A Touch of Fate Read online

  Black moved down and nibbled the tender part of Kady’s wrist right above her pulse point. The necklace around Kady’s neck, similar to the amulet’s Russet and Dunn wore around theirs lit up like a light bulb.

  Ash’s mouth dropped open when swirls of light lifted off of Kady’s skin and surrounded the couple in a bubble of light.

  Kady brushed her hand across Black’s cheek. “Ready?”

  He nodded.

  Both of their eyes drifted shut, but while Black’s remained closed, Kady’s opened. The light glowed from inside of her, shining out through her eyes. Slowly, a silvery black form lifted out of Black’s body. It looked like a ghost made out of dark matter and an angry malevolence poured out of it. It hovered over Kady, a shadowy tentacle reaching toward her.

  Russet and Dunn reacted in a flash grabbing for Kady and Black. The bubble of energy acted like some sort of force field and they crashed against it. Bear claws and fur rippled across their bodies and they scratched and clawed at the barrier.

  Kady raised her hand, in a Zen-like state as if she didn’t want to disturb the biome she’d created around her.

  The being in there with them was not a ghost. Ash knew better. That was a spectral. But, why wasn’t Kady afraid of it? Why wasn’t it attacking the others and assimilating them?

  Ash glanced around the shiny new lab and grabbed the first piece of equipment at hand. It looked a little like a cross between a police radar gun and a Star Trek tricorder. She pushed the switch to turn it on and pointed it at Kady and her magic.

  The first view was an infrared view. Kady looked like a normal human with areas of green, blue, red, yellow, and orange. But Black was mostly blue. Where his heart should register, the camera showed pure black. The exact same color as the spectral.

  The magic flowing out of Kady, the field around her registered like an oil slick. Predominately blues and purples with streaks of yellows and orange.

  Ash flicked a switch and got a whole new view. This handy dandy tool was showing her the view as if she were looking through and electron microscope.

  She switched the view several more times, fascinated with the various data it showed her. She made a few quick notes on an iPad like tablet and set her favorite new toy down.

  “Kady? Can you hear me?”

  Kady nodded moving her head only a fraction.

  “I have more than enough information. You can do whatever you need to put the genie back in the bottle.”

  Kady grabbed the necklace and in a whoosh, the spectral was gone along with the magical force field. Black blinked, then grabbed her and kissed her, dipping her just like in the movies.

  Russet was the first one to break their spell. “What the shit?”

  Seven: Dunn with Waiting

  Ash didn’t give Black a chance to explain why the hell Kady could pull a spectral soul out of his fates-fucking body.

  His bear was as close to the surface as it could be and still be contained. Every protective instinct he had over what was left of his family and his new mate roared for him to rip the enemy to shreds. Which he couldn’t do. There was none.

  She turned to him and Russet, grabbed them both by their shirts and kissed him and then his brother. While wanted nothing more than to spend a lot of time with her pressed between them, locking lips and bodies with hers, but now was not the time.

  Ash’s body against his, her scent in his nose and her taste on his tongue soothed the beast more than any revenge or battle, could have.

  She batted her eyes at him and licked her lips. “We need to have sex.”

  Not like he was going to say no to that, but had they really charmed her enough for her to accept them as her mates?

  “I need to learn to access my magic. You two,” she waved between them “apparently have magic penises.”

  Russet choked, and Dunn almost swallowed his own tongue.

  “Love, I can work some magic with my cock, and I want to with you and only you. But, when I fuck you, it will be because you have accepted our claim on you, your soul, and have become our mate.”

  She wrinkled her brow, those brain cells in her head turning that idea over.

  They’d spent only a few hours trying to charm her. Courting her hadn’t even begun. There was no way she was ready to accept them.

  “I agree. What do you have to do to make me your mate? Does it involve more biting? Is there a wedding? I don’t think we have time for that. Can we elope? Have the local judge marry us? Does Magic have a judge? He probably a vampire or a warlock or something, right?”

