Promised in Blood: Chapter 27

Malachi and Xavier have their heads close together and are engaged in a conversation that I’m too far away to hear. I am vaguely aware of Dr. Underwood telling me I’m capable of better grades, but I’m too distracted, wondering what the boys are up to. They appear way too conspiratorial for my liking.

“I don’t want to see you waste your potential, Ophelia.” Dr. Underwood raises his voice an octave, dragging my focus back to him.

I nod my appreciation. “I won’t, Professor. I’ll study harder. Promise.”

The corner of his mouth lifts like he doesn’t entirely believe me, but he dismisses me with a wave of his hand, and I head immediately for the boys standing in the corner of the classroom. “Hey.” I bump my arm against Xavier’s. “What are you doing here?” Malachi is my designated chaperone today. “I thought you and Axl had some super important Ruby Dragon recruit business to take care of?”

Xavier flashes me a smirk, his deep-blue eyes raking over my body in a way that makes me squirm. “We did. It’s done.”

I glance between him and Malachi, and my stomach flutters. “So you’re both with me today?” The excitement in my tone would be embarrassing if I didn’t know how much they enjoyed being with me too.

Malachi winces. “Nope. I have to go, sweet girl. Xavier is spending the rest of the day with you.” He avoids my gaze and instead glances at Xavier.

“Oh?” Something feels very fishy here. “What were you guys just talking about so intently?”

Xavier slings an arm around my shoulder and starts to guide me toward the exit. “Nothing for you to be concerned about, Cupcake.”

Malachi still won’t look at me, and the flutters in my stomach turn into an anxious churning. Xavier dips his head and presses his lips to my ear. “And remember, it’s impolite to read our minds without permission, Ophelia.”

Dammit, he’s right. It would be so easy to tune into their thoughts and find out what they’re keeping from me. “Except if I think any of us are in danger,” I remind him with a triumphant grin.

“Nobody is in danger.” He drops a kiss on the top of my head before tipping his chin at Malachi. “You’d better go.”

Malachi offers me a smile and does his best to hide his disappointment, but even without reading him, I can still tell from the slight droop to his shoulders and the lack of shine in his bright-green eyes. “Catch you later, sweet girl.”

I give him a halfhearted wave. “See you later, Kai.”

Without another word, Xavier guides me down the hallway to my next class, and I’m left wondering what just happened. It doesn’t feel like anything bad is going on. Xavier is humming softly to himself, and I don’t feel any fear or anxiety from the others, but still … “What’s going on? Why did Kai have to leave?”

Xavier laughs and shakes his head. “Because he’s too much of a sap for you.”

I elbow him in the ribs. “No he’s not.”

He responds by laughing harder and wrapping me in a loose headlock. Then he presses another kiss on the top of my head but still doesn’t answer my question.

“What does that even mean, Xavier?”

“There’s nothing for you to worry about, Cupcake. Let’s just get your classes done with so I can get you home.”

There is no mistaking the change in his tone when he says those last few words, and it’s enough to send shivers of excitement racing down my spine. The boys don’t know that the curse is lifted yet, and I cannot wait to tell them. I have it all planned out. I try to tamp down my excitement before Xavier feels my giddiness and tickles the truth out of me. I’m so wrapped up in my own plans that I almost forget he’s hiding something from me too.

I don’t intend to read his mind, but I kind of can’t help it, and I probe inside for a clue. Casually, without breaking a step, he wraps his large hand around my throat and squeezes gently. “Rude, Cupcake.”

“Wait! You could tell I was—?” Embarrassment at being caught out heats my cheeks.

“Yes.” He gives me yet another kiss.

“I’m sorry. I can’t help it. Sometimes I just … I’m sorry.”

He stops walking, and a second later, I’m pinned to the wall of the hallway. Students move past us, throwing amused or concerned glances our way, but I guess the fact that I’m not struggling prevents any of them from stepping in. “There’s no need to be embarrassed. And I like you inside my head. But you’re not getting in there today.”

“You can block me out?” I ask, awed. I know how much the professor believes in his abilities and how my lessons have been helping him develop his own powers too, but I didn’t realize how far he’d come.

He caresses my throat with his thumb. “As long as you don’t push too hard. I think, anyway.”

My cheeks hurt with the force of my smile. “I’m so proud of you!”

