CHAPTER 77

Returning to hell with Rune was surprisingly natural. Sparrow moved back into her same room as Vashien unpacked their things. Faye sat in the oversized room, glancing over the stone walls and artisan furnishings. Rune would help her create a dark court that would protect the weakest among them, which every dark court should have been doing instead of turning a blind eye and hiding in their pampered luxury.

"I'm going to check on my garden," Faye announced, getting to her feet.

"It's been weeks. That shit is dead." Sparrow flopped gracelessly on her bed and upturned her face to peer at her upside down.

Most of it, probably. She hoped she could salvage a plant or two. Guilt ate at her for leaving them to wilt and suffer. Faye made her way to the courtyard, stepping into the gardens. The midday sun beamed down on her. The warmth welcomed her back like an old friend.

Bracing for the worst, she stepped through the second archway. Faye's lips parted as her heart lit. She hurried to her garden unable to believe her eyes. Her plants were alive. More than that, they were thriving.

Faye shifted the plump leaves inspecting the stems and soil. She sat back in disbelief. They were pristine. Rune must have tied the magic that cared for the black roses to maintain her herb garden. She couldn't imagine him watering her plants while she was gone.

But her oversize watering can wasn't in its usual place. Someone set it near the fountain. Faye smiled, brushing her fingers over the leafy plants. Maybe the Shadow Prince did care for her plants in her absence.

Faye left the gardens, biting the inside of her lip. Rune would probably be in his study. She'd missed him. The connection she felt when she was near him. Darkness, she needed to learn to phase. Walking seemed so much longer when teleportation was an option.

She strolled up the hall and peered into Rune's study. He sat behind his desk reviewing aged documents. Books piled in short stacks on either side of him. His gaze lifted to meet hers as she moved across his study. "You kept my garden for me."

Rune canted his head as his brow pinched. "Why would I not?"

"Thank you." Faye smoothed the perfectly arranged lapel of his jacket and took a seat on his thigh.

A whisper of the veined misted shadows crept from beneath his eyes as he lightly held her. "You are most welcome."

This close she could feel his warmth. Perceive his decadent scent of amber and sandalwood. Being with him felt like home. Faye leaned forward, their lips meeting in a soft kiss. "I've missed you," she whispered.

Rune rested his forehead against hers, wrapping her in his arms. A low purr reverberated through him, filling the room. "Every moment away from you has been agony."

Her arms circled his neck. The feeling of possession humming through her. Burning slow and bright. Consuming her thoughts until all she saw was him.

This man belonged to her. To protect and cherish. To honor and love.

And she was his.

She leaned into him. Her lips met his in a slow, searing kiss. He pulled her against him, molding her to the hard planes of his body. His tongue stroked into her mouth as his fingers grazed the small of her back beneath her shirt

His touch made her blood sing. Her skin heated in response as she moaned, needing more of him.

She pulled back and a dark, predatory gaze met hers. Faye smiled, her heart softening for the sweet viciousness that lived within Rune. Faye cupped the side of his face, and Voshki leaned into her touch. He took a slow, deep inhalation as his lids slid closed. When he opened them, his eyes were pale blue once more.

Faye lowered her gaze fiddling with the edge of Rune's jacket. "I feel like I'm always ignoring one of you."

"You are not. The Ra'Voshnik and I are always present."

"Can you let Voshki into my mind, like in our meetings?"

The familiar brush against her senses soothed her before a wild aggression edged in sexual heat filled her mind. Voshki's presence enveloped her, covering her with his longing and desire.

"We share an awareness. We each know the other's thoughts and words."

"There's no privacy between the two of you."

The Shadow Prince knows you prefer me. It's no secret, Voshki purred through her mind as a disembodied hand caressed her neck, sweeping her hair behind her shoulder.

Faye's vision blurred for a moment, and she swayed. She pressed a hand to Rune's chest to steady herself as the dizziness passed. A soft rumble sounded behind her as a hand slipped into her hair. She turned to find Voshki leaning on Rune's desk.

"You can visit us both in our mind," Voshki said, leaning forward as his hand tangled in the back of her hair.

Faye's breath caught as Voshki's grip tightened, pulling her hair taut to her scalp. He angled her head up, and Rune's hand tightened over her hip. Faye flushed, caught between them.

Voshki leaned close, bringing his lips a moment from hers, releasing his grip.

"We both belong to you," Voshki rasped, lingering. Waiting.

He slid his index and middle finger up her neck. The backs of his black tipped claws gilded upward, sending a tremor of pleasure through her. Her breaths turned shallow as her nipples hardened.

Faye's eyes slid closed as she rocked on Rune's thigh, snaring the hard muscles of his chest under her nails.

"You could have us both," Voshki whispered.

Could she? Faye had been with them. They were both present when they made love to her long into the night. Faye's flush deepened as her blood heated, pooling between her legs. It would be like the phantom touch they'd both used on her.

"Would you want us to worship you?" Voshki asked.

She straightened, meeting Rune's gaze. He watched her, neither giving nor demanding. Voshki was obviously willing, while Rune seemed undecided.

"Are you ok with this?" She asked.

His hand slid down her thigh. "I would give you anything you desire, as long as it is your desire and not the creature's," Rune said, the last arching a brow as he glanced over her head.

Faye leaned forward, bringing her lips a moment from his. "He's not a creature," she whispered. "You both belong to me."

