Chapter Eight

The silence was deafening, the air thick with tension. Now that they knew the end of this war was so near, they were all on edge. They had called Hawke in London, and he hightailed it back to Paladin when they passed on what the Shen serpent said. The entire warrior court was ready to go but there was the underlying question. What if this was a trick, to get all the warriors off the world so Paladin would be left defenseless?

Luckily, since the caretakers had shown treachery within their ranks, another measure was placed to safeguard Paladin. It had become all too clear after some of their women, including Larissa, had gone missing that only twelve could no longer protect their home. Skard and Iarl had been put in charge of the new venture on their soil. Orin would stay behind as King since he must stay on Paladin. They were training an army, not only palace guards but also increasing the warriors’ court from twelve warriors.

Skard knew all of it would lead to their victory, of this he had no doubt. But something bothered him. It kept pushing at the back of his mind that it was too peaceful. There had been no other attacks in the city, and the activity at the mines had almost ceased in the last few days.

“It’s as if they are hibernating,” he’d said at dinner the night before. He and his brother had done reconnaissance earlier and had gotten close to the mines with no sight of the Shen.

“Worrisome,” Iarl added as he ate a bite of food.

As usual, Daphne sat between them, and they each took turns placing bites of food to her lips. As she ate she looked away shyly, and Skard understood human males did not feed their mates. It was savage in his opinion to think they didn’t try to cherish their loved one in a small, intimate way. Daphne had two men making sure she was fed, and she would need to get used to that and various other aspects of their lives. He was by far the more reserved compared to his brother, and his hesitation to approach her about their mating was proven to be false. He didn’t want to hope, didn’t want to feel anything that would not be real. After all, their lives had started in cruelty, and he had begun to wonder if they would or deserved to find real happiness.

“You are thinking much too loud, brother,” Iarl commented.

“Even I can hear the wheels turning in your head,” Daphne teased.

“Am I now?” Skard bit her shoulder gently through her light blue cardigan. He was so deep in his thoughts he didn’t notice that Raul and Raven had gone and Gaerar was quietly putting away the remnants of their meal.

“There isn’t much we can do until we get everyone here and coordinate our attack,” Gaerar said.

“I’m sure that is why they’ve gone to ground,” Iarl said. “They are hiding under the dirt and sleeping until Toshen arrives.”

“Then why don’t we go in there with a shit load of dynamite and blow the place up?” Daphne asked.

Skard shook his head. “That would kill very few of them. They live and dig their homes underground. Besides, these mines cannot be their only cell, if the lesser Shen was speaking truth. They will be all over these mountains, lying in wait.”

“We don’t want them to have any clue we have found them, yet,” Iarl added. “I just wish they would send scouts out to the other cells so we can see where they sleep.”

“I can’t fathom how you have the patience to wait.” Daphne shook her head.

“We have fought this war more than once. When you have lived as long as we have, you start taking things in stride,” Iarl said. “We can’t act until something happens and when it does, we will be at the ready.”

“I will leave your happy threesome and go to start my watch of the detective,” Gaerar said. “She is tenacious.”

“And not bad to look at,” Daphne teased.

Gaerar’s lips curved in a small smile. “No, not at all. Good night brethren, Daphne.”

The three of them returned Gaerar’s goodnight, and Daphne stood to take their plates to the sink.

“What should we do now?” she asked as she rinsed their plates.

Love her, slow and gently,Iarl sent the thought to Skard’s mind.

I was leaning to a bit more carnal, Skard replied.

A combination of both,Iarl suggested.

Agreed.

When they didn’t answer, Daphne turned to look at them. “Did you guys hear me?” Skard could see she recognized the desire in their eyes. “Yes, please.”

“You don’t even know what we are thinking,” Shard teased as he stood.

“Trust me, I know.” Daphne licked her lips. “And I want you both very much.”

Iarl moved quickly and lifted her in his arms. “Then these can wait until the morning. My brother and I want to feast on your body.”

Skard ran his hand down the valley of her breast as Iarl carried her. He ran a long finger over her already pert nipple. He and his brother shared everything, and they both loved how her body responded to their touch. By the time the trio entered the room they now shared, kisses were opened mouth, hot and deep, passed from them to her.

She searched their eyes. “Where would I be now if you two hadn’t come for me? Showing me this world, this life, this kind of love.”

“We would have found you,” Iarl said gently.

“Our destiny is written in the stars by Odin himself,” Skard added. “Your name is intertwined with ours, and one way or another our paths would have crossed.”

“You were rough and intimidating when we first met.” Daphne smiled. “Look at you now.”

“I was doubtful we would ever find our mate, and I am like a stone, being smoothed gently by your affection for us,” Skard answered.

“By the gods you have made him a poet,” Iarl teased.

Skard growled and Daphne laughed. “Leave him be. He can be sweet when he wants to be.”

