My bond doesn’t let me take control again until the Transporter gets us back to the Sanctuary.
I don’t remember all of what had happened while it was in control, but my body is still thrumming with the power that I now associate with the Soul Rending. It’s clear to me that we had killed a lot of Resistance while we were there, and I’m not sure if I should feel horrified at my own lack of concern about that.
I only wish that we had been able to kill Davies or the Trigger.
Gryphon gets his hand on my neck to ease away the churning feeling in my stomach, but North stands stock still next to me without so much as a glance in my direction.
Very weird.
“Are you going to do something to get him back? Or are we going to have to pour a tub of ice water over his head or something?” Gryphon snaps, and I frown at him.
“What are you talking about?”
He leans in a little closer to me so that the TacTeam personnel around us can’t hear, but North can, probably why he’s doing it instead of just using our mind connection. “Your bond funneled power to us all while we were out there, and it triggered North’s bond to take over. It hasn’t given him back yet.”
Oh, shit.
I wait until Gryphon moves away from me before I reach out gently and take North’s hand, trying to get his attention without making a big deal about it in front of everyone. It’s unnaturally cold, nothing like it usually is, and I try not to freak out.
The bond notices.
Of course it does, he’s devoted to me. His void eyes turn to face me, and I get a good look at him. I love North’s bond; I love his bond as much as I love him. That simple but completely sincere declaration that it had given me before we’d Bonded still rings in my ears, and there isn’t a lot that I wouldn’t do for him.
But Gryphon is really starting to lose his shit about it being here.
“Can I have North back now, please? I’m safe here, you know.”
It stares me down, and even though his face still stays completely blank, I can tell that the intensity of his look is making Gryphon nervous. Nox turns around from where he’d had his back to us, and even he doesn’t look so sure about the situation. It doesn’t matter though. I already know that we’re all safe.
I shake our joined hands a little. “Hey, I need North back, please… unless you can sense a danger here that none of the rest of us are feeling. If you’re not, then I really do need him back.”
The bond lifts our hands up to his face from where I’m still clutching at his, taking in a deep breath of the scent of my skin.
Gryphon gets a hand on the butt of one of his guns, and I scowl in his direction, utterly disapproving of the move. There’s also extra shadow creatures around my ankles coming directly from Nox himself.
“Knock it off. It’s just saying goodbye to me. You are, right? Because we can hang out a bit later, once we’re back at the house and there’s less eyes on us.”
The bond looks around at the TacTeam personnel who are all shifting on their feet very uneasily. I’d almost forgotten they were all there, and for a second, I can’t help but think about what this all must look like to them.
Terrifying, I’m sure.
Gryphon curses under his breath. “Why did you point out the other people, Bonded? He might see them as a threat.”
I shake my head at him, and North’s bond tugs on my arm again until I’m pressed up against his chest. It’s a very impressive chest that I’m well acquainted with, but the way he’s standing is so different to North that for a moment, it feels like a whole new being is holding me.
“Mine,” he murmurs against my lips before kissing me in full view of everyone around us. I can sense how much it’s freaking Gryphon out, but by the time I pull away, the void eyes are gone and North’s blue gaze is staring back at me.
“What the fuck was that?” he says, glancing over my shoulder at the other two, but Nox answers before I can find my voice again.
“That was what happens when you trust a Bond. They take whatever the fuck they want, regardless of what you have to say about it.”
My cheeks heat, and North’s arm around me tightens protectively. Gryphon’s eyes flash, but I can’t see whatever it is that he’s doing.
From the look on Nox’s face, it has everything to do with him.
My stomach is doing flips, and when Nox’s eyes flick to mine, I see that same fire in him, the one that burns so hot that makes him hurt me at every opportunity. He’s only going to hate me even more if we have to Bond like our bonds have demanded.
I might just hate myself for it too.
I take a long shower.
Showers have always been my safe haven, somewhere I can go to wash away all of my troubles. Honestly, hot water is the answer to everything, but no matter how long I stand under there, there’s no getting away from the problems of today.
We need to complete the bond.
Nox would rather die.
