Page 41 of Pleasantly Undead in Dark River

“Hmmm,” I said, kissing him softly, my tongue tracing over his fangs. I pulled back and bit his lip, making him moan. Then I darted away, yelling over my shoulder. “You’re on! Last one there has to give the other one head!”

I could hear Nico’s laughter as he half-heartedly ran behind me. “Sounds like win-win to me,” he called, and I laughed as I hurdled a log. I was running as fast as I could, but I wasn’t under any delusions that Nico was slowing his pace to match mine. I’d seen Lucius at full speed and it was terrifyingly fast. Still, I wasn’t going to protest him letting me win. It really was win-win.

When we leapt over the creek outside Dark River, I waited behind a tree and then pushed him in, laughing as I took off even faster as he spluttered and cursed. I could hear his laughter as he stopped playing around, catching up to me easily.

I could hear his footsteps right behind me, and I looked over my shoulder, laughing.

But my laughter died in my throat when I realized it wasn’t Nico chasing me anymore. It was Lucius. My feet slowed, because you do not run from a predator. He pouted, but he didn’t stop until he was just in front of me.

“Lucius. I was worried about you.”

He frowned. “Worried? About me?” He seemed confused that anyone would be worried about him, which is probably fair considering he’s a pretty damn scary being.

Still, I nodded. “I haven’t heard from you in a week. I thought…” I didn’t know what I thought, but still, I was worried.

“You thought what, Raine Baxter?”

I squared my shoulders and looked him in the eye. Even now, I could see the predator pacing back and forth, the craziness just making his eyes a little too bright. I stepped forward, kissing him again. It was just like the first time. Electric. Dangerous. Heady. “I thought you’d want to solidify our agreement as soon as possible.”

His arm wrapped around my waist, but he held me loosely. “I was not prepared for the, hmm, intoxicating quality of your lust. I had to put safeguards in place should I lose myself to you completely.”

Nico stepped out of the forest behind me, still damp, his clothes clinging to his lean body. “What kind of safeguards would they be, Lucius?”

Lucius gave Nico a toothy grin that wasn’t entirely pleasant. “That is none of your business, Brother. Needless to say, Titus approved everything, so do not despair that it's something horrible and sadistic.” He pulled me closer now, until my torso was pressed against his, the tips of his fingers pressing hard into my hips. “But I am prepared to negotiate terms with you now.” His lips ran up my neck, and the harsh scrape of his fangs against my pulse point made me shudder. I wanted to climb him like a tree. But if he was a tree, he was wrapped in poison ivy and I had to remember that.

“We need a safe-word.”

“Bacon,” he murmured, breathing me in deeply.

“Uh okay?”

His hand slipped up my spine and it spanned my back, trapping me so close that I could feel the hot breath across my face. “What else, Raine Baxter? I can’t imagine that is your only provision.”

“One of the guys is with us at all times, but preferably Nico. He has the strength to restrain you should you get too, uh, overzealous.”

Lucius looked up at Nico, his eyes blazing. “I see. I agree with that term. It would not be the first time Nico has watched me fuck his lover.”

Hurt flashed across Nico’s face, though he quickly chased the emotion away. I thumped Lucius on the chest with my fist, hard enough to make him oof. “I will not take you attacking my mates. Not physically or psychologically. They agreed to this, and if they suddenly decide that it's no longer what they want, I will rethink our arrangement.”

Lucius tensed, then ran his tongue up my neck, making me moan. “Normally, I would tear your throat out for speaking to me as such, but with you, I find it quite… arousing.” He pressed his hard cock against my lower body and I sucked in a breath as my core clenched. “Is that all?” he panted, and I realized he wasn’t as unaffected by our closeness as he pretended.

“While you’re in Dark River, you follow the town’s rules. That's a no brainer.”

My vampire eyesight let me see his eye roll in the darkness, but he nodded. “Sure. Boring and on my best behavior. Got it. Is that all?”

I nodded. “Yep, for now.”

Lucius groaned and dropped to his knees. He tugged at the edges of my shorts violently, popping the button and I watched it fly off into the woods somewhere. Faster than I could follow, he had my bottom half stripped of clothes, and his face buried between my thighs. He lapped at my core in one long stroke and my knees shook.

“Holy shit,” I moaned, and Nico was there, his hands on my arm.

He watched his twin lift my thigh over his shoulder, his nose nudging my clit as he lapped at my pussy like a cat at cream. “Do you remember the safeword, Raine?” Nico asked softly.

“Yeah, bacon.”

Lucius, fucking bless his demented little heart, stopped and looked up at me, the anguish on his face searing my soul. “You wish to stop?”

I grabbed his pale hair and pulled him back to where he was. “God no. Just Nico giving me a pop quiz. For all that’s fucking good in the world. Do. Not. Stop,” I gasped as his tongue swirled around my clit.

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