Twisted Slumber Read online

  8

  Phillip

  I don't know if I'm going to be able to remain in control of myself and my dragon with Aurora so willing to share a bed with both of us. The strange part of it all is that it feels right, being three instead of two. All the jealousy I'd been feeling seems to have evaporated the moment she told us she wanted us both. I never thought I would share a woman with another man. I definitely didn't think it would be Mal. But as she stands before me, naked and beautiful, I have no doubt that this is where I need to be. Right here. Right now. She's mine, but more importantly, I am hers. Just as Mal is. My dragon threatens to break free, the mark on my chest pulsing with pain and insistence. I know Mal is feeling the same, I can see it in the ever-changing colors of his mark.

  "You're more perfect than I imagined." My words are rough, tight with need. She doesn't take her gaze from mine as she steps toward me and reaches for my belt buckle. Aurora opens my trousers and shoves them to the floor, along with my boxers leaving me exposed and aching for her. I don't let my focus leave her. Mal can share her with me, but there is nothing between the two of us. It's not an option, and I know it's not on his mind. I do see him in my periphery though. He's still clad in his boxers, a hungry look in his eyes as he stares at her. I don't blame him; she's gorgeous.

  Aurora glances over her shoulder at Mal, and jealousy doesn't rear its head when she reaches for him. In fact, I want him to bring her pleasure. I want to watch them together and I want them to watch me enjoy them.

  "Kiss him, Aurora." The words leave my mouth before I can stop them. "Let me look at you while you're finding enjoyment in his arms."

  She takes her plump lower lip between her teeth and nods, leaving me straining and desperate for her. She walks the few steps it takes to get to him and, in the dim light of my bed chamber, I see nothing more than a woman and a man who desperately desire each other. I don't see my competition taking what should be mine. I see destinies intertwined. The soft glow of the light casts shadows on her perfect curves, making her appear as though she isn't even real. And when she slides her hand up his chest and he moans before catching her hair in his hand, I swear I can feel it just as he does. She kisses him deeply, her breasts pressed against his chest, her soft sighs a promise of the sounds I'm going to pull from her as well. I can't wait. I walk toward them, closing the distance between us, before I slide my palms over her bare back and press my hard erection against her ass.

  I lean in and whisper, "This will be mine tonight."

  She shivers, her whole body breaking out with a tremble of anticipation. Then she looks over her shoulder, smiling, and says, "Promise?"

  The husk in her voice makes my cock jerk. I need to take this faster and further. Our one time may turn into one night. I don't know if I can let her go without exhausting every possible position I can have her in.

  Mal wraps his hands around her waist and lifts her until her thighs are around his hips, arms around his neck. Then he takes her to the bed and lays her down. I've never been more thankful for a king size mattress. She's laid out in the middle, golden hair fanning around her, rosy-tipped nipples hard and begging for attention. The triangle of gold curls between her legs beckons me as well. What does she taste like, I wonder. Like honey? Like wine? like perfection? Mal positions himself at her side, but I stand at the edge of the bed. Gripping her ankles, I open her thighs and stare at my goal. She may have dreamt of me, and I her, but this is reality. I'm going to make memories that will last my entire existence. Even if that means only a short period of time. Because, if I don't succeed in breaking this curse, that's all I will have. A few short moments before death takes me and ends my line.

  Shoving aside the thoughts of what I'm supposed to do, I tug until she's at the edge of the bed, kneel, and place her ankles on my shoulders. She gasps and arches her back. Mal responds by pinning her to the mattress and pressing his lips directly atop one of her nipples. She moans, and I part her thighs further until I find I have enough space to do what I've been desperate to try. I taste her, and she cries out my name. Time and time again I bring her to climax while Mal does who knows what above me. I can't see him and I don’t want to. I'm focused on the perfection that I have at my disposal.

