ClosertoFire (13 page)

Lily roused in Darek’s arms, eyeing the inviting bed. “Wow.
That looks absolutely scrumptious,” she said, turning at the waist as she
looked around the room in awe then wincing, frowning up at Darek suspiciously.
“You left that toy in my…”

Darek gave her a wicked smile. “And you didn’t notice it
until now, did you? Don’t worry—the discomfort will lessen as you get used to
it.”

“Used to it?” she repeated, wriggling in an effort to get
down.

Darek held her tight. “Be
still
, Lily.
Now.
”
She stopped struggling, her eyes wide. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself,” he
added, his voice softer.

“Lily,” Bane said, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge
of his nose, “you agreed to do
your very best
to do
exactly
as we
said. Which means that unless you want to stop for tonight, the plug stays in a
while longer.”

She stilled, looking up at Darek, whose gaze was carefully
blank. She’d find no sympathy there, Bane thought ruefully. Darek was a more
demanding Dominant than Bane had ever been.

She pursed her lips, a hint of belligerence in her eyes.
“How
much
longer?”

“Until I decide it’s time to take it out,” Bane answered,
his voice lowering as he closed the distance between himself and Darek. He
tipped up her chin with one knuckle and spoke his next words directly over her
lips, “And replace it with a bigger one—or my cock.”

She whimpered, framing his face in her hands, parting her
lips to accept his exploring tongue. He broke the kiss quickly, wanting to
leave her hungry.
Mission accomplished
, he thought, returning her
frustrated gaze levelly. The small victory came at a price though—his balls
were aching.

Lily wanted down—she wanted badly to look around the opulent
room—but she curled against Darek’s chest instead. Maybe it was for the best.
She wasn’t sure how well she could walk with the plug in anyway. Following
Bane, Darek carried her through the main room and into another side room.

“Wow,” she murmured. At first she thought they’d somehow
gone from the underground bunker to a forest, but then she saw the ceiling,
high and dark and illuminated with some kind of sparkling substance. Vegetation
and flickering torches lined the short walkway to the stone edge of a small
pool.

Steps led down into the water and steam rose invitingly from
its surface. Bane paused at the water’s edge and took off his shorts. The
firelight played over his golden skin, the ridges of his musculature casting
appealing shadows. She lounged in Darek’s arms, admiring Bane’s naked body as
he entered the water.

“Like what you see?” Darek asked, startling her.

Heat rose in her cheeks.

“You don’t have to be shy,” he said. “Stare all you want. He
looks pretty good for an old man, doesn’t he?”

Her interest piqued. “How old
is
he?”

Darek glanced at Bane, seeming to consider. Lily wished she
could see his dark eyes better in the torchlight. “Why don’t you ask him?” He
carried her down into the pool.

The water felt as good as it looked. Darek set her on an
underwater ledge that ran along the side of the spring. He stepped away, took
off his wet clothing and dipped under the water. She lowered her bottom
carefully to the stone, conscious of the plug inside her—and of Bane watching
her from across the pool.

He sat on what she assumed was the ledge on the far side,
his arms stretched out at shoulder level along the stone rim. His short wet
blond hair was spiky, as if he’d just run his hands through it. Lily smiled at
him uncertainly, her mind still filled with questions. The damp air clung to
her face and Lily realized she was still sticky with ocean salt. She searched
for the bottom with her toes, found it and stood gingerly. Closing her eyes,
she let herself drop into the hot water. The heat soothed her sore muscles.

When she surfaced, Darek was sitting behind her and Bane had
left his spot on the opposite side, moving through the shallow water toward
them. “Darek says you want to ask me something.”

“I do. You guys talk about decades like I talk about years.
How long do dracambri live?” she asked.

Bane studied her, his expression circumspect. “Are you sure
you want to know?”

“I’m sure,” she replied.

He brushed his thumb over the entwined red and blue dragons
at the base of her neck. The effect was electric, but not in the way it had
been before. This time, she saw them both in dragon form in her mind’s eye,
winging through a blue sky. Beneath them lay a landscape untouched by
humanity—a vast, untamed woodland that stretched to the horizon.

“I was born in the year 1328, just outside what is now the
city of London,” he said.

Lily reeled.
He’s almost seven hundred years old.
It
wasn’t just the number that set her mind on fire but the implications. “You’ve
seen everything.”

He chuckled. “I’ve seen a lot. Not everything.”

“I have so many questions,” she said. “So many things I want
to know.”

