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Chapter 71
Nariana
So, Tath was clearly attracted to men. That was what I took from the session Ela had stepped in to help with. For the next two days after that, the man couldn't look at Talin. He didn't have that problem with Ela. Surprisingly, he was more polite than he'd ever been, and the tense conversations at breakfast became filled with nothing but subtle jokes.
Unfortunately, it didn't last forever. The snow had now been falling for three days, and I wanted to make a snowman. Behind the house were acres of untouched snow, just begging us to go play in it. After putting on as many layers as I could manage, Talin and I tried to sneak out. We failed.
First, because Ela and Wraythe wanted to come help. Neither of them had ever made a snowman before. Unfortunately, with the four of us heading out, we were a little hard to miss. Tath stepped out of his office to see what all the fuss was about.
"Nariana?" he called, making me stop.
"Yes, Lord Ranndor?" I asked.
He crooked his finger, summoning me to him. I was determined to give this guy a chance, hoping this was a part of my Path of Temptation. So, refusing to let my smile slip, I headed over to him.
"Yes, Lord Ranndor?" I asked again.
He shifted just a bit closer. "I want to try that again, but just the two of us."
"I am currently wearing about fifteen layers of clothes, you know." I wasn't, but there were about four. "So when did you want that session?"
"What I want," he said, lowering his voice and leaning toward my ear, "is for you to give me a little affection, priestess. I brought you here because I expect a woman to chase me, not the other way around."
"I'm not that kind of woman, Baron," I assured him. "I get chased. I don't do the chasing. What you really want is for me to make you feel like a big man, but now we're right back to you not caring about how I feel."
He grabbed my arm, pulling me right up against him. "I own you. Don't ever forget that."
"Oh, but that's where you're wrong, Tath. I can't be owned." I looked up into his face, aware of Talin getting tense behind me. "If you wanted someone to act like a trollop and sit on your lap while you work, paw all over you in front of your wife or mother, and pretend to be enamored with your status, you requested the wrong priestess. That is not my specialty. Ciella or Tishlie would suit your needs much better."
"The ones from the Darkest Night?" he asked. When I nodded, he let me go. "Common whores, that's what they are."
"And yet you want me to act just like them. Have you ever considered that might be why you're not happy? You think you should hate something so lewd, and yet it seems to be exactly what you desire. Stop lying to yourself, Tath. It would make all of this much easier."
Then I turned, heading toward the backdoor without stopping. Thankfully, the man didn't try to call me back. My three guys followed, falling in behind me like a wall. I could almost feel their urge to protect me like an aura, embracing me. It was nice, and not even the blast of cold air outside could wipe it away.
"What was that about?" Ela asked.
Talin led us all to the side, aiming for the same area where we'd gone shooting last year. "My brother. It's what he does. He's drunk on his own title."
"Because it seems to be all he understands," I explained. "He wants to be this perfect man in society. He desires to have the most common fucks. He wants me to dote on him where everyone can see it, not realizing that he'd hate for his wife or mother to see it. He's put himself in this untenable position where, in order to be the man he thinks he has to be, he can't have the things he longs for, and he doesn't know how to make that work."
"Because it doesn't work," Wraythe said. "Tath is too spineless to make his deviances into something eccentric. He's too weak to not care if anyone else approves. He still has the desires, and no one's stopped to tell him that most of them are normal for a man."
"Like having me fuck him?" Ela joked.
Wraythe grunted, making it clear that wasn't what he meant. "Like having the woman he's fucking hang on him. That need to see her look at him longingly. The brush of hands that he can sneak in when no one's looking. The things that make a man feel like he's desired, not just always responsible."
"The way Nari treats us," Talin said, showing he understood. "The problem is that those things are emotional, and he's not willing to make the effort to have her care about him."
By now, we were well away from the house. Our feet crunched through the over-the-ankle high snow. Our voices felt almost muffled in the cold air, and yet strangely loud at the same time. It was one of the many miracles of winter, and I'd only ever experienced it here.
"He thinks his money is enough to make me want him," I clarified. "I'm sure there are a lot of women willing to chase him for that, not even caring if he's married."
"Mistresses are a thing," Talin admitted. "Some men will even keep a woman in an apartment, paying her keep so she's available to please him."
"I think I like our way better," Wraythe said. "And how deep does this snow need to be?"
Talin pointed, showing the open expanse we were headed toward. "Over there, you can all make a snowman, and I'm dying to see what Ela comes up with."
