Guilty as Sin (49 page)

tongue. “I
‟
ve never fucked feathers before.” He tried for a mean grin, all teeth and

cynicism, but he was shaking so hard he had to grip the mug with both hands. “You

were a novelty, both of you.”

Lise chuckled like a man, deep and rich. “Rip the Veil, it was good, wasn
‟
t it? I want

to do it again.” A pause while her tail brushed over Michael
‟
s chest, setting a

featherpearl swinging. His nipples tightened in a searing rush and he swore, fighting to

stop his eyes sliding shut with pleasure.

Dax took a step closer. “Oh yeah. Right now.” His voice dropped to a beguiling

subterranean rumble. A big hand ghosted over Michael
‟
s shoulder, pushing the shirt

off. The Aetherii
‟
s face glowed with love and laughter and lust, and it hurt so much to

look that Michael turned and snatched up a pastry at random.

“Never averse to a fuck,” he said, balls tingling at the thought. “We all know I
‟
m a

featherslut.”

“You are
not
,” Lise said sharply. “Don
‟
t you dare—” She broke off, her fingers

digging into his biceps, holding him steady. “What the—?”

230

The pastry fell to the grass. Shit, how could he have forgotten? The tattoos! Michael

marshaled his resources. “What does it look like?”

“Rip the Veil,” said Dax. “It
‟
s a feather. Hold still.” Strong fingers tugged the shirt

off the rest of the way.

“Gods.” Lise moved close, tracing the silver plume etched on his left shoulder with

firm, gentle fingers, while Michael stood staring out at the candlewoods, the breath

stuck in his chest like a boulder.

Though he
‟
d been expecting something of the sort, he couldn
‟
t help jerking when

Dax pressed a burning palm to the matching bronze feather on the right. Then Lise was

murmuring something, her body sealed against his side, soft lips warm against his skin,

her tongue darting out to taste, and he could feel himself shuddering with reaction,

beginning to fall apart.

Without moving his hand, Dax bent his head to nibble a tingling trail along

Michael
‟
s neck from his shoulder to behind his ear. Soft and low, he said, “Why?” He

shifted around to lick at the corner of Michael
‟
s mouth. “Mmm. C
‟
mon, chick, give.”

His brain gone numb with longing, all he could manage was, “I— I—”

“You got them for us? Oh love.” Lise drifted her fingertips over the featherpearl in

his left nipple and tugged gently. The nerve-rich flesh contracted hard, a firestorm

roaring through his body to sear his spine and burn his resolve to ash. Despite the

emotional turmoil, his cock throbbed singlemindedly, so hard it ached.

Dizzy with rage and lust and terror, he whirled around, panting. “No,” he hissed.

“For me. A reminder of my own stupidity. To carry every day, every hour for the rest

of—” Abruptly, he ran out of air.

“The pain helped,” said Lise, her head tilted like a bird, her gaze steady on his.

“Didn
‟
t it?”

He couldn
‟
t look away. “Yes.”

Dax stepped behind him, bent and pressed a slow, deliberate kiss to the tip of each

feather. Michael clenched his fists, the skin tightening all over his body. “It
‟
s beautiful

work,” purred a deep voice in his ear, “but why didn
‟
t you get wings and be done with

it? Did it hurt so bad?”

He couldn
‟
t have formed a word to save his life.

“No,” Lise said slowly. “That would be wrong, wouldn
‟
t it, Michael?” She stepped

forward until the tips of her high breasts brushed his chest. Beneath the thin fabric of

her shirt, her nipples jutted like small hard pebbles. “A travesty.” Her cool hands came

up to cradle his hot cheeks. “Because you
‟
re not an Aetherii and you can
‟
t fly.”

“Yes,” he croaked, drowning in her clear gray gaze. “The feathers are all I can have

of you, all I
‟
ll ever have.”

Once again, the silence seemed very loud.

Lise
‟
s eyes narrowed and she dropped her hands. “That,” she said crisply, “is the

stupidest thing I
‟
ve ever heard.”

231

“Yeah,” growled Dax, joining her to glare. “It
‟
s
vranshit
.”

Michael
‟
s last nerve snapped. “Twister, how dumb can you be? Don
‟
t you get it?

I
‟
m no good.” His voice dropped to a venomous hiss. “I
‟
m a fucking death sentence.”

Dax blinked. “Not unless you return to Sere.”

“No, no!” Gripping Dax
‟
s arm, he shook it savagely. “Listen, you fool, loving me

gets you killed!”

Dax rolled his eyes. “For the gods
‟
sakes—”

But Lise said quietly, “This is about Tannio.”

All the breath punched out of Michael
‟
s lungs. “W-who?”

“Nice try.” Lise
‟
s lips quirked. “You said his name. Don
‟
t you remember? The night

at Bubba
‟
s, after we…” The hint of a flush darkened her cheeks, but she stood her

ground.