He’s not exactly my favorite person either, but I can deal with the sex part of it. Actually, the sex part is the least of my problems. I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy four other amazing men who have shown me exactly how much pleasure is possible between two or more people, how different that pleasure can look, and the limitless possibilities that exist between my Bonded and I.
It’s mostly the thought of him being in my head.
Being vulnerable to him, being exposed to his scathing vitriol at all times, the hate that he has for me that I still don’t understand. There’s too many unknowns in this for me to just… climb into bed with him.
Will he kiss me? He has to make me come to complete the Bond. I know he knows exactly how to make that happen, thanks to the Great Hallway Incident as I’m now calling it in my head, but I’m so in my head about the consequences of this, so it’s going to be about a million times harder—
“Move over. How can such a tiny little slip of a woman take up so much room?”
I squeak embarrassingly and clutch at my chest desperately as I slip and almost end up on my ass. Gryphon gets a hand around my arm and manages to keep me from seriously hurting myself, using my distraction to step into the shower with me and shuffle us both under the stream of water. He’s gloriously naked, some streaks of mud still on his arms and neck from the attack, and the moment my racing heart settles down, I’m going to do something about his rock-hard dick digging into my back.
Like dropping to my knees and swallowing him whole.
“How the hell did you get in here without my bond warning me? I just lost ten freaking years of my life, and you’ll have to be the one explaining that shit to the others!”
He chuckles in my ear, one hand sliding down my stomach and stopping just shy of my pussy. I haven’t recovered enough from the shock yet to be mad about that, but in a minute, I’ll be sassing him out over it.
He moves his hand away from my stomach to grab the soap, dragging it over my already clean skin like he’s obsessed with the feel of me under his fingertips. “You’ve gotten used to us all. Now that you’re happily Bonded and totally satisfied, your bond isn’t going to worry about telling you when we’re around. Why would it need to?”
“I don’t know about totally satisfied—”
He grabs my chin and tugs my face up firmly, swooping down to kiss me senseless. I turn in his arms, my legs steady again, and wrap my arms around his neck to anchor myself to him.
This is what I needed.
Kissing Gryphon Shore is like coming home after the hardest, longest day. It’s protection from a storm, listening to the rage and destruction of everything while knowing without a doubt that you’re safe. If North is my protector and caregiver Bonded, then Gryphon is the surety that nothing is ever going to push these men away from me. Gabe is the one who has proven that he’s all in and accepting, as loyal to me from the very first moment as I have been to them, and Atlas is the epitome of dedication to me. They’re all variations of the same set of values that I desperately need.
All of them.
Except Nox.
I break away and whisper, “Gryphon—”
But he’s already in my head, already knows every last little concern I might have, and murmurs back against my lips, “You said you trusted me. I’m not going to let anything happen to you that you don’t want, Bonded. I’m going to make sure… you’re taken care of. You deserve to have us without your bond forcing it.”
I don’t see how that’s possible.
Not without Nox giving in to his bond or somehow having a total change of heart and deciding that I’m not actually the root of all evil.
Gryphon growls under his breath at the depressed turn my thoughts have taken. He steps away from me, just long enough to soap himself down and wash away the mud and grime from the day. I watch him with a rapt sort of obsession, enjoying the way that his muscles flex as he moves. He’s freaking gorgeous, the type of cut that a man gets from daily training to become a weapon for his people, and I want to taste every inch of his body, to find my own way to worship him.
The moment he’s done washing the soap away, he turns the water off, snapping a towel off of the rack and wrapping me up in it. He has to go searching for one for himself, but he barely swipes the droplets away from himself before he’s tugging me back into my bedroom.
I tense as we step into the darkness, but there’s no one else there.
“You promised that I’d get you tonight. I’m not going to just forget about that, Bonded. It’s been too long.”
I nod and throw my towel off, not really caring about where the hell it ends up, and I practically sprint to the bed. It’s only a handful of steps, but Gryphon moves faster than I do, catching me and throwing me back against the pillows until I’m grinning like a madwoman.
“Spread that pretty pussy open for me, Bonded. It’s been too long. I need to remind it of who it belongs to.”
I do exactly that, splaying my legs out and reaching down to hold my pussy open just the way he likes, and I’m rewarded with long swipes of his tongue against my clit as he wastes no time in eating me the hell out. I’m in awe of this man and his lips. He does it like this is his favorite meal and he’s been starving himself for a week in anticipation.
