Page 40 of Degradation

The others came downstairs at the sound of our conversation.

“How did it go?” Brandle asked.

“Well,” Garron said at the same time I said, “Awful.”

“What was awful?” Liam asked.

“That woman is rude and very provoking.”

Daemon had the audacity to grin while Garron led me to Darian, who tugged me onto his lap so Eadric could feed me. I melted into his hold and wrapped his arm around my middle.

I could feel his desire for me as he briefly kissed my neck, and I wondered again about Pogwid’s unexpected comment about absorbing Garron’s desire.

Had I truly done that? It had felt like a simple kiss.

Well, not simple. Nothing about these brothers was simple,I thought as Darian’s thumb brushed the underside of my breast.

CHAPTEREIGHT

Eadric fedme the last bite of stew, and Daemon stole me from Darian’s lap.

“Come see what we’ve done in your room,” he said. “I think you’ll like it.”

I thanked Eadric and Darian for feeding me and allowed Daemon to lead me up the stairs. In my room, I found a roughly made bed big enough for three to sleep comfortably. The mattress was thinner than those in the glade, but I didn’t mind.

A washbasin waited beside the bed, and near the chimney sat a small copper tub.

“We can heat water downstairs and bring it up here,” Daemon said.

I tipped my head to look back at him as he wrapped his arms around me from behind.

“You wouldn’t mind the work?”

“To see you naked? Never.”

Darian laughed behind us. “Would you like a bath now?”

I turned in Daemon’s arms and looked up at him. Then, I leaned to the side and glanced at Darian. I could feel their desire. It teased me…called to me in a way that made me want to agree to a bath. But Pogwid’s comment about consuming Garron’s desire left me questioning why I felt what I did toward these men. Was it because I’d committed myself to them fully or because, after a long afternoon of casting, I needed their desire to replenish what I’d used casting?

“What’s wrong, Lamb?” Daemon asked.

“That woman said something I’m not sure I care for.”

“Tell us,” Darian said.

“I was exploring her memories—with her permission—and she told Garron to stop me. His way to interrupt was to kiss me. When I’m touching my well like that, everything you feel for me is more potent. It feeds what I feel.”

“I like the sound of that,” Darian said with a grin.

“It might not be as simple as influencing what I feel, though. Pogwid said she didn’t know emotions were energy that we could take and that I’d been consuming Garron’s desire for me.”

“Would you like some of mine?” Daemon asked.

He dipped his head to kiss me, but I turned away.

“Why did consuming Garron’s desire upset you, Princess?” Darian asked.

“I didn’t know I was taking it. What if what I feel for all of you is?—”

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