The Three Read online

  “It may take you guys forever to work up to things, but you always make it worth my while,” Elin said. “You have no idea how good it makes me feel, seeing you two like this.”

  Anna thought of all the other times she thought she had broken through Kael’s barriers, only to discover that the walls remained. In the wake of that kiss, she searched her indigo eyes for any sign that this was another of those times.

  “It makes me feel good, too,” Kael mumbled. “Scared out of my mind, but good.” She tucked a lock of hair behind Anna’s ear. “I guess I’d rather be terrified than think that you truly don’t know what you mean to me.

  I’m tired of protecting myself if it means hurting you. I don’t want to risk chasing you away. And I think I would, eventually.”

  “I don’t think you could.” What would I do without both of you?

  “Even still. I think it’s time for me to try to be brave.”

  Tipping her head, Anna said, “Thank you. I promise to try to do what I can to spare you the fear. No more sneaking out. I promise.”

  “But you still have to live your life.” Swallowing, Kael turned shining eyes away. “I do understand that.”

  Anna found Kael’s bicep and gave it a squeeze. “We’ll take that part slow, okay?”

  “I’d appreciate that.”

  Anna soaked up the warmth of Kael’s embrace. She leaned in, breasts pressed against Kael’s chest, and stole another quick kiss. For a moment, they just stared at one another with goofy smiles. Kael made no move to release her, nuzzling her neck. Exhaling, Anna let her eyes slip shut at the way Kael’s touch made her tremble with desire. Reluctantly, she pulled away from Kael and drew a line down the center of her chest with one fingertip, delighting in the shivers that consumed her lean frame.

  “You’ve got to get better soon, baby.” She looked past Kael to Elin. “I’ve got all kinds of pent-up energy and no outlet.”

  Elin gave her a sly smile and shifted to rest against the couch cushions. “A few weeks without sex, and you’re dying, huh? Trust me, I know the feeling.”

  Kael poked her lower lip out sympathetically. “My poor girl.”

  Elin raised an eyebrow. “Tell me you’re not feeling the same way.”

  Kael’s dark eyes found Anna. “I’m feeling the same way.”

  “Well, you two look able-bodied.” Elin lay back and raised her injured hand above her head. The other she let rest on her stomach. “Don’t let me stop you.”

  Anna coughed in surprise. Kael looked just as unbalanced by the suggestion. Until this moment, Elin had always been the focal point of their shared sexual activity.

  “But…” Anna darted her eyes back to Kael’s face.

  “Elin, we should—”

  “Frankly, I don’t know how you’ve managed to keep from making love with one another,” Elin said with a smirk. “Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.”

  Anna felt her face go hot. To her surprise, Kael’s face grew pink, too. They traded nervous smiles before breaking eye contact.

  Elin sighed deeply. “Cowards.”

  Kael snorted, then bit her lip. “Why haven’t we made love?” she asked Anna.

  “I’m not sure.” In her chest, her heart beat in rapid staccato. “I, um…I—”

  Kael ran her hands down Anna’s sides, so gentle. “I’ve wanted to touch you. I love watching you with Elin, but—”

  But something has been holding us back. Anna rested her arms on Kael’s shoulders and interlaced her fingers behind her head. “I know.”

  A smile crept across Kael’s face. Hesitating only a moment, she asked, “May I touch you, Anna?”

  Her legs gave out a little at the quiet question, and Kael chuckled, kissing the top of her head. “Is that a yes?” she whispered.

  “Yes.” Anna noted Elin’s shit-eating grin with some amusement, but struggled to remain focused. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m great,” Elin said. She slid her uninjured hand into the boxer shorts she had borrowed from Kael, settling it between her legs. “Excited.”

  Anna’s mouth went dry as she stared at the place she hadn’t visited in far too long. Checking Kael, she smiled at the way her eyes grew hooded. For a moment they both watched Elin, until their lover shot them an admonishing frown.

  “Right.” Turning to Anna, Kael brought her hands to the hem of her T-shirt. “May I?”

  Anna raised her arms and allowed Kael to undress her. As soon the T-shirt hit the floor, Kael’s mouth was all over her neck and shoulders. She moaned at the sudden fierceness of Kael’s arousal.

