He went still, and she tilted herself sideways to see who it was around Jagum's bulk.
Jaia was standing there, and she recoiled, her heart slamming into a rapid pace that had Dirdos looking down at her.
"Daemon said he would be getting the hostiles out and the vampires calmed down. Then you should come back," he said, his eyes dark and haunted as they found her.
His voice brought back memories of his whispered words and his groans of pleasure, and she jerked back, hiding behind Jagum and doing her best to control her breathing but it wasn't working.
"Thank you, if we don't hear anything in ten minutes I'll come see if the coast is clear," Jagum said, and Jaia made a soft sound before he turned and left.
Dirdos spun on her as the door closed and she bent forward, struggling for air as she felt his hands on her again. The smells of his skin and the taste of his lips.
She gasped, her lungs refusing to work properly and Dirdos dropped to his knees beside her, pulling her upright and cupping her face.
"Etani, look at me. Look at me and breathe," he demanded, but she couldn't, all she could think about was the pain of him forcing himself on her.
"What's wrong with her?" Letari cried, struggling as Jagum grabbed her and held her tightly to him.
"Panic attack," Jagum growled, and Dirdos looked up at him before turning back to her.
Lifting his hand before her face, he frowned and then tapped her face to get her to look at him.
She couldn't breathe, and she was terrified, seeing Dirdos and Jaia combined into one, his angry pleasure as he held her down, his tongue on her face. Dirdos, the cavern and the perfect water, Jaia and his cry of pleasure as he released inside her.
"Look," he demanded, and his hand rose before her, the tiny flame flickering in her gasping breath.
It jumped between his fingers, and she followed it, his other hand lifting. The flame jumped erratically between his hands and fingers, darting all over. She tried to understand the pattern, tried to gauge where it would go next but the longer she watched, the less sense it made.
She had stopped gasping as she watched it, studying the pattern and then she was breathing normally, though she felt slightly dizzy.
Without a word the dragon extinguished the flame and pulled her to him, his face tense.
"Are you okay?" Jagum asked, and she nodded, thinking desperately about what excuse to use.
"He's not that bad. I'm sure he'll try not to kill you, I mean he is a demon, but still," Dirdos said, and she laughed faintly, realising he was covering for her.
"I don't know, he might be angry enough to do it," she mumbled and squeezed him gently.
Letari was looking between the two of them and frowning, suspicious, but Jagum was chuckling.
"I'd be scared too if I had to face him when he was already angry, and then threatened. I'd probably have run away screaming."
She knew they were covering for her, neither of them knowing the actual reason for her panic, and yet they accepted that she wanted to keep her secrets to herself. Gratitude flooded her, and she leant into Dirdos as he held her, relieved she was calm.
Dirdos stared into her face for several seconds before he finally turned away as the door opened again and his face was tense, but it calmed after a second and she knew it was safe to look.
Daemon was standing in the doorway, his eyes wary as they found her and she saw him tensing, the need to run or attack burning strong, but he forced the urge down.
Looking up at Dirdos, the dragon shrugged at her and she sighed, pushing herself up. She touched Jagum's back as she passed him, soothing him.
Daemon was staring at her, eyes narrowed and expression wary, but he didn't run or try to attack her, which was a relief.
Coming to a slow stop in front of him, his face was tense as he studied her, trying to understand her again. His eyes jerked down as her hand moved and she flinched, he was sure she was trying to attack him, but she only held out her hand to him.
He hesitated before he took it, and he frowned at the gold bands; his thumb rough on her smooth skin.
"Sobek…" Daemon growled when the gold mark didn't wipe away. Lifting his eyes to hers, she shrugged, but it was a huge weight off her to realise he hadn't been aware of the new attempt to control her.
"You didn't know?" she asked.
His pupils contracting suddenly at the sound of her voice. "No," he said gruffly, and she tilted her head, confused by his response.
"He wants to fuck you," Dirdos said, amused.
"What?" she demanded, looking back at the dragon, then to the demon who was trembling slightly.
"Stop talking," he hissed.
