Vampire Trinity Part 12

"Maybe." His voice was strained, but the intensity of his gaze increased. She held on to that, keeping them both still by holding his eyes with hers. She wondered if it had been subconscious or more deliberate, the few times she'd tested Gideon with those different-sized phalluses in his delectable a.s.s. She'd been preparing him all along for this, for Daegan to take him. And when Gideon's expression flickered with reluctant arousal, she knew she'd let him hear the musing, and it had given him a searing jolt of retroactive l.u.s.t, confirming this was meant to happen. Was going to happen.

One finger slid in past the tight ring of muscles, and Gideon groaned again. "Oh yeah, he's as tight as you'd expect a virgin to be, cher cher." Daegan was hard as iron himself, and she could sense how aroused he was. Being a vampire, she wasn't sure he would have stopped now even if she had told him that Gideon had been pushed too far. But Gideon's mind, though a tumultuous storm, was suffused with l.u.s.t and dark, driving needs, his focus on what Daegan was doing.

A second finger worked in and Gideon gasped.

"Relax, vampire hunter," Daegan said in a rough, male croon. "You tighten up, it will burn like a son of a b.i.t.c.h. I intend to f.u.c.k you no matter what. You cannot stop me. Nothing you say or do will keep me from taking this a.s.s, making it mine. And when I'm done, I'll be the one sliding my hand back in there with salve, easing the burn, making it better. You'll rely on me for all of it. I'll take care of you in a way no man has before."

Take away all choices, and certain slaves let go. Gideon's muscles trembled, rage crossing his face, but his body was jerking, humping air, responding to Daegan's erotic threat. Those words electrified his mind like lightning flashes, and Anwyn saw a jumble of memories. A father swimming in the waves, a young boy's fear of not being grown-up enough to take care of his brother, of never having any male he could trust enough to let go, to know he could let go and the whole world wouldn't fall apart.

Anwyn swallowed over the ache, let those images fill Daegan's mind, let him see what he was doing to the other male. Daegan's gaze flickered to her, a nod, his jaw flexing. Leaning over Gideon, he pressed his lips to his neck, spoke against him there.

"Trust me, Gideon. You want this, and so do I. It will be all right." He'd seated his c.o.c.k at that lubricated opening. "It's going to stretch, a lot. You're going to feel like I'm splitting you, but let it slide all the way in. Let it in."

Anwyn knew she didn't need to breathe, but she was holding her breath again anyway as Daegan slowly, slowly eased into that pa.s.sage, nuzzling Gideon's neck. Reaching beneath him, he pumped his slick hand up and down Gideon's organ, bringing back the surge of blood that trepidation had stolen away. "Let me in, and then you'll be able to fill Anwyn with your c.o.c.k. Your Mistress is feeling generous, because you've given us this. Ah, G.o.d, you feel f.u.c.king good. Let me in deep. Take all of me, vampire hunter."

It took some time, some coaxing from both of them and concentration on Gideon's part, but then Daegan was in to the hilt. Gideon was gasping, his eyes watering, not with tears, but with the effort of holding him. Anwyn knew how it felt the first time. Even she, who'd been familiar with a.n.a.l play, had been stretched hard the first time by Daegan's size. No amount of practice with poor subst.i.tutes could change that for Gideon, either. It was excruciating, but also a feeling of such connection and pleasure. She didn't see that in Gideon's reaction exactly, but there was some type of relief, a shadow of it, playing among his other roiling emotions.

"There you go." Daegan licked his neck, teased the skin, careful not to score him with his fangs. "Uncomfortable?"

"What, from that little thing?" Gideon coughed into the floor, his fists clenching in the restraints. "Didn't even notice it."

Daegan smiled against his flesh, withdrew slightly and pushed back in, earning a guttural cry from Gideon. "Then I'll make sure you remember it for days, servant." He glanced at Anwyn, and spoke aloud, though she knew he didn't need to do so. "You may come to him now, cher cher."

She took her time, rising to her feet, knowing that Gideon was drinking in the way her thighs slid against each other as she dropped her clothing, piece by piece. Running her hands slowly down her bare body, she molded her b.r.e.a.s.t.s before she dropped to a squat right at his head, her splayed knees and open p.u.s.s.y just above him as he s.h.i.+fted his face to see her. She felt the heat of Daegan's regard as well, saw it translate into harder thrusts, a tighter hold on Gideon's c.o.c.k with his long, male fingers.

