HerMatesEmbrace (31 page)

Linc’s fingers tightened on her butt cheek. Slick fingers
trailed over the crease before circling the rosette. She tensed a little.
Anticipation curled through her as well as a little bit of trepidation. She
didn’t know if it was going to hurt or how it was going to feel.

“Don’t tense and don’t clench, Cami. Not yet. Relax.” Linc’s
hand smoothed up and down her back in slow, soothing strokes. “Colm, give her a
little something to distract her while I get a little more of this oil on her
and my fingers.”

Colm’s mouth fastened on her clit. He began sucking. His
tongue flicked over it. She groaned and shivered. The heat began to tighten
even more and her hips pushed into his mouth, instinctively seeking more of the
torment. All thought and doubt swept out of her head. Her hands clenched on the
cover. Gasping pants tore from her.

When the slick fingers once again pressed at the tight ring,
she was too focused on Colm’s mouth on her pussy to give it much notice. His
tongue swirled and his teeth scraped. Her breasts ached, the nipples tight and
hard and needing a firm touch.

“Your taste and smell is almost there,
rah’ki
. Almost
right.” A purr rolled through his body and she felt the vibration against her
pussy. A shudder ripped up her body. “Soon, we’ll be able to claim you as we’ve
wanted.”

Linc’s fingers lifted, but returned, slick with whatever oil
he was using. A single digit pressed for entrance. Her breath hitched and she
stiffened a little. She didn’t have time to worry. Two fingers slipped into her
pussy, shuttling slowly back and forth. Her hips rocked. The motion sent the
tip of the finger at her ass inside the tight ring of muscles. She gasped and
froze at the unexpected entrance.

“Relax. Let it happen. Does it hurt or is it just a little
strange?” Linc’s finger pressed a little deeper before withdrawing.

“It feels different.” She struggled to find the right word.
It didn’t hurt, but there wasn’t the same pleasure as the glide of the fingers
into her pussy.

“You’ll enjoy it. Give her more, Colm. I want to feel her
squeezing my fingers as I push two into her.” Linc’s fingers withdrew and she
felt more of the slick substance brush against her ass before his fingers went
to the tightened pucker.

Colm’s tongue flicked at her clit as two of Linc’s fingers
pushed into her ass. Her muscles clenched down on the thick intrusion. The
stinging tingle burned, but it only increased the need roaring through her.
Especially with the feel of Colm’s fingers thrusting into her pussy. She
couldn’t stand it. Her body trembled. She whimpered, nearly to the point of
begging for release.

When Colm’s fingers drove hard into her, she came. Every
muscle in her body clenched and quivered. Her arms trembled. She collapsed to
her elbows. A strong hand clamped at her hip, holding her in place.

Colm kept pumping his fingers into her and his tongue
flicked over her clit in a wicked, dancing rhythm. Linc’s thick fingers slowly
mimicked Colm’s advancing and retreating. Her muscles clenched on those
fingers. She liked that small stinging sensation. It intensified every other
touch and that little edge drew her back for more.

Colm’s teeth scraped over her clit and his tongue dragged
over the sensitive flesh. The heat rose inside her fast and hard. She couldn’t
believe she already wanted more. Her head rested against Colm’s thigh and she
rocked back into the fingers thrusting deep into her pussy and ass.

“Let it go,
i’ma
. It feels good, doesn’t it? You’ll
see how right it feels when you’re between us.” Linc’s lips touched her back.
She felt the vibration of the words through her entire body. “Tell us how it
feels.”

“Tight, it stings, but good.” She forced the words out, but
closed her eyes and rocked back into their touch.

“It’s going to be tighter when our cocks are both deep
inside you, but you’re going to come so hard.” Linc kept pushing his fingers
deep into her. “Give me your pleasure again.”

Colm purred against her as if in agreement. The rumble
against her pussy set tremors rolling up her spine. When his tongue slowly
raked upward, dragging over her clit, her fists clenched and her body quaked.
She muffled her scream against the sheet as she rocked, riding and prolonging
the pleasure as much as she could.

“Wonderful and so beautiful, but next time, I want to hear
that scream.” Colm lapped at her one more time before relaxing back onto the
bed.

She clenched her fists as another aftershock ripped up her
spine. Gods, they did like to torment her. Linc’s hands stroked over her back
and Colm’s ran up and down her outer thighs. The caress soothed at the same
time as it stimulated. She slowly relaxed and rolled over onto the bed. She’d
just woken up and already she wanted to go back to sleep for at least a quick
nap.

