Ursula pursed her lips, thinking. She said slowly, “I hadn’t realized it had been so long since I sang anything more than lullabies.” She paused to think again. “There will be a stage set up for performances during the festival. I’ll schedule myself into the program to sing a song or two.”
“No,” Bran said, his tone flat with disapproval.
She leaned toward him, eyes narrowed in instant fury. “Yes,I will.”
“It is not seemly.”
“Seemly-schmeemly,” she dismissed his concern. “I’m not a toy to be set on the shelf when you’re not playing with me. We’ve discussed this before.”
“She will not be in any danger,” Gil interjected, his tone calm and exuding reasonableness.
Disturbed by their mate’s instantly negative reaction and fearing she would refuse to complete the Rite of First Union, Zul said, “No, she will not be in any danger. I will protect her.”
“As will I,” Gil added.
Expression sour, Bran bowed to the others’ willingness to allow their mate to have her way. He nodded and said, “And, as will I.” He gave her a hard, reproving look. “But you will gonowherewithout escort from at least one of us.”
Ursula knew better than to gloat. She gave Bran a soft smile of gratitude and reached across the table to lay her hand on his forearm. “Of course not, my love. I know better than to court danger.”
Gil’s soft snort did not go unnoticed, but it did go unmentioned.
Zul sighed with relief at her compliance. “I will be grateful to hear you sing,elska’adir.”
“By the way,” Ursula said. “The Omari Triad and Carmen will be visiting for the festival. Apparently, word has spread far and wide about it.”
“They are welcome to stay here,” Bran said.
Ursula grinned. “And Carmen’s going to dance the flamenco.”
Chapter 18
Bran and Gil were deployed again before they could complete the Rite of First Union. Zul suspected that unnecessary deployment resulted from the Council Supreme’s ire at having been thwarted in their aim to get them killed so they could give Ursula to another triad. Despite the Council’s machinations, the two warriors returned home after another ten days of nearly constant skirmishing. Apparently, the Sivuul were taking advantage of the Ogranox retreat.
The day following Bran and Gil’s return home with only minor injuries (which no doubt annoyed the Council Supreme), Ursula did not work at her shop. Instead she spent the day enjoying being pampered by her mates. Cognizant of her soreness following the night of their return, none of her mates permitted her feet to touch the ground. They carried her everywhere she wished to go, whether that was to her studio to work on her pottery, to the library to read, or to the courtyard to bask in the bright sunshine of Uribern’s high desert climate. She spent hardly a minute apart from them, singly, in pairs, or all together. With at least one of her mates always nearby, she hardly saw any of the castrati and supposed they, too, were enjoying the relief from “Prima watching” duty. The thought madeher chuckle.
“What’s so funny?” Gil inquired, looking from the book he was reading to the woman nestled in his lap.
Ursula snuggled in closer, adjusting her position against his lean, muscular body. “I was just thinking about the castrati.”
“Oh?”
She stroked his arm and chuckled again. “Yes. I was thinking that they were probably celebrating your return because it means they get a break from supervising me.”
“Watching over you is not a chore.”
She giggled at his serious tone. “You, Bran, and Zul might not think so, but I’m sure they do.” She twisted around to look him in the chin. “I’m not very obedient, you know.”
He then saw the humor and chuckled. Gil set aside the book and pulled up her skirt to bare the smooth, finely scaled skin. He ran his hand along her leg while bending his head down to nuzzle the top of her head. “You’reveryobedient in certain circumstances.”
Ursula sighed as he stroked her delicate skin. Her nipples beaded even as her breasts swelled. Heat pooled low in her belly, and her core moistened. “I’d be silly not to.”
Gil’s nostrils flared as the perfume of her arousal rose in the warm air. His cock, ever eager, surged full and hard beneath his kilt. Across the triad bond, he broadcast,She is ready.
With a small grunt, he rose from the chair, keeping his mate cradled against him. His prehensile tail snatched the book from her slack grip and set it aside. When he arrived in the central bedchamber, both Bran and Zul awaited them, already naked and erect. Gil transferred her to Zul’s arms while he divested himself of his clothing and Bran shredded her gown, somehow leaving all her jewelry undisturbed. Gil yanked the covers off the bed, and Zul lay her down.
Bran climbed onto the bed and lay down, his cock rising like a tower and leaking his own natural lubricant. Gil lifted her and settled her over Bran, holding her as she shuddered while sliding down his turgid length.
“Lean forward,elska’adir,” Bran whispered.
