AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"No," I admitted.
He nodded slowly. "I think you two should take different days. Doesn't matter who goes first, just not at the same time. That way, if it's harder than one of you expects, the other will be here to ease the stress. All of us, actually. And if one of you enjoys it and the other doesn't, you won't accidentally end up making it worse."
"That's a good point," Eladehl agreed. "I'll go second, Nari. And if your pretty boy can't get you off, we'll finish the deal."
"Ok," I agreed. "Then tomorrow, I'll see if we can get signed up for the first session. That's at the end of this week."
"And gives you all weekend to recover," Wraythe agreed, "if things aren't ideal. Talin, you want me hanging out in the hall?"
"No," Talin assured him. "The last thing the instructors want is a first session getting out of hand, so I have a feeling there will be plenty of assistance around. I think the point of this is more about our rings, and making sure we figure out how not to get hard in the middle of that."
"Fuck," Wraythe groaned. "Loose pants?"
"Tight," Talin countered. "At least that will keep your dick against your leg if it gets out of hand. Loose pants and you'll have a tent in front of you. Not as easy to hide."
I looked between them. "Convince yourself the ring still has teeth?"
"Didn't really work the first time," Wraythe reminded me. "It's actually easier to convince myself that it's not going to happen, so no reason to get excited."
"Breathe slowly," Talin told him. "Listen to the air flowing behind your ears, and count the breaths. Keeps your mind from slipping to erotic thoughts because it's a numerical task. Well, helps me, at any rate."
"Worth trying," Wraythe agreed. "And if we do bend over and grab our dicks, we won't be the only ones. Maybe they'll even have chairs?"
"Doubt it," Talin said. "Nope, we're not going to be able to hide this by sitting."
* * *
Ihadn't been surprised that Eladehl and Wraythe were ok with this, but I'd almost hoped Talin would have a little more of a problem with it. Just a little reassurance that what was between us hadn't been all in my imagination. Yet, after our talk, we all headed to the Salle for a little more hand-to-hand training, then shared dinner in the dining hall. That night, we all hit our own rooms to get cleaned up, but the guys came back over to pass out.
And I couldn't sleep. Lying between Eladehl and Wraythe, I kept tossing and turning, surprised that neither one seemed to notice. When I'd flipped sides for the ninth time, I gave up. Granted, sneaking out of a bed with three men wasn't easy, but I also wasn't doing anyone any favors.
I slipped off the end of the bed and grabbed my robe from the hook in the bathroom. As I wrapped that around my body, I headed into the living room, trying to decide if doing some reading for my Service of Others class would keep me up or put me to sleep. I grabbed my book, set it on the coffee table, and was heading to the sink when a soft grumble made me look back.
Standing just outside the bedroom door, Talin scrubbed at his face, clearly half-asleep. Then he pointed to the couch. "Sit. I'll make us tea."
"Why are you awake?" I asked him.
He grunted again, making it clear that he really wasn't, and filled the kettle. A flick of a switch ignited the gas burner beneath it. While that warmed, he pulled down two cups, dropped a tea bag in each, added sugar to mine, and I heard the water just start to bubble. Thankfully, our kettle didn't have a whistle.
After pouring the water into each cup, he carried them over to the couch and sat in the same corner. Claiming that cushion for himself, he gestured for me to come closer, turning so I could lie between his legs, up against his chest.
"I was thinking about this session," he said softly, his voice still rough from his attempt at sleeping. "And saying I'm ok with it is only partially true."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
He wrapped his arms around me. "I told you I love you after a week. One week, and I was convinced that this thing I feel is love. And then the next week, people started telling me that it's normal. It's out of our control. It's a part of the bond between guardian and ward. Zeal has done this to us. And Zeal? He admitted it. So I didn't want to. I wanted to slow things down between us, get to know those guys, and work on us being friends first."
"Yeah?"
He nodded. "I don't want a relationship built on habit or some outside force. See, I met this gorgeous woman in an inn, and was completely seduced by her. I liked how that felt, and then I realized that I justlikeher. And right after that, it all gets weird. My girl is my ward, my ward is my god's chosen. And I - the guy who's always had my ass kissed because I'm the baron's son - am suddenly everything I wanted, which is what most would call nothing. I had to prove myself based on my own worth." He bent to kiss the top of my head. "Just one thing I didn't think through. I have no fucking idea how to do that."
I chuckled once and leaned my head against his chest. "And yet you do it so well."
"Do I really? Because I've slept with Eladehl three times since we met. You? I've been in the room. I've kissed on you. I've gone down on you. I haven't taken it further. I was waiting, and for what, I don't even know. And now, you're going to meet some guy who is new, handsome, and willing to seduce you. You'll have sex. Then he and I will be on equal footing. He'll know you exactly as well as I do. And yet it's not that simple either."
"No," I agreed, "it's not. This thing between you and Eladehl? It's a good thing. I like it."
"Because it gets me out of your hair?" he asked.
