showing you—or anyone else for that matter—how I feel, but I thought it
was obvious.” He reached for my arms and pulled me against his strong
chest, so close, I could feel his heart beneath my palm. The thump-thump-
thump was slightly erratic, as if he was as worried about this conversation as I
was. “Of course I love you. How could I not? You’re everything I always
wanted and everything I never thought I deserved. I may not have a lot to
offer you, I’m lazy and cruel and sarcastic as fuck, but everything I am is
yours…if you’ll have me.”
Now, he was the one staring at me with stark vulnerability in his gaze.
Color darkened his cheekbones as he held my stare, his thumbs smoothing
circles over the skin of my waist where my shirt had risen up.
“Of course I love you, Bash-hole.” I brought my hands around his neck
and fingered the soft hair at the nape of his neck. “Now shut up and kiss me.”
He obliged.
His kiss was different than all of the others. I didn’t want to say gentler,
because in no way did that word ever describe Sebastian Mage, but there was
a tenderness and reverence in each press of his lips that I hadn’t experienced
in a long time.
He worshipped my mouth, and it was like our hearts merged, twin balls of
light becoming one being. All of the angst and yearning and anger…they all
translated to this one moment, where I felt as if I could touch his very soul
through the force of my kiss.
One of his hands moved to my right breast, kneading the tender flesh,
while the other cupped my ass, pulling me flush against him. His hard cock
dug into my belly, and when I finally broke the kiss, he was breathing just as
hard as me.
I moved my hands from his neck to his chest, unbuttoning his shirt as I
went. His green orbs locked on me, he slid it over his shoulders, unveiling his
muscular chest to my greedy eyes.
“You don’t know how long I’ve wanted this,” he whispered as I took a
step away from him. My eyes lapped up all of the smooth, pale skin on
display before dipping down to that delectable trail of blond hair. I wanted to
take even more of his clothes off, unwrapping him like a present at
Christmas.
“Then show me,” I breathed. And then, because I couldn’t help myself, I
added, “Unless you’re scared. Are you scared, Bash-hole?”
Wicked heat entered his eyes as he claimed my lips once more, his tongue
prodding at the seam of my lips until I opened for him. Each slash of his
mouth against my own sent fire through my veins.
I tried to reach out to him, tried to touch the smooth skin of his chest and
shoulders, but discovered that I wasn’t able to.
I pulled my mouth away from his. “What the…?” Lowering my gaze, I
found my hands clasped in front of me, a single tendril of green magic
keeping them immobile.
That fucker had placed a spell on me!
“Are you scared, baby?” Bash taunted as his hands moved to my breasts,
twisting my nipples through the fabric of my shirt and bra.
I moaned in answer, and with another naughty grin, he flicked his fingers,
and suddenly, my clothes were on the ground beside him, leaving me
completely bare to his viewing pleasure.
“This doesn’t seem fair,” I rasped, my naked chest heaving.
His eyes darkened, turning molten in the copious moonlight. “You nearly
died, Z. I need to…I need to feel you. I need to know that you’re here, that
you’re okay.”
If my hands weren’t bound together, I would’ve placed my palm on his
cheek. Instead, I stared at him, hoping he could read the earnestness in my
gaze.
“I’m here, Bash. I’m okay.”
The magic holding me hostage faded, and I used the opportunity to run
my hand down Bash’s smooth chest before he could change his mind. His
shoulders weren’t as broad as Dair’s, nor were his abs as pronounced as
Killian’s, but Bash was a work of art all on his own. I desperately wanted to
memorize every dip of his impressive six-pack and the cock I’d only seen
once before.
Back then, it’d been limp and flaccid. He’d been unable to get it up after
coming into contact with me. But now…
Now it dug into my bare stomach, straining against the confines of his
jeans.
He rested his hand just below my breast, his thumb brushing the
underside, as he kissed me once more, our bodies molding together.
“You’re so beautiful, Z,” he whispered against my lips as he plucked my
nipple. When he began to trail kisses down my neck, I stopped him.
Confusion, and a tiny bit of hurt, appeared in his eyes, though he quickly
tried to mask it.
“If I’m moving too fast…”
I dropped to my knees without preamble and unbuttoned his pants,
gripping his hard cock and stroking him from base to tip.
“You want to know I’m okay, right? You want to know I’m still alive?” I
breathed on his cock, causing it to jerk.
“Z, you don’t have to—Oh fuck!” His hands moved to the back of my
head, not yet pulling at my hair, as I licked the underside of his cock like a
lollipop. Grinning up at him through my fringe of lashes, I took him deep in
my mouth, maintaining eye contact the entire time.
When I released him, I didn’t give him a moment of reprieve, instead
circling my tongue along the tip and then licking the length of his dick once
more.
