Zurlo, Michele - Riley [Daughters of Circe 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (18 page)

“I see I’m not too late.”

Soren shoved his hands in his jean pockets. “You can’t stop me.”

“I know.” Teigh nodded, almost absently. He slung his backpack to the ground and looked down to where Riley slept. “How is she?”

“Exhausted.”

The edges of Teigh’s eyes crinkled as he smiled. Soren wanted to touch those tiny crow’s-feet. He wanted to run his fingers over Teigh’s lips and kiss him, but he didn’t know how his lover would react.

“You always were a randy one. I see that hasn’t changed.”

Soren snorted. “She attacked me. She shredded my shirt. How in the hell did you find us? She took your powers. I know you’re flying blind.”

Teigh smiled in that enigmatic way that accompanied all the legends passed down through generations of wolves. It tugged at Soren’s heart. “I was tied to wolves for three thousand years. Magic had nothing to do with the tracking skills I acquired. Did you think I always knew where the people were I needed to find?” He shook his head. “My magic wasn’t that powerful. I always found you guys the old-fashioned way.”

“Or Caiden told you.” Soren flashed a smile to soften the tenor of his words.

He nodded. “Sometimes, if one of our daughters managed to contact him first, he could tell me where they were. He never knew where the wolves were. That was my forte. That’s how I found you.”

“That’s not an answer.” Soren shifted uncomfortably. He felt like an ass for confronting the Shadow Man, but more and more memories of Teigh being his equal and his lover were surfacing. He couldn’t seem to regard the man with the same reverence, especially not when he just wanted to strip him naked and kiss every inch of his delectable body.

Teigh spread one hand wide, palm out. Soren had reached a boundary. “That’s all you’re going to get.”

Crouching down, Teigh shone the light over Riley’s body. Soren bristled, upset that his word wasn’t good enough. Then he berated himself. His word wasn’t good enough. In less than two nights, he would tie the woman he loved to an altar and steal her powers, hoping all the while she survived the process and didn’t hate him afterward.

The light stopped at the bandage on Riley’s neck. Soren had been careful to not get it wet because he didn’t have anything else to cover the wound. Teigh lifted the adhesive and inspected the wound.

“You bit her.” He glanced up, frowning. “You weren’t supposed to bite her.”

Soren ground his teeth together, regret and guilt vying for dominance. “Instinct. I couldn’t stop myself from claiming her that way.”

Except to drop his gaze back to her neck, Teigh didn’t respond. He pressed the edges of the bandage back against her skin. “Well, what’s done is done. We’ll rest here for the night. We should be able to make it to Desiree and Torment’s homes by lunchtime. They’ll see to Riley.”

Compulsion pressed at him from all sides. Soren rushed to speak before his demon could start in. It might force him to continue the journey now. “I’m not letting her out of my sight.”

Teigh narrowed his eyes at Soren. “You have no idea what the ceremony entails, do you?”

Soren shook his head. He had envisioned a stone altar, flowing robes, and a lot of chanting.

“It’s our wedding. The ceremony reaffirms the bond between our souls. That commitment transfers all of our powers to Circe and breaks the curse that keeps us away from those we love. Circe must be well in order for it to happen. She must control the flow of power or we’re all doomed to die.” Teigh stood and reached for Soren. He rested his hands on either shoulder. “This is it, Soren. This is our last chance to make things right.”

Soren’s shoulders slumped, and Teigh’s hands slid away. Soren turned his back on his lover. “Then we’re doomed. The demon won’t let me give my power to her.” Soren’s eyes widened with a new realization. “I won’t be a werewolf anymore.”

Teigh shrugged. “It’s in your DNA now. There’s no telling what you’ll be.”

“But we were mortal men before.” Pain tore through his chest, an empty, hollow ache. Being a mortal man meant he wouldn’t be able to see or hear or smell as well as he used to, but it also meant he wouldn’t hear the demon, and his compulsion would disappear. He wanted the change, and he feared the change. Mostly, he feared the demon would force him to mess it all up.

“Mortal.” Teigh closed the distance between them. His chest brushed against Soren’s, kindling the flame that already burned. He cupped Soren’s cheeks in his hands. “Fallible. Human. All the same things we are now. But only Circe has the power to make us live forever. She’s fallible, but she’s neither mortal nor human. That was always difficult for you.”

“She’s perfect.” He closed his eyes and leaned into Teigh’s embrace. “She’s kind and generous and forgiving. She wasn’t even mad when she found out I bit her.”

Teigh brushed his lips against Soren’s, feathering them in a teasing caress. “We’re both here for you, Soren. Always.” His fingertips played across Soren’s chest, weaving a spell the taller man couldn’t resist.

Soren parted his lips, inviting Teigh inside, but Teigh’s lips moved to play over Soren’s jaw and neck. Soren tried to unbutton the dark flannel shirt so he could return the caress, but Teigh pushed his hands away. Even one day ago, Soren would have ripped Teigh’s clothes from his body and guided him into the position Soren chose. Tonight, the need to dominate and control seemed to have fled. He submitted to Teigh, letting him guide the action.

The kiss traveled lower, and Teigh unbuttoned Soren’s jeans. Metal scraped metal as his zipper lowered. Using every iota of his natural grace, Soren stepped from his jeans, freeing each leg as Teigh peeled the denim away.

Soren locked his attention on the man kneeling in front of him, studying his hard cock as if he was memorizing every nuance. Nothing about Teigh was submissive tonight. Moonlight glistened from those dark, broad shoulders. Soren wanted to touch Teigh so badly his hand ached. Tentatively, he reached out and rested his fingertips on Teigh’s shoulder.

Abruptly, Teigh looked up. “Kneel in front of me.”

