HerMatesEmbrace (4 page)

“You grab what we’ll need and I’ll get ready.” Colm let his
eyes sweep over Linc’s body and he definitely looked hungry.

“Now don’t go getting any ideas. This time’s mine.” Linc
pointed a finger at his friend, but did go get the bottle of lube from their
bag.

“You can have this time, but no one said how long it would
be before next time.” Colm’s voice held laughter and anticipation.

Linc turned and watched as Colm stripped out of his shirt
and stepped out of his black leather pants. Linc tossed the bottle onto the covers
and quickly tugged at his own clothing. He couldn’t get out of them fast
enough. He wanted to be skin to skin with his lover now.

“How do you want me, Linc?” Colm stood on the side of the
bed and eyed Linc speculatively.

“On your back. I want to see your face as I fuck you.” Linc
climbed onto the bed and waited as Colm lay down on his back in the middle.

“I like that. I get to see your face as well.” Colm brought
a hand up to stroke along Linc’s jaw. “Then I can picture just how you’ll look
as I take you.”

Linc laughed and reached down to circle Colm’s cock with his
fingers. “You’re not focused enough on me. I’ll have to see what I can do about
that.”

He leaned down and kissed Colm aggressively. Colm didn’t let
him lead long. Their tongues dueled and played. All the while, Linc drew his
hand up and down Colm’s cock. They were both breathing hard when he drew back.
Linc drew in a ragged breath and tried to concentrate, but the ache in his
balls was pushing away all rational thought beyond the need to fuck.

He grabbed the bottle of lube, lifted one of Colm’s legs
onto his shoulder and began preparing his lover. He worked one of his oil-slick
fingers between the taut cheeks of Colm’s buttocks and drew his fingers around
the muscular ring. Even though his body burned with the need to drive deep, he
took his time working the oil into the tight channel. While he spread the
lubricant, his hand trailed occasionally up to Colm’s balls and cock, teasing
and tormenting to keep the heat high.

“You are so going to pay when it’s my turn.” Colm gritted
through clenched teeth. His hips lifted as Linc’s hand pumped his cock.

“That’s supposed to make me stop? All it does is encourage
me to enjoy this even more.” Linc smiled wickedly and drew his thumb over the
head of Colm’s shaft, smoothing the bead of pre-cum there into the skin. He
looked up and saw the strain on his friend’s face. He knew that he needed to
stop teasing so much if he didn’t want Colm to come before he was inside him.

Linc moved between Colm’s thighs. He hooked his lover’s
knees over his shoulders. He drew in a slow breath when his cock brushed
against Colm’s buttocks. Linc was close to coming and didn’t know how long he’d
be able to hold on to his control. The head of his shaft pressed at the tight
ring. He clenched his jaw as Colm’s muscles slowly stretched, giving him
access.

The clenching heat surrounding him felt so good. He began
pumping slowly into Colm. Colm’s hips lifted into the strokes. Colm’s fingers
gripped a handful of his hair and pulled him down. Sharp teeth nipped along his
shoulder, drawing a hissing breath from Linc. Linc’s hips slammed down
involuntarily, driving deep. Colm drew Linc closer for a fierce kiss.

His tongue drove deep and Linc felt his control slipping
away with every breath. Colm used his teeth and tongue to pull away every shred
of restraint. The stinging little nips along his lips and jaw sent sharp pulses
straight to his balls. Colm didn’t give him a chance to even take a deep
breath. His hips punched up and the flexing muscles pushed Linc right over the
edge.

Linc pulled almost completely out and then drove deep. His
mouth claimed Colm’s as his hips thrust forward. Colm met each stroke. His grip
tightened and his body lifted. Linc could tell Colm was close. Colm stiffened and
groaned. His body shook and Linc barely felt the warm semen hit his stomach. He
continued to grind into Colm. His balls pulled tight, aching with the need to
release. A sharp nip on his shoulder threw him over the edge. His hips ground
hard against Colm as he came. The aching tightness exploded, rushing over him
in a blinding rush of tingling pleasure.

He pulled back and let Colm’s legs fall to the bed before he
lay down on the bed beside his lover. He let his hand rest on Colm’s stomach
and just enjoyed the lingering pleasure.