  Somehow they made it onto the sleeping bags. Anna didn’t even know what was happening. She was hot, panting. Kael ended up on top of her, lips blazing a frantic path over her upper body.

  She cupped the back of Kael’s head with her hand. Arching her back, she murmured, “I love you.” She held her breath as she waited for an answer.

  Kael moved up to kiss her lips. “I love you, too, baby. So, so much.”

  Anna cried out her joy at the declaration. When deft hands moved to unhook her bra, it was all she could do to keep from climaxing simply from the sensation of being the center of Kael’s world for even one moment. She had known it would feel wonderful, and she was right.

  Kael removed the bra and tossed it to Elin, who giggled when it landed on her stomach, hanging half off her arm. “Thanks,” Elin said.

  Anna tipped her head back to smile at Elin. “Lucky you.”

  Kael pressed her face into the valley between Anna’s bare breasts. “Lucky me,” she murmured. “You can have the bra, Elin. I want these.” She brought both hands up to cup Anna’s breasts and press them together, nuzzling into her skin.

  “I think I’m the lucky one.” Anna ran her fingers over Kael’s head, marveling at the softness of the short hair growing in.

  Kael spent a lot of time on her breasts, kissing and licking and biting at the erect tips. She worshiped them with the kind of full-blown intensity with which she pursued her bow and arrow and her sword, as if she sought to conquer Anna’s flesh with her fingers and mouth. Overcome by the emotions of the day, Anna writhed against her. She didn’t speak as Kael undressed her and kissed the skin she revealed.

  Naked, Anna felt a sudden flash of vulnerability. “I want to feel your skin, too.” She looked into Kael’s eyes, where she saw a subtle shift, a discomfort, at her request. “Please, Kael. I want to feel your whole body on mine.”

  Kael’s nostrils flared, and for the first time, Anna noticed the way her entire frame vibrated with tense energy. Battle-lust, maybe. She knew that adrenaline was surging through her own body, and she hadn’t actually killed today.

  She put her hand on the wrist Kael had planted next to her head, stroked up her muscular forearm and bicep, and looked deep into her dark eyes. “I want you, Kael.”

  Kael leaned back on her knees and tore her T-shirt over her head. She seemed to gather her courage momentarily, then pulled off her sports bra as well. She knelt astride Anna’s hips for long moments, breathing heavily, then stood and shed her jeans. The boxer shorts stayed on. Kael clasped her hands over her crotch with an entreating look.

  Anna reached for Kael with a tender smile. “Come here and let me feel you, baby.”

  Kael lowered her body between Anna’s spread thighs. She settled in with a wiggle of her hips, loosing a quiet groan from Anna. Kael eased into a crooked smile as she regained confidence and control.

  Anna’s eyelids grew heavy at the feel of Kael’s bare breasts pressed against her own. Her thighs fell open completely, as wide as she could spread them, desperate to accommodate her lover. Her stomach flipped at the wantonness of her actions, still such a new thing. For an instant she felt the cold tendrils of fear deep in her belly, but it was chased away when Kael bent and whispered into her ear.

  “Let me taste you.”

  Anna’s clit pulsed at the mere suggestion of feeling Kael’s tongue, and her whole body jerke
d in reaction.

  Kael chuckled, then licked over Anna’s collarbone, and pinched her nipple gently. Anna pushed her hips into Kael’s stomach.

  “Yes,” Anna said. She stared down at her dark breast cupped in Kael’s pale hand. Kael rubbed her thumb over her nipple, drawing her gaze upwards. “Please.”

  “I love you, Anna.” Kael took Anna’s lower lip between her teeth. She stroked it with her tongue, then pushed inside of her mouth with a soft growl.

  Anna ran her hands up and down the soft skin of Kael’s back as she returned the kiss. Her fingertips brushed over the sides of Kael’s small breasts, but she was careful not to linger there. She knew that Kael felt less confident during sex without her cock, and she didn’t want to do anything that would threaten her.

  She threw one arm over her eyes as Kael’s lips blazed a hot trail down over her breasts, her stomach, her abdomen, her thighs, then covered the damp curls between her legs with wet, lingering kisses.