He grasped her jaw between his thumb and finger and drew her
close for a kiss. “I will answer them all, and with pleasure. But not now.” His
lips brushed against hers and a series of images flashed through her mind,
visions of the world as it had been. He showed her a world untamed, where the
darkness of night was complete and the daytime sky was the clearest blue she’d
ever seen.

“More,” she begged. “I want to see more.”

Bane shook his head. “Another time.” Fragments of his
memories bled into her consciousness—fire engulfing entire villages, the stench
of burning flesh, blood and disease, a heart heavy with despair and a young
man’s rage.
I could have stopped this.
The voice in her mind was an
ancient echo. “Not only because I’m in the mood for other things tonight, but
also because you’re not yet ready.”

Lily wrung her hands. “I understand.” Hesitantly she looked
up at Darek. “I’m scared to ask but I have to know—when were you born?”

Darek sat beside her on the ledge and raised his arms,
clasping his hands behind his head. “Oh I’m a strapping youth compared to him.”

She thought he would say more, but he didn’t. “Well?” she
prodded.

“1653. Britain,” he answered. “And that’s all I’m gonna say
tonight.”

Lily could respect that. She had to. His expression mirrored
his words.

“Enough about us. Let’s play a game,” Darek said, drawing
closer to her. “See if we can understand how this trio thing works. If you had
to choose right now—him or me—could you do it?”

Lily thought about it and the strength of the objection that
arose in her was startling. “Of course not. Could you? Choose him or me?” she
asked.

He cocked his head as if deep in thought. “I don’t know. I
don’t think so.”

“Is it weird, watching me pleasure him?” she asked.

Darek rose from the ledge and lifted her by her waist,
standing her in front of him and pulling her close. When he spoke again, he
leaned close so that his mouth was beside her ear. “Watching him with you, it’s
not like waiting my turn. Bane and I, we’ve competed all our lives, but not in
this. I don’t sit back and think of ways I could turn you on more or get you
away from him. When I think of him stuffing that sweet little cunt of yours
full of his cock, this happens,” he murmured, taking her hand and putting it on
his sizeable erection.

Lily’s body responded, desire pooling low in her belly. She
wrapped her hands around his thick girth and stroked from base to head, pausing
to brush the pad of her thumb just below the tiny slit at the tip. He groaned,
his eyes drifting closed. Lily drew closer to him, resting her head in the
crook of his shoulder as she explored his hard length under the water, enjoying
the closeness of his body. Bane’s hand stole around her waist from behind, and
then his body pressed warm against her back, the ridge of his hard cock
settling along her spine. Being bracketed between them felt good…close,
safe…and
right
somehow.

All of her life, Lily had searched for a place where she
belonged. How very odd that she should find it here. She smiled broadly,
suddenly elated, and tilted her head to kiss and nip Darek’s neck, pushing back
against Bane’s thick girth as she continued to stroke and please Darek. Groans
resonated in both men’s chests, deep sounds of male pleasure.

She was so lost in sensation that it caught her off guard
when Bane’s fingers found the plug and he pulled it out slowly then pushed it
back in. Lily inhaled sharply, her body tensing. The toy felt bigger going back
in.

“Likewise,” Bane said, seating the plug deeper in her so
that she gasped. “Watching him lick you, having you gasping and twitching in my
arms because of the things his tongue is doing to you… It’s amazing.”

He reached around to slide his fingers into her slick pussy.
“I want to see you suck his cock for the first time, to watch you make those
first, tentative licks at the head, to see those beautiful lips of your wrapped
tight around him.”

He began to thrust his fingers in and out of her, a rhythm
he echoed with the plug, giving her a foretaste of what was to come. Lily
keened softly, relaxing her grip on Darek for fear she would hurt him in her
excitement.

“Thinking of you with him, watching you with him, it’s the
sexiest goddam thing in the world,” Bane said, his voice low and rough in her
ear. His next words came out as little more than a growl. “On the other hand,
thinking of you with anyone else is, well…”

Even drifting in her own little world of sensation, Lily
could feel the water getting uncomfortably warm.

“Let’s just say that’s different,” Darek finished, a warning
note in his voice.

The heat receded and Bane closed his teeth down lightly on
her earlobe. “Lily, I really,
really
want to feel him fucking your pussy
while I fuck you back here,” he whispered, pushing the plug as far in as it
would go.

Lily cried out, very close to coming on his fingers.

“Can we try that?” Bane asked.