“We’ll go slowly. I’m not saying I agree to your whole plan,
but we’ll get to know her and see if we can help her. She does need some
training for the magic inside of her now. While we’re doing that, we’ll see.
Even though I don’t want to see her in someone else’s arms, I don’t know if I
can get past my own problems about true mates.” Colm’s fingers tangled in
Linc’s hair.

“I’m not asking you to instantly agree. Even if you did,
we’d still have the problem of unmasking her without losing any trust she’s
given us. That’s not going to be an easy problem to solve if we decide to do
it.” Linc grimaced. Getting Colm’s cooperation was the least of his worries. In
spite of his fears, Colm would realize that it was the way it was supposed to
be. Eventually.

“Not easy, it will be nearly impossible.” Colm shook his
head.

“I think we’re up to the challenge. If nothing else comes to
us, we can try bargaining it away piece by piece.” Linc grimaced. Not that he
could see that working. They didn’t have anything that she wanted that much or
if they did, they didn’t know about it at this point.

They would find some way through her barriers. He wasn’t
prepared to accept anything else. Once Colm stopped letting fear push at him,
Colm wouldn’t tolerate it, either. The mating attraction would help them a
little. He’d felt it before with Colm and knew the pull was too strong to be
ignored. She might fight it, but would be drawn closer to them with each
passing day. Hopefully, with that closeness, she’d learn to trust them.

Chapter Five

Looking back on the last few days, Cami was amazed that
everything had been so normal. She’d received a few strange looks from the men.
It hadn’t been as bad as she’d thought. She could tell they didn’t see her in
the same way as before, though. In truth, the change in how they looked at her
was a little worrying. Before, she’d noticed sympathy and protectiveness. Now
overall, the men didn’t seem to see her as a victim or fragile.

Not necessarily a bad thing, but she wished Colm and Linc
still saw her that way. After losing control, she knew they didn’t retaliate.
Still, she wasn’t ready to give them her complete trust. On the other hand,
they seemed determined to close the distance she’d put between them.

They were more attentive now. It wasn’t just because they
knew she was having trouble with the magic inside her. She wished it was that
simple. She could deal with them focusing on her to keep her from having
another accidental magic release.

They began teaching her a few techniques to control the
power inside of her. She couldn’t control it when it was at its highest, but if
she caught it before it went too high, she could handle it. Most of the methods
had nothing to do with applying the magic, which frustrated her a little. She
wanted to learn to use it as well as have the ability to impose her will on the
power within her.

Linc and Colm had taken an interest in her. The magic seemed
to be the least of their focus when they were near her. Speculation burned in
their eyes as well as curiosity whenever she looked at them. Today, it seemed
even worse.

One of the
michkal
, the huge shaggy-haired beasts
that pulled the wagons, had been hurt when it had stepped in a hole along the
side of the washed-out road. They managed to get to the next town on the way to
the travel-gate, but wouldn’t be going anywhere until they found another to
pull the heavy wagon. The tall
mican
were powerful and great for riding,
but couldn’t pull the same load as one
michkal
. That left them waiting
until a suitable animal was found.

In the meantime, Cami decided to get a good look at the
market. The little town didn’t appear much different from the others they’d
passed through on the way to Colm and Linc’s world, but something about it
caught her attention. Maybe it was the cheerful colors of the houses around the
square or the flower boxes filled with gorgeous summer blooms that seemed to be
everywhere.

She walked into the cobbled square and stopped. The scent of
roasting meat swirled on the warm air and mixed with that of spices sold in a
nearby stall. Her eyes swept over the stalls, stopping on a stall covered with
mounds of colorful, ripe fruit before moving on to other wares. The large area
was a maze of stalls offering almost anything imaginable.

Only a few people wandered among the maze of stalls. She
smiled. Now this, she could enjoy. She strolled along one row, content for the
moment to merely look. Avan was close. He’d followed her as soon as she’d
stepped away from the main group near the entrance to the market. He stayed
back, but in a way, she was glad he was close.

She could relax a little. If anyone even looked as if they
might come after her, she’d get a good warning. Not that she expected that
here. Nothing felt off here. She’d learned to trust the freaky dreams and
feelings coming to her since she’d broken the crystal.

She wandered through the stalls idly, but stopped when she
found herself in a section filled with cloth and metal wares. She admired the
cloth for a short time. Turning and strolling to the next stall, she found
herself drawn to a table covered with buckles, ornamental metal belts, bangles
and buttons, as well as a few nice knives.

