The Darkness of Shadoewynne: Book 3 of the Shadoewynne series

by Penelope Kein

  The butler nodded and turned on his heel to leave but paused with his back to us. “Master Kait, there is a message waiting at the desk from Mistress Eir for you. Do you want that brought up with your luggage as well?”

  Kait stiffened before saying deliberately, “No, I will be down in a bit to retrieve it.” Kait then shut the door, harder than necessary, on whatever the butlers reply was.

  Chapter 14

  Kait’s shoulders slumped as he turned back to us. He scrubbed a hand down his face, then looked at each of us. “We will deal with that later. First, I want a shower, then a nap. Princess, why don’t you start on those scout reports? Later, we will debrief about the situation here and what they expect of us. Boys, you have your assignments already.”

  I did my best to hide a flash of disappointment. His comment to the butler that we didn’t wish to be disturbed had caused a surge of heat that had settled between my legs. I must not have done a good job, though, because Kait chuckled darkly and came over to nuzzle my neck.

  His lips trailed hotly from my shoulder to my ear, then he whispered, “Did you want something else?” My hands fisted in his shirt as his fingers tangled in my hair, pulling my head to the side so he had better access. A nip to the soft skin had me gasping. Another chuckle. “You have to answer if you want something. Or someone.” Words had escaped me, but my skin was growing cold where he pulled away.

  “I thought,” His lips went back to my neck, bringing another gasp from me. When I stopped talking, he moved away again. I licked my lips and tried once more to voice my thought before it scattered. “I thought you were planning something. OH!”

  “So, you don’t want me… to do anything… to you?” He punctuated his words with little nips along my neck and shoulder. David came over and followed the same path on the other side.

  “I didn’t… I didn’t say that.” My words were breathy.

  Travis stepped in front of me, shedding his shirt as he did. “So, what do you want us to do, Babe?” Without waiting for an answer, he swept in and claimed my mouth. When he let me up for air, he smiled. “You need to answer us.” He moved back just far enough that Kait could pull my sweatshirt over my head before sweeping me into his arms. He quickly strode through the sitting room into the adjoining bedroom where he deposited me on the largest bed I had ever seen.

  All three guys were ready for me as my butt hit the mattress. Before I had even bounced once, David was tonguing my right nipple and Kait was on my left. As Travis kissed his way up my bare leg, someone pounded at the door. We groaned, but tried to ignore it. The pounding got harder, and a raised voice called through the door. Travis stood up. He was the most dressed of all of us. “With the way they are pounding, I don’t think they will go away. I’ll get it, and I’ll be right back.” He hurried from the room, hastily pulling the door shut behind himself, wanting to get back to us as soon as possible.

  David and Kait had gone back to what they were doing as soon as Travis said he would get it. As Kait continued to nibble on my nipple, David kissed his way down my body, moving to the sensitive spot where my leg met my hip before continuing down the inside of my thigh. He moved closer and closer to that oh-so-important spot, but never quite reached it. My hands fisted in his hair as I tried, unsuccessfully, to guide him to where I needed him. He chuckled against my leg as I whimpered, causing another flash of heat to settle between my legs. I was sure I would go up in flames any moment.

  Kait pulled away for a second and said, “You still need to answer us, Princess. What do you want from us?”

  It was hard to form a coherent thought. “I want you. All three of you.”

  Now it was David’s turn. As Kait began kissing randomly over my body, moving without a pattern, ratcheting up the excitement even more, he pulled away, “Not good enough, Sugar. What do you want us to do to you?”

  I gasped out, “Please!”

  Kait answered. “Please what?”

  “I need one of you inside me!”

  David chuckled as he finally settled his mouth on my core just as Kait latched on to my neck. I shattered.

  As my eyes opened, Travis came back in the room, shutting the door softly behind himself. He stopped by the door to watch and he held my eyes while he freed his erection before palming himself. A moan left my lips as his hand glided up and swirled around his tip. Without breaking eye contact, I reached down and mimicked his movements on Kait, who shifted so I had better access. Travis’s palm speed up, so mine did too. David lightly nipped as he moved two fingers inside me, making me cry out in pleasure. Travis’s hips bucked into his hand and Kait moaned against my breast, which he was now kissing. After quickly crossing the room, Travis kissed me hard and I replaced his hand with mine. We were all moving together and, even without David or Kait sharing our feelings, I knew what the guys were feeling.

