Page 134 of Illusory

Even though I’d broken things off with them for a good reason—for their own good—running away from my own feelings was becoming a job in and of itself. Especially when they both still refused to see it my way.

Maybe that was the problem. Maybe they weren’t seeing what a disaster this whole thing would be because I kept stopping it before it had a chance to start. Maybe I needed to let them see exactly what they were asking for, and just how painful and messy it would be for all three of us.

Up until this point, I’d tried everything else. What did I really have to lose?

Swallowing down the butterflies rising in my chest, I picked up my hair and slowly dragged it over my shoulder, exposing the full side of my neck to him. “I want to,” I said softly, testing the words out on my tongue.

“You do?” he asked, his brows pulling together from the whiplash I’d probably just given him.

“Why do you look so surprised?” Smiling, I sweetened my voice when I added, “You know I like it when you do.”

Heat flared in Trace’s eyes, as though a volcano had just gone off in them, but he hadn’t seen anything yet.

If I played my cards right and kept my head in the game, I might just be able to pull this off after all and give them exactly what theythinkthey want.

“Maybe I’ll even let you both do it at the same time,” I said, fighting the searing blush that wanted to burn me alive.

Dominic cocked his head to the side, his dark eyesnarrowing slightly. “Is that right?”

“Maybe,” I said breathily.

He smiled as if he already knew exactly what I was up to, and then came to sit beside me, placing his glass on the coffee table and angling his body to me like he wanted a front row seat.

Like he knew exactly how this was going to play out.

“Go on then,” he said to Trace, inclining his head to him in a nod.

Trace’s eyes never left mine as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear and then cupped my face, his thumb gently caressing the apple of my cheek. Black ink spread through his eyes, the dark hunger taking up the whole of his irises as his gaze dropped down to my neck and then stayed there. I could feel my pulse knocking under my skin and I knew his eyes were trained on the spot, but he still wasn’t making a move.

It seemed he was taking his time with me, quietly maintaining control over himself as he tempered the beast and its unsatiable bloodlust for me. Just like Dominic had taught him to do.

Anticipation flitted into my stomach as he tilted my head back and then gently pressed his lips against my throat, peppering my skin with soft kisses and then with the gentle stroke of his tongue. I swayed from the sudden rush, but Dominic’s hands were already there to steady me, his fingers gripping my shoulders from behind as he gently eased me back against his chest again.

As Trace continued kissing my neck, Dominic’s hold on me relaxed, his fingers brushing against my skin in a caress that traced the path of my collarbone and sent a bolt of excitement through my body. And this time, I let myself feel it. I let it cloud out my better judgment and sank into the feelingof having them both touching me at the same time. I let the tangle of lips and hands and eyes run rampant all over me, making my blood feel as though it was purring under my skin. As though I might levitate right off the couch if I didn’t brace myself against something solid and sturdy.

Already it felt like it was too much to take, and we hadn’t even started yet.

A sharp ache pinched at the base of my neck as Trace’s fangs pierced through my skin and then everything slowed down to a crawl. The room, Dominic’s heartbeat against my back, the soft creak of the leather sofa. Everything faded into a hazy, indiscernible backdrop against the overwhelming sensations flooding me. Pain and pleasure tangled in a dance as old as time itself, whirling me around the dance floor of my own personal heaven.

My lips parted on a moan as I relaxed deeper into Dominic’s arms, my eyes fluttering closed at the feel of his fingers tracing languid circles along my collarbone. Ecstasy pulsed through my veins, and I sank deeper into the moment, caught between the hardness of Dominic's chest and the intoxicating closeness of Trace’s mouth and suddenly, I couldn’t remember why I’d thought this was a bad idea.

The harder Trace sucked down, the gentler Dominic became, his touch almost feather-soft against my skin as he whispered reassurances that felt both thrilling and wicked.

“You’re doing so well, angel,” he purred lowly, his voice a soothing balm that somehow managed to stoke the fire that was already consuming me from the inside out. His hand moved up to cradle my cheek, caressing it softly before turning my face towards him so that all I could see was him.

His face. His lips. His dark, hungry eyes that were filled with love and want and devotion and the proof of just how far he’d be willing to go for me—for my happiness. And then hislips were on me, moving against mine with an urgency that belied his usual controlled demeanor.

There was no more holding back, no more denying himself what he wanted. What Dominic wanted wasme—only me—and I swore I could feel it right down to the marrow of my bones.

Trace’s fingers tightened around the base of my neck as his other hand came down to grip my waist, pulling me up toward himself as Dominic’s kiss became more demanding, his own hands exploring with a ferventness that contrasted the steady control Trace maintained at my neck.

Every touch multiplied and magnified as if they were orchestrated to unravel me completely, pulling me further away from reality and deeper into the impossible web we were weaving. A web that was blurring out the lines almost as spectacularly as the room’s edges.

All thoughts of tomorrow melted away, consequences be damned, and I silently prayed this moment would go on forever. That Trace and Dominic wouldneverstop, knowing with absolute certainty that I’d happily see myself out of this life at the mouths of the two men I loved more than life itself.

It was all I could donotto pass out from the absolute bliss of the moment before I was rudely wrenched away from my little slice of heaven via the strange, familiar burn at my back. A burn that I intuitively knew was my wings because theyliterallyhad the absolute worst timing ever.

Stupid,stupidwings.

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