Page 141 of A Reign of Embers

We all go still, the fraught memory sweeping over us all.

“Was it your idea?” I have to ask, the words snagging before I can propel them from my throat.

Marc shakes his head. “Linus proposed it—and pushed for us to go through with it, when he was caught up in his jealousies… which I suppose were both valid and utterly unfair. But I agreed. I oversaw the branding. He wanted me to be the one observing your reactions.”

His gaze shifts to me. “You never let how much you cared show even then. Even when I made you…”

He can’t seem to go on.

I take his hand in mine, twining our fingers. “I cared so much it gave me strength. Better a brand than seeing the men I love executed because I failed to hide that love.”

Maybe that’s what Sabrelle understands the least about me. Love has never been part of her domain. But every act of violence I’ve committed, every torment I’ve endured to gainthe power I have, it’s been for love—for my country, for the people who’ve suffered, for my friends and family and the men I can now call my husbands.

Raul folds his arms over his chest in an arrogant pose. “Give us a little credit too. We’re the ones who got burned.”

Marc’s expression stutters. “Of course. I meant the apology mainly to you. I?—”

Raul claps him on the shoulder with a chuckle. “You’re going to have to put up with a lot more hassling if you’re sticking around, my no-longer-imperial foster brother. This one isn’t that hard to forgive. It’s her crest now. None of us mind being marked with that.”

Bastien cocks his head, the glint in his eyes brightening. “Perhaps Marc needs one of his own. I’m sure he wouldn’t want to be left out.”

Marc’s jaw works. “It would be reasonable compensation.”

Lorenzo waves the discussion aside with a roll of his eyes.“We’re long past it now. And the two of you already scarred him in a much more obvious way. Let’s not get so caught up in the past that we neglect our woman right now.”

He trails his lips along my jaw and tugs my dress down at the same time, and all the other men’s gazes snap back to me.

Raul’s voice drops to a seductive purr. “I’m sorry, Shepherdess. We shouldn’t have gotten diverted from the real goal.”

He drags the gown past my waist so the silk puddles around my feet. Then he pulls my drawers after the dress and nudges up my chemise so he can bring his mouth to the place I need it most.

With the first swipe of Raul’s tongue over my sex, I gasp. Marc lets out a growl as if unwilling to be outdone and drinks in my next whimpers with an emphatic kiss.

He draws back just far enough for Bastien and Lorenzoto strip off my chemise. As my first husband dives back in, his foster brothers turn their attentions to my breasts. Bastien laps his hot tongue over one nipple while Lorenzo teases the other between his nimble musician’s fingers.

I stroke my hands down Marc’s chest and over Lorenzo’s shoulders, rake my fingers through Bastien’s hair and grip Raul’s dark strands until they pull free from his short ponytail.

The prince of Lavira sucks deeper, his teeth grazing my clit. He delves his tongue inside me to provoke a more potent jolt of pleasure. A moment later, a wider object—smooth but firm—eases between my folds to stretch my opening.

The mass of solidified shadow fills me with a perfect pressure. Raul pulses it in time with the movements of his mouth, and the thicker rush of sensation propels a moan from my lips.

Bastien evidently believes I deserve more. He sucks down the tip of my breast with a shock of bliss and then lifts his head to steal my lips from Marc. Then he nudges Raul with a rasp in his demanding voice. “Fill her properly. Take her to those heights you’re always bragging about.”

His foster brother chuckles between my legs, the vibration sending a new thrill through my sensitive flesh, but he follows his orders. Raul straightens up, removing his drawers as he does.

He raises me against his massive frame, the muscles in his arms flexing as he grips my thighs as easily as if my body was made of air. A cool pressure against my ass and back suggests he’s manipulating the shadows again, this time to help support me.

He settles me over his cock, and all other sensations fade away. There’s only the proportionately massive length of him sliding between my folds and stretching my channel so perfectly I must have been made for him.

Another whimper spills out of me. I tip my head against his shoulder with a flick of my tongue across his tawny skin, and Raul groans in approval.

When he’s filled me to the brim, the delicious burn radiates from my core all the way to my toes. A gentle hand caresses my backside. Warmed oil slicks across my back entrance with a carefully probing finger.

Bastien kisses my shoulder and continues his ministrations as he casts a glance toward Marc. “Do you think you can handle lifting her to even higher pleasures?”

Marc’s voice comes out strained. “I— Aurelia?”

He’s asking me for permission. Confirming that I want him in every way I want my princes.

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