Aster’s lips are soft yet demanding as they slant against mine, learning their feel and their shape. He rises, grabbing the fabric bag of books and throwing it over his shoulder as he reaches for my hand. I don’t quite judge it right and wind up brushing my palm over his rapidly hardening cock.
I freeze.
He freezes.
I’m the first to regain movement, pushing up until we’re face to face again, then leaning closer until my lips are brushing the shell of his ear. “Come with me.”
I lead him along the hallway and down the stairs until we’re in my empty bedroom. We’ve barely taken a step inside before Aster’s spinning on his heel and kissing me like he’s suffocating and I hold the only air he can breathe.
Something twinges inside me. It’s close to the same strange sense of rightness that meant the mate bond made perfect sense. That left us all accepting it without question. Aster then pulls back with a quick grin as my knees buckle and he presses me back onto the bed until we’re a tangle of kisses and limbs and unsynchronised movement.
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” he murmurs against my lips.
“I barely know either,” I tell him with a low huff of laughter.
He kisses me slowly, peeling my shirt over my head and sucking in a sharp breath as he reveals my peaked nipples.
“Oh, shit.” The voice behind Aster has me letting out a squeak as the door opens. Torin stands in the doorway.
“What’s up?” Kit appears beside him, his eyes going comically wide as he takes in the state of us with Aster hovering over my topless body, shielding me from view.
“Seems like we’re interrupting. Come on,” Torin says.
“Wait.” The word comes out before I know what I’m saying. “Don’t go.”
They both step inside, closing the door with a firm click. “Are you sure?” Torin asks.
“You’re willing to do this for power. And you were willing back when we thought it was fated,” I say, sitting up and licking my lips, enjoying the way their eyes darken as they take in the movement. “How about just because we want to? Because we choose to?”
Kit takes a step closer, and then he’s bounding onto the bed in an instant. “I certainly choose to want you, sweetheart. As long as you choose to want a broken fool like me.”
“Of course, I want you,” I tell him.
“Then it’d be an honour.” Kit nibbles along my neck, pressing kisses and murmuring sweet words. “Your skin tastes so good. It makes me desperate to know how the rest of you tastes.”
I tilt my head back, giving him easier access as I surrender to his touch for a moment, catching sight of Aster’s trousers where they’re straining at the crotch.
“Torin?”
“Of course.” He steps closer, stripping off his clothes with no hesitation, almost as though he’s been waiting for this moment.
All of it fades into a dull buzz as my body takes over as Torin pulls me into a hot, hard kiss. His lips devour mine as he rumbles out a sound from deep in his chest. Aster’s hands roamalong her sides, resting on my hips before he grips my arse, nearly losing my mind as he lets out a feral groan as I press myself up against him.
Kit then begins to move beside me, his hands tracing around to my front. He gently palms my breasts and then teases my nipples, earning a little gasp that Torin swallows eagerly. Then I twist, kissing Kit over my shoulder.
“You feel so good, just like this,” he murmurs to me. “I’ve missed you, sweetheart.”
I snort, twisting in the other direction and pressing a kiss to Aster’s chest, right over his heart. Meeting his eye with a smirk, I respond to Kit, “How can that be, when you barely remember the past few weeks?”
“I’ve missed all the moments we could have had,” he says. “And I suppose we’ll just have to make up for it.” He kisses my neck. “On our knees.” Another kiss. “Between your legs.”
I let out a fevered little moan against my jaw as he presses kisses right the way along until he reaches my ear, which he nips with his teeth.
I’ve missed the closeness. The sense of connection, not just the dead space where our bond once sat, but the everyday moments. I’ve missed talking to Aster in our own private language and always feeling understood. I’ve missed sharing a drink with Kit while he regales me with stories about people I’ve never met and places I haven’t been. I’ve missed sitting opposite Torin while he peers at me over his readers, looking every inch the sexy, slightly dishevelled and terribly handsome grandpa.
“I missed you too,” I reply to Kit, then glance up at Torin and Aster. “All of you.” I suck in a breath. “And I want you all. I know that’s probably not fair. Not when there’s only one of me and—”
“We don’t care,” Kit murmurs without skipping a beat.
