Claiming Their Maiden (10 page)

gripping her hips as he set a quick rhythm of pounding into her pussy. Her mouth was hot around

Gavin’s cock, and she opened her throat to his entire length as he pushed deeper before setting

his own rhythm. Each time he withdrew slightly, her tongue caressed the ridges of his shaft

before he thrust forward again into her welcoming mouth.

“You belong to both of us, Amelia,” Trent said, not missing a beat as he continued

fucking her. “We’re going to use you like this often, girl, and you’re going to take it.”

* * *

“We’re going to use you like this often, girl, and you’re going to take it.”

Ordinarily, such crass words would’ve infuriated Amelia. But there was nothing ordinary

about this moment. She ached. Even as they filled her up completely, she ached for more. To be

taken harder. To be spoken to harshly, as if she were here for their pleasure and nothing else. Her

nipples kept tightening as desire rippled through her, and it felt like someone was pinching them,

though Gavin’s and Trent’s hands were nowhere near her breasts. The sound of sticky slaps

filled the room as Trent surged in and out of her wet center, and her own little moans filled her

head as she tried her best to take all of Gavin’s huge cock in her mouth.

Her stomach fluttered and her release built, coiling in her loins until she exploded,

screaming around Gavin’s cock as her arms and legs turned to mush. Black spots dotted her

vision, and she blinked rapidly as she rode the pulsing wave of ecstasy, thrusting her bottom

back to take Trent’s cock deeper. A warm, salty stream of liquid spurted into the back of her

throat, and she felt Gavin shuddering into her, finding his own release. The clouds in her mind

thickened, and she heard her two Banded mates speaking, but she couldn’t make out their words.

She swallowed Gavin’s essence and floated into a dreamy trance, not quite conscious but not

quite awake.

Minutes passed. An hour. Days even. She wasn’t sure. Time had lost meaning, but she

felt at peace and truly satisfied. She couldn’t recall ever being so relaxed in her life. Her

breathing calmed and she realized she was tucked under the covers between Trent and Gavin,

both who appeared to be fast asleep, even though Gavin was normally wide awake at this hour.

She closed her eyes and joined them.

Her days and nights continued in a whirl of heated passion, intimate conversations, and

spankings. Gavin grew on her. Trent grew on her. She couldn’t get enough of either of her so-

called mates. They were strict with her, especially Trent, but she sensed they cared for her, an

emotion that transcended the bond, but she dared not voice the word out loud.

Love. Did they love her? Did she love them?

As a child, she’d foolishly loved a few of the families who’d taken her in for a short time.

She’d hoped to find a place in their hearts, but it never came to pass. When food and space

became scarce, she was tossed into the streets to fend for herself once again. Love was for fools,

she’d decided. Of course, none of those families had promised to protect her and keep her

forever.

Trent had promised this. So had Gavin. Even if they didn’t love her, at least they wanted

her. It was nice to be wanted. No one had ever wanted her. Well, except for maybe the mother

she couldn’t remember. Amelia struggled to sort out her feelings for her mates, and found herself

falling more and more under the spell of love she tried to push away, not wanting to risk being a

fool, lest the unthinkable happen and they send her away.

As more time passed, she made an effort to learn a few words in the River Men’s tongue,

allowing her to have some communication with the servant girls who took such good care of her.

Trent and Gavin continued introducing her to more Banded Men who lived in the forest, and she

found the little castles they lived in to be fascinating. Two old quarries nearby provided the gray

and white stones, so they hadn’t had to cut any of the massive trees down to build houses.

The few Banded women she met welcomed her with open arms, and many of them were

downright curious about her, having never seen a human before. She joined them in the gardens

and even went fishing with them a few times. Among the Banded, the men hunted the large

predators, but the women fished and trapped small animals when time permitted. Amelia enjoyed

being able to contribute to the livelihood of the Banded community, and for the first time since

working for Mrs. Embers, she felt valued.

With her new responsibilities and friendships forming, Trent and Gavin trusted she was

content and settled enough that she was no longer a flight risk. They stopped keeping her under

lock and key, and she was happy to have earned their trust. The thought of leaving put an ache in

her heart painful enough to bring tears to her eyes. Trent said it was a good thing, and it meant

the bond forged between them was strong and impenetrable. She chose to believe it was this so-

called Banded bond, and nothing more. No, not love. It couldn’t be.

Amelia became accustomed to her new life in the castle, but to her dismay, shadows

persisted in dancing around her heart. Shadows brought on by her past. She still longed to know

what the villagers thought of her and worried about Rayson Embers, though she tried not to

entertain such thoughts. It was out of her control. It was silly to care what the villagers thought of

her, but she couldn’t help it. Mrs. Embers had been so kind to her, and it hurt to know anyone

thought she’d harmed the sweet old woman. The Goddess would judge Beatrice when the time

came, and the wretched girl would be cast into eternal torment.

Amelia knew she needed to focus on the future, but unfortunately, letting go of the past

was easier said than done. The shadows wouldn’t leave her alone.

Watching Amelia gaze at the stars in wonder gave Gavin a new appreciation for the night

sky. He held her close on the balcony off of their new bedroom, and enjoyed the simple pleasure

of sitting with her quietly in his arms. The full moon bathed her face in enchanted light, and the

stars reflected in her eyes. Eyes that revealed her every fleeting thought.

Nearly two months had passed since she’d come into their life. Now that she was here,

finally content after a rough beginning, he couldn’t imagine a night without her in his arms. It

vexed him that he couldn’t read her thoughts the way Trent could, but Gavin’s emotional and

spiritual connection to Amelia wasn’t any less. He’d learned to read her expressions, and he

loved to speak with her about anything and everything. She showed a great interest in the

traditions of his kind, as well as the many creatures of the forest which she found unusual.

