Page 6 of Night's Bride

Emily bit back a smile as she cast a glance at her frowning mates and nodded. “I just might do that. It would be nice to be able to compare notes with another woman.” She definitely wasn’t going to seek out Trish if she could help it. And of course, now that she had the authority on Ragoru and human mating in her home, she couldn’t possibly miss the opportunity of having some questions answered. “Since you are here, perhaps you can help me understand this whole mating dynamic beyond what your pamphlet described.”

As expected, the scientist’s brows rose with interest. “Oh, was there some point that needed further clarification?”

Vikt rumbled behind her, but Emily tossed him a reassuring look over her shoulder. She was certain that this was embarrassing for them, but they weren’t going to get anywhere by not asking.

“From what they have told me, the alpha usually initiates mating. As twins, there is no alpha between them to… get thingsgoing, I guess you could say,” Emily explained as she fought back a blush. Okay, this was a little more awkward than she expected. “As all of the… plumbing… is internally contained, how do I—you know—prepare them?”

Evelyn glanced sidelong at her mate. “This is a thing?”

Sabol dropped his head and discreetly wheezed, which became a sharp hack when his mate jabbed him with her elbow. “Frequently,” he grunted as he rubbed his belly with one hand. “Many males have at least the potential the be an alpha and therefore do not suffer from such problems—which is why I could make you scream so deliciously when we met,” he added pointedly with a grin at his mate. “But many others are not so fortunate.”

Evelyn rolled her eyes at her mate before grimacing at her apologetically.

“First of all, ignore him. He can be an insensitive lout. As to your situation, I admit that is not something I considered when I selected them to participate. It is so hard to guess which Ragoru may have this difficulty and it’s not really information that they volunteer. I suppose that will need to be addressed as well,” she murmured thoughtfully to herself. “As we have quite a few males who are solitary or in duos—in fact, one pair recently brought back a female that they found along the southern edge of the Far Northern Forests—I didn’t suspect that neither of them would instinctively take a leadership role.”

Evelyn’s lips pursed thoughtfully and scrutinized Vikt and Vrel until they practically squirmed in place, their ears pinning back with such obvious shame that Emily regretted even asking. She took a step forward and opened her mouth to intercede, but Evelyn shook her head with a rueful smile as her mate grumbled at her.

“My apologies. I sometimes let my curiosity run away with me. While it is an interesting and unpredicted situation,it’s perfectly fine,” she replied, and Emily had the distinct impression the reassurance was as much for Vikt and Vrel as it was for her. “Ragoru are highly tuned to their senses. If they are more reserved in aggressive passions, you should be able to bypass it easily enough by focusing on making yourself aroused to the point that it triggers an instinctual response. And if they need a little help extruding fully and engorging, there is a thick cluster of nerves at the base of their sheath. A little pressure there will make them engorge fully.”

Emily winced. She wanted her to pinch themthere? Evelyn clearly interpreted her look correctly because the other woman laughed.

“It does sound uncomfortable, doesn’t it? But trust me, they will very much enjoy it. There is a certain rush of pleasure to it, as I accidentally discovered,” she confided with a blush.

Sabol coughed discreetly as he handed Evelyn’s cloak back to her, but it failed to distract Emily from the heated look he gave his mate. There was no doubt in her mind which male received the accidental manual assistance. And she was glad that she witnessed the exchange too, because that made her feel significantly more confident about the whole thing.

“You have imparted your greetings, rya, but we should leave them to their mating. It is best that they get a handle on this before the Withering Days fall upon us,” he rumbled in a tone of adoration, though the smile he bent upon Emily’s mates was one full of encouragement.

“Yes, you’re right,” Evelyn agreed with a laugh and a fond look as she allowed her mate to help her into her cloak. “While the timing was planned out perfectly in terms of traveling, I have to admit that it does leave things a bit pinched on time when it comes to acclimating before being introduced to the rut.”

“Rut?” Emily echoed, but the other woman simply winked salaciously at her.

“You will see. I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but it’s wonderful. Oh, and don’t forget the red door whenever you want to chat,” Evelyn called over her shoulder as her mate herded her to the door.

Emily nodded as she stared after the pair, her mind awhirl. Beneath all of it, however, settled a resolve to mate with both of her males immediately. She wanted plenty of time to enjoy them and get to know them physically before they were all subjected to some sort of hormone-laden frenzy. She had heard of ruts before only in terms of certain animals during their breeding seasons and if that was what was going to happen, then she wanted to be well prepared.

But with her gun-shy mates, she was going to have to go about it in a less direct manner. That was fine. She’d never taken flirting beyond some casual petting—and certainly nothing just shy of pornographic—but there was a first time for everything.

She, Emily Duert, was going to seduce her mates.

Chapter

Six

CHAPTER 6

Vikt swallowed, his nostrils flaring as he cautiously scented the air. Heat had burgeoned within his belly at Evelyn’s crude instructions, but smelling the interest on his mate sent a curious ache through him. It sadly failed to reach his sheath, but he was suddenly very curious and very eager to experience all the female had mentioned. He would give anything to feel the heady and slightly painful sensation of desire pounding through him that came with extrusion and engorgement.

His tongue slid over his fangs as he watched Emily eat. Her small teeth were visible between her soft lips as she plucked little bits of meat from the bone, the activity interrupted every so often by the sweep of her small tongue. The entire time, her brown eyes were fixed on either him or Vrel, studying them in turn. Vikt did not mind. He enjoyed being on the receiving end of their mate’s focused attention. And he loved her eyes. Thefirelight caught the flecks of gold in their dark brown depths, making them luminous, though they didn’t reflect the light like the gaze of a Ragoru.

His peripheral secondary eye turned toward his twin, and he nearly grinned at the smitten look on the male’s face only because he was certain that he must be wearing an identical look. His suspicion was confirmed when Vrel’s peripheral eye shifted toward him and the corner of his mouth pulled upward in a knowing smile. Yes, it seemed that they were both helplessly captivated by their rya. Unfortunately, the helpless part was an issue.

Vikt growled impatiently in silence at his quiet genitals. Heat filled his body and rushed through him and his cocks swelled with interest—but that was the most that they did. They did not leap within his sheath, nor did they force themselves out from his body with an eagerness to mate. There was nothing but a maddening desire that he was incapable of acting upon, a desire that grew more and more fever pitch, making him shift uncomfortably in place.

Emily’s brow furrowed slightly, and she set the bone down on her plate and proceeded to lick her fingers in a way that made him want to groan. Was she trying to torture them? She did not say anything, however. She simply got up from the table and left the room. Vikt stared after her for a moment in surprise but heaved a sigh of relief that he was now able to escape from the uncomfortable confines of the human chair.

Vrel winced and rubbed the base of his tail as he slid off his own chair with a grunt. “Remind me why we ate in here instead of sitting around the low table in the common room?” he grumbled.

Vikt shrugged, his ears flicking dismissively. “Because humans like it. We want Emily to be comfortable in our den so we should make the attempt to adapt to her customs.”

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