Hyacinth, Scarlet - Craving Owen [Tides of Love 2] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever ManLove) (21 page)

Owen had never before been thankful for his degree in theater. He managed to school his features into neutrality and silently urged the man to continue. “You are our mate,” Sassaki said. “The other half of our soul.”

“Mate?” Owen repeated, his resolve to stay calm faltering. “Wait, what?”

“All shape-shifters have mates,” Hash explained. “It is the one thing that distinguishes us from other races. In spite of the differences between Sassaki and me, we figured out that you are ours.”

“For both of you?” Owen’s mind whirled. “But…Yane? And the others…”

He was being incoherent and he knew it. “I’m not sure if they realize,” Hash answered, “but they must suspect. Kyllian told me outright that he knew about me. As for the others, they can’t have missed the risks Sassaki took for you. Something like that is generally expected of a mating bond.”

Owen struggled to understand what they were saying but failed. For his part, he’d liked Sassaki on sight, and even if Hash puzzled him at first, he was drawn to them both. Was it all because of some weird force of destiny, or a chemical imbalance, or whatever caused this mating thing? It disappointed Owen. He wanted to believe that their relationship, however strange, was based on their own will and desires.

“So where does that leave us, then?” he asked, disheartened.

“Owen, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” Sassaki replied quickly. His tone sounded gentle, but Owen sensed hurt underneath the words. “We won’t force you, of course.”

“You seem upset,” Hash added. “Tell us. What’s on your mind?”

“I…I know we don’t know each other all that well, but I really thought we had something special, something true we built together.” He hated the trembling of his own voice. “I suppose I wanted to believe I could make you like me even if I am just a simple human.”

Hash’s eyes widened. “Oh, baby. You misunderstand. This is very true and very special. Fate does not simply push someone onto us. It is like a book that says what will happen but rewrites itself again and again according to our actions.”

Owen didn’t understand anything anymore. “If that’s true, where does a fated mate fit in?”

“A fated mate is the person whose soul most suits our own. He or she is the one who will love and understand us, no matter what, who will be able to protect and support us in everything we do.”

“And you think I can protect you?” Owen asked in disbelief.

Sassaki cupped his cheek, his green eyes sparkling like emeralds. “You already do, Owen. You brought us all together, even if you don’t realize it.”

Owen looked from Sassaki to Hash, taking in their earnest expressions. He’d never been good at accepting fate or anything along that line, but since coming here, his life had changed. The same way he’d trusted Yane, he could trust Sassaki and Hash, too.

“I don’t understand yet, no,” he said softly, “but maybe you can teach me.”

He didn’t mean it as a come-on or erotic suggestion, at least not as he spoke the words. Even so, he caught a flash of something dangerous pass through Hash’s eyes, and he identified it as arousal. All of a sudden, nothing sounded better than to have the two men touch, to really show him what they meant through their actions, not their words.

“Owen,” Sassaki whispered, “we need to know…If you want to back down, now is the time. If we claim you as our mate, you will be bonded to us forever. Your life thread will be united to ours. You won’t be able to undo it. You won’t be able to go back to the life you lived before.”

Owen crawled closer to Sassaki. He ached to touch the two shape-shifters but forced himself to pay attention at the same time. “The only thing I miss from Earth is Connor,” he answered, “and from what I hear, he’s mated, too. So maybe he and I have the same luck, after all.”

He offered Sassaki a smile. He probably should have taken more time to decide, but Owen had never been more certain of what he wanted in his life. Perhaps he couldn’t fully grasp what it meant to be the mate of a shape-shifter, but he was sure the two men would never hurt him or allow any harm to come to him. The only thing that made him hesitate was the thought of Yane, Alcharr, and Kyllian. He remembered the look of shock in Alcharr’s eyes and didn’t want to see it again. He didn’t want to feel like he’d betrayed him or Yane. “I want you to claim me,” he answered before he could stop himself. “But with such an important thing, I think it might be best if we wait until after this whole business with the crystal is over, until we can talk to Yane, Alcharr and Kyllian, too.” He had no idea why he added the wizard to the mix or if Hash and Sassaki would understand his request. Hell, for all he knew, they might not survive this damn situation. But, no. He refused to believe that. They would live through it, because they had too much still to do, too much to love.

He wished he had words to express everything he wanted to say. Thankfully, the two shape-shifters seemed to understand. “I agree,” Hash replied. In a flash, he was at Owen’s side and brought their bodies close. “I fully agree.”

They were so near now that Hash’s body heat burned Owen. He blinked, his previous decision beginning to fade. He ached to touch and be touched in turn. Heat flooded his face and he tried to move away, knowing that if he didn’t, he would end up doing something he’d regret.

But Sassaki stopped him before he could get too far. “Hold on, lovely,” he murmured. “Claiming is not the same as touching, as kissing. It’s a commitment. We don’t have to decide on it now, but that doesn’t mean we have to stay away from each other.”

Sassaki’s hands went around Owen’s chest, effectively keeping him trapped. “It’s okay,” he said. “You don’t have to be afraid.”

Owen opened his mouth, intending to argue with that comment. He thought about Yane and Alcharr again, then remembered Alcharr’s parting words. He took a deep breath and nodded. Surrendering to fear would only break what they were trying to build.

“Okay. Okay. I’m not afraid as long as you’re here.”

If he’d have liked to say anything else, he wasn’t given the chance. Sassaki pulled him in his lap, and Hash descended upon him, pressing their lips together. Owen’s body reacted before he could even truly grasp what was going on. He opened his mouth for the other man, greedily taking in Hash’s invasion. Sassaki’s hard cock nudged against his ass, arousing him in spite of the barrier of material between them. Owen wanted more. He wanted skin to skin, their naked bodies touching, moving against each other.