"Don't you come, vampire hunter. Not until she and I have taken our pleasure."

"You better hope she comes last, then, because I'm not waiting on a d.a.m.n thing for you." Gideon groaned as Daegan punctuated that defiant statement with a less gentle thrust. The vampire hunter couldn't help biting out a "Jesus Christ" that had Daegan baring his fangs. His bloodl.u.s.t was close; Anwyn could see it in his eyes, but at her flicker of concern, he shook his head. He was fine; he could control it. She'd been afraid of her own, but right now, all was well, even the shadow voices muted in the face of this blast of heated desire surrounding her like a warm, welcome blanket.

She unhooked Gideon's manacles, making it clear she knew he wouldn't try to get away now, and they s.h.i.+fted him away from the weights.

"Lift him up, Daegan," she crooned, and the vampire s.h.i.+fted his hold from Gideon's abdomen to his chest, using that one arm to lift his upper body off the ground. Her fingers played along Gideon's forearms as they drew taut and she slid beneath his body, letting his arms settle back down on either side of her head. Aligning her hips, she was at the right angle as Daegan eased him back down so she was cradling Gideon's hips inside her legs. He tried to keep his head up, but she pressed it down to her shoulder, feeling his hot breath puff across her breast, making the bare nipple tighten further.

"Give yourself to us, Gideon," she whispered. "Feel me as I take you inside." With a sinuous writhe of her hips, she lifted up, seating his c.o.c.k at her entrance. Daegan came down in a slow, slow thrust that let her take Gideon inside a bit at a time, milking him with her slick muscles.

"f.u.c.k." Gideon pressed his face into her neck, biting, and bloodl.u.s.t swirled up. But instead of freezing about it, she treated it the same way as she treated desire, the way she'd always channeled it to the point of eruption. To withhold it was to grow its power, the pleasure of the eventual release. Gideon was her servant, and his blood would be all the sweeter when his seed was spurting inside her, when Daegan was coming in his a.s.s, the three of them moving together, Daegan's strength carrying all their movement.

As Gideon slid into her, the weight of his body blissfully upon her, a position of strength she'd never appreciated so much as at this moment, she wrapped one arm around Gideon's shoulders, her other hand reaching up to dig into Daegan's. His lips brushed over her fingers, fangs sc.r.a.ping her, and she made an erotic noise in the back of her throat. Her men. Her two men, linked together, linked with her. She let the thought fill her mind, gave it to them both, even though she knew they would meet it with different emotions. This was how she felt in this moment, so this was truth for her.

"Let Daegan's movements move you inside of me, Gideon," she murmured as he tried to thrust. "He will control all of it, and we'll ride his wave."

"Easy for you to say. You're not his surfboard." But his fingers flexed spasmodically against the floor. "G.o.d . . . it feels . . ." It felt good and terrible at once. Those destroyed s.h.i.+elds might never be mended, but something else unthinkable might take their place. Daegan's c.o.c.k, mouth and body somehow touched those raw wounds, licked them clean, offering comfort and undeniable desire while taking.

"I know. Your c.o.c.k feels so good inside of me, and I can feel Daegan moving inside of you. You're both so irresistible, I could do this forever."

Looking up into Daegan's eyes, his bared fangs so close to Gideon's neck, she could feel how difficult it was to hold back, to not take the blood that was under his mouth. She had her hand on Gideon's shoulder and turned it now, offering her beating wrist pulse to Daegan.

When his fangs sank in, she arched with a cry, driving Gideon into her even more deeply. She lifted her hips, slamming harder against him, and Gideon's body became magnificently rigid all over, resisting the pull of the inevitable climax. However, when he'd taken one long, sweet draught, Daegan lifted his head and brought them to a halt.

He closed his hand around Gideon's throat, his thumb pa.s.sing with loving attention over the thundering pulse, his other hand bracing them beside Anwyn's shoulder. "Move inside her, vampire hunter. Slide in, almost pull out, and then back in again. Go slow, and each time you come back out, your a.s.s needs to take my c.o.c.k in to the hilt. You go between us like that, while we remain still, as long as you can do it."

She knew Gideon wanted to rebel against Daegan's orders because of how much he wanted to obey. So she drew his attention by lying back again, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s tilted up to his hungry gaze. "Thrust into my p.u.s.s.y, Gideon. I want to feel you rub all along inside me."

