Hearts in the Sand Read online

  Kirby couldn’t get rid of the tremble that ran through her. It wasn’t a fear of Min... Not that he would cause her harm. But her own irrational thoughts terrified her. Especially the thought that was happy he followed them from the restaurant.

  “Why is he behind us?” Kirby asked.

  “He’s probably staying at the same place.”

  That made sense. More sense than anything else about him. Kirby and Gwydion walked into the hotel, and the world vanished behind them. Despite the chaos in her thoughts, she stepped aside and paused in the lobby, trying to take it all in. Gold and marble and leather stretched as far as the eye could see. Wide, mirrored columns raced to high ceilings.

  It was more stunning and opulent in person than any Hollywood production made a high-end hotel appear.

  She swallowed her awe and loosened her grip on Gwydion’s hand. The pause was enough to reset her brain. It gave her time to be more rational. She couldn’t blame her overreacting on a random stranger.

  “The woman he was talking about. The one you both loved, who was she?”

  Gwydion met her gaze with a sigh. Pain and sincerity reflected back. “You.”

  Bullshit. She should slap him and stalk away with an answer like that. He was insane. She barely knew him. She hadn’t loved him or Mr. Very Tall Dark and Handsome. This was where she should walk away from Gwydion and straight toward the embassy. She’d demand to be reassigned. Sent to the front lines where soldiers needed her faith.

  Instead, a whimper escaped. “I don’t know you. Either of you.”

  “Come upstairs. Let him join us. I’m not talking about sex. This is about explaining things.”

  “No.” Kirby stepped back from Gwydion. She wasn’t trapping herself in a room with two men she couldn’t control herself around. Who, as far as she could tell, were stalking her and thinking she was someone else.

  Gwydion didn’t close the distance between them. “He’s not going to hurt you. Neither am I.”

  Why did she believe him? Because she was a horny idiot? “Just because you say it doesn’t make it true.”

  “You can say no at any time,” Min said from behind her. “Right now. Five minutes from now. Two hours from now. Any time.”

  She believed him, too. She was a freaking idiot.

  Whispers of memory flitted through her, of times and places she’d never been. She shouldn’t recognize the World War II uniforms from England, but she did. The French Revolution. The Hundred Years War.

  Gwydion and Min were there in each instance. This wasn’t sensual like when Min had been speaking. It was war. They were fighting. Both of them soldiers.

  And Kirby saw it in her mind as clearly as if she had watched it happen. Her heart felt the reality and her brain argued she was losing it big time.

  She took another step back. “This is all insane. Both of you. What are you doing to me?”

  This time Gwydion approached her. He lifted her chin to look her in the eyes. He studied her with stunning green eyes filled with affection and concern. He brushed his lips over hers.

  Her thoughts quieted, and her fear was muffled under a heavy blanket. How did he do that with a touch?

  “We’re taught so many things as children.” He dropped his hand, breaking the contact between them. “We’re indoctrinated form the second we’re born. The lessons have changed over time, but beliefs are always drilled into our thoughts until the becomes the cornerstones of our reality.

  “You were raised to worship a god who can do see everyone and is capable of anything. But you were told magic isn’t real. Experience has drilled into your head that you can only trust yourself, but the world tells you that same instinct is a lie.”

  “We’re telling you the opposite.” Min’s tone had shifted. It was still deep and sensual, but the seduction had been replaced with matter-of-factness. “You can trust your instinct. Believe your heart. Stop listening to everyone else’s reality, and hear your own.”

  “And I do that by letting the two of you speak?” This was too much. She didn’t want to rewrite her faith. There was no reason for her to dismantle her entire core. This weekend was about getting laid.

  “You do that by listening to yourself after you hear us out,” Gwydion said.

  A switch flipped in her thoughts. Whatever they were talking about, whatever they were getting at, she didn’t need to jump through those kinds of mental hoops. “I didn’t come here to rearrange my universe. What if I just want to get laid?”

