Page 41 of Upon Blooded Lips (Vengeance #1)

NATE

T essa stands like an avenging angel over Grange’s body, hands wrapped around her weapons, collecting the part of her soul he stole. She ignored his pathetic attempt to appeal to her good side and took him down like he was nothing. And that’s exactly what he was—trash.

Now, where’s the other bastard? Peering through my scope extending through the car’s missing windshield, I search through the rows, seeking the worst of the moronic duo.

The music screeches to a halt, and Tessa takes the reprieve from the shrill music to pound her pipe against a pole.

“Kendrick! Come out, pig, pig, pig!” The earpiece lets out a loud whine, making me flinch.

A flash of movement catches my attention, and I let off two shots.

They slam into the earth mere inches from Kendrick’s feet, and he jumps like the weak little pussy he is.

While he dives into the back seat of a black sedan, Tessa tosses her head back and lets out a howl.

My brother and I join in, our combined voices twisting together to create a death song uniquely ours.

Kendrick peeks up over the seat, and I send another bullet through the rear windshield three inches to his left.

He lets out a shout, and Tessa spins toward the noise.

“Two rows over to your left, hiding in a black town car,” Eric informs her.

But my latest shot must have spooked him, because he throws himself out of the right side of the vehicle.

“No, wait,” I say. Where are you going, asshole?

I stop him in his tracks by sending three more bullets his way.

He spins around, searching the surrounding cars, trying to find where I’m located.

What does he think he’s going to do? Climb the stack of cars and lay me out with his bare fists?

He’s stuffed far too many donuts down his gullet to attempt that.

He takes several steps in my direction, which just so happens to be closer to Tessa. “He’s out and coming your way. Want me to turn him around?”

“Nah, I’m ready,” she replies, replacing her weapons with her gun.

I keep a close watch on their confrontation, my body as tense as a bowstring.

I catch Tessa’s head shake and purse my lips, removing my finger from the trigger.

It would be so easy to take him out, to make his head explode in a shower of blood and brain matter.

Instead, I blow out a breath and resign myself to being her backup.

But when Kendrick knocks her to the ground, my blood runs cold.

If he hurts her, I’ll tear him to shreds with my bare hands.

I toss my rifle to the side and throw myself out of the car, scurrying down the twenty-foot column of vehicles.

It might have made the best vantage point, but it wasn’t the wisest choice for haste.

My clothing snags on a broken wing mirror, but I wrench free and keep going, dropping the last eight feet with fear nipping at my heels.

Eric says something through the earpiece, but I can’t process it.

I shouldn’t have let her do this alone. I should have stayed closer.

After rounding a corner, my feet come to an abrupt halt at finding Tessa standing beside Kendrick’s body, her hands fisted and head tilted toward the sky.

Laughter drips from her lips, the sound tearing at my soul.

There’s nothing humorous about it, nothing to imply joy or levity.

It’s harsh and jagged with wicked claws that sink into me with a hint of madness.

I hurry over to her and run my hands over her body while searching for wounds. Her laughter cuts off, her body swaying under my touch. “Are you hurt?” I ask gruffly, spinning her around to check her back. A dark stain covering her shoulders makes me stiffen until I realize it’s just oil.

She shakes her head and gives Kendrick a vicious kick in the balls. “No, I’m fine. Just pissed.”

I hunch down and examine the hook sticking out of Kendrick’s head. “It’s just like the fucker to cheat you out of your kill.”

“I’m used to people disappointing me.” She shrugs before turning and striding away to collect her pipe and machete.

As I glare down at the corpse cooling at my feet, I make a vow never to be the one who disappoints her.

The flickering flames dance over the marble floors and walls, creating a glimmering show of light and shadows from the thirty candles Eric placed around my expansive bathroom.

The air is thick with steam and the scent of tropical flowers from the bath oil I liberally applied to the warm water, which laps at our fevered skin as Tessa squirms in my lap while I kiss Eric like he’s the air I breathe.

My hand slides up Tessa’s oil-slicked stomach, settling over her breast and pinching her nipple hard enough to make her gasp.

My cock hardens against her ass, seeking her heat. His heat. It no longer matters. I can’t hold back when it comes to them. It’s a constant, ever-present need, a clawing desire to take, claim, and purge myself of my demons deep inside them.

My fingers twine through Eric’s damp curls, pulling him closer while my other hand travels south, circling Tessa’s clit.

My cock slides between her cheeks, and I tamp down on my impatience, focusing on the feel of Eric’s lips against mine.

He breaks away, panting, and gives me a lopsided grin before taking Tessa’s hand and pressing a kiss against the pulse point in her wrist.

I speed up my movements, her swollen nub slick between my fingers, enjoying every little moan and sigh I wring from her.

I need her to fall apart, to shatter beneath us before we split her in two.

It doesn’t take long. Her head rests on my chest, her body trembling and breath catching in her throat.

Eric freezes, watching her with an intentness mirroring my own.

“So fucking beautiful,” he whispers, and in that instant, I know he’s fallen for her.

