Authors: Rebecca Airies
“Of course they didn’t. We told them that you were ours.
They know that we wouldn’t tolerate that.” Colm smiled.
A shiver raced down her spine at the predatorial baring of
teeth. If that’s the attitude they’d taken with their men, she could so
understand no one coming near her. Too bad she couldn’t do that. It wasn’t that
simple with the women. She didn’t have the intimidation factor that he had.
On top of that, they had years of the men’s behavior to
influence them. From her dreams and what she could gather, Colm and Linc had
fucked and courted many of the single women in this
Thent
as Colm tried
to find someone to fit his expectations.
“I’ll gather them together. We’ll meet you at the bottom of
the steps near the entrance.” Linc nodded and the look he shot Colm was
significant.
Cami would have to be blind to miss it. She knew they were
probably talking through the bond they shared. Linc’s gentle hold guided her to
the step where Colm waited. Linc squeezed past and then looked back over his
shoulder. Colm gave a slight nod before his hand cupped her elbow. With a
gentle pressure, he urged to walk with him to the hallway and down to the
library where they’d met with the
chatar
.
Once they were inside the room, he released her. She took a
few steps back, but noticed he stayed exactly where he was and simply watched
her. Cami frowned. Nervousness clawed through her. Her stomach tightened into a
knot and her palms became slick from sweat. She had no idea what this was about
or why he’d pulled her into the room. This day had sucked so far. She didn’t
know if she could handle too many more surprises.
“Are you sure about whatever you’re going to do?” Colm
leaned against the door. One of his thumbs hooked onto his belt. His head
cocked to one side and he appeared to be trying to judge her determination.
“Yes, why would you think I wasn’t certain?” She narrowed
her eyes and straightened. Did he think that she was so weak that she couldn’t
make a decision and stick to it?
“We’ve seen some impulsiveness from you. While we love it,
we don’t want you to do something that you’ll regret before the night is over
because you’re angry and frustrated.” He straightened and took the three steps
necessary to close the distance between them. “It’s not hard to think of what
you might do here, but if you remove any of the barriers between us, we’re not
going to let you put them back up. I want you too much. Already it feels as if
we’ve been waiting years for you.”
“This isn’t an impulse. Yes, I came to a decision, but it’s
not anything I haven’t been thinking about for days and weeks. While I may have
a few worries, I’m not going to change my mind. And seriously, years? You’re
the one who didn’t want to have a true mate. You wanted any other woman except
me.” She crossed her arms and tapped her foot. He looked concerned, but he made
it sound as if she jumped from one thing to another without thought.
“I did have a reason for wanting that. I know I haven’t told
you about it yet.” He came away from the door. His fingers brushed the side of
her cheek as he stopped directly in front of her.
“You keep saying that, but you never get around to
explaining. Now isn’t the time either. It’s not going to take much time for
Linc to get everyone together.” She took a deep breath. He kept delaying and
avoiding that explanation and sometimes she wondered if there was an actual
reason or if he’d simply had some kind of idea of what type of woman he wanted.
“Tonight, we’ll have that talk.” Colm curved an arm around
her. “Just so you know, if you do this and then regret it, I’ll turn you over
my knee.”
“Go ahead and threaten. It just means that I keep my own
room a lot longer. From the way you’re trying to talk me out of it, I don’t
think you’re ready for the big step anyway.” She grinned at him and enjoyed the
way his eyes narrowed.
“I told you, no going back. If you do this, you’ll be lucky
to keep some clothes in that room.” Colm looked down at her and his arm
tightened just a little.
“I’m still not sleeping on that bed.” She pulled out of his
arms and glared up at him. He and Linc still didn’t seem to understand why she
wouldn’t sit on that bed, even after everything they’d learned about her.
“What is it with that bed? It’s big and you’d know it’s
comfortable if you’d ever touch it. You wouldn’t have to worry about being
cold. Between the two of us, you’d hardly ever need a blanket.” Colm edged
closer as his voice dropped to a low, sexy growl.
“That would be great if it was any other bed except that
one.” She clamped her jaw closed and fought to keep from grabbing him and
trying to shake some sense into him. Not that it would work. He was too big and
muscled for her to move even with all of her strength.
“So if the bed was different, you’d stay with us all night?”
He raised his eyebrows and a smile spread across his face.
“Yes, but I can’t believe you’re focusing on that when a few
minutes ago you were trying to talk me out of doing anything.” She shook her
head, but couldn’t muster up any true anger over it. She was still a little
frustrated that he didn’t understand her reluctance to get into the same bed
that he’d shared with nearly every woman in this
Thent
.
