She gasped as her fingers found a bandage on his forearm. Stricken, she looked up at him.
“It’s just a scratch,” he said.
“Good.” She sat back on her heels. “I’m glad to see you are fine, but if Lan hadn’t hit you, I would have.”
Arin looked at Lan, at the telltale clenching of his jaw.
“Yes,” he said with a sigh, “I gathered.”
* * * *
Having a nice sense of self-preservation, Galena hustled both of her lovers into the royal chambers. No one dared to say anything when the king left. Probably they had a sense of self-preservation, too.
She ordered a bath and had both Arin and Lan talked into joining her. Her bones ached. She was tired. She dropped onto the big bed, spreading her arms over its lush covers.
That was nice. She could snuggle down, drape herself over Lan or Arin, whichever one of them was closer, and pull the other one to her side—and sleep.
She opened her eyes.
Ah. That may prove to be a problem.
She raised her head, contemplating her lovers.
They looked nice, and she was a lucky woman to have them both.
Also, at this moment, they looked ready to kill each other. That was sure to put a crimp into her plans.
“I can’t believe you did something so highhanded!” Lan shouted, coming closer to face Arin. Arin refused to budge. They glared at each other.
“I didn’t have a choice.”
“Damn it, Arin, neither of us is helpless. We could have helped you. I can understand you didn’t want Galena in the fight, but—”
“Hey!” Galena said indignantly. “I object to that. I was the one who found Morel and his cronies if you remember.”
“I couldn’t have risked you,” Arin said in a low voice, “either of you. I couldn’t stand to lose you.” His voice dropped to a whisper. He looked defeated.
He meant it, Galena realized. Warmth filled her chest. It was nice to be appreciated.
“You are my heart and soul,” Arin said, coming to sit beside her. He leaned to kiss her cheek, and she saw tears in his eyes. “I could stand a lot but not losing you two. It would destroy me.”
Galena put both her hands on his head. “We are not going to leave. No one can make us leave you. We are yours. We want you, too.”
“I know.” He cocked his head to kiss her palm.
“But don’t you understand what you did? You locked us there. We wanted to be with you. Wanted to fight with you, protect you. You were worried about us. We worried about you, too. It goes both ways. You risked yourself.”
He opened his mouth to protest. Lan came to stand beside them. “You risked yourself,” he said, his voice hot. He was crying, too. “How do you think Galena and I felt when we felt that flare of magic? Magadar was attacking you.”
“And I defeated her. Thanks to you. You did help me. I wouldn’t be able to channel that much power if we didn’t have a bond. You did save me.”
Arin reached to pull Lan closer. Lan was still shaking his head. “Be that as it may—”
Galena climbed into Arin’s lap, leaning over to kiss Lan. “It’s over and done. It doesn’t matter.”
Lan opened his mouth to protest. Galena beat him to it. “Tomorrow is another day. I want to go to bed. I want to have both of you with me. I need it. I need to know you are okay. I won’t be able to sleep otherwise.”
Exhaustion seeped into her voice. That persuaded them. Neither of them said anything. With a sigh, she crawled toward the head of the bed, pulling the covers back. She frowned at her men, who were standing still. “Come on then.”
They hesitated but obeyed.
With a contented sigh, Galena nestled between the two of them. Their arms slipped around her waist. Satisfied, she fell asleep.
Chapter 7
Walking down the hallway, Arin listened to Garen with a frown.
“We still didn’t get all the soldiers, and they fled all over the countryside.”
“We need to have them contained. Some of them might be dangerous.”
Garen nodded. “I know that, and there is a matter of Morel’s court. They had to have known, and I think—”
A whirlwind of green velvet and hungry female plastered herself against Arin’s chest. Galena pushed Arin against the wall, arms wrapping around his shoulders, legs rising to straddle his hips. Her mouth clashed against his, demanding, taking, conquering. She sucked at his tongue, his belly clenching with need. His cock filled, raised. She rubbed against him encouragingly, her hands slipping under his tunic and roaming his chest. He gasped, need sizzling within him. Her ass settled in his palm, and he squeezed the warm flesh.
