Breath of Desire
Autore
Ophelia Bell
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Theaās still grieving a year after losing the love of her life. But things take an unexpected turn when her old loverās twin brother Dimitri reenters her life with a mysterious request for her expertise as a historical genealogist.
The unusual project sends her to Paris, where she meets Dimitriās new partners, captivating Aurik and his equally enchanting twin sister, Aurin. The otherworldly siblings are only the tip of the iceberg. When Thea dives into her research she discovers a world beyond her imagination, igniting a deeper yearning to fill the void left by the loss of her old lover.
In a story where lost love meets newfound desire, Thea must confront her past and decide her role in a world where love's complexities are as vast as the skies above.
Chapter One
Watching the sun rise behind the Eiffel Tower made Aurik itch to fly again. Even though he and his sister had just ended a night-long outing over the darker countryside outside Paris, the desire to stretch his wings and feel the wind caressing his scales lingered. He longed to fly into the bright warmth of the sun, but it was too risky in the changed world the dragons had awoken to.
The balm to his itch moved up beside him on their buildingās rooftop and he glanced over at Dimitri, whose clean profile was cast in a golden glow from the emerging sun on the horizon. He looked tired, having likely waited up for the Twins to return from their nightly flight. Impulsively, Aurik threaded his fingers through Dimitriās and tightened his grip. Dimitri smiled without taking his eyes off the vista and squeezed back. Aurikās twin sister stepped to the other side of their lover and slipped her arm around Dimitriās waist, leaning her head against his shoulder.
The trio stood that way for what seemed an eternity of boundless, beautiful seconds. Nothing existed but the three of them and the gilded city that surrounded them.
Too soon the peace of their communion was shattered by the sound of the world coming to life. A different kind of excitement filled Aurik at the growing familiarity of the new sights and sounds he lived with. The life this changed world was filled with gave him hope that his own race would soon catch up to new ways of thinking.
Hands tugged at him and he reluctantly tore himself away from the view. It wasnāt only excitement but a kind of dread that filled him now.
āCome on,ā Dimitri said. āLetās get today over with and move on with our lives. The last five are scheduled throughout the day. One of them will be the one, I guarantee it.ā
Aurik forced himself to resist grumbling. āYou are the only one.ā
āRight, and Iām not going anywhere. Sheāll be the one if sheās open to our arrangement and willing to stay mum about it in mixed company. Iām sure she exists and Iām sure youāll charm her pants off, whoever she is.ā
āThe only reason Iām doing this is to stay near you. If the Council wasnāt threatening to make me leave, Iād be just fine never reproducing. Once the Verdanith is assembled, you and Aurin can have a dozen children. Iāll be the happy, corrupting uncle to all of them.ā
āIāve always wanted a sister,ā Aurin interjected, shoving Aurikās outfit at him. āFind one I would like, too, alright brother?ā
Aurik raised an eyebrow at his twin. āI donāt think you want a sister, sister. You want your own plaything because Camille doesnāt visit often enough.ā
Aurinās gaze grew distant and she flushed. Not from embarrassment, he was sure of it, but from arousal. She gathered herself and looked him in the eyes. āCamille needs a break from Eben and Roka just as much as I need a break from the two of you. We enjoy each other, and yes, Iād love to have someone like her who didnāt live halfway around the world.ā
With that, she turned and walked toward the door. āIām sure the two of you can handle the appointments today. Iāll be around,ā Aurin said, batting her eyelashes demurely at Dimitri.
Dimitriās look of avid interest followed her out the door. Aurik couldnāt read his loverās mind but was dead certain Dimitri was remembering Camilleās last visit and the fun she and Aurin had hadāand Dimitriās all too eager participation in said fun. Aurikās laugh made Dimitri snap back to focus on the task at hand.
āHurry up and get dressed,ā Dimitri said irritably.
* * *
The series of blind dates that day were no more productive than any of the previous ones had been. Dimitri had painstakingly assembled a roster of the most beautiful, if slightly deviant, women from a collection of dating services. He had emphasized discretion as well as a desire for a long-term relationship at all of them. This was not about sex, especially not for Aurik who had very little interest in women as it was.