He doesn’t let me come though, he just gets me right to the edge, my juices dripping all over his face, before he pulls himself back up to kiss me, sharing the taste between us. I could get angry about it, demand that he finish the job, but he’s taught me that he’ll never leave me wanting, and the fun of drawing this out is everything to me.
I push him onto his back and then crawl down his chest until I get a fistful of his cock, enjoying the groan he gives me as I slide my lips down the hot length. He’s always been determined to be in control; it’s something else to have him at my mercy for a little while. I moan around him, the vibrations causing him to grit his teeth, and I feel as he lengthens even more in my mouth. I find myself having to focus on relaxing my throat to get him far enough down.
I don’t want him to come yet though. Call me selfish, but I want him fucking my pussy before either of us reach our peak, so I pull away. Before he has the chance to flip us over and rail me into the mattress, I climb up and sit on his dick.
The stretch is something else.
“That fucking pussy, that tight and wet fucking hole was made for me. Fuck me, Bonded. Take what you need and give me what I want. More, Bonded. Bounce harder. More!”
The words and praise fall away from his lips as I do exactly what he says, taking control but being obedient all at once. His hands cover my tits and squeeze, toying with my nipples and slapping at the sensitive flesh there until I’m crying out at the overstimulation. My hips slow to a grind as I come, rubbing my clit against his pubic bone as I drag it out for as long as I can.
I want to stay in this bed with him forever.
When he comes with a low groan, he grabs at my arm and pulls me back down onto his chest.
I hear the door open and feel one of my Bonds walk into the room. It’s obvious to me who it is, I only have one Unbonded now, but a shiver runs down my spine when I hear the door click shut again behind him.
My naked ass is still up in the air, all of my most sensitive flesh exposed to Nox’s all-seeing eyes in the inky darkness of the room. I tense and move to look over at him, to see whether the loathing and disgust is still etched into every fiber of his being, but Gryphon’s fingers curl around my chin to stop me.
Even when I try to pull away from him, his grip tightens, his fingers biting into my skin and his eyes narrowing at me through the darkness.
I frown back at him, but he tugs my face down to his, sealing his lips over mine and sweeping me up into a devouring kiss. It’s a distraction, or an attempt at one, because there’s no part of me that could possibly have my attention diverted away from the other man in the room.
Goosebumps burst out over my skin at the feel of his eyes on me, a searing brand of heat, and my back arches involuntarily. My bond reaches out to his in the darkness of the room and tugs him over to the bed; a siren’s call he cannot resist.
I wonder how much he can see in the darkness without his eyes shifted, if he can actually see my pussy spread open wide for him, glistening with the evidence of the intoxicating sex I’d just had with his best friend. I groan and bury my face in Gryphon’s chest, my back arching even more, and one of Gryphon’s hands fists in my hair to keep me there.
I feel like an offering, a sacrifice. If I’d thought being used by North’s bond was hot, then it has nothing on this. My Bonded offering me up to my damaged Bond. Carefully drawn lines and silent negotiations where the commodity is me, my bond, and my pussy.
It’s silent for a minute as he stands there and stares into the darkness.
Then I hear the sounds of him unbuckling his belt, his pants sliding to the ground and the soft rustling sounds of his shirt being discarded. I want to turn to look at him. I want to see whether he’s turned on or if he’s staring at me like he wants to destroy me.
I almost come just from thinking about it, the anticipation is enough to have me groaning into Gryphon’s kiss, and my hips begin to move by themselves.
He takes a second to kneel on the bed, one leg on either side of mine, and there’s no mistaking the heat of his erection as it slides against my ass, dipping down to drag over my pussy until he’s coated in the wetness there. I push back against him with a gasp, but he shifts away from me, totally in control of this moment and not willing to let me take anything right now.
Not even the pleasure that both our bonds are so desperate for.
So I hold myself still like a good little Bonded, waiting not so patiently until he decides to give in. God, I hope he’ll give in and fuck me, propped up over another of my Bonded like a spectacle.
After what feels like an age, he slides into my pussy, Gryphon’s cum spilling out of me a little and dripping down my legs. I whimper at the loss of it, my bond writhing in my chest for more, more, everything. Give it all to me.
