Chapter Five
Lars was a big man, as tall as Gareth, but even more muscular. Where Gareth had the sleek muscles of a racehorse, Lars had a stockier sort of strength. His hair was the color of pale wheat and his eyes a sparkling turquoise that crinkled at the corners when he smiled. His smile, when it appeared, was open, generous and surprisingly kind, though it seemed he was a quiet man by nature.
Belora took one look at him and had to fight an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. Was it right to be so attracted to a man after pledging your life to another? She wasn’t sure, but she found it impossible not to notice the tingle in her skin when he took her hand in the moves of the dances they were teaching her. She caught his eyes twinkling at her with an odd sort of speculation and a definite masculine appreciation that nearly took her breath away.
She thought she intercepted pointed glances between the men that made her loins burn. When she caught Gareth’s eye he was wholly approving of her, encouraging her to learn the more intricate steps of the progressively harder—and more intimate—dances they showed her. By the time they moved on to the “mating dance” that would culminate the feast in their honor, her blood was sizzling with desire and the two men had to be more than familiar with the feel of her body under their guiding hands. It was an amazing feeling.
“Let’s take a short break before we begin the next one.”
Gareth moved over to a small side table where a jug of wine and several earthen cups stood. He poured for each of them and served with good grace as Lars helped Belora to sit on the pretty, warm bricks that edged Kelvan’s wallow. They had shown her about five different dances, each one progressively harder. They involved a bit more touching than she was used to, but touching two such handsome men was no hardship, she thought with an inward grin.
“Will I be expected to dance with other people?” she asked over the rim of her wine cup as Gareth sat down beside her.
“No. Just us. Lars is our third since he and Rohtina will be joining our family.”
“I think Kelvan and Tina will enjoy the larger quarters. I went by there today and it’s nicely situated.” Lars sat beside them and gazed over the warm sands of the small wallow. “With two dragons sharing a home, they will require a much larger wallow and more room to move around.”
“I’m going to start moving my stuff over tomorrow. How about you?” Gareth moved closer to her, pulling her back against his chest as his free arm tucked around her waist. She was surprised by the intimate move, but neither man seemed to think anything of it, so after a few moments, she relaxed back against him.
“I figured I’d do the same. Tina has some things she’s collected over the years that she wants me to shift for her. Little sparkly stones and bits she’s found in her journeys.”
“Women of every species like their gems.” Gareth and Lars chuckled, but Belora gasped as Gareth’s large hand moved up to cup her breast. She couldn’t believe he would fondle her in front of his friend, regardless of whether or not they were becoming some sort of family. She stiffened and would have pulled away, but Lars took her hand in his surprisingly gentle grasp and held her gaze.
“Don’t be embarrassed. It is natural to be free amongst our family. I’ve accepted that I will never find a woman as Gareth has found you. Let me share in what you have together, at least in this way, for now.”
“I’m not used to this. Your ways are very strange to me.” She settled back against Gareth with a little trembling in her limbs, but didn’t object further as his hand moved down inside the V of her blouse to cup her bare breast and flick the little bud so it stood out against the soft fabric. She knew Lars could see it clearly as his eyes dipped to focus on her nipples, blossoming under Gareth’s skillful touch.
“I know, love, but this will be your home now. I hope you’ll try to adjust to our ways.” Gareth dipped to kiss her neck as he spoke softly next to her ear. “I won’t rush you, but I need you to be open to new experiences. Can you do that for me? For us all?”
His hand squeezed her nipple hard and she felt little tremors of excitement course through her womb. She found she liked the hot flash of Lars’ turquoise eyes as he licked his firm lips, his gaze glued to Gareth’s manipulations under her shirt. It was definitely a new experience, but she found she wasn’t afraid. She trusted Gareth with her very life. It was little stretch to trust him with her pleasure. He would never hurt her or make her do anything she didn’t want to do. She knew that in her soul and it allowed her to let go and let him lead their pleasure.
She nodded as he moved his hand out of her blouse and turned her in his arms to face her. His eyes held hers and sought her answer.
“I trust you and I’ll try.”
A broad smile spread across his lips before they claimed hers in a deep, happy kiss. He lingered over her mouth before turning her once more in his arms. Lars had moved closer while they kissed and now he was only inches from her aroused body. Gareth pushed her gently toward his friend, encouraging her with his voice.
