“Fine,” Xae muttered as he stepped out of the water, looking like a dream come to life. A wet dream. Literally.
“He's right. The food will get cold,” Rath said as he emerged, looking equally luscious.
I was momentarily struck silent by the gleaming, solid curves of their bodies, seawater dripping in tantalizing streams from them. Long hair clung to their skin—one pale, the other dark. They were stunning together, each one's attributes playing off the other. Rath's glorious mane of midnight hair only emphasized the beauty of Xae's platinum locks. Xae's pale blue eyes went perfectly with Rath's lavender ones, the pastel colors looking dashing instead of feminine in their unmistakably masculine faces. And Xae's brutal physique made Rath's muscular body look sleek, while Rath made Xae look even bigger. Separately, they were incredible but together, they were a gift from the Goddess that made me want to drop to my knees.
“I love you both so fucking much,” I whispered as they drew abreast of me.
“And we love you,” Rath said as he took my hand and drew me to the blanket. “But you need to stop looking at us like that or we'll never eat.”
“Sorry.” I laughed softly and then sat down on the blanket with my men. “This is even better than a nice restaurant.”
The sand shifted beneath the blanket, conforming to my body to create a chair made just for me. I was chilled, but Rath tossed me a towel, and while I dried off, Xae doled out portions of roasted lamb, potatoes, and buttered carrots. Rath filled our glasses and then passed out little loaves of bread that were still warm, thanks to the towels that had wrapped them.
I watched my lovers, happy and content. A part of me wished we could stay on that island forever. We could live off fish and coconuts. Swim naked in the sea and make love in the sand. How glorious. But the reason I'd been given these wondrous men was so we could fight the Corrupter. To do that, I needed to leave the beach . . . and open my heart a little more.
“What's wrong?” Rath asked as he settled his plate on his lap.
“I'm just being ungrateful,” I huffed, annoyed at myself. “I keep going back and forth between petulance and resolve. I know I don't have any right to be a pouting child about this. I couldn't share either of you. It would break me. And yet, you both have to share me with other men. I don't want that for you. I don't want to be the one who does that to you. And I know you don't want it either.”
“But we will,” Rath said firmly. “Once you bring the next man into our bond, we will want him with us. I'm sure of it.”
“I'm grateful you feel that way.” I put a hand on their thighs. “I should have said this sooner, but thank you for supporting me. Thank you for being willing to do this. To stay with me. Thank you. I know I've said this before, but I'm going to try harder to be supportive of you in return. I'm going to accept things and do what I must because I wouldn't have either of you if this wasn't my destiny.”
“You'd have me,” Xae said with a smirk.
I didn't smirk back. “No, I wouldn't, Xae. Because then I wouldn't have magic, and I wouldn't have saved Rath's life or been taken to the citadel. I'm with you because I've been given this gift, and the Goddess has looked after me. It's wrong of me to lament it and try to wheedle out of my obligations. If they don't love me back, so be it. Maybe that will be better for you two. Then you'll only have to deal with another lover temporarily. They would fight with us but not sleep in our bed.”
“As much as that appeals to me, I don't want you hurt, Ember,” Rath said.
“What's a little pain in a heart that's already bursting with love?” I looked from man to man. “You two will get me through it. You'll get me through anything.”
“Yes, we will,” Xae said. “No matter what happens, we will face it together.”
“Thank you. I'll stop being a whiny bitch now. Well, I'll try my best.”
The men chuckled, then Rath leaned over to kiss my cheek, and Xae stroked my shoulder.
“We've all been a bit whiny lately,” Rath said. “If you can do better, so can we.”
Xae grunted and started to eat. When Rath and I stared at him, he looked up and asked, “What?”
“No, you're right,” I said. “Enough of this talk. Let's eat.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
It was a wonderful night. After my men and I ate, we relaxed on the sand for a bit, then went swimming again. We started to make love in the water—Rath and I using Water Magic to aid us (Xae was still learning so he didn't bother)—and then we moved to shore. By the time we were done with each other, we were covered in sand, but too satiated to get back in the water. So we just lay there like a shipwreck and stared at the stars as we snuggled our sandy bodies together. When we finally regained our strength and the will to move, we rinsed off in the water, packed up, and returned to the citadel.
It was late, we were exhausted, and the keep was quiet. So, we went straight up to our suite, fading since we were certain no one else would be there. We rinsed the salt off in the shower and then went to bed. I fell asleep with damp hair and my lovers curled happily around me. And when I woke in the morning, my hair was dry, my lovers awake, and my belly rumbling.
“What a glorious morning!” I declared as I jumped out of bed.
Rath came into the bedroom from the bathroom. “Why is that? Because you woke up alone?”
“No.” I sauntered over to him and the scent of mint wafted over to me. I didn't want to sully his fresh mouth with my morning breath, so I just kissed his cheek, then stepped back to say, “Because I feel good about the future now. I'm not afraid anymore or . . .”
“Pouting?” Xaedren finished for me as he came out of the dressing room. He wore a deep blue tunic and black pants, with a belt at his waist to hold his dagger.
“Good morning.” I went to kiss his cheek too. “You look handsome today. Just let me brush my teeth and pee, and then I'll brush your hair.”
