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Claire smiled as he slipped out the door behind Mara and Roderick. She turned to face her friends.
“I’m all in,” Cody said. “That hasn’t changed. But should we talk about what we are going to do when everything comes out?”
“What is everything? Be more specific,” Bethany snarked.
“He means everything about the Council,” Holly cut in, shooting Bethany a stern look. “And he’s not wrong. When this all comes out, the Council will have to answer to the people.”
“I mean they are building an ultimate weapon for the Realm’s sake,” Cody pointed out. “That’s like the ultimate treason against the Realm. Someone will need to hold them responsible.”
Everyone turned to look at Claire like she had all of the answers and she just shrugged. She believed without a shadow of a doubt that the Council, certain members if not all of them, were corrupt and probably had multiple crimes they needed to be held responsible for. But the idea of taking someone’s life… She held back a shudder when she remembered the training exercise and the fear and panic when she thought she had accidentally killed that dragon warrior… She wasn’t sure she would be strong enough to deliver that final killing blow.
She must have been thinking quite loudly as Everett broke in. “We’ll figure it out,” he said quietly. “Tonight though we need to eat and rest. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring.”
Her friends all disappeared down two of the tunnels while Desmond guided her by her elbow towards the third. Puck jumped off her shoulder and curled up in an oversized chair in the living area. His fluffy tail came to rest over his nose as he snuggled in for the night.
It kind of felt like Claire’s brain was in overdrive, jumping from topic to topic as she mentally sorted out the events of the day. All the new information about her mother, about Malcolm and Andy, questions of who’s journal they found, swirled in her brain and she moved on autopilot following Desmond. When she blinked back to the here and now, she found herself standing in the middle of a large bedroom, water running in the next room.
“There you are,” Desmond smiled down at her. Claire blushed, he must have been watching as her brain had been in overdrive. His blue eyes were soft as he cupped her cheek with his hand, thumb brushing her jaw. She leaned into his hand and sighed, closing her eyes. There was no way she would have ever gotten this many answers without her Triad. They had been a steady anchor for her in the swirling storms of the last year. Her brain flashed to the cave here in the Dragon Mountains and the story of the first Triad. She couldn’t imagine life without them. And she hoped she never had to find out.
“Hey,” Desmond said softly, dragging her back out of her thoughts. “Stay with me. We can worry about it all tomorrow.”
Claire smiled softly up at him, turning her head to kiss his palm. His blue eyes darkened and he moved his hand to the back of her head, sinking it into her curls and drawing her lips to his.
Claire took a step closer, pressing her front against him, her hands drawing around his waist to press impossibly closer.
Strong hands on her hips had her jumping lightly but she settled when she recognized Everett’s forest and spice scent.
“Let us take care of you tonight,” Everett’s voice murmured in her ear and she tilted her head to both deepen Desmond’s kiss but also make room for Everett.
“Yes,” she murmured into Desmond’s mouth but Everett heard her anyway. He pulled her back and scooped her into his arms, breaking their kiss. Desmond made a fake sound of protest as Everett carried her into the bathroom.
“Your only job tonight is not to worry about anything,” Everett told her as he put her down in the bathroom. His hands went to the buttons on her shirt.
“Anything?” Claire questioned, a smile growing on her face. She placed her hands on his waist and dragged her fingers along it till she came to the buckle of his pants. “What if I want to worry aboutsome things?”
He shook his head at her but a soft smile played on his lips. “You’re not doing very good at your one job already.”
“I can help with that,” Desmond said, pressing his chest into her back and circling his hands around her wrists. He slowly pulled them up over her head, giving her time to protest if she didn’t really want to play this way but Claire kept her mouth shut. The temperature felt like it was rising in the bathroom as the water turned the air steamy and the heat radiating off her men caused Claire to squirm between them. Desmond kept his grip firm but soft as Everett undressed her.
Claire wanted desperately to touch them as they moved into the shower but Desmond’s grip was unyielding. And while they washed her body, they didn’t touch her anywhere she ached for them. “Everett,” She protested when he ran a soft cloth up her legs again, completely skipping her aching core.
“What is it, little mate?” Everett looked up at her from his place on his knees before her. The sight almost had Claire whimpering and he grinned as if he could hear her thoughts. Through their bonds, he might be able to.
“Stop teasing me,” she pouted, hoping to sway him.
Desmond chuckled low in her ear as he watched her squirm. “We aren’t teasing, little love. We’re taking care of you.”
Claire pushed her hips back as he was speaking, grinding against him and his sentence stuttered off.
Everett laughed. “That’s not very nice, little mate.”
“Well you aren’t being very nice either right now,” Claire shot back.
“Yeah?” Everett said, getting to his feet and cupping her face, the cloth falling to the floor. “I guess we’ll have to show you how nice we can be.”
He gave her a quick hard kiss as Desmond shut off the water and stepped out. Everett handed her off to Desmond who toweled her off with a quick efficiency, sneaking drugging kisses that had Claire about to beg for more.
When Desmond passed her back to Everett, she jumped, forcing Everett to catch her in his arms as Claire pulled his head down for a hard kiss. She wanted more and she wanted it now. Everett groaned as she ground her hips against his and pressed her against the bedroom wall so he could support her weight as one hand cupped her breast.