As she walked up to the table, the young, dark-haired man
behind it smiled at her. His eyes didn’t cut to her cheek or shy away as others
had. She smiled back. As she looked at one of the bracelets, he came around the
table.

“It’s nice work, yes? My brother makes these.” The man
picked up the bracelet to display the dangling charms better.

“It’s very pretty. Your brother is very good at what he
does.” She fingered one of the charms and glanced up at him through her lashes.
He didn’t seem disgusted by her scar at all.

“There are—” The man’s words cut off abruptly as a large
body suddenly stepped between them.

She looked up past the black shirt and broad shoulders to
the black hair and aggressive lines of Colm’s face. He scowled at the vendor.
The man scurried behind the table. She glared at him.
What was his problem
and why was he even here?

“It’s time to go. They’re getting the
michkal
and
will have it ready soon.” Colm’s voice was hard. He didn’t take his eyes off
the man behind the table.

She frowned at his back, but wasn’t going to argue with him
in front of the stranger. Nodding, she muttered a quiet thank-you before
turning away from the table. She didn’t get far before Colm was right beside
her. They walked back to the main group of Santir.

She didn’t know if something had delayed the others or if
Colm hadn’t been telling the complete truth. They had to wait a while longer
before the
michkal
arrived and they could begin their journey again.
Colm didn’t leave her side the entire time. She wondered what caused that. He
couldn’t feel possessive about her. They were curious and there was something
else in his eyes, but she didn’t know what.

Cami watched him as they rode to the next town, but couldn’t
come up with any reason for his behavior. She focused her eyes ahead and her
thoughts on the next few days. Tomorrow, they’d reach the travel-gate and go to
the world where their
Thent
was located. From what she understood, the
Thent
wasn’t near the gate. They maintained an armed presence at the gate for
security. The journey wasn’t quite over, but an end was in sight.

The thought of being surrounded by more people made her a
little nervous, even if it was only for a short time. On the other hand,
getting off the
mican
for more than a night was a dream of hers. She
hoped that Laed and Kynar weren’t too long in following them. An extended stay
would be hard on more than her nerves. She didn’t know how long she’d be able
to resist the temptation to get close to Colm and Linc. The pull to them hadn’t
lessened even a little.

Once they reached the inn, Cami retreated to her room for
privacy before she had to join the others for a meal. She took a bath, but had
to keep it short. She didn’t want to draw attention to herself by arriving too
late. She dressed in a black skirt and a clean, cream shirt because she needed
a change from travel clothes even if it was only for a short time before she
went to bed.

With her hair hanging free down her back, she almost felt
normal. At least, she did until she walked into the inn’s dining room and
caught the expression of a woman at a table near the door. The woman’s eyes
widened and her mouth dropped open. Cami almost turned on her heel and headed
for her room, but she straightened her shoulders and concentrated on getting to
the table where Avan, the
chatar
and the healer sat.

Forcing herself to focus on the room and not who might be looking
at her, she kept moving. Decorative lamps hung from beams across the ceiling
over the tables, creating pools of light and shadow. She made her way through
the tables and chose one of the empty seats. Sitting down, she nodded to the
healer and the
chatar
before smiling at Avan.

Cami took a deep breath as she settled into the seat. Their
food was delivered almost immediately. She began eating without really noticing
what was on her plate. Her focus remained on what had happened and her
reaction.

She wasn’t going to let someone staring send her into
hiding. The staring made her angry, but she didn’t want to run. Well, not too
much. There was still the desire to pull in on herself, to take shelter, but
she didn’t think she’d have stayed only days ago.

Something had changed, though. She’d grown comfortable
around these men. That was true and might be part of the new confidence. It
wasn’t all of it. Some part of her had faded after the beating and especially
when she discovered the damage to her leg. She hadn’t felt as though she was
the same person since Kynar and Laed had attacked her. Maybe she was getting a
little of her spirit back.

Her mind circled on the discovery that she might not be such
a wimp after all. She hadn’t cared what people thought of her looks before, but
when she’d realized how much damage Laed and Kynar had done, she’d been knocked
off balance. Coupled with the reactions of the first few people to see her
wounds after she’d begun walking around
Scali Thent
again and those damn
dreams of Colm and Linc, she’d been unsure of herself for a long time.

Not that she was all of a sudden ready to walk around with
her hair up and show off all of her scars. She wasn’t even comfortable with
anyone other than the healer seeing her thigh. The few marks on her back
bothered her, but that was more because of those dreams and what they said in
them.