  Chapter Seven

  It was easier than Kirby expected to sweep aside doubt and focus on desire. Want already thrummed under her skin, and now it was unleashed.

  “If that’s what you want, that’s what you’ll have,” Min said.

  Kirby couldn’t think about this anymore. The conflict between head and heart was making her dizzy. She had to do something, and her body was currently the easiest to listen to. She grabbed Min’s lapels, stood on tiptoe, and crashed her mouth against his.

  More of the chaos faded, and her veins hummed with the beat of her hammering pulse. The memories that weren’t hers intensified. She tasted his skin and his sex. Felt his hot breath and his mouth between her legs.

  It was as if she lived half a dozen lifetimes simultaneously, all of them frozen on a moment where she was wrapped up and consumed by him.

  Fuck logic or indoctrination or reason. “I don’t care whose room, as long as we get there quickly.”

  Because kissing either of them was life. Breaking that connection or thinking for too long meant surrendering the ability to breathe.

  She half-expected Min to scoop her into his arms. He’d done that so many times.

  No. That wasn’t right, because she’d just met him.

  She also wasn’t thinking about that right now.

  Instead, he rested a hand at the small of her back, while Gwydion took her hand again, and they headed toward the elevators.

  Apparently that was where half the people in the hotel currently were.

  Gwydion dipped his head to hers. “Do you want to wait for an empty car?”

  “No. This is fine.” Waiting meant more time passing. And thinking. She didn’t want either of those. There was still a tiny voice telling her she was being irrational.

  And another argued with it, that if she didn’t do this now, she might miss her chance this life. It was carried on a sliver of dread that outweighed anything besides her desire.

  The three of them packed into the elevator like sardines from one of those old Tex Avery cartoons. Gwydion and Min kept her between them, heat seeping deeper into her joints than any desert afternoon.

  She wanted more of this. With fewer clothes, and no other people.

  They reached their floor. Every step toward the room clashed with her need. Waiting for Min to fit the key in the lock and rattle the old door into submission was delicious agony.

  She’d embraced impulsiveness twice with Gwydion. Is that why this kept getting easier? No. If she ignored what she’d been taught, as Min said to, none of this felt wrong. And then they were in the room, closed off from the rest of the world.

  Gwydion cupped her face and brushed his lips over her.

  “I want both of you,” she murmured against his mouth. She was allowed that, right? That was implied by them both being here? Her heart and the images in her head said yes.

  He playfully bit her bottom lip. “Another tick off the list?”

  “Something like that.” But whatever part of her knew this was safe still had reservations about Min. Insisted she could have him, but not give him everything.

  Kirby turned back to Min. Gwydion never let go of her, sliding his hands up her sides and kissing along the back of her neck.

  More of her trepidation had faded. She felt stronger. Bolder. And that she needed to make up for lost time.

  She crushed her mouth to Min’s again.

  He rested a hand at the small of her back, drawing her body into his hard, thick, muscled form. His
erection, definitely larger than she was used to, dug into her stomach. How did this two-guys-at-once thing work? Because there was no way in hell he was sticking that her ass.

  With their hands roaming her body, it was easy to set aside that concern. She lost track of who was touching and kissing and caressing where. Groping through clothes. A jumble of hands and mouths for her to lose herself in.

  Kirby’d only taken off her shoes, and the desire was already clenching in her core, making her thirsty for more. She broke away from Min, and held his questioning gaze as she fell to her knees in front of him. She dragged down his zipper.

  He groan rumbled through her, and she licked her lips in anticipation.

  She worked him free from his slacks. His dick wasn’t impossibly huge, but she’d seen smaller novelty dildos. She continued to watch his face as she traced her tongue along the head of his cock. The slight part of his lips, and the hunger written across his face, was as tantalizing as any touch.

