Page 47

Harper

“This is happening,” I said as soon as they walked into my room. “No more excuses…” Trying to be sassy is hard when your voice cracks on the words. The guys looked at me in concern, but that’s not what I needed. “Naked, all of you, now.”

“Harper—” Kieran started to say.

“No…” If I blinked, I’d see it all over again.

Daria, Dax, Mack… I shook my head, as if that was enough to dislodge the memories.

It did keep them back for a moment, long enough to focus on this.

“No. You’ve been holding me off with dreams and ‘Harper, you’re not ready’ and ‘just jump.’” My eyes ached and I wanted to scrub at them, but then the tears would come.

Later, I promised, just let me have this. “Well, I’m done waiting. I’m done.”

Whatever it was in my voice that they heard, it stopped all conversation. The guys glanced at each other and then moved. Bloodied clothing and dirt-streaked garments were tossed on the floor, all evidence of today tossed aside, just leaving them.

My mates.

It was then I realised I was still dressed, so I wrenched my shirt off, then my jeans, stepping free, and that’s when I heard their collective growl. Not from overwhelming lust, which I admit, was kinda disappointing. Instead, their focus was entirely trained on the marks left on my body.

“Don’t,” I said, shaking my head. “Don’t.”

“You need a shower,” Kieran said. “And medical assistance.”

“I need you.” My throat worked, but that did nothing to dispel the massive lump there. “I don’t need a doctor. I need?—”

“I know.” Tor tried to smile and failed, something far more real in his eyes. It shone as he got closer and closer, something finally settling when his hand touched mine. “I know.” Our fingers linked together. “I feel it too.”

My hand rose and came to rest on his chest, the frantic beat of his heart all the reassurance I needed, because mine was exactly the same. I stepped close, never having felt as conscious of what I was doing as now.

Were Tor’s lips always this soft? Did he always smell spicy, like really expensive incense?

Had his hair slipped through my fingers when I raked them from root to tip, soft as silk?

Every sensory detail hit me like a gut punch, then demanded I look for more.

The hard expanse of his chest, the way his muscles flexed, I absorbed it all as my shaking hand swept across it.

His little intake of breath as my hand moved slower, his breath raspy, right as his hand went around my wrist.

“Harper—”

He was going to do what he always did. Put me on the bed and worship me like a queen, and while I was definitely open to ongoing princess treatment, that’s not what this was about.

“Last time was about me,” I said. “Getting my rocks off, then getting the fuck out. I can’t let myself be that selfish again.”

“Harp—”

I pressed my fingers gently against his lips and when he fell silent, I rubbed a thumb across the seam, right before his tongue flicked out, tasting me.

My smile couldn’t be held back as my hand pulled away.

One couldn’t stop roaming, caressing his chest, tracing the shape of his nipples, then each cobblestone ab.

The other? One finger slid up his thigh, then to his hip, suddenly shy.

Before I was full of prurient curiosity, treating him like a sideshow freak, something to gawk at. Now? Now I wanted to know exactly what those spines did for him.

“I…” My lips thinned. “I don’t really know what I’m doing,” I said, as my thumb traced the shape of the base of one spine.

“That feels pretty damn good…” he gasped.

“Harper got you messed up?” Mack asked, prowling closer.

“Like she did…” Tor’s eyes fell closed as I stroked the length of one spine.

His brows creased, making me think I was hurting him, but when I went to pull away, he kept my hand where it was.

Hand over hand, he showed me how he liked it.

A little tug at the base that freaked me the fuck out, then a softer caress to the point of a spine, before moving onto the next.

His eyelids flicked open as he looked at Mack.

“Like she did when she snuck out on you.”

“Harper’s got us all messed up.” Kieran appeared at my other shoulder. “But it's only now that I think the feeling is mutual, right, Harper?”

I couldn’t answer him with words, not yet.

Instead, I shot him a long look, pleading for understanding.

They were two natured, having an animal side with inexplicable instincts, but it turned out I had them too.

The same ones that had me pushing Tor back onto the bed.

