Page 41 of Kept

“You heard Jordan. If you continue to suppress your magic, it could backfire. Now we know the things you did in the Middling were part of this new gift. If you’re not going to hold yourself back from farseeing, you shouldn’t hold yourself back from the Making, either.” He came to me and scooped the bandages from my lap, fitting the dozens of bundles easily in his big hands. He dumped them into the basket, pulled me to my feet, and tipped my chin up. “You made a beautiful sky in that clearing, halfling. And you restored Laurent in the Sanctum. I know next to nothing about magic, but I know yours is powerful. And I know I want you, and you want me. If you have to access this power through sex, I’m not complaining.”

Laurent came to my other side and slid a hand into the small of my back. He took Varick’s other hand, and the three of us stood in a small circle before the fire. “There’s nothing wrong with pleasure, princess,” Laurent said.

“I know.” My heart thumped faster, desire and apprehension twining together, each subtracting from the other. “I’m afraid.”

“Of us?” Varick asked.

“Never,” I answered, meaning it. “I worry about”—I tried to think of a way to avoid saying Midian’s name—“what’s in my head…and my blood.”

Laurent banded an arm around my waist and pulled me into him. His lips brushed my temple as he murmured, “Then we’ll go slow.” He trailed his mouth down, nosing through my hair until he reached my neck, where he sucked gently at my pulse fluttering rapidly under my skin. “Let the general and I heat you up, princess. And if you see anything you don’t like, we’ll stop.”

My response was more moan than words. “I don’t think I’ll see anything I don’t like.”

His smile curved against my neck. “Then we won’t stop.”

* * *

Varick took the lead, pulling Laurent and me toward the chamber’s big, curtained bed.

When we reached it, Varick picked me up and settled me among the mounds of pillows at the headboard. “You sit there for a moment, halfling. Be my good girl and watch.”

In an instant, my throat was parched, heat flaring so high it burned everything away except the moisture pooling between my legs. Because I knew what happened when Varick ordered me to watch.

And I wanted to see it. More than anything, I wanted to see these two powerful males together. I’d wanted it from the beginning, when Laurent whispered in my ear about how things were between them.

But no, my want had started long before that. I could make the argument it had started before I even met them, when I rode toward the Rift and hushed my brother’s squire as he spoke of King Laurent and his general. It was as if I’d known I was meant to end up exactly where I was now. Watching them. Wanting them.

Varick turned to Laurent, gripped the back of his neck, and yanked him into a kiss. They came together in a clash that stole my breath. Hot and fierce, their jaws and bodies met, Varick squeezing Laurent’s nape as he thrust his tongue against Laurent’s.

Laurent groaned, the sound low and plaintive. He clutched at Varick, pawing at Varick’s clothes like he couldn’t decide where he wanted his hands. I quickly realized Laurent wanted them everywhere. Because he wanted every piece of Varick.

But more than anything, Laurent wanted whatever Varick wanted. No matter what Varick demanded, Laurent would give it.

The kiss went on like that, Varick plundering Laurent’s mouth while he worked his hips into Laurent’s, grinding their cocks together. I drank them in, letting my gaze roam from their strong jaws to their thrusting hips. The sounds of their passion filled the chamber, every rasp of stubble and masculine groan stoking the flames inside me.

Varick moved a hand between their bodies, forcing space where none had existed before. He palmed Laurent’s cock as he spoke against Laurent’s lips. “You think you’re going to be able to wait?”

“No,” Laurent croaked.

Varick’s chuckle sent shivers coursing down my spine. His fangs flashed as he caught Laurent’s bottom lip between his teeth. He pulled at it, tugging Laurent’s head forward before releasing him. “Oh, you’re going to wait.” His hand worked between Laurent’s legs as he kneaded Laurent’s dick. “You’re going to be a good boy and get our princess nice and wet.”

My lips parted, my breath coming in rasps I couldn’t hold back. I fought the urge to squirm as need built in my core, everything between my legs hot and throbbing. I wanted to touch myself but I didn’t dare. And I was grateful Varick had left me clothed. My gown afforded some measure of protection. A guard against temptation.

Varick used his hand on Laurent’s nape to force Laurent’s head back. “What are you going to do?” he demanded gruffly.

Laurent gasped, his mouth working soundlessly as Varick’s hand on his dick tightened. “Whatever you say.” He squeezed his eyes shut for a second, his brows pulling together. He whimpered and dragged in another breath. “F-Fuck. Anything. I’ll do anything.”

At last, Varick thrust Laurent away. “Strip and get on the bed.”

Laurent obeyed quickly, his face flushed as he tossed his clothes aside. He was still pale after his ordeal on the lawn, his frame thinner than usual. But his eyes glowed more brightly than ever, his silver irises burning with lust as he bared himself. His erection bobbed hard and thick in the air, the round head shiny with moisture.

“On your back,” Varick ordered as Laurent climbed onto the bed. And then they moved like poetry, some kind of unspoken exchange guiding their movements. Laurent stretched on his back with his body parallel to me. He hung his head off the side of the bed, and Varick was there to catch it, his golden eyes burning like stars as he traced Laurent’s dark brows with his thumbs.

“You’ll be such a good boy for me,” he murmured, staring down at Laurent’s upturned face. Laurent nodded, his handsome features beautiful and bereft. His chest lifted. Slowly, he parted his lips, stretching his mouth wide. His tongue ring glinted and his fangs slid lower as he held position, stripped bare and waiting to receive Varick’s cock.

Varick kept him that way for a moment. Laid out and trembling. Inches from being broken. Completely willing to break.

Hooded eyes locked with Laurent’s, Varick unlaced his pants and freed his cock. He didn’t remove anything else. Didn’t even pull his pants down. He kept everything intact but his shaft, which looked even larger than usual framed by black leather. Hands supporting Laurent’s head, he let Laurent’s head drop lower until the knot in Laurent’s throat poked hard toward the bed’s canopy. Then Varick guided his dick into Laurent’s waiting mouth.

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