Moonlight Menage (18 page)

He and Duke were
sicarii
. They did wet work for the
lucani
king. They kept the secrets of their people by force and with bloodshed when necessary.

They were damn good at their jobs but their lives were in constant danger and Tira wouldn’t be able to help but see that with her Goddess Gift of
praenuntio
.

If she hadn’t seen his death eight years ago… If the three of them had set up house together, bucking all the rules of Tira’s
boschetta
at the time… If he had gone ahead with his plan to go to college and get a degree in whatever the hell he’d planned to get a degree in…

Duke could be dead because Nic wouldn’t have had his back all these years. Kaine, too, because she was more like Nic than he cared to admit.

Nic had no fear of dying. He only had a fear of not living enough before he did.

But Kaine… She didn’t seem to care whether she lived or died and that was somehow worse.

This woman who was stealing
eteri
for whatever reason… She had men willing to kill for her. She’d already taken Tira once. There was no doubt in his mind that the same woman who’d kidnapped Tira was behind the
eteri
kidnapping as well.

The woman had plans. She wanted to use the
eteri
for something the Etruscans really weren’t going to like, something that could expose them.

His people had kept their secrets for so long. And so much depended on keeping them forever.

Duke had been right when he’d told Nic their skills were needed here, with their people. To keep not only his parents and the legion safe but also the rest of the Etruscans.

The legion couldn’t afford to stand apart any longer. The
Enu
and the
Fata
needed to pull together. The Etruscan races had kept to themselves for too long. They needed to pool their power.

Didn’t the rest of the Etruscans see what was happening?

Or would they look away again, as they had a few centuries ago when the
Mal
had enslaved a group of
lucani
, forcing them to become beasts who killed for their masters?

Lucani
could hold a grudge a very long time. Some still blamed the other
Enu
and the
Fata
for their failure to intervene.

They couldn’t afford that grudge any longer.

Vaffanculo
, this shit made his head hurt.

Only Tira’s gentle petting made it better.

He stretched out his neck, wanting her to scratch… Ah, right there under his chin.

Damn, that felt good.

He wished he had all night to lie here and let her pet him.

But then he wouldn’t be able to kiss her, to caress her, to thrust inside her warm, willing body until he came.

As if she’d read his mind, her hands faltered then dug into his fur. Opening his eyes, he saw Duke had tilted her head back to kiss her, his lips fused with hers.

Duke kissed her like he couldn’t get enough of her. Couldn’t live without her.

Like he wouldn’t be able to breathe if she wasn’t in his arms.

Nic knew the feeling.

Sliding out from under her hands, Nic walked a few feet away and started his change. He forced himself to speed through the process, to recall his pelt until he knelt on the floor in his skin, the magic energy seeping back into the earth through his hands on the wooden floor and through that, back into the ground.

Standing silently, he watched Duke and Tira kiss, noted the almost desperate scent of Duke’s desire. The guy couldn’t seem to get close enough to her.

Nic knew that feeling too.

His jaw clenched and he almost decided to leave, to let them have this time alone.

But as he watched them, he realized while Tira had one hand curled around Duke’s neck, her other stretched out on the floor.

Reaching for him.

He took the two steps that closed the gap between them, his gaze following the fall of Tira’s golden hair down Duke’s leg. The ends nearly reached the band of her underwear where he caught the pale flash of her belly in the gap between her underwear and the hem of her t-shirt. Lifting his gaze to her breasts, he saw her tight nipples poking through the thin cotton of her shirt.

Dropping to his knees, he put his hands on her shins, letting his heat soak into her, enjoying the smoothness of her skin against his palms.

She’d sighed into Duke’s mouth when Nic had touched her and she reached for him with her free hand. He let their fingers entwine as he ran his other hand up her leg to her thigh.

He stroked her silky skin as he drew her hand to his mouth and slipped her fingers between his lips. He nibbled on her fingertips, felt her body squirm restlessly beneath his. Her hand tightened in Duke’s hair but Duke kept kissing her, his mouth working over hers with a deliberate sensuality.

