Page 12

Chapter 12

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I have never felt so good.

When I wake up, I feel like I could conquer the world.

Sleeping peacefully on my left is Hans, shirtless and showing the expanse of his warm brown chest. His hair flops to one side, leaving a perfect view of the green, thorned vine that adorns his skull.

On my right is Gerrit, the gentle giant of a man whose bark can be intimidating but whose bite is delicious. His long, bright blonde hair got tangled in mine as we slept, and I do not mind one bit.

I slip from the bed, careful not to wake the men, and nearly trip over Flint, who must have been sleeping at the base of the bed. He looks at me and cocks his head to the side, but I don’t hear anything. I place my hands on his head the way Hans sometimes does, and very faintly, I hear,

“It appears our connection is waning. You’ll need to feed from Master.”

I glance at Hans, mouth watering at the thought of tasting him again. “I can do that,” I say to Flint, unable to stop the grin that stretches across my face.

“Hurry, please, because I have news I need to share.”

I peek out the window in the bedroom to see it’s just before sunset and marvel at how quickly the men adjusted to my sleep schedule. Slipping into the bathroom, I give myself a quick clean with the bucket of water I have set aside for hand washing. The sticky residue of our prior tryst warms my chest, reminding me that for once in my life, I can fuck for fun and not just in desperation for sustenance.

The peeling yellow paint of the bathroom walls could use a glamor, but I cannot bring myself to spend the energy when there is a possibility I could leave this shithole soon. Glamoring it would feel like accepting this place is my home, and I refuse to accept that. Off the side of the bathroom is the door leading to my closet, and I slide into it, gently sorting through the clothing I have to pick the outfit I may be wearing when I finally break free from my confines.

It feels like a lot of pressure to put on an outfit.

Eventually, I slide on a pair of black panties and my only pair of pants. The pants were left by the beautiful dark skinned traveler that I unfortunately could not control myself with. It didn’t feel right to let such lovely trousers go to waste. I slip them up my thighs and dig through my clothing to find a string from a corset dress to wrap through the waist loops and secure them tightly around my middle. The pants are large, almost comically so, but they’re comfortable, and the string helps them stay put.

That same traveler left behind a solid black vest, which I was able to alter by cutting and tying the back to fit my body well. I snag the too-large boots in my hands and head back into the bedroom, feeling like a warrior who can conquer anything.

Dropping the boots on the floor stirs the boys, and two pairs of sleepy eyes, one set vivid blue like a morning sky and the other set honey brown and warm, lock onto me and crinkle up with a smile.

“You look cute, witchy,” Gerrit says, his voice thick with sleep. He turns over on his side and pulls the pillow to his chest in an effort to fall back to sleep.

Hans, on the other hand, slides from the bed and walks to me, wearing a half-asleep erection and nothing else. I gulp at the sight, and when he takes my face in his hands and kisses me deeply, I swear I almost melt into a puddle on the floor. “Good morning, butterfly.”

My heart flutters at the pet name. I’ve never had a pet name before, never had anyone around long enough to give me one. The emotions that those simple words evoke in me threaten to choke me, and I have to move past it, or I will be a blubbering mess again. “Flint says I need to feed from you. I can’t hear him anymore, and he has something to tell me.”

Shock courses through me as Hans slides his hand down my arm and entwines his fingers in my own. If I didn’t know better, I would think the affection is real and not from a place of convenience to get my help with their father. He tilts his head to the side, clearly listening to Flint, and then turns to me with a nod. “He’s right. You need to feed from me.”

Hunger fills my body at the thought, but I feel greedy. “I just fed from Gerrit last night. I don’t need to feed again. I can...”

Hans cuts me off with a kiss, soft and gentle but impossible to ignore. When he pulls away, with dark eyes and that half-asleep erection now fully awake, he whispers in my ear, “You’ll do as you’re told, butterfly, and you’ll feed from me. I want you to forget what hunger feels like because you will never know it again.”

I do not have time to process my thoughts or feelings as Hans lifts me into his arms and carries me into the living room, sitting in the same chair he inhabited last night. He situates me on his lap, rubbing his hands down my thighs. “Oh, now you wear pants?” he asks, his voice shaking in amusement.

“I can take them off if you want?” I say, but it’s more of a question. I do not want to be presumptuous with either of these boys, afraid that if I am, I’ll lose what is happening between us.

“I want.” That’s all he says, his dark eyes boring into mine. I slide off his lap and slip out of the pants, tripping as I do and landing half on his lap. His laugh sounds like a warm breeze, caressing every part of me and wrapping me up safely.

I rearrange myself on his lap, straddling him as I do. “Neck?” I ask, hands on his shoulders. He’s silent, but how he looks at me says everything I need to know. I wait to extend my teeth until my mouth is already over his skin, sinking in deep and sucking softly. Hans shutters and moans beneath me, his cock pressing against my center in such a way that I reflexively start to grind against him.

Hans wraps one large hand around the back of my neck, pinning me to his as I drink lazily. The other hand slides into my panties and pulls them to the side forcefully. The smooth head of his cock strokes my clit before he slams himself fully into me with one thrust. I moan against his neck at the feeling of him filling my body up in such a delicious way. Hans’s desire swirls around me, falling gently onto my skin and soaking into my bloodstream with no effort on my part.

We stay like that, me alternating drinks of his blood and heady moans and Hans thrusting into me with a desperate need until Flint trots into the room.

