HerMatesEmbrace Page 20

  As the last man stepped up to tell his side of the story, Colm stroked his finger over the back of her hand. He kept his eyes on the man in front of them, but also kept his attention on the woman sitting in front of them. She hadn’t given up her mission to torment them. She simply couldn’t do it effectively while he had her hand. It was the major reason he wasn’t releasing her until this was over and they could talk without interruption.

  To the man’s credit, he didn’t make excuses. He simply told the story, nodded to them and then stepped back among the other men to wait for their decision. If they hadn’t found out that this was almost a regular practice, it might have given them some cause to mitigate the punishment. Unfortunately, the man had been using his nightly duty on the wall as a time to have sex with a woman for weeks.

  “It’s obvious that the failure of our defenses that night was not only from the absence of one man on the wall. If any of the other men present had stepped forward and said something or even told him that they would, it would have stopped.” Linc stood from his chair.

  Colm rose as well, but he kept his hold on Cami’s hand. He expected her to do something, but surprisingly, she stayed still between them. Her hand was relaxed in his now, when before she’d constantly tried to pull it free.

  Colm turned his eyes to the man who had been in charge of the night guard duty on the wall. “Two humans got into the Thent. There are two Santir out there who would love such an opportunity. You had a responsibility to lead these men and you didn’t do it. Before you are given such a position again, you’re going to have to prove you can handle it.”

  “The entire group of you will be broken up and will not be working together,” Linc said with a hard look at all of the men. “As for you, Densel, you will work your way up again through the ranks. You have to prove that we can rely on you. It’s not going to be easy to earn back the trust that’s been lost.”

  “You may go.” Colm dismissed them all and waited until the last of the men left the room. Finally, they were alone with Cami.

  Releasing her arm, Colm stepped forward and then turned to face her. She rose to her feet. Her hands landed on her hips and her chin lifted to a proud, stubborn angle. The way she’d thinned her lips only made him want to kiss her. Now that was his woman.

  “What part of ‘behave’ did you not understand?” Colm leaned forward, deliberately getting into her space to see how she’d react. He suspected that the shell of fear around her had cracked and might even be falling away.

  She smiled and put her finger against his chest. “What part of ‘I don’t want to be here’ did you not get? I didn’t choose to be in here. If you didn’t like the way I sat there, maybe you should have sent me out of the room.”

  “We don’t give in to bad behavior. It just encourages more.” Linc moved up beside Colm and shook his head.

  “Next time, we’ll temporarily clear the room and put you over a knee. Since you’re ready to challenge us and push, we’re going to start treating you as a woman who can handle what we have to offer.” Colm smiled. He was more than ready to start doing that, but knew that even now, they’d need to move with a little more caution and gauge her reaction. As much as he’d like to throw off all restraint, he didn’t want to see the fear in her eyes again.

  Her mouth worked and he knew she was trying to come up with some kind of response to his statement, something that would hold him back. She clearly hadn’t thought they would push right back.

  “I won’t play nice if you try this again.” She bared her teeth at him.

  The fact that she answered with a threat made him smile and sent a surge of lust through him. This was his mate. The sight of her eyes bright with emotion and the scent of both anger and desire lured him closer to her. He took a slow step forward. She stood her ground.

  “Don’t even think about it.” She poked a finger against his chest.

  “Nari, how can I resist when you’re daring me with every word and with the delicious scent of your arousal.” He let his hands slide over her arms.

  He kept his touch light. She could pull away if she tried, but she didn’t so much as shrug. His fingers glided down her arms and circled her wrists. He lifted them and looped her hands over his shoulders. Her nails sank into his neck. He knew it was supposed to be a warning, but it excited him.

  “Come on, Cami. You don’t want me? Step back and walk away.” He drew his palms down her sides, giving her every opportunity to do as he suggested. “Show me what you want.”