  Her thighs are trembling, and she's bucking away from me, begging and pleading for me to stop. I finally relent, a little sad that I have to move away from her delicious taste, but it wouldn't do to ruin her for the rest of the evening. Sitting back on my heels, I grin at her, loving the flush in her cheeks as Mal moves away. Her skin shines with a thin sheen of sweat; her lips are red from biting them. And her eyes are glazed and hooded. She smiles and trails a lazy hand through Mal’s dark hair. "You did that like you have something to prove."

  I wipe the back of my hand over my wet lips and smile. "Perhaps I do."

  Mal clears his throat and shifts on the bed. "Not to take away from this tender moment. But I'd love to have some time between our princess’s thighs before she is spent."

  Aurora laughs and slides her hand down his chest until she finds the waistband of his boxers. Her fingers slide under the fabric, gripping him and making him hiss. "You'll get your chance. Patience is a virtue, after all."

  I stand, and her eyes leave him and fall to my very insistent erection. "I am afraid I'm inclined to agree with him." I'm so hard it hurts, and there is nothing that can be done about it until she allows us entry into her body.

  "Well, then it looks like the two of you better get me completely ready."

  I nod and stride to the bedside table, opening the top drawer where I have a bottle of coconut oil ready and waiting, not for an instance like this, but for any possible eventuality that might require it. Oh, who am I kidding? I've been dreaming of taking Aurora’s ass since the moment I first saw her.

  "On your knees, Aurora. You can keep Mal busy while I get you ready for me."

  Her eyes spark with excitement. She flips over onto her knees, presenting herself to me as Mal positions himself in front of her. He's taken off his boxers and stands before her ready and willing. I don't hear him until he finally calls out her name. My attention is too focused on what I'm seeing. Perfectly round ass, shaped like a beautiful peach. I cover my fingers in oil and rub them up the crack before sinking one slowly into her tight entrance. She stiffens, moaning, and Mal moans in response. I'm sure the vibrations of her voice against his cock are almost too much to bear. I carefully move in and out before adding a second finger with more oil, until she's thrusting back against my hand, begging for more. Mal pushes her off him, gripping his length as he says, "Enough, I won't last."

  "Lie down," she says, "I want to ride you while Phillip takes me from behind."

  I love her dirty mouth. I'm going to fuck it someday. But right now, her ass is mine. I back away knowing that she's going to need a moment before she's ready. She straddles Mal, and I do feel a twinge of jealousy that he's going to take her pussy first, but, then I remember that she'll choose me in the end. I should let him have this. I pour more oil into my palm and stroke myself until I'm glistening and ready for her. And once she's fully seated on top of him, I climb onto the bed, positioning my knees between Mal’s open legs, and push her until she's leaning over him, displaying her perfect ass for my inspection. I watch her move up and down along him, the rolling of her hips enticing. And then with careful control, I press my crown to her entrance, and slowly, painfully slowly, I ease inside. She doesn't move until I'm fully seated inside her. I'm glad of it, because I don't know how much control I'll have. The tightness of him inside her pussy and me inside her ass is almost too much to bear. Mal hisses and says, "I can feel it through her. It's like nothing I've ever known."

  I run my hand up her back before leaning forward and pressing a kiss between her shoulder blades. "Are you all right?"

  Her voice is tight and tense. "Yes. I need you to move." I don't deny her, I can’t.

  Together we move slowly, making love as three, and it feels right. It feels like we're w
hole. She sits up, her back pressed to my front, my hands cupping her breasts, Mal’s around her hips. The three of us are nothing more than pants and groans, soft sighs and moans. And when she finally reaches her climax, Mal and I do as well. Both of us cry out her name as we feel her. When it's done, we lie there together, her between us. I play with strands of her hair as Mal toys with the swell at her hip, and she sleeps.

  I must drift off to sleep at some point, because when I wake, Mal is gone and Aurora is in my arms. She's still sound asleep, her breathing slow and even. I want to wake this way every morning. I want Aurora to be in my bed every time I close my eyes and every time I open them. If only she chooses me.

