“Why would he not tell me this?” she murmured, pained by his deceit.
“Because Cullen has too much at risk,” I defended him. “If it were me doing this in his shoes as the leader, I would’ve done it also.”
“But none of you love me,” she admitted, knowing what it felt like to be in the arms of a true love.
“Love isn’t just from young eyes, or at first glance,” I whispered to her. “It can be something that is worked for as a couple. You can learn to love, Briar.”
“It isn’t my heart I fear in this scenario, Bain. Can you tell me with honesty that all of you will learn to love me?”
Reaching for her hand beside mine, I covered her slender fingers for her to feel the never-ending warmth in mine. “All I can promise you is that I will try, Briar. As the woman who is willing to help save my people, I already hold you in a high regard.”
Her white flesh was easy to spot some redness on when I made her blush. She looked down for her hair to spill over her face. “Thank you.”
“Now, how about we go get you into bed?” I offered instead.
She immediately whipped her head back up to look at me. “Don’t you need to mate me?”
“I do, but I can see you are not okay right now. As my soon-to-be mate, I respect your need to recover.”
Briar thought over my words, chewing the corner of her mouth in the process. “Would you be okay if we just did it now? I would just rather get it over with and rest, if that’s alright.”
Again, I knew she said this from the strength within her. She knew the faster we mated, the faster we’d unlock our abilities to stop Morrigan. Showing her my hard cock that was still out of my pants, I patted it with a laugh. “I believe I am equipped to do it now.”
Briar stood up like she planned to sit over me like a whore, but I stopped her. Standing from my chair, I walked her back for her lower back to hit the table of books. From how some hardbacks were scattered near the important book, I figured this was how Cullen had done it too. At least he started out as a gentleman.
Allowing her to stay covered, her hands pinched together the sides of her blouse. Having already seen her perfect breasts, I knew them from memory already. She opened her legs and placed the heels of her feet on the edges of the table to balance better.
“I’ll be as quick as possible,” I promised her, knowing she would be sore tomorrow from taking so much cock at once. After a hundred years of celibacy, I could only imagine how’d she be feeling tomorrow.
“Just don’t forget to bite your lip for me to take your blood when you start your finish,” she reminded me.
Biting it now, I plunged right into her spent cunt, dripping with their release. Her lips were swelling but not from arousal. She had been taken hard and long by two before, making her ache already. Briar’s face winced as I entered because of it.
Going slow, I let her get used to me stretching her. Once she stopped holding her breath, I knew we were good to pick up the pace. This wasn’t romantic in the way a woman like her had dreamed of, but our titles sometimes didn’t afford us such leisure.
Briar stayed sitting up, watching the spot where I went in and out of her. We watched together as their cum came out on my shaft. The sight was erotic and intoxicating, knowing she had been with the men I called brothers. Well, Cian was not, but I knew she’d be with the ones I did like enough to share a mate with.
A tingling happened inside my balls, telling me that my end was nearing. Making sure the cut was open on my lip, I leaned forward to meet her mouth. She tasted of honey and sunshine, my favorite childhood smells. The copper of her blood lingered in the mix, spicing it up for me to want more.
Kissing her long and hard as my end came, I knew this round wasn’t what I wanted her to remember. A quick fuck in the library after being belittled by two princes. No, Briar deserved more than that.
She climaxed from the bond forcing her to for a third time, screaming out against my mouth as I bit her lip for more blood. We were merging, we were one.
As the connection between us sealed, I felt her emotions within my own soul, accepting her. She felt relieved that I was kinder, but a sadness still lingered within her heart. Whether it was from the two before or her missing the one she lost, I knew she needed something more.
Pulling out, I watched as I dripped from her like the others did. Grabbing the chair behind me, I took a seat and began to lap over her angry folds with my tongue. This wasn’t to get her off again. No, this was a form of care my mate required to know she mattered.
Briar let her eyes meet mine as I swirled my tongue in the different tangs of salt and musk. It never bothered me like it would the other alphas, so Briar would experience what aftercare was like with me. She’d know that her pussy was for all of us, but it should be respected as a gift that she had to agree to give us.
Now that we were mated to her, the two block heads were going to have to remember that Briar had the ability to say no, and they couldn’t find a whore to use in her place. They were going to have to work out their shit with her if they wanted her to put out. Smiling to myself, I finished cleaning her with my tongue and sat up.
Her eyes were hazy, treading toward lustful. That made me feel better about my choice. Standing from my seat, I lifted her in my arms from remembering how her legs were before me. She nestled her head into the crook of my neck, yawning in exhaustion.
We weren’t perfect yet, but I knew we’d get there. Briar was officially my mate, and I’d respect her. It was more than my father ever offered my mother, so I knew I didn’t want a relationship like theirs. Respect was the fundamental element in a relationship. Without it, and you had nothing.
12
Cian