The Alpha Trio’s Human Mate

Chapter Nine

I was frozen in my seat as Zeph's face drew nearer to mine, and his cedar and musk scent enveloped me. His deep hazel eyes smoldered at me from beneath dark lashes, and his lips twisted in a wry smile. Even on his knees in front of me, while I sat, he was still several inches taller. His arm muscles flexed as he bent them, lowering himself even further. I thought, and I secretly hoped, that he was aiming to cover my mouth with his. I couldn't deny that I wanted it. Aside from proximity during our brief training sessions, I hadn't let them touch me, let alone kiss me. I couldn't help but wonder if I'd melt with one of their lips pressed to mine.

To my dismay, Zeph changed course, and his lips brushed my jaw as he leaned into the crook of my neck. His warm breath tickled the sensitive area, and my whole body jerked involuntarily, as if I were being tickled. I had expected a kiss, maybe a lick, but instead, he pressed the tip of his nose against my skin, and inhaled deeply.

"f**k," he groaned quietly, the whoosh of air making me buck again. The way he cursed was so raw, so indicative of his longing for me. It was primal and erotic, and a line of fire shot from my neck to my core, which clenched needily. I leaned back from him at the sound of fabric shredding, and I peered down at where his hands were on either side of me. Zeph was white knuckling the fabric chair, and the tips of his claws had pushed past his control and speared the upholstery.

"Something wrong?" I smiled coyly, gesturing with my head to his hands.

"Yes, actually," he grunted again, his voice strained. He pulled back as well, and the look on his face had turned darker. Possessive. Needy. "I can scent how much you enjoy my proximity, Emmarie. Not just the view." I sucked in a sharp breath in response, and my n*****s tightened further, almost painful now. I still wore the red knit sweater from earlier, with only a cotton bralette underneath for the erect peaks to press against. I wished it were made of cool satin, or perhaps, nothing at all.

"What does it smell like?" I breathed, playing with Zeph's self control, forgetting that I was toying with Lynx and Kai's, as well.

"A drug," Kai was beside me faster than I could blink, leaning down on the other side of my neck, inhaling my scent.

"So addictive," Lynx purred behind me, his lips brushing the back of my neck, which was bare underneath my short hair. I pressed my inner thighs together, and suppressed the whimper that threatened to escape my throat. My breath was shallow, and the nearness of all three of them...their scents, their hot, bared skin...it was heady. I felt a rush of heat, knowing that I was growing slick with need in the center of me, and a chorus of growls sounded in response. I suddenly wanted them so, so bad. I reached out to trace the long scar on Zeph's chest, to feel his taut skin and hard muscle beneath my fingertips, but I drew my hand back abruptly.

A fog had settled over me. A thick blanket of arousal enveloped me, and it was unusual. I realized that I wasn't myself. I couldn't shake the feeling, no--it was becoming more intense with every one of my heartbeats, in fact. But I could get away from them.

"I think I've had too much to drink," I squeaked, starting to push myself to a standing position. "I'm not ready. I don't want to do something I'll regret." I wouldn't regret it, probably. I would likely be utterly and profoundly changed by the experience, and it was one step closer to the inevitable, that I was going to be theirs...but I had to exercise self-control while I still had it. Zeph drew back with intense effort, but it was clear he was trying to heed my wishes.

"We'll walk you back to your room, then." He nodded, grabbing his shirt, and tossing Lynx and Kai's at them over my head.

"We want you begging for us, utterly consumed by the need to be touched and pleasured," Lynx hissed, coming beside me, studying me with his curious amber eyes. Not helping, I thought to myself.

"You'll be waiting a while, then," I retorted, smirking at him.

"I think not," Kai's hand came to the small of my back, guiding me out of the lounge and in the direction we'd have to walk to get back to my room, which was now quite close to theirs, courtesy of Commander Jacobs. "You get aroused just by training with us. One kiss, and I think you're done for, Emmarie." I shivered, in part due to his words, and in part due to the cold air as we stepped outside. the bitter winter wind was welcome on my hot skin, which was flushed and tingling. I hadn't even bothered with my coat. I didn't respond to his taunt--I simply walked at a brisk pace, surrounded by my three protectors, trying to get to the dorm as soon as possible. My skin was still so, so hot, and I could feel a pulse throbbing between my legs.

