Taboo Kisses (25 page)

Abruptly he left her, rose to his feet, and stepped away from her as he
pocketed the toy.
He ran his palm over his mouth.
“I’m going to
check on Maximus.”

Her rapid breathing halted
as she realized he was leaving her
. Smiling, he walked out of the kitchen. A sexually frustrated mate was not a bad
thing.
He’d witnessed her expression when Maximus wouldn’t complete the mating. He suspected
she felt rejected, but that wasn’t what had gone on. Maximus
wanted her to
crave
them
and their pairing
. A forced mating
could result
in
regret and resentment
.
A nightmare ending.
I
t wouldn’t be the first time something like that happened.

She
fancied
them,
while struggling to maintain control of her future. Nothing would be gained by her
reserved disposition.
She couldn’t have
them without committing to the relationship
.
One way or another
,
a decision must be made
. He and Maximus wouldn’t settle for a half-assed
mating
with her. It was
an
all or nothing
situation
.

***

Sameya
peeled herself
off the table
in slow increments. T
he sweet
friction of movement tantalized
, but not enough to get her off. A frustrated groan exited her throat.

Why’d Gabriel
leave
her clinging to the edge of a climax? Better yet
,
why had she allowed him to fuck her
and weaken her with an orgasm? They were in their enemy’s house for
goodness
sake
because of that siren flaw
!

Her reaction to them was insane. If she could have them filling h
er and pounding into her twenty-four-
seven, she’d jump at the chance. Sex with them was that damn good.

Wetness hit her thighs. Gabriel’s semen. She sighed. She had to leave them. No other
option presented itself. Those fantastic climaxes
rendered her vulnerable, which meant she couldn’t protect them either. That fact was
m
ade all the more evident by Gryphon’s abduction of them. He’d almost killed Maximus.
That terrified her more than anything else. She hadn’t worried so much about herself
because by the time she came-to, she was healed and ready to kick ass in reaper style.
But Gryphon—the bastard—would’ve succeeded in murdering Maximus if not for
the return of
her
siren abilities
.

Being
associated
with
her brought danger to their doorstep.
For their safety, she must
reject the mating
.
Enemies came with her job description
, and her mates deserved more
than a lifetime of looking over their shoulders
.

She strolled to the sink, wet a paper towel and pressed it between her thighs. The
coldness did nothing to alleviate her arousal, but was only effective in wiping away
Gabriel’s seed.
She shook her head. What messed up children they’d have if they were lucky enough
to conceive. Sirens never mated outside their species. She wasn’t even sure what magic
a half-vampyr-sire
n
or half-
siren
-were-tiger-shifter would possess. Would the half-breed be able to shift or drink
blood? Would it receive any of her siren skills?

Idiotic, fanciful thoughts. S
he wouldn’t have children with
either of these men. Nature didn’t
crossbreed
species. Never had to her knowledge
…but she couldn’t discount their ability to do the one thing no one but her mate could
do.
They gave her climaxes
.

“Hey, I hope these do.” Kat entered the kitchen and Sameya was thankful
for the interruption. And that
she hadn’t entered five minutes ago.

The witch tossed the bag on the counter and Sameya opened it to withdraw a pair of
jeans,
and
a black T-shirt that said ‘
S
in like you’re drunk on Micah Kool-Aid’. Whoever the hell Micah was, she didn’t know
. No undergarments were provided
,
so
she yanked off
the dress
she’d been
given to wear
.
The cotton
of the T-shirt
was soft, but
it
lacked the
scent of her mates
.

Next came the jeans. They were snug and when she moved, they scrubbed against her
clit.

Fuck!

Her hormones were out of control, along with her sensitivity to sensation. She’d never
been like this before. Was it because she’d found her mates and participated in their
perverted sexual activities? Would it ever get better or was she stuck like this forever?

“Thanks
for the clothes
.” She swallowed, fighting back the acute arousal as she walked toward Kat.

“I saw you and Gabriel.” The witch made an apologetic face
,
and Sameya groaned. “So I went to see Maximus while I waited.”

“I’m sorry you saw that.” She rubbed her temples. “I tried to tell him anyone could
walk in at any time.”
Not that she’d done anything to resist, instead she’d released his pants for him.

The other woman’s amused chuckle caught her attention
. Sameya elevated her eyebrows waiting for
the witch
to explain
. “Gabriel has a voyeur fetish. He likes for people to watch.
No doubt he’d have preferred I
observe
rather than leave.
”

Sameya shook her head. What a strange world she’d walked into. Atlantis was so much
easier.

“You want to talk about them?”

“No.” Girlfriends talked and Kat was their friend, not hers.

“Nothing you say will reach their ears. I pinky swear.” Kat grinned and made a crossing
motion over he
r
heart with her pinky finger.