“Time to get started. The day is passing us by and some of
us have extra energy and frustration to burn.” Colm patted her thigh as he sat
up. He grabbed her hand and tugged her into a sitting postion.

She groaned. That hadn’t been her idea. “You can go on
without me. I’ll be down soon enough.”

“No, you’re getting in a bath, cleaning up and going down
with us. Move it or I can give you a little encouragement.”

“Your bad mood isn’t my fault. I’m tired now. That’s your
fault.” She scowled at them, but moved toward the opposite side of the bed.

“We enjoyed it, but now move it. You’re coming with us.”
Linc nodded toward the door leading to the bathroom. “We’ll clean up a little
ourselves in another room. When we get back, we’ll be waiting for you.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The waiting for her comment hadn’t been a joke. At first,
she thought that’s all it was or they wanted to kiss her before they went
downstairs. After taking her time in the bath, she walked out with half a plan
to curl up for a nap, but found them sitting on the bed and waiting on her.

It didn’t stop there. One of them stayed by her side almost
the entire day. Normally, she wouldn’t have thought much more of it. They knew
she wasn’t going to run away or try to leave. She knew she had their trust in
that way, but she was a little confused. Tyson had said something about them
sticking close to her. At the time, she’d thought it was an exaggeration.
Apparently not.

As unusual as their company with her throughout the day was,
she didn’t really mind. At least not yet. At some point, it might get a little
annoying. Right now, she enjoyed the time with them. At least, she had until
one of their men came to get Colm. After an initial greeting and a significant
look, Colm left the room.

“Still not going to tell me what’s happening?” she asked as
she walked up the steps toward their room.

She glanced over her shoulder. Linc wasn’t thinking about
practicing magic or even her. Tension set his face in grim lines and his
muscles seemed tighter than normal. The muscles along his cheekbones flexed.
The strain grew as time passed. He tried to hide it and that only increased her
anxiety and anger. She couldn’t do much about him, but she could try to work
off a little of the excess energy it was creating.

It was time to practice a little magic. Earlier, Linc had
argued with her about it. He’d pointed out that she was still recovering from
exhaustion. When she’d said she was ready to practice this time, he hadn’t said
a word. Something distracted him from his overprotective tendencies.
What
could he be holding back?
Her anger slowly rose. She didn’t need to be
protected. Especially if what had taken Colm away from her related to Kynar.

“Colm went to help some of our men. There’s not much to
tell.” Linc shrugged and kept following her.

Such a lie. There was plenty he wasn’t telling her. Sometime
during the day, the intensity of his watchfulness changed. Although she
couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment, it had been before Colm left. It wasn’t
simply a reaction to the dangerous situation yesterday. She hadn’t noticed too
much change at first, but there had been times when one of them had left her.
They must have learned something then.

“Are you sure practicing is what you should be doing?” Linc
stepped up beside her and tangled his fingers with hers.

“And what do you think would serve the purpose of working
off some of the extra magic and energy caused by your stubbornness and my
anger.” She sniffed dismissively. Sex just wasn’t going to do it this time. On
top of that, the next time she was with them, she wanted to be with both of
them.

“I’m not being stubborn. You’re agitated over nothing. Colm
is safe and fine.” He smiled and his hand rested at the base of her back as
they mounted the last of the stairs. “Since you’re so riled, why don’t you show
me some of your magic? No trying that pulling spell again until we’re both with
you and you’ve regained your energy.”

She stiffened. Her mind locked onto those words. Colm is
fine. She hadn’t said that Colm might be in danger or hurt. As soon as they
both reached the top of the stairs, she stopped and turned to him. He looked at
her curiously and didn’t seem to realize that she’d gone from frustrated to
angry at his words. Glaring at him, she tried to find the words and patience to
speak rather than yelling irrationally.

“Why would he be in danger?” she asked, although her voice
sounded tight and the urge to scream still ran through her.

“I was just telling you he’s safe and that there’s nothing
wrong with him.” Linc’s eyebrows raised, but she could see the tension slowly
seeping into his shoulders.

“Don’t even try that.” She shook her head sharply and then
poked her finger into his chest when he took a step forward. “And don’t try to
distract me with sex. If he’s in a dangerous situation, I want to know now and
I want to know why you’re not out there helping him instead of following me
around as if I’m going to disappear.”

