Chapter 37: Duel Purpose
I now have an editor, so you all shouldn't need to put up with my typos and poor/dyslexic editing skills anymore.
:)
* * *
Kendra felt sleep slowly leave her brain, replaced with the cheerful sound of birds singing. She smiled as she remembered how she had fallen asleep the previous night. Snuggling with Taloni had been wonderful; beyond wonderful and...
She moved her arm to realize that she was alone in the bed.
Instantly, her eyes snapped open and she sat bolt upright to look around. She was still in the guest room in Anthiel's house, and it was light out, but the sun wasn't up yet. The room was decorated in a simple, elegant style that was very cozy. The room's walls were a warm, comforting color and there was a small table with a few chairs around it in one corner.
But she didn't see Taloni.
The only other person on the bed was the still-sleeping Selene, with her mess of caramel-colored hair, which had somehow ended up arranged in portrait-perfect way on the pillow around her. Dear Illuminar in heaven; did she ever
not
look perfect? Pushing that aside because of concern for the Fey, she leaned up further to make sure that Ethan was still there...
And instantly wished she hadn't.
He was there alright... along with four very naked women who almost oddly weren't being covered with his dragon wings; probably because he was still half in the bedroll. She snapped her eyes shut and leaned back so they were out of sight, her heart rate returning to some semblance of normal now that the Fey girl was accounted for.
She flopped backwards on the bed, and the motion apparently woke Selene because the Brazilian woman started stretching slightly and then opened her eyes.
"Morning." The caramel-haired beauty yawned.
"Morn... morning." The dragon huntress replied with an echoing yawn.
Selene looked around. "Weren't there five women in this bed last night?"
"Yeah, they joined Ethan." She rolled her eyes and pointed towards the foot of the bed.
Selene started to sit up, probably to take a look.
"I wouldn't." The dragon huntress warned. "They chucked their clothes before snuggling with him."
"Of course they did." The Brazilian woman rolled her eyes as she flopped back onto the bed. "So, I guess we're kind of stuck here unless we want an eyeful of something that I don't want an eyeful of."
"Yup." Kendra nodded.
It was funny, this was only the... third? Fourth? Time that she'd woken up in the same room with Selene, but she was already starting to enjoy it. She felt a little bit of kinship with the Brazilian woman since they were both fighters.
It was nice.
"I guess we could turn our backs and slip out." Selene said. "They're still at the foot of the bed?"
Kendra nodded.
"Come on then, I could use a stretch and a bite to eat."
The door to the room was on Selene's side of the bed, so she rolled out of it, turned her back to the foot of the bed and walked sideways to the door before looking back at Kendra. "Coming?"
The raven-haired woman nodded, rolled to Selene's side of the bed, and then followed in the taller woman's footsteps. Together they slipped out, making sure not to open the door wide enough that they would expose Ethan or his wives if someone was on the other side of the door, but no one was.
The house was very quiet and semi-dark, since the sun hadn't risen yet.
"So, this is awkward." Selene whispered. "I always feel weird being in someone's house when they're not up."
"It's how I normally used to do it." Kendra grinned. "Come on, Mirella said she left some snacks in the kitchen."
The dragon huntress led the way to the kitchen. Once they entered, they saw Mirella sitting curled up in an armchair by the window, book in one hand and a cup of tea on the endtable next to her. She was wearing a thick nightgown with a lightweight shawl over it and looked very cozy.
"Good morning." The high elf said with a kind smile as she put a bookmark in her book and closed it.
"Don't stop on our account." Kendra said. "We're just feeling a bit peckish."
"Well then, how about some tea and biscuits while I get breakfast on?" Mirella asked, starting to get up.
"You don't have to." Selene said.
The mahogany haired elf stood and smiled at the two of them. "I know, but I like being a hostess and we so rarely have company. Please, have a seat."
"Well then, thank you." Kendra replied sitting down, and Selene followed suit.
"Why do you rarely have company?" The Brazilian woman asked.
Mirella looked down for a moment before responding. "It's..." She hesitated. "It's because..." She looked up at them with a pained smile. "Would I be a horrible host if I said I didn't want to talk about it?"
"Not at all." Kendra replied, and then dug into her training on smoothing situations over. It comes in handy for an Aldmiri agent, and what she was about to say was even perfectly true. "In fact, as far as I'm concerned, you've already set a new gold standard for a hostess; you are the standard by which I'll judge hospitality in the future."
"Thank you." Mirella beamed, though the pain from the question hadn't completely left her expression yet. "I need to run and get some wood for the cooking fire." She slipped out of the room with a smile, leaving the other two women alone.
