Tempting Ecstasy (The Guardians of the Realms Book 4) (24 page)

Chapter 27

Conn’s Home, Tetartos Realm

Dacia stretched her muscles. They ached in the best way, and her animal felt almost blissful inside her. There was no good description for the emotions rolling through her. They’d gotten up and showered together, another new experience that she embraced with excitement. She’d never considered being possessed by a male, but that was what it felt like, being owned, but having just as much ownership over him. The big powerful male was hers.

He’d erected a mental shield so his thoughts no longer flew at her, and she both missed them and was happy for the reprieve. His feelings for her were so much stronger than she imagined anyone could have in such a short time. She thought it was all the mating, sex, but that’s not all he saw when he looked at her.

She wasn’t sure how deeply she felt, but after being in his head, she knew he’d accepted her within the first hour of meeting her. Not based on what fate wanted or the intense attraction, but by so many little things that only someone with thousands of years around people would see. He’d gone searching for her knowing fate had chosen her, but cared for her by a different set of standards. Being in his mind was eye-opening. As a male she’d assumed it was the arousal driving him, and the need was there, but there were so many deeper emotions with it that her stomach twisted and fluttered equally. He valued her for more than her pussy; he saw her as a worthy partner.

She’d based her acceptance of the mating on more than just her animal’s needs; she just hadn’t realized that he’d been assessing her too. He’d known he would accept her as a mate, but that he’d gauged her on more, on her behavior and intelligence, her kindness and strength beyond anything fated, was a revelation that thrilled her. He saw it as a gift that she was his alone, wanted to cherish everything about her, reward her for being… her. She loved his mind almost as much as his delicious body.

“What’s that smile for?” he asked, walking from the house with a cup of tea. She’d been waiting on the wraparound patio, lost in thought as she stared into the forest beyond. It was a stunning view. Peaceful until she was distracted by how gorgeous he was. She loved his tattoos and the small black balls piercing his eyebrows. A little danger to go with his playful grins and teasing ways. She listened to the river flowing not far from the patio. It surprised her that she hadn’t heard it when he’d carried her in; she’d been completely lost in her first taste of pleasure.

She smiled again. “Just thinking.” She brought the cup to her lips and took a sip. She still needed to talk to him. She hoped it wouldn’t ruin the beauty of what was happening between them, and it really was beautiful.

“I have to tell you something,” she said, and he leaned a hip against the wood railing, completely nude and comfortable with it. She’d slipped on his flannel to ward against the morning chill, but just being near his body warmed her more than the fabric.

He watched her. Waiting. He didn’t seem concerned, more curious.

“I have more brothers.”

He grinned and nodded as she cringed.

“I assumed with the time frame there might be more, Dacia.”

“You’re not angry I didn’t tell you?” She furrowed her brow.

“No. You didn’t know anything about me, and it wasn’t only your secret, it was your family’s. There are things I haven’t told you yet. Things that as my mate you’ll know, but your siblings can’t.”

She’d assumed he wasn’t telling her everything. The Guardians and their mates seemed forthcoming, but what wouldn’t she be able to share with her sisters? She got a sinking feeling.

“If, say, Zoe finds a mate, he would know everything she did. There are things that just can’t be known by others in the Realm. It’s a matter of safety for others.”

They just stood like that for a while. Her processing the fact that they had a ways to go in trusting each other, and though it made sense in a logical way, it didn’t sit well with her beast, who wanted everything from him.

“You think I would tell my sisters Guardian secrets?” she said the words quietly. Would she? She wasn’t sure if there were circumstances that would test her loyalty. She couldn’t be sure.

He looked at her, really looked at her. “I would hope not, but you’ve only known me days. Your sisters have cared for you your entire life, and whether I believe them trustworthy or not, I’m hoping they find mates. I want them to be happy. I have no intention of asking you to hide things from them, yet.”

His words gave her an out, but it made her heart ache thinking she was failing as a mate.

“It’s been days, Dacia. There’s still time to think. We’re both new to this. I won’t lie to you, but you need to understand that I can’t tell you everything until you accept the responsibility, which means the mating ceremony will have to wait until you think you can do that.” He leaned in and kissed her. No judgment, patience.

