Matthias let out a breath when Tanner shut the door behind him. His ribs still ached but were definitely on the mend. The sleep he'd needed he'd finally gotten on the trip to ... wherever the hell they'd landed. Water spattered in uneven drops in the room next-door, catching his attention again. With his enhanced hearing, Matthias knew Ava was either washing her hair or body. Both options made him wish he was a bar of soap.
The little witch.
She wanted her own room? Last night he'd felt the connection between them, between all of them. He'd thought she felt it as well. Maybe she thought it was all about the sex? He'd tried to tell her he loved her, but the contrary woman refused to believe him. Instead she listened to the rumors circulating about his infamous sexual appetites. Granted, he was a male who had needs, but if he'd bedded half as many women as Ava apparently thought he had, he'd be bow-legged and rubbed raw.
He frowned. Why wouldn't Ava believe him? And what was her problem with Cora Venlay? She seemed totally bothered about a human woman Matthias had barely kissed. He froze as a thought hit him. Could it be that Ava really didn't want anything to do with him aside from sharing sex?
Immediately, he rejected the idea. No. Ava wasn't the type to dismiss her feelings so quickly. Besides, she'd agreed to help him net Tanner, which was a project in itself. He sighed, and for a minute wished his brother was here to help him. Adrian would have known how to handle Ava, and he'd never taken issue with loving a male. Of course, the only male Adrian "played with" was Lucas, who'd been raised alongside the Dekkers and whom Matthias considered as much a brother as his blood-born siblings.
How the hell had Matthias gotten himself so caught up with such complicated Dracon? A female who refused to let herself love him and a male who couldn't understand what love truly meant. Both Ava and Tanner needed to break out of their denial. But Matthias needed Ava to help him with Tanner, and if she tried spending the rest of her nights by herself, he'd never win the pair. He only had so much time before they returned to Dracon Mount, and he needed Ava firmly in his corner before they arrived. With her help, he knew he could pull Tanner to him. But the blasted woman was being so stubborn.
He'd been too lenient with her. And he knew sending Tanner for those supplies was the right thing to do. It was time for Matthias to stake a claim over his little golden Dracon, and who better to do it with than Tanner, so the man could look forward to his own claiming?
Ideally, Matthias wanted both Ava and Tanner to realize they couldn't go on living without him. But since that conclusion would be long in the making, he settled on the next best thing--trapping Ava with sex, and forcing Tanner to cling to her for safety when Matthias shook his world.
All in all, the plan had merit. Matthias practically salivated at the thought of taking Ava's ass. He couldn't be sure, but he would bet money she'd never taken it that way. And he knew for damned sure Tanner hadn't. God, he would truly savor each moment. Ava's acceptance, taking him deeply into her body and soul. And Tanner's willing submission in front of both Matthias and Ava. And wouldn't that make a pretty picture?
Ava's shower showed no signs of abating, so Matthias took the opportunity to clean up as well. He stripped, piling his clothes neatly on the nearby couch, and entered the bathroom. Soaking under the hot spray of water, he couldn't stop thinking about what tonight would be like. His erection rose, sensation coursing through him as the water rained over his hard shaft like greedy little fingers.
Tonight's sex would certainly bind them all tighter. The love that was already there would continue to blossom. But how to make that love official, recognized by every Dracon in the States and beyond? A Royal Continuum seemed the only solution, because Matthias had no intention of ever letting Ava and Tanner go, and sooner than later he wanted everyone to know it. The Dracon world would easily welcome Ava, especially if she became pregnant. But that Dracon urge within told him he needed two to properly mate. Two to procreate. The royal line was going to expand to include Tanner, and the young they produced would be of Matthias's
and
Tanner's seed.
Matthias smiled, wondering how Ava would take the idea of motherhood. Her instincts to care for those around her made her a natural, and he couldn't wait to see her rounded with their children. "Their" applying to Ava, Matthias and Tanner.
Already more than "mine," I think of Tanner and me as an "us."
