The Viper's Nest (Kit Davenport #4)(46)

“It’s just a theory, but I wonder if it’ll break when we bond? I know it is possible if the magic thrown at it is in major excess of the original caster. At first I thought it’d be easy because Zelda cast it and Aus and I far outclass her, but it seems like because she cast it on behalf of someone else...” His mouth twisted, and he winced.

“Gotcha,” I nodded, not needing him to push the boundaries any further. I hated seeing him in pain, just for my own curiosity. “It’s a good theory, and you know I’m game! You just tell me when you’re ready.”

Yeah, I know it was reckless of me to even consider bonding Cal when he was clearly struggling so much with his control around blood... Ah crap, my finger. Glancing down, I checked it carefully to make sure there was no blood left on my skin, and let out a sigh of relief when I saw it clean.

“I will,” he sighed, “the second I have it mastered, if you’re cool with that. It kills me that you’re bonded to Aus and not me.” He whispered this last bit, and I suspected he didn’t really mean to say it out loud.

My hand cupped his cheek, turning his face toward me so I could meet his eyes. “I know it does,” I whispered back. “I’m sorry.”

The smile he gave me was a sad one, full of self-loathing. “Nothing to be sorry for, Kitty Kat. It’s my own fault for not taking Yoshi seriously when we were kids.”

Rather than responding to him with hollow words of sympathy, I pressed my lips to his, hoping that my kiss could convey what my heart felt. Caleb had been my first choice, my first crush out of Alpha team. Had we been just two normal people meeting in school, I had no doubt we would have ended up dating the old-fashioned way. But I had no regrets for the way things had turned out, seeing as I was equally in love with all of my dianoch.

Sometimes, though, I caught Cal watching me with a sad look to his eyes, and I suspected he was wondering what life would have been like if I hadn’t been The Fox. If I hadn’t turned out to be the magical catalyst who could make or break the future of the world.

“Cal,” I sighed against his mouth, but said no more as his lips parted underneath mine. His hands gripping to my hair, he pulled me close, his tongue meeting mine in a wild frenzy, and what I’d started as a tender, loving kiss turned fierce.

“Fuck,” he swore, tearing his lips from mine and leaving me wide-eyed and panting in his lap. Caleb’s eyes were screwed shut, and his mouth was pinched in a tight line while his hand rubbed at his forehead.

“What’s wrong?” I asked him, confused as all hell and unable to prevent the cold, sinking feeling in my gut that he was rejecting me. Because I was sleeping with his brother? Oh fuck, I should have known they wouldn’t all be just fine with me dating five other guys.

“Stop,” Caleb ordered me in a husky whisper, “Stop that, it’s not you.” His eyes flickered open, and I sucked in a sharp breath of surprise when I saw his snake-like pupils.

“Oh,” I gasped, then groaned and dropped my forehead to rest on his shoulder. “I’m an idiot.”

Caleb chuckled slightly, and I felt a tiny bit of tension drop from his body as his hands rested lightly on my waist. “Ah, yeah. So am I. Just... give me a moment.”

I bit my lip—lightly, so as not to fill my mouth with any more blood—and waited while Caleb took a couple of long breaths. When his body relaxed underneath me, I raised my head back up to look at him guiltily.

“Blood was still in my mouth, wasn’t it?” I checked, and he nodded sheepishly. “What did it do to you?” His brows shot up, and I rephrased quickly, “I mean, what did it make you want to do to me? Like...” I trailed off, and his mouth quirked a smile, showing his normal, human canine teeth.

“Like, did I want to tear your throat out and go all vampire on you?” he finished for me, and I shrugged. That was pretty much what I was asking. “Uh, sort of. Not like that I wanted to kill you or anything; I’d never want that. But that small taste of your blood made me go a bit, ah, wild. I wanted more, and I swear my dick has never gotten so hard so fast in my life. It actually hurt.”

A genuine smile pulled at my lips, and he answered it with one of his own. “So, I should probably get off your lap, huh?”

“Unless you want to see me lose control and fuck you right here while drinking your blood? Um, yeah. Probably best.” I was pretty sure he was only half joking, and the reckless adrenaline junkie in me almost wanted to push him further.

“Hey bro,” Austin said, coming back into the den with our coffees and finding me straddling his twin on the couch.

Awkwardly, I shifted off Caleb to sit on the couch and hide my blushing face behind the mug Austin handed me. Now that I was active with both twins, any time they were in the same room with me I could not stop thinking about Caleb’s “twin sandwich” jokes.

What would it be like, I wondered, to have them both in bed with me... I’d had threesomes with Cole and River already, but I was pretty positive by sandwich they meant a different... ah... layout.

“Kitty Kat?” Caleb poked me in the arm, and I realized I’d gone into my head and was ignoring whatever had been said.

“Huh?” I responded, not even trying to hide the fact I hadn’t heard them. Why bother? They could both feel my emotions so probably knew full well my mind had taken a little detour into the gutter.