Page 56

Rowen

T he weight of Sierra in my lap was the sweetest torment I'd endured in my immortal existence.

Each tiny shift of her hips sent fire coursing through my veins, the heat of her body against mine a constant reminder of what was coming.

Six days. Just six fucking days until her heat fully broke, and I was already coming undone.

I buried my nose in her silver hair, inhaling deeply.

The scent of her was changing, growing headier by the hour, honey and jasmine layered with something wild and primal that called to the darkest parts of me.

Her normal sweetness was still there, but now it was edged with a musk that made my mouth water and my cock throb.

"You smell like sin," I murmured against her ear, my voice rougher than I intended.

Sierra hummed in response, the sound vibrating through her back against my chest. She turned her head, exposing the delicate curve of her neck in what I recognized as instinctual submission. My demon surged forward, claws pricking at my fingertips as I fought to keep it contained.

Across the kitchen, Callum moved with easy grace, the muscles in his back flexing as he flipped pancakes at the stove.

The domesticity of the scene would have been laughable once, my brother, king of the dark fae, cooking breakfast in sleep pants slung low on his hips, but now it felt right.

We were all circling Sierra like planets around a silver sun, pulled into her orbit by forces we couldn't resist.

"Stop squirming," I warned as Sierra shifted again, her perfect ass rubbing against my already painful erection.

Instead of heeding my warning, she deliberately wiggled in my lap, a teasing smile playing at her lips. "Make me," she challenged, her voice husky with need.

I growled low in my throat, my hands tightening on her hips to still her movements. The demon in me wanted nothing more than to bend her over this very table and claim her until she screamed my name. But that wasn't what she needed—not yet.

Leaning forward, I let my lips brush the shell of her ear. "Keep moving like that, little omega, and you'll find yourself over my knee for a spanking."

The subtle catch in her breath told me she wasn't opposed to the idea. A wave of her arousal hit my senses, the sweet tang of it making my nostrils flare. Gods, I could taste her in the air.

"Is that supposed to be a deterrent?" she whispered back, rolling her hips once more in deliberate provocation.

My control slipped, just for a second. My hand moved of its own accord, sliding up to wrap gently around her throat—not squeezing, just holding, feeling her pulse jump beneath my palm. "It's a promise," I rumbled, my thumb tracing the line of her jaw.

"If you two could behave until after breakfast, that would be appreciated."

Archer's dry voice cut through the tension as he strode into the kitchen, his hair still damp from a shower. His ice-blue eyes took in the scene with a knowing glance—Sierra's flushed cheeks, my hand at her throat, the obvious tent in my lounge pants.

"Spoilsport," Sierra muttered, but she stilled in my lap, her body still radiating heat against mine.

Archer raised an eyebrow as he poured himself coffee. "Don't pretend you're not hungry. You need to keep your strength up."

"I am hungry," she replied, her tone innocent but her meaning anything but. "Just not necessarily for food."

That earned a chuckle from Callum as he expertly flipped another pancake. "Food first, then play. Those are the rules."

"Since when do we have rules?" I asked, deliberately trailing my fingers along Sierra's thigh, just high enough to make her breath hitch.

"Since we discovered our mate needs actual sustenance, unlike the rest of us who could go days without eating if necessary," Archer replied, leaning against the counter. "She's burning through calories at an alarming rate."

He wasn't wrong. Sierra had been ravenous lately, her body demanding fuel for the changes it was undergoing. The primal heat was transforming her, unlocking powers that had been dormant her entire life. She needed her strength.

With a reluctant sigh, I ceased my teasing, though I kept her firmly in my lap. "Fine. Breakfast first."

"So reasonable this morning," Callum remarked as he approached with a plate piled high with fluffy pancakes, the scent of butter and maple syrup wafting through the air. "Sierra, come here. Let me feed you."

Before I could protest, he was gently lifting her from my lap, his hands spanning her waist. The loss of her warmth was immediate and jarring, leaving me cold despite the kitchen's comfortable temperature.