Stroking his hand higher, Nic’s fingers brushed against the edge of her underwear. He felt the heat of her arousal, scented it in the air. It made the small hairs on the back of his neck stand up and his already-hard cock throb.

Releasing her hand, he used both of his to grip the tiny straps on the sides of her panties to draw them down. With a moan, she lifted her ass off the floor so he could pull them down her legs and out of his way.

When he had her bare, he let himself look his fill. He’d never seen a more enticing sight. The hair on her mound was just slightly darker than the hair on her head and she kept it trimmed short. She either waxed or shaved because her sex lips were bare. And glistening with moisture.

He heard the rough sound of her breathing as Duke let her catch her breath for a second as he drew her shirt over her head before he covered her mouth again. Duke’s one hand threaded through her hair again as the other drifted lower, to her breasts. He cupped one, his thumb and forefinger tweaking the tight peak, making her arch her back.

And making her thighs clench together.

“That’s not going to work, sweetheart,” Nic murmured. “Come on, babe. Up you go.”

As if Duke had read his mind, he lifted her off the floor and settled her in front of him on the couch. Widening his legs, Duke allowed Nic to spread Tira’s. On the edge of the couch, she was in the perfect position for Nic to put his mouth on her sex.

With his hand on the inside of her thighs holding her open, he bent close, breathing in her scent. His heart pounded like a bass drum, lust and love and desire tangled in a ball in his stomach, making him burn.

Above him, he heard Tira gasp and in his peripheral vision, Nic saw Duke’s hands cup her breasts while his mouth fastened to the sensitive skin beneath her left ear.

Her scent intensified, drawing him closer, closer…until he opened his mouth and settled it over her sex.

His tongue swiped through the juices seeping from her body, drawing her taste into his mouth, making his desire flare red hot. He’d thought to take this slow and easy. Not devour her. But all rational thought departed when she reached for him, sinking her hands into his hair and tugging him even closer.

The beast of his libido loosened its chains and he set on her like a starving man at a feast. He nipped at her clit, drew his teeth over the tiny jut of flesh and felt her thighs shake and quiver.

Her breathy moan cut off as Duke must have taken her mouth again.

Nic concentrated on driving her wild, following the cues of her body.

He licked and sucked, swiping his tongue through her plump lips with a light touch before thrusting between them to fuck her with it. He had his hands on her hips but he didn’t confine her at all. He let her push against his mouth, telling him without speaking how much pressure she wanted and where.

But as she began to grow frantic, her hands wound so tightly in his hair it almost hurt, he became more insistent, more demanding.

He wanted her mindless with desire, much like he was.

His tongue plunged deep again and he felt the tiny contractions of her pussy as she started to fall into orgasm.

Yes, that’s what he wanted. He needed to feel her body shivering in ecstasy, had to have it.

And when she did, he felt it in the snap of her hips as she arched and in the force of her thighs as they tried to close around his head. He continued to draw out her orgasm with his tongue on her clit until she must have wrenched her mouth from Duke’s so she could draw in ragged breaths.

Caught in the ruthless grasp of his own pounding desire, Nic rose to his feet.

“Duke.”

Nic didn’t have to say anything more. Putting his hand under her arms, Duke lifted Tira until his cock slid between her thighs. She immediately reached to position him and groaned when he settled her on the tip.

Nic watched Duke’s cock sink into Tira, the thick flesh stretching her, filling her. His gaze lifted to Duke’s hands filled with her breasts, Tira’s one hand covering Duke’s while the other latched on to Nic’s hip, drawing him close.

She opened her eyes to lazy slits before she leaned forward and kissed the underside of his cock, featherlight and burning hot. As he gazed down, she looked up and smiled, so sweet he couldn’t help but smile back.

Which she wiped off his face when she bent and let his cock slide over her lips and into her mouth. She didn’t take him deep at first, let her tongue rub against the underside before she drew back and let her teeth scrape lightly across the top.

Behind her, Duke held still, his eyes dark slits as he watched them.