  “Yes.” She found Kael’s head with her hands, gripping at her scalp with frantic fingers. She tried to pull Kael closer and whimpered when she refused to budge.

  Kael moved back just enough to pin Anna’s thighs to the sleeping bag with her arms. Gentle fingers pulled her open, exposing her, making her squirm in anticipation. When Kael bent and touched her tongue to her wetness, Anna cried out. Kael performed oral sex like she approached every other task at which she was gifted, with a focused intensity that took Anna’s breath away. Her mouth dropped open, and her head tipped back as she felt Kael’s tongue drag up the length of her. She watched Elin watching them, touching herself beneath her boxer shorts.

  Elin met her dazed stare with a smile full of playful understanding. Amazing, right? she mouthed.

  Anna could only manage a weak nod, gasping as Kael traced her entrance with the stiff tip of her tongue.

  Looking down into Kael’s eyes, she telegraphed silent permission for her to continue, never hesitating to give her that trust.

  Kael pushed her tongue inside, just the tip, drawing a keening moan from deep in Anna’s chest. She raised her hips, and Kael grabbed one leg and hauled it over her broad shoulder, pressing deeper inside, tongue firm and pointed. Anna surprised herself by lifting her hips even higher to draw Kael even farther inside.

  It was one of the most intimate things she had ever felt.

  Kael pulled out and slid her mouth up over slick folds until she found Anna’s swollen clit. Sucking, licking, tugging at the throbbing flesh, she drove Anna into an absolute frenzy. Soon Anna was pumping her hips against Kael’s mouth, demanding everything. Kael matched her movements, in control of their dance even as Anna grew frantic with need.

  “I want to come,” Anna breathed at last, unable to hold back any longer. She had the idea that she should ask permission from Kael for that release; Elin always asked, and Anna found that unspeakably erotic.

  “Please, Kael, I want to come. I want to come.” She continued to move her hips as she chanted her plea.

  When Kael paused to answer, she nearly cried out in despair. “Come, sweetheart,” Kael mumbled against her labia. “You taste so good. I want to feel you come…right now.”

  Kael sucked up and down the length of her distended clit, flicked the tip of her tongue over it, until Anna’s thighs began an uncontrollable trembling. The weakening of her muscle control, the inability to keep still, preceded the loud, screaming orgasm that shook her to the core and left her a weak, quivering mess beneath Kael’s ministrations.

  Boneless and panting, she pushed at the top of Kael’s head with limp hands. “Oh my God.” She sighed in relief when Kael pulled away. “Oh my God.”

  Kael surged upwards and captured her mouth in a hard kiss. Anna closed her eyes and shared her juices, groaning in contentment as her cheeks and chin grew wet from Kael’s face.

  Kael kissed down her cheek and murmured, “Raise your thigh, baby.”

  Anna did so, and moaned when Kael straddled it. She was hot beneath her boxer shorts, and the material was wet from her arousal. Kael rocked into her, settling into a steady rhythm with her hips. Anna kept her thigh firm and wrapped her arms around Kael’s back. Finding Kael’s mouth, she initiated another wet kiss as Kael humped her way to a quick, trembling orgasm. She barely made a sound, but her strong body shook and stiffened as she came. Anna kept her hands on Kael’s shoulders, closing her eyes at her lover’s quiet pleasure.

  Kael held herself on shaking arms after she came, then collapsed on top of Anna’s body with a quiet groan.

  She found Anna’s throat and trailed worshipful kisses over her sweaty skin. “Thank you.”

  Anna laughed. “No. Thank you.”

  After a moment of silent reverence, they both smiled up at Elin, who released a sigh of blissful contentment.

  “Thank both of you.” Removing her hand from her boxer shorts, Elin licked her fingers clean. “That was incredible.”

  Kael lifted her head from Anna’s shoulder with a dazed grin. “It was.”

  “Incredible,” Anna echoed. She kept her hand pressed on the center of Kael’s back, holding her close.

  Kael made no move to leave. Her eyes on Elin, she asked, “Feeling pretty satisfied, huh?”

  “Yes, sir.” Elin leaned over the edge of the couch and extended her uninjured hand to stroke the back of Kael’s head and then the side of Anna’s face. “Think I could have some cannabis now? That took a lot out of me.”