He wet his lips, bracing his arms awkwardly, but then he withdrew a couple inches, slow, slower, watching her lips part and eyes darken with desire. As he did, he impaled himself on Daegan's c.o.c.k, deeper, deeper. She could tell from the flex of Gideon's jaw. Then he was coming back to her, his face suffused with reaction to the two sensations. "Beautiful." Daegan murmured, voice unsteady as well. "Keep doing it until she comes."

The drag of Gideon's c.o.c.k inside her was like fire. Normally she could hold out quite a while, but with the vampire transition, that hungry blood wanted only instant gratification, despite her training. She still managed to hold out long enough that Gideon was sweating anew, his eyes glazed, lips parted with his internal focus to hold back, his c.o.c.k hard as steel. The ripple of the climax started low in her belly, telling her it was going to be a powerful one.

I want to see him come, Daegan. While I'm coming.

Then we go together.

Looking up, she could tell Daegan was indeed far beyond ready. At a nod, she let herself start over that tremulous edge, the gasping of her breath giving Gideon warning at the same time.

"Let go, Gideon. We both have you."

Because it was Daegan giving the order, he tried to hold out, but when the two of them climaxed simultaneously, there was nothing he could do. Gideon released, hard and hot, a hoa.r.s.e cry close to a scream breaking from his lips at the dual stimulation. The power of that release, withheld so long, made his fingers dig into the floor, body bucking between Daegan's c.o.c.k and her p.u.s.s.y, flesh and toned bodies meeting and withdrawing in a frenetic, hot and moist dance.

Curling her fingers in his hair, Anwyn bit down on his shoulder, drawing blood during that intense moment. Hot, sweet blood swirled into her mouth. At the same time she slid her arm, the one that Daegan had punctured, down Gideon's shoulder. Seeing the wound the male vampire had left, Gideon tried to lick it with erratic, frenetic care during the final spurts of his climax, soothing any perceived hurt. An involuntary reaction of course, but one that fired the two vampires further so Anwyn knew they easily could share him again and again. And why not? He did belong to her, this difficult, troubled man. Her eyes met Daegan's heavy-lidded, s.e.xy ones.

Maybe to them both, no matter what the marks said.

As she lay flat on the floor, still gasping, but her body vibrating with delicious, spiraling energy at once, she looped her arms around them both, holding Gideon's neck and clasping Daegan's braced arm. "I want to lie in bed with you two," she said. "In Daegan's bed."

Though Gideon stiffened, she didn't withdraw the request. Daegan's bed was larger, better suited for the three of them. Plus, it was closer, and close was good. Daegan's expression needed no translation. Withdrawing, pus.h.i.+ng off of Gideon's back, he rose and disappeared into the bathroom. She continued to lie on the floor, stroking Gideon. He kept his head on her chest, his arms leaden weights on either side of her.

"Okay?" she whispered, tugging on his hair.

"Not thinking right now."

She pressed a kiss to his brow. It surprised her when he tilted his head and met her mouth, teasing it with his tongue. At length, he pulled himself up so that he braced his weight on his elbows on either side of her head, his knees planted on the floor between her legs. He was still inside her, semisolid, inspiring her to squeeze him with her internal muscles, a slow milking that kept his gaze opaque, feral. Running her hands down his back, she cupped his a.s.s, ma.s.saged the oil there, enjoying the slide over slick, heavy muscle.

"You could f.u.c.k me to death."

"I easily could. But then, I could have done that before I became a vampire." Managing a wicked smile, she traced his mouth with her fingers, tightened her legs over his thighs. Her bare feet brushed the sensitive area behind his knees. She smelled the musky odor of s.e.m.e.n, both that trickling from her, and what Daegan had left behind when he pulled out. "Hurting?"

Gideon shrugged, but she saw it in his head. Though she knew the tissues were amazingly resilient and wouldn't even throb a half hour from now, right now they burned like acid. He had resisted enough to exacerbate the abrasion, so she knew he needed what Daegan was returning with now.

Gideon glanced toward him and blanched. "No way. I'm getting up."

"In a minute." Daegan squatted next to him, laid a restraining palm on his b.u.t.tock. "Be still."

"What . . . Argh." Gideon tried to twist, but was unsuccessful as Daegan withdrew the large syringe, now empty. He'd positioned a basin beneath him to catch any excess fluid. "What the h.e.l.l?"

