Queen of Death

Solana

Eli’s possessive hands claim my waist, spinning me around to face away from him as his front conforms to my back.

His right hand smooths over the front of my lower belly, pressing my ass firmly against the prominent bulge in his pants. He has the forethought to turn our backs to the lounge where half my family is gathered but the burn of his lips and the sensual ministrations of his hands on my skin is almost enough to make me throw caution to the wind.

This is what Eli gets off on. The thrill of being caught, the thrill of being watched. Which is why I was surprised, and admittedly a little disappointed, when he rejected my request to take me to The Den. To the club where he once made me feel good, and beautiful, and desired.

My eyes fall closed with my head resting against his chest, my body his to move and explore as he wishes, giving him ultimate control. Giving him all of my trust. All in. No half measures.

Soon, however, even in the dark of the club, even with my eyes closed, I sense someone standing in front of me and Eli. Not just any someone, though.

“Princess,” Ace’s voice drips over me like hot wax. “Time to go home.”

“Where’s everyone else? Where’s Hunter?” I murmur, still glued to Eli’s body.

“They’re still upstairs. Besides your parents and Xander, they’re the only ones left.” His smirk tells me he’s reading my face like a book and finding amusement in the heat of my mortification of being seen like this by my parents of all people.

Eli’s grip on me slackens, his confidence waning in the full presence of his Alpha and my mate.

“Do you need to say goodbye to anyone or are you ready to go?” His thumb gently massages the back of my hand.

Eli’s grip finds its strength again. He likes the sound of going home and I know by the way Ace’s eyes darken that he likes the idea of it too.

“You can bring us back first. I’ll watch over her in the five seconds it’ll take you to come back for the others.” Eli suggests.

“Is that right, Princess? Should I trust him with you?” Ace taunts me and all I can do is nod. He steals a kiss, breaching my lips so I can taste the bourbon still on his tongue. When I feel him release me, I open my eyes to discover that I’m alone with Eli in the master bedroom. My lips tingle with the remnants of Ace’s kiss.

I find myself suddenly shy. Uncharacteristically so. It’s easy to be bold and brave in the dark. Baring yourself, all of yourself, is much more intimidating in the soft light of a silent bedroom.

Eli feels my tension and insecurity, the way my arms wrap around themselves to cover up the flesh my dress exposes.

“Come with me,” he leads me by the hand over to the edge of the bed where he takes a seat and beckons me to stand between his knees. His brown eyes regard me intently and if I look into them long enough I can see the swirls of caramel color that give his eyes a warmth that rivals the ice he can wield.

“I want to show you off,” he purrs appreciatively.

My head tips to the side in curiosity. “Then why aren’t we at The Den?” I press forward into his lap allowing my thigh to stroke his hardness through his pants.

Pleasured groans rumble from his chest. His hands move in unison up my back and over my shoulder blades. He hooks his fingers into the thin straps of my dress and pulls them off my shoulders, letting them dangle over my arms.

My hand twitches up on instinct to hold my dress to my chest. “Don’t,” he says firmly before repeating himself more gently, “don’t hide yourself.”

My breasts threaten to spill out of my dress. His hands return to my lower back before he drops a kiss over my heart. My heart rate accelerates with every new kiss he plants on my skin. So tender and so deliberate.

He snags my dress between his teeth and pulls it down a little further, coaxing my breasts free. I’m frozen in place. Not from his gift, but from how he makes me crave his touch and wait with building anticipation for the next place he’ll kiss me.

Putting me out of my misery, he lifts a hand to cup my breast, positioning my nipple directly in front of his mouth. His warm tongue circles the bud only once before he captures my nipple between his lips and sucks it in between his teeth.

I throw my head back with a hiss, caught on the line between pleasure and pain. He repeats this process with my other breast, taking just as much time and care. Then he turns me around so I’m leaning back against him in his lap facing the mirror.

My chest is noticeably rising and falling and my nipples are red and swollen from the attention they’ve received.

“I don’t need to be at The Den to show you off, Sunshine.” His lips feather kisses down my neck and shoulder. “Look at yourself,” he commands me gently, pulling my dress slowly down my body.

His fingertips chill my skin in the wake of the fabric he peels off of me, forcing goosebumps to erupt across the exposed skin.

“I’ve lusted after you since the moment I first saw you at Caligo,” he drags the back of his fingers down my body starting at my breast and ending at my hip. “Look how your skin glows wherever I touch you. Can you feel what seeing you like this does to me?” He rolls his hips and pushes his ever hardening bulge between my ass.

“Does seeing how beautiful you are turn you on?” His fingers creep over my thigh. He tucks his feet inside mine and kicks them wide so that my legs straddle him and spreads me, exposing me, wide open.

An arm around my waist keeps me from slipping to the floor. Meanwhile his other hand is free to explore. His fingers sweep easily up my slit, collecting my slick arousal for his inspection.

“Have you been this wet all night, or is it from seeing your perfect pussy laid out for me to play with?”