He drank from his cup. Coffee.

“So more Gunns are running around.” He shook his head with a look of mock resignation.

“Worse,” she said, commiserating, and he laughed. “My eldest brother is way worse. The other three aren’t so bad.”

“Four more?” He growled in irritation. He rubbed a hand over his face. “Well, at least I don’t need to worry so much about your sisters finding mates. If they don’t, your asshole brothers will watch out for them.” He looked off for a second. “My hesitation in introducing them to the Lykos clans is that they still need to get used to things here. I don’t want them overwhelmed with Lykos male attention. The bastards will be all over your sisters and not just the Lykos.” He groaned, and Dacia almost choked on her tea. He really looked concerned. “I’ve never had sisters that actually needed my protection. My Guardian sisters are fucking ruthless and scare the shit out of any male with half a brain.”

“They’re not weak,” Dacia said, narrowing her eyes at him. Her sisters were strong, maybe not Guardian strong, but she wouldn’t have him discounting their abilities and strength.

“No, they aren’t, but things are different here, and your sisters have only seen human interactions. That’s not the way Immortals work. Unless you’re mated, it’s a sexual free-for-all with no attachments on either side. Even some mates share for pleasure. Not all the races are possessive.” He didn’t even let her speak before he growled, “I
am
possessive and won’t share. But in general, pleasure is given freely here. There’s no shame. No real taboos as long as everyone gets what they want and need out of it.”

“That might be a good thing. Mia’s beast is still fixated on Jax. Maybe finding another male or some other interaction would help.” She frowned with worry for her sister. “You’re right, though, we haven’t seen anything but humans. I don’t know if my sisters would be that free. Well, Zoe might be willing to give it a good try.” She grinned. Anything had to be better than the way Mia’s beast wanted Jax. “If Mia even sees staff members looking at Jax, it gets worrisome. I think the sooner they meet the other Lykos, the better…”

“I’ll ask Sirena again if we should worry about Mia’s beast. I figured it was Jax’s power, but maybe it’s something else.”

Dacia’s lips curled at the mention of the healer, and he laughed. “She’s like some elfin angel or something. It sets my wolf off.” She breathed out in frustration. She hated the jealousy. “I really hope it stops at some point. The healer in the city would have been regenerating a limb if she’d given you the slightest show of interest. Then it was almost like my beast was offended when she didn’t. It’s like I just can’t win,” she ground out.

He laughed out loud before using his power to move the drinks to the table. When he lifted her into his arms, her legs wrapped around his waist automatically, trapping his hard cock between them, the flannel the only barrier. His eyes were bright with amusement, but there was also smug satisfaction and desire.

“I prefer dark hair and golden eyes. My beast fucking loves how possessive you are, but the jealousy might mellow when the mating is complete. I fucking hope it doesn’t go away completely.” His grin widened. “When my chest is marked, you’ll probably lose some of the bloodlust,” he said and nipped her lower lip before kissing her until she was breathless and needy all over again.

“Marked?” she asked when the kiss broke.

“My chest will be marked as your mate during the mating ceremony.”

Her mouth gaped, and she couldn’t put to words how she felt about that.

“Will mine?”

He growled. “It’s tradition only for the male to be marked, but some of the Guardians’ mates have asked for one.” He didn’t say that he wanted her to, but it was in the heat of his body and the fire in his eyes. He wanted her marked, and she wanted one as much as it excited her that he would have one.

Her fingers slid into his hair, and she took his mouth and reveled in the slide of his tongue against hers as he carried her inside.

Chapter 28

Conn’s Home, Tetartos Realm

“Shit,” Dacia groaned. They had just stepped out of the shower and were going to see her siblings.

“What’s wrong?”

Conn, FYI, I just played taxi to another brother-in-law. He’s having family time down by the ring with the others,
Jax said through the link.
Good luck with that one.
Jax snorted.

We’ll be right there,
he growled.

“I heard that,” she said, knitting her brow.

