With a low, warning rumble, Rik swept me up in his arms. Rock hard everywhere, my mountain rising out of the flood threatening to carry me away.
“Are you going to have a problem with my alpha?” I asked breathlessly.
Sekh paused, his body loose and easy, his hands relaxed at his sides. But his eyes blazed brighter, and when he spoke, I heard the growl of his lion roughening each word. “Do you want him to fuck me first to prove exactly how few problems he’ll have from me? Or would you rather watch me suck him off?”
Dismissing the man as a challenger, Rik turned toward the stairs. “I’d rather not fuck around with those lion teeth unless our queen promises to lick up the blood at the same time.”
18
SHARA
Even though I’d already fucked him, welcoming a new man to my private bedroom probably should have been embarrassing. Especially when I had another man with me already, and so many others in my house.
Which was the side of my brain raised thinking I was human. Consuming human media in a capitalist, patriarchal society—tainted with Ra’s kind of bullshit that believed women didn’t even enjoy sex. And if they did, they were filthy witches who deserved what they got.
Fuck that shit.
Sekh, Guillaume, and Ezra followed us upstairs, though the latter two stayed outside the door, shutting it behind us. Winston had worked a miracle in bringing in the new bed to replace the one we’d broken, but the repairmen hadn’t come out to fix the plaster or hardwood floors yet. Body-sized dents were outlined in the crumbled remains of the wall. I watched Sekh note the damage. The absolute monstrosity of a bed as my alpha set me on the edge of the mattress.
I wasn’t surprised by the burning suns in his eyes when he met my gaze.
“Did you see what happened the last time I was in this room?”
“Your magic was too thick to reveal the event fully, even to me. But I can guess.”
Regret still weighed heavily on my chest, tightening my throat. “I doubt it.”
His head lowered slightly, his shoulders dropping. It reminded me of a lion going still in the tall grass, hiding as he sighted something tasty in the distance. “You hungered. Your Blood provided. It will be my great honor to provide whatever it is that you need, Your Majesty.”
Rik pulled his shirt over his head, snagging my attention. I didn’t care how many Blood I ended up calling, or how long we loved and fed each other. I would never get tired of looking at any of my Blood, but especially my alpha.
Cut slabs of sheer rock glided beneath his skin, and I could remember all too well the explosive strength in every inch of him. His massive hands grasping the sphinx’s horns, twisting his head into submission. His strength, every bulge straining to bring the new Blood to my side. Even if he provided competition to his position. A five-thousand-some-year-old general of a goddess’ legion.
If I hadn’t been able to take so much of Sekh’s blood… If my hunger hadn’t been raging out of control…
Without my will pulling him to my side, he could have eaten anyone—all—of my Blood for lunch. Literally.
Rik knew it. Even as my alpha. Especially as my alpha.
Even Leviathan, who’d enjoyed being the oldest and biggest Blood in my nest, had not fared well in our first meeting with Sekh. That we were all still alive and mostly unharmed was more a testament to the man’s willingness to come to my Call than our strength.
Though all I could think about was Rik’s impressive weight drilling into me as he dropped his pants.
“How do you want us, my queen?” He leaned down, planting a hand on either side of me on the mattress. “Do you want either of the things he offered? Or something else entirely?”
My eyelids fluttered, my breath catching in my chest. Smoking iron filled my nose as I rubbed my face against his chest. Pain wasn’t really his thing—that was Itztli’s department. Rik wouldn’t enjoy the threat of lion teeth on his dick, though he’d do it if I asked. Especially if I teased him by enjoying his blood at the same time. “You know I love every drop of your blood but I’d rather not watch you shred your dick when I could have you inside me.”
His big hands slid under my armpits, and he lifted me to my feet on top of the bed. He was still fucking taller than me. His shoulders so wide he blocked out the other man waiting silently near the door. Until he dropped down to his knees, sitting back on his legs so his head was as low as possible. Lightly, he wrapped his hands around my ankles. “May I make a request, my queen?”
I looped my arms around his neck, leaning against him for support. “Of course, my alpha.”
“I’d love to see how long the new Blood can fuck you before you drain him to unconsciousness.”
* * *
SEKH
All the times I had Seen her fuck her Blood flashed through my head. Never dreaming that I would be here someday.