Leaf, Erin M. - Tango Trio [Dream Marked 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (26 page)

“God!” Parker gritted his teeth, straining and bucking against the fingers Jared still held vise-like around his erection. “Let me go, Jared.”

You’ll like this
, Jared sent as he urged Tessa up again.

“Jared? What—?” Tessa slurred the words, drunk with arousal. She dropped into the water next to Parker, slumping down against his chest. She rubbed the peaked tips of her nipples against him, making them both shiver.

“Shh, Tessa, just wait. You’ll see.” Jared took her place atop Parker. When he aimed Parker’s rigid cock at his hole and began to slowly sink down, Parker hissed. Tessa’s slickness on his dick helped some but not enough. Jared was insanely tight. Parker thought he just might lose his entire fucking mind.

Jared laughed, the sound strained.
See, I told you you’d like this.

“Christ!” Parker grit out, trying not to thrust.
I don’t want to hurt you.

You won’t
, Jared assured him just as he shoved himself the rest of the way down. He sat there, unmoving.

Jared, move, please
. Parker clenched his hands in the water, scrabbling at the sandy bottom of the shallow pool. He couldn’t risk touching either Jared or Tessa. He could feel his claws scraping.

Jared looked at Tessa, his eyes half closed. Parker frowned, wondering what his bond-mate had in mind, and then Tessa heaved herself up and over, settling down atop Parker too.
Parker, don’t move. Not yet
, Jared sent as he snaked an arm around her waist. His other hand went between her legs, parting her lips. Parker bit his lip, tasting blood, as Jared teased her clit. Parker could see how hot she was. His mouth watered, and he tried his best to keep still, but watching his two lovers writhe on top of him was more than he could take. He bucked, making Jared gasp. Tessa opened eyes that had fallen shut and smiled down at him. Then she raised herself up to her knees and reached between her legs to grasp Jared’s dick. She angled it right at her center and sank down. Parker grabbed fistfuls of sand as she teased both Jared and herself, right on top of him.

“Tessa, God, you’re sexy,” Parker said, clenching and unclenching his hands. She smiled as she knelt up again, exposing Jared’s cock. Parker watched her flick a thumbnail against it, felt an echo of the pain through their bond. Jared moaned, his chin on her shoulder as he clenched around Parker’s cock, impossibly tight. That was it. He had to move right the fuck now. Parker lifted a hand and put it on Tessa’s mound, using his thumb to shove Jared back up inside her body. He scraped against her clit as he did so, making her moan and tremble. His other hand was already finding its way behind Jared’s ass to tease his hole. He flicked against the tight opening at the same time he pinched Tessa’s clit, and that was it. Tessa and Jared jerked simultaneously, and Parker thrust up, once, twice, then the three of them surged over and into such an intense orgasm that Parker couldn’t hear or see anything for a long while. Sparks floated across his vision, and he thought he smelled mint and lavender, then another spasm took him, and his sense of smell whited out along with his eyes. He felt Tessa and Jared inside of him, their bond making them into one consciousness. Parker dove into that deep, black pool of togetherness that was the center of their bonding.

“Whoa,” Tessa croaked long minutes later from where she’d collapsed on his chest. Parker’s cock was finally soft. He slid out of Jared as the other man listed to the side. Tessa frowned briefly, and then Jared’s dick slid out of her body, and she sighed, moving down beside Parker into the cool water. Jared was still trembling atop Parker. When he opened his eyes, Parker saw the tears the other man wasn’t afraid to show.

“If we keep this up, I’m going to need food. Like, maybe even a burger,” Jared declared, his voice clear and very, very affectionate.

Tessa giggled into his skin as Parker grinned up at his bond-mate, knowing that everything was going to be okay.

Chapter 16

Tessa loped through the woods, deliriously happy that the crazy sex they’d had not an hour ago helped heal their bond. Her paws were sure and solid on the trail, her ability to scent the right direction invaluable when even the superior night vision of her cat form couldn’t penetrate the darkness between the trees. They were almost home, and she knew that they’d have a lot of cleaning up to do in the house, but for now, she couldn’t wait to snuggle into her bed with the two men who meant more to her than her own life.
So crazy, how quickly everything can change
, she thought.

