Beyond Bewitching (14 page)

Releasing his mouth, she rocked her hips backward and then forward. Her body shook beneath his hands. Finally, she wiggled until the head of his cock rested against her entrance, her sweet cunt swallowing him as she sat up. “You feel so good.”

He panted through the first pulses of her inner muscles squeezing around him. Each successive spasm threatened to finish him off long before she found pleasure. He reached up to cradle her tits, plucking at the pebbled tips. “Ride me, Sarah. I want to watch you come.”

Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment, and she leaned backward, taking him deeper still. Digging her fingers into his thighs, she bucked up and down on him. “Come with me.”

With each plunge into her tight pussy, he teased her nipples. Every light pinch seemed to spark a tremor inside her. The milking action of the contractions made his balls tighten and his dick swell, and he increased the pressure on her distended peaks in hopes of bringing her closer to the edge.

Rough breathing and her rising cries echoed off the walls. Her pace grew erratic, but he didn’t dare stop his play to guide her hips in a smoother tempo. She was chasing down an orgasm, if her shuddering body was any hint.

“Yeah, Sarah. That’s it. Fuck me hard.” His nuts drew up against him, signaling his own imminent explosion. “Now!”

She tensed around him in a series of powerful embraces and cried out as he surrendered to the force propelling him into oblivion. His heat mixed with hers, relief flooding his entire soul with the eruption. His throat ached, even though he hadn’t been aware of yelling his pleasure. Colored spots dotted his vision, and he floated through space.

“Damn, that was hot.” Tanner’s voice broke the sudden silence. Catching Sarah as her boneless figure melted, he guided her to the mattress. “My turn.”

Too sated to roll to his side, John turned his head to watch.

Tanner cupped her face and kissed her before sitting back on his heels to hook her knees over his arms.

She sighed. “How did you know I need you too?”

“Because we’re meant to share our lives.” He eased forward, a smile spreading across his face to hint he’d sunk inside her. “That must’ve been a hell of an orgasm. You’re still vibrating. Ready for another?”

“Yes. Oh, yes.” Her whisper suggested she hadn’t touched down from the first yet.

Sarah’s focus was on Tanner now—as it should be. He deserved her undivided attention while they made love.

Her hands stroked his chest, and he’d obviously slid his cock inside her, by the slow back-and-forth motion of their bodies. The mattress wiggled, but neither seemed to notice. With an increase in tempo came a rise in their sounds of pleasure. Every beat brought a higher-pitched cry from her.

You’re so close. Come for him, Sarah.

Lifting her leg to his shoulder, Tanner reached between them. Although John couldn’t see where Tanner’s fingers landed, he could easily guess the destination. Tanner had to be thrumming her clit.

She trembled for several seconds before a hoarse cry left her kiss-swollen lips. Though her muscles tensed, the side of her mouth nearest John curved upward. Seeing her happy triggered his own smile and a strange tickle in his chest. Was he falling in love with her already?

Tanner followed after her, if his loud groan and thrown-back head were any indication. He slumped forward, easing Sarah’s legs down as he formed a protective canopy over her. “I wanted to do that all night.”

“This was a wonderful way to start the day.” Raising her hand to his cheek, she kissed him.

Her relaxed manner relieved John’s lingering worry that she might experience another meltdown. Conflicting emotions would’ve meant delaying their plan, and he’d prefer to end Naga’s reign of power sooner rather than later.

Tanner moved to lie beside her, opposite John. “Perfect.”

“No, perfect is when you’re both inside me.” She seemed to pause for a moment while a spark of satisfaction shot to John’s ego. “May I ask you something?”

“Sure.” John shrugged.

“Anything.” Levering up on his elbow, Tanner glanced at him but didn’t make mental contact.

Sarah took a slow breath. “From what I’ve observed, men are territorial where women are concerned. How is it that there’s no jealousy between you?”

Thank the Goddess for an easy question.