I realized earlier, when she was standing over Grange’s body, that I have too.

How could we not? She fits us perfectly in every way, filling that last, final piece I knew on some deep level was missing.

For the first time in my life, I feel whole.

Eric drags Tessa off my lap, settling her on her hands and knees beside the in-floor tub.

She glances over her shoulder and raises a brow, but says nothing when he opens a bottle of lube and applies it to her dark hole.

Superfluous words aren’t needed here. It would seem almost sacrilegious to break the charged silence surrounding us, ruining the erotic atmosphere we’ve created.

Eric slides a finger into Tessa’s ass, making her gasp.

He works it in and out before adding a second one, stretching her, preparing her to take his thick length.

She moves back, spearing herself on his fingers, her eyes falling closed.

I stroke my cock, leaking precum into the water as I settle back on the tiled bench I had built into the tub for just this purpose.

Eric runs his tongue over his bottom lip, his pupils nearly swallowing his gray eyes.

He lifts her again, but this time, settles her on my lap so she faces me.

I gently cup her face, tracing her eyebrows with my thumbs.

Her gaze clashes with mine, and I lose myself in the gold and brown depths that remind me of crisp autumn mornings when dew clings to the colored leaves.

She leans down and offers me the gentlest of kisses, her legs spread wide over my thighs, her heated core gliding over me.

I run my hand down her back, guiding her into place, and suck in a deep breath when I sheath myself inside her.

I remain still as she reaches her hand behind her and grabs Eric’s hand, drawing him closer.

He looms over her, his dark curls plastered to his forehead, lust and love and reverence playing across his face.

My throat tightens. I don’t deserve either of them, but it’s too late for the three of us.

We’re bound together with cords stronger than tungsten, forged in the fiery pits of the hell we called a childhood.

Wrong or right, it no longer matters. It’s us against the world, and I would choose them over and over again, in any lifetime, in any incarnation.

Eric winds a hand into Tessa’s hair, pulling her head back and exposing her throat.

I lean closer, running my lips down it and sucking at the tender flesh at the base, leaving my mark on her while my brother kisses her deeply.

I move down to her breasts, suckling on a nipple while subtly rocking her against me.

Eric raises a questioning brow at Tessa, who nods.

She’s ready. Anticipation runs through me, and I wrap my arms around her and spread my legs, opening her up for him.

He runs a hand down her back, and apprehension fills her eyes when Eric notches himself at her entrance, quickly turning to pain when he inches his way inside her.

Fuck.

I’m already a tight fit, but adding his length to the mix only makes it tighter.

Tessa whimpers, and I run my hands up and down her back, soothing her.

“It’s okay. You can take us,” I breathe into her ear.

She presses her face into my shoulder and nods, sucking in a shuddered breath when Eric pushes forward, fully seating himself inside her.

We wait for a minute or two, allowing her to acclimate to both of us filling her before we begin moving.

Tessa gives a little whine and wraps her arms around my neck, holding on to me like a lifeline as we take turns moving in and out of her.

It’s a whole new sensation, feeling him thrusting against me through the thin membrane separating us.

“You’re doing so good, angel,” Eric whispers, staring down at where they join.

“So fucking good,” I add.

We pick up speed, churning up the water, little waves slapping at us as we glide in and out of her.

My nerves light up with pleasure when Eric leans forward, pressing Tessa tighter against me and slamming his mouth down over mine, forcing my mouth open for his invading tongue.

Tessa sucks on my neck, leaving her mark behind to match the one I gave her.

My orgasm slams into me with the force of a tsunami, taking my breath away.

A deep growl rumbles in my chest when I fill her with my cum, and I slide my hand down her body, needing her to follow.

I can tell Eric’s close, his eyes half mast as he powers into her, his hands holding her hips in a tight grip.

I find her clit and pinch it between my fingers, and she cries out, writhing between us.

“You can do it,” I murmur, my eyes locked on her face.

She throws her head back against Eric’s chest. “Come for us, Tessa.” I replace my cock with two fingers and curl them to rub against her G-spot.

Eric comes with a final grunt, pouring himself deep inside her.

He moves in and out in gentle thrusts while I get rougher, pinning her in place, forcing her orgasm.

She clamps down and shouts her release before collapsing against me, causing Eric to pull out with a hiss.

I press a kiss to her damp forehead, watching my brother climb out and come back with a towel, spreading it open between his hands.

I carefully stand up, wary of the oil clinging to our bodies, and hand her over.

He wraps her up before lifting her in his arms and carrying her through to my bedroom.

I grab two more towels and blow out the candles before following them, leaving a damp trail of footprints behind.

Tessa stands near the bed with Eric kneeling at her feet, drying her, a small smile playing at her lips as she gazes down at him.

The sight stops me in my tracks, and when she glances up and gives me the same adoring look, I nearly stumble backward with how hard my heart leaps.

Should anything ever happen to either of them, the monster I would become would be unstoppable. I would take the entire world down with me in my thirst for vengeance.