“You’ve made your decision so I’m focusing on what’s really
important.” His fingers circled her wrist and he tugged her into his arms.
“Well, do you think he’s got them all there yet? Or did he
wait for you to try to talk me out of it?” She tilted her head to the side a
little and glanced up at him.
She knew exactly what game he’d been playing and she wanted
him to know that. In some ways, she knew them very well. They were occasionally
overprotective of her. She liked that they felt that strongly about her, but
they had to realize she wouldn’t let them lock her away from all harm. Not only
was it impossible, but it would drive her insane.
Colm merely raised an eyebrow at her last question. “He’ll
be there.”
“I wouldn’t want to keep the ladies waiting too long. I’m
sure some of them have other duties.” She started to the door. Her hand slipped
out of Colm’s. She wanted to step back and grab his hand again, but didn’t.
This had to be done. They already doubted that it was what
she truly wanted to do. She wasn’t going to let them think she needed their
strength or support to get through this. Now that it was only a few moments
away, her gut churned and her palms dampened.
“If you want, you can change your mind about this. Linc will
tell them something to explain the gathering.” Colm put his hand on her
shoulder, drawing her to a stop before she opened the door.
“No, this is what I need to do.” She stared straight ahead.
It would be so easy to put the decision in his hands and back away to give it
some more time. That was the safest choice. She couldn’t do safe this time.
“All right, let’s go and you can say what you must.” Colm
reached past her and opened the door.
“You’re acting as if this is going to end badly for you.”
She shook her head. They’d wanted her to acknowledge that she was their mate
since they’d first discovered it. She didn’t know what they were thinking. Were
they suddenly getting nervous and wondering if they should be with her or was
it really all about giving her a choice?
“No, it’s not that I think anything’s going to go wrong. I’d
love to be able to smell your real scent and be able to fully claim you. I
don’t want you rushed into this because of someone else’s actions.” His arm
wrapped around her and pulled her against him in a quick hug. “We’d give you
almost anything, Cami, but once we’ve claimed you, we won’t let you put the
distance between us again. We’re not that strong.”
She’d like to disagree with him, but she knew that backing
away would be a struggle for her too. Her stomach churned and sank to the floor
at the thought of it. She straightened her shoulders. That was part of the
reason she’d tried to keep space between them. Regardless of the pain, she’d do
what needed to be done.
“There’s a chance I might not even want to put any distance
between us.” She bit her lip and looked at him through her lashes. Panic shot
through her. Doubts roiled through her, but the draw to them pushed beyond even
that. If she hadn’t been recovering from the attack by Laed and Kynar, she
wouldn’t have kept away from them this long. It simply wouldn’t be possible.
The anger and blatant distrust allowed her to keep some emotional and physical
distance between them.
“A chance? Before we go out these doors, I want to know if
you’re still certain that this is the choice you want.” He put his hand on her
shoulder.
She looked up at him and smiled. Such a good man. The desire
for the full bond shown in his eyes, yet he gave her the opportunity to back
away from something that made her anxious.
“I’m not changing my mind, but if you’re still wondering if
it’s the right decision, the powder will take some time to leave my system.
Until it does, I still won’t smell completely right. If you need time to be
sure it’s what you want, you’ll have a little time. The separate rooms will
ensure you have plenty of space to think and to be certain.” She didn’t think
the time would be necessary. While the offer of time was sweet, he needed to
see that doubt could sting.
He frowned and she heard a low growl. She hid a smile. Maybe
he finally understood this time. He shoved open the door and stalked out onto
the steps. She walked at his side, a smile curving her lips and her step a
little lighter.
She kept her lips tilted upward as she surveyed the
assembled group of women waiting at the base of the stairs. Her stomach did
flips, but she merely took in a long, slow breath. Those women had given her
enough trouble. Weakness would only cause more problems from that area.
Considering the tenacity of their beliefs, they didn’t need any more
encouragement.
“Good, I’m glad that everyone’s here.” Colm’s voice was
smooth, but she saw that he hadn’t suddenly completely calmed down. He was
still upset over what she’d said.
She swept her gaze over the women. She saw no overt hatred
or tension. A few them looked curious and others seemed to be impatient. No
clue who might attack her in the future there. She hadn’t expected to walk out
and be able to see who would be a danger to her, but she thought she might get
some clue from their immediate reaction of what their feelings were.
Stepping forward, she separated herself from Colm, simply to
show the women that this was her choice. She deliberately looked at them all
for a long moment. They were complete idiots if they didn’t see she was
serious.
