Shared Between Them (4 page)

When she was a true elfling, she would sometimes crawl into her brothers' bedrolls with them on cold nights or when she'd had a bad dream, ignoring how angry they used to get with her afterwards. But this was close to two men, not just one at a time, and Taric already had his arm slung over her waist, his nose buried in her snow-white tresses.

“You smell delicious,” Taric told her dreamily, the firmness that had been in his voice just a minute ago completely dissipated.

A sob shook at her shoulders for a moment, startling even her. It wasn’t expected, nor could it be helped. It dawned on her, suddenly, that she would not leave until they gave her permission to go… Which might never be. Certainly, they didn’t seem to be in any sort of rush to leave her company.

In response, the men’s embraces on her merely grew tighter. “You should really just let me go. You can't tie me up,” she begged. “You'll die, and then I'll be stuck!”

“Firstly,” Taric replied, “that won't happen. We wouldn't have journeyed all the way out here if we weren't absolutely certain that we could defeat the giant. Secondly, you're a thief. Your life is forfeit to your victims, namely us, and it would be too much of a waste to hang you from the nearest tree.”

She couldn't tell if he was teasing her or not; his tone could make her believe either way.

Draevan patted his blanket over her hip and said, “Are you warm enough, elfling?”

She curled her frozen toes. “Boots would help,” she assured crisply.

He didn’t grumble at her terse words, only rubbed his thumb across her cheek. “Yes, but not having them would slow you down if you ran off,” he replied wisely. He surprised her by reaching down, grabbing her feet, and warming them in his hands, creating friction with his fingers. He squinted at her, seeming to be evaluating her looks. “You're all by yourself out here, aren't you?” he finally asked with a pitying tone. He didn't even wait for her to verify it before he asked, “How long?”

What was it to him? Was he truly trying to get on her good side after just spanking her and sticking his fingers into a place no man had touched before? “None of your business,” she snapped, yanking her foot out of his hands and trying to make sure they were well-wrapped in the blanket.

He didn’t look too despondent by her snappishness. Instead, he acted as if she had just spilled her heart out. “Well, don't you worry yourself, elfling. We'll take care of you.”

Her lips pursed together, and she growled in threat, “Ditto.”

They both snorted out a laugh, and then she felt Taric's hand rub against her hip. The men spoke over her head in that mysterious language.

“What are you called, girl?” Taric asked in her ear.

She didn't answer, merely turned her head towards her pillow. He grabbed her sore ass roughly with his strong fingers, and she gasped, “Kyra Kingsguard!”

Draevan grinned and entwined his legs into hers; she could finally call herself warm from head to toe. “Rest well, our Kyra,” he told her, reaching up to pet her hair. “Our cute little thief.”

She was certain that it was an impossibility to sleep in these conditions, and she stifled a frustrated growl. She was used to resting with damp, dirty earth under her body, but she wasn’t used to the warmth blanketed by the presence of the two men. Yet, not even five minutes later, the warmth from their bodies began to lull her. In a short time, she drifted off into a deep sleep.

Chapter Two

Draevan was beginning to fancy himself in love, which he had never done before. But then, he had never let himself feel any sort affection for any female who wasn’t kin before. Since they were small boys, he and Taric had known they would be the ones to kill the giant of Blue Forest and marry the she-elf given to them in payment. Draevan's mother had foreseen that herself, and she was never wrong.

So he never believed he would take one of the women from the village as a wife, and he never let himself grow attached to any woman
who warmed his bed, even in the smallest measure.

Now, this fair little lady tucked against his chest, purring in her sleep like a kitten might, warmed not just his body. She was the cutest girl he'd ever seen, and being such made his chest tighten with feeling. Best of all, little Kyra was an elf, which meant that he could marry her all he wanted. After killing the giant, they'd have first pick of any she-elf in the kingdom! It had been long decreed!

Why not pick Kyra? He could already imagine her purring against him every night, and at the mental picture of it, a small grin sprawled on his face. Taric also seemed quite pleased with her; surely Draevan wasn't the only one already baking up fantasies about breeding her—taking her over and over again, filling her with their seed until she birthed not just one, but several sons for them.

