“Fuck prophecies,” I repeat as I swipe at the tears threatening to crest over my eyelashes. “I make my own fate. We’ll make our own fate. Together. And it won’t end in murder. Got it?” I jam my finger into Kian’s chest and cut a glare toward Frost. “We aren’t going to go down like that. Not like them. I couldn’t stand it. I can’t even stand the thought of… of hurting you or killing you. Jesus. I can’t believe I ever tried—”
Suddenly, Frost’s arm snakes out and hooks around my waist. He yanks me to him, my arms crushed between us as my fingers still cling to my towel, and his lips cover mine, cutting off my rant.
There’s a salty, spicy taste to his skin, and when his lips part in that tentative way of his, I’m surrounded by the familiar scent of his body. Warmth unfurls in my belly, heating my skin, and I tilt my face up to his, opening to his kiss.
It’s soft at first, but then he catches my face in his hands and deepens the kiss, his tongue sliding against mine with deliberate possession. I lose hold of the towel and dig my fingernails into his shoulders, clinging to him, letting the heat of his skin surround me. All my worries seem unnecessary in his arms, with his mouth devouring mine.
By the time he breaks away, I’m breathless, barely standing on my own accord.
Frost presses his forehead to mine, and I realize he’s breathing just as hard as I am.
“I promise you, I will never hurt you,” he murmurs. “I will always take care of you. I… need you, Amora. More than I can express.”
For him, those few short sentences are what counts as a monologue. I stare up at his serious face, and there’s something I’ve never seen before in his icy blue eyes. Something that looks a little like love.
He smiles at me, and it’s such an uncommon gesture that my heart squeezes in my chest. I go on tiptoe to kiss him again, tangling my fingers in his pale, silken hair.
Another strong hand grasps my bicep, and suddenly I’m being swept right out of Frost’s grasp and into Malix’s embrace.
He locks an arm around me, pinning me in place against his hard torso as he drops his head until our noses touch. “We’re a team. A partnership. A pack.”
He puts emphasis on the last bit, his lips brushing mine ever so gently with every word. He sounds so much more serious than his usual flirty teasing, but then his lips curl as he adds, “I like this cuddly side of you, kitty. But keep the claws too. They keep me on my toes.”
A chuckle bursts out of me, and he captures the sound with his kiss.
Malix’s kiss is anything but tentative. He fists a handful of my bare ass and yanks me against his hips. As his tongue swirls with mine in a devastatingly arousing way, I can feel his cock start to stiffen against my lower belly. A pulse of answering desire flares low in my body, and I let out a little moan, rubbing against him like I’m in heat.
He makes a sound that’s half groan and half laugh, grinding back against me for a second before he gently grips my shoulders and spins me around to face Kian.
My heartbeat seizes in my chest as I meet those beautiful gold-ringed eyes.
I can’t read anything in Kian’s expression. I’m too suffocated by my own emotions to try to muddle through our bond and get a sense for what’s going on inside him.
This feels big. A make or break moment. I know where I stand with Frost, whose fingers are resting possessively on my hip. I know where I stand with Malix, who has yet to release my shoulders. His palms are slippery on the remnants of water dampening my skin.
But Kian?
Some part of me still isn’t sure.
Some part of me wonders if we’ll ever be able to overcome all the bad blood of our past.
My heart thuds and my stomach turns over as I stare at him, waiting for him to destroy me. To wreck me with some unfeeling word. I offered my heart up to him three years ago and learned what it felt like to have it broken. No, not just broken—ripped from my chest, set on fire, and left to burn to ash.
And here I am, offering it up to him yet again.
Please don’t hurt me.
I don’t say the words out loud, but I feel them all the way down to the depths of my soul.
And maybe he can feel them too, because in that same instant, he moves.
Kian hauls me into his arms and kisses me fiercely, almost painfully. His teeth scrape my lower lip and he demands entrance to my mouth, claiming me, digging his fingers into my bare sides. Within seconds, I’m panting, desire a living, breathing thing as his hands roam my skin and his mouth devours all the sense in my body.
He pulls back just long enough to look into my eyes and growl one word, low and guttural.
“Mine.”
The sound of his voice shocks me and sends a wave of relief crashing over me, an emotion so strong it steals my breath away.
I handed him my heart, and he didn’t crush it.
Instead, he… claimed it.
As I struggle to get my breath back, Frost leans closer on my right side, his teeth nipping at my ear, and Malix brushes my wet hair away from my neck, pressing his lips to my damp skin.
Energy seems to swirl between us like we’re attached by invisible threads. Desire and affection build between us, too, overwhelming in their intensity. I’m surrounded by the three of them. I can feel the heat from them, smell their skin, sense their need like a hunger in my own gut.
For a second, my gaze remains locked with Kian’s. Then he slides his fingers up my jaw, digs them into my hair, and yanks me closer into another toe-curling kiss.
I let out a soft moan against his lips as I let myself drown in his kiss. All the while, Malix and Frost stay right by me, their mouths and hands never leaving my skin. When fingertips tug at my chin, I follow the gentle pressure willingly, breaking away from Kian to kiss Malix instead.
Kian doesn’t seem angry at his brother pulling him away from me. Instead, he picks up right where Malix left off, dragging his lips over my neck in a continuation of the trail Malix was mapping out a moment ago.
Goosebumps spread over my skin, my nipples hardening at the feel of all three of my mates touching me. It’s almost more than I can stand, and I feel like I’m burning up from the inside as I break away from Malix’s kiss to find Frost’s hungry, waiting lips.
I don’t want to stop doing what we’re doing, and I’m a little afraid that if I interrupt the moment, I’ll break the spell. But this bathroom really isn’t made for four occupants, and it’s definitely not made for any of the things I’m craving right now. Frost and I managed to fuck in here, but that was just two of us. With four bodies in the cramped space, it would be next to impossible.
As Frost’s lips leave mine to trail over my jawline, I tilt my head back a little, trying to gather the mental strength to speak coherently.
“Bedroom,” I gasp out.
At that single word, all three men pause what they’re doing and draw back, each of them looking at me with heated eyes. Then Kian moves like lightning, smooth and graceful as the predator he is.
He swoops me up in his arms, tossing me over his shoulder like I weigh nothing. I let out a little oof of surprise as he shoves open the broken bathroom door and carries me toward the bedroom. Malix’s deep chuckle sounds from behind us as he and Frost follow close in our wake.
“Such a fucking caveman,” I hear him murmur, and I swear I hear Frost laugh softly too.
A giddy grin tugs at my lips, but it slips away when we enter the bedroom and Kian tosses me down on the bed. I land with a little bounce, and heat flares inside me as I look at all three of my men standing at the foot of the bed. None of us have dressed since we got back to the cabin, so their naked forms are on full display, their cocks hard and their muscled bodies covered with the dark marks that make them look dangerous and beautiful.
I start to move, about to go up onto my knees and reach for them, but Kian’s voice cuts through the quiet of the room.
“Don’t move.”
I hesitate, obeying his command even as my eyes narrow a little. He’s so fucking bossy, although I’d be lying if I said I hate the way he gets all dominant and commanding in bed.
“Why?” I ask, unable to stop myself from pushing his buttons a little even in this moment.