Goddess in the Middle (12 page)

Remy’s expression held her spellbound as he took the few steps to the couch then set her on the edge of the nearest cushion before taking a step back. She almost reached for him, thinking he was leaving her, before she realized he was shucking his jeans.

For a few brief seconds when he straightened, she got a glimpse of just how beautifully Remy was made. Lean and sleek but firmly muscled. Her gaze tripped over the scars on his chest but they in no way detracted from his male beauty.

He moved then, breaking the spell, and she blinked. In that instant, he dropped onto the couch beside her, put his hands around her waist and lifted her over his lap, facing away from him, as if she weighed less than a feather.

Which certainly wasn’t true.

Her legs spread as he set her on her knees over his lap, cooler air brushing against the heated flesh of her exposed sex.

Her eyes closed for a few brief seconds as she felt the brush of his cock against her pussy lips. She tried to lower her hips to continue the contact but he kept his hand on her waist and held her exactly where he wanted her. High enough not to touch but close enough to feel the heat of his skin.

Heart knocking against her ribs like a trapped bird, she opened her eyes and found Rom standing in front of her, his expression tightened with lust. “Finish removing my jeans, Amity.” He took another step forward, then another until she could reach him. “Take them off for me.”

Her hands reached for his already undone jeans, but her gaze lit and stuck on his broad, powerful shoulders and chest for several seconds before falling to his defined abs and thick, muscled thighs. Absolutely beautiful.

She reached for Rom, Remy’s hands steadying her hips as she leaned forward to push Rom’s jeans down to his ankles. She hadn’t had much time to explore Rom earlier. She planned to indulge her senses, just as she had with Remy.

Knowing Remy wouldn’t let her fall, she stretched to put her hands on Rom’s chest, petting the soft mat of dark hair on his chest. His chest muscles flexed and rippled beneath her palms and she had to bite her bottom lip to make sure her mouth didn’t hang open.

“Don’t stop there. I want you to touch me.”

The command in his voice made her shiver. “I don’t plan to stop. I’m simply taking my time.”

“Don’t take too much.”

“Don’t listen to him,” Remy whispered in her ear. “Anticipation makes everything better.”

She
liked
Remy. He made her smile. And smiles had been few and far between in her life recently.

Rom carried the weight of the world on his shoulders, a weight he seemed to have no trouble supporting. But her empathy sensed the deep well of rage and uncertainty that constantly bubbled under the surface.

Remy had learned how to compartmentalize. The only thing she sensed from him right now was his desire for her and the pleasure it gave him to have his hands on her.

Rom needed more encouragement to let go.

Curling her hands slightly, she let her fingernails scratch a trail from his shoulders to his nipples, where she raked across the tiny nubs and felt him shudder beneath her hands. Her gaze dropped to his waist, to the dark, throbbing mass of his cock. She couldn’t wait to have him in her mouth again.

Sliding one hand behind his back, she pulled him closer until her lips touched the skin of his taut stomach.

As she bared her teeth and prepared to take a bite of his skin, she felt Remy’s hand slide from her hip to her thigh. Then between her legs. She gasped out a quiet breath as Remy’s fingers began to pet her slick lower lips. No more than a whisper of touch but enough to make her bite harder than she’d anticipated.

Rom groaned and she pulled back, only to feel his hand on her head, pulling her back.

“No. I like it. Don’t fucking stop.”

Her pussy clenched at the rough sound of his voice, then she nearly toppled over as she felt Remy slip one finger between her lips and into her channel. He went slowly, as if afraid to hurt her, but she was slick and ready.

Impaling herself farther onto Remy’s hand, she began to lay a series of biting kisses along the rippling muscles of Rom’s abs as her fingers blindly followed the thin line of hair that led from his belly button to his groin.

She brushed against the base of his cock, his skin furnace-blast hot as she wrapped her hand around that thick shaft just as Remy inserted another finger and began a slow, torturous pump that stole her focus.

Her hands stilled, gripping Rom’s cock as she breathed against his skin.

Rom groaned, putting one hand over hers, urging her to continue. Liquid heat moved through her body as Remy fucked her with his fingers. So good. So—

“Come on, babe. I know you can multitask better than this.”

