The Goblin King's Lovers (12 page)

“
Oh, it’s routine. The
three of you’ll walk around and see what’s going on. What roads
need new cobblestones, what houses need work, who’s in need. That
kind of thing.”

“
Oh! I thought the king
only did that out of kindness.” She smiled as she pulled the brush
through her hair, trying to tame some of the wavier parts. “How
nice that it’s something official.” She shook her head. “So unlike
the world I was born in. No one cared about anyone else, hardly
ever.”

Nika smiled, as if proud of the
compliment to her world. “Yes, peace doesn’t come without work.
It’s a good thing you’re here. The human world sounds awful, the
stories people tell. Amazing they haven’t all killed one
another.”

Eva still had memories of watching the
news years ago. “They try though, honestly they do.” She set the
brush down and jumped up, pulling Nika to the wardrobe. “Now that
you’re finally here, come look at my dresses. Lorne tells me what’s
appropriate if I ask, but now that we can circulate again, I want
to try to do it myself. It’ll make him happy.”

“
Oh, I can’t wait to see
them!” Nika began to assess everything the moment Eva flung the
doors open. “He was so adorable all those years ago, pretending he
didn’t worship you and scowling at me whenever I mentioned anything
about it.”

“
He scowled at everyone
back then. I was terrified of him!” She drew out a pink dress. “Now
he inspires very different emotions.” She held the dress against
herself. “They both say this light shade of pink is pretty on me.
How about this one?”

Nika pulled on the fabric, making it
conform to Eva’s figure. “Bit low cut. Wear it for them today.” She
examined the dresses, zeroing in on two others. After holding each
up, she picked one that was a slightly darker, duskier pink. “This
one. It will look lovely with your hair, and it doesn’t have a
train, so you can hold it up yourself as you walk. The streets are
rough on anything with a train.”

Eva looked down, examining the length.
“Oh yes, you’re right. I’ve been inside for two weeks, so I hadn’t
even thought.”

“
Not even been out to the
garden?”

Eva smiled. “No. There are things even
the queen cannot do in the garden.”

They both giggled and then returned to
looking at the dresses, and Eva knew she’d never been
happier.

* * * *

Lorne followed behind Davin and Eva,
making notes of everything the people said as well as what Davin
said in return. Since their wedding, life had been quiet and
peaceful, with nothing more exciting than a couple of births. The
most distressing event had been two baby birds falling from a tree
the same day a litter of piglets had gotten loose and eaten their
way through a couple of gardens.

Lorne mirrored Davin’s smile when his
lover glanced back at him, both of them listening to Eva. Though
she could still be shy at times, Eva’s compassionate nature helped
her relate to people and their problems. She and a young mother
talked about the fence around the orphanage, while one of the older
farmers rummaged in his bag for a map to show Davin some issue with
one of the irrigation systems.

As Lorne took notes, a small sound
caught his ear. A woman tried to hush a little boy who was speaking
in English. Lorne examined him more closely and noticed he wore
blue jeans and a t-shirt with a cartoon character of some kind on
it. He eased his way through the crowd, scanning his notes from
earlier days to find the boy’s name. A human boy had come through
the veil just days after their marriage, so this had to be
him.

He found the name just in time,
smiling at the woman before kneeling to speak to him.
“David?”

The little boy quieted some when he
heard his name. He nodded, though a couple of tears still
fell.

“
My name’s Lorne. I heard
you had come to live with us.”

“
Yes, but I wanna go
home.” He clung to the skirts of the woman who’d been trying to
comfort him.

“
I know, and I wish we
could send you home. There are other people from your world here
too.” He turned a little and pointed to Eva. “Do you see that
lady?”

David nodded, looking at her with wide
eyes.

“
Well, she’s the queen.
And you know what? She came from your world. She was thirteen years
old and very scared.”

“
She was?”

“
Yes, but she had a very
nice lady named Nika who adopted her and took care of her.” He
pointed to Davin. “And the man beside her is the king. His name is
Davin, which is really close to your name.”

David looked at both of them a long
time. “The queen’s pretty.”

Lorne smiled. “She is. I thought she
was pretty the very first time I saw her.” He stood and put his
hand out. “Would you like to meet her?”

David hesitated, looking up as if
seeking approval, but then he nodded when the woman gave him an
encouraging smile. Lorne took his hand and led him over. Eva smiled
when she saw him, and she even knew the name of the character on
his shirt. David walked between them for a while, looking up at Eva
and hanging on her every word. Before they rounded a corner, he
asked to go back to the woman he’d been standing with. Eva kissed
him on the cheek and told him he could call on her if he ever
needed help. Though he still looked a little sad, David smiled up
at Eva. After taking a few steps, he turned and waved at
Lorne.

After watching him go, Eva turned to
Lorne and linked her arm with his. “Your bedside manner has
improved.”

“
Bedside manner?” he
asked, puzzled.

“
Yes. It’s a human
expression about doctors dealing with patients. When I got stuck
here, you sat in that chair by the wall with the most sullen
expression on your face.”

“
Sullen? I think
not.”

“
Well, you seemed like a
grumpy old sourpuss to me. Sighing and snapping all the
time.”

He frowned. “Was I like that when you
first came? When you were still recovering from the chill you’d
caught?”

“
Not to me, but you acted
like everyone trying to help me was incompetent. Made me so
nervous, even after I was better. I decided I liked Nika the day
she shooed you away.” She giggled. “You scowled at her, but you
obeyed.”

He knew he’d been off-putting back
then, so he didn’t argue. How could he disagree with Eva when she
laughed and smiled at him like that? “I suppose I was
unpleasant.”

She kissed his cheek. “You got over
it. That’s all that matters.” She hurried him along. “Come on. Poor
Davin looks swamped.”