  David’s mouth withdrew as he stood. Travis swallowed my gasp as David entered me, then kissed my neck down to my other breast. They overwhelmed me with sensation as the three of them focused all their energy on making me feel as good as humanly possible. My fists stroked them at the same tempo David set and shortly we were all calling out as we went over that edge together.

  David stepped back and disappeared into a side room. I heard water run, then he was back with a warm, wet cloth. He gently ran it between my legs before handing it to Travis. Kait kissed me, then moved away into the same room David had disappeared into. Travis wiped himself and my stomach before he pulled me to him. David threw back the covers as we all climbed in to snuggle for a few minutes. The feel of them against me, skin to skin, made me feel warm and loved. Kait returned from the bathroom quickly and David traded him places.

  When David came back, Kait stretched and rubbed my back. “As much as I’d love to stay here in a naked pile with you all, we have work to do. Princess, get up and get dressed. Start on those reports. Boys, you need to work on your assignments. I will go get more information on the sick animals.”

  Travis sat up. “Oh, yeah. That’s what they wanted earlier. They have found some sick dragons and they would like us to check it out today. A guide will wait for us downstairs when we are ready. The concierge said to ring him a few minutes before we go down and he will notify the guide.”

  Kait rubbed his eyes before pinching the bridge of his nose. “We knew this was why we are here, but they could have given us a few minutes to settle in before starting this crap. Oh well.” He got up and went to the stacks of suitcases piled in the corner. Were they there before? I didn’t think we brought them in before things got heated.

  The sight of my guys as they walked around the room completely and unabashedly naked pulled my mind from the random musing. The well-defined muscles in Kait’s back rippled as he bent to pick up the suitcase and his butt looked divine.

  Travis’s arm muscles bulged as he moved my luggage from the corner to the top of the dresser. The light from the lone lamp in the bathroom illuminated the cut muscles of his stomach that I wanted to run my fingers over. My mouth went dry as David pulled a shirt on. The short, tight sleeves highlighted the muscles in his biceps. He grinned at me as I checked to see if I was drooling. The guys had all pulled on their boxer briefs, which clung to their toned legs. I couldn’t help but stare.

  “How did I get so lucky? What did I do to deserve you guys? All three of you? This is more than my wildest dreams.” A brief flash of doubt flickered in my mind, but I pushed it away. I would enjoy this, and I deserved it, even if I didn’t quite understand it.

  All three heads swiveled to me and Kait rushed in to pick me up. He kissed me deeply before resting his forehead against mine. I had to strain to hear his words. “You’ve got it wrong, Princess. It’s what did we do to deserve you? You are more than I could have ever hoped for.”

  David and Travis nodded. I swallowed back the lump in my throat and blinked the tears away. “Well, then, I guess we are all just lucky bastards.” I forced a laugh and got up. It was their turn to stare as I w
ent about getting dressed. I made sure to put on a show, drawing my panties up my legs slowly and using an extra shimmy or two to settle my shorts on my hips. They cleared their throats behind me as I bent at the waist to pick up my bra from the floor before stretching my arms above my head as I spun toward them. Identical hungry looks were on their faces, which made a slow grin form. They hadn’t given me crap about watching them, but I couldn’t help it.

  I stretched, leaning from side to side a bit to ease the tension in my back. It had the added bonus of causing my breasts to sway slightly, which the guy's eyes tracked. “Do you like what you see, boys?” A low hum of agreement came from three voices. The sultry sound that emerged when I chuckled surprised me.

  It caused me to pause for just a second, but I continued anyway. My voice was huskier than normal too. “Well, then, we better get this business finished with quickly so we can pick back up where we left off then, huh?”

  They groaned, but Kait chuckled. “Damn, Princess. That was harsh.” He stood up and walked toward me while adjusting the bulge in his pants.

