Page 92 of Gemini Hunted
Lucius’ possessive hands grip my shoulders, like he and his rutting wolf are fighting the instinct to drag me away from danger.
Mordred chuckles against my mouth, then nuzzles his bearded face into my throat. He’s kissing me and he’s scenting me and he’s even scenting Lucius, rubbing his jaw into my alpha’s wrist just a little.
The soft rasp of Mordred’s whiskers against my exposed jugular makes me shiver and sway. I grip his hips for balance. The scaly stretch of fabric over his corded glutes reminds me he’s aquatic, he’s nothing human. He tastes like a caramel apple on a summertime boardwalk. He smells like rain and lightning, like the sea after a storm. His wet blue hair spills over all of us.
I love being pinned between my guys, always have. (Even if Mordred isn’t actually one of my guys.) So this whole setup floods my core with liquid heat. Under my uniform skirt and panties, my vag opens like a flower, dripping with nectar. The sudden scent of cream and roses, spiked with citrus, floods the air.
That’s my mating scent. I mean, lately.
Me walking around smelling like a ripe tangerine is still kinda new.
That scent means I’m fertile.
At the scent (or maybe the thought), Lucius’ growl deepens.
“Take it easy, professor,” the demon rumbles into my neck. “Don’t blow a nut. My kraken and me, we ain’t alpha, we’re cool with sharing. Plus we’re pan. And you’re bi as shit. S’all good, okay?”
Lucius’ hands tighten on my shoulders. I lean into his legs for reassurance. Both giving and receiving.
“If you transpire to be my queen’s choice, truly, I’ll not be the one to oppose you,” Lucius says gruffly. Saying not one word about his own preferences, but that’s Lucius for you. “Asfor Vasili, he claimed you when he bit you, whether that was his intention or not. Since he is this polycule’s dominant alpha, his desires carry a certain weight. However, I don’t speak for the others. Especially His Radiance.”
Mordred growls into my neck.
Which makes Lucius sigh. “Now is hardly the moment to press this matter with the Dark Fae King.”
Hearing my alpha invoke Zephyr like a spell, I open my eyes (which I didn’t even realize were closed) and try to pull my head together. I haven’t explicitly chosen Mordred, even if my dragon thinks we have. That kiss was just a kiss. But Lucius is right—as usual—about the rest of it. Zephyr and Mordred have major shit to settle.
Me? I have finals to pass and a revolution to win.
“Yeah, I hear you,” I tell my wolf king with a sigh. “We’ll continue this convo later. All of us. Once we’re safe.”
Whenever that is.
Mordred lifts his head and gives me a smoldery bedroom look with those purple eyes that almost sets my panties on fire. He’s still gripping that badass trident with one hand. The other rises to graze my cheek, which is warm and probably flushed. Against my sensitive skin, his fingers are rough and calloused like a fisherman’s. With hands like that, I can imagine him hauling a net, straining with the morning’s catch.
Right now, the morning’s catch is me.
But his touch is gentle. Wondering. Just as gentle and sweet as Neo.
Which is the weirdest thing, considering he’s… you know… a demon?
Here’s the thing.
Looking deep into those wicked eyes, I don’t see a cursed being or a damned soul. What I do see is the powerful pull of… longing.
A longing so intense it makes my chest ache.
“Mordred?” I whisper. “Why are you hurting?”
He opens his mouth to say God knows what. Suddenly my heart is thundering in my ears. My whole body leans toward him, hand rising to his face—
“Are youevercoming into this tunnel, or should the rest of us simply go on without you?” Vasili’s waspish tone makes us all jump like a bee sting. “This catacomb is a fucking maze, but McSnicker and her rabid werewolfdoseem to have sniffed out the path.”
I blink into Mordred’s startled gaze. Our fragile bubble of intimacy shatters like a thrown glass.
“Catacomb?” Sounding startled, Lucius pivots toward V. His protective hands fall away from my shoulders. “The catacombs on this island were condemned and sealed centuries ago. Surely you don’t mean to suggest Ms. McSnicker has unsealedthathellhole?”
Looking suddenly wary, Mordred plants his trident against the floor and pushes up. Alarmed by Lucius’ ominous tone, I scramble to my feet and spin toward the tunnel.
