understand why you’re upset, Kira. You have every right to be. In fact, it would be odd if you weren’t.”
His deep voice was low, gentle. Not at all like the voice of a man who had no compassion for me. I dared to hope that maybe I’d been wrong about him and Alex in thinking that they probably wouldn’t have any sympathy for me.
Realizing that my heartbeat had begun accelerating when Mason had knelt beside my chair, I took a deep breath before responding to him. “So…do you acknowledge that what your grandfather did…taking me out of my home and everything and bringing me here…was wrong?”
The frown Mason had been wearing softened into an expression that almost resembled one of sympathy, surprising me yet again. And when he spoke, his voice held an unmistakable trace of sympathy as well.
“Yes. My grandfather is a strong, good man, but what he did to you was wrong. Alex and I both believe this. See, our grandfather’s heart is in the right place…it really is…but the way he’s gone about all this…it’s not right. Not to mention that Alex and I aren’t superstitious like our grandfather, so all this doesn’t really seem right to us even if our grandfather had gone about things the right way, by maybe simply offering you money to come here and meet us, just like any other job.”
“So, you think that the whole ‘prophecy’ thing that your grandfather believes about what his mother dreamed…about a woman with different-colored eyes choosing a new commander…you and Alex both think that’s silly?”
Mason offered me the hint of a smile. “Yes, just a bit. We want to humor our grandfather, though, because we both love him, and we’re both loyal to him. But that doesn’t mean that we exactly have to like all this.”
I offered Mason the hint of a smile in return. “Funny…that’s almost exactly what I told your grandfather earlier today. I basically said that if I have to stay here against my will, then so be it. But I don’t have to like it.”
Mason gave me another of his small smiles, curving the edges of his full lips just a few degrees. “Great minds obviously do think alike. I’m glad you now know that Alex and I have the same mindset, because the truth is that we’re all in this together. We all have to do what we have to do in order to make my grandfather happy, but really, now that we all understand that we’re all reasonable people here, that shouldn’t be too tall of an order. We just have to spend some time together, just getting to know each other. Maybe the three of us will even start seeing this all as real ‘dating.’ Just for three months, which doesn’t sound too bad to me at all. In fact, the moment I saw you and your beautiful eyes, I thought to myself, ‘Well, I’d fight off hordes of other were-dragons just to get the chance to ask her out on one single date…let alone get the chance to date her for three months.”
Feeling heat rising to my face, I couldn’t help but smile. “Well, that’s very flattering. If I’d met you outside of this situation, I think getting the chance to date you might have been on my mind, too.”
Mason smiled in return. “Then, I think that all this might turn out to be a very good thing.”
With both of us seemingly forgetting that Alex was still even in the room, sitting on the couch by himself, Mason and I continued talking, and soon, I was actually enjoying myself with him. Making me laugh, he cracked a few jokes, and in response to one of them, I made some little comment that could have been taken as sexually suggestive. Embarrassed and not wanting to give Mason the wrong impression, I quickly tried to backtrack, apologizing.
“I didn’t mean that how that sounded. When I said that I soon might get the chance to ‘see stars’ because of you, I meant that literally, just because of what you were joking about giving me a ‘dragon ride’ at night.”
Mason’s pale blue eyes twinkled with amusement. “Well, I took what you said as a double entendre, because that’s how I meant what I said. I’m more than willing to give you a literal dragon ride sometime, Kira, as well as a metaphorical one, if our dating relationship progresses, and if you want one. See, I’m just going to come out and say it. I find you incredibly attractive, charming, and beautiful, and I’d love nothing more than to give you a ‘dragon ride’ sometime. I’m pretty confident that I could get you high enough in the metaphorical sky to make you see some pretty dazzling stars.”
Mason’s very forward thinly-veiled comment about giving me orgasms powerful enough to make me see stars hung in the air for just a split-second. Then, with my face flaming, I suddenly choked or coughed a little, seemingly on thin air. Now that he’d just come right out and said what he had, I definitely couldn’t turn my gaze to his face for some reason. I couldn’t have even done so if my life had depended on it. I felt somehow naked, exposed in front of him, even though I was fully clothed.