I know
, Jared sent as he nipped at her tail, laughter speeding down their bond as he leaped ahead.

She batted at him as he went past, mock growling to make sure he knew she wouldn’t put up with him biting her whenever he wanted.

Parker snorted beside her.
I didn’t think Jared had it in him to be so playful.

Tessa whuffed agreement then almost fell as Jared sent a picture of himself standing naked, both hands raised with middle finger pointed out in their direction.

He’s a bit tetchy, though, like an old woman
, Tessa thought, needling their bond-mate, then promptly fell as Jared jumped on her from a low tree branch. When did he climb up there? She snarled and rolled him off, shaking the leaves out of her fur with offended dignity while Jared tossed his head and ran ahead once more.

That’ll teach you to call me an old woman
, he sent as he ran. Tessa laughed in their link, bounding after him. They were close to home. She could feel it, the familiarity of these woods. They smelled
right
. Not a minute later, they broke out of the trees and into her back yard. Tessa shifted, standing human, naked in the grass, but made no move to enter her house. She sensed someone inside, but they didn’t smell bad. She hoped they were peaceful. At this rate, she’d never get to sleep in her own bed.

Someone’s inside
, she sent to her bond-mates, frowning.
Three people. They don’t smell like ash
. Tessa couldn’t figure out why her hackles weren’t rising. Her animal instincts kept telling her the intruders were friends, but her human consciousness was more wary. She sighed, exasperated. She wanted to crawl into bed with her mates, and now that wasn’t going to happen.

“Easy, we’re not here to harm you,” a woman’s voice called from the back stoop. Tessa squinted, her human eyes not nearly as good in the dark as her animal’s. The woman stood in the doorway, her form silhouetted against the kitchen light.

“Who are you?” she called out, running her fingers over Jared’s furry head. He stopped beside her and sat down, a dark, menacing shadow. Parker lurked in the shadows at the edge of the trees, holding back to give them the element of surprise if these people turned out to be hostile. Tessa sniffed deeply, drawing the woman’s scent into her body. She smelled good. Like a friend. Almost familial. What the hell?

I smell it, too
, Jared sent. He sat, still and calm.
She’s safe.

“My name is Emma. I’m here with my bond-mates, Duncan and Jake. You may have heard of them.” A thread of amusement ran through the woman’s voice.

Tessa wrinkled her nose. Where had she heard those names before?

“Duncan Green? The singer?” Parker said, striding forward. Tessa would’ve jumped if she hadn’t sensed him shifting a second ago. The woman on the step didn’t flinch.

“Yup, that’s me,” a man’s voice stated calmly. Tessa could just make out the dark outline of a man behind Emma.

“Why are you here?” Tessa asked, making no move to go in. She was reasonably sure they were okay, if only because they smelled so right, more than anything else. It confused her.

“Emma sensed trouble. We came,” Duncan replied. He stepped back, pulling the woman with him. Another man stood beyond them, holding a cup of something in his hand.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I was dying for some caffeine,” the third intruder said.

Tessa sighed as she caught his scent, too. He smelled good. The three of them smelled great, actually, like a summer meadow just after a storm with the slightest hint of ozone still lingering.

“Yeah, that’s fine. Um, could you all close your eyes? We’re kind of naked here.” Tessa started forward.

“Naked?” Duncan asked then fell silent. Tessa heard Emma shushing him and sighed again under her breath as she reached the steps and went inside. She really wished their clothes didn’t disintegrate when they shifted. Showing up places naked was going to get old really fast. She walked past her three uninvited guests in the kitchen, happy to see that they weren’t trying to peek, and headed upstairs for some clothes. She threw on some jeans and a T-shirt. Thank goodness Parker had a few changes of clothes at her place. Jared borrowed a pair of sweatpants from him, and five minutes later, Tessa and her bond-mates were back in the kitchen. She gratefully accepted a cup of tea from the smaller man, Jake, ignoring the weirdness of a stranger serving her in her own house. Parker sat in one of her kitchen chairs, pulling her down onto his lap. Tessa didn’t resist, grateful for the comfort. Jared leaned against the wall, not too far from Duncan.

