Elemental Fae Academy: Book Three: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance Read online

  “Are we at the two-hour mark already?” Exos mused, glancing at his wrist. “Fascinating.” A devilish glint entered his gaze as he looked at me. “Strip, beautiful.”

  I gaped at him. “What?”

  “You heard him.” Cyrus pushed off the chair, his icy blue irises trailing over me in a seductive wave of energy. “Strip.”

  “My mother just appeared in an apparition, and you all want sex?” This was the clear downside to having five male mates.

  “We can still discuss that while you’re naked,” Titus casually pointed out. “In fact, I feel it would drastically improve the conversation.”

  Exos nodded. “My thoughts exactly.”

  “You’re all incorrigible,” I said, standing.

  Only, Sol tugged me back down, his palm going to my thigh and trapping me on the couch. “This isn’t about us, little flower,” he murmured. “This is for you.”

  “Being naked is for my own benefit?” I nearly laughed. “Right.”

  He tilted his head. “I think we need to demonstrate, Vox.”

  The Air Fae beside me grasped my opposite thigh, his lips brushing my neck. “You really do look amazing in this dress, Claire,” he whispered against my escalating pulse. “If you want to keep it on, I can work with that.”

  “What about—”

  “There’s nothing we can do about Ophelia at the moment,” Cyrus said, cutting me off. “What we can do is continue enjoying the evening we intended to indulge in prior to her making an appearance.”

  “And what evening did you intend us to have?” I asked, my throat going dry.

  Sol’s mouth trailed across my jaw until he hovered right over my lips. “Well, I had intended to remove your dress.” His hand slid down to my knee, where he bunched the fabric upward in knowing, measured movements. “Slowly,” he added, punctuating his point by the tedious rise of my gown up my legs.

  “While we planned to watch,” Cyrus murmured. “It’s Sol and Vox’s night, but the three of us couldn’t deny your beauty in that dress.”

  “Which is why we all agreed on observing,” Titus added, a flicker of heat in his words. “And maybe more.”

  “Depending on your mood,” Exos said, his strength and courage brushing my spirit in a tender stroke. Vox and Sol went all out for tonight, their desire to spoil you superseding reason. It would be a shame not to celebrate their hard work, princess. Don’t you agree?

  You’re talking about the carriage, I whispered, whimpering out loud as the fabric of my dress inched up my thigh.

  Among other things. Finding a suit to fit Sol wasn’t easy.

  But he looks so good in it, I replied, trailing my palm up his thick thigh.

  Sol’s lips captured mine, his tongue a welcome presence in my mouth as he continued to lift my dress higher and higher. Vox’s palm moved to my bare limb, slipping between my thighs and upward to my heated center.

  I moaned as he cupped me through the lace, my body responding to them all in different ways.

  Fire in my veins for Titus.

  Liquid warmth for Cyrus.

  A writhing spirit for Exos.

  Aroused scents permeating the air for Vox.

  And an earthly quiver jolting my body for Sol.

  Oh Fae...

  They were right yet again. I needed this, a moment to forget, to just be me, to ground us all with the elements and experience the bonds Mother Nature intended me to have.

  My fingers wove into Sol’s thick russet hair, holding him to me as I devoured him in kind. My opposite hand went to rest over Vox’s between my thighs, urging him to do more than just cup me.

  Fabric rustled.

  My dress flying over my head.

  Lace ripping.

  A cool breeze teasing my exposed skin.

  They had me naked so quickly that I could scarcely breathe, but I trusted them implicitly. These were my mates. My fae. My men. They would never hurt me.

  No, they wanted to take care of me.

  I released Sol’s nape and lowered my grasp to his groin. They were all wearing too many clothes, a complaint I voiced out loud, which earned me a few warm, masculine chuckles in response.

  But I heard them complying.

  Their zippers music to my ears.

  This was what I needed, a chance to play with my elements, to weave our souls even closer in the mating circle, to take us that much closer to completion.

  With all five.