  He saw Linc circle around to the side. Linc was close, but seemed to be careful about leaving her space if she wanted to step back from them. Cami’s eyes cut to the side. Emotions flickered across her face and through the gold of her eyes. He couldn’t catch all of them, but he definitely saw speculation and desire among the caution.

  “Are you ready to show us what kind of woman we’ve got on our hands? Is that what today was about?” Linc drew his fingers across her cheek in a soft caress.

  Her eyes flickered closed briefly, but then she seemed to gather herself. She glared at both of them. “That’s not what today was about. Are you blind? I wanted to show you that you can’t simply push me into this position and not expect me to push back.”

  “That’s your way of putting it. Me, I see a strong woman finally ready to show us the real person she’s been hiding. You didn’t want to be here and you made us more than aware of it. You wouldn’t have done it before.” Colm smiled and let his hands smooth inward over her stomach.

  She stared at him wide-eyed.

  “I liked it. Under any other circumstances, I would have let you explore as much as you liked, but your effect on my body was intense, even if your touch was rather tame. You want to try it again?” Linc’s head cocked to the side and arched a brow at her. “Do you want to touch and be touched with both of us here this time?”

  It was the first time they’d been together with her and pressed her sexually. Colm thought it was past time that they did. She needed to know with everything in her that she belonged with both of them. It wasn’t just one of them.

  She licked her lips. His eyes followed the slick path of her tongue. He didn’t know if she was nervous, but the move was flat-out riveting and sexy. Sweeping his glance down her body, he noticed her hands clenching and flexing at her side.

  His eyebrow raised, but he wouldn’t even begin to guess what was on her mind. Did she want to touch them or was she panicked? Even with that, he wasn’t going to back off before he had a chance to find out what she was thinking.

  “I thought you were going to teach me to use focused magic.” Her eyes drifted lower to his chest.

  Colm smiled as he realized she was interested in touching them. “We will, but we can do it after.”

  “We won’t press you further than you’re prepared to go this time, Cami.” Linc combed his fingers through the hair along the side of her face. “Are you brave enough to take the chance?”

  She took a deep breath as if she actually was gathering her courage. Colm flicked his eyes to the pulse point at her neck and saw it fluttering. Whatever she used to mask her scent messed up his ability to identify her emotions through scent, but he’d guess that it was nervousness. She slowly nodded.

  “I want to touch too, not just be touched.” She swallowed heavily after making that admission.

  “Feel free, nari. Touch anywhere you want. I’d love to have your hands on me.” Colm smiled. He’d love to have her touching him any way she wanted. Hands, mouth, body.

  She lifted her head. “Both of you?”

  “Yes, both of us.” Linc nodded and lifted his arms wide. “Feel free. I want you to feel free to come up and curl an arm around us or kiss us any time you want. You’re our mate.”

  She opened her mouth, probably to deny it, but closed it again without saying anything. Colm let out a slow breath. He didn’t know how he would have reacted if she’d again denied their connection. Every time she did, the urge to prove just how
strong the tie between them was grew more intense.

  She looked back at the door. “No one will need you?”

  “No one will come through that door without knocking. There’s nothing going on today that won’t wait.” Linc held out his hand. “We’re waiting. Are you going to take the chance?”

  That chin lifted and her shoulders straightened. She narrowed her eyes and slowly took a step toward them. Apparently challenging her got a response almost every time. It was a good thing to know.

  She hesitated and seemed to be trying to decide which one to touch. Her hands brushed up the front of Linc’s shirt. Colm simply watched, although he’d have loved to move in behind her and fill his hands with her breasts. He didn’t want to panic her when she was taking the first steps of being with both of them.

  She needs to get accustomed to both of us touching her. Linc’s eyes met his.

  Colm acknowledged that Linc was right about that, but still he wasn’t going to press her between them. I don’t want to panic her. She needs time to get accustomed to both of us.

  What happened to maybe we were going too easy on her? Linc’s hand cupped the back of her head as he pulled her up for a kiss.