"I've rarely met such a nice woman who was so down on herself." Kendra observed.
"Maybe Sarah, but otherwise me either." Selene nodded. "Wounded little birds."
"Huh?"
"There's this story I was reading on an erot--" She paused and blushed slightly before continuing. "I mean, online back on Earth. The main character flew around on a ship rescuing people and fighting the bad guys, and occasionally he would recruit a woman for the crew. However, the woman was almost always someone who had some major trauma that she needed to heal from. The ladies would occasionally refer to themselves as 'wounded little birds'. It's a really good story."
"This is sounding rather familiar..." Kendra observed.
"Maybe superficially, but our ship is named the Argo, not the Invictus; so it's totally different." Selene winked.
"I see what you mean about Mirella though." The dragon huntress continued. "It seems like Ralgar and Anthiel are really good for her." She cocked her head to one side as she thought about it. "I do see the 'wounded little birds' a little bit on the Argo too."
"Oh?"
The raven-haired women nodded. "It sounds like Alana was lonely, Beth not as much, but Taloni was a slave, Rachel was miserable and in the process of having her will broken by the will-breaker ring, I was incredibly lonely, you were stranded here, and Sarah... well, she
is
demon possessed."
Selene cocked her head to one side. "You don't normally open up and speak your mind this much, do you?"
Kendra thought about it for a moment.
It took a moment for her to realize it, but the Earthling was right. Not so long ago, she would've noticed these things but kept her observations to herself. Now she was sharing them freely without reservation or hesitation.
Interesting.
"I like not having to be so guarded." Kendra finally replied. "I always had to watch every movement and word in my former profession. I don't feel like I need to do that here; I mean with the Argo's crew, and especially Ethan and his wives."
Selene made a thoughtful sound, but didn't say anything. Kendra found herself wondering how much the other woman was keeping in.
* * *
Rachel slowly drifted to the waking world, missing the feeling of Ethan's wing draped protectively over her. It was silly; the thin membrane of his wing provided no protection from anything but perhaps cool air, not even cold air, yet being without it wasn't very fun or comfortable.
However, she did have something almost as good.
Without even opening her eyes, she smelled the fresh, earthy scent of her best friend snuggled up next to her. That had been one of the most unexpected highlights of marrying Ethan; every single morning she and Alana woke up next to each other. It didn't seem to matter where they fell asleep either, they always woke up lying next to each other, and usually snuggled with each other.
Obviously not in a romantic way -- that would just be weird -- but more in a sisterly way; a friendly, comforting way that wasn't arousing or erotic in any way. Nope, not at all. It just wasn't. Not at all...
She sighed.
She heard two giggles and finally opened her eyes to see her two youngest fellow wives crouching over Ethan's groin, apparently trying to wake him up with their lips and tongues. Their husband was laying on his back with his mouth slightly open, a soft, grunting snore occasionally emanating from him.
"What are you doing?" The redhead mouthed to the two blondes.
They both blushed before the Fey answered in a whisper. "Experimenting."
The mage smiled and rolled her eyes; those two could be so amusing. They worked together on his cock, which was sticking straight up and quite hard. They were kissing and licking it tenderly, much like she herself had done right after they'd left Nalatia. She felt her cheeks get warm, but found it hard to look away anyway. She simply couldn't bring herself to think of the sight as 'lewd'; it was just too loving and caring to be considered anything so crass.
The blonde and the honey-blonde worked together for another minute before Ethan groaned slightly in his sleep. She saw his cock stiffen and he started to groan as his eyes blinked open... just in time for Taloni to nudge the tip so Beth could seal her lips over it. Rachel saw the shaft pulse slightly as her husband let out a satisfied growl, and the blonde appeared to be sucking gently. Barely had he finished when Beth expertly slipped him out of her mouth and moved the tip to Taloni without spilling a drop so the Fey could repeat her success.
Now that their husband was awake, Rachel laid her head down on his chest. He put his arm around her as she sleepily watched the Fey lovingly take care of him. Taloni attended to her current mission with the utmost care and devotion, and you could see it all over her face. You could see it all over his face too as he let out another groan of satisfaction while the Fey trembled slightly as he finished in her waiting mouth.
"That was amazing ladies, thank you." Ethan said when Taloni had finished.
The blondes gave each other identical mischievous grins, opened their mouths slightly to show his seed in their mouths, and then closed them and visibly swallowed.
"You're welcome Dominus." Beth grinned. "I liked waking you up that way."
"Me too master; could we do that more often?"
"I will never complain if you do." He grinned back.
