Page 65 of Captivated By Alphas 1, Fated (The Blood Moon Chronicle #4)

I had about two seconds to register that we were in some kind of secluded forest clearing, moonlight filtering through the trees like we’d stumbled into a damn fairy tale, before Cole spun me around and lifted me onto the hood of the car.

The metal was still warm from the engine, which was probably the only reason I didn’t immediately slide off onto my ass.

Cole stepped between my legs, his hands bracing on either side of my hips as he caged me in. “My turn,” he growled, and then his mouth crashed down on mine.

Holy. Mother. Of. God.

If Jace had been all demanding possession and Adrian had been pure seduction, Cole was something else entirely.

His lips crashed into mine with calculated precision, firm and unyielding as they moved against my mouth.

No gentle exploration—his tongue swept past my lips immediately, claiming every inch of my mouth with methodical strokes.

The invasion was thorough, devastating. His tongue danced with mine, then dominated it, stroking along the roof of my mouth in a way that made my toes curl in my shoes.

When I gasped at the sensation, he took advantage, his tongue diving deeper, fucking my mouth with slow, deliberate thrusts that had me gripping his shoulders for dear life.

The position on the hood had my legs spread with him standing between them, which should have felt vulnerable but instead made me feel…

powerful? Like I was some kind of prize he’d claimed.

Every stroke of his tongue sent electricity racing through my nervous system, and I could taste him—dark chocolate and thunderstorms and something wild that made my head spin.

He pulled back just enough to catch my lower lip between his teeth, biting down with controlled pressure before soothing the sting with his tongue.

Then he was back, his mouth slanting over mine at a different angle, his tongue sweeping through me in claiming strokes that left no doubt who was in control.

When I tried to match his rhythm—participate like an equal partner instead of just sitting there like a blow-up doll—he bit down on my lip harder. Not enough to hurt, but firm enough to get his point across. The message was clear: Let me lead.

His tongue resumed its assault, stroking against mine in a rhythm that had my hips shifting restlessly on the hood. Every movement was calculated, designed for maximum impact. He kissed like he did everything else: with complete focus and terrifying efficiency that left me breathless and wanting.

Jesus, even his taste was intimidating—rich and complex and addictive. When he finally broke the kiss, we were both breathing hard, his forehead pressed against mine, his breath mingling with mine in the cool night air.

His eyes were definitely doing that golden thing now, bright and predatory in the moonlight.

“Jesus Christ,” I gasped when I remembered how speech worked. “Cole, that was—I mean—do you guys take classes in this? Is there like a Carmichael Academy for Advanced Kissing Techniques?”

His mouth quirked in what might have been a smile. “You taste even better than I imagined,” he growled, his voice rough with barely contained hunger. His thumb traced my swollen lower lip with surprising gentleness. “I’ve been thinking about this for days.”

“Weeks?” My voice cracked like I was thirteen again. “You’ve been thinking about kissing me for weeks? All of you?”

“Among other things,” he admitted, and the heat in his eyes made my imagination supply some very detailed suggestions about what those “other things” might involve.

Before I could ask—or spontaneously combust from embarrassment—Jace appeared at my left side, his hand sliding up my thigh where it was draped over the hood.

“My turn again,” he murmured, his voice dark with promise.

Oh God. They were really going to take turns.

This was actually happening. I was about to be passed around by three gorgeous alpha predators in the middle of a forest clearing, and instead of being concerned about the logistics or the legality or the fact that this was definitely not covered in any dating advice column I’d ever read, all I could think was ‘yes, please.’

What did that say about me as a person? Probably nothing good.

Cole stepped back slightly but kept his hands on my hips, apparently not willing to give up his claim entirely. Jace’s fingers traced patterns on my leg through my pants as he leaned in, his mouth finding my neck.

The first press of his lips against my pulse point made me gasp and automatically tilt my head. By now I’d accepted that this was apparently my default response to alpha predators—expose throat, hope for the best.

“So perfect,” he whispered against my skin. “So willing.”

His teeth grazed my pulse point, and I couldn’t hold back the shiver that ran through me. When he bit down—gentle but firm—I made a sound that definitely couldn’t be classified as dignified.

“That’s it,” he growled against my throat. “Don’t hold back.”

