Cage of Ice and Echoes, page 11
Jesus. I’m describing civilized humans like they’re a different species than Leo and Kody. But in many ways, they are.
“That’s fucked up,” Leo says. “Why would anyone pretend to be something they’re not? It’s dishonest.”
I don’t have an answer for that.
Kody slouches against the wall. “Denver told us our entire lives that no one lives within hundreds of miles of Hoss. What’s the likelihood of encountering a populated area before we run out of fuel?”
“Not likely.” I make a face. “If we’re in the Brooks Range, our best bet is to fly south and look for Fairbanks.”
“That’s where you were born.” Kody looks at Leo.
He blinks. “Is that our only option?”
Anchorage, Wasilla, and Palmer have hospitals, but they’re all farther south.
I nod.
“You were wearing a headset when you arrived on the plane.” Leo studies me. “Did you hear Denver talking to anyone over the comms?”
“No. We were out of communication range when I woke.”
“If the comms work, we should be able to contact an air traffic control tower as we approach civilization. Maybe someone can guide us through the landing.”
My insides thrum with nerves. I dread the landing the most. I don’t care how much we study the flight manual. It won’t teach us how to put a plane on the ground without crashing it into smithereens.
“We’re getting ahead of ourselves.” Leo closes the book and sets it aside. “First we need to survive the winter. To do that, we need the pemmican.”
“Since we can’t take the snow machine…” Kody sighs heavily. “Frankie and I will be walking thirty miles there and carrying it all back.”
“Frankie won’t be going anywhere until she’s rested.” Leo touches his lips to my head, always putting me before everything else.
No one argues. Not even me.
My eyelids droop beneath the weight of a hundred polar nights. I don’t have the energy for another hike in the snow. Not tomorrow. Maybe not this week.
“You guys made that trip in three weeks.” I swallow, pushing down memories of what Wolf and I endured during that time. “Since we’re not stopping to hunt or make pemmican, we should be able to do it in half the time, right?”
“No, love.” Leo sweeps a hand up my arm and into my hair, his breath heating my scalp. “Now that it’s winter, the terrain is exceedingly more difficult. In snowshoes, you’re looking at an average pace of one mile per hour, accounting for icy slopes and the need for breaks to avoid fatigue and cold-related injuries. Best guess, it’ll take thirty hours to cover thirty miles. That doesn’t include prolonged rest periods, setting up camp, or any unforeseen delays such as bad weather or difficult navigation.”
Fuck.
As they discuss the logistics of the hike, I silently fret over my ability to survive it. Trepidation builds in my chest, and my rib cage feels too small to contain it.
It’s not just the journey ahead that troubles me. I also worry about the cold months that will follow, the escape, the landing, and most of all, finding our place in a world that has remained so far beyond our reach. A world full of regulations, legal systems, technology, people, social interaction, consumerism, media exposure, and…other women. So many women, so many options. How will Leo and Kody mentally and emotionally adjust to it all?
How will I adjust?
The one constant I can count on is their indestructible bond. A bond I’ve been privileged to become a part of.
Despite their differences—Leo’s possessiveness and fierce need to protect what’s his and Kody’s quiet strength, a shield against every enemy we face—they’re two halves of a whole, each complementing the other, always on the same side, never apart, no matter how many levels of hell they walk through.
As the fire burns low, its embers glowing softly in the darkness, their voices become the soundtrack to my thoughts.
I wonder at the paths that have led us here, to this moment of unity. How many times did I tell them I was too broken to love again, too scorned to trust another man, too fucked-up to try?
When I learned about Monty’s affair, I swore off the male population for good. To protect myself, I vowed never to be that vulnerable or susceptible to heartbreak again. No more romance. No more relationships.
How quickly they made a liar out of me.
The depth that I have fallen terrifies me. They have more power over my emotional well-being than Monty ever did. If I lose them, or if they hurt me, I won’t recover this time.
“I love you both,” I whisper. “We’ll face whatever comes, together.”
Their response, a tightening knot of masculine arms and legs, wraps around me, forming the warmest, coziest hammock. In their embrace, I find not just safety but a sense of belonging that I’ve searched for all my life.