Daphne stepped back from the twins, and they watched while she undressed slowly and sat on the bed. Skard felt the ridged length of his cock throb as she lifted her breasts to them in invitation. His brother’s arousal was just as high, sharing their need for their mate made the experience of taking her much more heady. Skard got to his knees and took the offering, plucking at her pert nipples with his mouth until he closed his lips completely over one tip. Daphne’s head fell back with a soft cry, and he shuddered when she tunneled her fingers into his hair, scraping his scalp with her nails.

“Take my shaft in your hand and stroke it while he kisses your breasts,” Iarl said as he slipped quickly out of his pants.

He knelt beside her and Daphne instantly wrapped her fingers around his thick shaft. His groan reverberated through Skard as he shared his brother’s sensation of her touch while as she used long, smooth strokes to please him.

“I love how you make me feel,” she gasped.

“As do we,” Skard muttered at her breasts.

He combed his fingers through her hair, taking out the band that held her ponytail. Skard fisted his hand and pulled her to him for a kiss that intoxicated him. It gave him such a sense of completeness that it humbled him to his core. Was this what it was like to be mated? Did his brethren who had wives carry this in their heart when they touched their mates? Skard was the cynic of the two, and this tenderness was so new he was suddenly unsure.

Brother, you said it yourself, our destiny is written with hers. Do not doubt it, we shall cherish her,Iarl’s voice entered Skard’s mind, and his certainty calmed him.

“You are so beautiful,” Iarl said huskily. “We thank the gods, Orin sent us to protect you.”

“I never thought I’d have this affection for one man, let alone two, but nothing compares to it,” Daphne admitted huskily. “I would never change a thing.”

“You are our dear love.” Skard ran his thumb over her nipples making her gasp. “And right now we need to have you.”

Iarl kissed her, and she moaned into his mouth when Skard kiss the inside of her thighs. He moved her back on the bed before he ran his finger down the slit of her pussy. He growled softly. She was already so wet and the way Daphne lifted her hips seeking more of his touch was his undoing. While his brother lazily teased her with his kisses and his hands on her breasts, Skard’s lips were so close to her sex, and her scent drove him wild. She writhed with need, as if anticipating the touch of his lips, and Skard gave her what she desired.

One slow lick, and Skard closed his eyes at the taste of her. He slowly moved his tongue up the lips of her pussy before he parted them with his finger and circled the nub of her clit. Daphne trembled, and he heard her whimper smothered by Iarl’s kiss. Teasing her was driving him mad, and Skard succumbed to her sweet taste. He slipped his tongue inside her, and Daphne tore her mouth away from Iarl’s as a cry was wrung from her lips.

Iarl, who was usually the more gentle lover, grabbed her face and kissed her almost savagely. Skard knew they were feeding off each other’s arousal, and it shifted to something primal within them. While he sucked at her clit and grazed it with his teeth, making her arch, he slipped his finger inside her.

Play with her breasts and nipples, drive her higher until we make her come,Skard sent his brother the message and heard his groan in response.

Skard continued his ministration of her body, he pushed her legs apart and fucked her with his fingers. He watched as her essence coated his digits and caused the lips of her sex to glisten. With his mouth back on her sweet tender bud of her clit, Skard feasted and laved at her sex. There was no trouble in finding what pleased her. Daphnia was wild and wanton for him and his brother.

She called both their names with an urgency that heralded the beginning of her release. Skard increased the speed of insertion of his fingers, Iarl was now leaning over her torso so his mouth could reach her clit and lapped at her sex greedily. Daphne’s release arched her body like a bow, and her sex clenched around his digits. He grunted his approval when her essence leaked from her pussy. Both he and his brother feasted on her sex, the taste of her causing a frenzy to build.

Daphne sat up and pushed Iarl back, instantly taking his cock in her hands and wrapping her lips around the head and shaft. A loud groan emanated from his lips, and he arched backward while she loved him with her mouth. Skard watched his brother’s fingers clench into the sheets of the bed, but nothing could compare to the sensations he shared.

It was his turn next, and Skard admitted to himself, he was greedy, hungry to feel her lips on him. He closed his eyes and his hips flexed as he pushed himself between her grasp eagerly. He gritted his teeth at the onslaught of sensation of feeling her hot mouth around his cock. She cupped his balls and squeezed them gently before using the combination of hand and lips to drive his need higher. Skard opened his eyes to see his brother fondling her pussy before sliding his finger deep inside her.

Their primal moans and her cries blended together in their own sexual chorus. When he could take no more, Skard pulled her up by the shoulders and kissed her wildly. In a pure dominant move, he flipped her on to her back and covered her with his body. Daphne reached between them eagerly to position his cock at the entrance of her wet sex. When he thrust into her all three in the bed cried out in satisfaction.

“You feel so good wrapped around my shaft.” Skard gritted his teeth above her and tried to hold on to the last vestige of his control. The way her sex clenched and released as he thrust into her was driving him mad.

“Skard, yes, yes more,” she cried out as he moved within her and her cries spurred him on.

“Suck on my breasts,” Daphne begged Iarl, and he complied with a groan.

Skard pinned her arms over her head with his long hand while her took her. His brother’s ravenous ministrations of her breasts combined with the steady, deep thrusts of Skard sent her spiraling to new heights of passion. Her release sent him careening into his own, he pumped into her faster and soon his groans of ecstasy as he came filled the room. It was blindingly magnificent, and Skard gave himself over to the sensations willingly.

