Page 17

Tannin

T HE SUN WAS JUST CRESTING over the mountains, its soft golden light catching in the locks of Aliya’s hair that were strewn messily across the pillow beneath her head.

She was so beautiful.

I’d been awake for at least an hour, and I couldn’t get enough of staring at her face as she slept, memorizing every line, angle and curve.

Last night had been wild. The memory of the three of us together was a struggle for me to get straight in my head. Not because it had been awkward or weird, but because it had felt so right.

Before our escapade in this room, seeing Jax touch her was a strain on me, and the very idea of her sucking his dick would have driven me to chop it off.

But the two of us working together to claim her changed everything, and watching her suck him while I took her from behind was the most incredible thing I’d ever experienced. I would never forget the muffled sound of her filled mouth as my thrusts made her come.

Jax and I naturally fell into a rhythm with her, neither one of us competing over her but rather teaming up to please her.

I didn’t even mind that he’d taken the lead, that our pack mentality had trickled into this unique romantic union.

He was my Alpha, and I had to admit, at least to myself, that I kind of enjoyed him telling me what to do with her.

Especially since he’d let me be the first to claim her pussy. Plus, I think she liked his dominance, too.

Just thinking about sex with Aliya made my erect cock twitch.

I was so tempted to crawl beneath the covers and wake her up with my tongue between her legs once more, but I couldn’t bring myself to disturb the peace of her slumber.

And, if I were being honest, I couldn’t keep my fears of the pack’s arrival from creeping into my mind and making me sick with dread.

What was going to happen when they got here? How were we going to protect her?

Jax rolled over on Aliya’s other side to face me, his eyes open as if he’d been awake for a while, as well.

“Hey,” he whispered.

“Hey,” I whispered back.

He held my gaze for a moment, and he seemed just as conflicted as I felt. “Can’t sleep?”

“I can’t stop worrying about what’s coming,” I confessed.

He gingerly propped his head on his bent arm on the pillow, careful not to unsettle Aliya. I rolled onto my side and did the same. Aliya stirred slightly, so we waited silently for a few heartbeats to make sure she was still asleep before continuing.

“Now that we have officially claimed her as our mate, the pack will have to concede to our union,” he whispered, though he couldn’t hide his doubt from me.

“She’s not a black wolf,” I countered. “Our laws won’t apply to her.”

“Anyone who mates with a black wolf becomes a member of the pack by default,” he stated, as if quoting some ancient text I’d never seen.

“Even the Varinyan princess?” I asked. “You know as well as I do that they’ll want her head on a pike.”

His jaw ticked. “I am their Alpha. My word is law, and they will recognize her as a member of the pack if I command it so.”

I raised a dubious eyebrow at him. “Are you certain of that?”

“Let anyone who disagrees challenge my role,” he said. “I will destroy them.”

I sighed at his tedious ego. “One or two, perhaps. But more than that will be outraged by her continued existence. You really think you can fend off the entire pack?”

His gaze fell on her face, and his features softened. “I will do whatever it takes to keep her safe.”

I chewed on my bottom lip, debating whether to ask the question on my mind. “What if that means siding against the pack?”

“It won’t come to that,” he snapped in a harsh whisper.

“But what if it does?” I insisted.

His jaw clenched again as he looked protectively down at her. “Like I said, I will do what I must for her.”

I nodded, and we both stared at her for a long moment.

“We should tell her the truth,” I whispered. “I don’t like lying to her. Not after what we shared.”

He exhaled slowly through his nose. “I know. We will tell her, but not yet. I just want to savor this bliss for a little while longer.”

I didn’t say anything to that. I knew how he felt. A big part of me wished we could stay here like this forever, just the three of us in this castle. I wished he hadn’t called the pack, then they’d never show up.

But the reality was that they were on their way, and they’d be here any day now. And as much as I wanted to enjoy this carefree fairytale version of our threesome, the guilt over keeping the whole truth from her was eating me up inside.

“I’m telling her tonight,” I whispered.

His eyes whipped at me angrily, but I wasn’t backing down on this.

“We’ll have one last day of peace and fun, but that’s it,” I declared. “She needs time to prepare for their arrival. We all do, as a team. Letting her go unaware any longer isn’t fair to her.”

He simmered over that for a moment, then gave a stifled scoff. “Fine. I guess you’re right. I hate it when that happens.”