“Kiss Lars, sweet. Let him know there are no hard feelings. Welcome him to our family and let him know just a tiny bit of what we share.”
She looked back at him questioningly, but his eyes were encouraging and his hands open, willing to let her decide whether she would go through with his suggestion or not. It was the freedom to choose that made her move forward. A kiss was a small thing, after all, and it was not like it was any kind of hardship to share a kiss with such a handsome and kind man. She turned back and smiled at Lars as she moved into his strong arms.
He clasped her against his chest and moved his head down, his turquoise eyes dazzling her as he drew closer, oh, so slowly. When his firm lips met hers, her eyes shut in self-defense as his scent, his feel, and his amazingly gentle touch flooded her senses with warmth. His lips caressed hers for a long moment before his tongue sought entrance, taking the kiss deeper. She was surprised but more than willing, swept up in the passion of the man and the moment.
Lars kissed like a dream. Gentle as only a very strong man can be, he tempered his strength with a deep passion that she could feel as his muscular arms trembled the tiniest bit. He made a small, inarticulate sound of pleasure as she wrapped her arms around him. It spurred her on and she answered the sweeping intimacies of his tongue in her mouth with her own daring forays into his warmth. She felt hot all over and realized vaguely that Gareth had moved up behind them, enclosing her between the two men. His hands teased her nipples and stoked her fire.
When at long last the kiss broke, all three were panting. Belora shot shocked eyes up to Lars and was greeted with a stunned smile.
“You are beautiful, milady, and much too good for a scoundrel like Gareth. I wish I had met you first.”
She laughed and the tension of the moment was broken. She realized that while Gareth had been palming her breasts, Lars’ hands were up under her skirts, skimming her legs. They now rested on her thighs, his fingers dangerously close to the juncture that wept with arousal.
“In the mating dance, you will be expected to kiss us both and we will both handle your body in ever more intimate ways—lifting you up in our arms, twirling you around, touching you all over. You must give over control to us completely.” Gareth’s breath pulsed against her ear and made her shiver. “Can you handle it?” He spoke it like a dare.
“I can handle it, but will everyone be watching?”
Lars nodded. “The mated pairs will be dancing with us, but the single knights will certainly enjoy the show, dreaming of the day they find their own mate and are able to claim her before the entire enclave. It’s a rite of passage and something we do to solidify our families and share our pleasure with our fellows. It’s important.”
The earnestness of his words touched her heart. It made an odd sort of sense. His words made her want to perform this strange dance with these two strong men, for the good of the Lair.
“All right. I guess it won’t be so bad if we’re not the only ones doing it.”
Gareth chuckled as he rose and lifted her up with him. Lars stood in front of her and they moved back to the cleared area where they’d been practicing before.
“We’ll all be dressed differently of course, so we’ll just pantomime some of the parts we can only do while in the ceremonial clothing.”
Gareth moved in front of his mate-to-be and positioned her for the start of the dance. He was much closer to her than he had been for any of the other dances she’d learned that day, and Lars stood so close to her back, she could feel the warmth radiating from his body. She did the moves as they taught them to her but quickly realized just a few minutes into this strange dance that he was not kidding when he said she would have to give over control to them both.
After a few initial moves, she was simply swept off her feet by first Gareth, then Lars, passed between them as her feet barely touched the ground. The two brawny men did most of the work as they swung her around in their strong arms, her body held tight to their own while little tingles of electricity raced through her frame. Gareth made her burn with his slightest touch, but the look in Lars’ blue eyes as he held her close nearly made her insides melt. The set of his jaw proclaimed how very hungry he was for her and she could feel his shocking erection against her abdomen.
“That’s enough for now, I think.” Gareth’s voice was calm as he stood behind them. Lars’ mesmerizing gaze was fused to her own. Gradually, he released her and she slid down his hard body to rest once more on unsteady feet. Her entire body trembled and she could feel that he was hard as granite against her. A muscle ticked in his jaw but otherwise he indicated none of his discomfort.
Gareth snuck his arm around her waist from behind and pulled her unresisting body back against him as she swayed on her feet. She was glad of his support, though her dazed eyes were still locked on Lars.
“We’ll see you later, Lars. Thanks for your assistance.” Gareth’s words were formal but his tone was warm. She realized he knew exactly what afflicted his friend as he fit her bottom against his own raging hardness.