Galena broke the kiss, a lock of hair falling from the band holding it and onto her shoulder. Arin’s mouth latched onto her collarbone.
“Get lost, Garen,” she ordered, breathless.
Garen snorted. “At least he will be in a better mood after.”
Arin groped at the wall behind him until he found the doorknob. He didn’t have a clue what room that was, but it didn’t matter now. Nothing mattered except the handful of willing female currently in his arms. He stumbled inside, barely managing to kick the door closed before he lost his balance and ended on the floor. None of it deterred Galena. She straightened, straddling him. She was flushed, and her pupils were dilated, lips wet and parted.
“I need you,” she said, rising onto her knees. She tugged at his belt. The Axen flared with light as Arin’s desire spiked.
“Ah...” he hissed when her clever fingers found his cock.
“You are ready,” Galena purred, leaning over him. His cock jumped in her hand, coming to rest against his now bare belly. Arin’s gaze fastened on her breasts, enticingly close to his face. He swallowed and raised his head to lick at the rosy skin exposed by her deep neckline. She gasped. Arin dug his hand into her waist, sucking her nipple through the now damp cloth. Fire sizzled within him.
“Ahh,” Galena hissed, and he felt her move. Folds of velvet pressed against his skin. Her thighs rubbed his. Still holding his cock, she helped it slide inside her pussy.
Arin moaned, his body arching, sinking deeper into her hot cavern. She felt so good. The room filled with heated moans. Arin closed his eyes in bliss. Warmth flooded his belly. He tensed, feeling his balls draw up. He fought the sudden spike of pleasure until he felt Galena’s body clench and grip him. Her body went taut. She collapsed on top of him, and he pushed inside her one last time. His cock jerked and spilled, his orgasm thundering through him.
They both needed time to recover. Galena moaned, and her head moved on his chest. Green eyes stared into his, her gaze slumberous and filled with contentment. Pure male satisfaction welled inside him.
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be so full of yourself.”
He couldn’t stop himself from smirking.
“You enjoyed that.”
“Yes, I was.” She rolled off of him, and Arin gasped as his cock slipped out of her body. He missed her warmth. He sat, grimacing as he tried to fix his clothes. “You ripped my shirt.”
“Hmm.” Galena was busy with her gown. It was a nice gown, and there were definitely some advantages to keeping his queen dressed in one instead of pants. “Must have been in the heat of the moment.”
Arin gave up. The tunic was ruined. “Not that I’m complaining, but couldn’t we have done this in our chambers? After all, it doesn’t seem right for the king to have sex in the hallways of his palace.”
Galena gave him a sardonic glance. Arin winced.
“Lan is still angry at me.”
“Yes.”
She knelt next to him and started helping him with his clothes. “Not that I have anything against the hallways—stars, that was hot—but I spent two hours stalking you. Garen is one thing, but the rest of your court—” She shrugged. One sleeve had slipped from her shoulder, baring creamy skin and the valley between her breasts.
“When are you going to fix it?”
Realizing she expected an answer, Arin tore his gaze from the enticing sight.
“Huh?”
“You and Lan?”
“I don’t know what to do.”
She huffed and tossed her head in impatience. “Apologize? Tell him you aren’t going to do something so fundamentally stupid again?”
“I can’t say that.” He gazed at her. Better make it clear with this lover, too.
“Lie then. Just...do something.”
“Lie?
“It’s damned hard to be in the room with the two of you. I’m practically freezing.”
“I haven’t noticed,” Arin said dryly. “How come you aren’t mad?”
She rolled her eyes and shoved at him, sitting back on the floor. Her bare legs were sticking out under the bunched folds of her gown. She looked wonderfully debauched. Arin felt stirrings of arousal again.
