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  Alex’s eyelids fluttered and he let out a long, low sigh when Thea lowered herself onto his cock. Dimitri couldn’t tear his eyes away from where they were joined. His hand instinctively gripped his cock and began stroking while he watched her fuck his brother with slow, undulating motions of her hips. She leaned over to give Alex a long, languid kiss. Turning her head to look over her shoulder at Dimitri, she smiled.

  “Fuck me, Dimitri. I know that’s what you want, so do it. Please, fuck me.”

  Dimitri blinked, uncertain at first what she meant. He met Alex’s fevered gaze briefly and followed his brother’s darted glance to the bedside table. What he saw made him immediately feel like a fool. This was what she wanted with them both.

  The scent of strawberries wafted to his nostrils when he popped the lid. He squirted a liberal amount of the clear liquid onto his fingertips. As surreal as the evening had been so far, the intensity with which he was able to focus on this particular task overrode every other worry or fear he had up until then. Nothing drove him but the singular desire to feel her coming apart with his cock fucking deep into her ass while his brother worked her from the beneath.

  His slick fingertips swirled delicately around her opening. He pressed his index finger at the center, slowly letting it slide in, enjoying how she quivered and buried her face against Alex’s neck. She stopped moving her hips, seeming to anticipate what he would do next. Alex kept pumping slowly up into her pussy.

  He and his brother locked eyes briefly, holding the gaze while Alex murmured into Thea’s ear. “You like that, love? You like my cock deep inside while Dimitri plays with your ass?”

  Dimitri shared a smile with his brother, finally enjoying the endeavor without any uncertainty about the implications. If Alex were this comfortable with the idea, there was no reason he shouldn’t be, too. And he was invested in seeing Thea fly to pieces once he and his brother were both fucking her. He pressed a second slick digit into her. She cried out and shot her hands out to either side of Alex’s head, gripping hard at the pillows.

  “Oh fuck that’s good,” she gasped. Alex turned his eyes to her face, his expression transforming into hungry need. He accepted her rough kiss and reached down to squeeze both her ass cheeks, spreading her wider for Dimitri.

  “Now,” Alex said.

  Dimitri coated his cock with the slick scent of strawberries. Thea whimpered against Alex’s lips, then let out a harsh groan when Dimitri pressed his cock against her tight barrier. Alex had slowed his own pace down, only moving with a slow thrust every few seconds. Dimitri’s arms quivered with the effort of holding himself poised over her, but he had to go slow.

  “Do it!” she commanded through gritted teeth. “Oh God, fuck me. Please.” Her last word came out as a desperate sob against Alex’s shoulder.

  Her asshole clenched once around the head of his cock, then relaxed. He slipped in by increments, the tight friction around his cock creating heat like a furnace that coursed through him. He was dimly aware of his own harsh grunts when he finally began fucking her in earnest.

  Alex’s cock pounded into her again in a frenzy from beneath. Her head thrashed and her hands clawed at the sheets. A long, sobbing moan escaped and her entire body shuddered beneath Dimitri. Her ass clenched tightly around his cock and he abruptly sank into her and stopped, hilt deep, unable to stand it any longer. The pressure of his brother’s cock pressed and throbbed beyond the barrier between them. Alex cried out. Or was it Dimitri crying out himself? His throat ached from his own harsh gasps. He panted in time with the surge of his orgasm, the hot stream of his cum shooting deep into her.

  When they regained their breath she slipped from between them. She paused long enough to press a kiss against his lips before she disappeared into her bathroom. Dimitri sat back on his heels, dazed and buzzed, though he wasn’t quite sure whether it was the remnants of alcohol in his system or from her. Thinking perhaps he should leave, he glanced around for his clothes and made a move to get up.

  “You’d be an asshole to leave after that,” his brother said in a low voice.

  Dimitri gave him a questioning look.