“Mates seem to get the Guardian link in the frenzy. That’s the way it worked for my brothers.”

“But you didn’t hear Hagen just now?”

“No. Family links are different. Sirena said it’s because the Guardian link is an ability. What did he say?” Conn growled. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to be happy with what she told him.

“He’s here, pissed, and I have no clothes but yours, which are going to be huge.” She groaned.

“You have clothes,” he said and led her to a big closet.

“You brought clothes here for me?”

“When I packed your bags, I planned ahead,” he said, winking at her.

“I have no words for how happy that makes me right now. I won’t even say anything about it being arrogant because I left my robe in your room at the manor.” She pulled him down for a quick kiss, not meant to get him fucking hot, but it didn’t matter, his dick pulsed. She turned back to the few things he’d brought for her. Jeans, low and sexy, yoga pants that would hug her ass and feel comfortable when it was cold at night. A couple of sweaters, tee shirts and some boots. He’d bought some other things in her size too. He grinned, pleased that he’d made that detour when checking a lead on Cynthia in Earth. She had a drawer of sexy shit he wanted to see her wearing with nothing else.

“Bra?” she asked him hopefully, and he grinned back, all teeth, before opening her drawer.

She cocked a brow at the lacy items in black, red and frilly virginal white. He groaned at what she put on under her jeans and clenched his teeth at the thought of ripping them off. Fuck, she was killing him. He needed to lose the hard-on. The teleport would make them insane without the added heat.

When they finally made it over to her family, time seemed to stop and their bodies lost the heat when they saw what the fuck was happening. It was a whirling tornado of snarling wolves, fucking claws and teeth snapping at each other. He heard the growls mixed with feminine yells of fury. He didn’t give a shit that her brothers were fighting. That would have amused him if he hadn’t seen Mia shaking and yelling at her brothers one second and transforming into a charging red wolf the next. She jumped into the fray with the much bigger, frenzied males. Before he could stop it, Dacia and her sisters were growling and in the pile of claws. He heard a feminine yelp and lost his fucking mind.

“Enough!” he snarled with enough power infused into his voice that it would have brought down every fucking wolf within a fifty-mile radius. Fury, harsh and blinding, set everything at a tense standstill as he grabbed both males by the necks and slammed them to the ground with his power. He hadn’t tempered it, too furious to give a shit if he cracked bones. The males were trapped on their sides, held down as he stalked over to them. “Your sisters get in the fray, you fucking stop or I fucking tear you apart. You understand?” Power rippled through him, over him. He turned to the females and checked them. Mia was bleeding on her arm, and he saw fucking red. She was fucking tiny, bloodied, and his damned responsibility.

“What the fuck happened?” he demanded from Jax, who teleported in next to them. Dacia was staring at him. He clenched his teeth that she might be scared of him. They were still in the early stages of their bonding, and he didn’t want shit going backwards because he’d lost his fucking temper. He went to Mia and healed the claw mark down her arm. She was still shaking, upset. He forced himself to get his shit together, but it was fucking harder than it should have been.

“I don’t know. I left them some space to chat,” Jax said through a snarl.

“Is anyone else hurt?” Conn asked, growling and still not allowing the males to move or change. He wasn’t finished with them. The females shook their heads, and he pulled Dacia into his arms to check her. He didn’t smell any other blood. Fuck. His heart was still beating fucking hard, and rage rode him as he cuddled her.

“Congratulations, assholes, I haven’t seen Conn go big bad wolf in centuries.” Jax shook his head at the downed wolves. Fury was riding the cat too.

What are you going to do to them?
Dacia asked in the link.

We’re going to have a little talk, Dacia. They need to know the rules, and I’m going to give them a lesson. That shit doesn’t fly here.
He looked her in the eye.
They’ll be bloody, but I won’t kill them.

She gave a tense nod and blew out a breath.
I’m pissed Mia got hurt, but I still love my brothers enough to not want them dead. Emotions are all over the place right now. Mia knows better than to get in the mix when they’re fighting like idiots, but she’s not herself right now. She’s really embarrassed and upset.