Page 42 of Their Human to Entice

The two males look around and then give me stiff nods before returning to their work. As I walk away. Thro grumbles softly until his older brother gives him a stern hiss.

“We will make ourselves useful for once in our lives. This is our home, and we will make it a good one.”

I don’t turn around to let them know I can hear their conversation. Especially not when Thro begins to tell his brother that a chosen warrior owes him a debt, so he will always be welcome in the tribe.

I move to the furthest field, letting the males work on their own and work through whatever family issues they are having. Thankfully, I am not working on my own for long when Beren and Nia appear at the edge of the trees.

“Did two males make it here?” Beren asks me, his eyes scanning over the fields until they land on the red scales poking out from near the field closest to our home. “Ah, they made it, good. Did they give you any trouble?”

“No trouble,” I answer, standing to my full height and walking toward the two.

Nia has her arms full of so much fabric that she can barely see over the top of it. I can see how her eyes crinkle in the corners, though, and I know she is more than excited to begin making clothing for her sisters. I grab a couple of the bags of seeds from Beren, who would probably be telling me he could carry all on his own, except that he looks like he has been struggling to carry so much in one go.

Beren seems to know what I am thinking because he gives me a playful smile. “I did not want to make another trip, but I did not realize I would not have alone time with my mates.” He looks over to the two males, who lower their heads and go back to work when we notice them watching us. “I might have been more open to multiple trips had I known.”

“My poor mate,” I tease him, hoisting two of the bags up and making my way toward the house. “We will need to make it up to you tonight, yes?” I turn to Nia, who is nodding furiously behind her pile of fabrics.

“Yes, yes,” Beren agrees with me. He hastens his steps until he is at the door first, opening it so Nia and I can enter before him. He sets his bags on the table before turning to face me and taking mine.

Nia runs over to where she enjoys sitting and deposits all of her fabrics. She picks out a large swatch of cloth and her cutting tools before walking back out the door and making herself comfortable on the porch.

“You are making good work of the land,” Beren says to me as he leans against the door frame.

He crosses his arms across his chest, his muscled arms straining against the fabric of his tunic. It makes my eyes travel over his body. Beren chuckles low in his throat, and I know I am going to enjoy whatever he chooses to do now very much.

Or, I would be enjoying it if the young did not take this moment to interrupt us.

“I wanted to introduce myself to your mates,” Thro says, standing just as tall as he was when he spoke to me. “Marron is too shy, but it is important that you all know the names of the males who are being very, very helpful on your farm.” He pauses, rubs his chin, and then continues. “So helpful that it would probably be good of you to tell Ralleth we are the most useful. Also, maybe tell Toron because he is someone who should know too, I think.”

Beren’s smile is small, but I can see he is very much amused by the young who has interrupted our moment together. He stands in the doorway and I join him to look down at the young male standing in front of Nia and smiling up at all of us. His fingers twitch at his sides, the only thing that tells us he’s not as confident as he seems, but we aren’t ones to point that out.

Beren steps in front of Nia, Thro steps back, and then Beren kneels down to be at eye level with the male. “Thro and Marron, yes?” Beren waits for the young to nod, his fingers interlocking with one another. “I will make sure Ralleth and Toron both know you have been and will continue to be very helpful. We will need much help on the farm, especially if we are to feed so many females, yes?”

“Yes.” Thro’s eyes light up at the description of what we’re doing here. “It is good to be helpful. This is what I have been taught.”

“You have been taught well,” Beren says and raises a hand to pat the young on the shoulder. He doesn’t miss the flinch when he first raises his hand but doesn’t let Thro feel bad for it. He lowers his hand to his shoulder slowly and gives it a squeeze. “Go continue your work. I am sure I will be there to help you in just a moment.”

Thro lifts his hand to rub his horn as he nods. His hand meets the jagged edge of his broken horn, and his eyes go wide before he turns from us and all but runs back to his brother. Marron hugs him to his chest for a moment, and then they’re back to cleaning the watering system. Beren frowns as he looks at them but then dusts himself off and turns to Nia and me.

“You will both be productive today, yes?” Beren asks Nia and me as though we’re not always productive.

Sure, most of our productivity is in the bedroom, but that is the best way to be productive. Nia must be thinking the same thing because she opens her mouth to argue but closes it when she sees that the two other males are much closer than any of us would like for that kind of talk. That must be the reason Beren has said what he has and the reason he looks so mischievous.

“I will work on the irrigation ditches,” I say, squeezing Beren’s hand as I step next to him. I cup Nia’s face and stroke her cheek with my thumb. “You will make wonderful clothes for your sisters, yes?”

Nia smiles up at me and nods, her attention falling back to her work when I step away.

“That leaves only our mate, who needs to find a way to be useful.” I let my eyes rake over Beren’s body. They linger in all of my favorite spots until he moves from side to side in embarrassment. I look into his eyes, a smile forming on my lips, “Maybe it is Beren who will need to find a way to be useful when the day is over.”

Beren opens his mouth to say something, his eyes narrowing like he wants to pin me against something and remind me who is in charge of our mating. Nia is faster than him, though, and she is all too willing to tease our shared mate. “He’ll need to work so hard tonight. We’ll have done so much work, and he’ll need to catch up.”

Beren shakes his head. “Fine. We will see how much you make me work when the sky has darkened. Until then, stop trying to get me to take you to bed now.”

“That’s what you love about us, though.” Nia pouts. I try to mimic her pouting face, but it does not work out as well since my lips do not move that way. Beren seems to appreciate my attempt, though, and he most definitely loves that look on Nia because it reminds him how plush and soft her lips are.

“I love you both for much more than just your teasing,” Beren says, his words hard like he thinks we do not know this already.

“We love you as well, Beren,” I say right as Nia says, “We both love you too.” Beren looks between the two of us, his hand reaching for me, then Nia, and then falling to his side when he realizes there’s nothing for us to do about it now.

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