  “I know you’re used to us keeping this part of our lives separate, but it obviously isn’t working out for you. Face it, our lives are better when we’re both invested in something together. Besides, I’m pretty sure she likes you.”

  “You think?” Dimitri asked, finally finding the breath to respond.

  Chapter Two

  “You alright, man?”

  Corey’s concerned words pulled Dimitri out of the depths of his memories. He’d managed to make a pot of coffee, but now sat in a canvas camp chair ignoring his steaming cup while he stared at the oddly glowing fireplace.

  “I’m… yeah, I guess. Being here in this temple feels strange. I always expected if I ever made it to a place like this my brother would be with me.”

  “You two studied together, right?” Corey asked.

  “Yep. He was in Erika’s program, but just missed having her for a TA, I guess.”

  They’d done more than just study together. After that first night with Thea, the sharing of interests even extended to their sex lives. The overlap seemed completely natural once they started, and Thea was more than happy to accommodate both of them. Dimitri had even gone so far as to consider himself content—maybe even truly happy—after six months had passed with the three of them completely inseparable. She fit so well into their lives it was hard to imagine a time when she hadn’t been a part of it.

  But like his life tended to do, it all fell apart. The red glow of the strange embers in the fireplace became the flashing lights of an ambulance in Dimitri’s memory; the waning heat of his mug became the diminishing warmth as his brother’s life bled away in the mangled car they were both trapped in. He supposed he should be grateful that Thea hadn’t been with them. The aftermath had left his soul as mangled and useless as the heap of metal the emergency crew had pulled him out of. They’d probably tested fate and lost, trying to share Thea’s love.

  “What would he have said about the dragons, do you think?” Corey asked.

  Dimitri took a deep breath and finally sipped at his tepid coffee. “Dragons…” He let out a low chuckle, glad for an excuse to picture the happier image of his brother’s enthusiasm over this find. “He’d have loved the dragons. Been totally on board with this whole fantasy world we’ve discovered down here.”

  He swallowed his coffee down in a series of quick gulps and poured another cup.

  “Where is everyone?” he asked, realizing that most of the sleeping bags were empty. All but Hallie’s. She still lay snoring softly like the heavy sleeper she was. Must be nice to sleep with such a clear conscience.

  He wondered what it was that had pulled Corey out of sleep. His older friend wasn’t exactly the sharing type, so he had no idea what made the man tick. Dimitri had only shared the details of his own life in an effort to try to purge the memories, yet they still haunted him regularly.

  That sharing, though, on his part, on many of their parts, had brought the team closer. They were almost a family now, if not quite the one he’d loved and lost. Everyone seemed to bear some kind of burden, spoken or unspoken. Still, knowing he wasn’t alone in carrying such pain was a comfort.

  “Not sure, but I’m about to go look. Want to join me?” Corey picked up one of his small digital video cameras and set off around the corner. Dimitri followed, happy for the distraction.

  Walking through the center of the cavernous main room of the dragon temple, Dimitri thought the place seemed more brightly lit than it had when they’d first arrived. The glowing braziers behind the throne at the far end of the room pulsed in a slow rhythm that he found almost hypnotic.

  “Did you ever figure out how the lights work?” he asked.

  Corey paused by the throne and glanced around with a concerned look on his face. He shook his head. “Beats the shit outa me. It’s driving me nuts that I can’t figure it out, though. I was h
oping to get Eben’s help cracking one open but he’s disappeared along with Erika and Camille. Kris is MIA, too.”

  Dimitri chuckled. “Are you sure you want to go looking? I’ll give you three guesses what he and Erika are up to and honestly I don’t blame them. Maybe Kris and Camille found a dark corner somewhere, too. If I had a willing partner you can bet that’s what I’d be doing right now. A find like this definitely warrants a celebratory fuck.”

  Corey stooped down and picked something up off the polished jade floor in front of him. He shot Dimitri a critical look. “You guys are probably the most oversexed group of people I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with, you know that? Except for Camille maybe.”