Soren complied. Face-to-face, he leaned in, and Teigh at last kissed him the way he wanted to be kissed. His hot tongue branded Soren’s lips before slipping inside to plunder and taste. His hands moved constantly, sending sparks and stoking flames.

Burning inside, Soren pressed closer to Teigh. He rubbed his cock against Teigh’s thigh, all the while rubbing his thigh against Teigh’s cock. Heavy denim separated their flesh and created harsh friction. Soren moaned, the vibrations of his passion passing into Teigh’s mouth.

All the passion Soren thought he spent on Riley returned. Blood roared in his ears, and the sound of Teigh’s heart pounding echoed through his head. Tangling Teigh’s dreads in his fingers, Soren broke the kiss. “I love you, Teigh. I wish I could be half the man you are.”

Teigh chuckled and pushed at Soren. “You’re so much more than you think you are. At least that hasn’t changed.” He unbuttoned his flannel, spread it on the ground, and patted it. “Lie on your back. I have some lubricant in my pack.”

Soren watched Teigh rise to his feet and cross the short distance to where Riley slept. Two of the three people he loved more than anything in the world were there with him. He missed Caiden, the ache dull and distant. He had no clear memories of his third lover.

Teigh leaned over Riley and checked her once again. She was the anchor who held them together. The ache bloomed, and suddenly Soren’s resolve, which had crumbled too many years ago to make a difference, returned. He would fight that demon. Perhaps he had no clear memories of their children, but he knew and loved the wolves who loved his daughters. Shaden was his twin, his closest friend. Demetrius, Marius, and Flynn had been his lieutenants for over fifty years. He would take his own life before he would allow that demon to destroy the people he loved.

When Teigh returned to him, Soren lay back and watched as his lover untied his boots and shucked his jeans. Needing more physical contact, Soren took the tube from Teigh, squirted some of the gel into his palm, and used his power over heat energy to warm it. He massaged the substance over Teigh’s softest skin, lingering extra long when he found the place just beneath the head that made Teigh moan.

With a renewed savagery, Teigh grabbed Soren and pushed his head down. He mashed his lips into Soren’s, urgency outlining every inch of his body. He pushed Soren’s shoulders until they settled back against the soft flannel.

Hot lips and tongue trailed over his neck and chest. Teigh pushed Soren’s knees up and out, exposing Soren in a way he’d never before been exposed. Instinct stirred a momentary panic. Soren pushed back a few of Teigh’s dreads, and moonlight helped him find the love and tenderness in Teigh’s deep brown eyes.

Reaching down, Teigh found Soren’s opening. He massaged some lubricant into it. Soren’s body jerked, and he moaned. He’d never allowed his body to be taken in the submissive position before, but he wanted to give this to Teigh. He wanted to show his lover somehow that he wasn’t completely gone, that the man he knew and loved still resided inside this shell. Maybe he wasn’t in complete control of his actions, but his soul hadn’t gone anywhere. Silently, he prayed for Teigh to unbury the man he used to be.

The tip of Teigh’s cock pressed against the tight muscle guarding his entrance. Soren breathed deeply, forcing his body to relax, to accept love from this man. Warm steel pressed harder, at last breaching his sphincter.

Fire raced through Soren’s system, igniting a need he’d never felt. He squirmed, at last understanding why Riley and Teigh lost their heads when he fucked them like this. Teigh didn’t take things slowly. He knew this was Soren’s first time, yet he treated him as if they’d been doing this for years. Without giving Soren a chance to get used to anything, he withdrew only to slam back inside.

Oaths fell from Soren’s lips in the ancient language of the wolves. He rolled his hips, lifting them higher in offering. Tight, hot, a delicious inferno, and a small pinch of pain. The sensations spiraled out of control. Teigh’s hand slipped between them. Still lubricated, it closed around Soren’s hard cock. A hiss escaped as Teigh stroked and squeezed, giving a little twist every time he came to the ridge surrounding the thick head.

Soren’s fingers dug into Teigh’s shoulders, and his claws scratched paths across his lover’s back. Lost to passion, Teigh ground his hips harder. His lips moved, forming words without sound until Soren wrapped his grip around Teigh’s dreads and jerked him down to mash their lips together.

Tongues dueled and fireworks exploded. Soren came hard. His ejaculate sprayed over his chest and splattered on both their faces. Teigh came in his ass, jets of heat shooting ribbons of pleasure through Soren’s body.

Teigh pulled his cock out and collapsed on Soren’s chest. Soren stroked Teigh’s cheek and temple with his thumb, the only part of him that wasn’t trembling. Love flowed through his veins, filling a vast pool of calm for which Soren had been searching his entire life. Tears burned behind his eyes, full of sorrow, regret, and helplessness. The feelings dueled, and he didn’t know what would win.

* * * *

Riley woke up surrounded by the scent and heat of two men. Without opening her eyes, she knew Teigh’s flannel-covered chest was pressed to her cheek while Soren cocooned her from behind. Heat blazed from both of them, mostly from Soren. Damp coolness seeped from the layer of leaves that covered the ground below her, yet she didn’t feel a chill. It didn’t take long for Riley to realize her core body temperature had risen.

She basked in this new, wolfish warmth until Soren stirred. His hand, which had been lying still on her hip, flexed. Hot memories of the previous night flooded back, and she realized someone had bathed and dressed her while she slept. There was no way the filthy, dirty mess of body fluids, sweat, and dried leaves had magically disappeared. She wondered if Soren or Teigh had tended to her while she slumbered.

Careful not to dislodge anyone or anything, she turned to face Soren. His teal eyes opened slowly. He smiled and blinked twice. Love welled in her chest and she returned his lazy smile. Riley could tell the moment his memory of recent events returned. Darkness clouded his eyes and he rolled away from her to sit up.