Page 46 of Dark Shaman: Love Found
"No, but you usually wait for me to tell you what I need instead of anticipating my needs." After five thousand years together, any deviation from habit seemed strange.
"True." He leaned back in his chair. "I noticed that you and the ladies feel stifled in the mansion, and I thought of ways to provide you with a more comfortable environment. Since the harem is not habitable at the moment, I had the idea to erect a tent so you all can have a relaxing time away from here and enjoy yourselves during your visits to the site."
She leaned toward him and clasped his hand. "You are the best, my darling. And so wise. If you could also find an equally clever solution to the couples' predicament. Tamira and Elias and Tula and Tony are struggling with the current arrangements. The lack of privacy is difficult for them. In the harem, they had their own spaces, while here, every moment is observed, catalogued, and reported. They're desperate for intimacy."
"That's understandable." Navuh leaned toward her. "Every moment away from you is difficult, but I have my duties, and you have yours. We can't indulge in each other's company whenever we want."
"Indeed." She cast him a loving smile, and since he seemed in an amiable mood, she continued. "They can hardly fulfill their purpose if they're never allowed to be alone together," Areana pointed out. "Tula especially is restless, but it's not just them. The other ladies are beginning to feel it too. Immortals have needs, Navuh. A month without any outlet for those needs is difficult."
He leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled as he considered. "What would you have me do?"
"I was thinking along the lines of privacy arrangements. Scheduled times when certain areas are off-limits to staff.Or perhaps designated spaces where the couples can meet without surveillance."
"It's complicated," he mused. "The staff talk, you know that. We've maintained the fiction of the true parentage of my sons this long because the harem was isolated and extremely well-guarded. I can't isolate my household staff here in the same way, or rumors will start, and since they are free to come and go, gossip would spread like wildfire."
"Then perhaps..." She hesitated, then forged ahead. "Perhaps we should consider alternative arrangements. If you're already setting up a tent for daytime comfort, what about additional structures? We can erect temporary quarters on the harem grounds."
He snorted. "Do you expect me to set up a tent city for my romantically frustrated ladies?"
"Why not?" She pursed her lips. "It might actually work. Private, smaller tents with the same climate control as the main tent. The couples could have their privacy, the fiction would be maintained since the regular staff wouldn't need to service that area, and?—"
"Areana." He held up a hand, laughing. "You can't be serious."
She felt heat rise in her cheeks. "Well, I was. It's a practical solution to a real problem."
He studied her with those penetrating eyes. "Is a month really that long to abstain?"
"Happy ladies are compliant ladies. Frustrated ladies are less so."
He looked amused. "Are you threatening me with a concubine revolt?"
It was funny when he said it like that.
"I'm informing you of potential unrest," she corrected. "What you do with that information is your choice."
"So formal," he murmured, reaching out to trace her jawline. "Are you frustrated too, my dear? Do you need a tent of your own?"
"I have you," she said. "Nothing has changed for us. We still get to spend our nights together. That is not the case for them."
He sighed, dropping his hand. "I'll think of something."
The pressure in her chest eased. Navuh was clever. If he put his formidable mind to it, he would find a solution.
She was about to tell him that when a knock sounded at the door.
"Come in," Navuh called.
The door opened silently, and the butler walked in on silent feet. "My lord, the others are gathered in the dining room as you have requested."
"We'll be right there," Navuh said.
"Yes, my lord." The butler bowed, retreated through the open door, and closed it behind him.
Navuh stood up and offered Areana his hand. "Shall we?"
As she accepted it, rising gracefully, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. "I love you," he said as he let go of her lips. "I don't tell you that enough."
"You tell me that a lot, but it's always wonderful to hear." She brushed her lips over his. "I love you, too."