Matthias had it bad and he knew it. But what could he do? When he'd first seen Tanner he'd fallen into a confusing, instant lust. And the lust had grown to something more complicated when he'd learned about Tanner's background. Respect and compassion, but never pity, had turned Matthias into Tanner's greatest, secret champion. But watching him interact with others was nothing compared to interacting with Tanner face to face.
The concern that made Tanner such a strong Dracon projected loudly, whether Tanner knew it or not. And the raw need mirrored in the man's eyes for Matthias told Matthias in no uncertain terms just what he had in the male Dracon.
A mate.
Ava and Tanner and Matthias. Consorts and a prince, a ménage of lovers and soon-to-be-mates. Matthias had spent the week before his mission to find Ava scouring the old texts in Dracon Mount. Unable to use his scholarly sister-in-law's help lest she tell Ferin what Matthias was after, he'd been searching in the dark, unable to find the one book he thought might help him, the one book that mentioned the Continuum. He wanted time to pull Ava and Tanner to him before his family knew of his unusual mating desires. But hell, the bonding wasn't going away. If anything, every second he spent with Ava and Tanner deepened his love and ever-present need.
The time, he thought, had finally come. After tonight, he'd have Ava where he wanted her. And once they returned home where she could work out her demons, she would help him grab hold of Tanner, because it would take the both of them to latch onto that cautious Dracon and never let go. But in the meantime, perhaps his sister-in-law Lea could find him the information he sought.
Turning off the shower, he wrapped a pathetically small bath towel around his waist and dripped over the room's floor. Closing the door between rooms--
good lord, much longer in the shower and Ava might drown
--he picked up the phone and made a very expensive call.
Twenty minutes later, he replaced the receiver and glanced up when Tanner stepped through the doorway with two bags in hand. The blond Dracon stared intently at Matthias. And the passion in Tanner's gaze only added to Matthias's euphoria as he stood to face the challenging male.
"I, ah, had to go to a few different places to get what you asked for." Tanner swallowed when he noticed Matthias's obvious arousal.
The towel felt too damned tight wrapped around his aching cock. But the physical discomfort was worth the look in Tanner's eyes.
Grinning, Matthias took the bags Tanner offered and dumped their contents onto the nearest bed. Spying what he wanted, he took the tube in hand and turned back to Tanner. "I'll wait while you make use of the shower. But don't be long, or I'll come in after you."
Tanner grumbled under his breath but showered in under three minutes. When he finally stepped out, he was dressed much as Matthias was, and seemed in much the same state. Excruciatingly aroused.
Ava stared down at her pruned hands and sighed. She couldn't put it off forever. Time to leave the shower and face the music. Turning off the water, she took her time drying off and dressed in an overly large T-shirt she'd packed for bed. Not sexy, it was all she had besides the flannel pajamas she refused to wear in front of Matthias and Tanner. A woman had to have some pride. She peeked out the bathroom door and was surprised to find the connecting door to the rooms closed. Not wanting to push her luck, she brushed her teeth and hair and quickly left the bathroom, hoping she could tuck herself under her covers and fall asleep before Matthias or Tanner decided they'd changed their minds about the sleeping arrangements.
Little did they know how much of a struggle it was not to join them. The intimacies she'd shared with Matthias and Tanner were working to Matthias's advantage. Her bond with Tanner was growing, from like into something much more, something akin to what she still, unfortunately, felt for Matthias. That love made it hard to remember that the prince was returning her to her uncle as a favor. She was still surprised that after trying to convince her of how he felt, he'd simply dropped the issue. Instead, he wanted her to help him nab
Tanner.
Oddly enough, his acceptance of her dismissal hurt. She wanted Matthias to protest more, to fight for her, even as she wanted him to leave her alone. He couldn't possibly love her, didn't need her, and was merely doing a favor for a friend. So why did it take all of her control not to rush the adjoining door and join the pair in the next room? Around them she felt warmer, secure, cared for. Yet she stood all by herself in the empty room.
Loneliness engulfed her. Swallowing around the lump in her throat, she maintained her resolve and took two steps toward the massive bed when the door between their rooms suddenly opened.
Matthias and Tanner entered, both gloriously naked and rigidly aroused. She thought Matthias tossed something onto her bed but couldn't look away from the Dracon, both larger than life and sexier than hell. Flames of desire flickered throughout her body, blazing her sex into a cauldron of need.
