Sloth, p.21
Sloth, page 21
part #4 of The Damning Series
“Fucking hell,” I groaned as he gripped my waist to steady me. With his other hand, he pressed down on the small of my back until I was at a ninety-degree angle. This new position pushed his cock even deeper inside of me, and I gasped at the unfamiliar, but not unwanted, sensation.
He began to slide in and out of me, his hands touching everywhere they could reach. My ass, my back, my bouncing breasts. His lips moved from my neck to my cheek, before eventually finding my lips and claiming them in a searing kiss. I twisted my head to deepen the kiss as he fucked me relentlessly.
Something began to rub at my clit, creating circular patterns, and I glanced down to see a finger of green magic spearing my channel.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” I praised as his hand reached around our bodies to cup my dangling tit. His magic pressed down on my clit at the same time he jerked inside my ass, his balls slapping against my skin, and my orgasm hit me like a freight train, stealing my breath away.
All of my muscles clenched and tightened, and I knew the second they did so around Bash’s cock. He pulled out of me just before he exploded with a roar, his cum squirting against my back and painting me in a way that asserted ownership. Possession.
I fucking loved it.
We both took a long moment to catch our breaths. My head was still lowered, one hand resting against the bark of the tree, and Bash was practically draped over my back, his sweat soaked chest brushing deliciously against my skin.
“I love you,” he whispered, kissing my ear. He paused before adding, “Even when you annoy the shit out of me.”
“I love you too,” I responded breathily. Pausing as well, I jokingly retorted with, “Even when you think I’m annoying the shit out of you.”
“Naughty girl. Do you really think that—”
Someone cleared his throat, and Bash was immediately in front of me, shielding my nudity from any wayward eyes. He relaxed, though, when he noticed Dair standing in front of us.
The tent in my mermaid’s pants was impossible to miss, and his eyes smoldered with lust. I was just about to ask him if he wanted to join us—I got a second chance at life after all. Why not make the most of it?—when he shook his head vehemently, seemingly in response to one of his own thoughts, and nodded towards our discarded clothes.
“Get dressed,” he instructed. Bash and I exchanged a wary look but worked to do as he said.
“Why?” I questioned, and when Bash gave me a you’re an idiot look, I whacked him in the arm and elaborated. “I mean, I obviously know not to walk around all of these humans naked, but why do we have to end our fun times right now?”
“Awww you’re pouting, baby,” Bash said with a cocky as fuck grin. “Do you want more of my big cock?”
“It means you didn’t satisfy her enough the first time,” Dair quipped. And the look Bash threw him? Acid. Complete acid.
“Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny.” I rolled my eyes at their immature banter and finished pulling on my clothes. “But seriously, what’s up?”
“We need to discuss what’s going to happen next,” Dair confessed, glancing in the direction of the shed. “Come on.”
Twenty-Six
Z
We followed Dair back inside the hut, where Paco, Ryland, Jax, and Killian had been joined by Axel, Toby, and Natalia.
“Looking good, little sister!” Axel called as soon as he caught sight of me. His mischievous eyes flicked to my sex tousled hair before drifting to Bash, his shirt haphazardly buttoned and half tucked into his pants. “Got some good deep dicking?”
“For fuck’s sake…” I murmured, moving to stand beside my men.
Jax immediately wrapped his arms around my waist and burrowed his nose in my hair, inhaling deeply. Axel, Natalia, and Toby all gave him strange looks, but I didn’t pull away from my vampire mate. Instead, I stroked his silky brown hair, offering him the comfort I knew he so desperately needed.
Only a few minutes ago, it was Bash who needed the reaffirmation that I was alive and well. Now, it was Jax. I was determined to give it to him, regardless of the curious looks from the others.
I noted, somewhat sadly, that Natalia looked absolutely wrecked. Her face was a vision of grief and barely suppressed anger, her lower lip wobbling despite her eyes being dry. Toby wasn’t much better, though he put on a brave face as he hugged his girlfriend closer to his side.