“Have I said I am not? I just don’t have any problem with having sex with you while I am mad.” She slanted a glance at him. “It adds spice, I’ll confess. Lan on the other hand,” she continued, waving her arms, “he has principles.” Her voice dripped with disgust. “I’m missing out on great sex because the two of you are idiots.”
“You are missing out on sex?”
She gave him a flat stare. “I’m greedy. I like it when both of you are around.”
“I see,” Arin murmured.
Galena stiffly stood up. “I don’t know what you are going to do, but you have to do something. I’m starting to get seriously annoyed. And then I am going to be mad with both of you, and neither of you is going to get any until you come to your senses.” She gave him a quelling glance and sauntered out of the room.
* * * *
“That’s fine,” Arin said to the page, smiling. He leaned back into his chair, giving the knights gathered around the big stone table with maps spread over its surface an encouraging, grateful look.
“I believe it’s time for lunch. You can leave us.” Although he didn’t look at Lan, Lan knew what that “us” meant. The knights filed out of the room, still discussing plans for an upcoming spring campaign against the remnants of the rebel army, leaving him and Arin alone.
“All right, are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” Arin demanded, turning around to face him and leaning against the table. “You flinch whenever I touch you. I know you are mad at me, but that shouldn’t...”
“That’s not it,” Lan interrupted him, glancing at the wide oak doors to check if they were closed.
“It’s not?” Arin’s expression clearly conveyed his disbelief. He folded his arms over his chest, muscles bulging under the thin material of his tunic. Lan’s gaze slid down to Arin’s hips. Hastily, he looked up and cleared his throat. Arin was frowning at him, clearly annoyed.
“It’s really not.”
He shifted, trying to ease the fire that had been plaguing him ever since...He cleared his throat.
“Didn’t Galena tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
Is he going to make me say it?
Lan looked at the ceiling. His cheeks flushed. “You saw her today, didn’t you?”
Arin’s eyes darkened. Lan felt his own body respond to the lust in that look. He swallowed. His cock, already half hard, was now filling to its full length.
“We saw each other earlier...and we
—
I mean, she and I—”
Arin rolled his eyes. “Had sex.” He shot Lan an amused look. “You will have to overcome your shyness. I’m actually surprised that your delicate sensibilities survived my court. Ah, well. There is time.”
Lan ignored his remark. “You know that she is angry at us for arguing.”
“She mentioned that. And?”
Lan’s face burned. He couldn’t force himself to say the words. Instead, he reached for his link with Arin in his mind.
“What is it?” Arin asked, curiosity coloring his mental voice. Lan sent his memories down the link.
He was leaning on the cold wall, one hand buried in Galena’s dark hair. His tunic was pushed up, and his pants were pooled around his ankles. Galena’s mouth was busy on his prick, alternatively sucking and licking, sending bolts of white-hot pleasure up his spine. Lan arched, his back digging into wall. His fingers curled into a fist.
“Fuck!” he swore as Galena released his cock, cold air teasing the damp head.
Galena pressed her cheek against his thigh. Her hand wrapped around Lan’s aching dick. “I’m not letting you come yet,” she warned, and her tongue sneaked out to tease his skin.
“I...gathered that,” Lan answered, breathless.
“Good,” Galena purred, her lips engulfing his cock once again. His knees buckled. He was surprised he was still able to stand. The room tilted in front of his eyes. A finger teased his opening, played along its rim before dipping inside.
Lan jerked. “What are you doing?”
Instead of answering, Galena rolled his balls in her palm. Something hard and smooth nudged at his anus. Pleasure spiked through him. His head hit the wall and he forgot what he meant.
When he surfaced again, Galena was standing up. His cock was still uncomfortably hard, whatever she put into him sharpening his arousal. Galena grinned at it then leaned in to kiss him. He opened his mouth, tasting himself on her lips. He reached to pull her closer, but she backed out.