āYou told me youād been with women before,ā Dimitri said. āSo what was wrong with these women?ā He picked at his dinner in frustration, exhausted after another pointless day struggling to find the one woman who would ensure Aurik didnāt get sent to the Monastery to live in servitude for breaking the Councilās laws. When the trio had stated their case months earlier, the Council hadnāt been happy that the twins had taken matters into their own hands. Both Twins had marked Dimitri during the ritual. Heād awakened them both, which was the first unprecedented action. He was supposed to choose one or the other, but couldnāt bring himself to. He needed them both. And both had marked him as their mate.
The Dragon Council had given an ultimatum. Since Aurin had marked Dimitri first, they decreed that Dimitriās other lover find a human mate and nullify his dragon mark on Dimitri, or have his magic bound and his wealth revoked and split between his siblings.
The looming threat of losing one of his lovers had been eating at Dimitri ever since, and time was quickly running out. He raked his fingers through his hair and sighed. Aurik stared back at him with a pained expression.
āNothing is wrong with the women. I just canāt bring myself to want them, in any way, as long as I have you. You fulfill me.ā
āWell, was there something special, anything, about the women you have been with that you loved most?ā
Aurik refilled his wine glass from the nearly empty bottle nearby. He appeared to contemplate the answer in the burgundy liquid. āMy parents were thieves,ā he said, and Dimitri came close to reaching out and strangling him with the collar of his shirt, but restrained himself. Aurik liked telling stories, so Dimitri downed his drink, refilled it, and sat back to listen.
āI thought your mother was First Shadow,ā he said.
Aurik nodded. āYes, but that wasnāt how she amassed the bulk of the wealth that belongs to the three of us now. She mated a Sultan when she awakened, but he feared her too much to breed. So she mated others. Kolās father was a spy for a nobleman. But my father was a cat burglar, a pastime he didnāt give up after meeting our mother. She caught him stealing from her and his skills impressed her so much she decided to employ him to steal from her enemies.ā
āHow did her mate feel about her interest in this thief?ā
āAmused, mostly, but soon he got involved, too. I think he grew bored with intrigue and saw the fun Mother and her new pet were having together. He would do the reconnaissance for a heist, and Mother and Father would ghost in and take the spoils. And because of Motherās influence, no one was ever the wiser. They took from so many, but they also gave infinitely more. Love to each other and their children. Protection to the citizens, even to the subjects of their enemies during the various wars. The women I was most drawn to were givers, nurturers, protectors. They always deeply cared about those close to them, without expecting anything in return.ā
āBut any one of those women might be like that. You canāt know until you get to know them better.ā
āNot one of the women you have introduced me to gave any indication that she thought about more than herself. That she had any desire beyond her own desire for a mate. Even your trick questions only produced superficial answers. Perhaps they just werenāt the right questions, but they were all pretty telling.ā
If you had a life span of centuries and wealth beyond imagining, how would you spend your time? Dimitri thought it had been a clever question. The million-dollar question, as it were. He had cataloged all the answers himself and Aurik was right. Not one of the women had answered in more than the most frivolous way. Some may have had more down to earth answers than others, but they were all very self-centered. Heād been a fool trying to appeal to Aurikās more hedonistic nature. But there were depths to his lovers he was still discovering. As much as the Twins relished physical pleasuresāfood, sex, musicāthey were acutely aware of both the suffering and rejoicing that was ever more prevalent among the human race than it was when they were young.
āIāll try again,ā Dimitri said. āIāll rework the questionnaire and weāll find her for you. She is out there.ā
Aurikās expression darkened. āNo. If I canāt have you then Iām better off alone, I think. It would be a disservice to any woman I did choose to bring her into such a permanent prison with a man who didnāt truly love her.ā
āGoddamnit! I donāt want to lose you any more than you want to leave. We still have a few months.ā
āI would rather not waste these months searching for something that may not even exist, my love. Let us enjoy what we have until we must part. Please.ā
Dimitri hated the utter resignation on Aurikās face and in his bearing. They left the restaurant, both quiet and subdued.
