Tangled Shadows by Tina Christopher

got on his elbows and knees. Lubricating two fingers with the juice she left behind as well as gel 58

     
    from a small bottle he retrieved from a compartment in the wall, Nikolai prepared his lover. Galen’s lids dropped.
    Nikolai removed his hand and looked at Brooke. As he entered Galen, both men groaning, he held her eyes captive, pulling her in and making her part of the lovemaking.
    Brooke froze for a second. The picture before her was the most erotic she’d ever seen, but it hit a nerve she’d thought she’d buried years ago. What she saw right now shouldn’t have this beauty. She shouldn’t be this intrigued.
    But “should” had no place right here, right now.
    Through the strong movement and dominance their love shone like gossamer strings linking them.
    Brooke wanted that. She needed to be a part, needed to be included in their love. As she watched them explode together and joined with a smaller, less intensive climax, she understood they’d gotten far deeper under her skin than she’d ever imagined possible.
    Both men panted and Galen groaned as Nikolai withdrew. He flopped on his stomach and turned his head to Brooke. “Did you enjoy the show?” Exhaustion shadowed his face.
    Brooke struggled to push her needs down and out of the way and hide her inner turmoil. “Yes, it was great.” Going by Galen’s frown she didn’t do a very good job. He came up on an elbow, but before he could say anything Brooke raised her hand and asked, “May I?”
    His smile lit up his face. “Of course, you are always welcome to touch.” She stretched out her arms and grazed the closest feather with the back of a finger.
    Galen’s lids dropped.
    “They are highly sensitive.” She cleared her throat.
    “Yes,” Galen hissed when she used her palm to caress long sweeps of his wings.
    They felt like a mixture of the richest velvet and the softest mohair, but that wasn’t quite true. Brooke had never felt a texture like it before and she had difficulty describing it. “Why do you hide them?”
    He leaned into her touch. “Our wings have become the expression of our emotions.
    Over the last few centuries Naemas have developed the ability to hide them in an alternative dimension. You can’t see or touch them when they are hidden through the rift.”
    “But why do you hide something so special?” Brooke asked again, her gaze focused on the swirling colors.
    “Because their esteemed leader wants them to give up all emotions,” Nikolai said.
    Brooke tore herself away from the feathers and looked at him.
    Galen touched his arm. “Let me explain.”
    Nikolai nodded.
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    Galen looked at her. “All Naemas have special gifts like telekinesis, psychometrics, telepathy, remote viewing as well as different levels of magic.”
    “That is a lot of power for one person.”
    He nodded. “Which is why control has become the most important aspect in our society. If we don’t control our gifts, others are at risk.” He moved one of his wings to caress her arm. She shivered. “They demonstrate our feelings. We cannot lie without them giving away our emotions. This is an unacceptable weakness, so one of the first things we learn is control of the dimensional portal. No matter what happens, our wings are supposed to stay hidden. To show them in society is to say you are lacking the necessary control and may have to be secured until you can.” Brooke nodded. “That must be where your inner stillness comes from.” Galen’s brows shot up.
    She played with a couple of feathers, not meeting his gaze. “I don’t know how to describe it, but you have a balance and a calm, which lives in the center of you.”
    “Thank you.” He smiled and kissed her. “As you have seen, they are also extremely sensitive to a lover’s touch and can be brought out to heighten the experience of the love play.”
    “And they come in handy when you are facing overwhelming resistance,” Nikolai said.
    Galen chuckled. “Yes, that is