  The questions kept on coming out of her mouth. Her eyes were lit with excitement and curiosity.

  It was absolutely adorable. But, it wasn’t love.

  He hadn’t even realized he needed that from her until this moment. Mates were mates. They had feelings for each other that made them loyal, protective, devoted. Many grew to love each other, even long after the lust of the mating frenzy was gone.

  He needed that from Ash. He wanted her to love him.

  He wasn’t the right bear for her. She had this beautiful analytical and logical mind. Just like Russet. They were perfect for each other.

  A horrible thought crept into Dunn’s mind. What if Ash was only Russet’s mate and not his. He could be experiencing the need for her through the connection he and his brother shared.

  Maybe instead of Ash combining their two parts of a soul in her heart, she was meant to make Russet’s whole.

  Mine. His bear roared the word into his mind.

  He would not be the reason his own brother, this twin, his best friend did not have a mate. If Dunn wasn’t fated for Ash and they tried to claim her together, Russet’s fears that the two of them would overwhelm her, destroy her like their uncles had might come to fruition.

  Russet would lose Ash, his true mate, his one chance at living a whole-hearted life.

  “No.” Dunn let the word slip out before he was even sure he should say anything.

  Russet said it at the same time. “Ash-ling, defeating the spectrals is important, and we want nothing more than to claim you and fuck you until you are screaming with pleasure. But, we will not claim you in the name of science, and never before you’re ready to truly make us your mates, in your heart and mind.”

  “I am. Let’s do this.” Ash reached for her pants and unbuckled them. “Kady. Thanks for the illuminating education. I’d like to hang out with you. Is that okay?”

  Ash slid her pants right off and down to the floor. Dunn jumped in front of her so no one else.

  Kady giggled. “Yeah. We’re watching a Star Trek marathon in the garden tonight and having a potluck. So, come find me when you’re done...uh, coming.”

  “Will do. Oh. Can you look in on my cat, Jacquie?” Ash popped around Dunn and grabbed Kady in a hug. Her beautiful plump ass wiggled in front of him. Begging him to caress it, pinch and spank it.

  Maybe fucking her for science sake wasn’t such a bad idea.

  No. Once he sunk his cock into her, he would never be able to leave her, even if she wasn’t fated for him.

  “Topper has been chatting to Jax. Seems they are old friends.”

  “Remind me to ask you about that later.” The women kissed each other on the cheeks. Kady grabbed Black’s hand and dragged him away.

  “Let’s go try out your magic penis,” she whispered a little too loudly.

  Black saluted his brothers and followed his mate out of the ship and the ship’s doors closed behind them.

  “Why are you two still dressed. Oh. Do you think it will be more effective if we use strip tease as foreplay? I’m not very good at seduction, but I’ve got a sense of rhythm.” She started singing a song about leaving your hat on and unbuttoned her shirt.

  “Ashmiza. We are not fucking you.”

  “Please?”

  Fates, that was hard to resist. “No.”

  She undid another button and the pretty intricate fabric of the garment covering her breasts poked through.

/>   That wasn’t the only thing poking at the moment. The second she’d told them they needed to have sex his cock had gone from its permanently hard state to dripping with pre-cum and bursting to get out of his uniform.

  She continued her song and danced her way over to Russet. Dunn took a step back. He should distance himself now. Let her seduce his brother. He could slip out while she had Russ’s full attention.

  It would kill him to feel the intensity of his twin joining with and claiming a mate without him. He would go drown his sorrows at the local bar. Or frozen dessert place.

  Not that anyone would want to be around him for the next few hours while these two were fucking and finding their bliss together.

  “Du-unn.” She sang his name. “Come over here and help me take my bra off.”

  Ash called to him but shoved his brother into a seated position on one of the tables he’d put together for her in this lab. She’d straddled one of his legs and for the first time in their lives had his brother speechless.

  He needed to get out of her now. There was only so much a bear could take. Dunn turned and reached for the control pad to open the doors again and get out of here as soon as he could.