“I think I just died from happiness.” Daphne sighed.

Iarl kissed her long and deep when his brother moved away. “Not quite yet, sweet one.”

Skard could tell when the fire was stoked within her again. As he lay next to them he felt his brother’s desire still raging strong. It made his cock stir between his legs once more as he watched them kiss. Iarl moved her to her hands and knees and settled himself behind her. He rubbed his cock against the slit of her pussy until she was trembling and pushing back against him.

“Do it, please,” she begged.

“Take her,” Skard said as his brother’s arousal fueled him once more.

“I can smell you and my brother, now I will fill you as well.” Iarl leaned over and nipped at the skin of her neck. “We are always together, us and you, in all ways. We’ve marked you as ours and left our imprint within you.”

He slipped inside her halfway, and she whimpered. Iarl gritted his teeth, and Skard felt his brother striving for control. His hand was at his own shaft, stroking as he watched them. He knew he would find release again when they did. Iarl made a sound in the back of his throat when he began to thrust. The fierce sensation rocketed through Iarl and then to Skard, causing him to arch off the bed. He gripped his cock tighter, stroking in tune to the rhythm set by his brother and Daphne. She moaned wantonly, and Iarl was wild in his taking of her. Soon the calls of their gratification echoed in the room.

“Fall with me, dear love, I want to feel it.” Iarl’s voice was hoarse and urgent.

She arched, and a wild cry left her as her release came hot and fast. As Iarl’s orgasm took hold so did Skard, and while his brother spilled his seed inside Daphne, Skard’s grabbed his brother’s hand. The action was no less intimate because all the while Daphne had his other hand gripped tight under hers. They collapsed in exhausted bliss, and their harsh breathing filled the room.

“I hope this never ends,” she said suddenly. Skard leaned up on his elbow to look at her while Iarl’s head was against her stomach, and Daphne played idly with his hair.

“Why would you think it would end?” Skard asked. His heart lurched in his chest, and his old reservations crawled back into his mind.

She bit her lip before speaking. “What if you or Iarl decide you want someone else other than me? I know Raven told me you mate for life, and you guys have this connection that’s seriously remarkable. But it’s three of us and maybe... suppose one of you find someone you could love?”

“That will never happen,” Iarl said firmly from where he lay.

Skard cupped her cheek. “Could you love us?”

Daphne answered easily. “I already do. My life has been all about facts, searching, always trying to find something. To please parents who were never there, to prove myself to a community who couldn’t care less what happened to me. But no matter what, I never felt like I was whole, like I was complete. With you, Skard and Iarl, for the first time all the pieces fit in place, and I found what I was looking for.”

Her words humbled him, and Skard could feel the same strong emotion from his brother. They too were searching, always the outsiders in some ways because of their bond, and then there was Daphne and the world felt less alone.

Skard cleared his throat. “I’m not one for words, I find that they never come out right to match what I am feeling. But as two we were still very alone, on the outside looking in at the happiness others had. We always wondered if we two would have that, but doubtful we could find our mate. Then there was you, Dr. Daphne Jordan, with curiosity and wide brown eyes.”

“You called me stupid that night on the beach,” she teasingly pointed out.

“Because we wanted to save your life, and as I said, not good with words.” Skard kissed her hard. “Now hush, let me finish.”

“Please, because I want to see if he actually uses the right words,” Iarl teased. “I thought we shared everything, and he’s been hiding this bard deep within himself.”

“For us there is no other, there was always to be three,” Skard continued, ignoring his brother’s teasing. “There is only you, Daphne, in our thoughts and in our dreams. No other can take our heart or your place, for we are yours.”

“Very well said,” Iarl murmured sleepily. “We love and cherish you, dear one.”

Daphne sighed. “You two certainly know how to sweep a girl off her feet, literally and figuratively.”

Skard pulled the blanket up, covering Iarl’s head until he moved from his position on her stomach to lay on the pillow next to her.

“I was comfortable there,” Iarl grumbled.

“Yes, I know,” Skard answered. “But our love does not need to be cold.”

“Truth,” Iarl replied.

“I want a big family one day, after this war stuff is over,” Daphne announced as she snuggled them close. “I know time is different on Paladin, but still, a girl isn’t getting any younger.”

“Wonderful, because I think they’ll all be twins,” Shard chuckled.

As they fell asleep, Skard sent his brother a message to his mind. Let’s take her home, before the death and blood begins. I want her to see the beauty of the home we built for her with both of us in case I fall.

Neither of us will fall because the gods cannot be so cruel to give us this love and then take one of us away,Iarl replied. But yes, tomorrow let us go for one night to show her, home.

Skard put the ominous thought out of his head and focused on the fact that they would be taking a mate home. While he couldn’t foresee what the war would bring, he was thankful that right now Daphne’s scent filled his nose and his brother’s contentment filtered over him as he slept. Skard embraced the love he held for the only two people in the world who understood the bond they now shared.