Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 132138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 661(@200wpm)___ 529(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 661(@200wpm)___ 529(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
His hand comes down again, but he eases up. Not on the strength but on the pace. This time the pain jars me, making me jump, but Lach’s hand stays on my ass as though keeping the heat in, allowing it to sink into my skin.
“Not so bad.” Lach rubs the spot he hit.
Damn him. He can feel me, too. How am I supposed to stay distant? “You’re not the one who’s going to have a red ass tomorrow.”
“I’m not the one who ran away and put everyone in danger. I’m not the one cursing you at every turn. I’m not the one being stubborn about a marriage that’s been in place for most of our lives.”
Every accusation is punctuated with a smack and a long caress.
“And even if you did, what would I do about it?” I force myself to concentrate on the unfairness of it all. But it’s hard because I really, really wanted to focus on how soft and wet my pussy is and how long and thick and hard Lach is getting.
“If I do any of that, I promise to present my ass to you. I’ll take whatever punishment you see fit, love.” He cracks his hand once more. “Now, I know you can feel what this is doing to me, but maybe I should put it in words so you can’t mistake what’s happening. I love having you over my knee. I love having your ass in the air waiting for my discipline. It makes me feel ten feet tall. I love how the sight of you gets me hard and ready to fuck. You’re my mate. You’re the reason we both waited thirty years. No other women, Bron.”
“None for me.” Shim gets to one knee, his hand on my back. “I’m a virgin because I belong to you. Does that make me less of a man? Many in our kingdom think so. Women have been thrown at us for years because we’re not a delicate people. We fuck and we fight, and our people admire kings and princes who do so as well. Do you know how many times we’ve had our manhoods called into question? But we wouldn’t be swayed because we belong to you. Tell me that means something. Tell me I didn’t wait thirty years for a woman who doesn’t really want me.”
“Let me up.” I can’t lie here. Damn him. They’re coming at me from all sides. Lach with his dominance and Shim with his soft heart. “Damn it, Lachlan. Let me up.”
Two more smacks, but then I’m on my knees. “You’re going to be the death of me.”
I’m pretty damn sure they will be the death of me. Shim is on his heels, looking at me. I grew up with symbiotic twin brothers. Two bodies, one soul. I can call them by different names, but they make up one whole man. Whatever Shim is saying, Lach feels it, too.
Thirty years of longing. I reach up and cup his gorgeous face. How many women can say their husbands waited thirty years for them? And in all that time, years had gone by when they weren’t even sure I was alive. “How long would you have waited?”
I ask the question, but I know the answer.
“Forever, Bron.”
Goddess, what am I supposed to do with that? But I waited, too. I never even thought of other men, wouldn’t have wanted their attentions. These men dominated my life and my dreams since I was old enough to remember them.
“Was Gillian really coming to negotiate a marriage?”
Lach sighs. “Yes. She was the only one who believed we could see you. She was the only one who believed in the bond. If Torin hadn’t fucked everything up, we would have been promised to you when you turned sixteen and married at eighteen. We would have had a whole damn life, Bron.”
“We would have younglings. And you would have known how much we loved you every day,” Shim says.
Sweet words, and they settle deep in my heart, nursing some ache that was always there. But Torin came between us. He ripped us and everything around him apart. We don’t have younglings and I didn’t realize I was loved. They want to pick up as though none of it ever happened and simply resume the life we should have had.
“Don’t,” Shim practically pleads. “Don’t. Not tonight. Please just one night. Earlier didn’t count. You weren’t fully with us. We can deal with all that stands between us in the morning, but tonight give over.”
It’s what I want, too. Though I can say all the stubborn words I like, I want them. I won’t take other lovers. I’ll have Lach and Shim for however long I can and then no other. We were bound by invisible threads likely from the moment I was born, and I won’t ever love another.