She shut her mouth and looked him over, a flush filling her cheeks as she glanced down and saw just how much he wanted her.
Prying her fingers free of his, she backed away, and Daemon stood frozen, his eyes unfocused.
"Poor little incubus, what's that fear and siren voice of a lust Goddess doing to you?" Dirdos taunted.
"Shut up Dirdos," she snapped, but it was the wrong thing to do.
Daemon's hands closed around her arms and her back hit the wall, his lips hot and burning on hers as his body pressed into her, demanding.
She felt his magic seeping into her through their lips, and her body responded instantly, her arms going up and she gripped his hair hard enough that he hissed in pain even as her mouth moved against his in a sudden ferocious need.
His hands dropped, and he jerked up the hem of her dress and his hand was between her legs, growling hungrily against her mouth but then he was suddenly gone with the sound of flesh hitting flesh, and she blinked.
Looking up, she found Dirdos holding Daemon by the collar of his shirt, the demon looking like a scolded puppy with a large bruise blooming across his exposed stomach where Dirdos had hit him.
He was staring down at her, and pouting, his lips parted and eyes burning with desire.
She was aching for him, and she fumed as Dirdos placed his free hand on her shoulder to keep her back.
"Control yourself, demon," Dirdos said.
"What was that?" she asked as she started to come down from the high, her cheeks flaming as humiliation flooded through her, jerking down her dress almost hard enough to rip it.
"That would be what happens when an uncontrolled incubus is running around," Dirdos was furious, glaring at Daemon while Daemon glared down at her, his hunger for her blaring and doing all sorts of interesting things to her body that left her desperately wanting to know what certain parts of his anatomy would feel like.
"If you don't stop that, I'll hit you again," Dirdos warned and Daemon finally looked away from her, sulking as he looked at Dirdos and smirked.
"Nice try, incubus. But I desire her more than I desire you."
Daemon glowered. "Fine," he said moodily and Dirdos set him down.
Tugging down his shirt, he looked between the two of them and she bit her lip, unsure if she was allowed to speak or not.
"Try it again and I will skin you. She deserves better than being seduced by your magic. If you can't get her to desire you naturally, you don't deserve her and as tempting as it is to use magic to seduce her and see her screaming in pleasure under you, she would see it as a violation after," Dirdos said as Daemon's eyes found her and locked in place, forcing the demon to look away in irritation.
"I know that," Daemon growled, not liking it at all. "Why is it suddenly hitting me like that?"
"Fear, my friend. She gives off this aura, and it's heightening all of our senses. Being what you are, and her being what she is, your raging desire for her and her private desire for you…" Dirdos shrugged, and she blushed, looking away from the demon as his stare grew intense at the thought of her desiring him.
Slinking away to hide behind Jagum, the werecat hissed at the two men watching her go, Letari was silently giggling.
"Other option is sharing," Letari said and Jagum snorted as she started to giggle.
The demon and dragon glanced at each other and then at her, their thoughtful expressions while she glared over Jagum's back.
"Don't encourage them," she snapped, but Letari was grinning wickedly.
"Come on, it's fun."
"How would you know?"
Everyone was looking at the tall beauty with various expressions of curiosity and surprise.
"I wasn't a cat for all nine hundred years, you know."
Etani stared at her twin in silence, completely stunned by the fact that she had been involved in a tryst involving two others. Dirdos was grinning, and together they looked at Etani with hopeful expressions.
"No one is sharing me," she growled.
"It would be abuse… it would be abuse…" Dirdos breathed as his eyes closed and Daemon was grinning hugely as though he thought it would be worth it.
"Stay away from her," Jagum snarled.
Dirdos sighed, tucking his hands into his pockets while Daemon looked disappointed.
"No three way then?" the demon asked.
Etani lifted her hand with two fingers lifted in his direction, making him laugh.
"Where's Bast?" he asked finally.
"Off chasing down Sobek," Dirdos replied, trying to coax her out from behind Jagum.
He grabbed her hand when she swiped at him and yanked her against him.