“Tell me a story.” Her whisper tickled his neck.

Gavin smiled. She always asked for a story when on the verge of sleep. Happy to oblige,

he cleared his throat and began to tell her about the Mountain Trees that grew around the Willow

Lakes. The trees were as old as the world itself, and legend said the Goddess planted them before

any other plant, and before creating any living creature. To walk amongst the Mountain Trees

was to walk in the presence of the Goddess herself, and many different races—Banded, elves,

humans, and River Men—made pilgrimages to the Willow Lakes.

“Can you take me there one day?” she asked sleepily.

“One day, sweetling.”

Once she drifted off, Gavin carried her to the wide bed where Trent was sleeping. The

three of them shared a room now, and it warmed Gavin’s heart to see her snuggle up next to his

brother while she slept.

Gavin went out hunting for a few hours, and managed to shot two deer with his arrows.

He brought them to the butcher, Benja, who lived in a small stone house next to the castle. Benja

was a nocturnal too, but his brother of the light had perished in the war. The two Banded shared

a drink and spoke about the news for a while. All the nearby Banded brought their kills to Benja,

and he distributed the meat evenly between the nearby families. For this reason, Benja was a

harbinger of gossip. Today he had news about a few new matches between the River servant

girls and the Banded. Happy news, as far as Gavin was concerned.

After leaving Benja’s, Gavin returned to the castle and headed for the library. It was a

poor excuse for a library, with only a dozen books sitting on the new shelves he’d built during

the renovation of the castle. He hoped to add more, but acquiring more books required a trip to

the Banded communities beyond the mountain. Even though most Banded lived spread out, there

were a few trading posts scattered through the vast forest. The nearest one was a five-day

journey.

Gavin pushed aside his thoughts of improving the library and eyed the stack of letters that

had arrived. He’d been sending out letters in secret to the human villages, determined to reach

Amelia’s village. Sending out pigeons with letters wasn’t an exact science to the inexperienced,

but Gavin hoped to reach the correct village by chance eventually. Even though she was out of

reach from the bounty hunters who might still be seeking her, he wanted her name cleared. So

he’d sent out dozens of pigeons with the same message, telling Amelia’s story in hopes that an

elder from her village would be led to the truth.

The last letter in the pile caught Gavin’s attention. It bore the symbol of an orange sun,

the very symbol Amelia claimed represented her village. He scanned the letter, his heart

pounding in his ears.

Praise the Goddess
, he thought as he jumped from his seat.

He found Amelia and Trent where he’d left them, curled up together in the large bed, a

vision of love and dreams realized. Outside, the faintest glow of pink hovered over the trees.

Dawn was imminent, and Gavin decided his news was important enough to wake his sun-loving

brother up early. Amelia too.

He yanked the covers away and shook the bed. “Wake up,” he boomed.

Trent’s eyes shot open and he jolted upright. “What is it?”

“Wake our sweetling girl,” Gavin said, holding up the letter. “She’ll want to hear this

too.”

Trent stroked her face and planted kisses on her eyelids, trying to coax her out of sleep

gently. She responded not so gently, and smacked him away while grumbling curse words at

him. Gavin grinned at the surprised look on Trent’s face.

“What, you’ve never heard her curse before, brother?” Gavin asked.

Trent shook his head. “No. I haven’t.”

“She curses around me all the time. Why else do you think her bottom is red when you

wake her most mornings?” Gavin grinned.

“Well, I know a young lady who’s going over my knee in a bit.” Trent shook her again,

and she finally opened her eyes and sat up, glaring at them both.

“What’s going on?” She yawned innocently, as if she hadn’t just cussed at Trent.

It amused Gavin that Amelia watched her mouth more around his brother. He knew about

the incident where Trent had almost caned her, and wondered if that was the reason. Gavin

preferred to spank with his hand and had never threatened her with an implement. Perhaps if he

took his belt to her the next time she cursed at him, she’d mind her manners around him more.

“I have a letter from your village,” Gavin announced. “It clears your name, sweetling.

Beatrice confessed to the murder after questioning, and the price on your head has been lifted.”

He handed the letter over, even though he knew Amelia couldn’t read most of the words. Trent

was teaching her how to read, but it was a slow-going process.

Trent wrapped an arm around Amelia and read the letter to her, twice. Moisture shone in

her eyes, and she regarded Gavin with gratitude. “How is this possible?” she asked.

“I sent a letter to your village elders. I told them what you told us about Mrs. Embers and

Beatrice.” He paused and hoped the tears running down her face were the happy kind. “Does this

please you?”

“Does this please me?” The music of her tearful laughter moved his soul to dance. “Of

course this pleases me.” She leapt up and nearly knocked Gavin to the floor with the impact of

her embrace. “Thank you,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “Thank you, thank you, thank

you.”

“You’re very welcome, sweetling.”

Trent smiled at them and threw back the covers in invitation.

* * *

Amelia was touched. Gavin had actually cleared her name. His letter had led to Beatrice’s

confession, and Rayson wouldn’t unknowingly spend the rest of his life wed to his mother’s

murderer. Even better, she had her happy ending. The happy ending she had never imagined.

Never thought she wanted. The happy ending the Goddess had designed for her. Designed for the

three of them.

Wedged in the middle of two strong male bodies, she glanced between her mates, her two

beautiful mates. Trent with his always rugged, light blond coloring and startling blue eyes, and