“I can understand in some ways the confusion that happened
when I first arrived, especially with the way Colm and Linc had behaved before
I arrived. My own attitude toward them, that was something that should have
been worked out between those two men and myself. What baffles me is the
continued behavior of some of you. Colm and Linc have made their position clear
in a way that even a child should understand what I am to them.” She tilted her
head as if she was giving the idea more thought. Not happening. There were
never any answers and it made her head hurt.
Colm stepped up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder.
She took a deep breath. Tension eased slowly out of her shoulders at that light
touch. The reaction surprised her almost as much as him seeing that her nerves
were becoming taut. She didn’t let herself lean back into his touch. She wanted
to turn or cuddle back against him, but knew that now wasn’t the right time.
“Since that hasn’t worked and I’m tired of being attacked,
I’m going to spell it out for you. They’re mine. From this point on, you attack
me and I’ll make sure you have a long recuperation period to think things over.
And if I’m attacked from the back again, I’ll gut you.” She put her hands on
her hips and swept her eyes over the group of women. “If you think you have a
claim on them, confront me, but they’re my mates and I’m not giving them up.”
“It sounds pretty clear to me.” Linc strode up the steps and
stood beside her. He leaned in to her and his voice lowered. “Never thought I’d
hear those words voluntarily from you.”
Her lips trembled, but she fought the smile trying to curve
her lips.
Didn’t the man know any better than this?
She couldn’t show
weakness now. Those women knew what they wanted. Firming her lips, she lifted
her chin. So did she. Too bad for them.
“You can go back to what you were doing now.” Cami swung her
gaze from one end of the group of women to the other. She hadn’t realized there
were so many unmarried women here.
Nodding, she turned and walked back into the
Thent
.
She exhaled slowly as she closed the door behind her. Her muscles relaxed for
the first time since she’d stepped out onto those steps. She’d claimed them and
she hadn’t panicked and run for the gate. A combination of relief and joy hit
her. No more hiding.
Chapter Twenty
The door opened behind her. Cami glanced over her shoulder
to find Linc and Colm entering the hallway. She still wasn’t so happy with
either of them. The surge of jubilation faded as they stared at her. A rush of
anger and desire swept through her.
They had wanted her to
think
. She knew it hadn’t been
only Colm who had wanted her to wait to do this. Even after a little time to
think, she wasn’t certain what their real aim had been.
Did they need the
extra time?
The anger built as hurt gave it fuel and she did her best to
ignore the desire and its effects on her body.
They wore determined expressions. She didn’t want to get
into it right now. With her luck, they wanted to talk. Walking down the hall,
she had no idea where she was going. It didn’t really matter as long as it was
away from them. Anger surged through her. She didn’t care if it was a reaction
to the scene out there or an irrational, emotional swing. She was furious with
those two men.
Before Cami had even reached the connecting passage, a hand
landed on her shoulder hauling her to a stop. She swung on them, her hands
landing on her hips. Her jaw clenched and she swept her eyes over both men.
“What?” She didn’t try to temper her tone. They could take
it any way they chose, but she hoped it irritated them.
Colm shook his head. “You’re definitely not the shy woman we
first met. Is your blood still running a little hot from the confrontation out
there?”
“Do you have something to say other than a comment on my
mood?” Her foot tapped impatiently. They stared at her. Did they always have to
do things their way?
Linc’s head cocked to the right and his eyes swept over her.
The heat in those green orbs sizzled over her skin in an almost physical
caress. “Do you really think that we’re going to let you storm off now?”
“I think you have better things to do than argue with me.
I’m already angry. I don’t want to do this right now.” Cami scowled. Did they
expect her to be in the mood for a long discussion after confronting those
women? While she’d had a moment of relief at finally acknowledging the truth
out loud, she knew it wouldn’t end her problems. It might make them worse, at
least for a little while.
“We’ll help you with the anger,
rah’ki
. And the only
thing we have to do right now is get you to a bed.” Colm reached out and caught
her hand before she could move away from them.
Kitten? He called her kitten and expected her to docilely go
to bed with him. She gaped at them. “No, I just had to publicly take a stand
because of a situation you created. I’m not in the mood to spend time with you.
I definitely don’t want you right now.”
Well, she did want to hit them. Had they suddenly gone blind
and deaf? Colm’s fingers tightened pulling her closer in spite of what she’d
said. She leaned back, resisting the slow, unrelenting pull. They could pick
her up and carry her easily. Gritting her teeth, she kicked at Colm’s leg. They
were playing with her. She didn’t know what they were hoping to accomplish.
She’d thought they’d be satisfied with a verbal claim. After all, they’d been
pressing for one since they’d discovered she was their mate.