She sucked on the tip, the suction of her mouth pulling on him, drawing his lust into a fine point of fire centered on his cock. Then she surged forward, taking him almost to her throat.

He tried not to move but when she swallowed, the movement caressed his cock and he lost control.

His hands cupped her face to hold her steady but he took over, fucking her mouth with a slow, steady rhythm.

Relaxing her jaw, she gave herself up to him and to Duke, who moved his hands to her hips so he could lift her just enough to thrust.

Tira gave herself to them, let them hold her up and take her, her body at their command.

Her lips clung to his cock, her tongue rough yet soft against his skin.

Gods, her mouth… He’d never thought anything could feel this good, could make him want to fight for…

His release surprised him with its intensity. He thrust and held deep in her mouth, her lips tightening around the base of his cock while she increased the suction. As he pumped his seed into her, he felt her moan around him, her hands gripping his hips as she too climaxed, drawing Duke with her.

The sound of their ragged breathing filled the room as they rode out the dizzying wave of desire.

When his spasms had subsided, Nic eased from Tira’s mouth and watched as she slumped back against Duke, her eyes closing as a tired smile lifted her lips.

Duke wrapped his arms around her and fell back against the cushions.

A good idea, Nic decided. Taking two short steps, he twisted around to sit on the couch as well, letting his head drop back.

Nic knew he’d never been as happy as he was at this moment.

If anything was worth fighting fate for, this was it.

* * * * *

Tira didn’t want to hear her cell phone ringing but she knew she couldn’t ignore it.

She wanted to. Oh, Blessed Goddess, how she wanted to.

Lying on the bed with Nic curled around her as she curled around Duke was like a dream come true.

The almost inaudible ping of her cell signaling a call from her home phone threatened to cut her heart out.

Part of the reason she didn’t want to answer it was fear. What if something had happened to her mom?

While she’d been here?

Fate really wouldn’t be that cruel, would it?

As her phone continued to ring, she knew it could be.

“Where is it, babe? I’ll get it.”

She heard resignation in Duke’s voice and, behind her, felt Nic stiffen.

It was only just after six in the evening.

Dawn was still almost twelve hours away.

“It’s in my bag in the bathroom,” she said, noting that it had stopped ringing. “My mom…”

“I know.” Duke slid out of bed. “I’ll get it.”

As he went into the bathroom, Nic’s arms gathered her close. “Maybe your mom just wants to check in.”

She nodded, hoping against hope that that’s all it would be. Even if the pit in her stomach was convinced it was something else.

In less than a minute Duke returned, her cell in his hand. It began to ring again as she took in the masculine beauty of his body. Ripped with muscle and stunning to behold, she wanted to run her hands all over him, kiss her way up the hard plane of his stomach until she reached that mouth. Duke was a man who knew how to kiss, was a master of it. And who enjoyed it.

Nic’s hands smoothed up and down her back, refusing to allow her body to tense. How could she when he made her feel boneless?

Duke stopped by the side of the bed and held out the phone. With a deep breath, she sat, trying not to shiver or sigh or in any way let the fear break through the cage she had it trapped in at the moment.

She pressed the button then touched the screen to redial the last number.

The phone barely rang when someone answered.

“Tira, is that you?”

Her heart stuttered in her chest. “Yes, Lais, it’s me. Is everything okay with Mom?”

“Your mother’s fine, Tira. That’s not why I’m calling.”

Confusion began to set in at Lais’ reluctant tone. Lais was never one to hold back on anything. If she had an opinion—and she always did—she told you.

“Then what’s going on?”

Lais sighed heavily into the phone. “Tira… A man showed up at the door today. He set off none of our alarms. It’s almost like he disabled them then marched right up to your house and knocked on the door.”

“What? Lais, I don’t understand. What—”

“He claims to be your father, Tira. And he wants to talk to you.”

Chapter Ten

Duke drove, Tira rode shotgun and Nic sat in the back.

Duke figured out of the three of them, he was the only one who’d keep his mind on the slick road.