  “Brother. Our mate needs us to help her access her magic. We can do that without claiming her.”

  “No, no. I want you to claim me.”

  But, she didn’t really.

  Russ said exactly what Dunn was thinking. “No, you don’t, mah wah. You don’t yet know what it means or entails. You don’t understand the danger it poses to us all to claim and mate you.”

  She didn’t know how it would crush Dunn to see her mated.

  “What does that mean? Ma-wa. You keep calling me that and I heard Black say it to Kady. It doesn’t translate to English.”

  Another second and any other question in the universe and Dunn might have been able to walk out the door. “Love. It means love, and so much more. It means that you are ours and we are yours, that the world could come crashing down around us and we would still belong to each other. It means no matter how much I know I need to let you go, I can’t.”

  “Let her go?”

  “No. Never.” He may have condemned them all, but he wasn’t strong enough to leave. “It means forever.”

  Ash stepped away from Russet. Her shirt hung down around her shoulders and there was so very little between her and them.

  Would it be so bad to claim her and hope that she could learn to love them later? Yes, if it hurt her to take their souls as her own.

  Her skin was flushed with that lovely indicator of her arousal. Dunn clenched his fist to keep from touching her. What was he doing?

  Destroying them all for his own selfishness.

  “Why would you say that to me?” Ash wrinkled her forehead with her look of consternation and crossed one arm over her body, gripping her elbow. “I get the whole biological instinct to mate. That may be coded into your DNA. But, you don’t love me. No one does.”

  That’s when Dunn’s heart broke into as many pieces as there were stars in the sky. He felt the gut-wrenching hurt her words had on Russet too.

  He saw it in the new set to her body language, the hurt in her eyes. She hadn’t said they didn’t love her because she didn’t believe they could in such a short amount of time. She didn’t think she was worthy of love.

  He would find and kill whoever had made her feel this way.

  Dunn would love her for the rest of his life and make sure she knew she was loved. Even if he couldn’t mate her, he would happily see his brother’s soul join with hers just to erase that look on her face.

  Russ stood and gathered Ash into his arms. “Ash-ling. You are loved, you deserve love.”

  She shook her head.

  Dunn joined them and wrapped his arms around her from behind. “Yes. You are. Even if it wasn’t us who loved you, and have no doubt that we do, you deserve love.”

  “No, no. It’s okay.” She ducked her head and her voice was barely audible. “I learned a long time ago that’s not how life works. People say that, but it isn’t true. You don’t have to lie to me.”

  “Fuck that.” Russ lifted her chin, grabbing it in his hand and kissed her, taking her mouth hungrily. It didn’t take long before the sparkle of her magic illuminated her skin.

  Dunn understood exactly what Russet was thinking. If they couldn’t convince her with their words, they would prove it with their bodies, worshipping hers.

  He lowered his mouth the mark on her neck that he’d made earlier. He licked the over the bite, then scraped his teeth across it again. Ash moaned, and a new sensation hit all three of them. Her pleasure poured out of her and seeped into Dunn’s mouth. Through their connection, he knew Russ experienced the same thing.

  They all wanted more. Dunn grabbed Ash’s hips and rocked against her, pushing her body into Russ’s. He took her hand and pushed it between their bodies, helping her unbuckle the uniform pants. It was easy to guide her hand inside and wrap her finger’s around Russ’s cock.

  Dunn whispered into her ear. “Do you feel how hard his cock is for you, Ash? It’s not because you’re beautiful, although you are. You’re the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen, with your lush body.”

  Russ replaced Dunn’s hand with his own and urged Ash to stroke him while Dunn continued to speak the soft words of truth to her.

  “It’s not because you’re smart, and it’s not because you can help us defeat the spectrals.”

  Russ finally broke their kiss and stared deep into Ash’s eyes. “Listen to him, mate. Take his words into your heart.”

  She whimpered so sweetly.