As if thinking the exact same thing, Hash’s hands worked at his clothes, ripping up the carefully chosen outfit. His lips never ceased their attack on Owen’s mouth. He tasted hot and spicy, a flavor Owen couldn’t identify except to call it uniquely Hash. He ravaged Owen, exploring every recess, taking no prisoners.

At the same time, Sassaki nibbled on his throat, strikingly sharp teeth sending combined pleasure-pain through Owen. The wyrm’s clever hands helped Hash with Owen’s clothes, and between the two shape-shifters, the material didn’t have a chance. Before long, Owen ended up naked in Sassaki’s lap with Hash still kissing him.

When the dragon finally broke away from him, Owen moaned in distress, not even sure what he wanted to ask for. Sassaki caressed his naked skin, his cold hands making goose bumps rise all over his body, at least at first. The touch soon became as heated as Hash’s, the warmth of their passion affecting Sassaki as well.

The wyrm flipped Owen over, and before Owen could even regain his breath from the previous kiss, took his mouth in a lip-lock that rivaled Hash’s in its passion. No, that wasn’t right. They were too different to ever be rivals. Where Hash took, Sassaki gave, sharing his very heart with Owen, a need so intense that it shocked Owen to the core. He trembled in Sassaki’s arms, for the first time acknowledging the true extent of their desire for each other. They couldn’t stop, not now, not ever.

Sassaki took his time kissing Owen, but Hash didn’t waste it either. His hands traveled down Owen’s back, massaging and caressing every inch of him until they reached his ass. Owen gasped into Sassaki’s mouth. His arousal skyrocketed, and anticipation filled him as Hash kneaded his cheeks, parted them, and rubbed his hidden hole. Even if he’d only just been with Yane the day before, he yearned to be filled, owned again. Did that make him slutty? He didn’t know. But right then and there, he couldn’t bring himself to care either.

“Look at you,” Hash whispered. “You’re practically begging for our touch.”

Owen couldn’t have found a reply even if his mouth wasn’t busy being taken by Sassaki’s. It didn’t help that the wyrm’s hand slipped between their bodies and zeroed in on Owen’s dick. The now-hot fist that gripped him tightly almost made Owen come on the spot.

Sassaki broke their kiss and met Owen’s gaze, his own eyes so green they were almost black. “Not yet, lovely. Don’t come.”

To his shame, Owen whimpered. “I really need to, Sassaki.”

The fingers rubbing at his opening retreated, and Owen heard Hash move around the room. “What?” he protested. “Wait…”

But Sassaki held him tightly, soothing his anxiety with butterfly-light kisses. In no time, Hash returned to the bed. “We don’t have oil,” he said in a frustrated tone.

No oil meant no sex. Owen had not seen the two men naked, but judging by the girth he’d felt against his ass while in Sassaki’s lap, he would have trouble taking him. A stolen peek over his shoulder revealed quite an impressive erection from Hash as well. Owen barely managed to suppress a sob of dismayed desire.

But Sassaki didn’t seem all that upset. Instead, he grinned wickedly. “We’ll just have to be inventive.”

Owen yelped as Sassaki pushed him down on the bed. He landed with his head on Hash’s lap and had the time to give Sassaki a confused look before pleasure exploded through his body. Sassaki’s mouth lowered over his cock, and Owen cried out as his lover took him all the way into his throat. Never once he’d felt such ecstasy. Sassaki didn’t seem to have any gag reflex at all. In fact, that might very well be the case, given Sassaki’s wyrm nature.

It was his last coherent thought, and Owen lost himself in the hot suction, in the skilled whirl of Sassaki’s tongue over his dick. Sassaki seemed to be enjoying himself immensely, and his groans and grunts sent delicious vibrations through Owen’s cock. Sassaki’s hands didn’t stay useless either. The wyrm’s fingers teased Owen’s sac, rubbing at the wrinkled skin. He briefly abandoned Owen’s dick to lick over his testes, devouring him with the ferocity of a predator. His tongue explored Owen’s taint, making him howl in pleasure.

As if through a dream, Owen heard himself beg, “Please, please…Sassaki…Please!”

Thankfully, the wyrm didn’t prolong the torture for much longer. He took Owen’s dick in his mouth once more and bobbed his head up and down the other man’s cock. Owen was on the brink of coming, close, so close.

And then, Hash’s sharp fingernails rolled over his nipples, tweaking the nubs of flesh. The bite of pain pushed him over the edge, and he found his peak, crying out his lover’s name in a rush of ecstasy.

Hash’s hands were gentle in his hair as the dragon held him through the aftermath of his orgasm. He was so dazed and comfortable he almost missed Sassaki’s following actions. The wyrm spread Owen’s legs wide, exposing his hole once again. His fingers, now slick, went straight to Owen’s opening. Owen’s eyes widened at the realization that the wyrm was using his own cum to lube him up.

Just the thought made his spent cock go rock hard once again. Sassaki chuckled and two of his fingers went deep into his body. Owen groaned, renewed need assaulting him. In spite of it, his body remained relaxed and he took the two fingers without too much difficulty.

Sassaki kept his eyes on him as he scissored his digits inside Owen’s body. Owen gasped when the wyrm hit his special spot and massaged the spongy gland. On instinct, Owen started to move, trying to impale himself on the fingers, seeking deeper penetration.

Much to his dismay, however, Sassaki removed them from his body. The next thing he knew he was being flipped on all fours. In front of him, Hash removed his clothing, exposing hard muscles, a taut abdomen, and a thick erection that made Owen’s mouth water. He found it hard to keep himself upright, especially when he felt Sassaki caress his back. “Go ahead. Suck him,” Sassaki hissed.