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He carefully opened the door, checked to make sure I was actually decent, and then stepped in. "That man is now on a mission," he laughed. "I told him to find appropriate underthings to go with each outfit."
"Jamik, this can't be cheap."
He shrugged. "Consider it a Choosing present. I didn't get you anything because I had no idea what Path you'd be on, and I thought another stuffed rabbit might give the wrong impression."
"Definitely," I teased. "Andwhydid you pick out a bunny for a child Priestess of Temptation?"
He ducked his head and groaned. "Because I was not thinking about the connotations of how rabbits fuck, but rather that they are soft and gentle, and you were young and scared. It seemed a lot less threatening than a bear."
I just nodded. "Are you going to ask Zeal about your ring?"
"I don't know," he admitted. Then he rubbed at his forehead. "I've spent a lot of time loving Amerlee, yet unable to do anything about it. It was safe. She fell in love with Shalsa, I could be happy for her, and yet still allowed in that inner circle."
"Doesn't Shalsa like both men and women?" I asked.
He nodded. "And the same for Irila, although she actually has a slight preference for men. But most partner groups are not like yours, Nariana. A guardian is devoted to their desire. It's like, as much as I loved her when we were students, Amerlee became my addiction once those marks appeared on my back. The only way to describe it is that wearing a piece of her lace binds my soul to hers."
"Is that why Talin says he loves me after only three weeks?" I asked.
He nodded. "I can't tell you if it's because we're taught that you are now our only option, or if it's one of Zeal's many gifts. All I know is that from the moment of my Choosing, I never once cared that I'd been ringed. I also can't see how it would make things better now. I am Amerlee's best friend. She is the love of my life. We're happy like this, and changing it could destroy the balance we've found."
"But Zeal never asked you to give that up," I reminded him. "Apriestdid. What if you could take things a step further? Grow even closer. What if being able to love her ties all four of you together the way I am with my guys?"
"And what if I make a fool of myself before her patrons, Nari? What if, without a ring on my dick, I become so distracted watching her that I'm too slow to save her life? What if I become wrapped up in being a lover, and forget that I'm supposed to be a protector first?"
"That's fear talking," I snapped. "It's an easy excuse to not try. The what-ifs have become as much of an inhibition as the teeth on that ring."
His eyes lifted to find mine. "Or the marks on your skin, hm? It's terrifying to step out of the roles we know. It's safe to be unnoticed, living in the shadows where we're always overlooked and assumed not to be a threat. I do not want to cause problems between Shalsa and Amerlee. You don't want to cause them with your instructors. So what are we going to do, little sister?"
Behind him, the door opened, but I already knew the answer. "We're going to be brave, Jamik. I'll help you figure it out if you'll help me?"
He nodded once. "That's why we're here. I'll talk to her tonight."
"Then go wait in the hall, because Nalph is about to make me into a temptress."
"Yes," Nalph agreed, "I most certainly am."
Chapter 5
Jamik
On the way home, Nari wore a corset that was only long enough to cover her breasts. It snapped around her neck, leaving a diamond cutout across her sternum to show off her god-lace collar. Most of her back was bare, except for a strap no more than a hand wide that wrapped around the middle to hold everything in place. The intricate pattern across her shoulders and spine was basically on full display.
Below that, she had a skirt that fell to the middle of her thighs in front, but to her knees in back. The waist was designed to hang loosely on her hips, revealing one more inch of skin than was expected. And all of her midsection was covered in god-lace, making her look more clothed than she was, but also as if the viewer was seeing something they shouldn't be allowed to glimpse.
Nari's arms were bare, showing off the lace Zeal had given her, but her legs were covered in the buttery leather of new boots. The toe was narrow but round, the heel was delicately blocky, with an almost hourglass shape, and the fronts laced with a ribbon from the same material as her skirt. The overall effect was made even more powerful by the swirls visible on her skin. I hadn't realized it, but Zeal's design for her made my mind immediately jump to thigh-high stockings, elbow gloves, and corsets.
Not even I could deny that my little sister lookedgood.Once, she'd been a scrawny little waif with wildly-matted hair and the biggest amber eyes. Now, she was stunning. I felt like I'd blinked and missed her growing up, but the truth was that I'd simply worked hard to ignore it. Her body was shaped to fit in a man's hands. Her breasts were full, but not overflowing. Her hips had filled in to match, giving her the perfectly-curvaceous figure men desired. And her legs? They seemed to stretch on forever. I was pretty sure that Nari was now a few inches taller than Amerlee, and it wasn't just the heel on her boots.
The new clothes had also given her a new pride. She stood a little taller, walked a little more gracefully. When we entered the temple, I wasn't the only one who noticed. Heads turned, both priests and patrons alike. My little sister simply pretended like she didn't care. She hung on my left arm; my right was filled with three more outfits for her, and Nalph had promised more and better things to come.
I was dreading it.
Because no matter how much I tried to convince myself that this woman was my sister, I knew better. She was Zeal's Chosen, god-touched, and had spent her life being honed for seduction. It worked. I knew that the moment we entered the temple, Amerlee had just been dethroned as the most beautiful priestess, and it was my fault. I'd encouraged Nari to find herself, and she had. Maybe a little too well.
Most likely, I would be the only man in the world who didn't want her. Yes, I could see that she was stunning, but the idea of taking her in my arms was repulsive. My mind always put Amerlee there, not mylittle sister.I'd raised this girl into a woman. I'd seen her in pigtails, and I could never unsee that. I just wasn't sure how to accept that sensuality was now a part of her life without accidentally making her ashamed of the desires we'd spent so much time cultivating.
When we reached her suite, I left her with Eladehl and Wraythe before heading to my own room. There, a splash of cold water on my face helped. I had to figure out how to walk this line. I needed to make Nari feel beautiful, but that seemed creepy. Wrong. I had to be willing to listen when she wanted to talk about men, because I wanted to be her resource, yet seeing that dildo on her table? It made every overprotective urge inside me rage to the front.
