Two crosses sat against the far wall, a bench between them, and closer to us were two tables.
One of the crosses had a woman bound on it while another woman stroked down her bare skin with a riding crop.
Perhaps not my thing, though I did not begrudge the women for it.
“Maybe they’re busy,” I mumbled. “Maybe they didn’t wait for us and they’re in their own scene.”
“Don’t count on it.” It was impossible to miss Akiva’s voice. “Can I touch you? PG only, I pinky promise.”
I didn’t turn. “Yes,” I said after a moment, and Akiva slid his arms over my shoulders to wrap loosely around them.
“I was betting you wouldn’t come,” he admitted. “But you did.” His hand found my wrist and held my hand up to look at my bracelet. “Though I did guess right on this.” He wore a crimson bracelet like Aveline.
“So you’re good then?” Aveline was smiling.
“What?” my eyes snapped back to hers.
“I told you I’d stick around to see if you were good. That’s my friend over there,” she gestured to a clump of people and I saw a younger man beckoning her towards the hallway. “So if you’re good…and honestly, it looks like you are, I’m going to go.”
“I’ll take care of your cousin,” Akiva promised. “Promise.”
Aveline turned her savage grin on him. “If I hear her call out ‘red,’ I’m coming over. Trust me; I’ll hear, and you won’t like it.”
Akiva saluted her. “She won’t,” he promised.
Both of us waved goodbye as she strode away, hips swaying and boots clicking on the hard floor.
“She’s kind of terrifying,” Akiva admitted.
“Yeah, she wouldn’t have gone with you last night if our roles had been reversed,” I promised. “She would’ve blown the cemetery apart around the witches.”
His hand slid down my arm and he took my hand, pulling me around to an alcove where Cian and Indra were.
This time Indra was on the floor, chin on Cian’s knee while the vampire murmured to him and stroked his ears.
Cian glanced up, though he wasn’t surprised. “I told him you’d come,” he said as Akiva pulled me down to the sofa with them. His eyes fell on my bracelet. “Thought you’d have a blue one on, though.”
My ears flicked, flattening slightly. “Aveline has a red on,” I argued, though I wasn’t sure what that proved.
“I didn’t say anything about Aveline’s. And she strikes me as the dominant type,” Cian said, though his tone wasn’t argumentative. His own bracelet was red-not shocking-and Indra’s was blue.
“Maybe I am too,” I challenged.
“Oh very,” Akiva agreed mockingly. “Only…” he pulled my tail onto his lap, stroking the soft, white fur.
I tried and failed to conceal my moan and leaned back into him, stomach tightening at his touch.
“Only you’re kind of not, hmm?” He continued stroking over my tail. “They wouldn’t let me have both blue and red,” he told me absently. “And I figured since you were coming I would be dominant tonight.”
He was a switch, then?
“Why come here?” I found myself asking. “You could do this at Euphoric, right?”
“This, yes,” Cian agreed. “Mostly. They might not like what we do here soon, though.” His eyes gleamed wickedly. “Did Akiva tell you he lost his bet?” His voice turned seductive.
Akiva didn’t pause his stroking of my tail, and I found it hard to think. It was a pretty well-kept secret that a shapeshifter’s tail was a sensitive and erogenous spot for most of us, but I supposed with Indra around, they were more than slightly aware of that fact.
“He did,” I answered slowly, my tail twitching in the lich’s lap.
“I told him if you showed up then he’d have to apologize to you on his knees. Would you like him to?”
Indra smirked at Akiva, though hid the look from Cian.
“Are we talking like–apology or apology?” I asked nervously, unsure of what I was even implying.
Akiva snorted. “Do you want my apology, or do you not?”
“Yeah. Yes. You can absolutely apologize to me,” I told him, tipping my chin upward to meet his eyes with my own glowing gaze.
He didn’t look at all put out. Did I expect him to? He only slid to his knees on the hard marble.
“I’m sorry,” he told me, hands encircling my ankles. His eyes blazed brightly as he lifted my leg to kiss the inner ankle of my boot. “I thought you wouldn’t come; you did.” He worked his way up, mouthing at the lining of my boot. I couldn’t pull away. I didn’t even want to, truth be told.
I was suddenly very aware that I wore only semi-thin thigh highs and not pants.
Sure enough, I could feel how warm his mouth was on my leg as he pressed his lips to the spot over my boot. I very suddenly thought of all the other places I would like him to put his mouth.
“I apologize,” he said again, moving to do the same to my other ankle. “Perhaps I’ll make it up to you. Would you like to see Cian make me apologize?” his eyes sparkled.
I had no idea how to respond.
He knew it and his smile grew. “Or would that be too much–“
“Yeah,” I said suddenly, surprising us both.
He paused. Cian looked over.
“What?” Akiva asked after our silence.
“Well, you asked if I wanted to see Cian…make you.” I was tired of letting him one-up me by making me unsure. “I said yes, I would like to see that.” My eyes went to Cian. “If he wants to.”
“I’d love to,” Cian promised. He helped Indra off his knees and the shapeshifter sat down next to me. Then the vampire went to Akiva and yanked him to his feet much less sweetly.
“So…you’re all together,” I murmured to Indra as he sat down next to me and unexpectedly laid his head on my lap.
“Yes,” he told me, smiling serenely upwards as I reached down.
“Can I…?”
Without answering, he reached up and brought my hand to his ears.
They were
