Page 58 of On Burning Paths

"Just—" I take a breath. "I should tell you. I've never done this before."

Thorian exhales slowly, his forehead dropping to mine. "It’s okay. We know. We’ll go slowly. And we’ll take care of you."

"We will," Fenric agrees softly, his hand warm at my waist.

"Trust us," Talon murmurs.

And I do.

"My bite will relax her more," Talon says, pulling back slightly, his eyes still locked on my neck.

My pulse flutters. I think about what that means, his teeth breaking skin, and feel a flicker of uncertainty before it dissolves almost immediately. This is Talon. He has never once done anything to harm me. He stepped in front of a spell meant to kill me without a second thought. He would not hurt me now. Now or ever.

I trust him. I trust all of them.

And then I let myself think, for just a moment, about what this will actually be. All three of them. Thorian's certainty and control, Fenric's warmth, Talon's easy confidence. Three men who have watched me survive things I didn't think I could survive, who have held me together when I was coming apart, who I’ve wanted in quiet and not so quiet ways for longer than I've been willing to admit.

Whatever this is, I know with complete and sudden certainty that it's going to be extraordinary.

"Fenric. It should be you first," Thorian says, meeting the berserker's eyes over my shoulder. "Can you be gentle with her?"

“Me first?” Fenric looks shocked.

“You’re the smallest,” Talon says with a little smirk.

Fenric looks down at his erection. “First time I’ve been the smallest, ever. First time that’s been a good thing too.”

I laugh. “I mean, that’s like saying you’re the smallest in a room full of giants.”

He grins. “Thanks. I think.”

“But I want to be with all of you⁠—”

“Shh.” Thorian runs a hand along my spine. “Soon, we’ll be able to do more. But for your first time, you need…” He sounds like it’s the last thing he wants to say. “You need Fenric. He’ll ease you into it.”

Glancing behind me, I stare at the massive thing that’s Thorian’s erection. It bobs over the water like it has a mind of its own. I want it. I want him. But I do have some doubts about how we’ll fit together.

The men shift around. Fenric comes to stand before me. Talon is behind me. And Thorian is at my side. I don’t quite know what that means, but they seem to know without a word.

"Are you ready?" Talon murmurs against my neck, his breath warm on my pulse.

Am I ready? Ready to be bit? My mind goes to everything I know about vampires. Their bite is supposed to feel amazing. It’s addicting. It’s why they have thralls. This should feel good, and I trust him.

So why not?

"Yes," I breathe.

He sinks his fangs in.

I gasp, a full-body shudder moving through me, but it doesn't hurt. What it does is open something, warmth flooding outward from the point of his bite in slow, rolling waves, and the sound Talon makes against my skin is low and deeply satisfied, like he's been waiting for this.

The berries have already made everything brighter, more vivid, every sensation amplified past what I'm accustomed to. The water against my skin feels like silk. The heat of it, the steam rising softly around us, the sound of it moving. All of it is heightened, crystalline, and then Talon's bite adds another layer on top of that and my thoughts go soft and warm and golden at the edges.

Talon adjusts himself behind me, his chest against my back, and I feel him hard and insistent against me, His cock begins a slow, steady rhythm against my ass as his hands come around to cup my breasts. His thumbs brush over my nipples and I make a sound I don't recognize as my own.

Fenric is in front of me, his face close, his warm brown eyes searching mine with a gentleness that makes my chest ache. He's big. I can feel him against my stomach, his cock hard and hot between us, and the knowledge of what's coming makes my pulse stutter.

"Still okay?" he asks.