She didn’t know if she’d ever be that relaxed, but the
stares of strangers, while uncomfortable, wasn’t going to make her walk the
other way. She could sit here and eat without feeling overly self-conscious. It
wasn’t the ease and acceptance of her scars that she hoped to have one day, but
it was encouraging. She felt happier and a little lighter now.

She finished eating and looked around to find herself
sitting only with Avan. She hadn’t realized that the healer and the
chatar
had left the table. She realized that she’d been lost in thought, but hadn’t
believed that she’d been that absorbed.

“Yes, he’s gone. The healer ate and then went to talk with a
healer he knows here. The
chatar
didn’t say where he was going. You were
so involved with whatever you were thinking that you didn’t respond to any
questions, much less notice that they’d left.” Avan laughed softly. “By the
small smile and the look in your eyes, whatever you were thinking about helped
you.”

“I think a few things have finally worked themselves out.”
She shrugged. She wasn’t going to elaborate any yet. “It surprised me a
little.”

“Well, you’re not giving much information about it, but I’m
glad you’re happy.” He turned to face her a little more. “I’m not going to ask
what it was, because I’m sure you would have said it if you wanted to talk
about it.”

“You’re right. I don’t want to talk about it. At least not
right now.” She licked her lips and looked down at the table. She wanted to be
certain of the change and that she could make it permanent. Gods, she hated
feeling so cowardly that the mere stare of people made her leave the room. She
wasn’t that woman. Not any more. She wouldn’t act that way.

“This is one of the most hopeful signs I’ve seen from you.
I—” Avan’s voice cut off and he frowned as his eyes focused beyond her.

Cami turned and saw a blonde woman standing beside her. She
was looking at Cami, biting her lip. The woman was slim, sleekly built and very
pretty.
Perfect.
Cami fought to hide a wince at the thought. She had to
stop thinking about those dreams of them with the other women. The stranger
seemed a little hesitant, but determined. Cami tilted her head as she watched
the woman.

“Is there something you want?” Cami spoke when the woman
just kept staring at her.

“Do you know those men over there at the other table?” The
woman gestured to the table where Linc and Colm sat. The two men were talking
with some of their men and were totally oblivious of Cami glancing over at
them.

“Yes.” Cami nodded.

“Are you involved with them? They’ve been looking at you,
but you’re sitting at another table. I didn’t want to approach another woman’s
men.” The woman’s tongue slicked over her lips as she glanced at Linc and Colm.

Cami let her eyes stray to the two men in question again.
Colm had angled his chair so he could look at the men gathered near their
table. The top buttons of his white shirt had been undone and offered a view of
his dark-brown skin. His leg stretched out and showed the same dark pants he’d
worn while they were traveling. She grimaced. It wasn’t as though anyone had a
wide range of choices while they were traveling.

Linc sat next to Colm and faced the men. His black shirt
looked a little rumpled. He listened as one of the men talked, but Cami
couldn’t hear what was said. The urge to walk over and sit down next to them
pushed at her, but she fought it. If she ever gave in to it, sitting wouldn’t
be all she’d do. Instinct pushed at her to connect with her mates, to touch,
kiss and solidify the bond.

“No, I’m not involved with them and they’re not my men.”
Cami clamped down on the desire to tell the woman to go away and that Linc and
Colm were taken. This could work in her favor if the woman could distract them.
“You’re just their type, so you have a pretty good chance with them.”

The woman smiled and walked toward the table where Linc and
Colm sat. She didn’t approach them immediately, but waited a small distance
away as they continued to talk to the other men.

“She’s their type? How would you know that?” Avan scowled at
her.

“Isn’t she almost any man’s type? She’s pretty.” Cami
lowered her lashes over her eyes to hide the wicked glint she knew was there.

“Don’t play innocent. You knew their names when you met us
at the travel-gate and she is the type of woman they usually favor.” He shook
his head and eyed the woman. “I don’t think whatever you’re trying is going to
work. They’ve been watching you and it’s not just in a protective way.”

“It’s just part of what happened, Avan. They’ve been too
protective. I don’t need someone to scare off any man who gets near me. I’m not
going to fall apart. I might like a little male attention if I can get it
without someone busting in and running the man off.” She grimaced as she
remembered the incident in the market again.