Immortally Theirs [Legends & Myths] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (10 page)

Christian led Claire to the couch and then he crossed the room to an ornately carved wooden cabinet. He opened the doors and Claire realized the cabinet actually held a bar. He poured three glasses of an amber liquid and then returned to the sitting area. He handed her and Stefan each a glass. Stefan sat on the couch next to her, but Christian perched on the sturdy wooden coffee table facing her.

Christian swallowed most of the contents of his glass and then nodded to the glass in Claire’s hand. “Drink it, Claire. I think you’re going to need it.”

Claire took a sip and choked as the strong liquid burned on its way down her throat. She still wasn’t used to drinking much at all, much less straight alcohol. As soon as she swallowed it, a warm, tingling sensation blossomed through her, starting in her tummy and working its way out to her fingertips. Christian took the glass from her and set it down on the table next to his. He took her hands in his and looked down at their entwined fingers, then brought one of Claire’s hands to his face and gently pressed her fingertips to his lips.

Claire gasped at the contact and a shudder surged through her and settled in her pussy as a yearning ache. His lips seemed to burn the skin where they touched and, whether from the alcohol or his touch, the sensation spread through her like a slow-burning fire. With her fingertips branded by Christian’s lips and Stefan’s leg pressed against hers, she had almost forgotten what had brought them to Christian’s bedroom in the first place. Her gaze slid from Christian’s intense stare to the massive bed behind him. Being in this luxurious bedroom with these two enticing men put ideas into Claire’s head. They were ideas she could barely admit to herself, but there could be no denying they were there.

“Claire, we need to know exactly what Nia said to you.” Christian’s voice dragged her focus back to him and to their actual purpose for being in his bedroom.

Hesitantly at first, Claire described the odd encounter at the gravesides, fearing they might scoff at her for the confusing and far-fetched story. But they didn’t. The brothers took in every word as though they were the most important words they had ever heard. They exchanged quick glances with each other during the story and their foreheads creased as her tale unfolded.

Finally, her description of the events complete, Christian stared back at her in apparent stunned silence, a look of horror on his face. Then he slowly turned to Stefan and his features grew dark and ominous. “A few minutes on either side of death.”

“Dammit!” Stefan launched himself off the couch and stalked across the room. He slammed his fists against the massive bedroom doors and Claire jumped at the echoing impact. When he turned back to Claire, his features were a mask of pain and torment.

Claire looked to each of them in confusion. “I don’t understand. What does it all mean? And why are you both so upset?”

Christian took a deep breath and held her gaze. “Claire.” Christian sighed and shook his head, a look of defeat and sorrow in his eyes. “It means you have to die.”

Claire stared at the two brothers, her gaze flitting back and forth between them as she absorbed all the things they had told her over the last few minutes about their past and their immortality.

“So kill me.” Claire wasn’t sure what the big deal was. She had known she was going to die all along. But after listening to the tale of the brother’s death and resurrection, she now had a way to survive her demise. Not that any of what she had learned made any sense, but at this point what did she have to lose?

Stefan stopped pacing and turned to look at her. His appalled expression made Claire wonder if she had suddenly grown a third eye in the middle of her forehead. “You can’t possibly be serious.”

Claire shrugged. “What’s the big deal? I’m going to die anyway, according to your friend Atticus.” She shuddered at the idea of a supernatural being, a fallen angel, stalking her soul. “Not that I needed to know about him to understand what the consequences were for running from Mark, but still. It just confirms what I already knew.”

Claire was pretty proud of herself for how she was handling the bizarre things the brothers had told her. She hadn’t run screaming from the room when they’d told her they were both over three hundred years old. Or when they told her they had died in battle against British soldiers in 1702 and were resurrected with water their dead grandmother had led Christian to, water that still flowed in the fountain in the casa’s courtyard. She’d had to resist the urge to run downstairs and drink the water from the real fountain of youth, since they now realized she would have to be close to death for it to work. And okay, so maybe she’d been a little freaked out when they had told her the creepy, white-haired guy was a fallen angel and was after her soul. But she still hadn’t run screaming into the street. Granted, the additional two glasses of brandy Christian had given her might have made it a little easier to take the news.

Christian rubbed his hands over his face and shook his head. “Claire, we’re not going to kill you. That would be unconscionable.”

“But it makes sense.” Claire wasn’t used to expressing her opinions. Well, not without getting the shit beat out of her for it. But this was her life, or rather death, they were discussing and she’d be damned if she was going to keep her mouth shut while they decided what was best for her. “Look, if it’s done in a controlled setting with both of you there, what could go wrong?”

Christian threw his hands up in the air. “Everything could go wrong! What if it doesn’t work for some reason?”

“How could it not work?” Claire waved her hands at Stefan and Christian. “It worked for the two of you.”

“But this isn’t science, Claire. This is something we don’t understand and can’t explain. If we did something drastic and it didn’t work…” Christian shuddered. “How do you think either of us would feel, knowing we took your life and couldn’t bring you back?”

Okay, so that was actually a valid question and one Claire hadn’t considered. She watched as Stefan continued to pace across the bedroom, stopping every few turns to cast a despairing look at Claire before resuming his circular march around room. She turned her gaze back to Christian. His hands clung tightly to hers and he wore a look of torment on his face.

Claire sighed and shook her head. No, she couldn’t ask either of these men to end her life, even though they would likely be able to revive her with the water they possessed. If something did go wrong, they would have to live with the consequences for eternity. She just couldn’t do that to them.

“So what do we do?” The thought of waiting for Mark to track her down and then dying a gruesome death at his hands certainly didn’t appeal to her.

