The Moon, the Madness, and the Magic (21 page)

Dane’s jaw clenched, and his muscles flexed before he conceded to Rourke’s demand. “Yes. No. I don’t know. What’s the alternative?” Dane stopped pacing. “I wish I could simply say yes. It would make everything easier, but hell, Rourke, it’s not just the sex with you. What if you can’t share her with me after all this? I don’t know what will happen if I can’t make love to her again.”

Celeste couldn’t help with their issues. It wasn’t even a matter of choosing between the men. Dane would literally have to offer himself to Rourke without a guarantee he’d be part of their union in the future. The one thing she could make clear was how she felt about Dane. “I’m not sure I can survive without Dane, too.”

“There isn’t any other choice, then, is there?” Rourke looked like an immoveable rock when he asked Celeste for confirmation.

“No,” she whispered before linking fingers with Dane, holding on to him to reassure him. “We are the dragon’s mates, and he must take two mates from the realm to rule. He’s too unstable otherwise. Dane, if you’re not part of this, when he surfaces, he’ll kill you anyway. He won’t let you live now that you’ve taken my blood.”

“Shit!” Rourke stared at Celeste. “We’re talking about a part of me killing a man I’ve loved as a brother all my life.”

She saw Rourke’s resolve crumble when his eyes met hers. The emotions etched on his face were clear. She felt the same sense of fate and his devastation. His pain was hers. “What kind of monster is inside me that could do that?”

Dane shook his head then said, “This arguing is pointless. I agree, Rourke, to all your demands. I’ll just have to trust you.”

“Thank you, Dane. Thank you. I realize the sacrifice you’re making by trusting me,” Rourke acknowledged.

“Maybe this will help.” Celeste released her glamour, the air filled with pheromones, male and female, and for an instant, she knew the men could think about nothing but sex. “This ménage will have its upside, too.”

Dane looked down at his erect cock. He’d hardened in a flash. “Okay, I get it. You’ve got that aspect covered. All I can think about is sex. Sex with you, sex with Rourke. Hell, the stump is even looking good. Stop it before I get splinters.”

Rourke didn’t escape the effects of her magic. He shifted in place uncomfortably, ran his hand over his erection, cleared his raspy throat, and asked, “Is there anything else we should know about all this?” His expression was grim. He shrugged and rolled his neck to loosen the muscles visibly tightening there.

“Another positive is we’d be capable of being in each others’ minds at will, experiencing each others’ sensations.”

“That could be good.” Dane almost smiled at Rourke. “I could fly in your mind like the dragon.”

“What’s the downside, Celeste?” Rourke asked.

“Other than the obvious, there’d be no turning back for any of us. I don’t want to exist with you both in an eternity of resentment.”

Dane’s brow furrowed at her answer. “What else?”

“Honestly, I don’t know what will happen once you and Rourke turn at the time of the next full moon, the Beltane moon. Dane, your Were may not be willing to be submissive to the dragon. If we can’t establish our ménage by then, I’m afraid you’ll try to kill each other over me.”

“Shit, this gets worse by the minute.”

“Or not. Maybe my Aunt Celia’s right,” Celeste said. “What if this is our destiny? Maybe fate knows what’s right for us.”

“Even if I choose to submit to Rourke as a man and a wolf, are we sure my Were is going to cooperate?”

“Not if you have reservations going into this.”

“As much as I want you, Celeste, I have to be honest with myself for all our good. What happens then?”

“I don’t think that will be a problem. Subconsciously, you’ve already been able to submit to his authority. He’s probably the older brother—he acts like it, anyway. The
CEO
of your company, the bossy buddy.” Celeste smiled.

“Ah, hey. Wait just a minute—” Rourke tried to stop them.

“All too true.” Dane grinned.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “My fae succubus and I will be part of the process.” Her voice turned into a low whisper, and she observed her effect on Dane. His lids lowered, and his breathing grew shallow when she sent the picture of the three of them into his mind. “You’ll be so aroused by my fae nature, you’ll not only be able to yield to his physical domination, you’ll beg for it. I can guarantee you’ll love our union.”