After taking a bracing sip of her tea, Tessa sighed. “You’re bonded, right?”

Emma nodded, leaning back against Duncan, who lounged insouciantly against Tessa’s kitchen sink. The rock star wore plain jeans and a T-shirt. His wavy brown hair was tousled and sexy but nothing out of the ordinary. Tessa supposed that he got a bit more dressed up for performances, but he was by no means hard to look at when he was dressed casual like this. She glanced at Jake then looked back at Emma. Hard to believe they were here in her house. Emma was small and had a kind smile. Jake wore scuffed leather bracelets and carried himself with an air of nonchalance that Tessa found appealing.

“I can smell the bond between you,” Tessa stated, sniffing again to make sure her nose was really telling her what she thought it was. In her mind, she knew that Emma, Duncan, and Jake were bonded. She’d seen the news reports. However, having the trio here in her house was an entirely different thing. Their aura carried its own distinct scent that Tessa could only describe as bonded. She could smell each of them as separate, discrete individuals, but together those scents wove into an undeniable whole that she couldn’t really describe. They smelled like lightning and rain and ozone with an undertone of nothing she’d ever smelled before. Tessa was relieved to sense none of the ashy stink of an addict anywhere on them.

They’re definitely bonded
, Jared remarked in her mind.
Look how closely attuned they are to one another.

Tessa looked as Jared suggested and felt herself relax just a bit more. The three were clearly linked in some way. Hmm. “What does your trio-bond give you?”

Jake blinked at her question, his handsome face closing down a bit. Emma shook her head at her bond-mate then smiled at Tessa, her hazel eyes both pretty and intelligent. “I guessed you’d sense it. No other bonded couples can tell we’re anything more than a bizarre trio-bond. They don’t suspect that we have any additional characteristics to our link.”

“There are a few people who know,” Parker said, grimly.

Emma nodded, her smile fading. “Yeah, I know about Cynthia Brown. That’s how we figured out where you lived, Tessa.”

Tessa sighed, running her hands through her hair. She really wished she could just go to bed. “She was my mother.”

“Was?” Duncan asked, his voice surprised.

“Yeah. She’s dead.” Tessa shifted uncomfortably against Parker. “She wanted our blood and came here to get it with a few of her thugs. Happily, we were able to fight her off, and she ran. We followed.”

“Why did you follow them?” Emma asked.

Tessa stared at the other woman. “My mother tried to kill me for our blood. She was using ‘Path to the point where she could manipulate other people, invade their minds and suck energy from them. We had to stop her.”

“What happened?” Jake asked gently.

Do we trust them?
Tessa asked Jared and Parker.

I don’t scent or see any deception. I think we can trust them
, Jared sent. Parker nodded against Tessa’s neck, his agreement traveling through their bond, so Tessa took a deep breath and explained how her mother attacked them at the restaurant and then again at her house. She explained their ability to shift and how they got trapped in the mine, quickly detailing their escape from the bonded couple. Emma, Duncan, and Jake listened intently, not interrupting until the end.

“They could suck the blood right out of your body? As well as damage your bond?” Duncan asked, his warm voice horrified.

“Yeah. It was horrible,” Tessa said. Then she frowned. “You believe me? Even about the shifting?”

Duncan smiled. “Well, it’s a good explanation for why you came out of the woods naked.” Parker laughed, and Tessa rolled her eyes, still somewhat embarrassed. Duncan continued. “Look, we’re a trio-bond, too. I can call lightning and throw energy. Make shields that will stop bullets. Jake can invade other people’s minds with telepathy. And Emma can sense auras, manipulate the bonds of others.” Tessa pursed her lips, wondering if he was serious. Her eyes slid to the singer’s bond-mate. Jake just sipped his tea, eyes calm, and Tessa closed her eyes, feeling dangerously close to tears.

“I didn’t think there was anyone else who could do what we do,” she said.