With fear.

They feared losing me, just as I’d once feared losing them.

I knew Umber was right. That there was a chance their king could use his cunning and turn their allies against them. Or, alternatively, have them imprisoned and unable to join our fight. I knew there was a chance one of them, or all of them, could perish. Sometimes, when I closed my eyes, I saw Kaiden on his back, fighting for his life with that Skepna, or with Rober just moments later. It haunted me, but whenever I woke from sleep with that vision in my head, he was there to soothe me back to sleep with his kisses, his touch, or his cock sometimes if necessary.

I would have thought that vile not so long ago. An act of depravity to try to use sex to soothe away someone’s fears. But the closeness of being with them, feeling their skin and their breath, hearing their moans and sounds of pleasure, feeling them grip me just as tight as I held them, it bound us together. There was a thread that flowed between the five of us, no beginning and no end. Each time we joined it only became stronger.

Maybe this bond gave me false confidence, but I knew in my heart we wouldn’t fail. They’d freed my village, battled my enemies, and now we would tackle theirs. They weren’t going to leave me now—not in distance, and not in death.

I wouldn’t let them.

They were mine.

Umber moaned when I tugged his trousers open and pulled him free of the fabric, his cock already hard and leaking. For me. I imagined Zander was the same, but he was busy trying to strip me free of clothing. I knew he’d strip down in a bit, once he’d satisfied his need to kiss and caress every inch of my skin.

“I hope you have oil in your pocket,” I said to Zander, lifting my hips and one thigh so he could pull my panties down my thighs. He and Umber both laughed, and the latter shifted to shove his trousers further down his hips.

“Bold of you to assume we’d be walking around unprepared to take you whenever and wherever we wanted,” he purred, eyes widening when Zander tugged my dress overhead and tossed it aside.

“Or that the soldiers who stayed in this tent wouldn’t have supplies of their own,” he murmured.

His warm body pressed against my back, lips kissing and teeth grazing the sensitive spots on my neck as he helped me adjust my hips. Umber’s hands were on my thighs, and I felt him squeeze them tightly when I sank onto his length. Sank down and down until our hips were flush together. Gods, he was so big, but I wanted him inside me. All of him inside me.

Umber groaned at the connection of our bodies, and when I started to rock forward and back, I felt his hips flexing underneath me. He held onto my thigh with one hand, the other straying up to my breasts. “If you’re going to march into battle with us, you’ll need to learn to follow orders better.”

“I think I can follow orders just fine. When I want to,” I said, gasping when he slapped his hand hard on my ass.

“We’ll see about that.” His eyes darkened, and he swatted me again, urging me to rock faster and drawing out a prolonged moan. “Come closer, Princess. You know how much I like your tits.”

My lips stretched in a wide smile, and I bent forward, letting Umber cup and nuzzle my breasts as I rocked against him. He lifted his hips to meet mine, pushing his cock deep with every thrust. I could already feel an orgasm building inside me, but I held back, wanting to wait until we could climax as a group.

Wanting to show them we were in this together.

“You’d better hurry, Zander,” Umber teased, his hands sliding down to cup my ass. “I can feel her clenching around me, but she’s waiting, I think.”

“Good girl,” Zander cooed in my ear, and I moaned again when I felt his strong, warm, bare chest against my back. “So greedy now that you’ve gotten used to taking us. Not satisfied with just one cock, huh.”

He swatted my ass, and I felt him shift behind me, his hips sliding closer to where Umber was thrusting upward into my pussy. His slick fingers teased me open, making sure I was covered in oil before he pressed the fleshy tip of his cock to my most sensitive area.

A moment later, I was full of them both. Held between their bodies, rocking forward and back against the intense but pleasurable weight of them inside me. Umber was panting, grunting softly, his hands still tight on my thighs. Zander moaned, rocking gently and letting me do most of the work.

“That’s it, Aria.” His voice was husky against my ear, taut with pleasure and filled with affection. “Show your masters how hard you plan to fight for us.”

He pushed in deeper then, burying his moan in my neck while I cried out my pleasure into the open space of the tent. Umber sat up on one elbow, putting his mouth back on my breasts. His hands tightened on my thighs, Zander’s gripped my hips, and the three of us moved as one unit. My pleasure rose higher, and so did theirs, but we all held back. We chased the tension, but even though it was close to our grasp, none of us reached out to grab it.

Deep down I knew, just as I knew how this battle would go, it was because we were waiting. We were waiting to be joined.

And when thick fingers slid into my hair, tilting my head back, I couldn’t help but grin.

“She wasn’t waiting for me,” Zander said as he slowly rocked his hips into mine. “Well, not just for me.”

“Seems she needs all four of us now,” Umber quipped, but when I slowed my grinding, he let out a painful, tortured moan. Above him, I heard Dex chuckle before he bent to kiss me, while Kaiden’s fingers lingered in my hair.

“I saw you three wander back here,” he noted, an air of amusement in the words. “I take it looking at armor got you riled up?”

Dex’s lips were still pressed against mine, his kiss hungry and desperate, and it pained me to pull away and answer Kaiden’s question. “Looking at armor had these two nervous,” I said, still rocking gently when both Umber and Zander slowed their thrusting. “They thought they could convince me to stay behind with Umber while you three marched to your city to fight.”

Dex’s lips were on my cheek, and I felt him pause his kisses before moving onto my neck. Kaiden continued to stroke my hair, and when I tipped my eyes up, his expression was thoughtful.