With my arm draped over Kody’s waist, he presses closer, trapping me against the unmovable wall of Leo’s solid frame. They’re so sturdy, so comforting, erasing my anxiety over everything we have to do in the coming days.
Our bodies melt and fit together like pieces of a jigsaw, my breasts flush with Kody’s chest and my backside slotted against Leo’s groin.
The complex chemistry we ignore during the day spills out in the night, connecting all our matching parts and fusing us into a singular unit.
Kody guides my leg around his hip, and Leo holds my neck, his other arm bent to cushion my head, joining us in a position that’s made for sex.
It’s inevitable. No words needed, not with our bodies slowly rocking and our hands wandering.
I glance up at Kody’s dark eyes, his pupils blown with lust.
“Please.” I don’t know what I’m asking. I really don’t care.
I’m theirs.
Theirs to tease, to touch, to kiss, to fuck. Whatever they want, I’ll bend.
I’ll beg.
“In case you didn’t know, you’re both hard.” I rotate my hips between their pulsing erections. “I’m right here. Do something about it.”
“Do something?” Leo’s silky braids tickle my shoulder as he lowers his head. “What do you suggest?”
I release a sharp exhale at the sudden heat of his lips on my neck, the wicked caress of his tongue tasting my skin.
“This.” I tilt my head, giving him better access. “This is a good start.”
How far will he take it with Kody here? Given the smolder in Kody’s eyes, he doesn’t intend to sit on the sidelines and watch this time.
Leo grips the neckline of my oversized shirt and yanks it down my arms, baring my breasts. Cold air stiffens my nipples to hard points, drawing two pairs of eyes.
No one moves as they stare with scalding intensity. My lungs ache for air. My flesh prickles with goosebumps.
Then their gazes lift, connecting above me, speaking a language I can’t hear. A private language of eye contact and expressions known only to them, a means of communication between brothers who grew up under the reign of a psychopath.
In the next breath, Kody pushes me to my back, and Leo swoops in, covering my breast with his hot mouth and sucking hard.
Holy.
Fuck.
My spine arches, and my jaw opens with a gasp. Before I can shut it, a long, rough finger presses down on my tongue.
My eyes flash to Kody.
Oh, it’s on.
With a slow grin, I close my lips around his assertive digit and suck it like a pro.
His features freeze as if carved in ice.
And Leo…he’s on the move, sliding down my body, his mouth trailing wet kisses along my quivering belly.
With a snarl, Kody pumps his finger, swirling it around my lips and dipping back in, showing me how he would fuck my face. Slow at first. Then faster, harsher, riding the edge of control.
I tongue the length from tip to knuckle, swallowing him to the back of my throat. He groans. The growly, rumbling sound is so fucking erotic that I can’t stop myself from biting down.
A piercing hiss slips through his teeth as he yanks his hand free and grabs my throat, applying pressure.
I go still, trembling with anticipation.
Leo’s lips lift from my hip.
Oh, shit.
Is my brawler about to start brawling?
As I swing out an arm to stop Leo, Kody captures my mouth in a savage, teeth-clashing kiss that sends me spinning into the cosmos.
He comes at me like a bear, all fangs and claws and voracious strength. The hand on my throat loosens enough to allow air, but my God, his dominance hits just right. His tongue controls mine, hunting and licking with a predatory hunger.
His kiss takes feral to another level. I can’t tell if he’s tasting his next meal or offering benediction for it. Whatever this is, his intensity threatens my very existence.
Lord help me, I’m here for it. His tongue is my communion, and I’ll eagerly spread my legs to feel it part me from ass to clit…Oh, God. The man knows how to lick.
Leo’s mouth returns with purpose, teasing along the waistband of my sweatpants.
He’s allowing this with his brother? For how long?
Blindly, I reach for him, tangling my fingers in the twisted knot holding back his hair.
“Please.” I whimper against Kody’s plundering kiss.
I’ve completely lost my mind.
