Page 138 of The Never List
Powerful hands pry my fingers from my face, and then indigo eyes meet mine. He’s the Nightmare, the stuff of legend, and yet he drops to his knees, sinking us both to the plush rug as he holds me. “And now?” he asks, voice softer than smoke.
I glance from him, to Kal, to Axl, to Pierce, and finally, back to Jax. “Now I’m the one who can’t survive without you. I need each of you like I need air to breathe, and that scares the shit out of me. I was never meant to be a queen or a mate. And then, when the Faders came and I learned you all suspected demis were behind the rebel group… Goddess, don’t you see how terrible it looks? You’ve chosen a demi and are fighting a group of them at the same time. I never wanted you to think I had any part of it. Because I don’t. I would never support such irrational violence…but it doesn’t change what I am…an Ashlander, the lowest of the classes in Lumathyst,anda demi.”
A swirl of power fills the room, an angry sort of sharpness. If I concentrate hard enough, I can pick out whose power is whose.
Kal’s is like the sun, endless and warm.
Pierce’s is like the strands of a spiderweb, infinite and ever-changing.
Axl’s is like the ripping tides with a depth that rivals the deepest ocean.
And Jax’s…his is raw, intense, and multifaceted like thestars in the sky.
“It doesn’t matter that you’re an Ashlander or a demi,” Kal says, shifting to the edge of the couch so he’s eye level with me on my knees. He takes my hand from Jax’s, running his thumb over the ruby ring I wear. “I gave this to you because of your heart. Because of the way you were with my people and your hopes for the future of Lumathyst. I gave this to you because you made me laugh while challenging everything I’ve ever believed and made me desperate for you even while I’m right beside you. That’s love. It has nothing to do with where you’re from or what power runs through your veins.”
Axl grunts his agreement from where he takes up half the couch next to Kal, his powerful thighs spread and one arm strung along the back of it. His hair is a mess of black waves from the earlier chaos at Lust, resting over his shoulders in this seriously sexy way. “I told you that first day, kitten,” he says. “You’re mine. No matter what.”
I shiver at their words, and then Pierce is there, hand gliding over my chin to make me turn to look up at him. “I felt your incredible power the second I stepped into your mind. You know how I feel.”
I swallow hard, nodding, then drag my eyes to Jax, who still sits knee-to-knee with me.
He doesn’t say a word. Instead, he starts unbuttoning his shirt, discarding it behind him, baring his strong chest decorated with endless ink. “I don’t have a token, butterfly,” he says. “Not one you can wear like jewelry.” He slides two fingers across a design right over his heart—the black swirls of ink outline the mark of his mother: a full moon and five stars surrounding it. “You acceptmytoken, and it’s inkedonto your skin for life.”
A stuttered breath leaves my lips as I feel each of their powers rippling against my own, coaxing it to rise and play and merge. Fuck, it’s overwhelming, the sheer amount of power filling the room. With all of them here, their sole focus on me, I can feel it like a building storm in the skies. The atmosphere feels electrified, upping my heart rate and awakening every inch of my soul.
I’m theirs. They’re mine. And it feels right in a way that shouldn’t be possible.
“I’ll accept yours,” I say, my tone confident and smooth. I take my hands from them, reaching behind me to lift my hair above my neck and turn so they can all see what I’ve been hiding. “If you’ll accept mine,” I finish, certain I can feel their gazes like a hot brand as they take in the cloud-like mark on my skin. The one I’ve had since I turned ten.
Warm fingers trail over the mark, and I close my eyes, focusing as I realize who it is. It’s Jax, and his fingers trail down my back and circle around my hip. Another set of hands is on me then—Kal’s—all warmth and strength as he moves off the couch and kneels beside Jax and me. Axl’s lips are next as he comes around to face me, claiming my mouth while the other two plant kisses along my shoulder and back.
Then Pierce joins us, using his power to lift my shirt over my head. I shiver at the sensation of all their hands on me at once, losing myself in the tangle of touches and tongues as they take turns kissing me.
In a matter of breaths, clothes are shed, leaving me encased in a cocoon of powerful muscles and intoxicating scents that make every nerve ending in my body stand atattention.
Kal leans back, eyes glittering with mischief and love as he scoots back to the couch, deliciously naked and confident as he settles in for the show. “You know I love to watch,” he says when I whimper at his lack of contact. “Show me how good you can fuck my friends.”
Warm shivers make my muscles tremble, but I can’t hold Kal’s gaze for long because Pierce is there, jerking my mouth to his as Jax palms my breasts from behind, my back against his chest, his hard length grinding against my ass. Pierce slips into my mind, not speaking butfeelingas he lets me know just how badly he wants me. I moan into his mouth at the sensation, at being wanted that much.
“Do that again,” Axl demands, his hand dipping beneath the band of my pants. His fingers find my heat, and he groans as he feels the wetness there. “Whatever you did, she fucking loved it.”
Pierce unleashes another wave of desire inside me, and I rock against Axl’s hand, kissing Pierce back with every ounce of need I possess. Then Jax grazes his teeth along my shoulder blade, and fire sparks beneath my skin.
It’s all so much—Kal’s eyes on me, the others’ hands and tongues and bodies on me—and theirpower. Goddess damn, their power. It will consume me if I let it. It will send me into absolute madness if I allow it, but wouldn’t it be such a sweet way to go?
“Axl,” Kal says from the couch. “Make her come on your fingers.”
Pierce grins as he releases my mouth, moving to work at my breasts, ensuring he doesn’t get in the way of Axl.
Axl, who slips a finger inside me, then two, cupping mewith his large hand.
“Goddess,”I moan, my head spinning as he fucks me with his fingers while Jax and Pierce are doing their best to worship every other spot on my body.
“Eyes on me, love,” Kal demands, and I obey. My body melts another degree at the way he watches me, watches his friends wind me up. He grins at me, his lips full and totally kissable if I could only reach him. “I want to watch while he unravels you.”
His words have me tightening around Axl’s fingers, and he immediately groans at the reaction. “Fuck, Kal,” he says, biting his lower lip as he rocks his fingers into me. “You should feel her right now. So slick and pulsing.”
Kal shifts on the couch, fisting his hard length in a display of confidence that has me shaking. “Stop toying with her,” he says. “She has a long night ahead of her.”