They hurried to catch up with their
king, who did indeed seem overwhelmed as he sat in the square
trying to listen to three elderly men all speak at once. Eva leaned
her head on his shoulder briefly, and in that moment Lorne knew
more than ever that they’d be able to face anything
together.

* * * *

One Month Later

Eva twirled the sash of her robe
around her fingers repeatedly as she sat at the dressing table with
Lorne brushing her hair out. Warm breath touched her ear, and she
looked up to see Lorne leaning in closer.

“
What are you thinking
of?” he asked, kissing the shell of her ear. “You need only ask if
you require something.”

I have everything I need
already.
She took a deep breath and rested
her hands on her belly. If only Davin were there, she could reveal
her joyous news. The physicians had confirmed that she would have a
child by the winter, and she wanted to tell everyone. She’d avoided
people as much as possible all day long and sworn the doctors to
secrecy. Part of her had worried her husbands wouldn’t want to have
sex while she was pregnant, but the physicians had looked at her
oddly when she’d mentioned it. Apparently, according to what she’d
been told, frequent sex was encouraged, as it reassured the child
that it would be born of love. Eva had actually laughed at first,
but further thought had made her see what a beautiful idea it was.
She knew they would all love this child deeply.

“
Well,” she said, unable
to keep quiet when she considered the way she’d decided to
celebrate this good news, “there is something special I want
tonight.”

Lorne set the brush down and moved her
hair aside to kiss her neck. “Tell me, and you’ll have
it.”

She watched his reflection. “I want to
be in the middle tonight.”

His face went perfectly still, but
then he raised that smoldering gaze to meet hers in the mirror. “Do
you?”

“
Yes. You two have been
having all the fun.” She giggled as his lips moved down her
shoulder. “And waiting patiently.”

“
We’ll be gentle, of
course.” He sat beside her on the wide bench. “Do you know how you
want us?”

She raised one eyebrow and teased her
lips over the corner of his mouth. “I’m sure you two have discussed
it.”

He chuckled low in his throat.
“Perhaps.” He caressed her thigh lovingly. “Davin wishes me to,
shall we say, ease you into this. You know how excited he can get.
He says he’ll feel better since he can trust me to be in control,”
he leaned in and teased her lips in turn, “no matter how exquisite
you feel.”

Eva shivered against him and went in
for a kiss. He sighed against her mouth and returned the kiss,
drawing her into his arms. His fingers untied her sash without
hurrying, slowly exposing her flesh to his touch. Those fingers
danced up her thigh and then caressed her core, which was already
wet. She came forward on the bench so he could enter her. Lorne
could make her come with only one finger gliding into her, always
finding the right spot.

Eva moaned as he found that spot the
exact moment she felt a mouth on her right nipple. She broke her
kiss with Lorne to pull Davin up and bring his lips to hers. Davin
kissed her sweetly as she trembled from her release in Lorne’s
arms, and when she looked up into his eyes, she couldn’t wait any
longer.

“
We’re going to have a
baby,” she said, caressing Davin’s face. Turning to Lorne, she
added, “In the winter. I just found out today.”

Lorne’s eyes widened, and his hand
moved up to her belly, cupping her flesh gently. She glanced up at
Davin, who gazed at them both with love-filled eyes and a happy
smile. He knelt and put his hand over Lorne’s, bending down to kiss
her stomach.

“
We’ll make preparations
right away. The children will have the room across the hall. It’s
already been cleaned,” Davin said. “We’ll decorate it
together.”

“
Children?” she asked,
raising one eyebrow teasingly. “Let’s not get ahead of
ourselves.”

Lorne nuzzled her neck. “You know we
can’t resist you anyway. A baby will make you happy, which will
only make you even more beautiful and alluring.”

She laughed and started to speak, but
Davin put a finger to her lips. “See? More beautiful
already.”

Lorne rose and pulled her up with him,
his gaze fixed on Davin. “Our queen has a request tonight, and now
I can see it’s meant to celebrate this good news.” He disrobed and
then drew her robe all the way off.

“
And what is that?” Davin
asked.

Lorne climbed onto the bed and helped
Eva up, his gaze returning to her. “She insists we’ve been having
all the fun,” he reclined and looked to Davin, “so she wishes to be
between us tonight.”

Davin sat on the bed and cupped her
cheek. “You want this? Both of us at once? Inside you?”

“
Yes.” She moved over and
stroked the mattress. “Come lie down so we can begin.”

Davin stood and got out of his
clothes, fumbling a bit in his eagerness. Lorne reached for her and
pulled her down to lick her pussy.

“
Mmmm. She’s so ready,”
Lorne said, circling his tongue around her clit.

Davin smiled. “Of course she is, with
you to prepare her.” He leaned over and kissed her stomach once
more before pulling Lorne’s head up to kiss him. The two men
moaned, as they always did when one of them had been tasting her
there. She tugged at Davin’s arms, a mock warning on her
face.

He grinned and kissed her before lying
down on the bed. As soon as Lorne was out of the way, Davin took
her by the waist and hoisted her over him, bringing her down slowly
onto his cock. She rode him slowly, loving how his hard, thick
length rekindled her need. Davin pulled her forward and shifted a
little while Lorne moved away. Lorne climbed back on the bed and
pushed her forward a bit, his warm, oiled fingers beginning their
work. She’d seen him do this to Davin many times, and the memories
stoked her desire even more.

“
I’d give anything to have
two cocks and fuck you both this way,” Lorne said, dropping a
playful kiss on her shoulder before biting her neck in a very
sensitive spot.

She turned her head enough to kiss
him. “You’ll have to settle for taking him later as I recover.” He
slid a second finger into her, going deep. The burn made her pussy
clench. “Fill me, Lorne, please.”