Page 21 of Risen
I suddenly recalled, invividdetail, the one time Robin and Sadavir had shared me.They had put aside their animosity and worked together to pleasure me and make me feel treasured, without squabbling or ripping each other’s heads off.I had just assumed at the time that they were both making a huge sacrifice by tolerating each other.But… was it possible there was more to it than that?Was that a glimmer of respect anddesirefor Robin that I felt shimmer through Sadavir’s bond?
Everything in me wished that could be true.
Robin let out a dismissive snort, and I wished that I could sense what she was really feeling, the way I could with Sadavir.But she kept any true emotion hidden behind her haughty affect.“I’m aware of how perfect I am,” she drawled in response to his compliment.“Is there a reason you feel the need to state the obvious?”
I sighed.So much for my daydreams.They were going to start arguing again, I could just feel it.
Sadavir laughed, surprising me.“Ruya?Come here, my lovely mate.”
I cast a suspicious look his way, but went along with his request, slipping off the bench into the deeper water and making my way toward his voice.I was curious to see what he was up to.But if he was just going to goad Robin with his claim on me, I was fully prepared to smack him.She was struggling enough as it was.She didn’t need him needling her when she was doing her best to cling to a tiny thread of control.
He took my hand when I got close, pulling me to sit on the ledge next to him.Then he moved, and I thought he must be signing or gesturing silently to someone.Robin let out a put-upon sigh and I felt her warm aura move closer, the water rippling as she came to sit on my other side.
Sadavir’s smug pleasure radiated down our bond as he attempted to give me what I craved—both my alpha true mates close enough for me to bask in their auras.I shook my head at him, but froze mid-motion when Robin’s long, damp fingers cupped my cheek and turned my head toward her, drawing me into a slow, lingering kiss.
Need flared through me at the press of her soft lips against mine.I half turned on my seat, resting a hand on her smooth thigh beneath the water.Sadavir trailed the back of his fingers down my spine, and I shuddered at the slick caress, at the marvelous sensation of being in physical contact with both my alphas at the same time.
Sadavir’s lips trailed over my shoulder and the curve of my neck, and I moaned softly against Robin’s lips.The dragon shifter trapped my lower lip between her teeth, and I felt fangs.She was struggling to control her instincts, even with just this much contact.But Sadavir’s presence was a steady reminder that even if shedidlose control right now, he and the others were here to step in and protect me.
Ah.Sothatwas what this was.My mate was offering Robin and I a safety net with his presence, if she could see past her pride and accept it.Goddess, his understanding andtolerancewhen it came to my needs would never cease to amaze me.
And Robin must know what he was doing.Though she would never acknowledge it out loud.Goddess forbid the proud dragon alpha ever admit that she had acceptedhelp.But the yearning and hunger in her touch communicated her desperation and relief loud and clear.
“So… is the bath cancelled?Or do we all get to make out with Ruya now?”Sadavir said, coming to stand before me and place his hands on my knees.
“Way to butt in, moron,” Yukio muttered under his breath, and I swear the temperature of the air near Sanka dropped several degrees.
Cicely’s warm aura moved closer as well, and he reached between me and Sadavir to comb his fingers through my hair.He didn’t speak, but I felt the silent question in my mind, and I pulled back from Robin with a smile, tilting my head toward Cicely for a kiss.But before that could happen, water sloshed, and my faun let out a little gasp as he suddenly withdrew.It took me a moment to realize what had happened, and to intuit that Sadavir was takinglibertieswith the other man.
Oh, wow can he ever kiss!Cicely said in my mind, joy and lust coloring his tone.And that tongue.Ruya, you are one lucky woman.
I flushed with my own surge of lust at his words, momentarily turning from Robin to reach out my hands and touch, finding Cicely now sitting on Sadavir’s lap.I felt Robin start to move away, but Sanka spoke, removing his hands from my knees, to reach out and grab her before she could get away.“Ah-ah,” the sorcerer chided.“No running away, alpha.You’re notscared,are you?”
I huffed a laugh at his obvious attempt to manipulate his alpha.But it worked.“What?Don’t be stupid,” she huffed in a haughty tone that did nothing to hide the husky note of want in her voice.“I was simply getting more comfortable.Come here, useless beta.”
Sanka chuckled as he let Robin draw him into a kiss.I didn’t have a second to feel neglected, though, since a pair of small, strong hands skimmed up my thighs beneath the water and came to rest on my hips.
Martina’s kiss was sure and confident, honest without being demanding, but filled with unspoken promises.A caress of chill air told me Yukio was nearby, and Sanka’s hissed and breathless, “That’scold, you jackass!”told me all I needed to know about the pixie-cross’s whereabouts.
I threaded my arms around Martina’s neck and pulled her closer, sinking into her kiss.When we came up for air, she trailed kisses along my throat, pausing to nip suggestively at the sensitive skin there, sending a jolt of desire straight to my pussy.The scrape of her fangs jolted me out of the moment though, and I remembered that there were others lurking at the outskirts of the fun.
“Josh?”I murmured, “Dusek?”
My bond with Sadavir hummed with reassurance as Cicely slid off his lap and took his place next to me, leaning in to cup my breast and kiss along the opposite side of my neck from Martina.I sighed in pleasure, but half my attention was still on the rest of the court.Sanaka, Yukio, and Robin were tangled up with each other, the long-time lovers murmuring in hushed whispers next to Cicely, Martina, and me.But Josh and Dusek’s auras were further away.On the other side of the pool.
“Come,” Sadavir said, his voice carrying just atinyhint of alpha command.
I felt Robin stiffen beside me, her shoulder brushing mine.“Call your vampire pet all you want,” she growled.“But the bubak is notyoursto command, snake.”
I reached out and placed my hand on her thigh, urging calm through my aura.Shit.When I congratulated Dusek on his connection with Sadavir, I hadn’t really thought through the consequences.I knew Robin had been patiently waiting for Dusek to feel comfortable to engage in a relationship with her—though the bubak would probably never believe me if I told him so.
This lovely moment was about to devolve into a blood bath.Robin would only see Sadavir’s interest in her gamma as poaching.And Dusek’s interest in the naga as a betrayal.She was too much of an alpha to think otherwise.
Dusek’s dark aura had been drifting closer to us.But now, he moved away again in silence.
Josh hovered off to my right, probably standing next to Sadavir.Apart, but present, his loyalties clear, while Dusek was trapped between the powerful energies of two rival alphas—the woman who had saved his life and given him a home, and the man who had coaxed him out of his shell and shown him he was capable of giving and receiving affection after a lifetime of self-loathing and isolation.
I reached my free hand out toward that dark aura of terror in supplication, even as I squeezed Robin’s thigh even harder beneath the water.“He doesn’t have to choose between you,” I said firmly, desperate to diffuse the situation.I did my best to use my omega powers, letting my aura unfurl and fill up the space, thinking soothing, loving,acceptingthoughts.