“Yeah, well, you can show me just how much later, Cupcake.” The playfulness in his tone is enough to assuage any fears I had about something bad going on. Now I’m simply more curious than I have ever been in my life. I open my mouth to ask a question, but before I can, Xavier seals his lips over mine and kisses me.

No questions either.

So unfair, I grumble. Well, as much of a grumble as I can muster while Xavier is kissing me the way he is.

I stayed out of Xavier’s head for the rest of the day, but I did bombard him with questions, all of which he skillfully avoided answering while somehow also managing to stoke my excitement. We reach the porch, and my curiosity is so heightened that I feel like I might burst.

“Am I going to find out what you’ve been keeping from me soon?” I ask, bouncing with the effort of containing my glee.

He lifts my hand to his lips and brushes them over my knuckles. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Cupcake.”

“Liar,” I huff as we walk into the house. Malachi’s energy hits me as soon as we step inside. He’s almost as giddy as I am. “What the hell is going on?” I whisper.

Xavier jerks his head toward the kitchen. “Go see for yourself.”

I practically run down the hallway and burst into the kitchen. The sight that greets me has me both stunned and deliriously happy. A giant unicorn balloon sits in the middle of the table, and pink glittery balloons are strewn around the room, clashing with the classic red and green Christmas decorations that I insisted we needed. A congratulations banner is strung from the upper cabinets, and paper plates and cups that match the balloons are set out in each of our places. The over-the-top unicorn cake is decorated with colorful lollipops and sprinkles, and I can’t wait to dig in. But best of all, Malachi, Axl, and Alexandros are here too. Malachi almost knocks me over with the force of his hug, and I struggle to catch my breath. “W-what is all this?”

“It’s your party, princess,” Axl says, pulling me from Malachi’s arms and into his.

Xavier stands behind me, his chin resting on my head. “Congratulations, Cupcake.”

“Congratulations for what?” I look to Alexandros for some clue. He remains seated at the table but watches us all with an unexpectedly tender smile on his face.

It’s Malachi who answers. “You controlled your powers. The curse is lifted.” His joy makes me laugh.

“You already know?”

Xavier laughs. “Fuck yeah, we know.”

Axl gives me a hard squeeze before releasing me. “We knew as soon as it happened, princess.”

I look to the professor and do my best to appear indignant, but I can’t keep the smile from my face for longer than a second. “You told me they didn’t know. You said I should wait to tell them,” I say accusingly.

He shrugs. “The boys wanted to do something special to mark the occasion, and I …” He draws a breath through his nose and pushes himself to his feet. “It has been too long since we had something to celebrate.” He holds out his arms, and I walk into them, allowing him to wrap me in the comfort of him. “And what you achieved last night is worth celebrating, little one.”

I rest my head against his chest, my eyes landing on the cake and the unicorn balloon tied to the back of my chair. This is so out of his comfort zone. A laugh bubbles from my lips. “You secretly hate this, don’t you?” I whisper.

He rests his chin on the top of my head. “More than you can ever know,” he says with an exaggerated sigh that has his breath ruffling my hair. “I expect you to make this up to me tenfold.”

“Time for cake!” Malachi shouts, and I untangle myself from Alexandros’s embrace.

“And then orgasms,” Axl declares.

Xavier fist-pumps the air. “A metric fuck ton of orgasms.”

I mouth a thank you to Alexandros and then take the seat Malachi pulls out for me. “Is this what you guys have been doing all day?”

Malachi nods eagerly. “Yep. We thought of doing something last night, but I had no idea of the full plan until Xavier came to get me after your geology class.”

Xavier laughs. “Yeah. Axl and I came up with it after you left for class, and we knew we couldn’t tell him about it because he would have spilled.”

Malachi punches him on the arm. “Fuck you!”

“It’s true.” Xavier throws his hands in the air. The boys start to squabble, and I bask in the normalcy of the moment. After a few minutes, Alexandros tells them to behave, and they fall silent.

“You each have your own unique talents, but it is only Xavier who is currently powerful enough to block Ophelia from his mind.” The overwhelming feeling of pride in Xavier ripples through all of us. Then Alexandros turns his attention to me. “That is why he had to accompany you to your classes today.”

My eyes dart between all four of them, and I’m overcome with so much positive emotion that I feel like I could quite literally burst into a cloud of glitter. I can’t believe they did all this. Tears fill my eyes, but they are tears of pure joy. “I’ve never had a party before. Thank you all so much.”

