Page 7

Chapter 7

T he next few days passed in a whirlwind for Mari.

Tristan slowly grew stronger, until eventually he was attending family dinner with the rest of them. He still didn’t remember a lot about his past, or even the last few months, but he quickly became more comfortable with all of them, and specifically with the two devoted hellhounds that followed him around and catered to his every need. Mari thought they were very sweet now that they weren’t trying to capture her for a seraph with nefarious intentions.

Luis and Dohal spent a lot of time talking quietly together in their native language. She couldn’t tell if it was healing for them or not, but they both seemed stable, and that was the best she could probably ask for given all that they both had been through. She didn’t know the specifics of what had happened to either of them, but she trusted Dohal to tell her if there was something she should be concerned about.

Her magic came back to full force within the first few days, and shortly thereafter, Dohal reported that the wards were as robust as he could make them without access to his prison. When she’d questioned him about whether he was similarly protected, he’d smiled and said, “Yes, bavi, you can stop worrying about me.” But in her deepest heart, she knew she never would as long as an unknowable ancient entity was trying to kill him.

Dante had fully taken over in his mission to make sure she was always properly rested, fed, hydrated, and pleasured. Cisco joked that he was one stopwatch away from scheduling her orgasms for optimal magic cycling. Dante had leveled a narrowed look in his direction at that but hadn’t dismissed the idea out of hand.

While all around everything was going pretty well, the strategy sessions that were now an evening ritual would probably be her eventual undoing. She, Cisco, Rio, Dante, Dohal, Kima, Pricilla, and Willow all shut themselves up in the conference room for hours trying to figure out who their enemies were and what they could do to stop them. They had gotten approximately nowhere.

Willow knew who the Old One was, in as much as Dohal did, but they couldn’t help with ways they might defend themselves or fight him. He predated Willow by quite some time.

Mari was currently brooding her way through family dinner, consumed by worries about the party, the Old One, and trying to stabilize the city.

Bren and Rio sat on either side of Willow, animatedly discussing playlists and music selection. Kima and Cisco had their heads together discussing guard details for the party.

Dante was absorbed in conversation with Giselle and Sam about the menu for a company picnic in November that would be a bigger version of family dinner but include everyone from their business endeavors as well. Mari was looking forward to that event at least, as she’d get to see people she hadn’t seen in much too long.

“You look like you need a movie night,” Tilly said from the other side of the table.

Mari snapped back to the present and nodded with enthusiasm. “I really do.” She turned toward Nova, a bit farther down, who had also been pretty quiet throughout the meal. “You want to join us for margaritas and movies tonight?”

The medusa fixed her with stunning amber eyes. “That sounds like exactly what I need.”

Mari didn’t miss the way Samar smiled as he cleared the dishes. He was doing an admirable job of giving Nova the space she needed to heal after what Vincent had done to her, but the longing looks he aimed in the medusa’s direction told the story of his affection plainly. Mari desperately hoped there was a happy ending for them in the cards, because they both deserved one.

Speaking of possible objects of the handsome snow leopard’s affection, Pricilla had seemed a little distracted during training this morning as well. Her and Samar had seemed to have something going on in recent weeks since the soccer-game-turned-shifter-orgy, but Mari hadn’t had a chance to ask about it directly.

Mari aimed her gaze Pricilla’s way. “You want to join us, Pris? We’ll make it a girls night in.”

The other sex witch beamed a smile her way. “Sure, that sounds like fun.”

“I usually let Tilly pick the movies, which means a lot of car chases and buxom babes. Hope that’s okay for both of you?”

“Nothing wrong with racing engines and bouncing boobs,” Tilly muttered.

Kima slid an interested look the harpy’s way that she pointedly ignored. The prickly lion shifter would absolutely not get an invite to movie night until she mended fences with Tilly about what had happened at the soccer game.

“Fine by me,” Nova said at the same time Pris nodded.

“Great! I’ll get the margaritas, and Tilly usually does the popcorn. Bring along any other snacks you want to share and a blanket. There are some in the media room, but Matilda usually hogs them all.”

“Hey!” Tilly shrieked, but her grin was a mile wide.

“We usually kick off around nine. Dress code is come-as-you-are. Pajamas and ready-for-bed hair highly encouraged.”

A few hours later, Mari was trying to figure out how to open the door to the media room while her arms were full with a giant jug of margaritas and cups.

Nova approached from behind her and pushed the door open. The copper snakes sprouting from her head wriggled in greeting as Mari walked by.