I bit back a growl as Callum settled into a chair opposite me, pulling Sierra onto his own lap.

"I'm perfectly capable of feeding myself," she protested halfheartedly, though she made no move to leave the circle of his arms.

Callum merely smiled, that rare genuine smile that transformed his face from severe to boyishly handsome. "Humor me," he said, cutting a perfect bite of pancake and lifting it to her lips. "I want to take care of you."

I rolled my eyes at the display, even as something possessive and primal stirred in my chest. "You're spoiling her."

"That's the point," Callum replied without looking away from Sierra as she accepted the bite, her eyes fluttering closed in pleasure as she chewed. "She deserves to be spoiled."

Another wave of her scent hit me as she swallowed, the honey-jasmine musk of her arousal thickening in the air. Even Archer's eyes darkened as he caught it, his hands tightening imperceptibly on his coffee mug.

Callum continued to feed Sierra, his movements deliberate and sensual.

He'd cut a bite, lift it to her lips, and then watch with undisguised hunger as she took it from the fork.

Occasionally, he'd brush away a drop of syrup with his thumb, then bring it to his own mouth to taste.

The ritual was intimate, almost pornographic in its intensity.

"More?" he asked after several bites, his voice dropping to that register that never failed to make her shiver.

Sierra nodded, her pupils dilated with desire. "Please."

I shifted uncomfortably in my chair, my erection pressing painfully against the confines of my pants.

The sight of my brother caring for our mate, feeding her by hand as she sat docile in his lap, was unexpectedly erotic.

Her silver hair caught the morning light streaming through the windows, creating a halo effect that contrasted sharply with the naked want in her eyes.

"You're insatiable," I observed, though whether I was speaking to Sierra or Callum was anybody's guess.

"Pot. Kettle," Archer murmured over the rim of his coffee cup, his knowing gaze flicking to my lap where my arousal was impossible to hide.

I didn't bother with denial. I'd been in a constant state of arousal for days now, my body responding to Sierra's pheromones with a primal need that was becoming harder to control.

We were all feeling it—the charged energy building in the house as her birthday approached, the inevitable collision course we were on.

Callum's fingers strayed to the nape of Sierra's neck as he fed her another bite, massaging the tension there with practiced ease. She practically melted against him, a soft purr escaping her throat. The sound went straight to my cock, pushing me dangerously close to my breaking point.

"You're going to make me jealous, brother," I warned, only half-joking.

Callum's pale eyes met mine over Sierra's head, a challenge and invitation mingled in their depths. "Then perhaps you should join us instead of sitting there looking tortured."

The offer was tempting. So fucking tempting that I nearly upended the table in my haste to reach them.

But Sierra needed to eat, needed the nourishment before the day's activities drained her energy.

So I remained seated, watching as my brother continued his sensual feeding ritual, each bite punctuated by a touch, a caress, a whispered endearment.

Sierra soaked up the attention like a flower turning to the sun. Her body language was open, receptive, her usual walls completely down. It made my chest ache with a tenderness I'd never thought myself capable of feeling.

"One last bite," Callum murmured, holding up a forkful of syrup-drenched pancake. "Open for me."

She complied without hesitation, her lips parting in a way that sent blood rushing to my groin. As Callum slid the fork between her lips, his free hand slipped under the hem of her sleep shirt, resting possessively on her bare thigh.

The domesticity of the scene was belied by the heavy sexual tension permeating the room. We were all balanced on a knife's edge, restraint warring with primal desire. Six more days of this exquisite torture before Sierra's birthday. Her heat would hit any day now.

I caught Archer's gaze across the room, recognizing the same hunger that was consuming me. His control was legendary, but even he wasn't immune to Sierra's changing scent. The muscle in his jaw ticked as he set down his empty mug, his knuckles white with the effort of restraint.

We were all on edge, caught in the gravitational pull of Sierra's impending heat. And watching my brother feed our mate, seeing her respond so beautifully to his care, didn't help my self-control in the slightest.

Waiting for her heat to hit would be such a pleasurable torture.