21
The next morning, Calrain rose early. He pulled on a robe, quietly leaving Tariel, Yarim, and Riann sleeping in the big bed in the room at the inn they had rented so he could look out the window at the citybeyond.
The trip to Salanis had ended up taking longer than anticipated, and they’d arrived in the city in the dead of night, exhausted. Tariel had disguised them as a band of mercenaries, and they’d taken lodging in an inn close to the city center, large enough to be comfortable, but modest enough to not drawattention.
With the morning sun gliding over the horizon, casting rays of pink and gold across the sky, Calrain could see the city clearly. It was breathtaking, a sea of sparkling stone buildings with cheerful red clay tiles. He had thought Kalsing was impressive, but the architecture here was far beyond that, with buildings of all shapes and sizes flanking the neatly planned streets. Vendors wheeled out their carts, setting up for the day. Calrain imagined he would smell all kinds of heavenly food once they ventured into thecity.
His stomach grumbled loudly at the thought of food, and someone stirred in the bed behindhim.
“Calrain?” Tariel askedsleepily.
He turned to see her rise from the bed, naked as the day she was born. A surge of lust filled him at the sight of her bare curves, and he slid an arm around her, resting his hand on her small waist as she joined him by thewindow.
“Perhaps you should put a robe on,” Calrain suggested. “You might end up giving someone quite theview.”
Tariel smiled. “Perhaps I’ll share yours, then.” She tugged on the sash that held his robe shut. She slid his right arm free, then tucked her body against his before closing the robe, which was oversized and large enough to fit them both. Calrain’s cock grew hard at the feel of her warm, silky skin gliding against his, but he merely tucked her head beneath his chin and kissed the top of it. He did not want to wake Yarim and Riann, both of whom were exhausted after all the riding and fightingyesterday.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” hesaid.
She nodded, and he could feel her excitement through the bond. “I know we are only here to collect our reward from Lord Raffis and warn him about Lord M, but I would love to take a few days toexplore.”
“Perhaps we can, depending on what we find at the docks,” Calrain suggested. “As I understand it, passenger ships usually leave on a specific schedule. It may be a few days before we can get out of hereanyway.”
Tariel tugged Calrain into a chair near the windows, far enough away that they could talk quietly without waking the others. “Is it strange,” she said, stroking his hair as she settled into his lap, “that I feel guilty for not inviting Wellion to joinus?”
Calrain paused, choosing his words carefully. “He is not part of our group, and has made it clear that he does not wish to join uspermanently.”
Tariel huffed. “I think he is all talk, and that secretly, he wishes to find somewhere to belong. That place could be with us, if he could just get past his foolish notions about women andrelationships.”
Calrain raised an eyebrow. “It seems as though you like him quite alot.”
“He is growing on me,” she admitted with a laugh. “And Zolotais has pestered me about him, saying it would be good to have someone with street smarts in ourgroup.”
“She might be right,” Calrain said, feeling a bit uneasy about this conversation. He did not hate Wellion the way that Yarim did, but neither did he know the man well enough to be comfortable letting him into their little family. “But what doyouwant,Tariel?”
“You,” she said, tapping him lightly on the nose. Calrain nipped at her fingertip, and she giggled softly. “And Riann and Yarim. I love all of you, and would never want to do anything to hurt you. But as I said, I am starting to like Wellion,” she said, sounding a little chagrined, “and Zolotais does have a point about his usefulness. She said that Wellion has a small bit of magic, inherited from his mother, and that if I add him to the harem, I won’t have to shoulder the burdenalone.”
“I think you are doing just fine as you are,” Calrain said, kissing the top of her head. “You are strong and have never failed us. But if you truly feel that Wellion would be a good addition, I won’t object. I just want you to behappy.”
Tariel smiled up at him. “You know, there was a time not so long ago where you would have been threatened by the idea of another man joining ourgroup.”
Calrain traced the outline of her cheek with his thumb. “I admit that I don’t love the idea of sharing you with yet another man. But I trust your judgment, and I no longer worry that you might dump me at the side of theroad.”
“I would never even think of such a thing,” Tariel murmured. She pressed her lips against his, and swallowed a groan from Calrain as she wrapped her fingers around his cock. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her deeply as she stroked him until he was hard and aching and desperate. The taste of her made his head spin, and he slid his hands beneath her bare bottom, lifting her so he could impale her on hisshaft.
They clung to each other as Tariel rode him gently, their moans muffled by their fused mouths. Closing his eyes, Calrain allowed himself to be swept away by sensation. The feel of her tight inner walls clenched around him was incredible, and he pressed himself even deeper inside her, wanting to be as close to her aspossible.
“Mmm,” Tariel groaned, her short nails biting into his shoulders as she climaxed. Calrain let himself go with her, and they floated together in bliss, curled up on the chair together like a couple of very lazy, very satisfiedcats.
After a while, a strident knock came at the door. “Are the four of you going to sleep the day away?” Wellion demanded, sounding annoyed. “I’m hungry,dammit!”
“Sod off,” Yarim groaned, but Tariel and Calrainlaughed.
“Give us a minute to get dressed,” Tariel called through the door. “We’ll go downstairs together in aminute.”
“You two are already up?” Riann asked sleepily. He pushed himself up, his long, blond hair tumbling around his bleary face. “What time isit?”
“Seven o’clock,” Calrain answered, glancing at the clock on the wall. “I just thought I’d get up a bit earlier, see thesunrise.”