* * *
Aurin greeted them at their shared penthouse apartment, her face eager for happy news, then abruptly resolute. Dimitri was sure a brief message passed silently between the Twins, but had given up objecting to their covert volleys. They would share if they meant him to know. Besides, he was fairly certain what the exchange entailed and didnāt mind not having to talk about it any more than absolutely necessary.
Dimitri took Aurin desperately in his arms, her embrace only a slight comfort in the face of the looming threat of losing one half of the pair that had brought him back from the brink of self-destruction after the death of his brother. The parallel wasnāt lost on him, and he wasnāt sure if he could survive another relationship crumbling to pieces when one crucial facet of it disappeared.
Would he and Aurin be able to survive her brotherās absence? His relationship with Thea had crashed and burned after Alexās death. No matter how much he loved her, it wasnāt enough.
Aurik would live, at least, but what kinds of empty lives would they have without each other?
Dimitri reached for Aurik and pulled him close, found the sweet lips Dimitri had kissed so many times, relishing the brush of goatee against his own shaved chin. Two pairs of hands tugged at his clothing, pushing his suit jacket off, pulling at his buttons until he stood naked. Somehow he always managed to lose track of them at the beginning of lovemaking, the pair of blond heads seeming interchangeable the way they kissed and touched. They were two halves of a whole to Dimitri, and to remove one of them from his life might well cleave his heart in two.
He regained the awareness of which was which when Aurinās warm mouth slid down his hard cock. He groaned at the skillful pull of her tongue against his flesh, but it was too soon. With a solid grip on her chin he pushed her back. She stood and pressed herself close, his chest tickled by her small, pert breasts and their hard, dark peaks. Aurikās larger presence embraced him from behind, erection pressed solidly against Dimitriās ass, but in spite of their intense arousal, the embrace only meant comfort to all of them.
The trio stumbled naked the few steps to the sofa and fell in a tangle of limbs into the deep cushions. Aurinās smooth body weighed Dimitri down from behind and Aurik caught him, embracing him.
Aurik clutched his face as his slick, velvety tongue wrapped itself around Dimitriās tongue. Dimitri moaned at the stroking pull of the one dragon appendage he still viewed with novelty. Their tongues were the things that differentiated them the most from his past human lovers, and that gave him the most pleasure. God, he thought he could come just from this kiss. He threaded his fingers through the silken lengths of Aurikās hair and pressed his hips tighter. Their erections throbbed in tandem, surging and brushing against each other between them. A glimmer of hot wetness slid across Dimitriās belly, cooling in the air. He wasnāt sure whether it was evidence of his own need or Aurikās, but it didnāt matter.
Aurinās smooth caresses persisted, her kisses beginning at his shoulders and moving downward. Her soft breasts a luxurious brush against his heated skin. She worked her way down his back, each touch a perfect tingling counterpoint to Aurikās more persistent contact against the front side of him.
She lingered at the top of the cleft of his ass, her tongue a torturous distance above where he wanted it to be. Goddamn did they love to torture him sometimes. He shifted his hips, hoping to get her moving lower, but she laughed softly and sank her teeth into his right ass cheek instead.
āSister, donāt torture him too much.ā
The vocal admonition was unusual between the twins, but welcomed, particularly when Aurik gripped his ass and pulled him even tighter, spreading his cheeks for his sister to work her magic in between.
āOh, God,ā Dimitri groaned against Aurikās mouth, nearly certain he would come this time, but Aurin slowed down to a steady tease, her tongue switching between a slow caress of his balls and a tease of his ass. She delved in so intently he lost himself, until she withdrew her tongue from his ass so abruptly he nearly cried out an objection.
Aurik pushed Dimitri up, raising them into a sitting position, never leaving off with his urgent kisses. Dimitri followed his lead, accustomed now to the Twinsā telepathic link and their wordless choreographic direction of their lovemaking. They always managed to surprise and please him in different ways.