  “I learned from the best.” I trailed my fingertips lightly over his crotch, causing him to moan quietly.

  “So cruel, Princess.” Leaning in, I lightly brushed my lips over his, then nipped at his neck. Without warning, I smacked his butt. He laughed. “I don’t know where this playful side came from, but I like it.” He turned to David and Travis. “Let’s get moving so we can get back to Ms. Sex Kitten here as soon as possible. I don’t think we satisfied her enough.”

  I hid my smile in my t-shirt as I pulled it on. I have to remember to tease them like this more. It was fun.

  David snorted behind me, so I shot a grin at him over my shoulder. He shook his head as he grinned back. Travis seemed to be practicing deep breathing exercises where he sat on the bed. I went over to him and ran my hands along his taut shoulders.

  “What’s wrong?”

  His brilliant blue eyes focused on mine as he continued to take deep breaths. “Babe, honestly, that was super hot. I really need to calm down before I leave the room. I am trying deep breathing exercises, but I may need to take a cold shower.”

  I ran my fingers through his hair as he put his face against my chest. How that would calm him down, I didn’t understand, but oh well. It was a very couply moment, and I loved every second. After a minute or so, he moved away and stood up with his hands on my waist. He leaned in and kissed me tenderly before stepping away to pull on a t-shirt and leaving to join the guys.

  David and Kait had moved back into the little sitting room while I was spending time with Travis. I could hear them discussing David’s assignment, then Travis chimed in as he joined them. As I put on my hiking boots, I only half-listened to their discussion. The rest of my mind was contemplating how much I had changed in the last couple of weeks. Physically, I was stronger and leaner, but emotionally I was almost a different person. I like who I am now.

  As I joined the guys in the sitting area, David and Travis pulled on their coats. They both made a show of kissing me senseless before waving goodbye to Kait on their way out the door.

  “So, what’s my assignment again?” We had gone over it before, but I couldn’t remember what he had said.

  “We will go to the sick dragons and see if we can help and if we can figure out what is going on. My guess is whatever Alarr started is speeding up.”

  My head started shaking almost on its own as he said that. “I don’t know why, Kait, but I don’t think that’s right. This is something different.”

  He raised an eyebrow at me, but didn’t argue. “Well, that’s why we need to go out there. You need to be prepared to see dying dragons and you have to know we won’t be able to save them all.”

  “Fuck that! I will do everything I can to save them. I have to!” He just shook his head as he held out a hand for me. With no more discussion, we left the room and went back downstairs. We were almost to the front desk when I remembered we should have rang first. “Oh, shit!”

  Kait chuckled. “Don’t worry. David and Travis stopped at the front desk and told them we would be down in a minute. The guide is already waiting for us. I need to pick up Eir’s message, though.”

  “Okay. Kait, where did these clothes come from? I didn’t have any summer clothes at your house.”

  He snickered. “I had Janelle shop for you. I knew you would need warm-weather clothes soon, so I prepared.”

  I stared at him until his hand shot out and stopped me from walking into a pillar. “You never said you have precognition.”

  “I don’t. But I knew that we were discussing a vacation, and any sane person would choose a warm location for vacation, so it was an easy assumption that you would need the clothes. I didn’t think it would be so soon, but it still worked out.”

  We arrived at the front desk so I didn’t reply. It amazed me how prepared Kait always was. If it wasn’t precognition, I didn’t know what it was. A benefit of living a long time, I guess.

  Kait leaned on the counter as he requested his message. I started out watching him, but a small sound by my feet drew my attention. As I looked down, a small blue dragon began pawing at my leg, while flapping stubby wings. I cooed at it as I glanced around. Nobody seemed to think it was out of the ordinary, so I swooped down and picked it up. It nuzzled my neck, then curled around my shoulders. The small snout pressed against my ear, giving me chills as its warm breath invaded my ear. It snuggled in, then seemed to fall asleep. When Kait turned around, I was bemusedly stroking the tail which had draped across my chest like a long necklace.

