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Her cheeks were still warm and she dropped her gaze as she unbuttoned her pants and pushed them down her hips. This was ridiculous to still be embarrassed of them seeing her naked body. They were her mates and this was completely natural. But that didn’t stop Claire’s cheeks from feeling like they were on fire when she finally dragged her gaze to Everett’s.
He gave her a gentle reassuring smile and held out his hand to her, stepping back as he did so until he was under the spray. Claire joined him, the warm water beating gently on her shoulders. Everett’s hands cupped her upper arms before smoothing up over her shoulders and up her neck. He kissed her softly and Claire’s eyes fluttered close. It was a chaste, sweet kiss and Claire let herself sink into it, enjoying the warmth that bloomed in her center from her proximity to her naked mate.
Everett tilted her head to the side and deepened the kiss and Claire’s toes curled at the sensation. He dragged his mouth from her lips, pressing soft kisses along her jaw and up to her ear. He suckled her ear in his mouth and Claire leaned into him, placing her hands on his wet skin and beginning her own exploration again.
Her wandering hands seemed to trigger Everett’s own as his hands left her neck and traveled down her back to cup her butt and pull her tighter against him. Claire let out a breathy moan as his hard length pressed into her and she arched her back to get more of that feeling. One of his hands dipped between her legs and parted her wet folds, stroking in a featherlight touch and doing nothing to ease the growing ache inside of her.
“Everett,” she complained softly.
“Yes?” His warm breath brushed her ear sending chills down her spine.
“More, please.”
“More what?” Claire wanted to groan at his teasing. Two could play that game.
“Touch me please. Before we run out of time.”
“Don’t worry, we have enough,” he said with a dark promise weaving into his words.
His fingers stopped teasing and started exploring. He twisted his wrist so his thumb could press against her clit as two fingers slid into her. Claire cried out at the stretch as her legs shook. He mouthed soft kisses over her shoulder as his fingers slid in and out of her, bringing her closer to the edge but not quite pushing her over the edge. When he stopped, Claire let out a soft cry.
Everett shushed her, “I’ve got you.” He bent down slightly and picked her up, wrapping his hands around the back of her legs and lining her center up with his hard length. Claire let out a moan as he pushed into her, sending the heat inside of her skyrocketing. She let out a soft whimper as he settled fully inside of her, the heat seeming to burn her from the inside out. He stilled for a few moments, letting her adjust to the stretch and burn until the sensations tumbled together back into the heat from before. He dragged out of her and pushed back in again. His cock had a curve that hit some place deep inside her as he pressed in that had her crying out.
Claire let out a soft whimper as he withdrew and then a louder moan when he pushed back into her. He turned them so he could press her back into the wall and then dropped one hand between them, drawing short tight circles over her sensitive clit. Her cries got louder as his pace got faster and when he pressed a finger firmly down on her clit she exploded.
She buried her mouth into his neck to muffle her cries as her body shook and light flashed behind her closed eyes. He groaned and pumped two more times before a scalding heat seemed to trigger a smaller orgasm for Claire, her body shaking from the aftershocks. She came back down to earth lazily, as Everett rubbed her back.
When she lifted her head to kiss him, he obliged and gave her a short sweet kiss before pulling out and setting her on her feet. She groaned and leaned into him and he took her weight, washing her with a cloth gently but efficiently under the cooling water.
“Okay?” he asked, placing a finger under her chin and smiling at her sleepy state.
“Perfect,” Claire murmured, giving him a soft smile. This is what she had needed, this closeness with one of her men. She could already feel the bond between Everett and her growing brighter in its strength and she relished in that as they got dressed.
When they descended the stairs, Claire tried to hold onto that feeling of warmth and contentment even as embarrassment tried to rear its head when she met Toan’s eyes. She shoved the embarrassment down and tightened her grip on Everett’s hand. He was her mate, she needed to get over the embarrassment about loving them or knowing that others knew she loved them.
To his credit, Toan didn’t say a word other than to ask if they were ready to go. Claire nodded and Everett placed a hand on her back guiding her in front of him as they followed Toan down a set of stairs and across a small bridge. Puck floated above them, ever watchful especially after their previous experience with bridges. They headed away from the Royal Tree towards the outskirts of the Capital.
“Why didn’t she hide them in the Royal Tree?” Claire wondered out loud as they walked.
“In the worst case scenario, if the Capital fell during the Great War, the Royal Tree would have been ransacked despite its wards and protections. Two of them are hidden deeper in the Forest but for the other two she used a hide-in-plain-sight approach,” Toan explained.
Claire nodded. That made sense. Whoever invaded would have thrown everything in their arsenal, including powerful wizards like Desmond, into dismantling the wards protecting the Royal Tree. The information hidden in it would have been powerful and might have ended the war if the fall of the Capital didn’t already.
Toan came to a stop before a smaller, unassuming tree. Claire placed her hand on its trunk and let its Energy flood her senses. The tree felt… sad? There was a deep ache within its Energy, almost like it had been wounded and still carried the old wounds. Yet, when Claire pushed further, she couldn’t find a wound or disease within the tree.
“What happened here?” she murmured. “It feels wounded but there’s no wound.”
Toan sighed heavily. “This tree used to belong to an Elven family. Elven families bond to their inhabited trees. Even if an Elf were to marry into another family, their bond with their tree remains. The bond helps regulate magic and provide it to an Elf if necessary. Most of this tree’s family died in the Great War. There’s only one of them left: their daughter, Synora. She’s one of my warriors now and lives in the barracks.”
“She didn’t want to stay here?” Everett questioned.
“No,” Claire answered him, understanding now. “There’s too much grief here.” The tree wasn’t the only being Claire was sensing was wounded.
Toan nodded, confirming Claire’s words. “She asked to move into the barracks and I let her. I asked if she wanted to burn the tree, a sacred ritual we don’t perform often but will do in situations like this but she declined. She left it as a memorial to those we lost.”
Claire pressed her forehead into the rough bark and took a breath, sending warmth and love into the tree along with a strand of her magic, thanking it for its life and service to its family. Tears burned behind her eyelids as she took a moment to share in its grief at the immense loss. When she opened her eyes, she still felt its grief but the tree’s Energy felt calmer now.
Toan looked at her with a proud smile. “I know you don’t want to lead but you would be a natural leader.”