  Different situation. If we panic her here, she’ll back away. It’ll take even longer to help her relax and accept us. Colm sidestepped and then approached from the side so that she’d have plenty of room to move if she needed. She needed to relax and accept them. He didn’t know why it was suddenly so important, but it had become one of his top priorities

  Well, I wasn’t thinking about pushing too much. Not even fucking her. But you may be right about pressing her between us being too much. I can’t wait until we can hold her that way. Linc brushed kisses over her cheeks and down her neck.

  Cami wasn’t making it easy for his bond brother to maintain a conversation, Colm realized. She’d unfastened the buttons on his shirt and had pushed it wide. He saw her nails scrape over both of Linc’s nipples before sweeping around and flicking at the tips.

  “I think giving her entirely free rein might be a mistake.” Linc gritted through clenched teeth.

  “We haven’t really touched her yet though.” Colm smiled as Cami glanced over at him. He could see the sultry heat in her eyes. He wanted to watch that gaze turn molten with desire. She didn’t seem to be nervous or uncomfortable. She looked as if she was enjoying what she was doing.

  “Why don’t you see how she likes your touch?” Linc grinned over him.

  Colm knew the only reason he said it out loud was so that Cami would know that he was going to touch her. She turned her head a little and watched him, but she didn’t let up on running her hands over Linc’s chest and stomach. Each time her hand seemed to go lower. Linc’s hips rocked forward as if trying to urge her hands down to where he needed them. She seemed determined to tease.

  That was probably a good thing for the moment. They needed to touch her and let her be at ease with both of them before she managed to strip away the last of his control. Colm wasn’t sure how she’d react. She’d only become accustomed to being with the two of them if they moved slowly and showed her the pleasure they could give her.

  Colm let his hand lightly rest against her back to see how she reacted to having them both touch her. She didn’t even tense. His hand swept up her back and down again. He wasn’t going to take the time to work out why she seemed so at ease with him. Now that he had his hands on her, he wanted to feel the heat of her skin and hear how much she enjoyed his touch.

  He stepped a little farther to the side so that he’d have more access to her shirt. He wanted to push it aside at the least, but he planned to try to get it totally out of the way. He brushed his fingers across her face. Her eyes widened a little, but she turned her head into his touch. A soft moan fell from her lips. He was good, but he knew a simple touch on the cheek couldn’t inspire that response. Glancing down, he saw Linc’s fingers tugging at her nipples through the fabric of her shirt. He smiled.

  “Want to see those gorgeous mounds, Linc?” Colm asked on a growl, but didn’t wait for his bond brother to answer him. His fingers went to the top fastenings of her shirt.

  “Oh, yeah, I think it’s only fair. She has my shirt open. Those little nails are killers.” Linc grinned and gave another tweak of her nipples.

  She shivered, but apparently she decided on a little payback. The fingers of one hand found Linc’s nipple and plucked as the other dived down to cup the ridge of his cock. Linc groaned. His hips rocked forward in a silent demand. Colm was more than a little envious. He wanted her hands on him, but he also wanted to make her crazy and see the passion take away any thought of teasing. He intended to wrap her up in the feeling. The only thoughts in her head should be of the next moment and the feel of their hands and mouths on her.

  When he pushed her shirt wide, he stared for a moment at the firm mounds. They were gorgeous. The dark tips were already tight and stiff. His mouth watered at the thought of sucking on them.

  “Beautiful.” Linc’s voice rumbled with a growl.

  Colm looked over and saw Linc’s eyes locked onto those lush curves. Colm could easily imagine the thoughts running through his bond brother’s head. He could spend hours enjoying those luscious mounds. Sucking and licking were just the beginning. He wanted to press them together and slide his cock between them as Linc drove deep into her pussy. The ache in his cock brought his attention back to reality. He had to focus on the present, because he knew they couldn’t go that far this time. Getting her at ease with the two of them was too important.