Rom’s voice, heavy with lust, stirred her out of the haze. Blinking, she looked down at the thick shaft only inches from her mouth.

She moved, bent her head, but had to steady herself when Remy flicked at her clit with his thumb.

The sensation buzzed along connections deep inside. Her body wanted to melt but she knew she had to hold on.

Even when she felt Remy’s silky cock nudge the inside of her thigh.

Yes
.

Her hand began to move on Rom’s shaft, urged on by his hand as Remy’s fingers continued to stroke inside her.

The rhythms differed and she gave herself over to them for long minutes.

Above her, Rom’s heavy breathing echoed in her ears, while she felt Remy’s against her neck.

Her own brushed against Rom’s cock.

“Damn it,” Rom growled, “suck me.”

Because that’s exactly what she wanted, she pushed Rom back to get the right angle to take him in her mouth.

Which she didn’t do right away. Instead, she licked around the head, listening for Rom’s groan. He didn’t disappoint. Lacing the fingers of one hand through her hair, he reached out with the other to tweak her nipple.

“You look so fucking hot, I could come right now.”

His voice spurred her to open her mouth over the head and take him in. Just the head, sucking hard until he groaned again.

Behind her, Remy’s fingers continued their slow plunge and withdrawal even as he shifted, pushing her forward until her knees were on the very edge of the cushion. His fingers continued their slow plunge and withdrawal. Drawing in a deep breath, she tried to take Rom deeper.

And moaned when she felt Remy’s tongue slide across her slick, swollen lower lips.

“Fuck,” Rom’s voice deepened even more. “Do that again and I will come in your mouth.”

He’d do that anyway but not yet. And if she wasn’t careful, she’d go over the edge too.

It was so damn hard to concentrate while Remy made a feast of her, but she forced herself to give Rom at least enough attention to make it good for him.

And from his response she must have been doing something right.

Rom’s heavy breathing filled the room, his vocal pleasure enticing her to suck him harder before she backed off to tease the head with the tip of her tongue.

With her eyes closed, she imagined how they must look, the three of them naked and in such a carnal act. Heat flashed through her, threatening her resolve.

No. She’d hold on as long as she could. Remy and Rom made her feel too good to want it to end quickly.

The scent of sex warmed the air around them. Remy had a masterful way with his tongue and lips, stroking, penetrating. Nipping. Destroying her control as she tried to do the same to Rom.

When Rom finally reached his breaking point, she nearly cried out in relief.

“Remy. Do it now. Take her.”

She barely understood what Rom had said but she felt Remy shift behind her again, felt his hands grab her hips.

In the next second, she was impaled on his cock. Spread wide enough to burn.

Crying out, she felt Rom pull away as Remy settled her more fully on his lap. Remy allowed her only a few seconds to adjust the fullness, to the wonderful thickness of him, before he started to fuck her slow and easy.

Her hands fell to Remy’s knees but she had no need to steady herself. He held her tight, even as his hips thrust in a strong rhythm. She let herself fall under his spell then, her eyes closing and her pussy tightening around him with every stroke.

So close…

Her head tilted back but it wasn’t long before Rom cupped her cheek with a demanding hand. She opened her eyes and got caught in Rom’s blazing hot gaze. For several seconds, he held hers as Remy lifted her on and off his cock.

Rom liked what he saw. Glancing down, she saw his other hand wrapped around his cock, stroking himself. The sight of that deep red cockhead disappearing into his fist then reappearing made her mouth water.

When she glanced up again, her body on the very edge of orgasm, she knew he saw exactly what she’d wanted him to see.

Taking that small step forward, Rom used the hand wrapped around his cock to angle it perfectly for her mouth.

“So hot. So hot.”

The words became a chant as Rom began to fuck her mouth in an alternate rhythm to Remy.

She felt her power rise, but she sought more. Behind her, Remy leaned forward to press an openmouthed kiss to her shoulder before he spoke in her ear.

“Are you close?”

She pulled off Rom for just a second. “Gods, yes. Don’t stop.”

“Not planning to. You feel amazing.”

It was too much. The sound of Remy’s voice in her ear. Rom’s taste flooding her senses. The scent of the two men loving her.