Without missing a beat, and clearly not embarrassed by what he’d said, he took my hand, gave it a gentle squeeze, then began slowly stroking the back of it with his thumb. “I should make it clear that while you’re getting to know me and Alex, you don’t ever have to do anything you don’t want to do. However, I should also make it clear that if you do ever want to take things to a physical level, you have at your disposal two men who’d love to share your bed.”
Having a sudden thought that instantly made my stomach do a flip, or maybe a sudden lurch was more like it, I finally turned my face toward Mason. “When you say that you’d both love to share my bed…do you mean…well…at the same time, or….”
Being ravished and pleasured by two strong, handsome men at the same time had always been an erotic fantasy of mine, and now, just to think that there actually might be the possibility of this coming true, I almost felt like my head might explode.
With my mouth cotton-ball dry, I swallowed, completely unable to finish asking Mason for clarification of what, exactly, he meant.
Apparently not letting my state of being flustered affect him personally at all, he gave me a half-grin so sexy and enticing it could have only been described as devastating. “Hey…anything is possible in the weeks and months ahead, and I know that I myself wouldn’t be opposed to ‘sharing’ you with my brother in a sexual way. In fact, I can even see how something like that could happen pretty naturally. See, earlier today, Alex and I came to the conclusion that trading off date nights with you might lead to jealousy between us, or maybe lead to you picking a ‘favorite’ early on without really giving the other one of us a chance, and we do both want an equal chance at being your ‘pick.’ So, we came to the conclusion to ‘share’ time with you in the most equal way possible. If this is all right with you, anyway. We figured this arrangement might even add to your ‘dating experience’ with both of us. Maybe even greatly.”
With my stomach doing a sudden, wild flip, as if I were on a roller coaster going down a hill, I turned my gaze from Mason’s face to a plush, cream-colored rug on the floor. And when I spoke, my voice came out in a funny cross between a whisper and a squeak.
“I think this kind of a ‘dating experience’ will be just fine with me.”
“So, you agree to it? You agree to share time with Alex and me, with the possibility of that shared time becoming intimate down the road?”
My desire for my fantasy to become reality was so strong that I probably would have agreed to it right then and not sometime “down the road.”
With my face feeling as if it were engulfed in flames, I moved my head in the slightest of nods, sensing Mason and Alex both looking at me intently but determined not to look at them in return. “Yes…I agree to all that.”
Mason was still slowly stroking the back of my hand with his thumb, and this lazy, sensuous caressing of my skin made me almost want to yell yes, that I agreed to what he’d said. This feeling intensified when he picked up my hand and pressed his sensuous lips to it, planting a slow kiss on my bare skin that made me dizzy.
“Good. I’m glad to hear that’s your response, because I think we may have a few fantasies in common when it comes to bedroom activities. I don't think you’ll regret agreeing to this, Kira.”
I still couldn't look at him or Alex. I could, however, see the outline of Alex’s long, lean, muscular body in my peripheral vision, and the sight of it was serving to intensify my dizziness.
Mason lowered my hand and resumed stroking the back of it with his thumb. “Alex and I have a few things to do right now, and then we have a council meeting to attend with our grandfather. There’s been a few problems with the Darkwings here in New Detroit recently, and as our grandfather’s first lieutenants, Alex and I have to be very involved in plans of how to deal with the Darkwings.”
The Darkwings were what could have been called a “rebel” group of were-dragons who wanted to overthrow the government. Although their numbers were small and most everyone in the nation saw them as traitors and even terrorists, they hadn’t abandoned their plans for a takeover and had been causing problems, such as launching small-scale attacks on the outskirts of the capital.
Still stroking my hand with his thumb, Mason continued. “So, while Alex and I go to the council meeting, why don’t we leave you for a while, then come back with a special dinner for us all to share later, along with a bottle or two of wine? Then, after dinner…well, we can see what else might happen. How does that all sound?”
Mason’s words, his deep voice, and his caressing of my hand had me under such a sensuous spell that I couldn’t remember exactly how I was supposed to be acting around him. I’d planned to act completely standoffish, although that certainly hadn’t lasted long. All I knew at present was that I wanted to answer his suggestion of dinner and drinks with a yes with every fiber of my being. I wanted dinner and drinks with him and Alex, and then I wanted them to undress me, and then take turns ravishing me, bringing me to the “seeing stars” kind of orgasm that Mason had promised.