“We’re glad to see that you’re better,” Toby told me with a respectful nod. “Is it true that Paco cured you from the…poison?” He glanced at Axel for confirmation, almost as if he didn’t truly believe that mere hours ago, I’d been inches from death. Hell, I’d faced death, fought it off, and emerged victorious.
“I’m better now,” I assured them all, turning my sympathetic eyes in Natalia’s direction. “And the brothel?”
“Destroyed.” Her voice was weak and raspy, but the defiant glint in her eyes made my respect for her grow. “Burned to ash.”
“And the mages inside of the building?” Ryland inquired, and Natalia blanched, her face draining of all color. She shifted even closer to Toby, and he gave her a reassuring squeeze.
Not meeting the shadow’s questioning gaze, Natalia muttered, “Dead.”
“We have all the liberated humans with us now,” Toby explained, and I couldn’t help but glance in Paco’s direction, wondering how the eccentric mage felt about his home being turned into a camp for rebellious humans.
But if he was concerned or even remotely upset, he didn’t show it as he hummed beneath his breath, grabbing a bristled broom from where it was perched against the wall and sweeping at the floors.
“I’m glad we were able to save them.” I took a hesitant step towards Natalia but then thought better of it. Maintaining my distance, I held her gaze and bowed my head slightly. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“We’re all going to lose people in this war, Liberator,” Natalia told me, her face still ashen beneath her mane of orange hair. “But if we can’t bounce back from the amount of death and carnage we’re destined to experience, there’s no chance in hell that we’ll win. That’s the difference between us and them.” Her pretty face twisted in disgust, and she spat on the ground. “They don’t care about anyone. They don’t grieve people the same way we do.”
“That’s not true.” Dair’s voice was soft but acerbic. I almost wanted to describe it as bitter. His sea-blue eyes, the exact color of a sunlit ocean, peered back at her before turning to me and softening. “Not all nightmares are the same. We grieve, just like you do. We fear death.”
Why did his gaze burn a hole inside of my chest? It reminded me of a candle being lit up and infiltrating all of the shadows that crowded my heart and soul. There was something so calming and serene about his piercing gaze, something that made warmth explode inside of me.
Natalia opened her mouth as if to protest, but Toby quickly clamped his hand down on her shoulder to stop her. She pursed her lips but chose not to comment again.
“We need to get to the capital,” I interjected, glancing at all of my mates. “Now that I’m healed, I need to return to the kings.”
“Why would you go back to them?” Natalia demanded, seemingly unable to hold her tongue. A perplexed expression knitted her brows together over eyes that dripped with disdain.
I cast her a level gaze. “Because I don’t have a choice.”
Either I traveled back to the capital to receive my next task…or I died. Those were the only choices I had with that damn spell placed on me.
“What do we do about…all of that?” Killian gesticulated towards the front door of the shed, where we all knew there were hundreds of humans gathered in tents just outside.
“Paco says they can stay.” Paco rested the broom against his erect cock and leaned against the far wall, crossing his arms over his chest. “Paco won’t help, but Paco won’t send away.”
“What…?” Toby’s eyebrows arched as Bash sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“What Paco means is that he won’t involve himself in this war…on either side. You guys can stay, but he won’t aid our cause. But at the same time, he won’t help the kings either,” Bash translated, still giving his grandfather narrow-eyed looks.
“And you trust him?” I inquired, arching my neck ever so slightly so Jax could continue peppering kisses on the skin there. Toby glanced in our direction, blushed beet-red, and quickly looked away, seemingly uncomfortable with our public display of affection. Honestly, I would’ve been the exact same way less than a month ago.
It was amazing how death could change a girl.
“We can,” Bash said, finally peeling his attention away from the crazy old man. His gaze landed on me, and heat flared to life in his eyes. I couldn’t help but remember our…activities from only a few minutes ago, the way he brought us both to completion with both his body and magic. My stomach muscles tightened, lust percolating in my stomach, and if there weren’t a bunch of virtual strangers in the shed with us, I would demand that all five of my mates participate in a toe-curling orgy right then and there. But alas, I had to be a mature adult. And mature adults didn’t initiate spontaneous orgies on the dirty floors of their mate’s grandfather’s house.