"It's an herbal wash," she explained. "It makes it hurt less, almost immediately."

From the reluctant relief on Gideon's expression, she could tell it did. "Stop sticking things in my a.s.s," he snapped halfheartedly. Daegan bent down, scored his a.s.s cheek with a fang, earning an attempted kick. "Son of a-"

"You would do better to stop giving orders, servant. All it does is annoy me. And you've just seen what I do when annoyed."

"I'm her servant, not yours." Gideon gave him a withering glare. "It's way past time for you to grow up and get your own."

"Nope." Daegan rocked up to his heels and gave him an arch look. "They're too much work. A tremendous pain in the a.s.s." He punctuated that with a slap on Gideon's that echoed in the chamber, caused another snarl. It left a delectable handprint on the cheek, one that lingered, despite the third-mark capacity for healing.

She knew Gideon was already worried he'd be in the center of the bed, but Anwyn was ready to give him a break and take that pleasurable position. She brought Gideon in behind her on the left side after he returned from her shower. Once Daegan had done his own cleaning, he slid in on the right. She'd seen in Gideon's mind the possibility of finding some underwear or any other type of clothing, but she made it clear she wanted them all to stay naked, so she could press every available inch of her soft skin up against their handsome, rougher flesh. Once he settled in, Gideon toyed with her hair, then brought his hand to rest on her thigh, brus.h.i.+ng his knuckles along her hip. She didn't object.

If he belonged to both of us, she mused, she mused, we could chain him here between us during the daylight hours. We might fondle and drink from him at will, leaving him hard and suffering until nightfall. By then he would be mad with l.u.s.t, willing to do anything to please us. we could chain him here between us during the daylight hours. We might fondle and drink from him at will, leaving him hard and suffering until nightfall. By then he would be mad with l.u.s.t, willing to do anything to please us.

A tempting vision, cher cher, but he is your servant. His unwilling desire for me has no connection with a desire to become mine. As he himself said, his physical reaction to me does not mean anything. He is more servant than submissive, even to you.

She knew Daegan had felt a little differently in the heat of the moment, his own subconscious desires rising as strong and undeniable as his c.o.c.k, but she didn't press it. It was hard to believe everything that had happened, the way the bonds between them had tightened in a mere handful of days.

Daegan had coc.o.o.ned their thoughts, kept them from the male behind them, but it didn't really matter. A light touch told her that Gideon's mind was still in shock, reeling from his virgin encounter, being f.u.c.ked for the first time by a man. She could sense a war developing, a conflict between shame and rage, something that would become ugly if she didn't defuse it. Too many things had been taken from Gideon; anything that suggested that same loss of control, the consequences it could bring, would dredge up ugly memories and feelings.

"More questions," she decided, ignoring their amusingly similar groans. "Fun ones, not instructive Council stuff." s.h.i.+fting onto her back, she compelled the other two to do the same. Both men bent their knees, feet flat on the mattress, so she could put one foot on top of each of theirs, playing with their toes. "It's your turn, Daegan. Who was your first s.e.x?"

"Or what," Gideon muttered.

The vampire snorted, turned his head to gaze at them both. "I'm sure I don't remember."

"You're lying. You can't lie for Twenty Questions. It's a rule. You'll burst into flame if you break it, swear to G.o.d."

"Oh, well, as long as your honesty isn't in question." Smiling at her solemn a.s.sertion, Daegan turned on his side, his gaze pa.s.sing briefly over Gideon. He was staring at the ceiling hard enough to bore holes. "Like most born male vampires, it was my wet nurse, so to speak. Neela. She was second-marked, and with me into my teens. When the first tide of l.u.s.t hit with the blood, I was suckling Neela's neck. Pretty straightforward."

"All right, then, I amend the question. Who was the first s.e.x you chose for yourself ?"

"I'm not sure this game allows do-overs, if the question is worded incorrectly." Nevertheless, he turned his eyes upward, considered. "A n.o.ble's daughter named Jenna. She'd been thrown from a horse on a hunt. I helped tend her ankle, carried her to a hunting lodge. Unfortunately, it was close to feeding time, and she smelled so good . . ." He snuffled at Anwyn's throat like an animal, and she shoved at him, laughing. "I couldn't resist. Jenna had performed this stunt several times to get boys to take her off to this very same lodge, after all. With such unabashed s.e.xuality, she should have been turned to a vampire."