“What do you want?” Prowling up my body, Leo skims warm breath from my waist to my breast. His stubble tickles as he flicks his tongue around my nipple.
My pussy throbs from all the attention it’s not receiving.
Kody breaks his kiss to run his tongue over my cheek.
He’s…he’s actually licking me—my face, my neck, my mouth. His entire body moves with the strokes of his tongue, surging against me, thrusting his raging erection, full-on humping me like an animal.
“Frankie…” Leo’s weight, now pressing in and trapping one of my legs, feels like a torment and a promise, teasing the very core of my being. “I asked you a question.”
I try to reposition, to move his hips into the space between my thighs. I just need some friction.
More than that, I need them to fuck me senseless.
He bites my tit, his teeth ruthlessly catching my nipple, demanding my focus.
“Fuck!” I can’t think with two men teasing so many nerve endings at once. “I forgot the question.”
“Tell me what I should do about this.” His tone holds a lethal edge.
“This?”
“You, me, Kody.” He separates each word with taunting nips on my breast. “Us.”
Kody’s erotic tongue swirls around my earlobe, screwing with my concentration.
Overstimulated and soaked, I’m nothing but sensation. “You should both fuck me. Quickly. Before I die.”
“Too bad.” Leo sits back, removing his mouth, his touch, and his beautiful heat.
“Prick.” I narrow my eyes, ready to call him out on his jealousy.
“Does he look like he wants to stop?” Kody sweeps red hair behind my shoulders, his lips brushing my ear. “He’s as hard as I am. But no one’s having sex tonight. You’ve burned through your calories for the day—”
His palm clamps over my mouth, stopping my argument.
I claw at his hand, trying to escape the muzzle.
In a blink, he pins my arm above me, buries his nose in my armpit, and inhales loudly. “Christ, I can smell you. Your goddamn pheromones make me ache.”
My armpit? No. That can’t be sexy.
Except it is. The ravishing steam of his breath, the vibrating sound of his groan, the sensual motion of his hips as he humps me and scents me…Holy hell.
With his hand still trapping my mouth, another glance passes between him and Leo, a conversation I have no hope of interpreting.
Leo looks conflicted, tangled in a barrage of possessiveness and hunger. I don’t know which part of him will win, but he’s making a gallant effort to work through it. For me.
They settle on something, a truce of some sort. Instead of throwing his fists, Leo rests them on his thighs, closes his eyes, and inhales slowly.
Kody readjusts to sit with his back to the wall. Then he hauls me onto his lap.
Not a sleeping position.
Confused, I catch Leo’s gaze. Deep in those blue and gold eyes, I glimpse a flicker that I trust. Whatever happens next, he’ll be in control from start to finish.
Looming over me, he grips my sweatpants, his intent clear.
Perched in the V of Kody’s powerful legs, I raise and lower my rear, letting Leo strip me bare from the waist down.
“What are we doing?” I reach back to touch Kody’s soft black hair. “I thought you said no sex.”
“There’s one thing Leo and I will always agree on. Your happiness.” Kody seductively licks my jaw. “Spread your legs.”
A thin sheen of sweat forms on my skin, bubbling from the burn of desire building inside me.
My legs fall open.
Kody’s cock jerks against my rear. Leo swallows, his eyes stark, fixed on my exposed pussy.
Overheated, I shed my shirt and lean back on Kody’s chest. Stark nude. More than ready.
An invisible leash snaps as Kody’s hands fly over me, gripping my throat, kneading my breasts, rubbing, pinching, grabbing, bruising.
Then he reaches between my legs.
Leo captures his wrist, stopping those fingers from penetrating.
The room falls still, save for the pop of embers in the hearth.
“Leo.” I know he’s struggling, but he can’t start and stop this at will. “Please, don’t—”
“Shut up, Frankie.” Holding Kody’s arm, he guides it up my body and places Kody’s hand on my breast. “This isn’t a race, man. Take your time. Warm her up. Never go straight for the holy land. Not until she begs.”
Oh.
He’s teaching him.
“You’re doing great.” I nuzzle my nose against Kody’s rigid, scruffy jaw.
