Jeweled (28 page)

“You’re so beautiful,” Gregorio whispered against her lips the moment before his mouth came down on hers once more. His tongue forcibly parted her lips and brushed up against her tongue. This man never seemed to ask where sex was involved, he just took. It was arousing beyond belief.

His big calloused hand found her breast, toying with her nipple. Then he dropped his head to her other breast, sucking the opposite nipple between his lips and rasping it gently between his teeth. Her back arched with pleasure and she pushed her breasts farther against his hand and mouth.

Forcing her thighs apart, he positioned his cock to her entrance and pushed inside. Her fingers found the blankets to either side of her and she gripped as her muscles fought to adjust to his size. He sat up a little, hooking the backs of her knees over his thighs so he could look down at her.

Anatol moved in on one side, kissing her lips and stroking her breasts, while Gregorio pulled out of her and then pushed back in. She panted against Anatol’s mouth as Gregorio set up a rhythm.

“Does it feel good?” Anatol asked, dropping his hand between her thighs. He stroked her clit as Gregorio thrust inside her. Evangeline suddenly felt delirious with pleasure.

Swallowing hard, she breathed, “Yes.”

“Are you going to come?” He pressed down on her clit a little more, while Gregorio picked up the pace of his thrusts, harder and faster, rocking her on the mattress. The first telltale skitters of her climax hit her.

Of course Anatol knew she was ready to come; he was the one driving her toward it. She nodded, gripping the back of his neck and forcing his mouth down to hers. Her orgasm hit her extra hard, slamming into her body and washing through her in wave after wave of mind-numbing pleasure. Anatol kissed her deeply while she came, his tongue mating with hers.

The muscles of her sex pulsed and rippled around Gregorio’s still thrusting length. Gregorio tipped his head back and groaned as his cock jumped deep inside her, releasing his seed. Her name tore from his throat in a guttural shout.

He collapsed to the mattress, panting, and pressed himself to her back, while Anatol snuggled against her front. Gregorio’s lips skimmed the back of her shoulders and Anatol’s fingers tangled in her hair as he kissed her over and over.

She rolled onto her back, wanting to give them both all the attention she could, but knowing that with two men concentrated only on her it was nearly impossible to do it. That was the reality of this situation.

Their hands roamed her body restlessly, as though drinking in sustenance from her skin. She explored them as well, her hands stroking Anatol’s rock-hard shaft and Gregorio’s partially flaccid one. They caressed her breasts, rubbed her nipples, and almost competed for time between her thighs, their hands bumping into each other.

It wasn’t long until her body was ripe once again and she panted with arousal. Even her climax sensitive sex tingled with excitement. Gregorio had also had time to rest and she recognized the telltale signs of his mounting arousal.

And Anatol needed some attention.

Evangeline sat up on the mattress and, pushing her long hair away from her face, went down on her knees over Anatol and drew his cock into her mouth. She couldn’t bear to leave him unsatisfied.

Positioning her rear toward Gregorio, she tilted her hips and showed him her well satisfied sex, glistening and swollen with excitement. It was an invitation she was sure he would accept.

Slipping her lips down Anatol’s shaft, she brought him deep into her mouth, her tongue running over all the spots she knew were most sensitive. His fingers tangled in her hair and he moaned her name. From behind she heard the sound of Gregorio repositioning himself on the mattress and then he was behind her, his body heat warming her and his fingers slipping over her sex, readying her for his cock.

He pressed the head of his shaft into her and she tensed against the thickness. Inch by inch he pushed inside her. Finally he was root-deep inside her and thrusting long and hard. His thrusts knocked her into Anatol, so she used Gregorio’s rhythm to help her set her tempo on Anatol’s cock. Her fingers curled into Anatol’s hips to give her balance. Anatol was suave in bed, but Gregorio was a brute—hard and rough.

Ah, this was better. Each of them giving pleasure to each other simultaneously. She opened her throat and took Anatol as deep as she could. Together the three of them moved like one animal, finding a rhythm that drove them all to a place of perfect, shared ecstasy.

Anatol slipped his hand down and stroked her clit—every one of Gregorio’s thrusts brought her up hard against his hand. She exploded almost immediately in a climax that made her cry out around Anatol’s cock. The muscles of her cunt released and contracted, milking Gregorio’s shaft until he came, groaning, a second time.

Anatol went last, his body straining. He called her name and then shot down her throat, his fingers curling into the blankets on either side of him.

Gregorio pulled her down onto the mattress and cuddled her against him. Anatol joined her other side. The two men kissed her and she kissed them back, limbs and lips tangling.

Sated beyond belief and wondering what the next stage of this new arrangement would be, she drifted to sleep between two strong men who cared for her, feeling safer than she ever had in her life.

Amazingly. Unbelievably.

Irrevocably.

 

 

Sometime in the night, she woke to find Anatol sitting in the chair of the study, staring into the remnants of the fire. She moved Gregorio’s arm that was draped over her waist and crawled over to Anatol, putting her head on his knee. Her body held a sweet ache from everything they’d done. Any time at Belai when she’d performed sexual gymnastics like that and had endured the consequences, she’d been annoyed. This time it was something she savored.

“Are you all right?” she asked.

His fingers stroked her hair. “I’m fine. I just couldn’t sleep.”

“I miss you.”

He tipped her chin up. “I haven’t gone anywhere.”

She glanced over at Gregorio.“What now? This changes everything.”

“For the better, I think. You need Gregorio, Evangeline. I saw the truth in that this evening. He’s going to mean much to you in your future, as much as I will. Gregorio needs you, too.”

“And you, do
you
need me, Anatol?”

His pupils focused on her face and his expression became fierce. “More than anything.”

