by Megan Derr
They never lasted long like this, and especially not in such wretched, unbearable heat. She would grow used to it, though, if only because she liked how happy these men were in their element, how much easier in their own skin to be back in their homeland.
She buried her face against Kallaar’s shoulder to muffle her scream as she came apart, feeling and hearing as Kallaar did much the same. Ahmla thrust a few more times and then dragged her upward to smother his own screams in her mouth.
Eventually, hot and sticky and exhausted, they untangled and sprawled across the large bed.
“Will you keep the hair?” Kallaar asked.
Shanna wrinkled her nose, thinking wistfully of having a close-shaved head instead of damp strands clinging to her overheated skin, but said, “Yes, I will keep the hair. If you can endure it, so can I.”
“If you need further convincing…”
Shanna groaned and threw an arm over her eyes. “Wait until it’s much cooler.”
“We’ll be at the waterfall in a couple more days. You will love how cool the air is there, all the greenery, pools for swimming, little nooks for privacy…”
Ahmla made a derisive noise. “As though there is anything like privacy in camp, especially as loud as the two of you can be.”
Shanna’s face burned anew, but she didn’t bother to sputter and deny it like Kallaar. When their bickering subsided, she said, “We are two weeks from your home now, yes?”
“Yes, and Mother has roughly ten banquets, twenty dances, thirteen performances, seventeen rides, and thirty-nine other outings planned, at last count,” Kallaar said. “I am also fairly certain she is planning the wedding, or scheming to, but hopefully Father will keep her distracted on that point.”
Groaning, Shanna rolled over and buried her face in the pillows, trying not to scream or otherwise display the panic racing through her at the idea of so much. She was still adjusting to the reality of a relationship she’d always dreamed of, adjusting to being away from home for the first time in her life. She really did not want to add a flurry of socializing in a foreign land to the rest of her stress, but she suspected there was no choice in the matter. Hopefully she would not mess up too badly, though even some of her cringeworthy mistakes in camp so far felt bad enough. And Kallaar and Ahmla were always wonderful, but for all they were happy to be three, it still took work to find a proper balance, when she’d been alone for so long, and they’d always been two.
“Ha,” Ahmla said. “Not with my parents also there—she and my father are probably up to their necks in it while your father and my mother sneak away to drink wine and play domra.”
Two weeks. At least she was speaking the language well now, having already had more than two months to dust off her skills and get back into practice. But two weeks still seemed far too soon, and what would she do if their families hated her? They’d really only ever known her mother, had never even met her real father. Her mother was an impossible legacy to live up to, and if she proved a disappointment…well, she would have no help in reclaiming her kingdom, and worse, they might cancel the engagement, and she would lose two of the most important people in her world. Having known a world with Kallaar and Ahmla in it, she did not want to return to a life that lacked them.
She was stirred from her thoughts as two hot bodies pressed against hers, trailing kisses along her skin.
“Stop worrying so,” Kallaar said. “How many times must we reassure you that there is nothing to worry about? My parents cannot wait to meet you, and Ahmla’s parents are simply happy I have not dragged him into yet another mad scheme—that we will be settling down, for a time here and then in Remnien.”
“Do you really not mind living in Remnien? You’ve seemed so much happier since we reached Morentia.” She stroked Ahmla’s face and then Kallaar’s, smiling at the way they captured and kissed her fingers.
“We’re happy to be here because you’re with us, and we get to show off our fine betrothed and future queen. You know we are travelers. We’re happy wherever we are as long as we’re together, especially now that we are the three we always hoped to be.”
About the Author
Megan is a long-time resident of LGBTQ fiction, and keeps herself busy reading, writing, and publishing it. She is often accused of fluff and nonsense. When she’s not involved in writing, she likes to cook, harass her cats, or watch movies. She loves to hear from readers, and can be found all over the internet.
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: www.facebook.com/meganaderr
Twitter: @meganaderr
Website: www.maderr.com
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/1427650.Megan_Derr
Also Available from NineStar Press
www.ninestarpress.com