Strange he should mention what I need, because in that moment I have an overwhelming need to feel his lips on mine. I open my eyes to find myself snuggled into his chest, his strong arms wrapped around me, keeping me safe. He’s looking down at me and I get the impression he has been watching me fall asleep in his arms.

My eyes connect with his and in that unguarded moment the feelings he has hinted at having for me are laid bare. Desire, mixed with affection, shines as bright as the flames from the fire. He quickly goes to turn his head and I can feel his embarrassment.

“No,” I whisper, as I reach my hand up and turn his face back to mine, “don’t look away from me.”

He doesn’t resist my touch and his eyes look deep into mine, telling me of his nervousness and apprehension. I feel my heart melt a little at how unsure he is and the fact he doesn’t try to hide it behind any bravado.

“Kiss me,” I command him.

He doesn’t move and for a moment I wonder if he heard me, but then he bends his head and places a kiss of such aching tenderness upon my lips I feel my head spin. He begins to pull away but I reach out, place my hand behind his head, and press his lips back to mine. I feel him smile and it’s as if I’ve given him the permission he was seeking.

He kisses me again, and this time it’s with all the fervour and passion of a man who is finally getting the one thing he has secretly longed for. His lips press against mine with an insistent need, demanding and hungry. His arms tighten around me, pulling me closer to him so there is nothing between us, only the war cloth and leather of our uniforms.

His tongue requests entry to my mouth and I gladly give it, revelling in the feel of it connecting with my own. He kisses me deeper and deeper, asking me to give more of myself to him, and I gladly meet his unspoken demand. I run my fingers through his tousled hair and pull his face closer to mine. Hunger, feral and primitive, flares deep in my core and I let my fingers travel across the expanse of his shoulders, delighting in the feel of his muscles as they flex under my touch.

His hand spans my waist and runs seductively over the curve of my hip and downwards over my buttocks. Then it travels upwards and cups my breast. He groans into my mouth and this sets off an explosion of need in me. I kiss him with a ferocity I never knew I possessed and feel the heat between us ratchet up to another level.

Then I feel another set of lips on my neck and their touch is one I recognise from the night in the library. Aaran. He’s here, and his lips are leaving a trail of fire along my neck. I gasp in shock and confusion. Does Barra know he’s here? Does he know what he’s doing? I open my eyes to look at Barra. He smiles at me and then looks behind me. “Welcome, brother,” he says toAaran and I’m shocked at how casually he accepts his presence and his actions.

“It’s good to see you, brother,” Aaran replies in a husky voice, “and you, Queen Elinor.”

I’m momentarily stunned and unable to speak. A few seconds ago I was enjoying Barra’s kiss and the touch of his hand upon my body. I was aflame with desire. Desire for him. Then Aaran’s lips connected with the sensitive flesh of my neck and I realised I’ve longed for them to do so since the last time I felt their touch. And now I’m aflame with desire for him too. I look at them both, lost for words.

I never imagined I’d find myself in the Craglands in the dark of night with two of the most handsome men I’ve ever seen. On top of that, I’m the object of both their desires and they seem fine with that. The question is, am I?

A deep throated chuckle sounds from behind me. “Lost for words, Queen Elinor? I doubt that happens too often.”

I turn my head to look at him and am left breathless at the undisguised lust burning in hiseyes[SL3]. He stares intensely into mine and something passes between us akin to the charge in the air just before a lightning strike.

“Let us pleasure you,” he says in a silky voice laced with seductive intent. Then he lowers his lips to the soft spot just behind my earlobe and starts to kiss me again. Desire flares in my veins and I look back at Barra to see if he can feel the effect of another man’s touch upon me.

He smiles. “Let us pleasure you, my Queen,” he whispers, as he lowers his lips and claims mine.

Disbelief combines with pure lust and it’s a heady combination that forces all rational thought from my mind. I return Barra’s kiss with a passion and ferocity I never realised I possessed, and I arch my neck so Aaran’s lips can find more of my hungry flesh. However, it seems I needn’t worry aboutsatisfying his need for my flesh as I feel his fingers loosen the buckles of my uniform. It seems he intends to seek it for himself.

Barra’s firm hand travels down to the curve of my breasts, dips into my waist and then over my hip where his fingers dig into my buttocks and pull me to him. His tongue thrusts into my mouth, ever more demanding, and I groan with unadulterated need. His hand moves between my legs and cups my womanhood. I drag my lips away from his as I gasp in surprise but also draw a much needed breath into my lungs.

My mind is swirling and I find I’ve lost the ability to string a single thought together. My body is aflame with lust and need and I’m going on pure feral instinct. I feel Aaran shift behind me and before I know what’s happening his mouth is ravaging mine. I respond in kind and feel his smile against my lips.

Barra pulls back the fabric of my tunic, below which he finds my undershirt. He pulls the velvet cord holding it together and seconds later my breasts are exposed to the chill night air. Aaran continues to ravage my mouth as I hear an appreciative gasp from Barra. Then his lips connect with my nipple, a gentle kiss at first, but then he pulls it into his mouth with merciless abandon as if my tiny bud can give him life itself.

The combination of Aaran’s kisses and Barra’s sucking sends such a searing bolt of need through me that I cry out. Lost as my cry is to the recesses of Aaran’s mouth, it still has an effect and Aaran grabs my other breast between his fingers as he pulls his mouth away from mine.

“Oh, how I’m looking forward to tasting you, Queen Elinor,” he whispers into my ear and his voice is a growl of pure lust.

I writhe against him, grinding my buttocks into his manhood as I feel my core explode with a primal need. Barra’s hand starts to massage my womanhood in a firm, circularmotion and I wonder if he can feel how wet I am through my britches.

It seems he intends to find out as his fingers move to the buckle of my belt, and in the same instant Aaran’s teeth claim my other nipple, Barra’s fingers find the wet heat of my womanhood. I gasp and writhe in shock and need. I look down to see these two Ellerban men sucking on me, delighting in my breasts and bringing me an insane amount of pleasure. Then they both look up at me at the same time and I am lost as I know they are about to bring me to a whole other level.

Barra’s fingers find the throbbing bud of need at the apex of my womanhood. It’s so swollen with desire it aches and the moment he touches it I cry out in relief. He touches it gently at first, as if he knows to ease the ache, but then his touch becomes firmer and I thrust my pelvis into his hand, telling him I want more. I feel his lips smile against my breast.

Aaran releases my nipple from his mouth and kisses his way back up my neck. He shifts behind me once again, tracing the tip of his tongue along my feverish flesh. His hand cups my breast and he teases my tenderised nipple between his fingers. I buck involuntarily against him, and somewhere in the far reaches of my mind I realise I’m going on pure instinct, and in that moment I feel more alive and more powerful than I’ve ever felt in my entire life.

“That’s it, Queen Elinor,” Aaran urges me. “Let go, give in to your instincts. Set your body free, feel your power and take your pleasure.”

His words ignite something in me, something powerful and overwhelming. I can only describe it as a wildness, a primitive feeling of overwhelming need that I can’t deny. My fingers leave Barra’s shoulders and move to my britches. I push the fabric down until my buttocks and womanhood are bared to them. My message is clear and I hear the familiar clink ofbuckles being loosened as they free themselves from their own britches.

I feel Aaran’s manhood first, hot and strong against the back of my thigh. Then I feel Barra’s, thick and firm pressed against the front of the same thigh. I place my fingers around it and he releases a hungry moan against my breast. His fingers start to move against my bud again as mine start to move up and down his shaft.