“I’d bet that a few kisses and touches could help get you
out of your bad mood.” Linc strolled up behind her. His hand trailed over her
hip and cupped her buttocks.
Once he said the words, her mind latched onto it. Her lips
tingled and she swept her tongue over them. Linc pulled her hair over her
shoulder. His breath feathered over her neck, just below her ear. Her breath
hitched and all of her attention focused on him. When would his lips touch her
neck? Would he kiss, nip or suck?
“I think it’s already working.” Colm laughed softly as he
stepped in closer to her.
The words broke her free from the images and anticipation
swirling through her. She straightened away from Linc to get away from those
tempting lips. If he started, she didn’t know how long she’d be able to resist
him. She wanted that touch in spite of the anger boiling through her.
“I’m not that easily swayed. Go scout or something. For all
you know, Laed and Kynar could be right outside the gates.” She yanked on her
arm. If she could get free, she could put some distance between her and them.
She needed that distance. There was no other way to resist
them. She wasn’t that strong. Being near them stripped away everything except
hunger. It didn’t help that she longed to be near them, to relax in their arms
and let everything else float away. She shook her head at the thought. Nothing
got solved that way. They needed to work through the problems, not ignore them.
“They’re not right outside the gate. One of the men would
have spotted them. We have people patrolling regularly. If they get close,
they’ll be spotted.” Linc’s voice came from behind her, but didn’t seem to have
stepped closer to her.
At least, she couldn’t feel his breath on her neck or his
body heat radiating against her back. She gave another tug on her arm as she
kicked out at Colm again. Colm’s hand released and the force of her tug sent
her falling back. Linc’s arms closed around her and swept her high against his
chest. She squealed as her feet left the floor and her fingers clutched at his
arms.
Linc didn’t hesitate. He turned on his heel and carried her
up the steps. The way he held her sent her head spinning and had her reaching back
for something to grab. Intellectually, she knew that he wouldn’t drop her, but
that didn’t seem to matter when he was climbing stairs. Midstride, he turned
her in his arms.
Her fingers dug into his shoulders and her legs wrapped
around his hips. She felt more secure, but now she was in trouble. His scent
wrapped around her. Her head nestled against his shoulder and she inhaled. So
close to him, she couldn’t resist the urge to get closer. The desire to be near
them grew stronger with each breath. A tingling ache built in her pussy.
And this wasn’t even the full force of the mating
attraction. She closed her eyes and groaned. How was she supposed to resist
them when her own body turned against her? Hell, he hadn’t ground her against
him or even kissed her, yet her body slowly came alive in anticipation of what
he and Colm would do to her once they got into a room.
The room! Her mind immediately snapped to their room and
that bed that she didn’t want to touch no matter how much her body burned for
them. Her head turned and she looked over her shoulder, trying to see where
they were taking her. She stiffened and arched back as she realized that their
bedroom was only a few doors away.
“Relax. We’re not taking you to our room. It has finally
sunk in that you won’t sleep or do anything else on the bed there.” Colm walked
past them and opened the door before their room. “We’ll make do with this room
until we can get a new bed into our room.”
The tension went out of her at his words. She could have
used the emotion to try to put a little more distance between them if they ever
let her out of their arms. Not that she thought that would happen. Those two
predators had what they wanted within their grasp and they weren’t letting go.
In a moment of honesty, she admitted that she didn’t want
them to let her go at all. As high as her anger had spiked, she craved being
close to them. She wanted her mates. Knowing that they weren’t going to let her
anger or attitude get in their way sent a thrill sizzling over her body.
“And that will be before night falls,
rah’ki
. I’m not
spending another night with you in another room. We’ll fall asleep in each
other’s arms tonight and wake you with kisses.” Linc nuzzled her neck.
She blinked at him. A low growl rumbled against her skin as
his teeth scraped over her pulse point. Possessiveness laced his voice and she
could feel it in his tightening hold. Definitely no going back. He and Colm
would grab everything now that she’d given them confirmation. She’d wanted to
do the same thing when she met them, but fear and uncertainty held her back.
Still, it wouldn’t be good to simply fall in with their plans. They were
arrogant enough and needed someone to push back occasionally.
“Put me down and let me go. I’m not going to let you
manipulate me with sex.” She worked hard to scowl at Linc as she arched back.
Not that easy when she wanted to feel his lips against hers.
“Oh, we’re not going to manipulate you. You want us and we
can scent it even with your altered smell. You know that. Tell me that you
don’t want to take my clothes off or have Colm suck those gorgeous nipples.” He
stopped at the bottom of the bed and his brow rose in challenge.