“Thanks!” Mari said with a smile. “I’m so glad you decided to join us. I never get a chance to talk to you. How are you doing?”

“Good. Willow is keeping me busy with party planning, and when Cisco heard us talking about spreadsheets, he asked if I could help him with some business stuff too.”

“Oh, that’s great. I knew right away that folks would have things for you to do once you said you were good with numbers. Willow has been trying to teach Cisco spreadsheet stuff, but he’s so busy with managing all the different aspects of the business that he hasn’t been able to dedicate himself to figuring it out.”

“Yeah, he thinks there’s quite a bit I can take off his plate once we start getting into it.”

Mari situated herself in the middle of the couch and set about spreading blankets. “I’m so glad. He’s got a lot to handle, and that’s way beyond what I can help him with.”

Tilly burst in and her feathered arms overflowed with tubs of popcorn that seemed in danger of becoming unbalanced at any moment. Pricilla came up behind her, using magic to sweep up the wayward kernels that cascaded from her arms with every step.

“I have the perfect movie picked out,” Tilly announced, as she handed one tub to Mari and another to Nova.

Mari huffed, trying to hide her amusement. “Car crashes again?”

Tilly’s eyes lit up. “Motorcycles.”

Pricilla harrumphed as she sat down. “As long as there are just as many naked men as women.”

They all laughed and looked expectantly at Tilly.

The harpy looked shifty. “I’m not sure I can guarantee that.”

“We demand equal objectification for all,” Nova said in a serious tone.

“I don’t know if that’s a realistic expectation,” Mari said amid her laughter. “After all, I think the vast majority of people who enjoy watching fast vehicles crashing are probably also people who prefer looking at naked women.”

“Everyone doesn’t enjoy boobs?” Tilly said incredulously.

“Everyone in this room does,” Pricilla countered. “But I think that doesn’t necessarily match the entire movie-going public.”

“Well, that seems like a character flaw to me.” Tilly grabbed the remote and pressed a few buttons. “Anyway, there’re definitely boobs. I don’t know if there’s anything else.”

The rest of them laughed again. Mari started pouring margaritas and passing them around.

When she handed a cup to Pricilla, she asked, “How’s everything with you? I talk to you all the time but never about anything besides work. Anything fun or interesting going on for you?”

Tilly leaned in. “Yeah, Mari isn’t the greatest at sharing juicy stuff, so I need someone else to give me some vicarious sex life details.”

Mari rolled her eyes. “You can ignore her. It doesn’t have to be about sex.”

“I’m really not up to much aside from your training and associated research I’m doing with Willow.”

“Have you thought about whether you’re going to stay in Las Vegas once things settle down?” Mari asked as a follow-up.

“I’m tempted to. Lots of interesting magical stuff going on here just now, and I don’t have anything tying me to New York. I was thinking about a change already when Esmé called, which is one of the reasons I packed up so quickly and came.”

“Okay, that definitely sounds like some yummy ex gossip,” Tilly added immediately.

When Pris paled visibly, Mari knew that was exactly what it was. “Just because you’re wrapped up in ex drama doesn’t mean everyone else is.”

Nova pounced, coming to Mari’s aid with flawless poise. “I think whatever she’s up to now with Samar is much more interesting.”

Pris recovered quickly and waved an idle hand. “Oh, that’s just really casual. Both of us are in a place where we’re partnerless at the moment.”

Nova harrumphed. “You sure? Samar’s idea of casual is not really the steamy looks across the dinner table variety.”

Pris leveled an amused look her way. “Now that sounds like some yummy gossip to me.”

Nova laughed, her snakes shivering with amusement. “He and I have gone a few rounds, yeah. You’re one lucky witch. He really knows what he’s doing, in all the best ways.”

Tilly cocked a curious eyebrow their way. “Never plowed that particular field, but he’s easy enough to look at. Maybe I should give him a shot?”

“Well, he definitely doesn’t have boobs,” Mari countered.

Tilly cackled. “But he is prettier than me, which is my only hard and fast rule.”

“Gods, he’s prettier than all of us,” Nova said, fanning her face with a sigh.

Pris chuckled, eyelids lowered demurely. “I kind of want to argue that point, because you’re gorgeous.”

Nova aimed a simmering smile at the raven-haired witch. Her copper snakes undulated in a slow dance. “Why, thank you.”

Tilly coughed and ruffled her feathers. “No flirting at movie night!”

