I blinked as the realization hit me, my heart skipping a beat. But I didn’t feel afraid. I didn’t feel doubt. I was more sure of this than I had ever been about anything.
“I definitely think some of the professors are in on it,” Merrick continued, his gaze thoughtful. “But there are others that either don’t know or do know and disapprove of the whole thing. If we can find out which ones—”
As he spoke, I moved toward him. He broke off as he saw me approach, and when I reached him, I held his face in both hands for a moment, gazing into his burning amber eyes.
“What is it, Aria?” he asked.
“I love you.”
His eyes widened, a dozen emotions filtering through them. Then he banded his arm around my waist and hauled me toward him, kissing me deeply. We were both panting when we broke apart, and the depth of emotion in his eyes had only grown. He brushed his nose against mine, nipping at my bottom lip before murmuring, “I love you too, fierce one. So fucking much.”
My heart seemed to swell in my chest, and I wanted to press him down to the floor and rip his clothes off—and I would do that, but there was something else I needed to do first.
Reluctantly pulling away from Merrick, I turned to Lachlan. The burly Irishman sat still as a predator, watching me with a hungry gaze as I moved toward him.
“I love you, Lach,” I murmured, and he answered with a growl and a kiss that seemed to steal my soul.
My world was spinning, my body humming with pleasure when we separated, and I turned toward Trace last. The rock star had never been one for subtlety or patience, so before I crawled over to where he sat on the floor, he launched himself toward me, tackling me and kissing me hard. I laughed breathlessly as he finally broke the connection between our lips, his blue eyes shining.
“You better have been about to tell me you love me, Snow, or I’m gonna feel like a real asshole here.”
That only made me laugh harder, and I grabbed his face, bringing it close to mine again. “I love you, Trace.”
I kissed him again, savoring his taste and his scent, as he settled himself between my legs, grinding his hips against mine.
“Love you back,” he murmured. “We all do. Can we show you how much?”
“Fuck, yes.”
“Good.” His smile was wicked as he lifted his head. He shot another burst of magic toward the door, adding a layer to the protective spell he had already put on it. When he looked back down at me, he pulled his full bottom lip between his teeth. “Gotta make sure no sound can get out. Because we’re gonna make you fucking scream.”
My core clenched at his words. My heart felt so full I was surprised it could still pump blood, and I felt giddy, almost lightheaded with happiness.
Seeming satisfied with the strength of the sound-dampening spell he’d put on the door, Trace dropped his head again and kissed me until I was gasping for breath. The other two men jo
ined us, and Trace pulled me up to my knees, passing me over to Lach and then to Merrick. As each of them kissed me, the other helped me undress before getting rid of their own clothes, until there was a discarded pile of pants, shirts, and shoes beside us.
As Trace scraped his teeth along my collarbone, making goose bumps spread across my skin, Merrick palmed one of my breasts, rolling my nipple between his fingers. Lachlan was behind me, and when I felt his hands glide over the curve of my ass before spreading my cheeks, I let out a strangled noise of arousal.
He chuckled behind me, his thumb pressing gently at my back hole. “I want your arse, Ari. I love ye so fuckin’ much.”
Maybe from another man, those two sentences wouldn’t have fit together so well. But for Lach, they did. The big man was fierce and primal, so of course he would show his love by taking a part of me for himself. By claiming my ass.
I groaned in appreciation, arching my back and pressing into his touch to show him how much I wanted what he was offering.
“We’ll all take ye together this time. All at once. Get the others ready while I get ye ready.”
He gave my ass a slap, rubbing away the sting a second later, and a flood of wetness seeped from my pussy, sticky arousal coating my thighs. Merrick and Trace sat on the floor in front of me, side by side, and I leaned forward, licking Merrick’s cock from base to tip before switching my attention to Trace’s. I used one hand on the floor to steady myself as my other hand worked up and down Merrick’s shaft, spreading my saliva and mixing it with his precum.
This position gave Lachlan exactly what he wanted. Access to the most intimate, forbidden part of me. With my back arched and my head dropped low, my ass was presented to him like a fucking prize.
And he took it.
He slipped his fingers between my pussy lips from behind, dipping into my core and gathering my arousal before bringing his wet digits back up to tease and play with my asshole. I let out a low moan of approval, renewing my efforts on the two men before me as Lach slipped one large finger into my tight back hole. My muscles clamped around him, but he was both patient and demanding, giving me time to adjust to first one finger and then two.
With the second finger inside me, he began to stretch me out, and I gasped, letting out a keening cry as sensations barreled through me.
“Fuck. You’re doing so well, Ari. Look at you.” Trace’s voice was thick with desire, and his cock pulsed in my grip. “Lach’s so deep inside you already. Getting you ready to take his cock.”