Xae grinned and pushed back my bangs. “Maybe brush your hair first.”
“If I must,” I lamented theatrically, then winked at him before heading to the bathroom.
As I closed the door behind me, I heard Rath say, “We should have taken him on a date sooner.”
Xae grunted.
“My sweet grunter,” I whispered as I headed for the toilet.
After doing all I had to do in there, I left the bathroom, taking a hairbrush with me. I got dressed, then went out to the sitting room where Xae was waiting on the couch with Rath.
“All right, let me at that wild mane,” I said as I settled behind Xae.
I started at the bottom and worked my way up, gently untangling Xae's thick hair. Rath could take care of his own hair, but Xae was one of those men who did whatever was easiest as far as hair went. He let it grow because he was too lazy to cut it. And it used to be that after it got to a point where he couldn't untangle it by dragging his fingers through it, he would give in and hack it all off. But I loved his hair long, so I insisted on caring for it. That way, he wouldn't be tempted to reach for a pair of scissors.
And Xae loved the attention. When I reached his head, I drew the bristles over his scalp, and he sighed. I knew that if I angled to the side and around, I'd find his eyes closed in bliss. But instead, I looked at Rath, and we shared an amused grin.
Xae didn't like braids, so I left his hair loose. Patting his shoulder, I said, “You're all done.”
Xae sighed, stood up, and shook out his hair like a wet dog. Then the three of us went down to breakfast.
With my newfound determination to be grateful and cooperative with my destiny, I looked over the Wraith Lords gathered in the dining hall with interest, meeting stares that I would have otherwise avoided. Men straightened in their seats, their expressions going surprised, then eager, and I smiled at them. Maybe I could date more than one man at a time.
Look at me being cooperative.
My lovers and I went to the buffet and filled our plates, grabbed some mugs of coffee, and then sat down at our usual table. Nex was there, but Keltyr wasn't. He came in a few minutes later, made his plate, and joined us. As he approached the table, Xae got up and waved him into his seat. On my left.
Both Kel and I gaped at Xae.
“If you can try, so can I,” Xae whispered, then sat down across the table from me, on the bench beside Nex.
“Well, look at that. Old wolves can learn new tricks,” Nex said.
Xae just grunted.
“Thank you,” Kel said and sat down. He looked from Xae to Rath to me. “I take it your date went well?”
Nex snorted. “To me, it looks as if your date was the one that went well, Keltyr. Well done.”
“Thanks, but it took two.” Kel grinned, then leaned in and kissed my cheek. “Thank you for a wonderful time.”
“You wanna take a walk after breakfast?” I asked.
Kel's eyes widened. “Really?” He looked over at Xae, then Rath.
They nodded.
“Fuck, yeah. I'll go wherever you want.”
I leaned in to whisper, “As long as it's far away from the training yard, I don't care.”
“Ah, I see how it is now,” Kel exclaimed. “You're using me to get out of combat training.”
“Do you care?”
He grinned broadly. “Not in the least. Use me, baby.”
Nex snorted. “Shit, I'm going to have to deal with your threesome becoming a foursome soon. A cute foursome.” He shook his head. “I don't know if I'm ready for that.”