All he could do was stare, aghast.

“Michael, whatever happened, it was his choice and his alone.”

“My godsbedamn business, not yours.” Before he knew it, he was striding into the

trees, reaching out to brace himself against a huge trunk.

Behind him, he heard an argument break out, low and tense.

“We should ask him.” Dax
‟
s rich baritone rumble.

“This is hardly the best time.” Lise.

Dax stood his ground. “Will it ever be?”

After a short silence, Lise said, “No, I guess not.” He
‟
d never heard her sound so

weary, so ground-down, not even during the search for the children.

Michael risked a glance. They were standing very close, tails twined together. As he

watched, Dax tucked a strand of hair behind Lise
‟
s pointed ear, his touch so tender,

Michael had to look away. Rough bark abraded the flesh of his palm.

“We
‟
ll get there in the end, Lise. I know it.” He
‟
d be rubbing a big, warm hand up

and down her spine between the wings, soothing, reassuring.

“You never have any doubts.” She huffed. “Must be nice to be you.”

Dax gave a dry laugh. “Of course, I do. But they
‟
re more about ways and means

than the end result. I can
‟
t
not
believe in something so…good, so right.”

Michael stole another look from under his lashes. A long, aching pause while the

Aetherii stared at each other. Lise squared her shoulders. “Very well then.”

Michael could have moved farther into the candlewood grove, but what good

would it do? He had nowhere left to run.

Powerful fingers closed over his shoulder, squeezed then released. “Come sit with

us a moment,” murmured Dax.

“Fine,” he said. “Let
‟
s get it over with.”

232

They
‟
d spread rugs on the grass, tossed a quilt across them, a couple of cushions. In

the dappled shade, the vivid colors glowed like jewels. Warily, Michael sat, his back

against a sturdy candlewood trunk.

Tails clasped and wings furled, Lise and Dax went to their knees before him, side

by side. Dax shot Lise a sideways glance. “I
‟
ve officially lost my nerve. You do it.”

This close, he could see the gold flecks in the green of Dax
‟
s pretty eyes, read the

tension in his shoulders, the set of his wings. He lowered his gaze to a wall of golden-

skinned muscle, but that was no better because—

Lise had been speaking.

“Uh, what?”

“I said—” She laid a hand on his bare knee, and he had to fight the tingling warmth

that shot up his thigh. “Do you know what a Mating Flight is? How it works?”

“I can guess. You fly and you fuck. That it?”

Lise frowned. “That
‟
s just the mechanics.” She leaned forward. “Mating on the

wing is the ultimate expression of trust between Aetherii. It signifies a lifelong bond.”

“Congratulations.” His voice came out almost normal. “I
‟
m so glad for you.”

Lise turned to touch Dax
‟
s shoulder, her lips curving in a tender reminiscent smile.

“It was…amazing. Wonderful, but—”

She cast another sidelong glance at Dax, and pain spiked in Michael
‟
s chest. He

clenched his fists.

“It was beautiful.” Dax grabbed Michael
‟
s fingers, his grip almost cruel. “The only

thing missing was you. It wasn
‟
t…” He gestured with his free hand. “Whole.
Complete
.”

“You
‟
re not making sense.” Michael stared from one face to the other, the pulse

thundering in his ears.

“We want to do it again, but with you,” added Dax.

Michael rubbed his temples. “You
‟
re mad,” he said with conviction.

Lise licked her lips. “There
‟
s more.”

“Aetherii physiology is different,” said Dax.

“Twister, I
know
that. I—”

Dax cut him off. “Aetherii males have control over their orgasms.”

Michael stared.

Dax grinned. “Didn
‟
t you notice, the night at Bubba
‟
s? I came one ball at a time, not

both together like you.”

His mouth must be hanging open as he remembered, the memories suddenly so

vivid he could feel the velvet of Dax
‟
s scrotum beneath his fingers, one side tight and

hard with seed, the other…not. Godsdammit, no wonder…

“That
‟
s how we usually do it.” Dax inhaled deeply, his chest heaving. “Because a

full orgasm makes us pass out.” The sentence came out in a single breath.

233

“Pass out?”

“Only for a few seconds. So in a Mating Flight…”

Lise turned her head to nip Dax
‟
s shoulder. “The partner takes over until he comes

around.”

“In the air?”

Lise
‟
s eyes were luminous. “The ultimate expression of trust. I
‟
ve never flown so

high before.” Her wings flared. “But we did it—
I
did it.” Pride shone in her face.

Michael
‟
s brain spun.

Lise leaned in, grasped his chin in one hand and kissed his slack mouth. Then Dax

was there, firm lips trailing across his jaw, fingers tweaking the dangling featherpearls.

“We want that with you,” murmured Dax. “A Mating Flight.”

“Look at me.” Lise tugged at his hair, jerking his attention away from Dax. Her face