Jen & Lexi
Sex with Claire was my favorite activity. But there was something innately beautiful about holding her afterward and watching her sleep in this fully gratified state.
I could feel through the bonds that Exos and Titus shared my opinion. Even Vox and Sol were content, though they were elsewhere at the moment, preparing a surprise for our Claire.
Our little half human adored the holidays, and we wanted to make this year extra special for her. We had an ulterior motive, one we all hoped she would enjoy and accept.
A child.
It’d been a conversation whispered about between the mate-circle, but not fully explored. And we wanted to start the preparations for it now.
Which requires our little queen to be in a favorable mood.
Hence the fuck fest Titus, Exos, and I had just provided.
I met my brother’s sapphire gaze over her shoulder, his expression knowing. Titus was lost between her legs, his head using her thigh as a pillow. But when I looked down, his dark green irises sparked with embers and excitement.
We had a proposal to make.
One we hoped our mate would accept.
Tomorrow, I thought. Tomorrow, we’ll tell her what we have in mind.
And then the trials could begin...
Pumpkins.
My mates carved pumpkins!
I stared at the display in awe, surprised that Sol had allowed Vox to desecrate one of Earth’s creations in such a manner. The one and only time I’d mentioned Halloween festivities to him, he’d gone into shock before engaging in a rant about humans having no respect for the earth and its finer qualities.
“First, you cut down trees and decorate their corpses in gaudy strands and ornaments for Winter Festivus, or Christmas—whatever the hell it’s called. And now you’re telling me they gut pumpkins and take a knife to the sacred shell? Why in the five sources would anyone do such a thing?”
And that had effectively ended our discussion on Halloween traditions.
But he stood before me now, holding a big orange jack-o’-lantern.
Vox was beside him with a different sort of creation. His carving resembled a bell shape, making me wonder if he’d confused the Christmas ornaments with Halloween traditions. However, I smiled like a loon anyway.
“They’re perfect,” I said, delighted by the festive decorations. I wanted something that would bring all the fae realms together today, and this would surely do it. Because we all shared one thing in common—the Human Realm. So why not borrow from some of their fun traditions to set the tone for agreement?
“We have more to show you,” Vox murmured, his voice holding a husky note that always made me weak in the knees.
My Air Fae just had a way with sound, something I swore he used the winds around us to highlight. He’d grown even more powerful over the years, his ties to me and the source highlighting his former royal connection and strengthening his bonds to our shared element.
Even now, I could see the power swirling through his long, dark strands. He wasn’t wearing his trademark warrior tail today but instead allowing his hair to brush his strong shoulders.
“Yeah.” Sol cleared his throat. “We, uh, decorated your office, too.”
My eyebrows lifted. “You did?”
They both nodded.
“Want to see?” Vox asked.
“Do we have time?” We were supposed to be heading to the neutral zone in the Human Realm to meet the other fae for the annual Interrealm Fae Council meeting—something that had just been established over the last few years.
“We have two hours,” Vox replied. “Plenty of time.”
“And it’ll be a good distraction,” Sol added, his earth gaze knowing.
All my mates could feel the nerves rioting inside me, just as I could sense them all sending calming energy my way. But it wasn’t every day I had to deliver a proposal to all of fae kind.
My mates’ idea of a distraction was very welcome, so I nodded. “I would like to see it. Just don’t let me be late.”
Vox snorted, his silver-rimmed black eyes glimmering knowingly. He was never late, a fact he reminded me of with that look.
“Okay, show me,” I said, my curiosity piqued.
I’d started adding items to my office around each holiday about two years ago. Just subtle reminders of home. While I loved my fae and their festivities, I often felt nostalgic for the traditions of my past. I grew up with my human grandparents in Ohio, always celebrating Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and a myriad of other holidays.
Things weren’t the same here.
That didn’t make them bad.
Just… different.
Sol and Vox set their pumpkins down on the stoop of our Elemental Fae Academy home, then escorted me into the heart of campus, where I kept my office.
Several fae waved along the way, everyone cheerful and pleasant in the autumn weather—weather that also reminded me of home.
Except the trees here didn’t change like they did in Ohio. Instead, they remained green, and it never really snowed on Academy grounds. The elements kept everything thriving, indulging in a very different circle of life from the Human Realm.
A hint of nostalgia touched my chest, something that seemed to happen during this season every year. I’d learned to ignore it mostly, but I still dreamt of snowy trees, Christmas lights, and even Santa Claus.
Ridiculous, yes.
But some childhood experiences never died.
“Okay, close your eyes,” Vox said as he led me to the door of my office. “No peeking.”
“I don’t peek,” I replied.
“Sure, you don’t,” Sol drawled, his low timbre a caress to my senses. He came up behind me—his large, muscular body the biggest of all my mates—and grabbed my hips. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about that time with the blindfold.”
“You didn’t ask if I could see through it,” I reminded him, my insides warming at the memory of Vox and Sol playing with sensory deprivation.
My Earth Fae mate was the rock of our mate-circle, his dominance quiet and strong and oh-so Sol. While Vox was my philosophical, wise mate. He always thought everything through and often provided the voice of reason that I needed.
“Excuses,” he grumbled against my ear, his earthy scent wrapping around me in a cloak of comfort. “You knew what we expected from you, little flower. And you cheated.”
“I would hardly call it cheating. I would have known who was who regardless.” They’d wanted to play a sexual game that required me to guess who was inside me.
Sol’s girth always gave him away, just like Vox’s long length.
Heck, everything about them was unique. Even their tongues and the way they touched me. Sol always held back, afraid his much-stronger form would crush me, and Vox preferred sensual strokes and wind kisses.
Which, of course, had my thighs clenching. Because now I wanted sex.
And something told me that had been Sol’s intent as he aligned his chest to my back and wrapped his arms around my waist. “We’ll have to play again to find out,” he hummed against my ear.
“But decorations first,” Vox insisted. “Now close your eyes, Claire.”
A shiver traversed my spine at the demand in his tone, my insides heating all over again with the promise of what was to come.