  She took him in her mouth, as much as he was able. His growl was delicious. Even better, Gwydion echoed the sound. She didn’t know where he was, but the buzz on her skin said he was close.

  Kirby sucked and stroked Min’s shaft. His mounting arousal amplified her own. She’d never realized it was possible to be so turned on without being touched. It drove her to dive into the moment with enthusiasm. Licking. Stroking his soft sack.

  He gripped her hair, holding her in place, and fucking her face. Each time he struck the back of her throat, reflex kicked in and she ignored it. She wanted to consume him. To please him. To become one with him.

  “My huntress, please.” His voice was dry croak. He tried to tug her to her feet.

  He was close, and she wasn’t interested in stopping. She tightened her grip, and set a pace in time with the thrust of his hips. She needed to taste him.

  And then the salty fluid filled her mouth, some dribbling free and down her chin. She licked him clean, smiling in satisfaction when he shuddered at her touch.

  Surprise filtered through her when he knelt as well. He kissed her face, licking himself from her skin, before moving to claim her mouth. His touch consumed her.

  He broke away to look her in the eye. “You’re my huntress,” he said. “From now until eternity. And I’m your servant for as long if not longer.”

  The intensity of his words, of his promise, should have terrified the hell out of her. Instead it was a soothing promise. It brought back Gwydion’s words about what she believed in. She was starting to understand.

  Min rose, and helped Kirby to her feet. He was gentle and meticulous as he stripped her clothing off. It was the most tenderly intimate thing she’d ever experienced, but it was also familiar. The way he looked over her sent chills and heat racing over her at the same time.

  Gwydion pressed into her back, his bare skin contacting with hers. Apparently she wasn’t the only one who had lost her clothes.

  “You don’t have to be quiet in here,” he whispered, his breath teasing her cheek. He snaked his palms up her stomach, and rolled one of her nipples between his fingers.

  She half-squeaked, half-sighed at the sudden sharpness of his touch, and whirled to face him.

  This was the first time she’d seen him nude in full light. She wanted to revel in his naked form—sculpted muscle, intricate tattoos, and girth where it counted. When did he put on a condom?

  Gwydion had other plans. He settled his palms on her cheeks and captured her mouth in a hungry kiss.

  She roamed her hands over his body, memorizing each contour, and trying to feel everything.

  He stumbled back to the bed, and pulled her with him. “Did you know...” he said between light bites along her neck, “... you make the most stunning faces when you come?”

  If her skin got any hotter, she’d combust. “I can’t say I spent a lot of time watching myself.”

  “No?” Min molded his body to her back. He was naked now too, and his half-hard cock pressed into her. “You deserve to be watched and worshipped. Your room covered in mirrors to display the beauty that is you.”

  He spoke as if he knew from experience. According to their wacky story, he did.

  She almost believed it. Not quite, but it didn’t discourage her from being sandwiched between them.

  Gwydion lay on the bed, tugging her down. When she lost her balance and landed on her palms, he gripped the back of her neck, leaned up, and crushed his mouth to hers.

  “I want to see as much of you as possible, all weekend.” His voice dropped an octave. “Beneath me. On top of me. Anywhere and everywhere.”

  “I like that idea.” She crawled up his legs. When she lowered herself onto him, sliding down slowly, she moaned at the penetration. This was so much better when she didn’t have to keep the noise down.

  She tried to set a fast pace, needing release after the build-up of pleasing Min.

  Gwydion tightened his grip on her hips enough to leave marks, slowing her down.

  Maybe she could do slow. For a little while. This was good. Incredible even. Feeling him slide in and out, as he rocked against her.

  Min moved in behind her again. His bare chest against her back wrapped her in ribbons of desire. He was attentive, rather than demanding. Kissing along the back of her neck. Gliding his fingers along the creases where her thighs met her hips. Teasing her clit, while Gwydion filled her.

  She sank into the layers of touch and caress. It was easier to wind it all around her than try to pick one sensation that was her favorite. Lust and arousal mingled and grew, spreading from her core to reach every inch of her body.