"Did you?" This from Gideon, in a wooden voice.

"No." Daegan glanced his way. "Of course not. She eventually married very well to an older n.o.bleman who traveled a great deal, and had a pa.s.sel of children she adored. Probably with a variety of fathers. I think you would have liked her," he said to Anwyn. "Despite being a very repressive period for women, she lived life to the fullest. I regretted that as she aged I couldn't maintain our acquaintance. She didn't know I was a vampire."

"Well, that was horribly dull," Anwyn teased. "Though vaguely charming." She turned over then, facing Gideon, and slid into his arms, tracing his jawline. I'm hungry again. I'm hungry again.

He nodded, pulled her closer. As his hand cupped the back of her head, he tilted his throat up, his eyes closing. It was such a simple, generous offering, particularly when she could feel how his emotions were bludgeoning him, his heart hurting. It made her own heart contract. So she whispered her lips over his throat, kissing him gently now, stroking her hand down his broad shoulder, nuzzling the fine chest hair across his pectorals, tracing that crimson trinity mark.

You take such good care of me, Gideon. You know that, right? You're going to be all right. I'm here. We're here.

The words weren't planned, but she answered the aching in his soul with nurturing, at odds with her normal demands. But his personal anguish, hidden so deep inside him it didn't even show in his face, was old and ongoing, a dark, murky river that no one but her might have ever beheld.

His arm tightened around her, his eyes not opening as she put her fangs over the spot that still showed a faint impression from her last feeding.

Will it become a permanent mark? She liked the idea. The third mark had possessed a thrill of its own, but one she'd purposely inflicted would have its own pleasures, a possessive need she well understood. For all the submissives she'd mastered, she'd never had a slave fully give himself to her, all of it. It had always been contained within the club walls. Though Gideon was far from reaching that point, something about the way he offered himself to her now revived that wistful, adult-child dream. She liked the idea. The third mark had possessed a thrill of its own, but one she'd purposely inflicted would have its own pleasures, a possessive need she well understood. For all the submissives she'd mastered, she'd never had a slave fully give himself to her, all of it. It had always been contained within the club walls. Though Gideon was far from reaching that point, something about the way he offered himself to her now revived that wistful, adult-child dream.

In time, a permanent scar will remain at the places you bite, because they are wounds marked so often with your own saliva. Wounds marked with your own blood will also remain scars on him.

As he answered her question, Daegan felt tenderness for them both. He saw the thoughts in her mind, deduced Gideon's state of mind from them. When Daegan spread her hair over her shoulders, caressing pale skin, strands fell into Gideon's open palm. He held her close with the one arm, but his wrist was loose as she drank deep, limp fingers brus.h.i.+ng the small of her back.

Stroking Anwyn's sable locks, Daegan let the motion cross Gideon's knuckles, a relaxed, inclusive caress. As he reversed direction to do it again, Gideon's fingers unexpectedly curled around his wrist.

The blue eyes opened, looking over Anwyn's head at him. Daegan held the gaze, allowing the restraint, wondering if Gideon had intended it as a warning. His strong hand held Daegan's wrist as if he needed the connection between them. Though there was confusion in Gideon's expression, it was a book Daegan could read well enough.

If he'd f.u.c.ked Gideon merely out of detached logic, his stated rationalization to acclimate Gideon to what he might face at the Council, then this moment might not be so significant. Even with the hot, raw desire they'd experienced, Gideon might have been merely p.i.s.sed or rationalized it himself as he had in the past, just too many d.a.m.n pheromones in the air.

But Daegan had led with his anger, made it clear he'd not taken kindly to what Anwyn had clearly seen for some time. He didn't know how he'd missed it, but then, he wasn't in the male's head.

Even so, he hadn't entirely expected the way Gideon responded, then or now. There was something deeper in his tormented gaze, something that affected Daegan unexpectedly. As he recognized it, he was the one who decided to pull away, but Gideon beat him to it. The man released him, closed his eyes. As Anwyn continued to drink, Gideon pulled her even closer, seeking a rea.s.surance Daegan knew might elude him. The truth could be a b.i.t.c.h to outrun, and the truth was Gideon already wanted them both again.

Though the vampire hunter would get no comfort from knowing it, Daegan knew the feeling was entirely mutual.

10.