I throw my head to the side on his chest anticipating his fingers breaching my core. I should have known he wouldn’t let me off that easily. “Show me, Sunshine. Show me how you feel when I stroke that sweet spot right here,” he purrs, slipping two fingers inside me and focusing on my g-spot.

Between his dirty words, watching his hand move inside me in the mirror, and his relentless stimulation I quickly approach my peak.

“Do you see how your chest heaves, pushing your breasts out for me to caress? Watch how your body tightens as you climb, closer and closer. And with just a little pressure here,” he rubs circles across my clit with his thumb, “you’ll come for me.”

He’s right. His sultry words and skilled fingers are my undoing. I come hard and fast on his fingers, practically riding his hand to prolong the peak.

“You’re radiant when you come. I wanted to show you just how beautiful it is to witness.”

***

Watching myself in the mirror as Eli finger fucked me has to be one of the hottest things I’ve ever experienced. He’s a smooth and dirty talker that lights my body on fire.

From here I’d expect him to either let me return the favor, or better yet replace his fingers with his cock, but neither of those things happen. Not immediately at least.

He whispers sweet nothings in my ear, telling me how beautiful I am, how strong and warm I am, all while he decorates my upper body in tender kisses. It feels like he’s stalling — or regretting. The long sigh that leaves chills down my back confirms that he’s overthinking about something.

“What’s on your mind, Eli?” Our eyes connect in the mirror. His are dimmed with a sadness that wasn’t there minutes ago.

He shakes his head trying to shrug off my concern. “Same shit, different day.”

Now it’s my turn to sigh. I slip off his lap so I can face him properly. He lets me climb into his lap and straddle his legs, hooking my arms around his neck to support myself. Not that I need it with his toned arms holding me protectively.

“You need to let her go,” I lay out the hard truth as gently as I can.

“Rationally I know you’re right, but how can I when, if I’m truly honest with myself, the very thought of her makes me feel whole?”

I study him for a moment considering his words. They don’t align at all with how he’s spoken about her in the past. “I didn’t think you still held a candle for her.”

He brushes off my probe. “I guess I’m just worried that her heart is already whole, and that there’s no room in it to love me. And I’ll be half empty for the rest of my life.”

It suddenly doesn’t feel right to be on top of him like this. I try to back off and away, scrambling to pull up my dress as I do, but I can feel his wolf howling in protest at our distance.

“If pursuing your mate is what will make you happy then I’m sure the guys will respect and understand that.” The words feel like acid in my mouth. Death wouldn’t be whole without him.

Eli stares at me like I’ve grown three heads before he gives me a sheepish smirk that borders on patronizing. “I’m not talking about the girl I rejected, Solana.”

“Then who are you talking about?”

Eli’s gaze swings to something behind me over my shoulder. I’m so focused on deciphering why my wolf feels an acute sense of rejection that I don’t register that someone else is now in the room until his deep, authoritative voice reverberates through me.

“He’s talking about you.”

Ace stands behind me as close as he can get without actually touching me. Eli’s face flushes red like he’s ashamed to admit that in front of Ace.

“I can’t tell you both how sorry I am,” his words are softer than a whisper.

“I don’t understand,” I admit. “Sorry for what?”

“There’s nothing to apologize for, Eli.” Ace reassures him. “Except maybe for taking so long to catch up.” He chuckles to himself.

“Now I feel like I’m the one that needs to catch up.” I try not to sound as exasperated as I feel as I steel myself to face Ace. Only, when I finally turn around Hunter is standing just inside the doorway with Tate and Dean flanking him on either side.

“Solana, princess,” Ace adopts a tone akin to one used when trying to negotiate a fragile deal. “There’s something we need to ask you. But first I need you to answer Eli’s question. Is there a place for him in your heart?”

My eyes sting with the threat of tears. I blink them back quickly and steady my voice. “Yes, there’s a piece of my heart that beats for him.”

“Ace what is this about?” Eli questions.

“Solana is my mate. She’s the half my wolf has always longed for. But she and I are more than just wolves, she’s more than just my mate. Just like the four of you — you, Hunter, Dean, and Tate — are more than just pack members to me.”

At this point Ace takes me by the hands. “Tell me you don’t feel it, too, Princess.”

The truth is I do feel something. It’s been like this background noise growing louder and louder over the last few weeks as my bonds with each of the guys intensified and solidified. But the sound still isn’t clear, it’s still muted.

Hunter rips me away from Ace and crashes his mouth to mine, lapping at my lips without a care in the world. “Sunflower, I’ve never questioned my love for you. I’ve never questioned that you’re it for me. The woman I want to mark, mate, and marry. But I’ve recently come to realize that you were never meant to be just mine. You were meant to be ours.”

“We can’t all claim her as our mate,” Eli complains.

“Sure we can,” Hunter gives him a cocksure smile and then passes me back over to Ace.

His meadow green eyes regard me warmly, his calm control cools the flames threatening to erupt out of me. In a room full of people watching my every move, Ace makes me feel like I’m the only one he sees.

Ace’s wolf surges to the surface along with his heat. His next words are as much a command as they are a prayer.

“Just as soon as you agree to be our Queen.”