Shame.
“We’ll look after the humans here,” Toby told me, gesturing between him and Natalia. “Train them.”
“I never asked for an army, guys,” I whispered. I felt oddly…flustered, and not in a good way. There was too much responsibility and pressure weighing on my shoulders, pushing me into the ground. I was suffocating under the weight of it all.
“You didn’t need to ask for one,” Natalia said with a huff, sticking her nose in the air. “They follow you because they believe in you. They’re yours, whether you want them or not.”
And maybe that was the problem. They saw me as a savior, a liberator, but I was nothing but a scared human girl who fell in love with the monsters under her bed. I didn’t even know if I could save myself, let alone an entire species.
“I’ll head back with you guys,” Axel told us, a frown pulling at his lips. Turning towards Toby and Natalia, he asked, “And will you—”
“We’ll protect Mary-Lynette with our lives,” Toby vowed, and something flashed in his eyes, something I couldn’t quite put into words. “I know how special that kid is.”
I felt my eyebrows climb up my forehead at those cryptic words, and from Natalia’s flabbergasted expression, I realized she was just as in the dark as I was.
“What—?” I turned towards Axel, but he immediately shook his head.
“Not now.”
“We need to leave, Z,” Bash murmured, coming to stand on the other side of me, opposite Jax. He placed his hand on the small of my back and began to lead me towards the door. “We won’t make it back to the capital in time if we don’t.”
I nodded in agreement. “You’re right.”
“Don’t worry about a thing here, Z.” Toby flashed me a smile, though it did very little to chase away the chill that had crept up my spine. “Everything will be okay.” He began to move towards the door as well, pausing with his hand on the knob to give me one last glance over his shoulder. “By the way, B sends his regards.” He winked at me, even as the chill transformed into pure ice. My entire body went numb at the name of my adopted uncle and the leader of the Alphabet Resistance.
“Wait—” Before I could demand answers, demand to know how Toby knew B and where the old man currently was, Toby slipped out of the door, Natalia right on his heels.
Silence descended as we all gaped after the pair, varying expressions of distrust and disbelief in my mates’ eyes. Only Paco and Axel appeared unconcerned. The old man now had both hands wrapped around the base of his cock with the handle of the broom tied to the tip. He moved his cock back and forth, forcing the broom to move with it. I was gonna need to bleach my eyes after that sight.
He saved your life, Z. Remember that.
“Welp.” Axel rocked back on his heels and blew out a raspberry. When he noticed me looking, he flashed a large smile and wink. “I love plot twists.”
“That’s not a fucking plot twist,” I murmured, facepalming myself.
“No,” Axel agreed easily, still flashing that disarming, slightly manic grin. “But I have a feeling that it might end up being one.” He easily reached behind him for one of his machetes and twirled it expertly between his hands, whistling. “Let’s go, boys and girls. We have a capital to visit, kings to see, and blood to spill. Basically, it’s a normal Tuesday evening for me.”
Twenty-Seven
Z
We arrived with less than one hour to spare.
When we burst through the doors of the capital, I was panting for breath, my stomach a tumultuous mixture of dread and anxiety and my heart seconds from breaking free of the confines of my chest. I gripped Jax’s hand tightly as I moved in the direction of the throne room.
I had to show the kings I’d completed the task, that I saved Jax, before the hour was up. If I didn’t…
I’d already faced death once today. I refused to give the Grim Reaper another premature visit.
As my short legs ate up the distance between the throne room and me, a thought occurred to me, and I whipped my head in Dair’s direction.
My mermaid prince was once more in his wheelchair, a fact that exacerbated his rage and annoyance. His eyes were tight with strain, and the gentle smile I’d come to love was nowhere to be seen. The spell had worn off while we were in the car on the way here, and Dair hadn’t found it necessary to drink more of that strange liquid. As he’d told us, his voice laced with bitterness, his father would just find a way to get him alone and remove his legs once more.