His fingers bite into my hips as he holds me there for a minute, impaled on the impressive length of him, until I think I’m going to have to beg him to move. Then, finally, his hips get to work. He’s brutal, nothing about this is a loving Bonding, but I’m moaning like a wanton. Gryphon’s hand flexes in my hair, his body reacting to mine. It’s too dark for him to be able to see much, but the sounds that we’re making are enough to have him ready for round two.
If I wasn’t so terrified of interrupting Nox and losing this moment, I’d demand they both fuck me together, fill me up with their cocks at the same time until I was ready to burst. Fuck, I want to feel them both moving inside of me and drawing me closer and closer to oblivion until I’m nothing but a writhing mess between their bodies.
I want more.
I feel Nox shift, the moment that his bond takes over, and he bends over my back until he can get a hand around my throat and pull me back up against his chest, away from my Bonded, in a clear act of possession. I catch the look of concern on Gryphon’s face as my eyes slip shut, my pussy clenching around Nox’s cock as his hips still drive into me at a brutal pace.
His lips touch mine.
I sometimes forget that he was the first of my Bonds that I ever tasted. He was the very first of them all to kiss me, by force, but my bond had pushed towards him as desperately that day as it pushes against my skin now. I want the bond… I want him as well. Nox and his bond, I want them both, and it kills me to think that way. What has he done to deserve that sort of longing from me?
More than I’d like to admit.
More than most of my Bonded would admit as well, since everyone but maybe North is completely over his attitude, but the more that he says to me, the more that I feel like I can see behind the curtain.
The fingers around my throat flex again, drawing me back into the moment and away from all of my thoughts of my dark and broken Bond. I kiss him back with the same fire that he kisses me with, my tongue stroking over his as I claim him as one of my Bonded, the man and the god that lives inside him. Even if it’s paving my path to hell, then I guess I’m on my way down there with a smile and a fucking amazing orgasm.
One of his hands slips down to my throbbing clit, circling it with the sort of practiced ease that comes from lifetimes of us worshiping each other, our bonds two halves of the same whole. He’s come back to me after a lifetime away, and I whimper desperately.
He pulls back just far enough that I can see his void eyes again, his face still that blank slate that says Nox isn’t in control right now at all, and then he breathes against my lips, “Mine.”
I come again, gushing down my thighs and his until the sounds our bodies make as we move together becomes obscene. He tumbles over the edge after me, coming with a roar that doesn’t sound human at all, that same otherworldly voice that his brother’s bond has.
I’m a gasping mess as my bond curls itself around his, binding us together, and everything feels right.
Perfection.
A void I didn’t know existed inside of me knits itself back together until I’m whole. For the first time in my existence I can breathe properly, my lungs at full capacity after a lifetime of just scraping by.
I’m vaguely aware of Gryphon pulling me back down into his arms, cradling me against his chest as he soothes away the trembling that overtakes me with his big, calloused hands. Every inch of my body is hypersensitive, my thighs clenching together as my pussy throbs with the aftershocks of the Bonding.
I could die happy now.
I could walk into any Resistance camp and destroy them all; a weapon that’s been forged in fire and come out deadlier than ever.
I feel it the moment Nox takes control of his body again, his eyes shifting back to the same deep blue hue as North’s, and I want to whimper as he sits up, flinging his legs off the side of the bed as he gets up. I start to rationalize that of course that’s what’s going to happen, and I’m absolutely fine right now, but Gryphon has other plans.
“Lie down. You’re not going anywhere until her nesting is done. If you can’t hack it, then let your bond out again.”
Nox opens his mouth, but Gryphon cuts him off without letting him utter a word. “It’s not up for discussion. If you step away from this bed, I will drag you back.”
I barely breathe, so sure that I’m about to watch the two of them fight to the death right here in front of me, and I’m suddenly glad that my other Bonded are close by.
I’ll need the backup.
It takes a full minute, but Nox’s eyes shift back to black, then he climbs back onto the bed, facing me without touching me at all. He stares at me, his face blank and his eyes unblinking as his bond takes up watch.
It’s a start.
Not a great one, but it’s something.