After a long moment Lars nodded, bowed slightly to her and left the chamber.
“Will he be all right?”
Gareth chuckled behind her, pulling her soft body closer against his. “Nothing a few strokes of his hand won’t cure. Would you like to help him?”
She was shocked, but also titillated by the teasing remark. “Would you want me to?”
Gareth turned her in his arms. “Oh, yes. I’d enjoy watching that.”
She stiffened in his arms. “You’d enjoy seeing me pleasure other men?”
“Not just any other man. Only Lars. He will be our family soon, Belora. It’s only right that you should be able to share pleasure with him. It’s normal and healthy for our kind.”
“I don’t understand your ways at all.” She shook her head but relaxed once more against his hard body.
“It’s all right. We have time yet.” He hugged her close, tucking her head under his chin. “Does the idea repulse you, though? Could you make him welcome in our family, do you think?”
She snuggled into him. “He’s so quiet, yet I sense in him a great well of feeling kept tightly under wraps. He’s so alone.” Her voice was quiet with thought and sympathy.
“Lars has been alone for a long time. His parents and siblings were killed right in front of him during the Northern Wars when he was only a small boy. His partner, Rohtina, found him among those left for dead a few days later. He was badly injured, but managed to cling to her back until she could get him back to the Lair. For years he spoke to no one but Rohtina, his dragon partner.” Gareth sighed as he tucked her hair behind her ear and held her close. “He’s only a year or so younger than me and we became friends early on when we were still just boys, really. Others thought him strange and it was hard for him to find welcome from some of the other knights, but we’ve been close friends for many years. I love him as a brother. I’ve never said the words to him, but I know he feels the same, though he rarely speaks at all.”
“Now I begin to understand what lies beneath.” Her mind spun and her heart opened with sympathy and a nurturing kind of love for Lars. It encompassed Gareth too, for the protective way he spoke of his heart-scarred friend.
“Because Rohtina will be Kelvan’s mate, our friendship will now become a true partnership. We will be family, a fighting unit when on duty and a partnership in whatever we do. All five of us will live together in one large suite and any children we have will also be his to nurture and raise. When the dragonets come, likewise we will all help in whatever way Kel and Tina need us to. The five of us will be family in the truest sense.”
“Am I expected to…uh…to have sex with him?” She didn’t really know if she was nervous about the answer or excited. Either way, her breath was coming faster and something inside her tummy clenched in anticipation.
“Neither of us will ever force you to do anything you don’t want to do.”
“But is that how the other mated pairs work?”
“Most, yes. There are so few women among us that it’s normal for one woman to be wife to both knights if their dragons are mated. Kel says the Mother of All knows what She’s doing when She pairs off the dragons and their knights. But not all matings work the same way. There are no real rules about it. Each woman pretty much decides for herself what she’s comfortable with and how the relationship will work. It’ll be up to you, what you will allow. You could limit him to oral pleasure, or you could take him as you take me. Whatever you decide, when the dragons mate, you will have to adjust and find a way to help us both at the same time. The dragons’ mating will affect us deeply and we will both need your help and understanding at those times. Ideally, it would be best if we could make love to you simultaneously, but again, that will be up to you.”
His words and the deep tone of his voice made her squirm. She pressed her legs together and felt the wetness already on her thighs from this hot conversation. She realized it wasn’t fear that made her feel this way. No, she rather liked the idea of what Gareth was proposing. She’d felt the same instant attraction to Lars as she had felt the moment she had seen Gareth. Something about both men called out to her—heart and soul. It was not logical, but it was, nonetheless. Something about them felt right and good. She would be a fool not to explore where this might lead.
“Do you really want this? Wouldn’t you be jealous if I took him as my lover?”
Gareth stared down at her with serious eyes. “If you took any other man as a lover, I would kill him outright.” She gasped at the deadly intent in his eyes. “But Lars is my brother now. Our dragon partners are going to be mates. It’s inevitable that the three of us will be caught up in the fever as our dragon partners mate, and they’ll do so often once they’re finally free to join. I couldn’t let Lars face that alone. I must admit the idea of watching you with him, of filling you at the same time as he does, excites me. There’s no other man I would share you with. Only him. I know that if I should fall in battle, he’ll be there to take care of you and vice versa. We’re a team now. The Mother of All has ordained it. We’ll both love you until the day we die, if you let us.”