Her Goddess power, normally a quiet, warm well deep inside her, began to swell and spread throughout her body. Making every one of her senses sharpen to a fine point between pleasure and pain.

She broke first.

Her sheath clenched around Remy as she convulsed in an orgasm so fierce, she saw stars behind her eyelids.

Moaning, she felt Rom grab her head to steady her. Or maybe he just wanted to hold her steady as he came down her throat.

The rush nearly knocked her unconscious as the power coming from the two men flooded into her. It filled her, made her shiver and shake until she thought she might overload. There was too much. She couldn’t process it, couldn’t hold on to it.

Luckily Remy had a good hold on her because, when she finally broke, she didn’t hit the floor.

Amity could barely open her eyes, she was so sated.

And warm. So warm.

Lying between two male bodies giving off so much heat, she should have been uncomfortable. Instead, she wanted to rub up against them like a cat.

As she was pretty sure she’d done so all night after she’d nearly OD’d on sexual energy.

She’d never imagined she could do that. Never came close before.

Perhaps it was a result of being obsolete. Or maybe it had more to do with Remy and Rom.

Sweet Mother Goddess. She’d never felt anything like that. Not in all the many centuries of her life.

Last night, she felt as if she’d been struck by one of Uni’s lightning bolts. The patriarch of the Etruscan deities had been known to occasionally let them fly at his children. Usil, the Sun God, had been a frequent target, but Nortia had gotten singed a couple of times for her sharp tongue.

Of course, that had been before the
Involuti
, the five founding deities of the Etruscan pantheon, had retreated to
Invol
, barring the gate behind them and leaving their children to exist on the mortal plane.

An old sorrow hit her, one that always brought her close to tears. But not now. Not when she felt so much power flowing through her blood, nearly equal to what she remembered from her heyday.

Her skin tingled with excitement—and her sex pulsed, clenching. Amazing didn’t begin to cover her feelings.

Drawing in a deep breath rich with the men’s unique scents and the smell of sex, she let her eyes drift closed once again.

“You seem… happy.”

The male voice held no menace and Amity, floating somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, smiled, although she had no idea who might be talking to her in her mind. Most likely it was a dream. “I am.”

“Why?”

“Because I had an amazing night and soon I’ll be able to help two people who desperately need it.”

“And why would you do that?”

The genuine curiosity in that voice gave her pause. Whoever she was speaking with sounded like an adult but asked questions like a child. “Because I enjoy helping people.”

“So you give your help freely.”

“To those who need it, yes.”

“And if I asked you to help me, you would.”

She frowned. “If I could. Are you in need of help?”

A pause. “I believe so, yes.”

“Are you in pain?”

“I guess that depends on your definition of pain.”

That didn’t sound at all like a child, and she felt her teeth sink into her bottom lip, worrying the flesh. She still didn’t sense any menace, even though she couldn’t see a thing. Which should have made sense, considering her eyes were closed.

It was her turn to pause. “Who is this?”

“Are you happy in your life, Amity?”

The first prickle of fear rolled up her spine. “How do you know my name?”

“Would you deny me the chance to find my own happiness?”

“Why would I do that? I don’t even know who you are.”

“Yes. You do. You just don’t want to believe.”

Her breath froze in her lungs, which began to burn as her heart pounded. “Charun.”

“Ah.” The voice actually sounded pleased. “Now we’re on the same page.”

“How did you find me?”

“It wasn’t difficult, honestly. Not when I knew what I was looking for. And I had help. Hinthial can be… accommodating. Then the power surge you recently experienced drew me straight to you.”

Tinia’s teat. She’d given herself away.

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m still locked away in Aitás.”

He sounded so bitter about that, and it freaked her out even more.

She should rip herself back to consciousness but she knew the opportunity to speak to Charun was too good. If she could find out what he wanted, why he was hunting goddesses…

“Why did you send demons after Tessa and Lucy? And why send one after me?”

He paused long enough that she wondered if he wasn’t going to answer.

Finally, he said, “You killed Thufltha.”

That must have been the demon from last night. “Why did you send it after me?”

“Maybe I just wanted to talk to you.”

“We’re talking now. What do you want?”

