Page 146 of Dhampira

“Neither do you.”

“I do when it comes to gifts. Ruvien has his flaws, but he takes the gifting laws seriously.”

Lorcan’s expression softened, and my heart melted a little at the understanding look he gave Vander. “I don’t trust Ruvien, but I trust you. If you say it’s all right, then I believe you.”

Vander smiled. Then he looked at me. “Ruvien likes you.” He waved the scroll around the temple. “The elves almost never dole out gifts with no expectation of receiving something in return.”

“Except they want her to defeat Rasimir for them,” Lorcan said dryly.

Vander closed the distance between them, his soft smile still in place. “Your positive attitude is inspiring.” He tapped the scroll on Lorcan’s shoulder. “Can’t you just enjoy yourself for once, Your Grace?”

The air in the temple shifted. I’d felt it before, when Vander and Lorcan came together. Lorcan obviously felt it, too, because the slightest blush touched his cheeks as he was forced to tip his head back to meet Vander’s eyes.

“I don’t use that title anymore,” he said.

Vander’s smile didn’t budge. “You didn’t answer my question, sweetheart.”

Oh, gods. A fire as bright as the ones in the braziers lit within me. Desire was a languid river in my veins, each pump of my heart spreading it deeper…lower. My fangs throbbed, and my nipples tightened.

Lorcan’s chest expanded as he took a steadying breath. “I can enjoy myself.”

“Good,” Vander said, “because it’s unwise to refuse an elf’s gift. They don’t like it.” He looked at me, something in his eyes telling me he knew exactly how that sweetheart affected me. “So I think the three of us have no choice but to take full advantage of this temple. Is that all right with you, Princess?”

It was more than all right. It was perfect. I’d worried how my marriage to Lorcan would change his relationship with Vander. They’d survived centuries together. Their bond was deep and special, and I had no interest in damaging it. On the other hand, I’d also wondered how the three of us would…work. Now that the opportunity was front and center, nerves joined my arousal.

Vander must have sensed it, because he came to me and tipped up my chin. “I told you to follow Lorcan’s lead yesterday, remember?”

“Yes,” I whispered, my heart beating faster as Vander’s rain-and-forest scent swirled around me.

He brushed a thumb over my bottom lip, his swordsman’s callus scraping my skin. “Today, you follow mine.”

My breathless “Yes” fluttered from me on shaky wings. But Vander knew what he was doing. Smiling, he stepped back and began to strip.

And suddenly I was too busy to worry about relationships or battles or the long line of people who wanted me dead. Because he was beautiful. Muscles bunched and shifted as he pulled his shirt over his head, revealing a powerful chest sprinkled with copper hair. Freckles dusted his round pecs and flat, pink nipples. A trail of coppery hair bisected his ridged abdomen before disappearing into the waistband of his trousers.

He pushed them down his hips, then winked at me as he toed off his boots. “Always forget about my shoes.”

I couldn’t laugh. Because I was once again too busy looking, this time at the weapon between his legs. The phrase battering ram came to mind as his cock swung against one rounded thigh. Nude at last, he straightened, every inch of his warrior’s body corded with muscle. The tattoo on his forearm drew my eye, the inky design reminding me that he’d been human once. The temple’s soft glow burnished his freckled skin and auburn waves as he swept a mischievous smile from me to Lorcan.

“Last one in washes my back,” he said, then he strode to the bath and descended the steps, his pleasured groan drifting behind him. His ass was as muscular as the rest of him, the taut globes parting slightly to reveal his heavy sack underneath. He waded deeper, and the water lapped around his shoulders as he turned and settled against the back wall. He spread his arms over the marble and quirked a ruddy eyebrow at Lorcan and me. “I didn’t die. It’s safe to come in.”

Lorcan and I looked at each other. We started forward at the same moment, then stopped, both of us smiling. And it broke the tension, most of my nerves dissolving as he came to me and helped me out of my gown. A groan trembled on my lips when he slid expert fingers into my hair and twisted it into a knot on top of my head.

“Caught you watching me earlier,” he said in my ear before slipping his hand in mine and guiding me to the bath. “I’ll have to remember you have a weakness for men brushing their hair.”

Vander watched with slitted silver eyes as we entered the bath, his gaze lingering on my breasts and the juncture of my thighs. Warm water enveloped me. Pink petals brushed my skin. The sweet-scented fog drifted around my shoulders as I waded to the wall adjacent to Vander. Lorcan took up position on the opposite wall, his gaze on the water lapping at my nipples.

They tightened under his regard, and I squeezed my thighs together under the water as I stifled a moan.

Vander followed Lorcan’s stare, and the hunger that sprang into his eyes wrenched the moan from me. Every lick of the water against my breasts was the sweetest torture. My nipples throbbed. The tips thrust lewdly, the crinkled skin bright pink with arousal.

“I’ve been dying to taste you again,” Vander said, lifting his gaze to mine. “But you’re a married woman now.” Rolling his head on the back of the wall, he looked at Lorcan. “I wouldn’t feel right doing it without your husband’s permission.”

Lorcan’s fangs had slipped so low, they mangled his speech a little as he said, “Go ahead. I want to see it.”

Shivers coursed through me, my skin both flushed and cool as Vander waded to me. He angled his body to give Lorcan a clear line of sight as he bent his head to my breast. Fangs scraped my aching nipple, and I cried out, one hand locking onto Vander’s hair.

Lorcan watched with hooded eyes as Vander sucked and licked, drawing my nipple deep into his mouth before nibbling his way around the tip. Every tug of his lips sent hot ribbons of pleasure waving through me. Each suck and bite echoed between my legs. Lorcan’s eyes on us wrenched my lust higher, his burning regard its own kind of caress.