Nova slid a coy look in the harpy’s direction. “Oh, you didn’t mention that rule. I’m not sure I would have signed up.”

“It’s a new rule necessitated by the fact that all of a sudden I’m surrounded by hot babes making eyes at each other, and I don’t know how I’m going to keep my cool about it.”

Everyone laughed at that.

“Okay, okay.” Pris smiled. “We’ll flirt on our own time. Any other topics of discussion that desperately need attending to?”

“I wouldn’t mind talking about the new guy in all our lives,” Nova said, turning toward Mari. “I’ve seen him a few times in the hallway to the guest rooms, but I’m never sure if I should stop and say hello or avoid eye contact entirely.”

“He’s not much on small talk, but I don’t think he’d mind if you said hello.” Mari forgot sometimes that Dohal hadn’t been around forever, and many of the people in the compound didn’t know him at all. He seemed like such a fixture in her life already that it was difficult to recall him ever not being around. “I’ll make sure to introduce you next time you’re both in the same room.”

“And did I hear right that he’s a dragon?” Nova’s voice shimmered with curiosity.

“Yup.” Mari gave what was likely a hopelessly besotted smile. “He thinks he’s the last alive.” She had tried to ask him about what had happened to the rest, but he hadn’t been very forthcoming. The books they had were frustratingly quiet on the subject, or she never would have brought it up with him at all. And when she had asked Willow about what had befallen the dragons, the sphinx had shaken their head and refused to answer.

The room was quiet for a minute before Tilly cleared her throat. “Any other last minute conversational nuggets that won’t bum us out before the movie?”

“I suppose it’s pointless to ask for a Kima update? I noticed things were pretty frosty between you at dinner,” Nova said.

Tilly rubbed her cheek. “Good, we’re all done then?” She pushed the button to start the movie.

Nova wrinkled her nose, but didn’t protest as the music blared to life.

Mari was in Dohal’s lap ahead of the night’s meeting—soaking up his magic the only way he had allowed since gaining his freedom—when she asked what had been on her mind for days, “When can I tempt you into my bed again? I need more than this.”

She knew that wanting wasn’t the problem. Beyond the swell of his immense cock under her ass, his desire for her curled tight and hot inside him. But no matter her teasing, he wouldn’t let it out. He touched her constantly and showed her all the affection a woman could ever want, except he never let it go past second base. With a rotation of three other very fulfilling cocks to choose from as often as she wanted them, she thought she should be satisfied, but the longer it went on, the more she craved the only one she couldn’t have. She was very nearly to the point of begging.

He chuckled low as he stared into her eyes with his fathomless cosmic gaze. “Soon, little rabbit.” He stroked his clawed fingers over the delicate skin of her throat. “You require quite a bit of recovery time from being subject to my passions.”

“I’m ready,” she said, a little breathless just from the hot way he was looking at her. Saints, she was seconds from crawling face-down on the table and ordering him to fuck her right now, meeting be damned.

“Controlling myself with you is difficult, so I have to exert the control I can to be sure that I don’t damage you.”

She lifted her chin. It bothered her someplace deep and spiteful that he hadn’t given her all of him. “I’m not that fragile.”

His grin was sharp. “No, but I am a creature of dark appetites when it comes to you.”

“You seemed in control of yourself the last time.” She smiled as she remembered when he had lost himself in the urge to breed her. She needed that intensity again. “At least until the end.”

“I thought then that it would be my only time with you. I was very restrained.” He tightened his fingers around her throat. “The next time I have you under me, I will not be so gentle.”

The bottom dropped out of her stomach, and a whimper fell from her lips before she could stop it. In a flash, he took her mouth in a kiss that shook her to her core. She arched up into him, offering herself to him. Reaching between her legs, he cupped her sex, growling into her mouth when he found her wet and eager for him. His thick fingers slipped past the edge of her panties and dipped into her slick heat.

Mari cried out against his mouth when he fondled her roughly. Every cell in her body screamed that she was his . She wanted every bit of the feral claiming he promised. And she wanted it right fucking now. He pulled back an inch, his fingers still buried inside her. “Tonight then. Come out to me under the stars, and I will service you as you require.”

She fought the urge to beg and barely won. “Anything else?” Her voice shook with the question.

He curled his fingers slightly as he considered. “None of the others may have you before then. I want you desperate and aching for me.” His slow smile and the implication behind it almost undid her.