Rune's lips met hers. A brief touch, slow and inviting, before he pulled back. Faye followed him, sighing as her lips met his. He caressed her jaw, his fingers trailing into her hair. He pulled her in, tilting her head up. He kissed her with a possessive hunger. Claiming her mouth with each stroke of his tongue.

Faye's nails bit into his chest, scraping over the dark material of his shirt. She moaned into Rune's kiss. His hands held her close while others caressed her.

She rocked against Rune's thigh as a gentle touch slid up the nape of her neck, tangling in her hair. The hand pulled Faye's hair tight, and her breath caught, breaking her kiss. Faye let him guide her head back, staring into Voshki's dark gaze.

Rune nipped and licked down the length of her exposed throat. Faye's lips parted as her breath swallowed. More intense than when they teased her with a phantom touch. She could feel their heat. Their longing. Hear their breaths and groans as they touch her.

Voshki licked her bottom lip, and a breathy sigh escaped Faye. She arched her back as he kissed her deeply. Rune's hand glided over her side, and Faye leaned up wanting his hands on her breasts. His touch brushed over her ribs instead.

Faye grasped his hand, dragging it to her breast. He molded her soft flesh to his palm, circling her nipple with his thumb before pinching the sensitive peak until she cried out.

Their touch overwhelmed her, but Faye craved more. Desperate to be trapped between them, at their mercy. She flattened her hand on Voshki's chest, reveling in the feel of the hard planes of his body. She moved lower, and Voshki groaned.

He broke their kiss as she stroked his cock through his slacks. His brow pinched as his breaths grew ragged. A growl slipped from his lips as he thrusted with her strokes.

Faye kissed Rune playfully before reaching between them to stroke him as well. He moved with her, claiming her mouth. Timing the strokes of his tongue to her touch. Faye rocked on Rune's thigh, giving herself over to the feel of them. She rocked harder, driving her pleasure.

She gasped when Rune stood suddenly, taking her with him. He laid her on his desk and Faye blinked, panting. The haze of passion cleared from her mind. Voshki smiled down at her standing on one end of the desk while Rune stood at the other and spread her legs. Her pulse raced as Voshki leaned over her. Upside down. He kissed her, nipping at her bottom lip before moving lower.

Faye lifted her chin, offering him her throat while Rune stripped off her pants.

"So eager," Voshki rasped, skimming his fangs along her throat, withholding his bite.

Faye sucked a breath when he tore her shirt open. Voshki lingered, teasing her nipple with his lips and teeth. She moaned when Rune's hands gripped the tops of her thighs, his hair falling forward to brush her inner thigh. The heat of his mouth met the side of her knee and moved lower.

Voshki took her wrists and pulled them over her head. He smoothed her hands over the edge of the desk. "Hold tight," he said. His mouth widening into a wicked grin. "When you want us to fuck you, let go."

His words intensified the throbbing between her legs. An ache she desperately needed filled. Faye glanced down at Rune. He held her gaze as he licked through her center. Slow and deliberate.

Her head fell back as she rolled her hips, needing more of him. "Rune, please."

His tongue glided over her as he teased and worked her slick flesh. Voshki's black tipped claws whispered over Faye's breasts. Pain and pleasure shot through her as he pinched her nipples. Tugging them until they plucked through his fingers before beginning again.

Faye dug her nails into the desk. Frustrated with their sweet torture. She needed Rune hard and claiming. She set her legs over his shoulders, driving her heels into his back. "Harder," she commanded, pulling him closer.

His lips closed over her clit, purring as he lashed her with his tongue.

Faye panted, rolling her hips against his mouth. "I need to feel you inside me," she cried out, and Rune obliged her, stroking a finger in. Faye tossed her head, rocking against him as Voshki licked and sucked at her breast. "More. Make it feel like your cock," she cried.

She spread her legs wide as Rune thrusted a second finger into her. Faye pulled her lower lip through her teeth, so close.

Voshki stopped his attention to lean closer to Faye. He kissed the corner of her mouth and rasped, "Take it for him."

The sound of his deep, accented voice snapped the tension building in her. Her thighs closed over Rune's head as she came. Her inner walls clutching his fingers as he pressed into her further, demanding her surrender.

As he wrung the last bit of pleasure from her, he drove into her harder in deliberate, measured strokes. Roughening his purr against her sensitive clit.

"Spread your legs and take it for him," Voshki purred.

"Rune." Short breaths whispered past Faye's parted lips. She eased her legs apart, her feet coming to rest on the armrests on either side of his chair.

Tension coiled in her body, building quickly. It crested over her and broke, Voshki lifted her shoulders off his desk as waves of pleasure washed through her. Rune eased his touch as she came down euphoric. She glanced up, catching her breath but Voshki was gone. Rune stood, wiping his hand over his mouth. Her brow lowered in confusion.

They weren't holding her up.

Faye turned to see the top of her wing arching past her shoulder. They were tucked tight to her back, holding her off his desk. Faye had returned to her physical body.

"I believe this is my new favorite game." Rune smiled as he gazed on either side of her. "But I will have to shield my furniture."

Faye glanced at the desk. Deep gouges tore through it. His books and papers scattered across the floor. She turned back to him, an apology forming on her lips.

The words froze as black flooded his gaze, swirling over his pale blue eyes before covering them completely. The veined, misted shadows poured from beneath his eyes, swaying over the tops of his cheekbones.

Faye gazed up at him. Wanting to surrender. To bare her throat and spread her legs for the beautiful hunter before her. The corner of his mouth lifted as he leaned closer. His lips brushed the shell of her ear.

"You let go."