She rested her head on his knee for a long moment while he softly dragged his fingers through her hair. “Why is it that you don’t think you’re enough for me?”

The fingers stroking through her hair faltered for a moment. “It’s not that I don’t think I’m enough. I love you, Evangeline. I love you enough for two men, three men, an army.”

She lifted her head. “So why? I’m not saying I don’t have feelings for Gregorio, but I don’t understand what it is that you think Gregorio has that I need.”

Anatol’s gaze skated to the bed, where Gregorio lay in the deep sleep of the sexually sated. “He’s much different than me, wouldn’t you say?”

“Like night to day.”

“There’s your answer.”

“I don’t understand.”

He glanced at Gregorio’s sleeping form once again. “What is it about him that you like?”

She rested her head on his knee again, articulating her thoughts. “I enjoy his mind. We don’t see eye to eye where politics are involved, but he’s always well-reasoned and well-spoken. I love his cleverness and how odd it is that his body seems so much better suited to a thug than an intellectual. I love when he loses his patience, which is often, how he pushes his hand through his hair the way he does.” She laughed softly. “I even enjoy how easily he loses his temper, yet I know that I can trust him. As hard as I might push him, I know he’ll never hurt me.”

Anatol’s fingers trembled on her head and she looked up at him again. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“You love him already. I can see it in your eyes when you talk about him.”

She frowned. “And that bothers you?” He’d pushed for this.

He shook his head, then nodded. “A little. It’s what I want because it’s the best thing for you, but I can’t say I’m completely willing to give up any part of you to another man.”

She shook her head. “You mystify me. I’ve never met anyone like you, Anatol. You’re completely—”

“Stupid?” He smiled.

“Selfless.”

He reached out and cupped her cheek. “Try to leave me and you’ll find out how selfish I am, my love. You’re mine. Now and for always.”

“Yours and Gregorio’s.”

“Yes.”

She laid her head back down on his knee and smiled. Maybe that wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

The next day dawned bright and unseasonably warm. Looking out the window of the town house in the morning and into the bustling streets of the city, Evangeline could almost imagine that the revolution had never happened. Everyone had taken to the streets in the oddly fair spring weather. Women in well tailored dresses made their way to the hatmakers or the bakery. Men hurried down the streets on their way to work. Children ran up and down the cobblestone roads yelling to one another and laughing.

She let the gauzy curtain of the window fall back into place and looked over at Anatol, who was sipping a cup of coffee at the table. “Maybe we should bring lunch to Gregorio at Belai.”

He set his cup down and looked up at her. “You want to go to Belai? Today? Do you think you’re ready for that?”

“The times have changed. Seems silly to deny it. It’s been close to four months since the executions and Belai is in the center of the city. I can’t avoid it forever.”

“So you miss Gregorio, then?”

She lifted her chin. “I’ll admit to an ulterior motive, but it’s not so I can see Gregorio. I’m curious about this Council for the People.”

His eyebrows rose into his hairline. “Ah.”

She walked toward him, dragging her finger over the smooth wood of a nearby table. The fine material of her gown rustled. “Like I said, times have changed.”

“All right.” He stood. “We can pack up some sandwiches and fruit and take it over to the palace. I’m sure it would be welcome. He works very long hours and rarely takes a lunch, as I understand it.”

She nodded and smiled. “And it’s a beautiful day.”

Not long after, they’d packed up their food and were walking through the streets of Milzyr just like everyone else. Evangeline had to remind herself that she didn’t have to duck her head or avoid anyone’s gaze. The threat of being recognized as magicked and executed was over. Well, almost over, anyway. The threat of the Revolutionaries still lurked. But, for the most part, as long as they didn’t flaunt their magick openly, they could live like normal citizens—whatever that meant.

Anatol caught her hand and brought it to his lips for a quick kiss. “Do you ever think of your parents?”

She almost missed a step at the abruptness of his question. “My-my parents?”

“Yes.” He smiled. “You know, the people who gave you life.”

“It’s just that ...” She sighed. “Yes, I do. Of course I do. I wonder about them now that I can feel again. I wonder if they’re still living, if they miss me.”

“Would you ever want to find them?”

She said nothing, only kept walking.

“Evangeline?”

She shook her head. “My answer depends on the day you ask me. Today my answer is no.”

“Why not?”

“What if they never wanted me?”

He stopped and turned her toward him. People parted around them as they stood in the middle of the street. “I believe they wanted you.”

Emotion rose up in her throat. She broke his steady gaze, turned, and began walking again. “From all accounts, they did. If it’s not true, though, I don’t know if I could handle the pain.” Before he could say anything annoyingly insightful, she glanced at him. “What about you? Do you want to find your parents?”

He took her hand again. “Yes. They’re not far from Milzyr. If I go, will you come with me?”

She squeezed his hand. “Of course.”

They walked in silence down the streets of Milzyr, both of them enjoying the beauty of the day and marveling at how much had changed in the city since their flight from Belai on that cold winter’s day. It seemed so long ago. The city seemed to have a lighter feel to it now that the commoners were under their own rule, or maybe it was the lightness in her own being that she was reflecting out into the world. She’d gone through hell since her ability to feel had flooded back into her. She’d thought that emotions would only ever bring her pain, but now she found they brought majesty, too, warmth to her soul, happiness, love, contentment—all very good reasons to live.

They turned down a corner and Evangeline braced herself for the sight of Belai rising at the end of the block, the midmorning sun glinting from behind the spiraling white and gold structure. She’d always thought Belai the most beautiful building in the city, a place of richness and culture. Now she knew that it was only the noble-blooded and the J’Edaeii who’d ever thought of it in those terms. For everyone else—the majority—it had been an uncaring place of oppression and torment.