The taste of her essence dissipated, the injuries healed by his saliva. Maximus slid his tongue up her throat, and she angled her head exposing her jugular to him. Even if it wasn’t intentional, his vampyr interpreted it as a sign of trust. His fangs hit his lips, and he scraped them back and forth along her neck leaving red lines, but taking care not to break her skin. Her pulse visibly escalated. He sucked on the rapid tap, caught it between his teeth and flattened his tongue over the steady thud, relishing the feel against his over-sensitive senses.
One of her hands came to rest on his hip. The other cupped the back of his head. She seemed to understand his need to claim her like this because she melted into the pose, her breathing steady as he inhaled her scent.
He and Gabriel would always protect her. Her vulnerability was unacceptable to them. How could he make her understand that?
Fingertips dragging down her spine, they traipsed through the cheeks of her ass and teased across her pussy, wet and sticky from hers and Gabriel’s release.
He thrust two fingers into her.
“Maximus!”
“You want me,” he said without releasing his hold on her pulse.
“Yes.” Her husky voice had him pushing his fingers deep. She whimpered for him. “But I don’t like it.”
Physically she liked it, but mentally, she was a bit reticent. “And Gabriel?”
“The same.”
His fingers plunged in and out of her, and she tilted her pelvis back to deepen his penetration. She had no idea how natural she was at sex. “Will you stop me from taking you once more?”
“N-no.”
Just as Maximus suspected, she was incapable of resisting them as they were her. The mating call was as impossible to oppose as her siren song. A good thing since during the beginning of any mating, they’d be driven to have sex often.
He released her throat, withdrew his digits from her body, and lifted her onto the counter. In the doorway, he spied Gabriel leaning against the doorjamb. The tiger nodded for Maximus to proceed. He combed his fingers through her hair and kissed her before assisting her to lean back.
“Stay on your elbows and watch me.” He captured her calf between his hands and guided her foot up to anchor on his shoulder.
“W-what about Gabriel?”
“You want him here?”
“It feels wrong that he’s not.”
A good sign their unmated female wanted them both even though she was angry with one. Kissing her ankle, Maximus glanced at Gabriel. “What say you, Gabriel? You going to join us?”
Sameya twisted enough so she could angle her head to get a glimpse of the tiger.
“I’m sorry,” he said as he ambled toward them. “I shouldn’t have bit you, Sameya. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
“Don’t do it again.” Gabriel stopped on the other side of the island and wrapped his arms around her waist, nuzzling his face against her neck.
“I still get to bite, but I promise not to mark unless you give me permission.” A vampyr bite was different than a shifter’s. The only time a shifter breed bit was to give the mating mark…or to reclaim his partner.
“Make sure you don’t mark me, Maximus.” Sameya lifted an arm and cupped the back of the tiger’s head. “I have no idea why I’m forgiving you so easily, Gabriel. But I don’t want to be angry with you.”
Gabriel lifted his head enough to peer at her face. “You’re vulnerability is our problem, too.” How long had he been listening to their conversation? The tiger rubbed his nose against hers. “To lose you would kill us both.”
“You don’t know me well enough to feel that way.” She bit her bottom lip as Gabriel inched Maximus’s black shirt upward, exposing her belly.
Maximus captured her face between his hands and stared into her eyes. “Our souls are connected, we would be devastated to lose you. And if you think walking away from us in a month is going to be easy, you’re deluding yourself.”
“We will make it as hard on you as possible.” Gabriel flicked a finger over one of her cotton-covered nipples. “We won’t play fair.”
“Not when we’re playing for keeps.” Maximus lifted her off the counter, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. “Gabriel can’t assist very well from across the counter. Will you bring the strawberries, Gabriel?”
Maximus carried her to the table and placed her on it. With a hand on her back, he slowly guided her to lie back. Once she lay flat, with her butt on the edge of the surface, he clamped her arms over her head and held them there with a hand on her wrists.
The sound of the stainless steal omelet pan scrubbing against the stove caused him to look around and catch Gabriel removing it from the burner. The clicks of knobs being turned indicated Maximus had forgotten to turn off the eyes, as well. Distracted by Sameya, he’d forgotten about the omelet and only now caught a whiff of burnt food.