Page 61 of The Poison of the Earth
Dana smiles, “Warm too.”
“It fits like a glove,” I compliment, and start changing into the next. “Can you give me some Mabon outfit advice?”
She grins, “I’d love to! What’s the question?”
“Well, I’m probably going on my own? So what do I wear? I was thinking maybe taking my black dress and adding some skirts under it for floof and topping it with my plum corset.”
Dana purses her lips. “Aren’t you going with the Commander?”
I shrug. “He hasn’t mentioned it.”
She pulls a face but answers, “Well, if you did black and purple, you could make a mask with some grape vines and berries decorating it.”
“Oh! That would work well, with it being a harvest holiday.”
She nods. “I have a few blank mask frames, if you’d like one.”
“Yes, thank you!” I grin at her.
She smiles back at me, “And you should drape braids through your hair, decorated with grapes or berries. You’ll look stunning.”
I pull off the luxurious gray gown delicately. I step off the podium and she pulls me into a hug. I stiffen for a second, but my arms wrap around her and my eyes close.
Friends wonderful enough that they are almost like a family. A gift indeed.
“I NEED SOME THINGSfrom my rooms,” I say sweetly as Lonan and Kai and I head upstairs after dinner.
“I’ll clear them, you head up,” Kai directs Lonan.
“No, I might need both of your help, carrying things upstairs.”
Lonan raises an eyebrow, “What in the world do you need?”
We walk up to my door and to end the conversation, I place my hand on the knob.
Kai grunts and places a hand gently over mine. “Princess.”
That one word is a warning.
What I find inexplicably endearing with Kai is that I can tell how delicately he’s trying to treat me. It’s adorable, if unnecessary.
He slips into the room to check it just as a thought hits me: is it because of my scars? Is he,shit both of them, being so fragile with me because they are afraid of my past?Fuck. Well, perhaps what I have in store for them tonight will help straighten that idea out.
“It’s fine, you can come in,” Kai calls from my rooms. Lonan follows me inside. I turn and shut and latch the door. Lonan’s eyebrows immediately rise and I grin at him.
“I lied, love,” I say cryptically.
“Mmm,” he responds, stepping towards me. He raises his hands slowly to take my elbows. “Kai,” he calls, “Come here. Our little mate is in a mischievous mood, I can tell.”
Kai silently slips behind me, boxing me between them. He dips his head, lips skating up my neck. “What did you lie about, baby?”
I smile at his new nickname for me. I twist a little to look into those green eyes of his. “Lonan asked me awhile back if I had enjoyed his mouth. I lied. Because I did enjoy it. Very much. As well as your eyes upon me as he brought me off.”
They make pleased noises and I feel them, both, grow hard against me.
Kai whispers, “Will you accept our bonds?”
Fuck. Why’d he have to take it there?