  “Sometimes you just need human contact,” Dimitri said. “Helps you feel a little less alone in the world.”

  Corey’s expression turned sympathetic. “Yeah, sorry, man. I understand that need, but it’s never really worked for me. I need more than just a warm, willing body. I’d rather be alone than screwing a woman I don’t feel a deep connection with.”

  “It’s alright. Being here just brought back some old memories. I woke up horny as hell, and all I could think about was that first night Alex and I were both with Thea.”

  “See, that’s not something I could ever see myself doing, either,” Corey said. “I guess I’m not the sharing type.”

  “I didn’t think I was either, but it made so much sense once we’d started. I think we were both amazed we hadn’t done it before. But I suppose Thea was a special girl. It probably wouldn’t have worked with anyone other than her.” It had worked, though. Before too long he was as head over heels for her as his brother was. The strangest thing about their relationship was the fact that neither he nor his brother had any reservations about the other’s hold on Thea’s feelings. And she never once played favorites, which seemed odd to Dimitri since she’d been with Alex first. She became the fulcrum he and Alex balanced their lives upon. Except that after Alex’s death suddenly they’d lost their counterbalance and had ultimately spun off in different directions. He’d left finally, after a heart-wrenching argument in which it became apparent she couldn’t stand seeing him, being reminded every day of what they’d both lost.

  “Check this out,” Corey said, handing Dimitri a notebook, the top page halfway filled with Camille’s tiny, meticulous handwriting. Dimitri flipped back a few pages and read.

  “What the hell?” He stared down at the characters carved into the floor around the base of the throne. “Do you think they’re crazy enough to try doing this… this ritual?”

  “Knowing Erika, yeah,” Corey said. “Looks like someone managed to open one of the doors back there. Let’s go find them.”

  Dimitri flipped to the next page and read, enthralled by the very idea that this was even possible. Six phases to the ritual, Camille’s translation said. Six members of their group, not counting their guide. Alex, you would have been all over this. He noted one of Camille’s tiny notes in the margin that said, “What if dragons are real?!” in one spot. When he reached the last page, he found an underlined section of text in a language he didn’t understand, with another note written in English off to the side, “No wonder we’re all so worked up in here. It’s by design. It takes nirvana to wake one up. Nirvana equals orgasms?”

  He tossed the notebook back down where Camille had left it and jogged to catch up with Corey. His mind processed the possibilities presented in Camille’s notes. The other man was probably too pragmatic to believe it, but Dimitri had a surge of hopeful excitement. This just confirmed what he and his brother had speculated. He’d accepted Erika’s invitation to join the expedition for the novelty more than anything, but now it seemed there were facets to this place that were beyond his wildest dreams.

  The giant pair of carved jade doors loomed in front of him, one pushed open just far enough to allow a person to pass through. Corey, ever the diligent cameraman, hit the on switch and began recording as he went.

  “You first,” Corey said, gesturing for Dimitri to enter.

  The wide hallway curved around, mimicking the rear arc of the dais the throne sat upon in the main chamber. Five large doors were spaced at intervals along the apex of the arc, the central door much larger than the other four.

  The door closest to them stood open, and from the sounds that emanated from inside Dimitri had the oddest sense that he was walking onto the set of a porn movie.

  He glanced back at Corey, gave his friend a smirk and opened his mouth to say, “I told you so.” ”Except the moment he turned, he found himself close enough to get a first peek into the room itself. The smirk disappeared and the words caught in his throat. He stopped dead in his tracks, his jaw dropping open at the completely unexpected tableau that greeted him.

  “What is it?” Corey asked, looking up from the digital display on the back of the camera.

  “See for yourself,” Dimitri said.

  He felt a little wrong watching them, but found it difficult to tear his eyes away. They were tangled up in groups of three. He recognized Camille and Eben in one trio. Their companion was a magnificent man with pale skin, long white hair and horns. Camille straddled his lap, riding on the man’s cock like she was born to fuck him in spite of the shy confession of her virginity that Dimitri had pried out of her the week before. Eben knelt beside the couple, locked into a passionate kiss with the man.