“I said feed from him, not fornicate with him.”

The sound of Flint in my head has me jerking off Hans’s neck, and Hans is growling over my shoulder. “Get out, Flint. We’ll address this later. You know better.”

If a wolf could huff and stomp off like a petulant child, Flint just did.

My embarrassed blush has reached my hairline, and I duck my head back into Hans’s neck. “Are you done eating?” he asks softly. I nod wordlessly. “Are you done having sex with me?” I ask him.

He chuckles and shakes his head, bucking his hips up into me at a rapid pace. I anchor my hands on his shoulders, bouncing with him as he moves inside me, groaning at the delicious stretch.

Hans ducks his head, pulling my nipple into his mouth and sucking and nipping at it as I grind against him. His cock starts to thicken and grow harder than before, and I know he’s on the cusp of his release. I speed up my movements, circling my hips as he drives into me from below. He thrusts into me again and again until he spills inside me with a deep groan.

I collapse on top of him, face buried in his neck and panting.

Damn, a girl could get used to this.

His hand slips between my legs, no doubt to return the favor, and I bat it away.

“My clit got bruised enough last night. I am quite good for now.”

A deep chuckle sounds behind me, and I turn to see Gerrit leaning in the door frame, boxers slung low on his hips and thick arms crossed on his sculpted chest. “I’m not apologizing for that, witchy.”

Extracting myself from Hans and trotting over to give Gerrit a quick kiss, I laugh. “Wouldn’t expect nor want you to.”

When I get back from cleaning myself up (again!) and I get my pants slid on, the three of us sit side by side on the couch with Flint in front of us.

“Who’s going to tell me what he says?” Gerrit asks. If I’m not mistaken, I hear a smidge of jealousy in his voice that makes me feel so protective of him.

After Hans promises to tell Gerrit everything Flint says, I lean forward on my elbows to look the familiar in the eye. “Alright, Flint, what do you have for me?”

“Well, first, I apologize for interrupting the coitus between you and Master earlier.”

I laugh, and Gerrit looks at me expectantly, but Hans leans behind me to whisper to the familiar. “Already forgiven, Flint.”

“Next, the forest creatures are talking. They say the Banisher is on his way.”

“How would they know? He just appears in the circle. It’s not like he travels here.” The idea of the Banisher just walking up to the fairy circle is laughable. He’s a horrendously powerful mage. He would not need for a prolonged journey through the woods.

“Whatever he has done in the past, this time, the forest has been made aware of his intentions. He will be here by moonrise tomorrow.”

When Hans relays this message to Gerrit, I feel his large hand tighten on my waist protectively. I do not have time to process what that could mean between us because Flint speaks again.

“They say he is angry and coming to ensure you stay put.”

Wincing, I look between the boys. “He knows you’re here. That’s the only explanation.” Flint nods his large, furry head.

“Yes, I believe the Banisher has been made aware of the presence of Master and Big Boy. There must be a rat telling him things.”

“Did you just use a metaphor?” Hans asks, incredulous. The wolf cocks his head to the side, looking surprisingly confused for a creature that can’t make facial expressions.

“I did no such thing. The home has rats and they are notorious gossips. It’s an easy deduction to make.”

The ridiculousness of the situation takes over, and laughter bubbles up in my throat and spills from my mouth and my eyes. The tears streak down my face, and I fight to get words out through laughter.

“You mean to tell me that a rodent has been feeding information to my Banisher all this time? That’s why he always seems to know what I’ve been doing since his last visit?” I don’t wait for an answer from Flint. I fall into Gerrit’s lap, hysterical laughter and tears pouring from me simultaneously.

He pats my head awkwardly, and I hear him whisper to Hans, “What do I do here?” Hans grabs me around the waist and pulls me back up to a sitting position, holding my hand tightly before nodding at Flint to continue.

“Finally, your plan to escape the fairy circle will not work.”

Flint’s words knock the laughter out of me, and Hans’s face collapses. “How do you know?” he asks, defeat lacing his words.

“I have been speaking to the fairies.”

“Fairies! They’re real?” I interrupt. I swear the wolf rolls his eyes at me.

“Yes, of course they’re real. Who do you think built your fairy circle? The Banisher tricked them into doing it.”

I sit back, a little sliver of pleasure that the Banisher is not as all-powerful as I thought he was coursing through me. “So what did the fairies say about getting her out?” Hans asks the critical question I neglected to ask myself.

“The fairies say to leave you cannot touch the ground near the circle. So your burying idea is good, but using the ladder to escape is too close to the ground that will hold you in.”

“We need a tree,” Gerrit says once Hans relays the message.

“A tree?” I ask.

He sits back with a smug look. “Oh, I’m the only one who sees it?” Hans huffs at Gerrit, and Flint growls a little, gazes fixed on the large man. He holds up his hands to placate the aggression being sent his way. “Okay, okay, I’ll tell you. We need to call a tree down large enough to be angled onto the dirt to climb up like a ramp. We’ll be far enough away from the circle that we won’t touch the ground near the spell’s radius.”

He crosses his arms across his chest in satisfaction, and I turn my head to Flint. “Will that work?”

“Yes, I believe Big Boy’s plan has a high probability of working.”

I throw myself into Gerrit’s arms and kiss him deeply. He pulls away eventually and sighs, “Not that I’m complaining, but what was that for?”

“For setting me free.”