When we finally reached the door to my room, I almost sighed in relief. Until I spotted something hanging from the frame.

"Mistletoe?" I reached up and fingered it, confused.

"You said you had Christmas traditions with your parents. Mistletoe is a Christmas tradition, yes?" Zeph's voice had a hint of mischief in it, and I turned to look at him.

"You put mistletoe on my door?" I quirked an eyebrow at him. He only shrugged. I studied his face, wondering when he had managed to sneak it up there, but I shook my head.

"You wouldn't disgrace such an ancient Christmas tradition, would you?" Kai crooned, and my skin flushed hotter as my gaze swept over the three of them. The ache in the center of me pounded like a war drum, spurring me on, and I couldn't even think. I knew it wasn't right, and I shouldn't be feeling the intense arousal that I was, but it was thrumming and building to a crescendo. The fog wouldn't clear from my head if I didn't do something to relieve it. My eyes bored into Kai's navy blue ones, and I traced the seam of the inside of my mouth with my tongue, making a decision.

I grabbed him by his collar and hauled him down to me. I hated the way I moaned against his mouth at the touch of his lips. Kai's arms circled my waist, holding me steady. The swipe of his tongue into my mouth, fierce and demanding, turned my insides molten. I wanted to reach up further, to fist my hair in his dark brown mess of hair, but he pulled away, a wicked expression on his face.

"My turn," Zeph spun me to him, one arm snaking around the small of my back, and the other twining into my short hair, fisting it at the nape of my neck. The small tug on the strands was the slightest discomfort, but it only heightened my need. Zeph's mouth was hot and insistent, the taste of him addictive. "Emmarie," he groaned against my lips, guiding my head to an angle with the hand fisted in my hair. This allowed him deeper, his tongue exploring, tracing mine, memorizing it. Just as my need became white hot, he pulled away, and I whimpered, needing to be touched.

Lynx's gaze nearly tore me in two. It was pure lust. He shoved me up against my door, but just as he had in training, when he softened the blow of slamming me into the mat, he caught the back of my head before it snapped back into the door. His other hand came up to my throat, cupping it, but not choking me. A threat of violence, but a promise of gentleness at the same time. His kiss was the worst. It was torture. Slow, deep, and sweet, with his smoky scent enveloping me...it was a tease. It had me writhing against him, fisting my hands in his shirt and pulling him to me.

He reached beside me as his mouth moved on mine, unlocking my door with my key that he'd somehow swiped from my pocket unnoticed. We tumbled backward into my room, his strong arms lifting me by the backs of my thighs. While my eyes remained closed, I knew from the sound of the door closing that Kai and Zeph had entered my room behind him, and the three of us were alone. Their tastes still lingered in my mouth, mingled with Lynx's, and my hips took on a mind of their own, grinding against the hard length of them that pressed against me. I locked my legs around him and clutched at his shoulders with reckless abandon.

"I told you one kiss, and you were done for," Kai's voice was in my right ear, and I had the awareness of his huge, hard body right behind mine. He tugged on my earlobe with his teeth, and his hands palmed my ass. His fingertips dug into the soft flesh of my hips as Lynx's hands shifted to my waist, and Kai pressed his own length against me. I rolled my hips, grinding in two directions against them, and the inner thighs of my jeans grew even more damp. Lynx's hand came up to cup my cheek, with Kai now supporting my weight, and he pulled my face away from his to look deep into my eyes. The molten gold of his was dark and insistent as his thumb brushed against my swollen bottom lip. I panted, still writhing, looking at him from beneath heavy eyelids. The fog of lust was curling inside my mind, thick as ever, begging for more.

"Are you sure you didn't take any of the aphrodisiac?" He squinted, his voice rough and accusatory, though not at me. I could hardly think straight, but my thoughts ran back through the timeline of the night. Everything I'd consumed orally. No food since the opening remarks of the fertility ritual, only drinks.

"Ah," I gasped, the realization finally hitting me. My extreme arousal, the fog of lust following me around, it had started just after Penelope and Jackson appeared. When she'd bumped into my drink, nearly spilling it, but it wasn't an accident. The b***h had drugged me--with an aphrodisiac potent enough for a wolf. And I was only human.