Masked Fate (Fated Love #3)

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Pandora

“Are you sure we should be here right now?” I ask Astrid, glancing around the busy crowd at Rita’s Stomping Ground, our local watering hole in Aravelle. We both left Chaos together, telling Soren and Rave we’d be heading back to the castle, but instead, Astrid suggested we go out and have a drink.

“Yeah, it’s fine. It’s neutral ground here… no one can touch us,” she replies, grinning with a beer in her hand. “And no one will recognize me. I need a drink and some girl time after all that torturing.”

Unless Rave shows up.

With his reputation for killing first and asking questions later, people still speak his name in fearful whispers, even in his own kingdom.

“Same, and I wasn’t even there,” I reply, lifting my glass and clinking it against hers.

Rita, the owner and Sinda’s mother, comes over and hugs us both warmly. “How special do I feel having two queens in here tonight.” She beams, placing some food down on the table. “Please, eat and drink as much as you like. And Astrid, please tell my son he needs to come and see me more.”

“I’ll tell him,” she promises, her lips curving up at their corners. Rita smiles and rushes off to the next table. “So, how’s Soren in bed?”

I almost choke on the grape I just popped into my mouth. Tilting my head to the side, I consider how to answer her. “Generous and well experienced. So good, I momentarily stopped caring just how he got to be that talented in bed.”

She laughs. “At least there’s some pros to that.”

“He’s obsessed with eating my pussy…” I pause. “And feeding me food.”

“Well, you know what I think? If he doesn’t check to see if you’ve eaten or need to be eaten, he isn’t the one,” she replies with a straight face.

Laughter bursts out of me, and I’m suddenly glad she dragged me here. This is exactly what I need right now. I’m about to ask her if we should order some shots when the doors to the inn open, and three shifters step inside.

“Shit,” Astrid murmurs, her hazel eyes narrowing. Magic pulses around her, getting ready to defend us if needed.

Everyone pauses as they take in the sight of the triplets. They tower over everyone they pass, their wide shoulders touching as they walk toward the bar. The violent energy that surrounds them is unmissable. Salem is in the middle, slightly bigger than his brothers, and the only one with his hair worn short. He looks over the crowd, staring at anyone who dares to make any eye contact until they lower their gaze—a predatory display of dominance. He oozes arrogance, even more than his brothers, and I mutter a curse as his light green eyes land on me. His lips curve, a devilish look entering his gaze as he turns on his heel, changing direction to approach me.

“Motherfucker,” I mutter.

Salem dips his head, looking down at me. “Well, if it isn’t the last pussy I dreamed I tasted.”

“Oh my fates!” I groan, scrubbing my hand down my face in embarrassment. Astrid, on the other hand, starts laughing. As of right now, she is no longer my best friend. “Has anyone ever told you that you are a complete asshole?”

“No one that is still breathing,” he replies with a shrug, taking the seat next to me. He moves closer, and I scoot away. We do this another two times before his brothers stand over us, both of them frowning.

“Salem, we spoke to you about this,” Silver growls, crossing his arms over his chest. “We don’t need Rave and Soren coming after us. Let’s go.”

Salem ignores them, his light green eyes pinned on my profile. “I’m not here to start any trouble. I’m sorry I shifted last time and nearly ate something other than your sweet cunt, Pandora.”

Sage chuckles while Silver’s brows hit his hairline.

I can’t help but look over at Astrid, whose face is now turning red as she tries to contain herself, but her eyes are dancing with humor. I’ve never wanted to smack the Fae Queen more in my life than I do right now. Would Rave kill me if I did?

“Thank you for your apology, Salem,” I reply.

He grins and pats my head like a dog.

“Good queen,” he rumbles, nuzzling the side of my face. Isn’t this the shifter known for hating physical touch? Is he drunk? It’s either that, or he’s finally lost the plot. “I know you have a mate now, and I respect that. But you were mine first, and I won’t forget that. So if you ever want someone to kill him, you come to me first, okay? I’ll finish the job, cut off his head, and then fuck you in a pile of his blood.”

Fucking hell.

I nod, clearing my throat. “I’ll remember that, thank you.”

He sighs, sounding put out. “It’s such a shame, you know. I think you would have taken my knot like a pro.”

Astrid throws her head back now, losing any remaining self-control. “You probably would have, you know. It just sounds like something you’d be good at, Pandora.”

Sorry, Rave. I’m going to murder your soulmate.

Salem nods, a thoughtful look on his handsome yet terrifying face.

This is easily the weirdest night of my life.

“I thought you don’t like people touching you,” I decide to point out, hoping to move the conversation away from his knot, which, to be honest, I’m kind of curious about. I’ve never seen a shifter’s knot, but I heard that when you have sex, it expands and holds the female locked onto him for a little while afterward.

Or something like that.

My gaze drops to his crotch, wondering if that is a pro or con about being with a shifter.

Salem follows my line of sight and smirks, readjusting himself. “I won’t tell if you don’t. And no, I don’t like anyone touching me. But you are different. And you’re not touching me… I’m touching you.”

Fates.

There’s a lot to unpack, but I’m not going there.

Clearing my throat, I hold my hand out to him. “Friends?”

He studies my hand, then suddenly grins and shakes my hand, his large one dwarfing my smaller one. Satisfied with our conversation, perhaps, he then wraps his arm around me, pulling me into his side.

And that’s how Soren finds me, and he stalks into the inn with Rave at his side.

His hands slam down on the table, and the room pulses with dominant magic. His expression hints at pure, unbridled violence. “Get your fucking hands off my mate! I’m going to kill you, Salem! I don’t give a fuck how big you are. You’re clearly stupid as fuck.” Soren’s magic seeps through his tone, the command pouring from his words.