  Gwydion dragged his palms up her stomach to tease her breasts. When he rolled her nipples between her fingers, it was another flavor in an already intense parfait. Min circled her clit, and Gwydion thrust harder. Faster.

  Orgasm engulfed her. The only thing she felt... tasted... smelled... was pleasure. Making her head light. Dancing like a million fireflies in her mind.

  And then the sound of Gwydion’s climax joined in. She floated in the intensity of it all, until the edge faded, and the world slowly drifted back in.

  Kirby curled up against Gwydion, head on his chest, the hammering of his heart matching her own. She pulled Min’s arm to cover her, sinking into the security of his being wrapped up in him.

  This all felt so right. Like the memories really were hers. That she had centuries of love holding and comforting her.

  She faded toward sleep, and a new warmth engulfed her. Vibrant and timeless. A part of her whispered these were her memories. She didn’t care what they were or where they came from, as long as she could follow the sensation.

  As she stepped into a new room, the edges of everything were fuzzed. There were voices. So many voices. And faces hidden behind masks. Min stood in the middle of it all. His face was hidden as well, but there was no mistaking his body or the way his gaze burrowed to her core.

  He stretched a hand out to grasp her fingers, and pulled her to him. Some of the people watched. Others stripped bare aside from the masks. Hands roamed bodies, and talking blurred into moans and whimpers.

  It all raced over her skin like a million simultaneous touches. Their desire and attention filled her and buoyed her. Min removed her clothing slowly. Sensually. Letting each piece fall aside, until she wore nothing.

  People reached for her. For Min. But he held her away from them all. He roamed her body with his mouth and hands. Sucking on her nipples. Biting her shoulder. Dragging his nails up her back.

  And then he held a flogger. Her anticipation spiked, and the need between her legs became impossible to ignore. As leather knots struck her behind, pleasure and pain spilled inside.

  She lost count of how many lashes there were. All she knew was the euphoria.

  Min returned to kissing along her skin. His touch was tender and soothing on the fresh marks. Envy and desire flowed over them from the crowd. They all wanted to be her or use her.

  But she only belonged to Min.
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  He stroked between her legs, teasing her but never letting her come. He knelt at her feet, to kiss down her stomach. To part her folds with his tongue.

  She lost track of where one orgasm ended and the next began, as she floated through countless nights of orgies.

  And then it was Gwydion wrapping her in his embrace. Laughing with her. Falling into a pile of straw in a tangle of limbs. He knew where to kiss, to tickle, to stroke, to make her gasp. She returned the favor.

  His open mouth was hot on hers. His touches the most delicious kind of fire.

  And when he slid inside her, she felt like they were one.

  The surreal wash of moments blended into an abstractly erotic burst, with her reliving each orgasm as if it were new. Her body sang from one climax after another, across centuries of attention.

  Something lingered in the shadows, though. Growing stronger with each new scene.

  Terror nudged her heart, carrying more pain than one person could be expected to endure.

  She couldn’t see a source, or give it a name beyond really fucking bad, but it came from knowing Gwydion and Min.

  She forced herself awake. Her pulse screamed in her veins and her heart felt like it was going to burst.

  She tore away from the bed, unable to shake the fear and lingering agony. What was going on?

  Chapter Eight

  Min saw the terror in Kirby’s eyes as she stumbled from the bed.

  “Kirby. Talk to me.” Gwydion was by her side in an instant. He pressed a hand to her chest. “I need you to breathe for me, and tell me what's wrong.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  Min did. His heart shattered for her. She was remembering more than just the sex. It was all coming back to her, and she was unraveling in the process.

  He didn’t know how to lessen the pain. If she remembered more of the good, admitted it was real, before the intensity of the bad came back, it might help.

  He rose from the bed, and approached Kirby and Gwydion. He held out his hand. “Come here.”