Lords, the image alone of her filled with child was already making his cock stiffen uncomfortably in his trews… It seemed like his body wanted that image every bit as much as his mind did. His most basic instincts wanted to claim this girl as his mate, to protect her, to provide for her…

Hopefully Taric shared those feelings.

Because he and Taric had always known they would share a wife, which was not uncommon to Northern villagers, they’d long-ago promised each other that they would take their wife in a way that would make it impossible to tell whose child she bore, and they would love their wife's children as their own.

“Taric?” he hissed over the sleeping girl's head.

Taric made a groaning noise and cuddled closer against her, breathing deeply into the girl's hair. The elfling was small enough that Draevan was able to kick in the space under her and reach Taric's boot with his own to rouse him. “Taric!” he struggled to keep his voice to a whisper, keeping the deep vibration out of his voice so as not to wake her.

“Meh…” Taric grumbled as he stirred. In another second Taric's head darted up in alarm. “Do you hear something?” he asked, as if an approaching giant would be the only reason Draevan would ever wake him.

“No,” Draevan said, and Taric's head plopped right back against the saddle and he closed his eyes. Draevan quickly broke into their secret language. “
Taric, I want to keep her.
”

“
Of course we're keeping her
,” Taric responded wearily.

“
No. I mean, after today… I want to choose her for our mate.”

Taric opened his eyes and a long wrinkle appeared across his forehead.

“
You're quite bewitched by her, then?
” Taric wasn't as judgmental as Draevan feared he'd be. Taric was, by far, the more skeptical of the two, and always stepped in to play the part of devil’s advocate. “
I have no arguments. She has no fault a firm hand couldn't remedy. She's beautiful, she smells nice, and I think she's entertaining enough. She'll do.”
He shifted and rubbed his hand against the girl's tummy. “
Well, I'm glad I talked you into waiting to take her, then. Call me a romantic, but a bride should be taken on her wedding night
.”

Draevan had been finger-deep in her when Taric suggested that they wait until after the giant to bed her, mostly because he didn't want to risk being interrupted and also because he hoped that they'd be better received by her if she knew them as skilled warriors, not just hopeful or even big-headed ones. Draevan had grumbled about it at first, certainly, but now he was quite pleased to have something to look forward to. Besides, Taric had been right to say that the timing wasn’t right. Draevan had given her quite the chastisement, and she was feeling molested and forlorn already. He wanted to have her see them as something other than her rapists.

He hummed happily and then snuggled the girl closer to his chest, kissing her forehead. In her sleep, she began to purr even louder.

“
We need to rise
,” Taric reminded him, now that the sun was beginning to shine through the trees. “
We have to hone our blades yet
.” Still, he hadn't moved from his place on Kyra's other side.

Draevan grumbled a curse under his breath but slowly got up, feeling cold on the side that had been pressed to Kyra's body. He tucked his cloak closer around her so that she wouldn’t have to feel the cold of the morning either, and her body balled up more into the fetal position as she continued slumbering on.

When Taric finally rose, Draevan popped a bannock into his mouth and handed one to Taric, punching him in the rib with his elbow and then nodding to the girl. “
Look at her, sleeping like an angel there…
” He shook his head appreciatively. “
Damn fine find
.”

“
Now if only we can get her to think likewise…
” Taric murmured.

“
Why, is that urgent
?” Draevan asked, shrugging his shoulders. “
She doesn’t have to like us. We’ll make sure she’s satisfied. She’ll come around, and if she doesn’t… Well, who cares? I’m decided on her, and that’s all that concerns me.”

Taric sighed and raised a dark, judgmental eyebrow. “
Your Northerner is showing
,” he told him, meaning that Draevan was acting particularly brutish.

“
Remember, Grandfather said girls don’t often know what’s best for them. She’s better with us than here alone, in the woods, with a dagger strapped to her calf, and only a handful of coin to her name.
” Draevan swiped his hand confidently through the air, ending the discussion. Taric looked thoughtfully at him, then down at the elf. In moments, he looked approving enough towards Draevan’s point by raising his eyebrows and nodding to himself.