Despite the fact that I’d been sexually active for years and had had a few long-term boyfriends, I’d actually never had an orgasm I would have described as “powerful.” Maybe “just okay” or “satisfactory.” My boyfriend Kevin had been decent enough at lovemaking, I supposed, but I’d definitely never seen stars with him before. In fact, sometimes over the course of our relationship, I’d even had to make myself issue a faux moan here and there, just so that his male ego wouldn’t be bruised by complete stony silence on my end during some of our lovemaking sessions. However, maybe he wouldn’t have even cared. During the entire course of our relationship, he’d never once asked me if I was happy and satisfied in bed, although to be fair, I’d never asked him either. I’d always just figured that since he always climaxed, even when I didn’t, he must have been at least fairly happy with the physical side of our relationship.
Before I could respond to Mason by saying that the evening’s plans sounded just fine to me, his and Alex’s phones began going off near-simultaneously. Mason didn’t make any move to answer his, and instead just went back to kissing and stroking my hand. However, Alex answered his phone right away. First, he just listened for a few seconds, then said all right, and be right there, then hung up.
“We have to go right now, Mason. A Darkwing spy was able to fly past our northern guard, and there may be others along with him that weren’t even spotted. We’re going to have to do a sweep of the skies above the city.”
Alex stood up from the couch, pocketing his phone. With butterflies erupting in my stomach, which was still flip-flopping from the feel of Mason’s kisses and caresses, I saw that something was kind of tenting the front of Alex’s jeans. This something was large and maybe almost even bulging. Realizing that Alex had to have started to become erect just from the nature of Mason’s and my conversation, and maybe just from seeing me receive a little sensual attention from Mason, I had to work hard not to let my jaw drop. However, I couldn’t prevent my rate of breathing from accelerating, and it hit me all at once that I was no longer in a situation against my will. Physically, I wanted both of the men in the room badly, so badly that my desire for them had pushed all thoughts of everything else that had happened that day to the back of my mind. Considering that I had just about been kidnapped, this was a little shameful, I knew. Nonetheless, I could tell that fighting my body’s urges around my two suitors was going to be an uphill battle. Maybe one that I shouldn’t even bother to fight, I thought, as I stifled a sigh while allowing my gaze to linger on the bulge in the front of Alex’s jeans for just a second longer. If just a little mildly provocative talking and the sight of Mason caressing my hand had caused his male member to stiffen noticeably, I couldn’t imagine how large and hard it might be when he was fully aroused. I wondered if Mason’s member might also be large.
Then, there was also the matter of what was said about shifters when it came to sexual prowess. They were said to have stamina far beyond that of an average man, and from everything I’d heard, this didn’t sound like it was just a salacious rumor. I knew that I definitely wanted to find out for sure.
Still crouched at the side of my overstuffed chair, Mason seemed hesitant to leave, but Alex began leaving the living room before gesturing to him to follow.
“Come on, Mason. Business before pleasure. Remember?”
With a look of clear irritation, Mason glanced back at Alex. “Just one second. I have one last thing to say to our Kira.”
“Well, please make it quick, because we do need to go right now. Our city patrol is waiting for their lieutenants.”
After turning back to me, Mason just looked deeply into my eyes for a moment with his own eyes holding a little twinkle. “Do you know how I can tell that you’ve had a really long day today and are probably really in need of a nice, relaxing dinner with some wine?”
Curious and amused, I gave my head a little shake.
Mason smiled. “I can tell because you answered the door wearing your sweatshirt inside out. And the entire time the three of us have been visiting, you haven’t even seemed to notice. I’ve been thinking that it’s pretty cute.” Having rendered me a little flustered and embarrassed, Mason smiled again, gave my hand one final kiss, and then stood. “I’d like to plant a few more kisses along your hand and wrist the next time I see you. That will probably just be my starting point.”
With that, he turned and strode away to join Alex, leaving me sitting in my chair with a feeling of something electric racing through my entire body from my head to my toes. However, that feeling of electricity suddenly stopped when Alex spoke to me over his shoulder as he left the living room.
“I don't think we’ll be able to come back tonight, Kira. I’m sorry.”
I mentally swore in frustration at the Darkwings. If one of their damned spies hadn’t been spotted, I might soon have been enjoying what I had a feeling would be the most sexually satisfying night of my life.