“Master?” A blonde woman gasps, coming to stand next to him. You have to be fucking kidding me. She raises her hand to touch him, but Soren steps away, ignoring her. Instead, his eyes are locked on Salem as he’s about to charge for him.

Rave sighs, his shadows coming out to hold Soren back. Salem, on the other hand, pulls me closer than any sane, intelligent male in this situation would. His brothers pull him out of his chair and zip right out of there before a full-blown war takes place, all because Salem is certifiably insane.

Rave lets go of Soren, who lifts me from my chair and throws me over his shoulder, his hand landing on my ass with a harsh slap.

He zips with me right into his bedroom, where he throws me down on the mattress and braces himself over me. “Please, tell me, little witch, exactly why the fuck Salem had his hands around my fucking woman?”

His voice is rough, harsh, and rings with jealousy.

“He came to apologize,” I say, looking him in the eyes. I lift my hand to touch his jaw, and he takes a deep breath, trying to calm down. “And he’s fucking insane, so I didn’t want to start any drama. He hugged me, and that’s when you walked in.”

His hand moves to collar my throat. “No other male gets to touch you.” Firm, full lips trail down the side of my neck. “But you know that, don’t you?”

“Soren—”

“Look at me,” he commands, and I didn’t even realize my eyes were closed. “I’m going to show you exactly what happens to bad girls.”

Oh fuck.

I’m so turned on right now, but at the same time, I also want to have the last word. “I’m not one of your little pets, Soren.”

Gray eyes flicker with anger, and for a moment, I wonder why the hell I’m pushing him right now. He strips off my clothes until I’m naked and then walks over to his cupboard, unlocking it with a key he takes from his drawer. He has an evil grin on his face that I don’t fucking like, and when he pulls out a leather paddle, I scowl at him. “Soren, what are you—”

He sits on the bed and pulls me over his lap, my bare ass right in front of him. He strokes the smooth skin there, murmuring something about perfection before he brings the paddle down on my ass.

“Ouch!” I snap, squirming to get away from him.

He holds me in place, placing another two strikes. He palms my ass and the backs of my thighs, soothing the heated tingles before sliding a finger inside my pussy. “You are wet, little witch. You like this, don’t you? Of course you do. That’s why you are fucking perfect for me.”

Another five strokes of the paddle, and then he groans, letting it fall to the floor.

He lays us both back on the bed and orders, “Now, sit on my face.”

This doesn’t sound like a punishment to me.

Or maybe the punishment is over, and now I get rewarded?

Straddling his face, my hands on the headboard, he grips my hips and shoves my pussy onto his lips, apparently not caring if he can breathe because he makes sure all of my weight is on him. He licks me with long, wet strokes before circling my clit with the tip of his tongue, just how I like it.

He makes a growling sound, moaning against my pussy. This is a man who loves to eat me out, and it only makes me even wetter.

Males who eat pussy for their own pleasure are a dangerous kind.

But when I’m about to come, he stops, lifting me off him so I’m lying on my back again. “Why did you stop?”

“Get on your knees for me,” he growls, and I do as I’m told while he stands and undresses, revealing that perfectly muscled body and thick, hard cock. My mouth waters. Gripping the base of his cock, I kiss the tip.

“Let me feed you,” he murmurs, sliding his cock against my lips. I open wide for him as he feeds it to me inch by inch.

Him and his obsession with feeding me.

Lucky for him, I’m always hungry.

I was on the edge before he stopped, so I’m dripping wet and desperate for release, which only makes me more enthusiastic as I take as much of him as I can until he hits the back of my throat.

“That’s it, you can take it all,” he praises, running his thumb down the side of my neck. “Breathe through your nose. Just like that. Good-fucking-girl.”

I moan, even though I’m the one pleasuring him, just from his words.

Fuck.

I can’t look away from his hard ab muscles and the way they tighten with each movement of his hips as he starts to fuck my mouth.

I know when his breathing gets rougher, he’s about to come. “You’re doing such a good-fucking- job. That’s my girl.”

His voice is gravelly.

And when he finishes in my mouth, so deeply I can barely taste him, I watch the bliss on his expression and the slight smile playing on his lips.

He grins down at me savagely. “Fuck, your sweet mouth is perfect.”

“Fuck me, please, Sir.” I moan, lying back and spreading my thighs. I’m hoping that calling him ‘Sir’ will be the magic word to get him to let me come.

“Beg for it, little witch,” he rasps, straddling me and bringing his lips to my ear. “Bad girls usually don’t get to come. So, you might have to wait a while longer until I think you’ve learned your lesson.”

Oh fates.

Reaching between us, I start to stroke my clit, but he catches my wrists in his hand. “No, you don’t touch yourself. You take whatever you’re given. And right now, after seeing another male’s hands on you, a male who has fucking tasted what’s mine, I’m not in a very giving mood.”

“Please, Sir,” I beg, my body wanting release winning out over my stubbornness. “I won’t let him touch me again. I promise.”

“Hmm,” he grumbles, moving lower to suck on my nipples. I don’t think I’ve ever been so turned on in my life. Shouldn’t I be pissed at him for playing this game with me? For making me work for my orgasm because he’s a possessive asshole who didn’t like seeing Salem touch me?

But for some reason, I’m not.

In fact, I’m fucking loving it.

I’m needy as fuck and want him to finish what he started.

And I know it’s going to be even better when he gives it to me.

I’m in the moment with him, and my body is his to command.

“Spread your thighs.” The order is firm.

I don’t have to think about what to do.

My mind can block everything else out, and I can just feel .

And suddenly, I get it.