Dragon Storm (26 page)

Background sounds of the marketplace drew her out of the world where only the three of them existed. She put more space between herself and her mates, turning once more to the jeweler.

“They’re beautiful. Thank you for making these for us.”

“The design is perfect, Mistress.” Connor’s voice was rough as he, too, turned to the jeweler.

“Our beautiful snowcat enfolded in our wings, forever in our care,” Darius whispered reverently.

“You protect her as she protects you. Yours is a truly powerful union, highnesses.” Liliana bowed her head slightly in respect. “I was privileged to foresee such strength coming to our world again. To know that you will at last answer the questions the snowcats put to my clan over a century ago.”

“How can I? I’m only one woman and mated to two dragons,” Josie thought out loud.

“You are but the instrument, Princess. Have faith in the Lady. She guides your path as she always has. You have found your happiness. Now you will be the conduit through which your brethren in this world may also find theirs.”

“Mistress, I would like to extend a dinner invitation to you. If you are free, I would like you to speak with us about this further. I would also like you to talk with Shanya, one of your folk from Gryphon Isle. She, too, is a seer.”

“I have heard of her,” Liliana admitted. “I would welcome the opportunity to meet her and compare notes on what we have seen.”

They left the mysterious jeweler with the rings on their fingers and a spring in their steps. Liliana had promised to come to the castle for dinner that night, and Connor had sent word ahead to expect her and to request Shanya’s presence as well.

Thoughts of the meeting to come later that night were pushed from Josie’s mind as she watched the way people responded to her mates and to herself. They were uniformly welcoming, and some stopped Connor and Darius as they walked back toward the castle to wish them well and to be introduced to Josie. She met so many people she couldn’t keep them all straight. It was clear her mates were well liked among the common people, and she sensed no fear from any of them.

Suddenly becoming royalty was strange, to be sure. Having lived much of her life in a country that had a president, not a king, Josie watched carefully for reactions to the royal presence. From all indications, the royal family of Draconia was well loved and respected, thank goodness. Josie wasn’t comfortable with the whole royalty thing in general and had never been pleased to be put on a pedestal because of her snowcat nature. This was different though. The way the dragon princes were received indicated a confidence in them from the people and a genuine affection.

The town itself was a magical mix of stone, wood, color and light. They walked a meandering path. While Josie was sure that like any city, it probably had some not-so-nice areas, the parts she saw seemed to be of mixed prosperity, but all seemed comfortable. When they reached the castle, the sun was beginning its ride downward toward the horizon and shadows had begun to fall.

“Dinner is in two hours,” Darius said as they walked into the castle past the Guards. “Whatever shall we do until then?”

The facetious tone told her he had some definite ideas. Wicked ideas, most likely. She was all for it.

“I believe a tour of the baths is in order,” Connor volunteered a little too smoothly.

“We did promise to show you the hot springs.” Darius waggled his eyebrows as he grinned. “They are much like that big bathtub in the cougar house, only a lot larger and a lot more…public. Are you up for it, my love?”

Josie wasn’t sure what she was getting herself into but she’d learned one thing—her mates always seemed to know what she would like in the bedroom. Or the bath chamber, as the case may be. She was willing at least to give it a try.

Steam wafted over the water. It was nowhere near thick enough to hide the people bathing all around the huge cavern. Josie didn’t know what she’d expected. It certainly hadn’t been this vast subterranean chamber containing ornately carved rock formations separating multiple pools of varying sizes.

“The hotter springs are toward the rear of the chamber.” Connor acted as tour guide as they entered the cavern.

They’d made a short stop in a changing area where the twins had casually stripped down to nothing and threw on soft robes that had been lying in a pile near the door. Darius gave her one in a small size from a shorter stack of clean robes and waited, smirking at her while she quickly changed into it.

There had been nothing like a private changing room. The arched entryway had no door. Neither did the opening leading to the cavern beyond. She had heard people’s voices from either side as she hastily stripped and threw on the robe, belting it quickly.