“We protect you, for as long as possible.” Stefan stopped pacing and walked back over to the couch. He sat down next to her and took one of her hands in his, leaving her other hand still firmly grasped in Christian’s hands. Stefan turned her hand over in his and then lowered his head and placed a kiss into her palm.

Heat radiated from the touch of his lips, up Claire’s arm and through her body, making all her thoughts seem fuzzy. “And what…what then?”

“We cross that bridge when we have to.” Christian’s intense stare drove the heat already coursing through her to a new level and her pussy clenched in response. “But I won’t let Mark get to you. And I’ll be damned if I’ll let Atticus have your soul.”

The shudder working its way through Claire’s body made it hard to think. But she really didn’t want to think, anyway. Not about Mark. Not about Atticus. She had no doubt that both Christian and Stefan would do everything in their power to keep her alive. She also had no doubt that they would fail, eventually. Mark was too good at what he did. But she would have that battle with them later. Right now, she wanted something else. One way or another, she knew her time as a mortal was coming to an end. How she would die was yet to be determined. And regardless of whether she could be resurrected, if she was going to lose her mortality, she wanted to do something daring first. She wanted to know what it felt like to have these two men’s cocks buried inside her. She just hoped she didn’t send Christian and Stefan running out of the room.

She reached for her glass on the coffee table and swallowed the rest of her drink, hoping liquid courage would make what she was about to attempt a little easier. She set the glass back down, gripped Stefan’s hand next to her, and then leaned forward, coming to within inches of Christian’s face.

“Christian…I need…” Heat flooded her face. She didn’t know if she could get the words out.

Christian closed the distance between them to within an inch. “What do you need, Claire? Name it and it’s yours.”

Claire swallowed hard and her breathing quickened as she got lost in Christian’s heated stare. “You. Both of you. Please.”

Silence engulfed the room. Claire’s heart felt as though it was going to stop beating as she watched Christian’s gaze turn from her and settle on his brother.

Christian raised one eyebrow. “Stefan?”

Stefan chuckled softly, his breath tickling Claire’s ear. “Brother, we’ve both spent too much time alone. I think we should just accept the fact that we’ve fallen for the same woman.”

Claire’s breath hitched in her throat at Stefan’s words and a shudder worked its way through her. Stefan groaned in her ear and Christian closed the rest of the distance between them, his lips descending on hers with a hunger she had never experienced. He devoured her mouth, his tongue plunging into her with uncontrolled passion. Hands roved over her back and into her hair. Christian’s, Stefan’s, she didn’t know which. She didn’t care, either.

She was so caught up in the kiss that she barely registered being picked up from the couch. Christian kept his lips firmly locked on hers, not breaking the contact they both seemed to crave. It wasn’t until she felt herself being lowered onto the bed that Christian finally pulled back and looked down at her.

“Are you sure, baby?” Barely contained desire raged behind Christian’s eyes.

Claire fought for breath. She glanced at Stefan, who had followed them to the bed. Uncertainty seized her. “I just…I’ve never…you know, with two. And it’s been so long…”

Stefan’s forehead creased and he leaned down over her, smoothing her hair back off her face with his hand. “How long, honey? How long has it been since you’ve been made love to?”

Without warning, tears sprang to Claire’s eyes, the truth of Stefan’s question bearing down on her heart. “Never. Mark was the only man I ever had sex with, but it wasn’t making love. It was all about him, never about me. And it’s been three years since he…” A sob tore from her throat and tears spilled down her cheeks. The realization that she’d never known what it felt like to be loved by a man overwhelmed her.

“Shh, baby.” Christian wiped her tears with his fingertips and placed gentle kisses across her face. “We’ll take care of you. And I can promise you this.” Christian’s heated gaze bore into her. “This will not be just sex. We want to make love to you, Claire. Will you let us do that?”

Claire’s gaze travelled from one man to the other. She had known these men for such a short time, but she already knew there were no two people she could trust more than them. Sincerity shone in both sets of eyes, their desire to make her happy and keep her safe evident in their faces. She realized it really wasn’t just sex she wanted. She craved a connection with another human being, or in this case, two human beings. She needed it, more than she needed air. And she needed that connection to be with Christian and Stefan.

“Yes, please.” They were the only words she needed to say.

Christian lowered his lips back to hers. She greedily took his tongue into her mouth, moaning at the thought of being taken by these two men. But Christian pulled back and grinned down at her with a lusciously wicked turn of his lips. She protested at the loss of his mouth on hers, not understanding why he had stopped. Had he changed his mind?

Stefan chuckled and moved next to her, pressing his body against her side. Nuzzling her neck while Christian looked down at her with blazing heat, Stefan whispered into her ear. “We’re going to teach you how to be loved, honey. We’re going to show you that being controlled by a man does not have to be a bad thing. Can you surrender to us, love? Can you do whatever we tell you to do without questioning us, trusting us never to hurt you?”

After all Claire had been through with Mark, being manipulated and beaten, the last thing she should want to do was give up command of her body to two men. But, oh, how she wanted to give them that! She wanted to know what it would feel like to hand over all control without any fear.

She couldn’t bring herself to speak while Stefan’s mouth tickled her ear and Christian’s gaze turned her muscles into molten rubber. But she knew they didn’t need for her to speak, they just needed for her to relent. She simply nodded and willingly placed herself in their hands.

Christian raised up and moved his hands to her shorts. He worked to undo the button and zipper and then slowly slid the shorts down her legs, leaving her thin silk panties in place. Stefan unbuttoned her shirt, working each button with painstaking slowness. Each brush of his fingers against her skin sent tingles of energy straight to her clit. He pushed the shirt aside and then reached behind her and expertly unfastened the clasp of her bra. He pulled the intrusive garment from her and tossed the bra and shirt to the floor. The cool air sent delightful little shivers across Claire’s skin.