I couldn’t help but smirk at that. It always made me proud when I was able to change Jax’s mind and make him see reason, as rare of an occasion as that was. I believed the princess softened his stubbornness, but only a little.

“In that case, shall we wake her up?” He flared his eyebrows, licking his lips suggestively.

“You read my mind,” I murmured.

He grinned, then before I could make a move in that direction, he dove under the covers and situated himself between her legs.

Asshole.

She sucked in a breath, arching her back against the sheets, letting me know that he had begun his feast of her pussy. Her thick lashes parted, her amber eyes locking on my face as she roused.

“Good morning, gorgeous,” I purred, caressing the side of her face with my fingertips.

“G—mor—ugh!” she panted.

I snickered, then lowered myself over her to greet her lips with a soft kiss. She opened her mouth, her tongue flicking out in a silent demand for deeper affection as her hand wound around the back of my head and pulled me in closer.

It appeared I had two Alphas now, and I was more than willing to obey her commands.

I swallowed her moans as I kissed her, tracing teasing lines over her tits and belly while Jax ate her out. I whipped the covers back, needing to see what he was doing to her.

His face was buried between her creamy thighs, which clenched around the sides of his head as she writhed in pleasure. And when she came, she squealed tightly into my mouth, followed by a series of sweet whimpers.

Jax lapped at her until her tremors waned, then slid off the foot of the bed, pulled her down by the ankles, and flipped her around like she weighed nothing.

“Bend your knees for me, baby girl,” Jax instructed.

She curled her legs beneath her, and Jax helped her spread them, propping up her ass just high enough for his pelvis to reach.

“Good,” he growled, then he guided his cock to her entrance and pushed inside, making her arch again and thrust those perfect tits toward me. “Now, let’s show Tannin how good that little mouth of yours feels.”

Her eyes opened dazedly, falling on me as she bit her bottom lip. I slid down the mattress, positioning myself in front of her.

“Only if you want to,” I said, though I was aching to have her in whatever way she’d let me.

“I do,” she panted, then lowered herself over my cock, stretched her lips, taking me inside her mouth.

Fuck, that felt incredible! She was incredible.

Her mouth was so warm, so wet, and so gentle. Her tongue slid up and down my shaft, her eyes closing like I tasted delicious to her. I couldn’t stop watching her enjoy me.

Jax’s thrusts increased, pounding into her rougher than I had last night, and that only seemed to invigorate her sucking.

I couldn’t take it much longer. She felt too damn good. And with Jax making her moan, the vibrations in her sweet mouth were pushing me close to the edge far too fast.

“I’m gonna come,” I hissed and reached down to withdraw my cock.

But her hand whipped out and grabbed my wrist, her eyes fixing on mine with a knowing warning, and she took me in deeper.

Holy shit!

I came hard, groaning loudly as every muscle in my body clenched in failed restraint. Her eyes widened in surprise as my cum spilled into her mouth, but she only paused for a moment before continuing to bob her head.

“Good girl,” Jax growled, slapping a hand against her ass before buckling over her and finding his own release with a vicious howl.

I felt her mouth tighten as she swallowed, then released my spent cock with a choked gasp.

Pleasure was still wavering through me, my cock still twitching from what she’d done, but I bent forward and cupped her face in my hand.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I panted.

She wiped her mouth as Jax pulled out of her. “I know. But I wanted to try it.”

My heart warmed as I leaned in to plant a soft kiss on her forehead.

“That’s our girl,” Jax praised before going into the bathroom and returning with a small towel. He gently cleaned her with it before wiping himself down too.

She blushed, looking both so innocent and so insanely seductive.

She was perfect.

“How would you like us to wake you up like that every morning?” Jax asked.

Aliya giggled as she sat with her legs curled to the side. “I don’t think I could handle that.”

Jax barked a laugh. “We’ll see about that, beautiful.” He winked, and her blush darkened.

He pulled on a pair of pants, then slapped my shoulder. “Get dressed. We’re going to make our mate a breakfast fit for a queen.”

I reluctantly rolled out of bed and found my pants from last night. What I really wanted to do was stay in bed with her all day, even if all we did was kiss and talk. I wanted to know everything about her before we lost the opportunity.

But Jax was right. She deserved to have us fawn over her for one last day. Before we told her the truth about the wolves, and possibly ruined what could have been... forever.