  Oh, this had never happened before. Only three. And they’d nearly killed me with pleasure. But I would handle this, for them, because I wanted it. Wanted them.

  Sol shifted, his suit disappearing beneath his hands and leaving him primed, naked, and ready. I didn’t wait. Didn’t ask. I just straddled him, taking him inside me on a rumble of vicious need.

  The entire room vibrated, his control hanging on by a thread. However, that was exactly what he needed to break. I could feel it in the way our bodies came together, the underlying desire to bestow his trust in me, to allow our connection to deepen, and for my power to literally ground his.

  “Use me,” I whispered. “I can take it.”

  His palm splayed across the base of my spine, his mouth brushing mine. “Claire…”

  “I’m here,” Vox said, his chest pressing to my back and shooting a current through us that stole my ability to think and breathe. I tossed my head back against his shoulder, my breasts heaving. He wrapped an arm around my center, stabilizing me between them.

  Energy hummed between the three of us, Vox and Sol holding each other’s gazes and communicating some unspoken words.

  Cyrus stepped up to the couch wearing nothing but a pair of dress pants, his rippled abdomen on display and begging my fingers to explore. He caught my hand and brought it to his lips, then guided it backward to Vox’s groin.

  “Touch him,” Cyrus encouraged. Show him how you feel.

  I squeezed Vox’s shaft with my palm while my thighs clenched around Sol, causing both males to groan in satisfaction.

  But it was the approval in Cyrus’s gaze that nearly undid me.

  He was such an enigma in my life, constantly mentoring me in his own way. To the point where I wanted to kill him at times, but in moments like this, I loved him more than I could even articulate. And his smile said he knew it.

  His fingers circled my hips before moving backward to my ass. “She’s not ready for this yet,” he murmured. “But someday soon.”

  I shivered, the implication of his words making me want someday to be today.

  Vox went to his knees on the couch beside us, providing me easier access to stroke him.

  And Sol thrust upward.

  I curled over into his broad chest, the pleasure of that single move sending me closer to the edge of oblivion.

  Then Titus trailed a kiss of fire down my back that had me vibrating with pleasure.

  All of them were teasing me in their own way. Even Exos, who seemed to be using his spirit to touch mine intimately, caressing me from the inside out.

  I lost myself to the rapture, indulging in all the elements, reveling in Sol’s big body trembling beneath mine, and feeling Vox’s response beneath my hand.

  More… I bent to take Vox’s cock into my mouth, needing to taste him.

  “Fuck,” he breathed, his fingers weaving through my hair.

  Sol repositioned us all on the couch. He entered me from behind with a thrust that had me seeing stars, my ass up in the air as I bent over Vox’s pelvis with my fingers digging into his thighs.

  Power rippled around us.

  Energy thriving and urging me to deepen our bonds to the next level.

  Until it all snapped into place, zipping through my bloodstream and soul.

  Vox and Sol were mine.

  Third-level bonding.

  Intended for forever.

  And it felt amazing. Perfect. Right.

  Vox’s grip tightened, his beautiful, athletic form tensing as he pistoned into my mouth. Sol’s palm strok
ed up and down my back, his pace brutal and sensual at the same time.

  Fire licked up my limbs, Titus adding his own element to the mix, and glided to my core to flick my clit.

  I groaned, his hot touch shooting me into the stars on one of the most intense orgasms of my life. Exos joined me there, his spirit catching mine and cradling me in our special way.

  While Cyrus’s water blanketed my skin, cooling my body from the outburst of my pleasure.

  All of it culminated in Sol and Vox erupting inside me, their essences an addiction I would never get enough of. I swallowed all of Vox, sucking him for more long after he was done, while my core continued to squeeze Sol, refusing to let him go.

  But my mates weren’t done. Nowhere near it.

  Titus soon took Vox’s place, his long, perfect member protruding proudly near my lips as Cyrus slid into me from behind. Only Exos remained off to the side, his pants securely fastened while he observed with hungry eyes.

  I fell into the hypnotic pull of his irises as Titus and Cyrus set a pace.

