Page 63 of Dragon Fire

“Your father?” Seth asked rhetorically. “Well, of course, I always respected the name. Captain O’Dare was legendary in Dragonscove. But I’d never really dealt with him before now. I have to admit…” Seth shifted in his chair. “His actions in this situation have both surprised and impressed me. He certainly proved he loves you, Livia. He amassed a fleet of ships to fight Fisk and turned them for Gryphon Isle, not even knowing Fisk was here. He did that for you.” Seth met her gaze, his own filled with a sort of solemn respect.

She thought about his words. “Yeah. I guess he did, didn’t he?”

“For an older man, he certainly didn’t hesitate to put himself in the thick of battle. If he were an army man, he’d be a general, well-loved by his troops, I think,” Gowan put in, surprising her. “Or perhaps an admiral, if we had a naval fleet. He’s certainly commodore of his own force at this point, though Prince Nico had some thoughts about making your father a more formal offer, if he could catch up with the good captain.”

“Really?” Livia felt her pulse quicken. The Prince of Spies was interested in her father and his fleet of merchant-fighters?

Gowan nodded. “He mentioned it in passing. I believe riders were dispatched to all the seaports with instructions to make contact with your father or members of his fleet if they were found in port. I don’t know the exact message they carry, but I have to assume it’s an offer of mutual support. The Prince of Spies knows the value of traveling networks. After all, he has long been rumored to be affiliated with the Jinn brotherhood. A fleet of sea-going vessels would be a handy asset, especially since your father is going after something the crown has a great interest in right now—the book and the pirate captain. Both are wanted quite desperately by more than just Gryffid and his folk. King Roland and Prince Nico both know the importance of the book and preventing the fall of the Citadel. I heard them discussing it when I was in Castleton. The war is not going well. Hostilities are increasing in the North and along the border. We are spread thin already, and now, this… They see this as a very grave threat.”

“So it’s not just Gryffid overreacting to the loss of one of his prized possessions,” Livia stated. She’d already known in her heart that was the case, but she’d sort of hoped maybe it wasn’t as dire as everyone here on Gryphon Isle thought. But if the king…

“No, my dear,” Gowan said quietly. He was clearly exhausted from his long day of traveling. “They are treating this just as seriously as Gryffid himself.”

Livia couldn’t handle any more fear and worry right now. There was nothing she could do about it, after all. Not tonight. She’d done her part when called upon, but she wasn’t a fighter. She wasn’t a mage.

She was a woman. In love with two men. One of whom had flown the length of the lands to be here with her tonight. Gowan was clearly fatigued, but she wanted…no, sheneededto be with him. And with Seth. The three of them, together, affirming their mutual passion and caring.

Livia got to her feet and held out her hands. One to each of her men.

“Come to bed. The day has been long, and it’s time for us to take our rest…and our reward.” She smiled gently at them, and suddenly, they weren’t too tired to follow her to the giant bed at the other end of the suite of rooms.

Gowan even let her direct him for once. He must be very weary, indeed, to allow her to make love to him instead of the other way around. She wasn’t asking questions, though. This was what she needed tonight. She wanted to lavish her attentions on her men and show them how much they were appreciated…and loved.

She stripped them both—one on her right and one on her left. Sinking to her knees, she did something she hadn’t done with them before. Going from one to the other, she fondled one while tasting the other, taking them all the way into her eager mouth, telling them without words how happy they made her. The three of them together felt right. The way it was supposed to be.

Seth moaned as she took him deep into her mouth. His hand sank into her hair, guiding her movements, but she wanted to be in charge tonight. This night was for her to show them how much she…loved them. Though she found it hard to speak the words aloud, she felt the truth of them in her heart.

“Ease off, sweet,” Seth grit out through clenched teeth as she sucked him down. “If you don’t, I won’t last.”

She decided she wasn’t done playing with him just yet, so she moved back, directing him toward the bed with a little shove and a nod. Seth didn’t argue.

Turning her attention to Gowan, she licked him from bottom to top, laving her tongue around his tip until she felt a little tremor run through his body. Good. She was more than ready to get down to business.

Livia rose to her feet and took Gowan with her as she moved the few paces to the bed where Seth sat, watching them. Livia climbed onto the bed, claiming the middle spot, then patted the empty side as she looked at Gowan.

He joined her on the high, thick mattress, allowing her to push him down so that he lay on his back. Climbing over him, she kissed him deeply, taking his lips with the hunger that had risen within her just thinking about this moment. She had missed him so much while he’d been away. She had missed this…the three of them, together.

She couldn’t wait, and from the feel of him against her thigh, he was more than ready. Sliding into position, she moved downward onto him, taking his hardness fully inside her body in one long slick slide. Hard and soft met and became one. Yearning spiked, and she began to move, even though there was still an element missing.

She couldn’t seem to make herself stop kissing Gowan, but she needed to tell Seth…

And then, she realized, she could. She didn’t often use the silent communication Hrardorr had taught her with the men, except during the times of crisis they’d shared, but it was there. Waiting. Available. And useful in the extreme.

“Seth, I need you too. I need to feel you both,”she sent to him, knowing her tone was almost pleading.

A moment later, without words, Seth began to caress his way down her spine, touching, soothing, exciting. That was just about all it took before she shattered into a million pieces, taking Gowan with her. He groaned, stiffening beneath her as he came, and she cried out, loving the way Seth squeezed her ass with his calloused hand.

She rolled off of Gowan and found herself being taken into Seth’s arms. They were both on their sides, facing each other, limbs tangled when he raised her top leg to drape over his hips, finding her slippery core and sliding home within her. Her breath caught at the feel of him inside her, and she found her passion rising again as Gowan trailed little biting kisses on her shoulder, while his hands caressed her spine and lower.

She gasped when he reached between her and Seth to run his finger over her clit. Seth stilled, too, for just a moment, then redoubled his efforts as Gowan’s dominance reasserted itself, just a little.

It wasn’t long before she came apart in Seth’s arms, crying out as she climaxed again. Four strong arms held her while her body shook with exquisite pleasure. And two warm bodies bracketed her as she slipped into a deep and satisfied sleep.

CHAPTER TWENTY

A flight of gryphons left at dawn the next morning, leaping from the ramparts of the keep and into the air. They’d received last-minute scrolls and instructions from Gryffid before departure, which was why they left from the keep rather than the cliffs where they nested.

Livia, standing at the window of her bedroom in the faint light before full dawn, saw them leave. She knew they were heading for the Southern Lair, and for a moment, she longed for home. Then, Seth walked up behind her and spooned her, looking out at the small specks that were the gryphons fading into the distance.

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