  He looked to Linc and his bond brother nodded and stepped a little closer to the chair. Linc sent him a focused image of Cami sprawled across his lap as Colm knelt beside her. The idea sizzled through him, but he didn’t know if they’d be able to get her to go along with it. She might feel too trapped by the position. Still, he thought it would be better to ask than to simply do it when she became too wrapped up in her passion. If she panicked and bolted then, it would set them back even more than if the idea stopped her now.

  Colm cupped the side of her cheek. “Do you think you could sit across Linc’s lap while we touch you without feeling trapped?”

  She looked at Linc and then bit her lip. Colm was almost kicking himself for breaking the mood while she silently debated the request. Her eyes were big and he could see the desire slowly fading. Her hand smoothed over Linc’s chest and then she reached out to touch Colm’s jaw. Colm closed his eyes at the featherlight touch.

  “I’ll try.” The two words came out slowly and in a voice so quiet that he wondered if he’d imagined them.

  When she looked at him expectantly, he finally realized that it wasn’t wishful thinking. Linc eased back into the chair and held out his arms. She eased onto his lap and her gaze was locked on Linc’s face as if looking for something there. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight for a moment before loosening his hold and resting one hand behind her back, to brace her and letting the other drape over her skirt-covered leg.

  Kiss her. I don’t want her to get too nervous about what’s going to happen. Linc let his hand slowly trail down to the bottom of the dark-blue skirt.

  Colm knelt beside the chair. He gently cupped her chin and turned her face to his. He kept his touch light for a few moments giving her time to react to the touch. Her lips opened under his immediately and her tongue thrust against his lips in demand. He met the eager response without questioning her motives. He kissed her hard, letting her feel the possessiveness and urgency pumping through his veins.

  Her fingers clenched in his hair, tugging him closer. She moaned under his lips and the sound shot through him. He let his fingers move up to her breast and cupped the full mound. Her back arched, pressing the lush flesh into his palm. He didn’t need any more encouragement. He swept his thumb over the stiff peak.

  “Can I have a kiss now?” Linc’s voice jolted Colm.

  He’d almost forgotten his bond brother was there. Colm lifted his
head reluctantly and let her turn her head to Linc. He focused on the delicious curves of her breasts. He watched as his thumb flicked across her nipple. Her skin wasn’t quite as dark as his and he liked the contrast. Her darkened nipple tightened. He wanted to put his mouth over that crest. His mouth watered.

  Lowering his head, he took the taut bud between his lips. His hand smoothed over her stomach. The muscles beneath his hand quivered and jerked as she lifted into his touch. He loved that responsiveness and looked forward to a time when she wasn’t held back by fear. He knew there would probably always be a moment or two when she was taken by surprise. There were moments for him and he hadn’t gone through anything similar to what she had.

  Not wanting her to get too accustomed to one touch, he let his hand fall away from her breast and smoothed it over her belly. He felt her breath hitch. Scraping his teeth over her flesh, he drew his mouth up until the tip of her nipple barely touched his lips. He blew warm air across it and watched it tighten again. She shivered and then moaned long and low.

  Colm lifted his head. He knew he hadn’t gotten her that revved up so quickly. Her teeth nibbled on her lip and her head arched back over Linc’s arm as she moaned again. He swept his eyes down her body and found that Linc had pushed her skirt up to her waist and slipped his hand between her thighs. Because of the cloth, Colm couldn’t see exactly what his bond brother was doing, but knew he was probably flicking at her clit or working his fingers into her tight pussy.

  Her legs widened a little in blatant invitation. He wanted to watch and savor the sight of Linc making her crazy with desire, but he also wanted to push her hunger higher himself. Her fingers smoothed over his arm and swept up to his shoulder. The sound of her panting breaths and the feel of her hand as she clenched his shirt in her fist thrilled him. She was touching and responding to both of them. It almost didn’t seem real.