  You look beautiful, Exos murmured. And very well fucked.

  My throat worked, my mouth tightening around Titus as another orgasm mounted swiftly between my legs.

  What about you? I asked, my mind delirious with the impending ecstasy.

  Oh, I’m quite content to watch, princess. I never thought I would be excited by this, but it’s hot as hell.

  I moaned, Cyrus’s fingers doing something to my breasts that captured my undivided attention. Titus’s grasp on my hair tightened, his muscles tensing in the way I loved. He wouldn’t last long like this, something his expression told me as I sought out his gaze.

  I ran a flame up his neck and along his jaw to his lips, giving him a fiery kiss. He returned it by sending another cinder of heat between my legs to stroke my clit, making me think of his tongue.

  Fuck… I wasn’t going to last either if he kept that up, especially with Cyrus adding water to the mix. The two of their elements combined against my most sensitive place drove me hard over the cliff and sent me soaring into the clouds.

  Their pace increased as they chased after me, their groans music to my ears.

  I all but collapsed between them, my body weak from being so thoroughly taken by the four of them, leaving only Exos leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his bare chest, those maddening pants still buttoned.

  His control floored me.

  I beckoned him with my eyes, my body too exhausted to move. He merely smiled. We’ll play later, baby, he promised. When you’re ready for another round.

  My heart skipped several beats, my breathing labored as I whispered, I love you.

  I love you, too, he replied, pushing off the wall. He approached and bent to brush a kiss over my swollen lips. “You never took off your shoes.”

  I blinked at him. “What?”

  He gestured with his chin to my heels, and sure enough, they were still strapped to my feet. “Hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”

  The other males grunted in agreement, causing me to laugh.

  All I could do was shake my head. “You all are going to kill me with sex.”

  “But what a way to go,” Titus mused, his thigh flexing beneath my head. Somehow I’d ended up using his lap as a pillow.

  Cyrus drew his palm down my backside, which was draped over his legs. Sol and Vox were on the floor, their heads leaning back against the cushions of the couch near my midsection.

  What a picture we all made.

  A proper… six-some.

  I laughed, the sound bursting from my lips on an unexpected wave of happiness.

  Titus gazed down at me, arching an auburn brow. “Did we fuck you too hard, sweetheart?”

  “Nope. I’m fine.” I just had a six-some. No big deal.

  Technically a five-some, Exos corrected, grinning. I just watched.

  You did more than that, I told him. I felt your spirit.

  Because it’s yours, he replied. As are all the other men in this room, Claire. We’re all yours.

  “We can’t do this in Air Kingdom,” Vox suddenly said, causing several of the males to laugh. “No, I’m serious. My parents are already going to have issues. If we do this…” He flinched. “It won’t go well.”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Cyrus drawled. “I think that went extremely well.”

  “Something we actually agree on,” Titus replied.

  “Seriously, we cannot do this in Air Kingdom,” Vox tried again.

  “Sure,” Cyrus murmured. “We’ll keep it in mind.”

  Vox sighed, shaking his head. “I’m so fucked.”

  “No, that would be Claire,” Exos corrected, winking at me. “And we’ll figure it out, Vox. It’s just a week of holiday celebrations. How difficult can it be?”

  “You’ve clearly not met my parents,” the Air Fae grumbled.

  My heart warmed at the idea of meeting his parents and learning more about my air mate. It sounded like a great way to spend the holidays. Whatever holidays they were.

  I frowned. “What are we celebrating, exactly?”

  “Fae Festivus,” Titus said.

  “And what’s that?” I asked, curious.

  “Oh, Claire,” Exos murmured. “You’re in for quite a treat.”

  Part II

  “The Fae Festivus is a time for bonding among the elements. Raise a toast to the gods above, thank them for our beautiful gifts, and be merry. Cheers.”

  —Exos

  Vox

  Nothing about home had changed. Not the way the wind plucked at my hair, or how dizzy I became when I looked over our spire’s balcony, and certainly not my family.