  Pressing a gentle kiss to her temple, I get up from the bed and walk to my attached bathroom where I turn on the shower and wait for the water to heat from cold to steaming hot. She doesn't move, doesn't budge, and for a moment, fear strikes my heart that somehow we caused the curse without even knowing it. But, from the open door, I hear her sigh and catch sight of her sitting up and stretching.

  "Did you have a good sleep?" I ask, the smile in my voice unmistakable.

  She smiles in response, then winces. "I'm a little sore. But it was worth it."

  "Fancy a shower?"

  She grins at me and her eyes sparkle, but she shakes her head and says, "I should go back to my rooms. I'm sure the girls are wondering where I am. We don't want them to think you kidnapped me."

  Disappointment curls in my chest, but I do understand. She'll need to ease them in to the fact that she's going to be staying here with me. They won't understand. "All right. But promise me you'll come back to me tonight."

  She bites her lower lip again, and I want to take it in my mouth and suck on it.

  "I promise."

  While the bathroom fills with steam, I stride to the center of the room where her dress is pooled on the floor, pick it up, and hand it to her. "I could make a life with you, Aurora." The words are heavy and meaningful, and I know she understands the gravity of what I'm saying. She cups my cheek before rising onto her toes and pressing a soft kiss to my lips.

  "I could make a life with you too. Both of you."

  My stomach sinks like a stone thrown into the middle of a deep, dark lake. A life with both of us isn't possible. That's not how Dragons mate. Her heart will be twined with one of ours. There's not room for both. I don't say anything. Instead, I turn my back and stride into the bathroom before closing the door and locking it. My response was not the right one. But it was the only one that I could muster. The sound of the bedroom door closing makes me heave a sigh of frustration. I don't know how I'm going to tear her from him. But if I don't, I'll lose everything, her included.

  9

  Phillip

  Aurora stands in one of our many music rooms, her long hair flowing down her back in golden waves. I want to run my fingers through those strands, wrap them in my fist, and tug and pull until she can do nothing but look at me. My cock hardens in my trousers, and I work to push away the need to claim her fully as mine. I'm not going to last much longer without her as my mate. But she has to come to me willingly. She has to choose me. That's the only way I can keep the curse from happening.

  Her focus leaves the libretto she was looking at, and when those crystal blue irises lock onto mine, I forget about my lust and all I can think of is the love already beginning to grow in my heart. "You are a stealthy one, Your Highness."

  I smile and stride toward her, needing closeness, needing to take in her scent. "I thought we were past formalities."

  Her cheeks turn pink, and she bites her lower lip. It's only a moment, but I don't miss the nervous gesture. In fact, her whole demeanor is tense, uncertain, even slightly wary. "What has you turning away from me?"

  She shakes her head, eyes leaving mine and returning to the music before her. "Nothing. It's silly."

  Closing the distance between us, I stand next to her and stare down at the pages open on the music stand. "Tristan and Isolde, do you know it?"

  “I’m familiar. Wagner isn't my favorite—misogynist and all that, but the story speaks to me. He didn't write that."

  Her arm brushes mine, and even through the fabric of my shirt, I can feel her softness. It has my Dragon waking, demanding I finish this. "Does it? Why, I wonder. Do you feel it parallels your own life in some way?"

  She murmurs softly, “Longing devotion's burgeoning blossoms, yearning love's blessed glow.”

  Her eyes find mine again. This time there's anxiety flickering within them. "Phillip, I —"

  "Don't say it.”

  "None of them end happily. Guinevere and Lancelot, Tristan and Isolde, Helen of Troy, all famous for their tragic fates, not their happy endings."

  Oh, if only she knew the true stories of those three. If only she knew those very heroines were all in attendance last night at the ball. Their tales ended in very different ways from the legends that made them famous. I feel the amulet the Siren Coven delivered to my study after their spell was complete, the heavy weight against my sternum, hidden under my shirt. Could I use this on her? Should I? They said I’d know if I needed it. That I'd understand the right time. But it seems like such an underhanded way to win her heart. With magic.