The feather-light threat of his claws inside her made her clench around him. The lust etched into his face went from banked embers to raging inferno in the space of a heartbeat. He withdrew his fingers with agonizing slowness. “You test my resolve greatly,” he said in a rumble, as he wiped his fingers on the fabric of his skirt. “But I can wait another few hours to have you mewling under me as I breed you.”

She groaned all the way to her soul. It wasn’t fair how he could melt her so thoroughly with nothing but words.

With a tilt of his head, Dohal glanced toward the door. “Your gargoyle is playing guard dog outside, chasing away anyone who might disturb us.” He rested a hand on her bare thigh, sending another pulse of magic into her. “Take all the time you need to collect yourself.”

Collect herself? As if he was completely unaffected by her. She wanted to slap the smug smile off his face. He would pay for that disrespect. The goddess cackled in her head.

She rose and dropped to her knees between his legs.

Looking down at her, he raised an eyebrow. “We don’t have time-”

Mari cut him off by grabbing him through the silken fabric of his skirt. In contrast to his outward demeanor, his cock was hard and eager for her. “We have time if I say we do.”

His hissed intake of breath was extremely satisfying.

She maintained eye contact with him as she slowly pushed his long skirt up over his knees. His tongue darted out to moisten his lips as she exposed him to the air. Looking away from his gaze, she took in the magnificent length of him, heavy and full in her hand. Glittering piercings crossed behind the crown of his immense cock. She dipped her head down for a slow, luscious lick around his broad head.

His choked moan was the sound of delicious retribution.

She explored him with her tongue and lips, lingering over his piercings until he shivered. He gathered her hair behind her head with one hand, but didn’t try to direct her.

When she tilted her head to look up at him again, the red glow of his magic filled his eyes, and the arcane markings under his skin shone. His expression was one of rapt attention. She parted her lips to engulf him, stretching wide to take as much of him as she could. He tasted like smoke and electricity, and she wanted to devour him.

Dohal moaned again, lower. “You have made your point, bavi. I shouldn’t have teased you.”

She pulled back, letting him fall from her mouth with a slurp and smiled. “I don’t think you’re sorry enough yet.” She gave his head another slow and dirty lick, wrapping her fingers around his wide base. Near his body, along the underside of his cock, her fingers encountered what felt like a series of raised bumps. She didn’t remember them from the last time they’d been together.

He noticed her attention and used his free hand to move hers, angling his cock so she could see better. “These are my crests.” Smooth mounds covered him from where his cock joined his body at the bottom nearly all the way down his length. “This is my true form, but if you are bothered by it, I can assume the other, more demonic, form again when I am to service you.”

Something guarded in his expression told her that this was important to him, though he hadn’t indicated that with his words. Without saying anything, she lowered her head and traced her tongue lightly over a few of the crests, feeling their texture against her tongue. He groaned and had to steady himself by reaching for the table.

She smiled up at him mischievously. “No, I like them.” She kissed one, and then another, and then one more, until he exhaled an explosive breath. “I like them very much, in fact.”

He chuckled, low and dark, as he ran his fingers through her hair. “Of all the filthy things I imagined holding you down and doing to you over the years, why is it that none of them compares to the sweet, insistent heat of your mouth moving over me of your own accord?” His voice was a deep bass rumble filled with reverence.

The answer was an easy one. “Because you find my consent intoxicating.”

“I do, indeed.” He watched her without blinking. “Are you done proving your mastery over me from your knees, or will you continue to torture me with that willful mouth?”

That admission made her feel powerful and sexy. She gave him one more long lick of his entire length along his sensitive crests up to his crown and then pulled herself up into his lap, her knees splayed wide across his thighs. She rose until they were eye-to-eye and grabbed him by the throat. “Tonight, when you take me, you will not hold back. You will give me every inch of that magnificent cock with as much fierceness as you crave until I am shattered.”

Staring into her eyes, he inhaled a slow and shaking breath. “I find the way you rule me so easily mortifying.”

The goddess preened inside her. To have such a lover as this—so powerful and at the same time so compliant for her—was a thing worthy of celebration. Mari leaned into him and claimed his mouth in a biting kiss that was an act of war—and this time it was he who surrendered. He let her take everything she wanted with only a hand on her hip to steady her, and when she finally pulled away, he sighed.

She relaxed against him, basking in the scintillating touch of his magic and his desire against her skin. While she wasn’t satisfied yet, she was appeased—she had been clear that she would accept nothing less than all of him, and he had relented. Once they had both calmed enough that letting others in wouldn’t be awkward, she went to the door and told Cisco they were ready for the meeting.