He fell heavily on the mattress, groaning when I came with him.

My intention was to slide down, making an up close and personal inspection of those spines with my tongue, but he stopped me.

“Not this time,” he groaned, hauling me up so I straddled him. Face to face, breath to breath, this was terribly intimate. “Like I can’t believe I’m knocking back you sucking my dick, but not now. I’m ready?—”

“Harper isn’t.” Kieran frowned, joining us on the bed. “If she’s gonna take that porcupine dick of yours?—”

“Yes, I am.”

I moved forward, my lips brushing against Tor’s and those emerald green eyes faded to gold.

His tiger was pressing forward, watching all this, because I wasn’t just taking the man.

Tor’s hands slapped down on my hips when my hand went around the base of his dick, then bit deep as the head brushed against me.

His groan and mine reverberated through the entire room, then faded away to silence.

It was then I rocked backwards, staring at the man, the tiger.

“You’re going to mark me.” That was supposed to be a command, but as I drew upwards, feeling each spine rake across something exquisitely sensitive, it became almost a question. “You’re going to sink your fangs into me and make clear to the world who I belong to.”

“Yesss…” he hissed. “Fuck yes, Harper.”

“We’re not leaving this room until all of you have.”

“Looks like you’re the bossy one now, my mate.”

Mack chuckled as he slid in behind me, his hands helping my hips rise and fall, right as his lips brushed the mark on my neck.

It throbbed, sending waves of pleasure through me that had my head falling forward, my strokes sloppy.

I wanted to make this all about Tor and his pleasure, but that wasn’t going to be the way it worked.

Tor’s thumb moved, grazing my clit on each stroke, even as his breath came in noisy gasps.

“Getting close…” That was more tiger than man. “Fuck, I can feel you clamping down on me. Whatever the fuck you just did, Mack. Do it again.”

“What, this?”

Mack’s fangs gazed my mating mark, dragging deep explosions of pleasure out of me.

“Uh…” My head was thrown back, my eyes screwed tight. “You’re… being very distracting. Tor…”

“Right here, pretty girl,” he rasped.

“This is about Tor.”

“This is about us.”

I don’t know which one of them said it, or maybe it was all three.

Tor rolled up, no longer content to stay passive in this.

His arms locked around me, eyes boring into mine, as his hips thrust upwards.

Over and over, our ragged breaths filled the room, right up until I was forced to stiffen.

Clamping down around Tor just made those spines dig deeper, resulting in intense waves of pleasure rushing through me.

“So make me yours.” My head fell to one side, baring the unmarked side of my neck. “Tor, make?—”

“No need to tell me twice.”

With a snarl, my body seized, going completely rigid in his arms. He timed things perfectly, his fangs sinking into my neck the moment I came.

The waves of my pleasure brought on his.

Each pulse of his hot seed drove me to higher and higher heights.

My scream was cut off as he lunged, his jaws snapping around my neck.

So it does feel good for you.

I blinked, hearing his voice inside my head.

Of course it does, idiot , Mack snapped. The gods would never allow us to take a form that would hurt our mate.

Easy for you to say , Tor shot back. You’ve got an inflatable beach ball at the bottom of your dick. I watched a documentary on cats mating and I can still hear the female’s screams.

And you still stuck your dick in Harper?

Oh my god … I sighed. Is this what it's gonna be like? You two bickering in my head the entire time? I take it back. Break the mating bond, please.

No take backsies. Tor pulled me down on the bed, holding me close as I heard a strange rumbling sound.

Purring, I realised. My eyes closed, and I nestled in closer, suddenly incredibly tired.

Kieran is always the one that stops the arguments, my mate.

My eyes opened to see Tor staring down at me with a smile on his face.

Our eyes rolled sideways to where Kieran was going to the bathroom, retrieving a cleaning cloth.

If you want someone to stop the squabbling…

I needed to take him as a mate too. That was what I wanted, but it was like Tor’s purr was an anchor and it was dragging me down, down, down into a dark place, a soft and safe one.

Soon… I promised, right as I fell asleep.