That filthy fucker. When I got him alone—
That thought cut off abruptly, the spell on me prohibiting me from even thinking about inflicting harm on the kings. Dammit. Though…
Though before, I couldn’t even think the words ‘filthy fucker’ without the thought cutting off. I had no idea what that meant, but I didn’t dare look at it too closely.
“Dair,” I said, addressing my mermaid prince. “Can you find Devlin and Lupe?”
A vague image bombarded me—Lupe in what appeared to be a prison cell…
The thought dissipated before I could grab on to it.
I needed to see my genie and shifter mates more than anything else. I wanted to feel their strong arms around me and bask in their love. The separation…it had been unbearable. Painful, even. I couldn’t imagine how it felt from their end, not knowing what had happened with the poison.
At the same time, I wanted Dair as far away from the throne room—and his father—as possible.
“Of course.” I leaned down to give Dair a tender kiss before he rolled in the opposite direction, towards the bedrooms. I hoped that he found my lovers and brought them to me. Then I’d show them just how much I missed them.
My body heated thinking of my last sexy times with both men. Dominating Devlin in bed. Shower fun with Lupe.
Liquid heat pulsed in my core, but I pushed the lustful thoughts away, focusing on the matter at hand.
And to be quite honest, facing the kings was a surefire way to kill any lady boner I might’ve had.
We passed a guard, who instructed us to wait just outside the throne room while he gathered the kings. I could tell my mates were tense, though no one said a word as we waited impatiently. Killian repeatedly scratched at the nape of his neck before running his fingers through his dark red hair. Jax gripped my hand like it was his life preserver and he was adrift at sea, desperate to stay afloat amidst the roiling waves. Bash just stared stonily ahead, his green eyes flashing with his power and his hands curling into fists. And Ryland…he just paced, the shadows tightening around his body in agitation with every passing moment. One second, I could see his beautifully scarred face, and the next, it was completely hidden from view. Of the three of them, I knew he was the most protective of me, so it must’ve been killing him not to know what the kings had planned.
After only a few minutes, the same guard from before returned, gesturing us through the heavy oak doors.
The moment my foot stepped over the threshold, something sparked to life and then fizzled away inside of my chest. I recognized it as the mage king’s spell that tied my life force to the time limit imposed on me by the vampire king. I gasped, rubbing at my heart, and relief washed over Bash’s face.
“The spell’s gone?” he whispered as we approached the thrones.
“Yes,” I replied, though I didn’t peel my gaze away from the seven thrones near the far back wall of the room.
I couldn’t help but note that the shadow king’s throne was empty, and if the tightening in Ryland’s face was any indication, he noticed that as well. Neither of us commented, though, as we approached the raised dais and my body automatically lowered into a curtsy.
“Your Majesties,” I said with a respect and reverence I didn’t feel. Damn the spell.
“You returned!” the shifter king exclaimed, raising his hands in the air like he meant to embrace me before lowering them and guffawing loudly. A shudder rolled through my body at the noise, though I kept my face indifferent.
“And I brought Jax.” I turned towards the vampire king, who reclined lazily in his throne, his mouth bright red with blood. He barely spared his son a glance, his eyes intent on me.
“So you did.”
Silence descended as I struggled to find the words to say. I knew that the next king would be assigning me a task I needed to complete in order to “prove my loyalty,” but I had no idea what that task would be. Would they make me kill an innocent human? Track down the Alphabet Resistance? Something else?
My stomach muscles twisted and tightened, slithering together like a ball of yarn I could never hope to unravel. I tried not to let my unease show on my face as I met each of their eyes, stopping on the shifter king. No one ever said it out loud, but it was obvious to me who wore the pants in this relationship. What the shifter king said, went. No ifs, ands, or buts. If he wanted to set the world on fire, the other kings would eagerly do his bidding with smiles on their faces.