Grasping her hand, John let the joy in his heart show on his face. “We’ve always known we would share a mate. It’s the way of Elementals. Do you care more for one of us over the other? I don’t think so.”

The truth of his words seemed to be enough answer for her. “I care for you equally.”

Tanner grinned. “You don’t show a preference during our mating. We have no reason to waste time on jealousy. The more we can please you, the better for all of us.”

“You please me far more than I thought possible. Do I please you?”

John’s laugh mixed with Tanner’s snort, and they spoke as one. “
Yes
.”

Her lips twitched, probably at the emphatic response. “I’ve never made a man happy before.”

The lash scars on her back flashed in John’s mind, setting off an urgent need to protect and reassure her. He leaned in to brush his lips along the gentle curve of her ear. “You only have to be here with us to accomplish that.”

Tanner wrapped his arm around her waist. “The only way you can prevent our happiness is by leaving us behind. When you commit to us, our bond will become unbreakable.”

The slight tensing of her jaw was an improvement over anger, withdrawal, or tears, but John had learned the hard way that pressuring her usually had the opposite effect of their intentions. Even with the new moon deadline quickly approaching, he wouldn’t force the issue. She had to take that step of her own free will. “When you’re ready, Sarah. I’m sorry for being impatient with you. I know you’re doing the best you can, and trusting us must be damned hard after the life you’ve lived.”

She rolled toward him, her expression unreadable. “You told me you’re shifters and that I have a fertility cycle—only when it suited you. You also said I have the power to leave here if I wish to. Have you kept anything else from me?”

Guilt from those secrets had burned a hole in his conscience. He wasn’t about to withhold any more information from her. “Nothing else—except maybe my feelings for you.”

Still, her face revealed no emotion. “What feelings would those be?”

Ready to lay himself bare to earn her trust, he stated the simple facts. “I adore you, Sarah. Until we found you, I never really considered how much I might come to care for you. Love isn’t some abstract notion now. Every minute I spend with you expands the definition and draws me closer.”

She blinked at him and then turned to Tanner. “Do you have any secrets?”

Hooking his arm around her waist, he tugged her against him. “I’m not sure it’s a secret, but I think I’m going to be crazy in love with you in a day or two. I’m also a sucker for a happy ending, so let’s kick some Triad ass today and save the world, okay?”

Although John hardly expected her to declare her undying love to them, he had to swallow back his disappointment when she wiggled out of Tanner’s hold and scooted to the foot of the bed. She rummaged through the pile of clothes on the floor, finally standing upright again with her skirt draped over her arm. Every time she’d been under stress she’d gone in search of her packet of treasures.

She hadn’t been ready for his and Tanner’s admissions.

He had the utmost confidence in her magickal abilities, but they could all
die
during the execution of their plan. Going to meet the Goddess without telling Sarah how he much he cared for her served no purpose—even if she didn’t return his affection. She needed to know someone gave a damn about her.

Climbing back on the bed, she knelt near his feet and withdrew the linen pouch from the skirt pocket. She carefully spread the items on the blankets in front of her. Her fingers closed around the bloodstone first, and she held it in her open palm. “My grandmother gave me this for courage, prosperity, and healing when I was welcomed into the coven. I’ve always doubted its healing powers.”

John gathered all his restraint to keep from prompting her with a “but” to continue the sentence.

She returned the stone to its place. Gathering the chain that made the oval pendant into a necklace, she let the tarnished silver trinket dangle and spin above her folded legs. “This locket belonged to my mother. She died from the fever when I was seventeen. I had to sneak into her room to get it before the townsfolk burned all her belongings. There’s a miniature portrait of her inside the locket.”

A lump formed in his throat, strong emotions building in his chest. Above all, he wanted to express his sincerest sympathy at her loss and repair the damage to her heart and soul. A glance down to the hank of her son’s hair reminded him that she’d suffered a far greater hurt.