  Kael chuckled. “You know you can have anything.”

  Elin traced a little circle on Anna’s forehead with her fingertip and asked, “Smoke with me, sweetheart?”

  Anna relaxed into a lazy smile. She felt too good to refuse.

  Chapter Thirteen

  As much as she had wanted to explore cities, Anna was ready to leave this one. It was not a moment too soon, she decided as they took a much-needed break on their second morning outside of Owensboro.

  They were perhaps twelve miles from the city; not a bad pace for Elin, who was still limping from her injuries. She was uneasily aware of an additional weight in her backpack and still couldn’t believe Kael had entrusted her with the gun she’d taken from the old man in the bookstore. It had no bullets, but the mere sight of it would probably keep a threat away. Anna wondered how Elin would feel about it if she knew.

  Kael hadn’t wanted to tell her.

  Wincing from an upset stomach she’d had all morning, she buttoned her jeans and stared at the woods around her. The brilliant purples and reds of autumn had only another week or so to flourish before the dogwoods would start losing their leaves. Beyond the trees lay a clearing of grass and weeds. Elin and Kael had said they would wait for her there, allowing her some privacy to do what she needed to do. Anna swiped the back of her hand across her sweaty forehead, picked up her bat and her gear, and started walking. It must have been breakfast. That just…wasn’t natural.

  Her head snapped up as a loud distress whistle broke the silence of the day. Her blood froze at the sound.

  What the fuck?

  She stumbled forward on trembling legs, only making a few steps when a second whistle sounded. This was one she had only heard once before, when Kael and Elin had taught her their alarm system during her first full day of traveling with them. Instantly, she dropped her pack and reached inside for the gun. As she fumbled, she heard a distinctive low, loud whistle and her stomach hollowed. The final whistle contradicted the distress call before it, signaling her not to come.

  They’re in danger. One of them wants me to come help, but the other wants me to save myself. Or maybe at first they thought they could handle the situation, and then something happened… She left her bags behind, and started to run to them, her mind racing with the possibilities. They’re in danger. I can’t just ignore that.

  She tore into the clearing without thought, running in a low crouch, scanning the area for Elin and Kael, though she suspected that they must have reached the forest at the other side. There were trees, gravel
paths, and picnic tables scattered intermittently across the entirety of the clearing. She saw nothing to raise her alarm. But if her lovers were facing a threat serious enough that one of them had whistled for her to run and hide, she needed to be careful.

  Slipping into the trees, Anna stealthily moved toward some muffled sounds she could just make out. As she drew closer, she could hear shouting, the clanging of weapons. A woman sobbing. Then, a roar of triumph.

  Men. Her blood froze. Winded from her sprint across the field and terrified about what she might find as she drew closer to the commotion, she darted from tree to tree, and the volume of the voices rose.

  When she found them, she dropped to her knees in horror. Ahead, through the trees and lush vegetation, in a clearing in the woods, stood a group of at least twenty-five men. They formed a semicircle around two still forms on the ground. Elin sat, clutching her injured leg. Tears streamed down her face as she gazed down on Kael, who lay immobile on the dirt and plants. Red blood covered her closely shaven head. Her sword lay in the dirt beside her outstretched hand.

  One of the men kicked the weapon away. Another, who stood directly behind Elin, held Elin’s steel baton in an upraised hand. Anna’s stomach dropped as he moved his arm as if to bring it down on Elin from above.

  The older man next to him stopped the descent of the baton with a firm hand and said, “Enough. She’s beaten. Enough.” He looked like he was in his mid-thirties, and his hair was almost as blond as Garrett’s had been, but it was cut close to his scalp.

  Spitting down onto Elin’s head, her attacker snarled at the man who restrained him. “The bitch hit me with her stick.”

  The blond man glared at his angry compatriot. “You could kill her by doing something stupid like that. What good would that do us?”

  “It’d do me a lot of good,” the younger man muttered, but he fell into line.

  From her hiding place, Anna stared at Kael’s motionless body, willing her to move. There were two other bodies on the ground, one behind the semicircle of men, the other surrounded by a group of his buddies to Kael’s right.