The twins had said nothing, merely waiting for her with half-lidded eyes as they ogled her. She liked that look on their faces, but she was at heart, a modest woman. Being a snowcat meant she’d never had to get used to public nudity like the majority of other shifters. As a result, she wasn’t used to disrobing in a public place where anyone could happen along and see her.

There was something forbidden and incredibly naughty about the whole situation. Her eyes about popped out of her head when she entered the cavern behind Darius and Connor. They flanked her quickly, each taking one of her hands as they led her around, showing her the place.

“This is the Castle Lair’s bathing chamber, reserved for knights and their mates alone. All Lairs have something like this. Ours is by far the oldest, and therefore, grandest. It started with a natural hot spring that has been improved upon both by magic and by craftsmen over the centuries. Some of the pools were expanded and tiled along the sides with seating ledges added for comfort. Some of the more volatile pools still have their natural rock formations, though they’ve smoothed out over the years of use. Some were sculpted by master rock carvers and others have been left completely untouched. There is a wide variety to choose from,” Connor told her, continuing to walk toward a beautifully carved section of rock that made a sort of barrier in the center of the chamber.

There were pillars of rock spaced all around the place, no doubt to support the roof and the castle above. But nothing was left unadorned. The rock had been carved into figures and scenes from nature. Fantastical animals and other things she didn’t recognize were also represented. Many of the statues had precious metals and gemstones embedded in them. Eyes twinkled with the light of emeralds, and she realized there were massive dragon statues standing guardian around the chamber.

“Wow. That’s a lot of dragons,” she whispered.

Darius chuckled. “Some of our ancestors,” he supplied easily. “Members of the royal line who made improvements down here over the centuries were usually carved in thanks by the artisans they employed.” They maneuvered around some of the statuary that stood in the center of the room. “Ah, the royal pool.”

She marveled at the bubbly water in the ornate pool. It had white tile accented with what looked like pure gold. At one end was a massive carving of a dragon in flight, its wings outstretched to shelter one end of the pool. The dragon’s mate rose from the other end. Put together, the two large statues looked ready to take to flight and meet in the middle. On either side of the rectangular pool were other carvings. It didn’t provide a complete enclosure, but it was more private than any of the other areas she’d seen in the giant cavern.

“This one pool is set aside for the royal family’s use. As our mate, you can use this one and be assured nobody but another member of the family will ever disturb you here.” Connor swept his hand around the partially enclosed area. “The carvings block most eyes. There are also hanging curtains that can be lowered if you desire complete privacy.”

“We hardly ever use the curtains.” Darius looked amused. “I mean, what’s the point of coming here if you want complete privacy? We have private bathing pools in our chambers, and as dragons we can heat them to any temperature we like.”

Which meant they came here when they wanted to see and be seen. Hoo boy. The implications of that idea made her unaccountably hot—both physically and sexually. The moist air clung to her skin making her want to fan herself, but she dared not. She was sure she’d be the center of all their jokes for the next hour if she let on how the place was affecting her so easily. Better to play coy a little longer.

Ultimately, she trusted them. She wasn’t totally sure about the exhibitionist tendencies they’d told her about, but she was willing to give it a try. Still, she wanted to take it slow. If they knew how turned on she was getting just seeing this place and imagining what might go on here, she’d be flat on her back with her legs spread before she could say boo.

“The water temperature here is moderate.” Connor continued the tour, taking her around the statues guarding the royal pool to see the smaller pools near the back of the giant cave. “You might have noticed the bigger pools are the cooler ones. They’re more for general use, bathing and even swimming. The smaller, more private ones back here are hotter, with the hottest in that far corner.”

She followed where he pointed and saw several bubbling pools near the back. Each held one or two large men either talking amiably or sitting with their heads thrown back, resting along the rim.