“Fuck, Z.” He tried to hold himself still, tried to remain calm, but I could
see him falling apart in my arms. His abs tensed beneath my hand as I
brought my lips around his throbbing member once more.
It occurred to me that we were only a few yards away from hundreds of
humans who could listen in.
But I didn’t care.
Let them hear. Let them see. The world needed to know that these men
were mine and I was theirs.
“Baby,” he growled as I trailed my hand up his chest, resting it just above
his heart. He placed his hand over mine, holding it hostage, as I removed his
cock from my mouth and began to kiss along the side. I realized quickly that
Bash loved it when I traced the vein along the length of his cock with the pad
of my tongue, his eyes dilating before turning half-mast with pleasure.
“You like that?” I teased, doing it again.
“You’re playing a dangerous fucking game.”
Before I could retort, his magic coiled around my body, forcing me to my
feet. He wrapped his hands around my neck and smashed his lips to mine. I
reached between our bodies to stroke his cock, determined more than ever to
keep the upper hand.
Something soft brushed against my clit, and I gasped.
“What the fuck?” I wheezed.
Both of Bash’s hands were around my throat, so where did that—
The mysterious presence dipped between my slick folds and began to
make a circular rotation that had my knees buckling.
Bash simply smirked at me—that cocky as fuck smirk I wanted to both
punch off his face and kiss senseless.
“Your magic,” I breathed as something plucked my clit.
“We’re lazy sons of bitches, baby.” He paused, dropping his gaze to
where my hand was wrapped around his cock. A second later, sensations
flooded me as both of my nipples were twisted, my clit was played with, a
finger speared my tight channel, and someone brushed the curve of my ass.
“Motherfucker.”
“But we’re almost as good at sex as incubi,” he finished, nipping at my
ear.
He released me, twisting me so I was gripping the trunk of the nearest
tree, my ass sticking out.
He kissed first one shoulder and then the next before sliding kisses down
my back. When he reached my ass, he nipped at the skin there before
soothing it away with the pad of his tongue.
I groaned, removing one hand from the tree to squeeze my own breasts,
as one of his fingers breached the tight ring of muscles of my ass.
“Do you like this, baby?” he purred, and I mumbled something
inarticulate, lost in the heady haze of pleasure. “Then why don’t you spread
yourself for me.”
My hands moved of their own accord, captured by his magic, to spread
my ass cheeks apart.
“Bash…” I whimpered, my body shaking with need and lust.
“Is this okay, baby?” I couldn’t see him, but his voice sounded lower, as
if he’d dropped to his knees behind me.
“Yes. God, yes. Please, Bash.”
I didn’t even know what I was pleading for, but my mage mate obliged,
licking the tight hole while I went mindless with pleasure. His other hand
crept inside of my pussy, circling my clit, and it wasn’t long before my
orgasm hit me like a freight train.
“Fuck, yes! Bash! Oh my god!” I praised as I shook and shuddered. I
would’ve fallen if Bash’s magic hadn’t banded around my chest, keeping me
upright. “I need you.”
“What do you need, baby?” I could hear the amusement in his voice as he
kissed up my spine, stopping at the shell of my ear. “Say it.”
“I need your cock!” I all but begged.
“It’s yours, baby. It’s always been yours. Just like I am.” I could feel the
head of his large dick lining up with my pussy, but before he could enter me,
I shook my head.
“Other hole,” I whispered.
He froze, and I desperately wished I could see his expression.
The growl he released was low and primitive, causing goosebumps to
ripple up my arms.
He lined up his cock up with my back entrance but didn’t immediately
enter me. His hand tenderly traveled up and down my spine as he kissed my
neck repeatedly.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Bash,” I whispered, arching into him.
“I’m gonna go nice and…slow.” He grunted out the final word as he
entered me. My mouth dropped open, eyes widening at the uncomfortable
intrusion.
“Fucking hell,” I groaned as he gripped my waist to steady me. With his
other hand, he pressed down on the small of my back until I was at a ninety-
degree angle. This new position pushed his cock even deeper inside of me,
and I gasped at the unfamiliar, but not unwanted, sensation.
He began to slide in and out of me, his hands touching everywhere they
could reach. My ass, my back, my bouncing breasts. His lips moved from my
neck to my cheek, before eventually finding my lips and claiming them in a
searing kiss. I twisted my head to deepen the kiss as he fucked me
relentlessly.
Something began to rub at my clit, creating circular patterns, and I
glanced down to see a finger of green magic spearing my channel.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” I praised as his hand reached around our bodies to cup
my dangling tit. His magic pressed down on my clit at the same time he
jerked inside my ass, his balls slapping against my skin, and my orgasm hit
me like a freight train, stealing my breath away.
All of my muscles clenched and tightened, and I knew the second they
did so around Bash’s cock. He pulled out of me just before he exploded with
a roar, his cum squirting against my back and painting me in a way that
asserted ownership. Possession.