  “His cock is hard for you because he loves you and wants to claim you for his own.”

  Russ gave him a strange look. It fit Dunn’s strange words. They’d never had anything for their own. They shared everything right down to their souls. “Yes, sweetheart. I do. We both do.”

  “But—”

  Russet cut her off. “No buts. This is unconditional. You need proof. I understand that. But, love can’t be put on a chart or a graph. You can’t put it in a box to study. The only proof we can give you us our words, our actions, and our bodies.”

  Dunn picked Ash up and laid her out on the table. He wished they had a soft bed. Next time. Her body quivered in what he hoped was anticipation and not fear. He wouldn’t give her enough time to think about it. Enough of words. Time for the action Russet had spoken of.

  He ripped the lacy modesty garment she wore under her clothes down her legs and threw them over his shoulder. There would be no more of those. “Spread your legs. Let me see your ripe pussy. I can smell your arousal, mate. I want to see it. Taste you.”

  Ash moved her knees a fraction of a centimeter before Dunn got impatient and ran his palm down the inside of her thigh, pushing her legs open for her.

  Her wet pink pussy lips, the little tuft of hair, and the tiny nub of her clit poking up were so fucking perfect. He swiped his tongue over her clit and wrapped his arms around her hips as she bucked at the sensation.

  Mmm. Salted honey. Her flavor exploded into his mouth. He would come in his own fucking pants without a touch, just from licking her hot cunt.

  He took a quick breath to calm himself. “I’m going fuck your pussy with my mouth, Ash. Do you know why?”

  She shook her head.

  “Because it’s mine. Forever.”

  Fuck doing the right thing.

  Eight: Ash Gets Mashed

  Ash had never lost her mind. Through every trial and tribulation. Foster homes from hell, her torrid teenaged years, not even when she’d had a totally inappropriate crush on her quantum nanophysics professor had she ever failed to keep her brain on the right track.

  Her mind was a big ole steaming pile of mush at the moment. Russet and Dunn loved her. She didn’t understand how that could be, but it didn’t matter, because she knew her mind wasn’t working right anyway.

  Because if it had been she wouldn’t be lying on a table bein
g pleasured by not one, but two sexy alien bear-shifters whom she never wanted to let go.

  Every experience she’d had in life, from never knowing her parents, her Saturday morning beatings, to the fumbling excuses for sexual experiences she’d had all pointed to this being all wrong for her.

  She was tired of wrong.

  This felt right.

  As soon as she had that thought sparks of light and energy, her magic floated into the air all around her, swirling like a snow globe surrounding her and her men.

  Yes. They were hers.

  “That’s right, Ash. Let your magic out. You’re safe with us, let it flow.”

  A part of her thought she should really be paying attention to what was happening to her body, with her magic. She should take notes.

  The other, newer part of her that had emerged from its shell since meeting Russet and Dunn, the part that was much closer to the real her knew that all she needed to do right now was feel, enjoy, and love.

  Love.

  Love.

  Ash wanted to tell them. She loved them. A new burst of glimmering magic spun into the air.

  Russet lowered his head and took her mouth in a new and soul deep kiss. At the same moment, Dunn pushed his head back between her legs and kissed her lower lips.

  It was too much and not enough.

  Dunn flicked his tongue over her clit and then sucked it into her mouth, pulling and suckling on it. Russet pushed his tongue into her mouth and thrust in and out imitating what she wished he was doing with his cock.

  She pushed one hand into Russet’s hair and the other into Dunn’s, holding them both close to her, showing them she wanted them there.

  Russet growled into her mouth in a low sensual rumble. He reached down and shoved the cups of her bra out of the way until he had full access to her tight nipples.

  When Russet began plucking at her nipples, Dunn switched up what he was doing with his mouth, releasing her clit and pushing his tongue inside of her channel.

  Dunn fucked her pussy, filling her not just with his talented tongue, but then his fingers joined in too. He set a mathematically perfect rhythm that had her body singing in seconds.