Page 19 of Protected

"I'm a Gingerbread Viking not an asshole." Leb huffed and puffed like all warriors of his kind, but he was a big fluffy bunny at heart. He'd no more hurt the Princess than he would his own mother.

In another moment, the two women stood, and Mother Gingerbread took a necklace from around her neck and placed it over Clara's head. A small, but brilliant flash of amber light zipped through the longhouse as the pendant touched her skin. The Gingerbread Kingdom's piece of the crown was now hers.

Clara placed a hand over it and nodded to Mother Gingerbread. They exchanged a few more words and Clara's eyes went wide. She looked over at the four of us and my heart skipped a beat or two. Mother said something else, and Clara shook her head and put her fist over her mouth.

Whatever Mother Gingerbread was telling her about us, she didn't believe it. If what Nuss said was right about being set to marry one man in the human realm, I couldn't imagine what she might think about having four consorts. She was so sweet and innocent, as virginal as a snowflake.

I wanted nothing more than to see that bashful flush spread across her body as I did dirty things to every inch of her. But I'd been raised to be half in love with her before I ever met her in person. I'd know my whole life that I would belong to her.

She would only just be coming to terms with the idea if I was correct in guessing that their woman to woman talk went beyond explaining her quest for the seven crowns and our plight to usurp the Mouse Queen.

Clara asked Mother Gingerbread something more and I cursed the fact that the Viking matriarch had purposefully put us so far away from the conversation. I wanted very much to interfere and pledge myself to Clara right here and now.

Mother gave the Princess a kiss on each cheek and a long, solid hug. Then she pointed Clara in our direction and gave her a shove. Clara stumbled a few steps, glanced up at us and I held my breath as I saw the flash of indecision in her eyes. But behind her Mother Gingerbread held up a finger indicated that none of us should move. Clara had to make this decision on her own.

Fuck how I wanted her to choose me, to choose us, this bond. The dangerous road ahead was forcing her hand, but her making the choice to be our woman would be all the sweeter if she wanted us, not had to accept us out of obligation.

She licked her lips and sucked the bottom one between her teeth. If my cock wasn't already standing at attention for her, it would have now. My pants were rapidly getting uncomfortable, yet I was so focused on the Princess, I didn't notice Zucker's hand sliding across my thigh until he pressed it against the fastening of my trousers.

"I know," he said. "I feel her allure too."

At least if Clara didn't accept us as lovers into her bed tonight, he and I could lose ourselves in each other's bodies. Leb and Nuss just got to suffer. I hoped it didn't come to that. Partially because I knew exactly how badly each of us wanted to bond with her and indulge in the pleasures of the flesh that involved. But more importantly, if we had no time to train her, and would only be steps ahead of the mouse army in the quest to find the crowns, we needed to give her every advantage.

Quadrupling her power overnight was the boon we could offer her. But she had to accept us into her bed for the bond to work its magic.

I concentrated on sending positive open vibes. She took a renewed breath, straightened her spine, and walked to us with a new purpose in her stride. Whatever decision she'd been deliberating, she'd claimed it and aimed it. My chest puffed up with pride in my future mate. Zucker leaned over and softly said, "I can hardly wait to see her riding my cock as I suck you off just so she can watch as you come for us both."

I'd imagined that scenario and about a dozen more that had her over me, under Zucker, or him inside of her while I was inside of him, and so many more. I had to tamp down both of our libidos because if the society she was raised in was as strict as Zucker said, she wasn't ready for gentle lovemaking, much less the dirty things I wanted to do to her. "We'll need to seduce her mind before we can get to her body."

"I suggest the opposite. Seduce the body and the mind will follow. That's how I got you into bed the first time, when you wanted nothing to do with me besides besting me in combat while vying for the right to be her consort."

That I couldn't deny. Thank flowers he had too. The bond between us was what got me through our darkest days when Konig betrayed us all.

When Clara got a within a few steps, she gasped and ran the last bit of the way until she stood directly in front of us. She looked from Nuss to Zucker, then to me, and finally to Leb. "You...you're healed. Who did it? Where is she? I need to have a talk with her and tell her to keep her lips to herself, thank you very much."

She spun her head looking around the great hall. My lust was already raging for her but seeing her jealous because she thought someone else had kissed us or healed us, my heart and soul ignited for her as well. It was too much to ask that she fall in love with us on sight. She knew nothing of us or our world, and we were raised on stories of her.

I stood, dragging Zucker with me, and the two of us caged her with our bodies, so she couldn't unleash her ire on any poor passing maiden Gingerbread warrior. She didn't yet know how to use her powerful magic, and it was only going to get more powerful when she bonded with each of us.

"My passionate princess, you healed us. Your emotions are the key to your magic. If you'll let us, we'll show you." I ran the back of my fingers gently down her chin and to the two necklaces she now wore, tracing the chains down to the pendants above her breasts.

Her eyelids fluttered and the soft muscles in her chest flexed and contracted under my touch, but she did not pull away. "Oh, umm, I thought kissing was how I healed. That's what you guys said."

"Yes." Zucker pushed a hand into her wild curls and used his grip to turn her face up to his. Her lips parted and her breath shuddered. Her magic was already swirling from her to the four of us. He was right to suggest we seduce her body letting her mind follow. "Lust is a powerful emotion, even more so than the anger you felt when you were talking to Mother Gingerbread about the state of the realm."

Leb joined us, taking up all the space in the room with his big bear of a body. "Lass, we don't expect you'll have feelings for us before the bonding of our souls to yours, and maybe not even for a while after that, but I promise we'll give you more pleasure than any man of the human realm ever has or even could. We are yours, Princess Clara, if you'll have us."

"I just don't understand. Why me? Mother Gingerbread explained about the Christmas star and all, but there's something missing in the stories I know about the Winter Realm, someone. Are you sure, I'm the one you're meant to be with?"

I nudged Zucker. Leb and I just weren't getting the message across. He had a seductive charm that could convince a Snowflake nun to give up her vows for him.

He took her hand and placed it over his heart. "I feel your spirit. Your magic has caressed me from the inside out. My body recognizes yours. But it's more than that with you., You are the only woman for me, for any of us."

Slowly he dragged her fingers down his torso until she cupped the bulge of his cock pushing against his trousers. "I've fucked plenty of other men and women, and only one other has come close to making my blood pound the way you do. If you open your mind, you'll feel it is the same for all of us. We want you, ClaraMarie with everything we have, heart, soul, and bodies."

"You want to...I mean, shouldn't we...aren't you...but I...." Her fluster was as sweet as snowy honeysuckle. I wanted to lick it up and share it with the others. This was only the tip of the petal for her.

Clara pulled her hand away and pressed against Leb's chest with the other one. I thought she was ready to take us up on our offer. Instead, she pushed against Leb, not moving him, because no one could budge a mountain, but used the momentum to remove herself from the half-circle of our bodies around her.

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