“As you can see, those pools are good for muscle therapy and are often used by knights and others with injuries. The mineral content of those waters is slightly higher than the rest of the complex.” Connor, as usual, was a font of information. “Sometimes you’ll see a healer or two there as well, shepherding their charges as they help them heal.”

“On the other side is where the fun really happens,” Darius whispered, bending low to speak near her ear. His arm drew along her side until she followed the line of where he pointed to a section segregated by a number of smaller statues. “Those private pools graduate in temperature. The closest ones are about the same temperature as the royal pool, then get progressively hotter as you head toward the corner. They are also bigger than the therapeutic pools. Made for two…or more.”

Even from this distance, Josie could see a few mated trios in various stages of lovemaking or frolicking in the bubbling waters. For every pool with a trio in it, there were two pools on either side that held single knights. Those single men invariably had their attention riveted on one of the trios. Some even blatantly had their hands on their cocks, pumping as they watched the mates in the nearby pool pleasuring each other.

“For unmated knights, watching the joy of others is often the only thing giving them hope that someday they will find the one woman meant to share their life. Sadly, since there are few women able or willing to live with dragons and their knights, some of these men will never find their true mate.” Connor squeezed her hand. “Dar and I despaired of ever finding you.”

Darius raised her hand to his lips for a tender kiss. “You are a miracle to us, Josie. Our miracle.”

Connor kissed her other hand and for a moment they just stood there, basking in each other’s presence. Darius broke the spell as one of his eyebrows rose in question.

“The choice today is yours, my love. Where would you like to bathe? The royal pool—” he looked from the grotto sheltered by hulking statues to the more open play area already populated by a dozen people or so, “—or one of the others?”

She considered the open area and the people there. No way was she ready for something like that. Perhaps in time, as she got used to the ways of this world, she might be ready to try something more. For now, it was a lot just to be naked in a relatively public place.

“The royal pool, please.”

The twins only smiled.

“As you wish, my love.” Connor turned her back toward the partially enclosed area framed by giant dragons.

They entered the tiled area around the pool, and the twins immediately stripped off their robes. She could see there were little hook-like protrusions on some of the statues that were made for hanging the robes. She smiled as she took a closer look at some of the incredibly detailed carvings.

She was so engrossed in admiring the artwork, she didn’t hear Darius sneak up behind her. To her credit, she didn’t jump when his arms encircled her from behind. He dropped a kiss on her neck as his hands went to the belt of her robe, untying it and pushing the soft fabric off her shoulders, allowing it to pool on the floor around their feet. He swung her up, into his arms and descended the submerged, tiled stairway leading down into the water on the side of the pool.

It was Connor who picked up her robe and absently stuck it on one of the hooks before joining them in the water. His gaze seemed glued to her bare body, and she luxuriated in the rapt attention of her two mates.

How did a woman get so lucky? Josie had no idea, but she thanked the Mother of All every single day for Her blessings.

As her body hit the water, she purred in enjoyment of the warm, bubbly feeling against her bare skin. It was the perfect temperature and the effervescence of the natural spring was something she hadn’t anticipated.

“This is nice,” she commented, running her hands through the water as Darius let her stand, facing him in the chest-deep water.

Connor came up behind her. “The other end is a little deeper. The floor of this pool slants from the shallowest part by the stairs to the deeper part down at the far end.”

“How deep does it get?” She eyed the far end with distrust.

Cats generally disliked large bodies of water, though some of the big cats, like tigers, loved it. Josie was in between. Snowcats didn’t generally bathe or swim in large bodies of water, though in the summer they did enjoy frequent picnicking near a cold mountain lake down farther on the slopes, toward the town below her grandfather’s village. The water was too cold to enjoy long periods of swimming, but Josie had enjoyed her infrequent visits to the spot when she was a teen.

“The deepest it goes is about eight feet,” Connor told her. “And there are places along the sides at different levels for sitting or reclining.” He pointed to small depressions along the rim of the pool that she imagined were for resting one’s head if they wanted to stretch out. The designers of this place hadn’t forgotten anything it seemed.