Page 60 of Essa

"Envious of Essa?" Adam asks, joining him at the circle of chairs but refusing to sit. I roll my eyes at it and continue perusing the library as I listen.

"How could I not be? I was seventeen when she was promised to me. I dreamed of visiting other planets, escaping the role I was meant to fill. She wasn't the only one being forced into something she didn't want. It took a long time for me to see that her leaving saved us both. I never would've grown close to Niiviif Essa had stayed. I might've still fallen in love with Niivi, but that would've meant either I watched her be with other males and eventually marry one of them, or I would've taken her in as my concubine, forcing her to leave her station and any claim she had in this house."

I don't turn around to show off the frown on my lips. Chances are good that Adam's scowling hard enough for the both of us. We may not know Essa's family very well, but we know she cares about her sister more than anything. Everything she did was for her, and even thinking about Niivi ending up in a bad situation doesn't sit right with us. Like Iddis said, we're kin now.

"Good thing it didn't come to that," Adam says, and for once, he's actually trying to be cordial.

Okay, he does sound angry, and I have no doubt he's still not sitting down. He's probably also looking at Iddis like he hates him, but we can work with that. If he's trying, it means he's doing more than he ever has before.

Hell, it took him days before he was even willing to be in the same room as the crew of the Jolly Folly, and none of them were even trying to antagonize him as much as Iddis was earlier. Maybe he's getting softer now that he has two partners attempting to dull his jagged edges.

"Yes, good thing."

Iddis is quiet, and I continue looking over the different books in the library. My translator picks up enough of the words in the titles for me to know this isn't a fun library but more of a research library. There are plenty of historical books about House Bylath and different commerce and economic systems.

I've always been more of a science fiction fantasy guy. When Original Seth was in holding before Adam came along, he was given a few beat-up paperbacks. They helped him kill time and made him feel less alone. I haven't done much reading since mycreation, and I'd like to get back into it now that it looks like Adam and I are done running.

"I have to ask because you're new to the family, and as much as you hate it, yes, you're now in a relationship with the female I was meant to marry." Iddis pauses long enough for Adam to tell him to fuck off, and then he continues as though there wasn't an outburst. "What are your intentions with my sister?"

I snort, turning around for the first time in a while to look at him. "Oh, is she your sister now?"

"Considering the wedding is in two days, I think it's safe enough to call Essa my sister," Iddis says, lifting a brow and all but begging me to object. At least this is better than him reminding Adam that he was going to marry the woman we love.

"Well, our intentions should be obvious," I say, stepping closer to his little cluster of chairs. "We plan to be with her as long as she wants us and to make her as happy as we can."

Iddis listens but says nothing. I can't tell if he wants me to offer more or thinks I haven't said enough. Maybe he finds us lacking because we're human instead of Haventh.

"She's already accepted us as her concubines. So it really doesn't matter what you think of us or the relative length of our relationship," Adam cuts in, moving closer to me and nudging me toward a seat so he can stand over me while also staring down Iddis. "Not that it's any of your business, but we do care for her, and she cares for us."

I look up at Adam, surprised at him being open with his feelings even in this way. His cheeks flush as he flicks his gaze down to me long enough to press his lips tighter like he doesn't want to continue, but he's going to anyway.

"I'm sure you've noticed that I'm difficult to get along with."

"You don't say," Iddis mocks him by sounding surprised, and I have to swallow hard a few times to keep myself from laughing.

Adam ignores the both of us. "There are two people I've met who can look past my less-than-inviting persona and choose to care for me regardless of how I act. They're both idiots, but thankfully, they're idiots that have chosen me. I won't ever make them regret that."

I grab Adam's hand when he refuses to look down at me again. I can at least squeeze my gratitude into his body while I force it into his mind. His lips quirk up in the corner, so as much as he wants to keep pretending he's a big ol' strong guy, I know the truth is that he's softening up for Essa and me.

"Well, I can see this is clearly a nice moment for the two of you," Iddis says, leaning forward.

I think he's about to give us the room so we can enjoy one another a bit more while Adam is being sweet–sweeter than usual. Instead, Iddis grabs the pieces from the gameboard and places them in specific spots.

"Time to ruin these good feelings with a game of Lojan."

I expect Adam to be annoyed that Iddis isn't leaving, but he doesn't argue with him about playing the game. No, even worse, he seems to appreciate that the subject is being changed so he can pretend he didn't just say something so nice I'd typically only hear it after he finished throat fucking me.

Adam kneels next to the game board, ignoring my complaints in our shared mind and reaching behind to pinch my thigh. I flinch away from his hold, earning me a mental chuckle, and then pay attention to what Iddis is saying because, apparently, we're learning to play some Haventh board game that usually ends in fights. How fun.

twenty-five

Essa

Sleep is easier when I'm sandwiched between two males or sandwiching one male with another, as I'm doing tonight. Adam and I each fell asleep with Seth nice and snug between us. My arm is around Seth's waist, and my front is pressed to his back. Our legs are so tangled that even Adam's are in here somewhere, and my tail has lashed itself to his thigh, tugging him closer even though he fell asleep a hairbreadth away from Seth's lips.

It takes me a moment to figure out what's pulled me from my slumber, but I startle fully awake when I hear a low, pained moan. My males give me a hard time for sleeping heavily, but I'm only hard to wake when they aren't in danger. Hearing one of them in pain wakes me in an instant. I carefully extract myself from Seth's body, leaving my tail as entwined around my restless male as I can.

Adam lets out another sorrowful moan, this one causing my pupils to constrict as I think about all of the things he could bethinking about while he's meant to be peacefully asleep. I wish to growl and bare my fangs at his nightmares, to tell them they are not welcome anymore, but that's not how the mind works.

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