  “Tempest, quit your fussing!” my father roared at my mother, his temper already out of control.

  He didn’t like it when I visited, but rather than own up to it, he took it out on everyone else. Especially my delicate mother, who would never face his rage head-on. Instead, she bent to his wrath like a willow leans with a strong breeze, somehow never breaking under the strain.

  Ignoring my father, my mother cupped my cheeks and gave me a kiss just above the line of my trimmed beard. “Vox, darling. Am I fussing?”

  She always liked to put me in the middle. A blockade against my father’s winds.

  Shifting my gaze to the angry Air Fae, I took in my father’s scowl as he stood in the foyer surrounded by baggage for two—Claire and me. Sol, Titus, Cyrus, and Exos would be coming in a few days. That had been my only condition that Cyrus would agree to.

  By the look on my father’s face, it wasn’t going to be enough.

  “No, Mother, you’re not fussing. And even if you were, I haven’t been home in quite some time,” I reminded my father, not that he seemed to care.

  “You could have given us more warning,” he growled, crossing his arms over a perfectly pleated white suit. “Or better yet, you could have just done what you do every year and not come home.” He narrowed his gaze. “You’ve made it clear that your family disappoints you.”

  I didn’t let his challenging stare deter me. Yes, my family disappointed me. And if there was somewhere else we could have gone for the holidays, I would have suggested it in a heartbeat. But Claire needed all her mates right now, and Air Kingdom made the most sense. The grounds were protected and well populated, and being here offered us the space and opportunity to spend the Festivus together as a unit.

  Our only other options had been the Academy or Cyrus’s home. The former posed a problem because of Elana, and the latter would have likely forced Cyrus and Claire to focus solely on coronation planning.

  No, we needed a place to lie low, enjoy ourselves, and allocate adequate time to analyzing Elana’s and Ophelia’s motives without any potential interference. This place provided us all with an opportunity to determine our next steps beneath the sanctuary of my home. Because Elana couldn’t visit Air Kingdom without an invitation, and Ophelia, well, she wasn’t welcome anywhere.

  Yes, this was where we were mea
nt to be.

  My father would just have to deal with it.

  “It would be improper for me to spend yet another Festivus season on campus or in another realm,” I said to him now. The sooner he accepted I was here to stay for a few days, the better.

  My mother nodded with eager agreement, her white curls flowing over her shoulders as an effortless wave of her power swept around her gentle form. “I agree, Notus. It will do our standing well to have Vox home.”

  “And your intended mate? A Halfling? What in the Four Winds were you thinking?” My father—Notus—snapped, his black eyes going wide. He cared so much about what the other royal Air Fae lines might think.

  Elements forbid I hadn’t brought home a privileged Air Fae brat. Because that’s who I’ve always dreamed of mating. Not.

  My father scoffed, adding, “No. It’s worse than just the Halfling. We now have to deal with multiple bond-mates like some kind of barbaric Spirit Kingdom family. How many did you say there were?”

  “Give the boy a break,” came a scratchy voice from the hall. My grandfather, the one who had brought shame to our family, entered with a smile. His notorious jagged scar tugged across his left eye, running through a milky white iris that served as a reminder of his sin. “I’ve settled the Halfling with the best view of the spire.”

  He had secured this particular spire in his youth in one of the more desirable crags that overlooked the clouds and distant cliffs below. It contained strong winds meant to power a family’s elemental well—or push unwary guests off the edge to an early death.

  I swiped my face with my hand. “You can’t leave her out there by herself,” I said, worry creeping into my voice. “She’s not from here.” And my mate had a tendency to wander off alone.

  “Of course she’s not from here!” my father bellowed, his temper spiking again. “She’s not fae!”

  “Half-fae,” I corrected.

  He scoffed. “It’s more shame that you bring on this family, Vox. I won’t tolerate it.”

  As much blustering as my father wanted to do, this was my grandfather’s house. When he passed, then my father could have a say in such matters, but until then, I never paid him much heed.