Guinevere’s expression shuttered, her cheeks turning pink as she seemed to realize she had told me too much. “Maybe. Is that a bad thing?”
I shook my head. It was a variable I had not considered in the grand scheme of things, but I supposed it made sense given how much time the two spent together during the day.
“It is not, I am just surprised.”
“Well, you probably don’t need to worry about it because I made a big ass fool of myself just now. God, how could I havebeen so stupid?” Guinevere dropped her head into her hands again with a groan.
I did not like it when she spoke of herself in such a manner—everything I had seen of my wife had shown her to be a thoughtful, kind, and competent queen. Even Andrivete, who was notoriously hard to please, was enamored with the omega and often gushed about her ability to manage the castle with ease despite being new to such things. When I had asked her about it she had just shrugged and said something about taking a consumer math class in college.
Gently pulling her hand up to my face, I made sure she was looking me in the eyes before I spoke. “You are not stupid, little queen, never feel bad for being open about your emotions. It is an example of your character.”
I made a mental note to throttle both men later on, but for now I needed to comfort my omega before her scent was permanently soured.
Gathering her in my arms, I stood up from my chair and headed for the hall, Gawain at my back.
“Where are we going?” Guinevere asked, tucking her face back into my neck so that she would not have to see the people passing by. I could feel her embarrassment through the bond and I gave it a little, soothing tug.
I ignored her question just as I ignored the looks of the passing servants as we made our way to our destination.
I had meant to bring her here with me long before today, but with how busy everything had gotten around the castle I had not yet gotten the chance.
The bathing rooms were thick with steam and blessedly empty. The guards standing outside jumped to attention when they caught sight of me, their expressions blank just as they had been trained to keep them no matter what appeared in front of them.
“No one is to come in,” I told them as I stepped inside.
Gawain stayed behind, his expression unsure.
“Follow me, Sir Gawain,” I told him gruffly and the alpha paused for a moment before skittering inside after me and I shut the door behind us with a solid thud.
“Are you certain about this?” he asked as I placed my wife on one of the waiting stools and removed her slippers.
Guinevere, for her part, was quiet. Her expression had changed from distraught to contemplative as she glanced between me and Gawain, nibbling on her bottom lip as she seemed to understand what was about to occur.
“I am,” I answered without looking at him, reaching for the stays of my wife’s dress and deftly pulling them apart. “You are a part of my pack and that means we take care of our omega together.”
During the nights we lay together in bed, Guinevere had told me about the packs from her time and how, at times, they all made love in the same room. I had no interest in Gawain’s body nor the bodies of the other would-be members of my pack, but Iwasinterested in seeing more pleasure on Guinevere’s face than I ever thought possible and that I knew, try as I might, I would never be able to achieve alone.
And if that meant being joined by Gawain today, then so be it. Such things I had already come to terms with the moment I accepted the other alpha into our little pack.
Gawain still looked uncertain, his face flushing and his eyes wide as he watched me shimmy Guinevere’s dress down around her hips, exposing her dusky pink nipples to the warm, muggy air of the room.
“I will not ask you again, Gawain, but I will assume you never wish to fuck our omega in the bath and will pity you for it.”
That got the younger man moving, his sword belt hitting the stone floor with aclangas he began to tug on his own clothing.
Guinevere watched, still worrying at her bottom lip with her teeth. “This is a lot at once.”
“It is not,” I told her with a shake of my head. “We are just here to show you that youaredesired—and any man who says differently will meet the sharp end ofExcalibur.”
Guinevere’s brown eyes widened with shock. “You aren’t actually going to stab them are you?”
“No,” I told her, a slow mischievous smile pulling at my lips. “It was, as you say, ajoke.”
For the first time since she had burst into my study earlier Guinevere’s laugh rang off of the low ceiling of the bathing room.
She leaned forward, her fingers cupping my jaw just below my ear, and gave me a sound kiss.
At first, it was chaste and sweet, her honeysuckle perfume ripening and losing the metallic tinge it had carried earlier. Then it deepened and matured as Guinevere’s tongue snaked into my mouth, reminding me exactly why we were here.
