Even as careful as he’d been, the burning pain was shocking. The wolf inside me loved it. The savage touch of my mate was stimulating, banishing the human fear of pain and instead finding joy in it. The gentle touch of his tongue on the wound was as intimate as when he’d licked between my legs. Shaz tasted my blood, and it made me crazy.
Wrapped up in the two men I loved with all my heart, there was nowhere else on earth I’d have rather been. The give and take of love and pleasure was a rollercoaster of power, emotion and acceptance. Time ticked by as we all sought something in one another whether it be gratification, affection or simply acceptance. It was long after dawn by the time we lay sprawled on the bed in exhaustion.
My body was decorated in bloody scratches, bites and bruises. I didn’t attempt to get up; my heart hadn’t returned to its normal pace, and my breath still didn’t come easily.
Shaz fetched a pair of sweat pants from the drawer in my dresser where he kept some of his things and disappeared upstairs.
I lay in the disarray of the blankets, snuggled against Arys. He stroked a hand through my hair while we listened to Shaz slamming doors upstairs. It sounded like he went into the garage.
“That wolf needs to be careful.” Arys broke the silence with words that made me apprehensive. “He was far too willing to give his blood to me. That kind of behavior can lead to addictive tendencies.”
“What about you?” I countered. “You wanted him. I didn’t see you turn him down.”
Arys looked at me like I’d said something ridiculous. “Of course not. He still has a very firm guard up when it comes to me. If I see it fall for even a minute, I’m taking advantage of it.”
“I’m worried about him. He gets off on the rush. I don’t want to see him become a junkie for it.”
“Try not to worry about him too much. We won’t let our wolf become a blood whore. Besides, I think it’s you that stands the greatest risk of forming addictive tendencies.”
It was soothing to hear him call Shaz “our” wolf. But, that was overlooked when I heard what he had to say about me. “Hey! I do not have addictive tendencies.”
“Don’t you?”
Before I could toss a defensive retort back, Shaz entered the room carrying a shiny, black chrome rim with a big red ribbon tied around it. I sat up quickly, reaching to touch the smooth metal.
“Happy birthday, babe.” Fangs now absent, Shaz kissed me warmly. “The other three are in the garage. I hope you like them. I think they’ll look awesome on your car.”
“I love them! I can’t wait to get these on my beast.” I let out a girlish squeal. Brand new rims for my car might not seem like the most romantic gift, but coming from Shaz, it was perfect.
Arys propped himself up on an elbow, his hand under his head. He lay there on the bed in all his nude glory. “Nice choice, pup. Those will look great.” To me he added, “My gift to you is in the nightstand.”
I sprang at the nightstand like a rabid dog, eager to see what my vampire would choose to give me. I almost upset a few candles in my rush to get the drawer open. I had to dig through a pile of blue tissue paper before I found it, an incredibly old book. The leather cover was worn and thin; the pages had yellowed with time, and it had that musty book smell that all old books eventually have.
Lifting it carefully, I set it on my lap and opened it. It was a journal, Arys’ journal. The dates written in faded ink on the pages were shocking. There were journal entries from more than a hundred years ago.
“I know you have all of my memories,” Arys watched me flip through the pages, “but they’re mostly a mess of random images in your head. Yours are for me, too. I thought this might help. I wanted you to have it.”
I gazed at Arys in wonder. I never would have expected something so deeply personal from him. “Arys … thank you. This is so thoughtful. I don’t even know what to say. I really appreciate that you would be willing to give me this.”
I reached out to grasp his hand, hoping he saw the gratitude in my eyes. I gently replaced the journal back into the nightstand drawer. Arys smiled and pulled me back down on the bed beside him. I reached for Shaz who quickly joined us.
As tired as I was, I didn’t sleep. I waited for each of them to fall asleep, and then I carefully disentangled myself from their grasps and left the bed. Wrapping myself in the black robe that always hung on the back of the door, I glanced back at the two of them.
Shaz clutched his pillow, snoring softly. He was facing away from Arys, far enough out of reach to avoid accidentally touching. Arys had an arm up over his head, hiding his face from view. I wondered if he really was asleep at all. He didn’t sleep much, and when he did, it was light, like he was always partially alert.