I fucking loved it.
We both took a long moment to catch our breaths. My head was still
lowered, one hand resting against the bark of the tree, and Bash was
practically draped over my back, his sweat soaked chest brushing deliciously
against my skin.
“I love you,” he whispered, kissing my ear. He paused before adding,
“Even when you annoy the shit out of me.”
“I love you too,” I responded breathily. Pausing as well, I jokingly
retorted with, “Even when you think I’m annoying the shit out of you.”
“Naughty girl. Do you really think that—”
Someone cleared his throat, and Bash was immediately in front of me,
shielding my nudity from any wayward eyes. He relaxed, though, when he
noticed Dair standing in front of us.
The tent in my mermaid’s pants was impossible to miss, and his eyes
smoldered with lust. I was just about to ask him if he wanted to join us—I got
a second chance at life after all. Why not make the most of it?—when he
shook his head vehemently, seemingly in response to one of his own
thoughts, and nodded towards our discarded clothes.
“Get dressed,” he instructed. Bash and I exchanged a wary look but
“Why?” I questioned, and when Bash gave me a you’re an idiot look, I
whacked him in the arm and elaborated. “I mean, I obviously know not to
walk around all of these humans naked, but why do we have to end our fun
times right now?”
“Awww you’re pouting, baby,” Bash said with a cocky as fuck grin. “Do
you want more of my big cock?”
“It means you didn’t satisfy her enough the first time,” Dair quipped. And
the look Bash threw him? Acid. Complete acid.
“Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny.” I rolled my eyes at their immature banter and
finished pulling on my clothes. “But seriously, what’s up?”
“We need to discuss what’s going to happen next,” Dair confessed,
glancing in the direction of the shed. “Come on.”
TWENTY-SIX
Z
W e followed Dair back inside the hut, where Paco, Ryland, Jax,
and Killian had been joined by Axel, Toby, and Natalia.
“Looking good, little sister!” Axel called as soon as he
caught sight of me. His mischievous eyes flicked to my sex tousled hair
before drifting to Bash, his shirt haphazardly buttoned and half tucked into
his pants. “Got some good deep dicking?”
“For fuck’s sake…” I murmured, moving to stand beside my men.
Jax immediately wrapped his arms around my waist and burrowed his
nose in my hair, inhaling deeply. Axel, Natalia, and Toby all gave him
strange looks, but I didn’t pull away from my vampire mate. Instead, I
stroked his silky brown hair, offering him the comfort I knew he so
desperately needed.
Only a few minutes ago, it was Bash who needed the reaffirmation that I
was alive and well. Now, it was Jax. I was determined to give it to him,
regardless of the curious looks from the others.
I noted, somewhat sadly, that Natalia looked absolutely wrecked. Her
face was a vision of grief and barely suppressed anger, her lower lip
wobbling despite her eyes being dry. Toby wasn’t much better, though he put
on a brave face as he hugged his girlfriend closer to his side.
“We’re glad to see that you’re better,” Toby told me with a respectful
nod. “Is it true that Paco cured you from the…poison?” He glanced at Axel
for confirmation, almost as if he didn’t truly believe that mere hours ago, I’d
been inches from death. Hell, I’d faced death, fought it off, and emerged
victorious.
“I’m better now,” I assured them all, turning my sympathetic eyes in
Natalia’s direction. “And the brothel?”
“Destroyed.” Her voice was weak and raspy, but the defiant glint in her
eyes made my respect for her grow. “Burned to ash.”
“And the mages inside of the building?” Ryland inquired, and Natalia
blanched, her face draining of all color. She shifted even closer to Toby, and
he gave her a reassuring squeeze.
Not meeting the shadow’s questioning gaze, Natalia muttered, “Dead.”
“We have all the liberated humans with us now,” Toby explained, and I
couldn’t help but glance in Paco’s direction, wondering how the eccentric
mage felt about his home being turned into a camp for rebellious humans.
But if he was concerned or even remotely upset, he didn’t show it as he
hummed beneath his breath, grabbing a bristled broom from where it was
perched against the wall and sweeping at the floors.
“I’m glad we were able to save them.” I took a hesitant step towards
Natalia but then thought better of it. Maintaining my distance, I held her gaze
and bowed my head slightly. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“We’re all going to lose people in this war, Liberator,” Natalia told me,
her face still ashen beneath her mane of orange hair. “But if we can’t bounce
back from the amount of death and carnage we’re destined to experience,
there’s no chance in hell that we’ll win. That’s the difference between us and
them.” Her pretty face twisted in disgust, and she spat on the ground. “They
don’t care about anyone. They don’t grieve people the same way we do.”
“That’s not true.” Dair’s voice was soft but acerbic. I almost wanted to
describe it as bitter. His sea-blue eyes, the exact color of a sunlit ocean,