A cold agony slid through her mind. Just a brief flash that was gone in an instant. So brief, she almost wondered if she’d imagined it. Fear made her skin crawl, and part of her brain began to fight against the tide of sleep.

“What if I want only what you and our brothers and sisters have?”

“And what’s that?”

“Can you be so dense, baby sister?”

Coming from any other man, the term might have sounded like an endearment. Coming from the God of the Underworld, well… It wasn’t exactly menacing, but it wasn’t warm and fuzzy either.

“I guess I must be, because I have no idea,” she said. “Tell me what you want, Charun. What would make you murder your sisters?”

“I haven’t murdered anyone.”

“Then where’s Mlukukh?”

Another pause, so long she thought he’d gone. Then finally, “I want out.”

She shivered at the hard edge of desperation in his deep voice and didn’t know how to respond. She had the irrational, but almost overwhelming, urge to ease his pain. He had so much of it.

But the rational part of her mind wanted to rip out of this dream before she didn’t have the strength and might never again wake.

“You can’t leave.” She kept her voice soft and easy, not wanting to anger him further. “You know that will upset the balance. The souls of the dead are tied to you. Culsu commands the gate but you… If you leave—”

“At one time,” he cut her off, “that argument would have swayed me. No longer.”

“Charun—”

“Why should I be the only one banished to this plane?” His tone grew colder, harder. “No one understands.”

She held onto her calm with everything she could muster. “Then explain. What do you want?”

“I want what I’ve been denied all these millennia. What you and the rest have taken for granted.”

“And what is that?”

“Freedom. And rest assured, I will get it.”

If she hadn’t been assured of Charun’s intentions up to this point, she never would have doubted his intentions when he said those last four words.

She woke, gasping for air.

Sitting straight up on the bed, she choked in deep breaths, heart pounding almost painfully against her ribs.

“Hey, you okay?”

She barely heard Remy’s sleepy voice through the rush of blood in her ears and when she didn’t answer right away, she felt the bed shift as he sat up.

“Amity, what’s wrong?”

The low growl of his voice was tempered with genuine concern, and she turned toward him, winding her arms around his waist and sighing in relief as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and drew her closer.

“Hey, what happened? Come on, babe. Tell me.”

Her lips curved in a surprised smile. She’d never had anyone call her babe. She had to admit she kind of liked it.

Sure, she’d had men hit on her. Lots of men, actually. But none of them had made her blood heat the way Remy and Rom did.

“Charun. He came to me.”

“
What?
” His arms tightened around her, so much so it was almost hard to breathe. And she liked that too. “How?”

“He said he had help from Hinthial. But…”

“But what?”

“But I don’t believe Hinthial would do that. She knows what Charun has been trying to do. She knows he’s been hunting goddesses for their power. I don’t believe she would just give him information that would lead him straight to me.”

“Are you sure you can trust her?”

Amity turned toward Rom, lying on his back, hands behind his head, his gaze steady on hers. He almost looked relaxed. But those dark eyes hid so much.

“Yes. If he says Hinthial helped him, it probably means he’s taken her powers. And if that’s true then we’re all screwed because Hinthial remained strong.”

“Hinthial is the Goddess of the Spirit, right?” Remy’s voice drew her attention back to him.

“Yes. She guides souls to the Underworld after death. But she’s also able to navigate through the sleep plane because it’s the closest to death a person gets without actually being dead. It’s where the soul goes when the body’s sleeping.”

“So now Charun knows where you are?” Remy said.

She shook her head. “No, not exactly. But his connection with me on the dream plane will make it easier for him to track me down.”

Remy and Rom exchanged a glance before pinning her with remarkably similar stares.

“How easy?” they said in unison.

Her mouth twitched but she quickly got it under control. These men wouldn’t understand why she was smiling at their obvious concern for her. “Not that easy. I mean, Charun probably suspects that I’m in eastern Pennsylvania. It’s not a huge stretch, considering most of the Etruscans relocated to this area. But if he plans to send another demon after me, he has to be careful. The demons don’t have the necessary magic to disguise themselves as anything remotely human, so they have to get close enough to contain me and take me back to Charun.”

“The demon last night almost had you,” Remy pointed out. “Who’s to say that one didn’t tell all the others where you were?”

