Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
When they were all full and sighing with contentment but before anyone got up to clear the table, Miri felt it was the perfect opportunity to talk. She wanted to say something about the way they’d spent the night together. It wasn’t an easy subject to talk about, but luckily they were all relaxed and in a good mood. And after the shower they’d shared, she was less embarrassed than she had been earlier.
“Lynx…Saxon…” she began. “About last night and just now in the shower—”
“We don’t have to speak of it if it makes you uncomfortable,” Lynx purred soothingly.
“We were just paying the Oracle’s price last night,” Saxon rumbled. “And the shower…well, we had to get clean, didn’t we?” He shrugged.
“Yes, but I just wanted to say I don’t usually—well, I never have—done anything like that before,” Miri said, stumbling over the words. “But, well…it was amazing. I’ve never felt so…so free. It just felt right—the three of us together. Do you know what I mean?”
“It felt right for us, too, my Lady,” Lynx murmured.
Saxon said nothing but Miri could see him watching her, his pale, wintry eyes guarded.
“I just wonder if…if we could make it some kind of permanent arrangement,” she said awkwardly.
“So you want to keep us on as your bodyslaves—is that it?” Saxon growled.
“No! That’s demeaning,” Miri said quickly. “And I don’t want to stay in Opulex anyway, so I don’t have to have bodyslaves.”
“What about what the mirror of the Oracle showed you, my Lady?” Lynx asked softly.
“It didn’t show me anything—it just showed my reflection, like any other mirror would,” Miri protested.
“But do you think that might have meaning?” Lynx purred. “Perhaps it was telling you that you are the best person for the job of Ruling Member of the Sacred Seven after all.”
“I don’t think so,” Miri said, but inside she had an uneasy feeling. What if Lynx was right? What if the Oracle had been telling her she had no right to abdicate the position she’d inherited and the responsibilities that went with it? “I’d make a terrible leader,” she said, trying to refute the idea. “I mean, I hate Opulex and everything about it!”
“It’s not just Opulex we’re talking about,” Saxon growled. “It’s the whole rest of the planet. You said yourself that if someone like Mistress Bloodmuch gets power, she’ll strip-mine the whole fucking thing—your hometown included.”
Miri held up her hands.
“Look—I’m not talking about that right now. I’m trying to talk about us—the three of us,” she said.
“Yeah? And what is it you want to say?” Saxon growled, giving her an unreadable look.
“Just that…I feel like we fit together, somehow. It’s like…there’s an energy that flows between us when we’re all touching.”
Reaching out, Miri put a hand on each of their arms to illustrate. There was a low tingle…an almost electric hum of low-level pleasure when she touched them both at once. She had almost gotten used to it by now but at the same time, she knew she would never stop loving it—never stop enjoying the pleasurable buzz of connection when she touched both her Monstrum at the same time.
“We feel it too, my Lady,” Lynx assured her, his golden eyes half-lidded.
“Then…why can’t we make it last?” Miri looked back and forth between the two of them. As usual, Saxon was on her left and Lynx was on her right. “Why can’t we stay together? I know your mission was just to keep me safe for a little while, but I want more than that now…and I think you two do as well.”
For a moment, no one spoke. Lynx and Saxon exchanged a look and Miri would have sworn there was some silent communication flying between the two of them that she couldn’t quite pick up.
“Well?” she asked. “Am I crazy? I’m not the only one who feels this way, am I?”
But oh Goddess, what if she was? What if the two big Monstrum had just been having fun and didn’t want anything serious or long-term? What if she was making a fool of herself?
Abruptly, she withdrew her hands from their arms.
“I guess—”
“No, you’re not crazy, little one.” Saxon spoke at last, his deep voice rough. “And yes, Lynx and I feel it too. But we can’t act on it.”
“What? Why not? Is it because you have to go back to the Monstrum Mother Ship? Because I’d be willing to go with you—more than willing,” Miri said quickly. “Oh Goddess, that makes me sound so desperate,” she added, under her breath.
“We’re desperate too, my Lady,” Lynx said quickly. “And we want to be with you—to Bond you to us…but…”
“But what?” Miri asked. She looked at Saxon earnestly. “Is it because you still feel guilty about what happened to your mate? Because that wasn’t your fault. You have to stop taking blame that isn’t yours, Saxon!”