I'm so pathetic, but I am so damned glad to see them.
"Ava, you didn't really think we'd let you stay in here all by yourself?" Matthias shook his head, and Tanner stared, his eyes a rainbow of desire as his gaze took in every inch of her.
"Worried?"
"That you might not miss me? Of course." Matthias walked toward her, heedless of his nudity. He reached her an instant before Tanner did, and they caged her between them.
Tanner whipped her shirt and panties off of her despite her protests, and she groaned when they pressed against her, two powerful Dracon in carnal need. Nuzzling the crook of her neck, Tanner nipped at her ear and whispered, "Did you miss me,
lefne
? Because I've been missing you, waiting all damned day to have you again."
He rubbed his cock along the small of her back, and she felt moisture easing his flesh against hers. Tanner continued to kiss and caress her neck, his touch robbing her will to speak. And then Matthias compounded the sensual torture by kissing her fully on the mouth. His lips eased hers into opening, and he simultaneously thrust his tongue into her mouth and his cock against her belly. Hands caressed her breasts, her stomach and between her thighs, plunging fingers into her wet cleft.
"So fucking wet," Matthias murmured and trailed his lips down her neck. Tanner's hands, she guessed, clenched her breasts tighter when Matthias's face neared his. "And so fucking good, hmm,
lefne
?" Matthias repeated Tanner's endearment.
But instead of growling at Matthias, Tanner groaned under Matthias's onslaught as the firebreather captured Tanner's mouth. Ava could only whimper with pleasure as Tanner ground against her back and alternately pinched and played with her nipples. Matthias pushed against her belly, his steely cock unbearably hot, and positioned much too high to do her any good. But his fingers... While he teased Tanner with his mouth, he slid his thumb over her clit with agonizing slowness before plunging two fingers into her sex.
To have her lovers pleasuring each other and her was an incredible turn-on. The three of them writhing, wanting to fuck as they touched and teased. Ava licked Matthias's nipple and tugged a deep groan from him. Then she sought their cocks, taking one in each hand, behind and in front of her, and began to massage them. The moisture seeping from their slits made it easy to stroke them, and the urgency in the room increased with her every pull.
Until Matthias stopped them. "Wait." He gasped and pulled back, his face flushed, his eyes glittering with raw need. "The bed."
Matthias pulled her and Tanner pushed her, the three of them moving with surprising grace toward the large bed. Matthias, however, moved out from in front of her and allowed Tanner to push her down onto the comforter.
"Now, Ava, it's time we came to a mutual understanding," Matthias rasped. "Hand me that tube of cream, would you?"
She grabbed the small item from the bed and handed it to him before she realized what it was. "Sexual lube?" she read the label.
"For her pleasure and his," Tanner deadpanned, winking at her.
"You're mine, Ava, mine and Tanner's. But you haven't been marked yet. Not really."
Ava scooted back, a little unnerved by the hunger burning so brightly in both men. "What?"
"On your hands and knees,
lefne.
"
Surprised that Tanner took a sudden commanding role when Matthias seemed to be in charge, she complied. Tanner took to his hands and knees on the bed with her as well, his face at eye level.
"Matthias is going to take your ass,
lefne.
Gently," he said quietly, his eyes firm as they met the Dracon spreading her knees from behind her.
"Of course." Matthias sounded amused. "Ava, it's time. You need to know who you belong to." She wanted to protest, but a forbidden sense of excitement enthralled her.
"Will it hurt?"
Tanner's gaze rose to Matthias. "I don't know."
"A bit." Matthias put something warm and moist against her the rim of her ass, circling but not penetrating just yet. "I'll move slowly, Ava, letting you get used to me. I need to stretch your virgin flesh, first." His satisfaction was impossible to resist, and Ava noted the same pleasure on Tanner's face as he watched Matthias doing something.
The feel of his finger inside of her stunned and pained her. But the pain turned to pleasure so quickly, it was as if she hadn't been hurt at all. Tanner's breathing called her attention, and when he kissed her, she found the dual sensations on her lips and ass incredible.