Aurik shifted to sit upright against the back of the sofa. He slid one hand down Dimitriās side to his hip, urging him to turn and straddle his legs.
To Dimitri, the only thing better than fucking either of the Twins alone was being fucked by Aurik at the same time Aurin worked his cock. He slid one leg across Aurikās lap and settled back with his ass resting on Aurikās thighs, careful not to sit too snuggly. Aurin knelt between his spread legs and raised her face to him in supplication.
With a pang of despair he leaned forward and kissed her upturned face, sinking his tongue between her lips. He rejoiced silently when Aurikās fingers invaded, delicately prodding before sliding deep into the tight, sensitive channel. The token bit of foreplay was far from necessary after Aurinās attention with her talented tongue, but Dimitri would never object. He leaned farther forward, bracing his weight on Aurinās shoulders while Aurik positioned his cock.
A silent, gentle nudge from Aurin let him know to lean back, and he did. The thick, solid heat of Aurikās cock slid in to the hilt. Dimitriās cock kicked violently in response to the intense pleasure of the friction and pressure.
He spread his thighs wider and braced his feet on the floor, reached both hands behind him to grip the back of the sofa for leverage as he raised and lowered himself, slowly.
Aurinās lovely mouth kept tempo, her tongue and lips teasing and sliding along the length of his cock, circling and sucking at his balls. She might bring him off this way easily and he would happily give in to her, but what he really wanted was to be infused with both their magic at once when they came. He needed to be inside her, but was loath to change positions to accomplish the deed.
He looked down at her, hoping his desperation showed in his gaze because he was too far gone to speak. Her honey-colored eyes gazed back across the tip of his engorged cock. She lowered her gaze, gave his cock one more long, slow lick, then stood. Straddling her brotherās knees, she carefully climbed up and lowered herself onto Dimitriās pulsing shaft.
The sweet, slick sheathe clenched him tightly. Slammed down onto Aurikās cock, pulling her with him, he elicited a sharp groan from the man beneath him. Aurikās hips began to rise up and meet Dimitriās undulations. Soon the three found their ideal rhythm, Aurin sliding her sweet pussy up and down Dimitriās cock with slow, rocking swirls of her hips and Aurik plunging into Dimitriās ass with ever greater ferocity.
Aurinās eyelids fluttered in ecstasy, her mouth descending onto his, lips parting and tongue demanding entrance. Dimitri clutched at her hip with one hand, his other entwined with Aurikās hand where it wrapped around his chest. The familiar surge of energy began, a tingling that was simultaneously around him and inside him. Aurinās eyes flashed with brilliant yellow light and she tilted her head back to let out a harsh, high cry. Her muscles clenched around him, urging his own climax forth, and he didnāt have far to go. Aurik sank his cock deep in a final thrust, his voice rough in Dimitriās ear, a promise of eternal devotion.
The warm comfort of their energy flowed through him, his own mingling with theirs as it flowed the opposite direction. The steady, pulsing glow of their tangled bodies reflected strangely in the windows, superimposed over the twinkling yellow lights of the city and the golden spire of the Eiffel tower in the distance. The sight of the glowing architectural wonder seemed to mimic the brilliant sensations tingling up and down his cock as his orgasm persisted.
Finally the delicious spasms subsided and the three crumpled into a giddy mess.
Aurik groaned. āI can handle quite a lot of weight, but seem to have lost sensation in my legs.ā
Aurin shifted over, pulling Dimitri down into a heap beside her. They sank into the downy cushions of the sofa, legs entwined while Aurik stood and shook the feeling back into his legs. He wandered away and Dimitri closed his eyes, reveling in the sweet scent of Aurin filling his nose, eagerly waiting for Aurik to return and complete their perfect unit that would too soon be dashed to pieces.
Aurinās fingertips traced light patterns up and down his back until Aurik returned, tucked himself behind Dimitri and covered the three with a throw.
Dimitri wished he had a solution to their dilemmaāwas sure there had to be something he could do, but was too exhausted to broach the subject again. Aurik didnāt need him to keep worrying over it. He would let it go for now and keep hoping.