“Anything for you, sweet girl.” Malachi brushes a tear from my cheek.

Axl places a slab of cake in front of me. After taking the seat next to mine, he rests his hand on the back of my neck. “Eat your cake so we can get to the good stuff.”

Xavier groans his agreement.

“How many orgasms do you owe our Ophelia, boys?” Alexandros asks, a wicked glint in his eye that I’ve never seen before. Seeing this side of him is a rare gift, and I feel so incredibly lucky to witness it.

Malachi has a huge bite of cake in his mouth that he tries to speak around, but all that comes out are sprinkles and unintelligible mumbles.

“At least twenty-one,” Axl answers.

“Twenty-one?” My legs are shaking at the mere thought of it.

He shrugs, a smirk spreading across his face. “It’s been three weeks. That’s only one a day, princess.”

“Not even one from each of us,” Xavier chimes in.

Warmth ignites in my core, and suddenly the giant piece of cake in front of me looks much less appealing. All I can think about are their expert hands and their sinful mouths and their naked bodies.

Malachi licks his lips. “Twenty-one multiplied by three is sixty-three.”

Oh my god, I’m definitely going to die from orgasms.

Alexandros cups my jaw, his dark eyes burning into mine. You deserve all of this and more, little one, he says to only me before speaking aloud. “Perhaps not all in one night, boys.” Then he presses a soft kiss on my forehead and walks out of the room, leaving me alone with the three of them.

Axl looks down at my plate. “Not hungry, princess?”

I shake my head. Not even a little. “Not hungry for cake at least.”

He pushes my plate away and lifts me onto the table so I’m sitting in front of him. Then he edges forward, spreading my thighs apart with his broad shoulders. “Shall I tell you what I’m hungry for?” He flicks his tongue over his fangs, and heat pools between my thighs.

I already know the answer, but I whimper a yes anyway.

One corner of his mouth lifts in a smirk, and he wordlessly pushes me back until I’m lying on the table with the unicorn balloon hovering ominously above me. I let out a giggle that earns me a nip on my thigh.

“How many times do you think we can make her come in one night?” Xavier asks while Axl removes my panties.

I suck in a shuddered breath.

“I dunno. Is there a limit before we have to stop? I mean, burning down the house wise?” Malachi asks.

No. She is more than capable of controlling herself now. There are no limits. The professor’s voice fills our heads and also seals my fate. I am surely going to leave this mortal realm tonight, and I’m not even mad about it. My legs are already trembling violently, and Axl has barely touched me.

“Has anyone ever actually died from an orgasm?” Malachi asks, letting me know I’ve been communicating all my thoughts to them.

Xavier lets out a wicked laugh. “I guess we’ll find out.”

I shoot him a warning glare, but it loses all its heat the second Axl’s mouth meets my flesh. He licks a hot, wet trail along my center that has white-hot pleasure spearing through my core. I cry out, trying to buck my hips, but I’m held down by Xavier and Malachi while their brother feasts on me.

“This is your favorite way to come, right, Cupcake?” Xavier asks.

I press my lips together, screw my eyes closed, and nod furiously as I try to maintain a handle on my powers. The incredible sensations delivered by Axl’s skilled mouth require me to focus. When he flicks his tongue over my clit, I explode like a firework at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s. Quick and fast and electric.

And I smile because I’m in heaven, but also because my powers remained in check with minimal effort on my part. Which is good, considering that was the first of many orgasms tonight. Xavier and Malachi are already arguing about who gets to make me come next, and perhaps I should hate it, but I can’t. Not when I feel their devotion and their loyalty coursing through my veins along with my pleasure.

“Can you feel your legs, princess?” Axl’s low voice drifts into my ears.

I murmur something unintelligible, unable to open my eyes as I lie nestled in a cocoon of their warm bodies. I have no idea how many of their sixty-three orgasms they delivered, having lost count after six. But they ate and fucked and fed on me over and over again until the morning sun broke through the dawn.

Malachi laughs softly, his breath dusting over my shoulder. “I think we broke her.”

“Naw. She’s fucking invincible, aren’t you, Cupcake?”

I smile and murmur my agreement as sleep threatens to take me under, and I let myself fall with the sound of their hushed voices surrounding me. In the comfort and protection of our bond, I know that nothing will ever break this. Nothing will ever break us.

This is home.