They hadn't been honing their blades for five minutes when they first heard the distant sound of thunder, although by the unrelenting way the sun was shining through the thick canopy of winter branches, they could tell that it was a clear, sunny day above.

Another quiet rumble vibrated through the wood of their boot soles. Still, fear didn't cling to Draevan. He could tell that Taric, although he didn't look bored like he usually did, didn't have any look of dread about him either, and this was a man who broke into a flop sweat when he was asked to do any public speaking or when a comely lass would ask him to dance!

Taric then suddenly looked very uneasy when he glanced at the elf-girl who still nestled under a light heap of blankets. “
We chose a poor day to put someone else into our plans
,” Taric sighed. “
I don't want the fight to come too close to her; I worry about tying her down here
.”

Draevan squinted. “
What are our options, Oh-Wise-One
?” he asked, rolling his eyes dramatically. “
She'll run away. Our little thief is not one to be trusted
!”

Taric shrugged. “
I know it. I just worry for her. I want her to be able to get away
.”

“
Yes, well, that's exactly what I
don't
want
.”

The horses startled, and when they did, Kyra awoke. They could tell immediately, even before she budged, by the way the purring ceased. Another moment later, she was sitting up and pushing the blankets off of her. “The giant's coming!” she fretted, true worry seeping into her eyes.

Damn it all, Draevan hated seeing worry on that sweet little face. He hated seeing the girl he chose as a wife fear
anything
. Draevan himself would swim through a sea of fire to keep her from harm. Slaying a giant was a mere trifle. “Don't worry, we'll take care of it. We're leaving now,” he said, grabbing some rope. “That way we can keep him as far away from this camp as possible. We'll come back to you when it's done.”

Her eyes found the rope in his hand instantly and gasped. “Don't tie me up!” she begged, reaching up at him and grabbing his hand. “Please,
please
don't.”

He shook his hand free of her grasp. “Sorry, but you won't sway me,” he told her. “Now come here.”

She got to her feet and scurried to Taric now, clasping his forearm tightly. “Please, I'll do anything! I can't be tied up! I'll be eaten! I won't stand a chance!” she fretted at him. “He’ll use me as a toothpick to help get you out of his teeth!”

“If we don't tie you, you'll run,” Taric said somberly.

“I won't,” she promised immediately. “I won't run. I swear, I'll stay right where I am. I swear on my life—I swear on my brothers' lives, I swear on everything I've ever had, that I won't run unless the giant is in view! But if… If you fail… Then…”

Taric turned and looked at Draevan, one of those stupid looks on his face.

“
No
,” Draevan snapped, swooshing his hand through the air. “
Absolutely not
.”

They didn't have long to argue about it. The footsteps were getting nearer.

“
If we marry her, we have to be able to trust her
,” Taric tried to rationalize.

Draevan was in no mood for this sort of logic. “
I already trust her. I trust her to run. She'll run, Taric. Tell her no
.”

Taric pressed his lips together, his eyes wondering to the side like they normally did when he was just going to do what he wanted.

“
Tell her no, Taric,
” Draevan hissed.

“
I have a good feeling that she'll stick around.”
A good feeling? Taric’s feelings were shit! He had no talent when it came to feelings about people! What was he thinking?
“It will be good for our relationship
,” Taric added, as if he knew anything about relationships. Draevan knew for a fact that he had even less notable experience with women outside of the bedchamber than Draevan did, which was none. “
Let me make this call
,” he pleaded, apparently very aware that Draevan had never denied a direct request from him.

Draevan swore angrily and threw down the rope in his hands.

“You have to swear,” Taric told her firmly, turning to see hopeful, happy eyes shine back at him.

“Oh, I do!” She made a show of crossing her heart. “I swear it! You can trust me, honest!”

Draevan sighed, knowing that there was nothing to be done about it now. He wasn't going to be the one to tie her to a tree after her hopes had been risen. He walked up to her and ignored her fearful look at his approach. One day, if she was still around when they returned, he hoped to remedy her fears and have her grow to trust him. Maybe even love him… Despite what he might have told Taric, he realized that the idea of a loving wife was appealing.