“But will he?”

“He’s as susceptible as you are.”

Dane pulled Celeste against him and hugged her. The images had aroused him. With his cock pressed hard against her juncture and his mouth close to her ear, he whispered, “After only being with women all my life, I don’t know.”

“I can make it happen for Rourke if that’s what you’re worried about. You will perform, Rourke,” she said.

He ran his hands through his hair and let them drop to his side. His shoulders slumped. “I hate this. I won’t risk hurting either of you.” He tried to explain but without much enthusiasm.

Celeste nuzzled Dane’s neck and whispered in his ear, “Dane, you’ll be fine, and so will Rourke.”

“If my own personal succubus promises me nothing but endless pleasure, who am I to argue? Rourke, I’m okay with this if you are. I trust you.”

“And I need you both,” Celeste said as she moved to embrace Rourke.

“I want you.” Rourke took her by the arm. “I need you like the air I breathe.” He buried his face in her hair, and it surrounded him. He kissed her with loving tenderness. When he lifted his face, he said, “There’s something you both should know. The dragon inside me is gaining power. I’ve battled him for months now, barely holding my own. The beast is evil, ruthless. What if I can’t stop him?”

Dane walked over to them. “We’ll be strong for you.”

Celeste drew him into their embrace. “I know this is hard, Rourke, but there’s only one way you can hurt me now, and that’s if you leave us. I’m yours, I always will be, but I’m meant to be with Dane, too. I think I would die without either of you. The three of us are destined to be together. I think it’s more than just a means to survival.”

Dane put a hand on Rourke’s shoulder. “I can’t live without her. As a Were, I can’t function without a mate. I’ll turn rogue since we’re already bound. It’s her or no one. I’ll be too dangerous to everyone at the time of the full moon without her. Besides, the wolf pack needs an alpha they can depend on, not some rogue Were. You’ve seen just a little of what they’re up against and what the Were rogues can do.”

“I don’t get it. How can you be alpha, the pack leader, and submit to me? As the leader of all the Lore and a dragon-shifter, I can’t share her with you unless you do.”

“I guess you answered your own question. As leader of all the Lore, everyone submits to you, even the pack leaders.” He grinned a lopsided smile. “I’m okay with the three of us being together. The real question is will my beast submit? I guess we’ll never know ’til we try.”

Rourke let out a long sigh and nodded when Dane agreed. “Maybe you’re right. Wolves are familiar with shows of dominance and submission. You’ve already shown signs of submission in both your human and wolf forms, so maybe your Were will also recognize the dragon’s dominance.”

Celeste touched her fingers to the frown on Dane’s forehead. “Weres can be a bit irrational, so when the time comes, know that both of us will be loving you.” She soothed Dane with her magical voice.

“Hell, I have a feeling no matter what my Were wants, the dragon-shifter will dominate. I only hope he doesn’t accidently toast me in the process.”

Rourke grabbed Dane by the shoulders and shook him. “Damn it, Dane, see, that’s what I’m afraid of. I don’t want the dragon to turn you into a roast, bro.” He wrapped an arm around Dane’s neck in a fake choke hold and ruffled his hair.

“No one’s getting roasted or toasted.” Celeste touched her fingers to Rourke’s lips, and Dane laughed.

“Maybe Celeste can release some of her pent-up charms to get us started. I have a strange feeling she’s capable of soothing the savage beasts in both of us.”

“Where do we want to start?” Dane wiggled his eyebrows and made Celeste giggle.

“Let’s shift and run. Get some of the tension out of our bodies. I’ll meet you back at the hot tub,” Celeste suggested.

Rourke still seemed reluctant. She wrapped her arms around him, and her hair followed suit. A faint mist of silver and gold dust swirled around them, settling over the three of them.

“Whoa, what’s that?” Rourke asked.