She couldn’t do that without lying and the bastard knew it.
Her nipples tightened just thinking about Colm’s mouth there and she could feel
slick moisture gathering between her legs. By the smile on his face, he knew
exactly what effect his words would have.
The door behind them shut firmly and she heard the
distinctive click of a latch falling into place. Turning her head, she saw Colm
leaning against the door. He smiled and pulled off his shirt. With a flick of
his hand, he sailed the garment into a corner. Her eyes widened, but strayed
down to his chest. Her hands itched to run over those firm muscles and feel the
heat as she drew her fingers down to his pants and the cock concealed within
them. She gulped. They didn’t play fair. Temptation battered at her
determination to resist for a little while longer.
Linc lowered her to her feet and his hand cupped her cheek.
“Tell me you want this more than you want to yell at us.”
His lips swept across hers, once and then again. She leaned
into his touch and her mouth opened slightly. He didn’t kiss her, just kept
brushing his mouth against hers in that tantalizingly soft caress. She groaned
and lifted her hand to cup the back of his neck. The tease.
She couldn’t take it anymore. Her lips pressed over his and
her tongue thrust into his mouth. She nipped at his lips as she pulled back a
little. He stiffened. Her aggressiveness drew a growl from him. When she began
kissing him again, his tongue stroked against hers, claiming and teasing just
as she did. His lips slid away from hers and then his hands clamped on her
arms, holding her body back from his.
“You never answered my question.” Linc raised a brow and a
wicked smile curved his lips.
“Come on. Tell the truth. If you do, we’ll let you practice
throwing your magic at us later.” Colm came away from the door. As he walked,
he worked on the laces of his pants.
She licked her lips. She didn’t need the added incentive of
magic practice, but she wasn’t going to let it pass. Her lips tingled with the
need to kiss him again. She didn’t want to talk. She strained forward, trying
to kiss him again. His finger tightened, holding her exactly where she was.
“Yeah, but you won’t let me hit you with it,” she grumbled
and sighed. No use lying about it. She couldn’t hide her arousal any more than
they could. “I do want my clothes off and Colm can put his mouth anywhere he
wants.”
“If I let you hit me with the blast, I might not be in any
shape to enjoy our first night in the same room. I definitely don’t want to
miss that. We’ve waited too long to have you where you belong. Nothing’s going
to delay that now.” Colm smiled and sat down on the bed to take off his boots.
Linc set her on her feet at the foot of the bed. His hand
roamed over her ass, cupping the curve and pulling her against him for a breath
before he stepped back. She slid her hands over his sides and up his chest. His
heat warmed her palms even through the fabric of his shirt. He clasped her
wrists in a firm grip and drew her hands to her side.
“Why don’t you get undressed and crawl onto the bed? We’ll
join you there.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead.
“All right, but if I’m alone too long, I might just change
my mind again.” She grinned and started unbuttoning her shirt.
“It won’t take us that long to join you.” Colm shook his
head. “You’re lagging, woman. Get to it. We can’t join you if you’re not on the
bed.”
She laughed. They were so strange sometimes. What did it
matter who got onto the bed first? Just from their expressions, she knew they
wouldn’t budge on this. Her shirt hit the ground and she worked at the catches
on her skirt for a moment before they opened. The skirt pooled at her feet and
she toed off her slippers. She climbed onto the bed and began crawling toward
the headboard.
Heat ran over her skin as well as a tingling pressure that
seemed to surround her. Her magic rose and pulsed. She only then realized that
the feeling was caused by some kind of spell. She turned back to face them.
What
was that?
She wasn’t afraid.
It didn’t seem to have much of an effect. It had to have
come from them. She doubted that they wouldn’t have felt something from that
magic. Colm frowned and his eyes flicked from her to Linc and then back. Linc
scowled and his arms crossed over his chest. He stared at Colm. Both men seemed
to have forgotten what they were doing before the magic hadn’t worked. She
eased back on the bed and braced her shoulders against the headboard as she
watched them.
“Have you decided what went wrong yet? You’re obviously
having a conversation that I can’t hear.” She tilted her head. Her hands shook
with nervousness. To hide the movement, she looped her arms over her knees. She
hoped the calm, poised appearance fooled them. Confusion and anger began to
sweep over her.
What had they been trying to do?
Colm straightened and his eyes locked on her. Maybe her tone
had given him some hint that she wasn’t as unaffected as she appeared. They
could have warned her if they were going to be doing something with magic to
her. She was still adjusting to what the magic in that crystal had begun.
Who
knows what more would do?