  Dimitri’s eyebrows shot up at this scene. He’d always suspected Eben’s more universal sexual tendencies, but this was the first confirmation he’d had.

  Across the room a similar scene played out, with Erika and two other unfamiliar figures, both with vibrant sheens to their skin and similar curved protrusions on their heads. Who the hell were these people? Creatures… Dragons… He could almost hear Alex’s voice rejoicing in his mind when the scope of what they had discovered down here occurred to him.

  Erika lay languid across the lap of a red-haired man while a violet-horned woman knelt between her legs, attending to her. Dimitri watched, fascinated, while they changed places. Erika went down on the other woman while the red man positioned himself behind Erika.

  In a previous life Dimitri might have announced himself and asked to be included, but now he just stood enthralled. Alex would have loved the opportunity to be a part of this. The only thought in Dimitri’s mind was that this was only one room out of dozens. He wanted his own dragon.

  He turned to express this thought to Corey but shut his mouth before the words could sneak out. Corey stood completely rigid and not at all entertained by the scene. His jaw flexed, no doubt grinding his teeth hard enough to lose a layer of enamel… the man was too tense in general.

  The sounds in the room escalated. Then before their eyes, the three exotic newcomers shifted almost in unison, as if they had some shared cue when they orgasmed. Suddenly the previously human-looking figures became mythical, beautiful things with wings flaring wide and elongated faces spouting colored smoke and resonant cries of pleasure. Red and white and lavender. Dimitri found it difficult to stop watching until Corey cursed and walked away, leaving Dimitri staring wide-eyed. He thought the dragons would be bigger, but that didn’t mean they were any less impressive.

  He wanted to be a part of this ritual so badly the wanting made him numb to the hard throb between his thighs. Logically it made no sense, but his compulsion spurred him on and he went with it, moving to the next door in the row. The closed door stood there, the shining gold surface of it glowing at him with subtle, tantalizing pulses of light.

  The door. Camille’s notes had detailed the importance of these particular doors. Each one represented a new phase of the ritual. Each one required a unique personality to open it and her notes speculated that their group had the perfect combination to see the ritual through.

  He paused and stared at the thing. Tried to be analytic about it. From an anthropological standpoint, it was a curiosity. Dragon worship wasn’t unheard of, but what culture was so beast-centric to depic
t humans in coitus with reptiles? Dragons, just like Alex and I always believed. The thought sent a thrill through him, but he tried to process the information objectively anyway. In the Western world it would’ve been seen as Satan worship, no doubt. But in the context of what he’d witnessed a moment ago he believed there had to be more to it than mere worship.

  They’d looked human at first. Super-human, really, but still recognizable and articulate creatures. The red-haired one was particularly vocal and there was no mistaking how much he’d been enjoying giving it to Erika for all he was worth. And she was every bit as vocal back to him. Fuck, had that been a turn-on.

  But the more he stared at the golden image carved into the door, the less it mattered. He stepped closer and raised a hand to trace the figure of one of the two dragons that flanked the human. When his fingertips came into contact with the surface, a jolt of pure, electrical pleasure shot through him.

  “Are you crazy?” Corey asked. Dimitri jerked back from the door as though he’d been caught with his hand in a cookie jar.

  “I’m going in,” he said.

  “The hell you are.” Corey gripped him by the shoulder. Dimitri pulled away, frustration churning in his stomach, beginning to condense in a hot ball of spite at being held back. Before he could retaliate another figure joined them.

  “Let him go in,” Kris said in a soft, measured voice. “He’s meant to open that door. You see the twins there?” Kris pointed at the raised figures on the door’s golden surface.

  Corey gave the door a cursory glance. “I call bullshit,” he said. “You slipped some drug in our dinner last night. Now we’re all hallucinating.”