“You two are fine with sharing me?” he asked.
Caydem and Vygus stopped and looked at him. Caydem gave him a cocky smile before pulling River flush against his body and kissing him until River forgot where he was.
“I don’t make a habit of involving myself with dogs, but this is the first time you have asked for anything.” Caydem grabbed his face, and his cool fingers trailed down River’s neck in an almost too soft caress. “I’m just giving my property a puppy.”
Vygus grumbled under his breath as he tugged River over to him. River was surprised Caydem let him go. River crashed into Vygus’s chest, and the werewolf wrapped his arms around River.
“I will do anything for you.” Vygus licked the shell of River’s ear, sending tingles down his body. “Anything, Master.”
River shuddered as he closed his eyes. “Okay.”
“Show us the way, mutt,” Caydem said.
Vygus rolled his eyes but never let River go as they left his dorm room. As River left behind his safety net—no, not safety. It was another cage, just a self-made one. They got into Vygus’s car, and River sat on Caydem’s lap to Vygus’s dismay.
“You can drive, and I’ll hold him,” Vygus whined.
Caydem paid little attention to Vygus as his hand crept under River’s shirt and rubbed distracting circles against his skin.
“I don’t drive. It has been over a century, and I don’t plan to start again.”
Vygus growled his annoyance but still drove them to his mansion. Caydem got out with River still in his arms. River let Caydem lead. He was still unsure of everything, and it made him feel slightly uneasy.
“At least it’s not the street,” Caydem said.
Vygus moved over to River and grabbed his hand and pulled him close. River stared into Vygus’s green eyes. How could he be in control of Vygus when he wasn’t sure how to be in control of himself?
Vygus pressed up against River. There was no mistaking Vygus was horny. River reached up and tugged Vygus’s blond hair free and let the silky strands glide through his fingers before he gripped them harshly and yanked Vygus’s head back.
“Inside,” River said in a commanding tone.
Vygus moaned and licked his lips. “Yes, please.”
River let him go, and Vygus instantly went into the house. River stood there for another second before Caydem pushed him along.
“Stop thinking so much. It’s unlike you,” Caydem said.
River glanced over his shoulder to stare at the vampire. “What if it is?”
Caydem wrapped his hand loosely around River’s throat. “Don’t bore me now.”
River relaxed in the hold, and Caydem brought his lips to River’s in an almost too short kiss.
“Come on, I want to see what you do with the wolf,” Caydem said.
Vygus took them to a large room that was clearly not his own. The bed was freshly made, and there was nothing in the room that indicated he slept in the space.
“Used to be my parents’ room,” Vygus said.
Caydem was gone and back in a flash. He had a chair from the kitchen in his hands. He set it down and took a seat and leaned back in the chair. His eyes, trained on River, were intense, and River doubted he would ever be able to run from them.
“Stop looking at him like he’s a rare bloody steak,” Vygus said, taking a step toward Caydem.
River ignored the two as they started bickering, letting it draw into the background as he let himself think. He hadn’t brought anything with him, and there was only so much he could do. That’s when he remembered he’d left a few items the last time he was there.
“Vygus, go get the things I left here,” River said.
Vygus stopped arguing with Caydem to go do what River asked.
“How many times have you been here?” Caydem asked.
“A few,” River said as he made his way to the bed and pulled the thick comforter down and out of the way.
“I need a number,” Caydem said with finality.
Vygus walked in the room at that time, holding a backpack that was stuffed with things.
“Are you jealous, mosquito?”
Caydem let out a rich laugh. “Hardly. Let’s just say it’s curiosity.”
Vygus huffed out a laugh. “You know that’s what killed the cat.”
“If you keep talking, I’m going to be the one to kill you, mutt.”
“Oh yeah? I’d be more than happy to shred you into a pulled vampire,” Vygus taunted.
River was starting to regret his decision as the headache came back with a vengeance. He pushed his thumb against his temple, applying enough pressure that it eased the pulsating headache for a moment.
Before things could continue to get out of hand, River called for Vygus, the wolf instantly ignoring Caydem in favor of River.
“Yes, Master,” Vygus said, batting his eyes at River as if that ever fazed him.
River ignored it like he’d done plenty of times before. “Get undressed.”
Vygus made quick work of losing his clothes, tossing them haphazardly around the room. River paid it little to no mind, even if his mind screamed for order. He’d jumped headfirst into a chaotic situation; he was sure he would find some type of order later. He grabbed the collar, letting the smooth leather run across the palm of his hand. It oddly silenced all other thoughts in River’s head. He was in a chaotic world and no longer had a silent cage to return to, but he could ground himself in being Vygus’s master. River’s gaze traveled over to Caydem. The vampire relaxed in the chair as if this was his home and not someone else’s. River could lose himself in Caydem’s hands. This was okay. He was okay.
Vygus dropped down to his knees like an obedient dog. River fastened the collar around Vygus’s neck, making sure it was tight enough that Vygus would constantly be conscious of it. Vygus audibly swallowed. River yanked Vygus’s blond hair hard, forcing him to bend his head back and bare his neck in what had to be an uncomfortable position. River dropped down, doing something he had never done before. It had never crossed his mind, but the two supernaturals in the room had done it to him plenty of times before. He opened his mouth and lightly grazed his teeth over Vygus’s exposed flesh right above the collar. Vygus drew in a sharp breath, and River did it again, getting a whine from Vygus.
River’s other hand traveled down Vygus’s shoulder to his defined pec until his fingers lightly brushed against his nipple. River twisted the small nub until Vygus was lifting up on his knees to get closer in order to ease the pressure.
“You both mark me, but I have no way of marking you,” River said in an almost hushed tone. But he knew both of them could hear him. He didn’t miss the way Vygus’s body shivered under him, and as River glanced over to Caydem, he didn’t miss the vampire’s hungry stare.
“Since I can’t mark you on the outside, I will have to do enough to brand it on your soul,” River said. He wasn’t sure where the words came from; he never spoke so much, but they had been said and there was no going back.
Vygus whimpered. His green eyes stared at River with an intensity that made it feel as if River had just promised the werewolf his very life. River had, yet he didn’t feel as if he was walking into a new cage.
“Please,” Vygus moaned.