  "We can make a happy ending, the two of us." The words are just a soft whisper against her ear, but goosebumps breakout along her skin. "If you are mine."

  She sighs. "I'm… I'm very confused. About all of this. About you, Mal, why I feel the way I feel. The intensity of everything rolling around inside me is so strange and almost unnaturally strong. I have never experienced anything like this."

  All of that would've been wonderful to hear if she hadn't mentioned Mal. "I have to tell you something. I don't know if you're going to believe it or understand or will run screaming once the words are out, but I need you to promise you'll hear me and listen."

  "What is it?" She turns toward me, tipping her lovely face up, her gaze level with mine.

  "There is more between us than attraction, but Aurora, this is fate, destiny, a prophecy written hundreds of years ago. I am the one destined to break your family's curse. I am your true love, and together we can save each other."

  Her mouth opens in a small little O of surprise. "Excuse me?" She backs away, fear sparking in her gaze, and I know I've already lost her. She doesn't even know the half of it.

  I reach for her, but she flinches. "Aurora, please."

  "No. No. Did my father put you up to this? Is he trying to scare me into a marriage? It doesn't make sense. Why would you bring me here? We've known each other for years. Why all of this curse nonsense? You know I've been attracted to you since the moment we first met. You could've dated me like a normal man."

  "I'm not a normal man. And I tried that way. But nothing came from it. You weren’t interested. Your father, he kept me away. Those brief moments I got to spend with you were only because I managed to do it without your father's knowledge."

  "That's not true. He let me come here."

  "Did he? Does he know you're here?"

  I see the indecision flickering over her features. She doesn't want to tell me the truth. "Not entirely. He…thinks I’m at a wellness spa with my friends."

  I have to work to control my smirk. "He's not crazy. I know you think he is. I know everyone thinks he is. But the truth is, the curse is real, and if I don't stop it, it will take us both down."

  "This is insane." She throws up her hands and strides away from me. But I catch her by the elbow and hold harder than I should.

  "Get your hands off me. I'm leaving."

  “Aurora, don't leave. I don't know if I can stop it with you gone."

  She shakes her head and narrows her gaze, pure disgust coloring her expression. "Curses don't exist, Phillip. The sad part is obviously you’re so desperate to win, you chose to use my father's mental illness against me. I never want to speak to you again."

  She tears her arm from my grip and I have to release her. I won’t hold her captive
. That may be how the Blackthorne vampires do it, but I’m a Dragon.

  Glancing over her shoulder she says, “I would have made my choice sooner rather than later if you’d given me time.”

  Then she storms out of the music room, leaving me to watch her with no other recourse but to let her leave. I can still smell her lingering perfume even as I hear the sound of her heels ascending the stairs. Crumpling into the chair nearest me, I sit with my head in my hands, trying to figure out how I can make this work. How I can stop her from leaving me.

  A slow clap fills the air around me, and frustration and anger mix together. Mal’s voice grates on my nerves. "Well done, brother. You ruined it now."

  I jump to my feet and rush him, grabbing fistfuls of his collar and shoving him against the bookcase that holds our family’s music collection. "If this is anyone's fault, it’s yours. You should've left her alone. Instead you infiltrated her dreams, worked against me at every turn, and have ruined her and my legacy. All for what?"

  He grins, a low laugh filling the air. "Why, because it's my destiny just as it is yours. You seek to stop the curse, and I to cause it."

  I frown as his words roll through my mind. "What?"

  "My mother descends from the line of fae who cursed Aurora’s family. It's my duty to ensure the curse happens. It's my duty to take down your family."

  I suck in a sharp breath and release him, backing away. "No. Your mother loves my father. I've seen it. I can feel it from them. It's the only reason I accepted you."

  "And isn't it sad to know you aren’t the product of the true fated mate?”