Page 50 of Magic Hunted
This was all me.
Holy gods.This was all me.
Ashir’s tender touch lifted the sheath over my head. Water swirled over my skin, washing my breasts with a light touch. I parted my thighs, my core heavy with need. I took Ashir’s hand and guided it between my legs, covering my core with his palm. I held his wrist, keeping his palm in place. I tilted my hips, desperate for his fingers to breach me. “Touch me. Please Ashir.”
He pressed the heel of his palm against my clit, alleviating some of my need but held still. I looked into light blue, watching a storm of determination in his gaze. “You told us what you want, Haera. And this isn’t it.”
It took me a moment to process what he said. That his hand was still between my thighs. That the arm I clutched was as strong as steel. I tilted my hips so that his fingers slid through my slippery folds. “But I want it now.”
Resolve tightened his features. “Make no mistake, we all want this, but it will only be without regret when your mind is clear. You told us what you want and we’ll honor that.”
I gaped at him, his words cutting through the sensual fog in my mind. I shunted my hips away from his hand but he caught my waist with the same hand, leaving me bereft and effectively stopping me from shifting anywhere. He set his forehead against mine, his hand branding my skin. “I want nothing more than to take you right here and now, but it isn’t what you asked of us. We’re here to honor you. Not to take advantage of what you’re not sure of giving.”
I recoiled, shock working through my system. Thatstung. I tried to push him away but Savvas placed his hand on my thigh and Dias caught the other side of my waist. “We’re not rejecting you, magic. Quite the opposite. We’ll touch you like this forever.”
“Washing you. Caring for you is what you need.” Savvas pressed his lips to my temple, the kiss chaste compared to what we’d shared earlier.
“This isn’t about us. It’s all about you,” Dias said, his fingers flexing on my waist.
“Don’t misunderstand us. We want you, but we want you in every possible way. Not just physically. That will never be enough for us. We want you all of you. With everything we are. But first and foremost, we want you willing.” Ashir’s fingers stroked my skin. His knuckles grazed the underside of my breast, resulting in a full body shiver. He reached for a soft cloth and stroked it over my shoulders and through the center of my breasts. His touch was gentle. Tender and thoughtful, taking me back to a time in my life where it was the type of touch I expected. The type of touch that nurtured instead of hurt. The type of touch that resulted in a different sort of pain.
I’d forgotten it could be like this. Tucked it away and buried it deep. There was no use in mourning what I’d never find again. I’d been so young. So naïve, before my world had crashed. The break from before my parents’ death to after had been complete. It had snapped me in half mind, body and soul, and it had hurt. It had hurt so badly that remembering was too painful. It was easier to forget. To stop wishing for the thing I would never have, and now with a few gentle touches my world was crashing all over again.
Tears stung the backs of my eyes as Dias and Savvas joined Ashir and washed me with the same gentle brushes. This was the worst kind of torture. A limbo between my battered senses. Everything I’d fought for. Things I’d told myself and justified going up in smoke brought on by a shouldering fire of care. Of understanding. I couldn’t fight that.
I didn’t know how to fight this type of battle because deep down, this was exactly what my dreams were made of.
I knew how to treat Titan. Knew where I stood. I existed because of the grimoire. My existence polarized, and I only lived because of something bigger than me. I was never important, but now…now I didn’t know how to respond because I’d never fought this battle before. They weren’t being manipulated by a bond. They treated me like this because theywanted to.
And then I had to wonder if I’d told myself other lies when it came to my parents. Had my parents sacrificed themselves for me through love, and not merely because of a bond or the grimoire? Could I have been wrong all this time? My mind churned through the questions, coming up with the single answer I didn’t think I could trust. My child’s perspective shattered around my ears.
Each stroke helped to ease the tension coiled in my bones until eventually and against all odds my limbs turned to mush and I drifted into an exhausted sleep.
“Haera, wake up little mate.” Ashir pressed his lips to my temple. I found myself cushioned in his lap, my head against his shoulder.
I opened heavy eyes to see Dias and Savvas, hair wet and freshly washed. My mouth dried at the sight of their still-damp hair. Their thighs filled out the black leather pants and crisp cream linen shirts given to them. The material was tight across their shoulders, their biceps stretching the sleeves. No clothing could hide the ease with which they stood knowing that their bodies were a weapon in themselves. My panther lifted her head, her interest piqued alongside my human. The two separate parts of me working in tandem. However, she did nothing to stop the alphas. Merely stayed where she was inside me, content to watch and let them care for me, the traitor. Her whiskers twitched as she turned her head away from me.
Savvas held a large fluffy towel ready for me as Ashir stood with me in his arms. Water poured from me as he waded to the shallows and deposited me on my feet. Savvas wrapped the towel around me and patted the water from my body. Ashir, with body and hair freshly washed, grabbed his own towel and rubbed his body down.
I peered up at Savvas, my brow tight. He smiled down at me, his smile light and his strokes tender. “Feel better?”
I nodded. There was nothing like being clean. “I do,” I said simply, not needing to say anything more and going by his deepening smile, he didn’t need to hear any more.
Dias came behind me as Savvas dropped the towel and helped me into a white shirt. His fingers grazed my shoulders while Savvas buttoned the front in quick movements. Dias dried my legs, his touch light, lingering without being clinical or threatening to take more than I’d offered. Ashir helped me into black leather pants, shucking them over my hips and tying up the waist. Dias slipped a vest over my arms and pulled the laces together until it tightened around my body.
“Come and sit.” Ashir led me to a stool. Too surprised to think, I plonked down. Ashir dried my hair. The long slow strokes of a brush through my hair made my bones melt.
“All done.” I roused myself to find Ashir tying the end of my braid.
“You look beautiful, Haera.” Dias smiled at me.
Savvas jostled Dias’ shoulder. “Not that she wasn’t before, brother. She was also beautiful caked in mud.” Truth. They’d seen me caked in filth and still wanted me.
Ashir helped me to my feet, handing me a pair of leather boots. I took them. The bath, the clothing and the boots helped to ground me more than being semi-naked beneath a thin sheath ever could. “I don’t know where or how Shanyirra got these clothes, but I’m glad she did,” Ashir said.
The boots fit surprisingly well. I couldn’t agree with Ashir more. Savvas threaded his fingers through mine. “Ready to face the elven hoards again?”
I tugged the leather vest, settling it around me, their words reverberating through my mind.We’re happy to give you what you need, however you need it.Even a simple hand-holding because, when it came down it, right now?
