She froze against me, but I continued the kiss. It started out hesitant and shy at first but soon I was pressing my lips firmly against hers, sliding my tongue over her lower lip before catching her lip between my teeth. She still held my hands above my head, still not moving. I whimpered and pleaded with my body, rubbing myself against her, trying to entice her into kissing me back. She finally gave into me, kissing me back with all the heat and need that had been filling her these past few months. Still holding my hands above my head, she slid her other hand along my abdomen before slipping those graceful fingers up my shirt. I broke the kiss and gasped, tilting my head back, feeling Ivy trail her lips down my neck in a fiery line and nipped my collarbone where my demon scar was. I felt the scar come alive as Ivy's teeth grazed over it, causing me to release a low, guttural moan as the little jolts of pleasure shot straight to my groin. My knees weakened, threatening to give out as a new onslaught of vamp pheramones hit me.
Ivy's lips paused at my collar bone. She froze again in that eerie stillness that only vamps seemed to be able to accomplish. 'Crap,' I thought. 'She thinks I'm gonna freak out.' I slid a hand out of her grasp and placed it under her chin, lifting her face to mine. I kissed her again, deep and soft, imploring her with my lips to relax. Her arms slid around my waist as mine wrapped about her neck, pressing our bodies back together. She stiffened only for a moment before melting back into the embrace. 'God, this is amazing.' I thought. 'Why had I denied myself for so long?' I loved, Ivy... No, I was in love with Ivy. I felt it with every fiber of my being.
I was then hit with the sudden realization. What about Kisten? Sure, I loved him as well, but the love I felt for Ivy was something completely and utterly different to what I felt for the male vamp. It used to be that Kisten could move me in ways Ivy couldn't, but now it was the other way around. Then, as if he felt me thinking about him, I heard the front door opened and I heard Kisten's voice call out.
"Hey, anyone home?" His voice came, muted by Ivy's closed door. Ivy tore herself away from me, leaving me gasping as I leaned against the door. Ivy's eyes were wide with fear and shame. I grimaced as well, straightening my clothing out, before opening the door.
"Hey Kist, we are in Ivy's room!" I called out and looked back to check on Ivy. She was paler that usual and she was panting. Her eyes were almost back to normal as she straightened herself out as well.
The heavy thump of Kisten's motorcycle boots echoed down the hall as he came closer. He froze and I heard his deep intake of breath as he scented the air. He took a couple steps closer and came into sight. I felt Ivy's presence like a weight at my back, feeling her predatory side click into place. This wasn't going to be pretty.
"Is everything alright, ladies?" He asked, his voice soft and unsure as the his pupils began to expand as he sensed the conflicting emotions swimming in the air.
I froze as Kisten seemed to fit everything into place, but instead of the anger that I expected, a bright smile bloomed upon his face. I think that was more frightening then Kist being angry. I took a step back and felt Ivy hesitantly lay her hand upon my shoulder. I felt better then.
"Finally!" His voice boomed out and threw his arms in the air, stepping closer to encircle them about Ivy and I, hugging us. "I am so proud of you two!" His soft rumble of laughter vibrated against my cheek, which was pressed to his chest. Ivy was wire tight with tension as her front was pressed tightly to my back. He released us and stepped back, as Ivy stepped away and to the side. I was left to stand in the middle of the two. Kisten's voice caught my attention again. "I never thought you two would get to it. How was it? Need a third?" He wiggled his eyebrows and Ivy sputtered behind him, moving up behind me trying to get at him. I pressed back against her and she stilled.
"Wait... Kist... You're not mad?" I asked and he shook his head. "Why? Don't you love me?" I felt the hurt zing through me, making my heart pause for a split second.
"I do love you, Rachel, but I see the worst of what Ivy has been going through. She was hurting, confused and she's in love with you so deeply that she doesn't know what to do with herself." His gaze flicked from me to Ivy and I turned to look at her, eyes questioning. She looked away for a moment and then back before nodding, the hurt was plain on her features. I opened and closed my mouth a few times, trying to figure out something to say, but was drawing a blank. Looking back and forth between the two vamps I loved, I moved a step back from both of them. What was I going to do?
"I need to think..." I said softly. I straightened my clothing out a bit more and tucked away the stray curls, that had broken loose during my and Ivy's make-out session, before moving around Kisten and out into the sanctuary. I paced barefoot, back and forth between the raised area where Ivy's baby grand sat and the sparring mats. I needed time to think... My thoughts raced as I tried to sort them out. Ivy loved me... Kisten loved me. I loved them both, but who did I want to be with. I lived with Ivy, but I had sex with Kist. 'God, why was this so hard?!' I thought.
I paused, mid-pace, and glanced toward the hallway at the sound of a boot scuffing against the wood floor. Both Ivy and Kisten were standing there, watching me like two leopards watching their prey. I felt a flash of panic, but quickly squashed the feeling. They both looked so beautiful standing there. It had been said that Ivy and Kist were supposed to get married and carry on Piscary's line. They had grown up together, sticking with each other through everything. I knew Ivy and Kisten loved each other, but it developed into something more of a sibling love.
"Rachel, you don't have to decide right now..." Ivy's voice echoed over the sanctuary, hesitant, but sure. She closed the distance between us with a few short strides. "Now that I know how you feel... I can stand to wait. I won't leave if you choose Kist over me, either." She assured me as she saw the question flash over my face before I could voice it. "I love you... and I will be here for you throughout whatever happens." Her gray silk voice soothed me and I smiled, moving close to press a soft, but chaste kiss to her lips.
"Thank you." I murmured and took a step back to look at Kisten. He smiled and gave me a wink before adjusting his leather motorcycle jacket.
"I'll leave you two alone to talk." He wiggled his eyebrows again, blowing us both a kiss before leaving. I turned to look back at Ivy and almost gasped. 'She's so beautiful...' I heard a voice whisper into my head and I realized that it was my own. It was true. She was beautiful.
"So..." I drawled... "How about them Howlers?" I asked, grasping for something else to say. In all truth, I had been banned from all of the Howlers games after making them pay me for trying to find their team mascot. Ivy's features lit up with a smile that made my heart skip a beat, before a soft, low laugh bubbled past her lips. She moved to wrap those long, graceful arms around my waist, pulling me into a hug. The smell of wood ash and vampire filled my senses, making me relax more against her. She was a head taller than I, which should have made the embrace awkward, but it somehow felt right. She brushed her lips against my ear, causing a shiver to slip down my spine.
"Now... where were we?" She murmured. Her words were soft and low, like velvet brushing against my skin. That voice seemed to caress things low in my body and my knees went watery. She lifted me easily, as if I weighed nothing, and carried me into her room.