Her hand trembled as she set down the necklace and picked up the black curls. She touched the coil to her lips with the same reverence John had witnessed after her panicked search yesterday. “All I have left of Samuel is a lock of his hair. He was nine months old when a sickness took him from me. I stayed with him almost every second for four days, but he slipped away while I slept. He gave me hope.”

That she’d lost all hope with his passing was clear to John. She’d been dragged through hell and somehow survived.

One element of her child’s story bothered him, though. He hadn’t even realized what that detail was until Sarah mentioned Samuel’s age. If she’d never had a fertility cycle before traveling to the present, how had she gotten pregnant by her rapist? The man couldn’t have been her mate, and witches could only conceive with those fated to spend their lives with them. Who had fathered her son?

Sarah placed each treasure back in the cloth bag, tying it closed with the leather strap. She clutched it in her hand and raised her eyes to his. After a moment, she looked toward Tanner. “No one else has ever seen these memories of my past. If something happens to me today, will you take them to Samuel’s grave?”

She couldn’t mean to sacrifice herself to destroy Naga, could she?

Alarm raced through John’s body, but before he could speak, Tanner sent him warning look. He could evidently sense John’s panic.

Sitting up against the pillows, Tanner clasped his hands behind his head. “If you die, John and I will already be dead. Remember the oath? We vowed to protect you to the death.”

“But you can’t know what will happen. You can’t protect me from everything.”

“We’ll damn well die trying.” He shoved the blankets out of the way, his worry finding its way to John’s brain as Tanner clamored out of bed and began to pace. “I’m not going to lose you, Sarah.”

Her chin dropped to her chest, her soft words almost a whisper. “I don’t want to lose you, either.”

Crawling to her, John nudged her chin upward with his finger. “Are you sure you want to do this today?”

“We can’t wait.”

Her use of “we” gave him a surge of confidence that she was close to truly trusting him and Tanner. Mentioning it would likely trigger a backward step, so he kept his mouth shut and opened his arms.

She leaned into him, wrapping her arms around him. Tanner sandwiched her between them, and she seemed to relax. Her warm breath feathered over John’s bare skin. “What do I have to do?”

A burst of optimism shook John to the core. “To do what?”

“How do I make a commitment to you both?”

Despite her best efforts to distance her heart from Tanner and John, Sarah had failed. She’d become human again. With the coming confrontation with Naga came the realization she’d willingly sacrifice herself to keep her lovers safe. If she had to die to rid the world of the Triad, so be it—but she’d do it after showing John and Tanner how much they meant to her.

Their heat seeped into her skin as they surrounded her, calming the fluttering in her stomach. “Do I have to recite an oath? Or follow a certain rite?”

John leaned back, the door to his thoughts cracked open just far enough for her to read surprise mixed with elation. “Whatever way you choose. The only requirement is the vow must come from your heart.”

Rounding her to kneel beside John, Tanner grasped her hand. “Are you sure you really want to do this, Sarah? There’s no going back once we’re fully mated.”

The word “mate” brought a swell of response to her entire body, but the feeling wasn’t panic this time. Was it anticipation? Fulfillment? Simple happiness? The sensation seemed familiar, as if she’d experienced it before.

The day Samuel was born. The first time I held him.

She reached out to complete their triangle by linking her fingers with John’s, and the bag of her most-prized possessions slipped from her hand to land on the covers in front of both men. Entrusting those items to her mates would prove her faith in the men who’d pledged themselves to a stranger.

Closing her eyes, she savored the caress of their callused fingers against hers and inhaled the earthy scent of strong yet gentle males. “In all my life, I’ve never known any man with the loyalty you’ve both shown me. You should’ve lost patience with me, but you didn’t. You’ve healed a part of me that believed no one could be trusted, and I know you won’t ever hurt me. Just as you’ll do anything to protect me, I’ll do the same for you.” She opened her eyes to look up at Tanner and then John. “Both of you. I put my life in your hands and accept yours in mine.”