Page 41 of Badmouths & Bards

She avoided Casimine’s gaze, only to be caught by Ameriden’s. He had rested his chin on Casimine’s shoulder.

“Fine. I am hurting and…I need something to make it stop.”

“All right,” Ameriden slipped his hand over the back of hers, “You understand that if we do this, it’s both of us right?”

“Yeah.” Tala leaned closer to Casimine. “I can take it.”

Still, he didn’t close the gap between their mouths. Tala was trying to be polite given she was going to be a guest in their bed, but fuck, if it wasn’t frustrating being so close to the mouth that held so many secrets.

Ameriden groaned, “Stop being a cock tease, Casi, and kiss her already.”

“Can’t a man savor—”

Tala pushed down onto Casimine’s thighs and closed the distance. The moment their lips met, Tala wanted to sigh with relief. Kissing was a different kind of physical, one that didn’t require Tala to bleed. Casimine’s hand tilted her neck, adjusting the angle so he could pry her mouth open with his tongue. He sighed, all soft like the material of his sheer blouse.

Impulsively, Tala reached up for the fabric, gripped the edges to pull their bodies closer together. She was getting thoroughly distracted by Casimine’s tongue when she felt Ameriden’s hand fall to the small of her back. The movement startled her, drawing her from Casimine’s mouth with a gasp.

“How was it?” Ameriden pressed a kiss to Casimine’s temple. “Tell me.”

“She kisses like how she speaks. Hard and relentless,” Casimine sighed, his hands cradling Tala’s face like she was something precious. The idea made something weak melt inside her.

“You kiss like a sap,” Tala quipped, before sending a challenging look at Ameriden. “If you wanna know so bad, maybe you should get off your ass and try me.”

Ameriden’s grin could make any conservative member of the Valiant Circle flush, and while Tala couldn’t deny that her skin had grown significantly warmer, she refused to back down.

“Okay, sunshine.” Ameriden yanked her toward him, to the point that she had fallen into Casimine’s lap. “Sate my curiosity.”

Tala didn’t have a chance to bark back as Ameriden had already pulled her in over Casimine’s shoulder. He was a lot more forceful, less concerned with stealing her breath and more interested in swallowing her tongue. When Ameriden groaned into her mouth, her thighs tightened around Casimine’s hips in response. The layers of her wrap shorts was bothersome, but she could still feel the heat radiating off of Casimine—could feel him pressed right between her legs—

“Fuck,” Ameriden huffed against her mouth. “You taste so good.”

“And you smell like saffron and spices,” Casimine breathed against her neck. “Like something I’ve forgotten I needed.”

Needy wasn’t a word Tala ever would have associated with herself, but when Ameriden placed a hand on her ass and pulled her more tightly against Casimine’s groin? That was the only word she could think of. Maybe they could tell how desperate she was based on the small noises that were escaping with every grind of Casimine’s hips. She practically whined into Ameriden’s mouth, one hand lost in his short hair, while the other was still clutching Casimine’s blouse.

And the sounds they’re making!

She had thought they had been loud through the wall, but now Casimine was panting in her ear. Ameriden wasn’t much better, moaning every time Tala sucked on his tongue. It was so much and somehow not enough. When Tala pulled back, they both looked wrecked—exactly how she felt.

“Not gonna lie, not sure how much foreplay I have in me,” Ameriden panted. “You’re both making me crazy.”

Tala would have made a smart ass comment about the man’s stamina, but her own patience had evaporated by the time Ameriden had started kissing her neck.

“How do you want us, beautiful?” Casimine asked, resting his hands on her and stilling her rolling hips.

They wanted her to think at a time like this? When all Tala wanted was their hands on her? Their bodies against hers? The thought of them last night had almost broken her discipline. Meditation hadn’t helped, the louder they had gotten and Tala’s hand stalled between her thighs, just shy of touching.

“I want you both.” Tala bit her lip, suppressing the whimper at the back of her throat. “I can’t think straight right now—”

“Shh.” Casimine pressed a soft kiss to her mouth. “We have you.”

Ameriden fell back onto his heels, removing his shirt quickly. The expanse of his chest wasn’t a new sight, but knowing Tala was allowed to look and touch with their approval? She would take every chance she got to stare at him.

“Come here, sunshine.” He plucked her from Casimine’s lap as if she weighed nothing and set her in his, surrounded by a pile of blankets and pillows. “Let’s get you out of these work clothes, hmm?”

Casimine was already working the sash from her waist while Ameriden had found the fastener on her top. Before Tala knew it, she was bare below the waist with Casimine staring directly between her legs. She was incredibly open, wet and vulnerable. Tala should have been embarrassed, but it was hard to be when the bard was staring at her like that. In fact, Tala felt bold enough to widen her legs and that seemed to set something off in Casimine as he grabbed her thighs.

“Keep her still for me, Amer.”