“Because they don’t play well with others. They’re solitary and territorial. I don’t think you have to worry about another demon showing up, at least not for a little while.”

But she had a new fear forming. If Charun could navigate the dream plane, he might be able to interact with other Etruscans and track her, or any of the other goddesses, that way.

And when he caught her, he would consume her powers. And she would cease to exist.

“Your expression doesn’t exactly scream ‘no worries.’” Rom’s voice held a sharp edge that belied his calm expression.

She tried to wipe away the anxiety that flooded her system. “Sorry. I don’t mean to burden you both with all of this.”

“Amity, you’re not a burden.” Rom laid one huge, warm hand on her shoulder.

She tried to hide the flash of arousal that flooded her body, but they were
lucani
. They could scent the rush of moisture between her thighs. Even though she continued to shake with fear.

She wanted to forget the fact that Charun invaded her dreams and concentrate on the strength of Rom’s arms or the way Remy kissed.

But she couldn’t. She needed to get in touch with her sister goddesses, see if they’d had any dreams of talking to Charun. She didn’t know if she’d be able to contact Tessa. She and her mate, Cal, had taken to wandering. The last she’d heard, they were in Europe, most likely Tuscany. Lucy and Brandon, however, remained in the area.

She’d call Nortia, who she knew was almost always in town, and she’d try to reach Artumes, though who knew if she’d be able to pin down the elusive Mistress of Animals.

Same went for the Lasae. At one time, the four goddesses had been the handmaidens of Turan, Goddess of Love and Beauty. Today… well, no one really knew what they were up to. The last she’d heard of their whereabouts, they’d been working the Southern beauty pageant circuit, but that had to be at least five or six years ago.

“Amity, are you okay?”

She smiled, the motion coming more easily at the genuine concern she heard in Remy’s voice.

“Yes. I’m fine. But thank you for asking. And now I’m afraid I must ask you for one more favor.”

“Of course,” Remy said. “Anything you need.”

Oh, she wanted so much more from them than one night. But she didn’t have any right to demand they stay with her.

She knew they wanted to continue their search for those who’d killed their families. She didn’t want to interfere in that.

Still, wouldn’t it be nice to wake up warm and safe between these two men again?

“I could use a ride home.”

***

Rom drove, only because Remy had the good sense to realize he might scare the shit out of their goddess if he got behind the wheel.

Remy liked to drive fast. Really fast. In a different life, he might’ve been a drag racer. Or a getaway-car driver.

So Rom got behind the wheel of his sedate, but powerful, Mercedes, and Remy let Amity sit in the front seat, ostensibly because he was being a gentleman. In reality, Rom knew Remy was watching their backs for anyone who might try to sneak up on them.

She settled into the leather passenger seat, aimed an indirect smile at both of them, then stared out the window with a sigh.

A quick glance into the back seat at Remy and he knew his cousin wasn’t fooled either. Something was wrong.

“Amity, are you sure you’re okay?” Rom asked about five minutes after they’d left. He’d heard her stifle several sighs and she couldn’t seem to sit still.

She’d given him another distracted smile and nodded. “I’m fine.”

Right.

If he didn’t know any better, he’d think she didn’t want to go home.

And it wasn’t like they’d forced her to leave. Of course, they hadn’t really asked her to stay either.

Hell, he wasn’t even sure he wanted her to stay. She was a temptation he didn’t need. But Remy…

He checked the rearview mirror and saw Remy frowning hard at the back of her head.

Remy didn’t look ready to give her up. This situation had all the makings of a clusterfuck. Remy had feelings for Amity. Rom could sense them like they were his own. Remy was already trying to figure out a way to get Amity to agree to let them stay with her.

And that would be one
giant
clusterfuck. Because Rom wouldn’t leave Remy, not now that he knew Remy planned to go after the
Mal
.

Not that Rom wasn’t all for going after the bastards who’d hired the demon to kill their families. He’d gladly focus his still-untapped rage at another target, and the
Mal
were next on the list.

But he didn’t need the complications that came with being consort to a goddess, even one who no longer had enough power to save herself from a demon.

And one who made heat build low in his gut.

Damn
it, I don’t need this. Not now.

But
what
would
it
hurt
to
do
our
research
from
here?