Then Adrian was suddenly on my right side, his hand sliding under my shirt to touch bare skin. The contact made me jump because apparently my nervous system had been rewired for maximum sensitivity tonight.

“Your skin is so soft,” Adrian murmured, his breath hot against my ear as his fingers explored my ribs. “So warm. I’ve been dying to touch you like this.”

“I can’t— This is—” I tried to form a coherent thought, but it was impossible with Cole still standing between my legs, his hands burning through my pants, with Jace working magic on my neck, and Adrian’s hands mapping my torso like he was trying to memorize every inch.

“You three are going to kill me,” I gasped as Adrian’s fingers found my nipple, pinching lightly. “Like, actually kill me. Death by overwhelming hotness. That’s going to be on my tombstone. ‘Here lies Eli Harper, who died because three Carmichael men decided to gang up on his sanity.’”

“Better ways to go.” Adrian chuckled against my ear, doing that thing with his fingers again that made me arch on the hood.

“Speak for yourself,” I managed, then immediately lost my train of thought when Jace found a particularly sensitive spot on my neck and decided to focus all his attention there.

Three sets of hands, three mouths, three alpha predators who’d apparently decided to systematically dismantle my ability to think. I was surrounded, overwhelmed, completely at their mercy, and honestly? I was starting to understand why people wrote songs about this kind of thing.

“Too much?” Cole asked, though the hungry look in his eyes suggested he already knew the answer.

“Not enough,” I whispered, and wow, when had I become the type of person who said things like that? “God, definitely not enough.”

Something flashed in all their eyes—something dangerous and possessive that should have scared me but instead sent another wave of heat straight to my core.

Cole’s mouth crashed down on mine again, hungrier this time, more desperate. Jace’s teeth found my neck, biting down just hard enough to make me cry out into Cole’s mouth. Adrian’s hands grew bolder, sliding higher under my shirt, mapping skin that felt like it was on fire everywhere they touched.

When Adrian’s fingers found my nipples, pinching just hard enough to make me see stars, I arched on the hood of the car with a broken moan that probably scared every woodland creature in a five-mile radius.

“Perfect,” Jace growled against my throat, his tongue soothing the bite mark he’d just left. “You’re perfect for us.”

I was losing my mind. Completely, utterly losing it as they worked me over with the kind of precision that suggested they’d planned this whole thing.

The cool metal of the hood beneath me was a stark contrast to the heat they were generating, and I couldn’t decide if I wanted to push them away or pull them closer.

Closer won. Definitely closer.

My hands couldn’t seem to find a place to settle—gripping Cole’s shoulders, tangling in Jace’s hair, clutching at Adrian’s shirt as they systematically destroyed every defense I had.

The cool night air should have been sobering, but all it did was make me more aware of everywhere they were touching me, everywhere I was burning up.

“Look at you,” Adrian murmured against my ear, his voice rough with want. “So responsive. So perfect for us.”

“Us,” I repeated dazedly, the word finally penetrating the haze of arousal. “You really mean that, don’t you? All three of you.”

“All three of us,” Cole confirmed against my lips, pulling back just enough to meet my eyes. “If you want us.”

“I want,” I whispered, the words escaping before I could second-guess myself or remember all the reasons this was probably a terrible idea. “God, I want all of you. I don’t understand it, and it’s probably going to give me a nervous breakdown later, but I want this. Want you.”

The effect of my confession was immediate. Cole’s kiss became absolutely consuming, Jace’s mouth moved to claim a new spot on my neck, and Adrian’s hands slid around to my back, fingers tracing patterns that made me arch and whimper.

I was drowning in sensation, caught in a storm of their making.

My world had narrowed to their hands on my skin, their mouths claiming me, their scents surrounding me until I couldn’t tell where I ended and they began.

If this was what it felt like to be wanted by three alpha predators, I was definitely going to need therapy. But later. Much later.

When they finally started to pull back—Cole breaking the kiss, Jace lifting his head from my neck, Adrian’s hands stilling on my skin—I was trembling and gasping, my entire body humming with unfulfilled need that was probably visible from space.

“We should stop,” Cole said, though his hands contradicted his words as they slid up to cup my face. “Before this goes too far.”