  Kait halted, then shook his head. “What have I told you about touching strange dragons?”

  I grinned at him. “He wanted me to pick him up. He was begging.”

  “He can’t come with us, you know.”

  I stuck out my bottom lip and made my eyes as big as they would go. Then, I pulled out the big guns and used my cutesy voice on him. “But, Kait…” I drew out his name as much as I could. “He’s warm, comfortable, and asleep. You wouldn’t want to wake the poor baby up, would you?”

  A small smile stole onto his face, but he hid it quickly behind his hand. “Princess, he could be in danger if we take him with us. Dragons are notoriously short-tempered and they are worse when they are sick. I already told you they are territorial, and if we take a new dragon into their area, it will anger them more. He may be small, but they will still see him as a threat.”

  The little dragon had woken up while Kait explained his reasons for not wanting him to go. He watched Kait with slowly spinning eyes. When Kait finished, he fluffed his wings, hissed at Kait, then buried his head in my ponytail. I stifled a laugh. “I don’t think he agrees with you.”

  A small child-like voice in my head said, “I like it here. I want to stay.”

  I rubbed his tail. “Tell you what, little guy, let me go do what I need to and I will pick you up when I get back. You can hang with me the whole time I’m at the hotel.”

  Eyes peeked up at me from my hair, studying me for a moment. “I will hold you to that, Miss. I will wait for you here. Return quickly.” He spread his wings and glided to the floor.

  Kait’s wide eyes met mine after he had followed the dragons glide to the floor. “You never cease to amaze me, you know that?”

  I brushed past him on the way out the door. “Of course I do. Because I’m awesome.” I held in the laugh as I passed him, but I couldn’t help the smile. The heat hit me as the doors opened, but I forced myself to keep walking, even as the heat pulled the breath from my lungs. Once out of the doorway I stepped to the side to take a moment to get used to the heat.

  Kait stopped next to me. I glanced at him, to find him still staring at me with a look of wonderment.

  “What? Why are you staring at me like that?” I put my hand on my hip and jutted it out just a bit.

  “It’s rare for a non-telepath to talk to dragons. I know you talked to Pearl, but I thought that was because she was trying to pu
nish me. That little one in there didn’t even give me a second glance, and I couldn’t hear it at all. Which means it was more than normal telepathy.”

  I grinned at him. “What can I say that I already haven’t said. I’m just plain awesome.”

  He pulled me into his arms and kissed me until I didn’t know my own name. When he let me up for air, he said with a sexy half-grin, “Damn right you are!”

  Chapter 15

  He took my hand and guided me to a small, odd looking contraption. It was like a carriage, but sat on the ground, with jointed wood laying next to it. Kait opened the door and gestured to the inside. I didn’t understand how the thing would move, but I shrugged and climbed inside. The heat abated as soon as he closed the door, and I could finally draw a real breath. He pushed the curtains back so we could watch outside. The jointed wood bent as the carriage wobbled up as it climbed to its feet. The walls of the carriage faded until it felt like we were sitting on a couch as it flew.

  It walked like a spider, the eight legs climbing over anything in its path, as it scrabbled along the path into the tropical forest. I watched in fascination as the local brilliantly colored wildlife ignored us. Monkey-like animals chased giant insects through the trees while birds' calls rang through the air. I was in awe.

  Eventually, the carriage-thing stopped and lowered itself to the ground. A ginormous dragonfly that was larger than my head flew past the door as I opened it. I barely stopped a scream as it buzzed by me. I shook my head and climbed out into the moist heat. Almost instantly, sweat covered me. “Hey, Kait?”

  “Hmm?” His attention was on the foliage of the undergrowth, so his answer was quick.

  “Are there any biting bugs I need to worry about? Any disease carrying bugs? Why didn’t we use bug spray?”

  The annoyance in my voice drew his eyes to me, and he smiled slightly. “This isn’t like the rainforests of Earth, Princess. There’s no malaria or bot fly to lay their eggs in you or anything like that. What you need to worry about is much bigger than insects, even more than the dragonfly that gave you a fright when you opened the door.”