“More because you can’t.”

At least, that’s what she thought she heard, but it made no
sense. “What?”

“We want to make sure you’re safe. Right now, it’s too soon
after Laed managed to get into the fortress to take chances. Colm’s with our
men out searching for Kynar. We’re not leaving him free to cause more trouble.
After yesterday, we both feel better knowing that one of us is with you.” Linc
grasped her hand and removed her poking finger from his chest.

“
I
am safe. If Colm could use some help, put a guard
with me. I’ll stay with him until you’re back. I don’t want him to be hurt
because you weren’t there if he needs help.” She lifted her chin. She didn’t
need a guard with her all the time, but she was willing to have one if he needed
to go help Colm.

“They haven’t spotted him. They’re just following a trail
right now. Don’t worry.” He smiled and patted her on the shoulder.

She angrily swiped his hand off her shoulder. “Don’t tell me
not to worry. He’s my mate too! If he’s hurt in any way, you’re going to be
very unhappy for a
very
long time.”

Linc held up his hands. “He’s not going to get hurt. They
haven’t even found fresh signs today. If I thought for a moment they were close
to catching the
tamaurg
, I’d be out there helping. I want a piece of him
myself for all the trouble he’s caused. If it weren’t for his mistreatment of
you, you might not have fought the bond between us as much.”

“That might have helped me, but our joining wasn’t going to
be easy. Colm wasn’t going to accept me with open arms if he’d bumped into me
on the street and realized that I was his mate.” She frowned and sighed. “You’d
better be right. You’ve been warned.”

Linc smiled. “Let’s go and I’ll watch you practice. Maybe
even teach you a new trick or two.”

“Maybe? Definitely.” She worked up a wobbly smile and led
the way to the room. Worry churned in her belly, but she tried to focus. She
needed to be doing something. If not, she was going to obsess and make herself
and Linc crazy.

* * * * *

Cami walked slowly down the hallway. It felt a little weird
to be alone after having either Colm or Linc with her almost all day for the
last two days. Without their constant scrutiny and overprotectiveness, some of
the tension eased from her body. Danger didn’t lurk in her normal daily
activities. They knew it. Considering she was still trying to settle in here,
they didn’t help her cause much. Their presence definitely put a distance
between her and everyone else.

She headed toward the kitchen to get something to drink.
After the attack by Laed, most of the women had relaxed around her. Most. One
or two of them still glared at her and blatantly avoided talking to her. She
suspected there might be a few more women hiding a grudge.

Still, she wasn’t all that surprised to find one of them
standing in the hall. Surprisingly, she didn’t recognize the blonde. Not even
from her dreams. She didn’t know the woman’s name. Cami thought she might have
spoken a time or two to the other female, but couldn’t be sure.

The blond-haired woman started forward purposefully. “I’m
not attacking you from the back.”

“Lucky for you.” Cami tilted her head and looked at the
woman. She didn’t want to fight. She would if she had to, but this was
senseless.

“You don’t belong here.” The other woman snarled, the expression
twisting her pretty face.

The woman knew this wouldn’t work. She had to know. Cami
already dreaded the trouble this was going to cause. The woman seemed reticent.
She hadn’t immediately attacked. That gave Cami a little hope that they could
end this without making it physical.

“This isn’t going to make me go away. I’ll still be here.
All that’s going to happen is we’ll fight. Someone’s going to hear or see
something. You’ll get their attention, but not in any way you ever wanted.”
Cami sighed and rolled her shoulders.

The blonde jumped at her. Cami’s mouth dropped open. The
petite female had looked tense, but not ready to attack. The woman’s fist swung
toward her. Going on the defensive, Cami stumbled back. Her arm rose to block
the blow. The impact jolted up her arm, making it go numb.

Cami thrust her other hand forward. Her palm landed squarely
against the blonde’s chest, shoving the woman back. Anger rushed through Cami’s
blood. Her canines lengthened as the
tiron
inside pounced for control.
The animal wanted to rip and tear in response to the threat. Both to her life
and her claim on Linc and Colm.

Cami swung her fist. Her knuckles connected with the woman’s
jaw. The other woman staggered into the wall. Cami barely managed to keep
herself from using her claws on the blonde. The petite female’s hand grabbed at
Cami’s arm. Cami heard the ripping sound of fabric and then felt a dragging
pull across her skin. Fiery tingles erupted over her arm as air hit the claw
marks.