Unsure what ‘pinky swear’ meant or why the other woman made the motions over her
chest
, she guessed it was a vow of some sort. “No. I’m not comfortable with your offer.”

Kat shrugged. “The offer stands anytime you need it. I’ve known the guys a long time
,
and I want to be your friend.”

“You ever sleep with them?”

The witch’s eyes rounded. “Well…um…”

Gritting her teeth, Sameya slashed her hand through the air in a ‘stop’ fashion. “Answer
enough. Because you fucked them, I can never be your friend.”

Knowing her men had been inside this woman made her want to claw her
heart
out
and then reap the bitch
. Which made no sense
considering
she planned to leave them.

“It was a long time ago, Sameya.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it does. I see the hurt in your eyes.”

“It. Does. Not. Matter.” She rose to her feet, intending to walk away.

Kat caught her wrist. “I’ll erase myself from their life. That should make things
easier for you.”

Was she for real? She heard the respect in
her mates’
voice
s
for this woman. She was their friend, no way would she ask them to forfeit Kat. There
was nothing fair about that. “I would never hurt them that way.”

The witch released her hold on Sameya’s
wrist
. “Yet you have no problems rejecting their mating. That’ll damage them beyond repair.
They’ll survive my withdrawal better.
”

“I
’m protecting them by leaving them
.”

“No.” Kat
shook her head. “It’s for your safety
. You’re scared to let anyone into that cold, dead heart of yours.” The other woman
pushed to her feet
and looked down on her
.
In that moment, Sameya hated being short.
“I pity y
our loneliness and inability to open your heart to l
ove.
I never want to know what it’s like to fear that much.
Gabriel and Maximus are the best men I know. Gentlemen. Honorable. Goodhearted.
Passionate.
And they would do anything for you; worship you, love you, while asking nothing in
return.
I wish they were my mate
s
.”

“I’m not afraid of letting them in.” But was that true? She’d never avoided anything
except finding her mate.
T
o discover she had two
, both outside her species, well…that did kind of terrify her.

“Oh, you’re running scared. And they have too much honor to keep you against your
will.” The witch made a lopsided grimace. “
You can have all the power in the world, but allowing fear to defeat you…
what a shame
.”

Incapable of listening further, Sameya snatched the map off the table, spun on her
heels and marched from the room.
S
he didn’t miss the smi
rk the witch tossed her before s
he managed her exit.

No one in Atlantis would look at her
that way
, at least not in her presence.
But as much as she was heartsick for her homeland, she didn’t miss
it
the way she should
. She was lonely there.

She entered the dining hall
where she’d left
Gryphon housed within the
steel
cage. Where he’d staged his whipping of Maximus. The bastard! He enjoyed inflicting
misery and death on those who didn’t deserve it.

As she walked toward the enclosure that contained Gryphon, she couldn’t help but compare
Atlantis to her gilded cage. She had men here that wanted her. There wouldn’t be a
single so
ul
in
her homeland
that would miss her.

Gryphon scuttled to the corner of the cage and watched her warily.
He had every right to fear her. She wanted to seek revenge against him for what he’d
done to her men. She could make death painful, or l
eave him catatonic in a state of unending agony
. But she’d do nothing until her Empress granted her permission. And they needed answers
about the
others that were involved in his terrorism
.

“I need information about the
coup you plan
.”

He hesitated. Was he shocked by an Atlantian’s knowledge? “I don’t know what you’re
talking about.”

“Right. We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” She could rape his mind with
her siren song and glean every minute detail he knew. But it was extremely painful
for the recipient. “I’m partial to the hard way.”

He must’ve recognized the anticipatory gleam in her eyes. “I’ll tell you everything
you want to know.”

“
Nah…I’ve changed my mind
.”

She struck with her song, and he jerked in the cage. Digging through the first layer
of his mental locks, Gryphon went into a seizure of sorts. The crate rattled as he
flopped about inside and foamed at the mouth. Compassion low, she ripped through the
remaining bolts like a scalpel sliced through flesh. His back bowed
,
and he shrieked. The evil of the man had Sameya stumbling backward.
Like the icky texture of grease his wickedness left her feeling dirty
,
and she doubted a long, hot shower would suffice to clean away the taint of his misdeeds.

Snapshots of his vile exploits flickered through her mind.
The families
he’d destroyed. The
multitude of
children he’d
culled to satisfy
his
pedophile fetish.

She wanted to kill him in honor of the innocent. It’d be easy to snap his mind and
take his life. She was already in his head, but Empress E’Neskha worked
with a different justice.

Visions of a
ll the women he’d raped, abused and tortured for his revolting
amusement
sifted through her. There were
thousands
of them
,
and he’d grown fat feasting off their agony
.