He grunts.
An excited grunt. A hungry, heart-racing, can’t-catch-his-breath grunt. My new favorite sound.
His palms flatten over my abdomen, circling, exploring, and climbing higher to trace the undersides of my breasts. I melt beneath the reverent caress, tracking the path of his hands.
A long red scar covers one, jagged and ugly from my stitches. Calluses roughen his fingers from the crossbow. More scars lash his knuckles. But his touch feels like velour. So plush and smooth for such a hard, brutal man.
Leo captures my thighs, opening me wider as he bends forward and fills his lungs with my scent, his nose a hairsbreadth from my dripping flesh.
With a grip on my throat, Kody turns my head and rubs his cheek against mine, nosing me, sniffing me, scraping his teeth against my skin, conjuring images of an apex predator, wolfish and primal, protecting his pack.
Soon, his nuzzling turns into deep, wild kisses that deplete my lungs and scramble my brain.
“Oh, God.” I tremble. I whimper. I lift my hips and shamelessly hump the air. “I need…I need more. Please, keep going.”
“There she is.” Leo sucks on my inner thigh and nods at Kody.
Kody doesn’t hesitate. Gliding a hand between my legs, he sinks two fingers into my soaked cunt.
And freezes.
“What’s wrong?” I twist my neck and find his eyes squeezed shut.
“You’re so…” He expels a shaky breath. “Hot. Wet. Too fucking small.” His eyes open, colliding with mine. “There’s no way I’ll—”
“You’ll fit.” I kiss his chiseled cheek, shuddering with the need to come. “Curl your fingers.”
His brows crash together, and I feel a twitch inside me. Barely.
“You won’t hurt me.” Panting, I widen my legs. “Harder.”
“Like this.” Leo slowly eases his fingers inside me, alongside Kody’s.
God.
Jesus.
Yes.
Leo sucks the tender skin on my thighs, marking me with hickeys as his fingers thrust in tandem with Kody’s.
I cry out, overflowing with delirious pleasure.
Kody cups my throat and covers my cheek with sultry kisses as his other hand works my pussy, following Leo’s rhythm, filling me, stretching me, massaging my inner walls.
“Fuck, I’m close.” I feel Leo guiding Kody’s thumb, showing him my clit, how to tease it, rub it, and get me off. “You guys are ruining me. It’s fucking incredible. Don’t stop, don’t stop, don’t stop—”
A shower of sparks explodes through my body and shimmers across my vision. I thrash atop Kody’s chest, grinding against the fingers inside me as Kody’s tongue fucks my mouth.
Wave after powerful wave, the orgasm grips me, breaks me, lighting me up from the inside out.
Kody stiffens beneath me. His breath cuts off. His mouth falls away, and I moan with the realization that he’s coming with me.
As the remnants of ecstasy twitch through me, I clutch his hair and hold his face against my neck.
Leo’s unreadable gaze captures mine.
He and his brother just fingered me. At the same time. Is that weird? Reprehensible?
It doesn’t feel wrong.
It feels fated and soulful and pure. There’s nothing more tragically beautiful and honest than the three of us together.
Slowly, Leo withdraws his fingers from my body and brings them to his mouth. Without looking away, he sucks them clean, thoroughly, diabolically.
Deliciously fitting for a temperamental savage.
Quirking my lips, I crook a finger.
On hands and knees, he crawls up my love-bitten thighs, slides against my breasts, and forces me back onto Kody’s heaving chest. When his mouth greets mine, it’s with a devastating kiss that makes me forget my name and turns me into a bottomless pool of want.
His pajama pants ride so low on his hips it’s easy to plunge a hand inside and free his thick, swollen cock.
“Frankie.” He groans against my mouth and shifts his hips out of reach. “This isn’t about me.”
“Why not?”
Kody puts his mouth to my ear. “He went along with this to relax you, to make you happy.”
“What’s the point if we’re not all relaxed and happy?” I capture Leo’s erection again, stroking the hot, velvety length and whispering into his kiss, “I love to feel you throb as you come. That makes me happy.”