Lily shuddered all over, her core clenching so hard it hurt.
She reached down and cupped Darek’s heavy sac, finding it drawn tight with
arousal despite the heat. She met Darek’s gaze, saw the now-familiar red light
flicker in the back of his eyes as the dragon in him peeked out at her.
Something feral inside her responded to the sight.

“We can wait if you want,” Bane said. The thought made her
want to wail. “But don’t forget that you have…the benefit of your mother’s
blood.”

“No,” she managed, “don’t want to wait. Want you both. Now.”

Low chuckles came from both men. Bane took his hands away
slowly and moved them to her shoulders, urging her to turn around in the water
to face him. Where before his touch had made her wild, setting her body on
fire, his hands were soothing now, gentle, calming. He took her face in his
hands. His kisses were light, almost reverent, beginning on her forehead and
tracing a line down to the tip of her nose. When he reached her mouth, he took
her with care and patience, his tongue brushing her lips in an unspoken
request. She opened to admit the tender exploration of his velvet tongue,
meeting him halfway.

She’d begun to think of desire as a consuming wildfire, a
tsunami, but the need he brought out in her now was altogether new. It was like
the tide—subtle, inevitable and powerful. He’d claimed her body. Now, by slow
degrees, he was claiming something more. Something deeper.

He broke the kiss, his gaze drowsy and possessive, and
grasped her shoulder again, this time turning her to face Darek. The smile
beneath his dark eyes wasn’t the devilish one she’d seen so many times before.
He looked… She searched for the word.
Content
.

“My turn.” Darek’s low voice was like satin, soothing and
arousing her at the same time. He drew her tight against him, trapping his
hard, velvet length against her belly. The mark at the base of her neck tingled
and warmed as his soft mouth slanted over hers. “Wrap your legs around me,” he
said after a moment.

She did as he said, holding on tightly. He lifted her
against his powerful body and carried her out of the water, setting her on her
feet on the warm stone. Bane got out behind them, pulled three towels from a
stack in the corner and tossed one to Darek.

Dripping and naked, the men took their time drying her off,
Bane taking charge of her back, Darek her front. Feeling warm and hazy, Lily
watched drops of water find their way down the scarred landscape of Darek’s
muscular chest. Noticing the direction of her gaze, Darek smiled, pausing to cup
her breasts in the thick towel, kneading gently. She put her palms flat on his
chest, exploring the scars with her fingertips.

“Does each one have a story or do they sort of blend
together in your memory after a while?”

He followed her gaze to where her fingers were tracing three
parallel white scars that ran from his right collarbone to just above his left
nipple.

“Some have stories. Some I forget. They fade over time. That
one I got in Europe a few years back.” She waited to see if he would say more
but his gaze became shuttered. She didn’t press the issue but she had to admit
she wanted to know more. Had one of “her kind” given it to him? Was that how he
saw her? How Bane saw her?

“Shall we adjourn to the bedroom?” Bane asked, wrapping a
towel around her securely. She nodded, woozy from the heat.

Bane wrapped a towel around his waist, observing Lily. He’d
seen the worry emerge in her expression when she asked Darek about his scars
and wondered at its source. She likely needed a moment to collect herself, he
thought as they walked together down the short hallway into the bedroom.

Lily perched on the edge of the bed, her hands at her sides.
She looked adorably self-conscious, shifting her weight slightly, trying to get
used to the plug he’d put in her. He liked this side of her as much as he liked
the wild, hungry little idana—the one who knew
exactly
what she wanted
and
precisely
how to get it. He got occasional titillating glimpses of
that one in the back of her eyes.

In the water, he’d slipped a larger plug into her when he’d
been playing with her. He hadn’t told her, not wanting her to tense up and
cause herself unnecessary pain. Instead, he’d used a little sleight of hand.
Her breathing and body language had given him no cause for worry but he’d been
prepared to stop all the same. She might be half idana but he didn’t want to
hurt her.

He got the bag Savara had packed and brought it to Lily.
“The bathroom’s right through that door if you want to use it,” he told her.

She took the bag, smiling gratefully.

“If you’re uncomfortable, I can help you take the plug out,”
he added.

She wriggled her hips experimentally and reached back,
resting her fingertips on one smooth, round cheek. He knew she didn’t quite
dare to touch the plug. The corners of his mouth twitched.

“Actually it’s okay.” Her eyelids lowered with sleepy
seduction, and for just a second he saw the impish side of her peering out from
beneath her long lashes.