“Faery dust.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Dane sounded incredulous and picked some from his shoulder to inspect it. “Like in
Peter Pan
?”

Celeste burst out laughing and shook her head. “No. Nothing like that.”

He sniffed it and then touched it to his tongue. “Whoa, Nelly!” His cock twitched. “Can I fly, too?”

“This dust is the result of a faery’s arousal. It has magical sexual properties.”

“You’re full of surprises.” Rourke pulled her against him and nuzzled her neck. The fire shot through her, and the dust sifted over the entire clearing. “Mmm, so you’re aroused?” His voice vibrated beneath her skin.

The rumble of desire started in both men right before she shifted and ran.

“I’m always aroused around you. If my special talents can’t convince you two a three-way between us is worth the risk, then think about all of us being together forever with faery dust inspiring you every day. That should convince you if nothing else does. Leave it to me.”

“She has a good point,” Rourke said and patted Dane on the shoulder.

The two males shifted more slowly into their wolf forms and lagged behind for the first part of the journey. She raced them back to the lodge, and when the men caught up, they picked up the pace. The competition grew fierce.

Chapter 19

Accepting the Ménage

Celeste watched both wolves pull up short of the clearing outside her room. Rourke sniffed the air, and Dane shifted back first. She’d never tire of admiring either of them in any form. As wolves, they were powerful and muscular. As men, she’d never get used to touching their glorious male bodies.

After Rourke shifted, he looked around warily as she opened the door. “Come inside, both of you,” she suggested.

“She beat you,” Dane said and chuckled in his good-natured way as he stepped inside. “Apparently Fate knew what she was doing when she bound us to a fae succubus shifter.”

Dane slipped an arm around her waist. She nuzzled his chest and gave him a quick kiss before moving closer to Rourke.

He still didn’t look any more convinced than he had before about their arrangement, even when she painted herself against his back and circled his waist, allowing her hair to envelope him.

“She had a head start. Besides, I let her win,” he argued, but she felt the guarded resistance lift. She ran her hands over his shoulders, working out the tension she felt in his bunched muscles.

“I love the way your mind works almost as much as I enjoy how your male essence makes me feel.” She turned in his arms and framed his face with her hands then gently kissed his lips. “If I could, I’d enjoy merging with your soul and Dane’s, too. I need you both like the air we breathe, the earth beneath our feet, and the water we immerse ourselves in. I am fae of the elements, I am succubus of the senses, I am a shifter of light, and I am for you.”

Rourke stood still as death, not touching her, stiffly withholding a part of himself from her. Without his full cooperation, the three of them could not integrate to complete the whole.

Drawn to Rourke and Dane as if they were a part of her, Celeste felt an instinctive concern gnawing at her. “Can you understand what I am? My needs, can you accept them?” Celeste asked.

“I understand what you are and what you need. I’m sure I can accept them. It’s mine I’m not sure about.
”

“I sense your internal struggle with the decision of how you will proceed with Dane and the final step of our binding. Maybe we should put it off until we’re more at ease with each other.”

Was he trying to decide if he would go through with it or trying to back out? “Maybe if we work up to it.” He exhaled and cleared his throat. “I’m okay with trying if he is.”

Dane moved closer. “Sharing Celeste will be difficult enough for you to accept, maybe even impossible once the dragon possesses you, yet that whole argument may be moot if it’s impossible for you to physically be with me.”

Rourke visibly shuddered at Dane’s words.

“That can wait. We have a little more time to decide for ourselves,” Celeste said. “By the next full moon, the decision will be made for us.”

Rourke let out a long breath.

“Dane, your Were traits present another major problem,” Celeste said. “Weres don’t share mates unless they’re bound. Can you do this without feeling as if you’re being coerced?”

“I think I can. I’m not sure about the Were.”

“I’m worried because he has to emotionally as well as physically accept being submissive to my dragon while my body sexually dominates him. If he can’t emotionally accept his role, the Were will sense it. I know because it’s how the dragon in me reacts.”