ANWYN had told Gideon that Daegan was an incredibly light sleeper, to the point that if she so much as s.h.i.+fted a hand across a pillow when they lay together, he would wake. So she wasn't surprised to feel his attention as she slid out of the bed.

Before she'd become a vampire, every once in a while on one of her days off, if Daegan was traveling, she'd sleep in the top apartment, the one that had a full wall of windows overlooking the streets below. They were east-facing, so she could watch the sunrise. Since she worked late nights, it had been rare for her to leave the shades open so that newborn sunlight could kiss her awake, but she'd had the choice. She'd never realized the human compulsion to move to a window when in deep thought, as if looking out into a world bigger than oneself would help to balance the troubled waters of her thoughts, but she'd circled the room twice restlessly before she realized that was what she was seeking.

Daegan slid out of the bed, brought her his robe, a heavy terry cloth that came down to her calves, and slid on the drawstring gi gi pants he'd been wearing earlier. As he freed her hair from the collar, she looked up at his face, the planes she could see so clearly, even though the room was almost pitch-dark. A trio of candles burned on the dresser. She'd slept some herself, so she didn't know which of them had done that, but she suspected Gideon, who knew that she liked candlelight. He did the small things, because he thought he had nothing more significant to offer to her. Never realizing how large a part of her life he'd become in such a short time. A frighteningly large part. pants he'd been wearing earlier. As he freed her hair from the collar, she looked up at his face, the planes she could see so clearly, even though the room was almost pitch-dark. A trio of candles burned on the dresser. She'd slept some herself, so she didn't know which of them had done that, but she suspected Gideon, who knew that she liked candlelight. He did the small things, because he thought he had nothing more significant to offer to her. Never realizing how large a part of her life he'd become in such a short time. A frighteningly large part.

"Come with me," Daegan murmured. He guided her out into the main room. Gideon had moved, of course, was sleeping on the couch. He'd tugged on a pair of worn boxers, frayed at the hem, and a hole or two along the thigh. She made a mental note to get him some new underwear, though she didn't mind him going without. Pausing at the couch, she touched his brow.

He knew her touch in his sleep, didn't react defensively. His eyes opened sleepily and she bent down, brushed his lips. "We're going up top a few minutes," she whispered. "Don't worry. Sleep."

He gazed at her, nodded, eyes drifting closed again, though his large hand curled around her wrist, held an extra moment. When Daegan loosened his grip so she could slide away, the vampire tousled the man's hair with brief affection. Gideon rolled over, grunting, and slapped the hand away, burrowing face-first into the sofa again.

Anwyn gave Daegan a smile and let herself be led to the elevator. "How did you know where we were going?" she whispered.

"Sometimes I dip a toe into your mind, so to speak." He gave her a sidelong glance as he pressed the top floor b.u.t.ton. "Forgive me, cher cher."

"I think you already knew without doing that. You're just trying to make me believe you don't know me as well as you do."

"Hmm."

She leaned into him, enjoying the comfort of his solid body and his strong arm until the elevator reached the top level. Like her bas.e.m.e.nt dwelling, it was coded for entry. The cleaning staff was taken up and supervised by James once a week, but of course she hadn't been up here since the night in the alley. The curtains were open, showing the panorama of the city, the jeweled lights a more dense reflection of the stars in the night sky. It was Sunday night, so Atlantis was quiet, no movement or vibrating music from the dance floor below.

She went to the sliding gla.s.s door in the living area and stepped out into her rooftop garden. It was mostly an artful a.s.sortment of potted plants and trees, garden statuary and benches, unique pieces she'd added now and then. There were three or four beds of perennials and some rose-bushes. None was in bloom right now, but in summer they were rich colors of yellow and red. She sank down on a bench, gazed up at the stars. "I guess we should have invited Gideon to come up here with us. This is too beautiful a view to h.o.a.rd all to ourselves." Just as she'd thought, the ability to breathe in fresh air, feel the enormity of the sky and earth revolving above and below her, helped free some of the tightness of her chest.

"But he's the one that's troubling you. You needed to come up here to think about him, talk about him. About him going to the Council."

"A know-it-all can be a very annoying thing." But she tempered the words with a sad smile as he straddled the bench behind her, letting her lean into the cradle of his body. She hooked her legs over one of his thighs, the other braced against her b.u.t.tocks. "You remember that night before you left? You said no male had ever convinced me that I could rely on him to be there, no matter the circ.u.mstance. Except maybe James."