Cami shoved again, forcing the woman into the wall. Grabbing
a handful of hair, she slammed the blonde’s head into the stone twice. Cami
roughly spun the woman and shoved her face first into the wall. At least the
bitch was less of a threat that way. The woman’s hand reached back, clawing at
her. Cami caught it and twisted it up against the middle of her back, forcing
the woman onto her toes.

“They’re mine. My mates!” Cami hissed as she leaned close.
The
tiron
inside roared and raged, wanting to rip the woman open for
daring to attack and dispute her claim.

“They haven’t claimed you. Maybe you’re nothing more than we
were.” The woman’s voice was a little muffled and she sounded a little dazed.

Cami hoped the disorientation didn’t lessen the impact of
the position. She didn’t know if she’d be able to hold back again if the woman
didn’t learn her lesson from this fight.

“Don’t try to lie to yourself.” Cami growled low in her
throat, a rumbling warning that the
tiron
was close to the surface. The
urge to make sure her rival never again dared try this ripped at her, but she
held back. She was more than her animal. “This time I’m not tearing you open
and leaving you bleeding as an example. It’s not easy to resist the urge. The
tiron
wants your blood for what you’ve done.”

“How about I take her from your hands, Lady? So that your
temper isn’t pushed any more than necessary.” The voice came from the direction
of the kitchen, but she knew the man had probably come from the connecting hall
near the kitchen door.

Cami nodded and waited for the man to get hold of the woman
before she released her. As soon as her hands were free, she took a couple of
steps back just to put some distance between her and the woman. She drew in a
deep breath and closed her eyes.

The aggressive, possessive animal raged inside her. Cami
didn’t want to attack her again, but the
tiron
still saw a threat. It
was worse this time than it was the last time. She didn’t know why, either. The
blonde hadn’t touched either Linc or Colm in her presence or even been near
them when the fight started.

She spun and paced a little down the hall. Her hands
clenched and unclenched at her sides. Distance wasn’t helping much. A few other
men rushed into the hallway and took the woman away. Now that the blonde was
out of sight, the
tiron
settled a little, but still wanted to go hunt
her down.

She heard Colm’s voice first. Her head rose and she spun.
With her eyes locked on the end of the hallway, she searched for her two men.
She saw several men there, but none of the faces belonged to either man she
wanted. Finally, they rounded the corner. Before they even saw her, she began
walking toward them. Something pushed at her. She had to get to them.

Colm pulled her into his arms as soon as she reached him.
She clenched her hand on his shirt and rubbed her face against the fabric over
the hard muscles. From this moment on, everyone would know they were hers. No
doubts, no mistakes, no more damn women thinking that her relationship with
Linc and Colm would fade or end.

Female Santir didn’t leave a mating mark on their mates.
Although females sometimes bit during fierce sex, the bite mark didn’t scar as
it did with men. She wanted to do it, though. Possessiveness raged inside her.
She wanted everyone to know they were hers. Even if it was possible, she couldn’t
at the moment. Not any more than they could her. The herbs that changed her
scent messed with her sense of smell. They smelled a little off to her. But
even with that, she knew they were her mates and longed to take the final step.

The face rub wasn’t enough. She pressed against him and did
a full body rub. It wasn’t as effective as if she’d been in cat form, but it
would work with the sensitive nose of a Santir.

Colm gripped her shoulders as she stepped back. His eyebrow
arched over his eyes and curiosity burned in his gaze. “Is something wrong?”

“My cat’s a little stirred up right now.” A blush heated her
cheeks. She didn’t like the fact that she couldn’t really control this.

“I understand the feeling. I felt something akin to that the
other day. Feel free to rub on me all you want.” Colm smiled and pulled her
close again.

She held him tight for a little longer, but the need wasn’t
satisfied yet. There was something more she had to do. Rather, someone else.
Linc. She wriggled. Colm’s hands slid down her back and cupped her buttocks.
His head lowered and he nuzzled her neck and shoulder.

“There,
i’ma
, if I’m going to wear your scent, you’re
going to wear mine. Now go to Linc. I’ll go talk to Allesse and see if she’ll
tell me why she decided to attack you.” Colm’s hand on her ass gently urged her
over to Linc.