His balls drew up tight and he bit back a groan, wondering
for a moment what sort of ironic game Nature was playing, pairing him and Darek
with Lily Sinclair. “Go on then.” He pointed to the door, avoiding her eyes.

The second she closed the door, Bane lifted the duffel and
looked at Darek.

“So. Hide-and-seek or blind man’s bluff?”

Darek’s mouth curved in a slow, wicked smile. “I always have
liked the way you think.”

Lily brushed and towel-dried her hair, trying to tune out
the tight knot in her stomach. Not to mention the odd sensation in her ass.
Neither feeling was easy to ignore.

She put the brush down on the sink, rested her hands on the
counter and studied her reflection.
Who are you?
So many things had
changed in such a short time.

Lifting her chin, she examined the mark at the base of her
throat. The detail in the design was exquisite. If she looked closely she could
see individual scales on the two tiny dragons. Their intertwined bodies formed
a near-perfect circle, ridged around the edge by the spines on their backs. The
colors were so vivid the creatures almost looked three dimensional.

She traced the outline with her fingernail and nearly
screamed when she saw the dragons move. She blinked, rubbing her eyes. The blue
dragon’s head had turned to look back at her in the mirror. Lily leaned closer,
holding her breath.

There was a knock at the door and this time she did scream.
She clapped her hand over her mouth, feeling foolish.

“Everything okay?” Darek asked.

Lily cleared her throat and tried for a calm tone. “Fine!”
she called back.

“All right,” Darek replied, sounding unconvinced. She wasn’t
surprised. Taking one last look in the mirror, Lily wrapped the towel around
herself again and opened the door.

She stepped out and straight into Darek’s arms. She smiled
and put her arms around his neck, standing on tiptoe to kiss him. Before she
could reach his mouth, something soft, silky and black dropped over her eyes.
Bane had come up behind her and was securing a blindfold around her head.

She put her hands on his arms, tugging them down
instinctively.

“Uh-uh,” Bane said in her ear.

She stopped pulling but kept holding his forearms. “Um…
Guys?” Blinking was pointless. Eyes open or closed, everything was black.

A calloused hand stroked her back.
Darek
, she
thought.

“Are you afraid of the dark?” Bane asked.

She jumped at the sound of his voice, her heart pounding.
“No. I’m afraid of the things
in
the dark.”

Both men laughed, a deep, resonant sound somehow all the
more ineffably male for its disembodiment. Her nipples tightened against the
cotton towel and goose bumps traveled the length of her arms. She shivered,
feeling very small.

“A wise woman,” Darek said.

Bane put his hands on her shoulders, gathered her hair to
the side and placed a soft kiss on the back of her neck. Two sets of powerful
arms wrapped around her in the near-palpable blackness and she held on for all
she was worth. Their scent, salty and clean and comfortingly familiar, soothed
her nerves.

“It’s all right. It’s just a game,” Darek said. He stepped
back, leaving her standing with Bane behind, his hands resting on her
shoulders. The towel loosened then dropped to the floor. Fingers pinched her
nipples, rolling and teasing.

Her breathing quickened. “Ohhh I like that,” she murmured.

The satiny warmth of Darek’s mouth replaced his fingers and
Lily cried out. The darkness heightened the eroticism as he nipped, licked and
suckled her. Her back arched in invitation and she reached to take his head in
her hands… And then he was gone.

She whimpered, frustrated, searching blindly for him in the
sudden void. Bane took her hand and led her forward in the direction of the
bed. The stone was cool beneath her feet as she followed him and she swore she
could feel individual air particles brushing against her skin. He stopped in
what she guessed was the middle of the room.

“Are you ready to play, love?” Bane asked. His voice was
low, his breath warm against her neck.

“Yes,” she answered.
Oh God, yes.
He grasped her
shoulders and turned her to face him.

“Yes what?” he asked, closing his fingers tightly on her nipple.
Her mind raced. She felt his breath on her neck and the tip of his erect cock,
slick and wet, tapped her belly. He lifted her chin with one knuckle and the
soft material from the blindfold tickled the skin of her back. He placed a
deliberate line of kisses down to the mark at the base of her neck, never
letting up the pressure on her nipple as he did so. She trembled, wanting,
struggling to think—the mixture of pleasure and pain confusing her senses. What
did he want?

“Say it again and address me properly,” he said patiently,
breathing warm air over her mark. The memory of the restaurant came to her, of
his hands sliding up her thighs as he pulled up her skirt, and she remembered.