After going through a few near death experiences with her, he knew they always left her feeling... tense. He gently stroked Kari’s blonde hair as Bethany watched them from the table and Ruby bit her lip in anticipation of another show. His hand had just slipped inside Kari’s shirt to fondle one breast when boots thumping on the stairs alerted him to a visitor.

  He yanked his hand out of Kari’s shirt, after which she quickly sat up and buttoned it. All his wives were here with him, which meant anyone coming down would not be one of his wives. It might even be his parents. He wasn’t going to grope his wives in front of them.

  The moment he saw her dark green boots, he realized their visitor was Emerald. That meant either Princess Victoria or Lachlan must have some immediate questions for them. As she entered the home and looked around, Emerald cocked an eyebrow.

  “Oh, sorry. Did I interrupt the celebratory orgy?”

  Trent cleared his throat. “Is there something you need?”

  “Yeah. A moment of your time. I mean, assuming you’re not busy.” Emerald’s wry grin suggested she was far from annoyed by that possibility. “I can come back.”

  Trent watched her calmly. “What’s this about?”

  “I’d prefer that remain between you and me, Sir Marston. But it’s nothing you can’t share with your wives after. Take a walk with me. I have a proposition for you.”

  As Trent glanced at Bethany, she motioned subtly with her head in encouragement. He didn’t know what Emerald had in mind, but he did know that she was a powerful warrior and an experienced archer who they would be fortunate to have as their ally.

  Kari squeezed his thigh. “Go. We’ll be here when you get back.”

  Ruby offered Emerald a quizzical glance. “Emmie, is this about⁠—”

  “Sssh!” Emerald glared at Ruby with a finger to her lips. “Don’t spoil the surprise!”

  Ruby grinned knowingly. “Sorry!”

  As Trent rose, he glanced curiously at Ruby. She merely grinned at him with an eager expression that meant she was excited about something. Apparently, Emerald’s surprise.

  He glanced at Revca, who was watching them from the door to Ivy’s room, and spoke over the mage bond they shared.

  “Any idea what this is about?”

  Her brown eyes met his. “No idea, husband. But I look forward to hearing about it.”

  As Emerald strode up the stairs, Trent’s gaze was drawn once more to her fantastic ass. Her dark hair trailed down her back as she climbed, and when she stopped and twisted her body to glance back at him, it put her left breast in profile as well.

  Was she teasing him? Showing off? Or simply seeing how he’d react?

  With an almost girlish grin, she bounded up the stairs and out of sight. He reluctantly headed up after her, wincing at the ache in his thighs and calves. Yet he had trained for much longer marches than this, and he didn’t want to be left behind.

  The monastery courtyard was busy when he emerged to find Emerald waiting for him, but no more busy than it had been the past few weeks. She turned once more and strode toward the Enchanter’s building. Trent followed.

  “You’re certain you can’t tell me what this is about?”

  “I am certain of that, actually. But here’s a clue. It involves the orrery.”

  “How so?”

  “It’ll make sense once I show you.” She glanced back again and winked. “Assuming you trust me not to sneakily murder you?”

  He eyed her dubiously. “So far.”

  They crossed the courtyard rapidly. The soldiers on duty at the entrance to the Enchanter’s workshop offered them both a curious look, but didn’t challenge them. Trent followed Emerald inside. They strolled through the busy workshop together and down the hall, where the same previously invisible door in the wall whisked open.

  Emerald glanced back to make sure he was still following her, offered an even more sultry grin, and then all but skipped down the spiral staircase. Trent inwardly groaned at the thought of more stairs. Still, cementing alliances was part of being a queen’s kestrel.

  As they descended, he was pleasantly reminded of his and Ruby’s own attempt to visit the orrery before they’d left to get Ivy... and their failure to make it all the way down. Yet Emerald couldn’t be dragging him all the way down here to seduce him. So why?

  She must have learned something more about the devil dagger, perhaps, or learned of another eclipse or astronomical event that would be useful in their fight against Tallun or Lord Adon. Something that required the orrery to properly explain. It would make sense soon.

  Several more spiral staircases followed, and while Trent wasn’t wheezing for breath by the time they reached the orrery, he was a bit winded. He wouldn’t have been so tired under other circumstances, but he had used chaos step to tear through a horde of devil mages today.

  He searched for the presence of Spike and found nothing. The devil mage remained asleep, as he had been since they had returned to the monastery. He felt no chill and no sense of the mage’s presence, which assured him that Spike continued to hold true to their deal.

  Kari had been absolutely right. The power Spike offered truly could become addictive if he wasn’t careful. He had torn through that devil soldier ambush like a full squad of Blessed Knights, and he could have pushed himself even further if necessary.

  Kari’s cautious words echoed in his head. “It’s not all about what they offer. It’s about what they make you want.”

  Did Trent want the power Spike offered? He certainly wanted to learn to execute powerful spell forms like chaos step without requiring the devil mage’s assistance. And he absolutely wanted enough power to protect his tribe from devil soldiers.

  He was still pondering everything he wanted from his deal with Spike when he walked into the orrery, only to find it empty. Where had Emerald gone? He had completely lost track of her.

  Warm hands wrapped around his midriff, and then a warm, soft, eager woman embraced him from behind and breathed softly against his ear. Trent froze like he’d had a knife put to his neck by an enemy scout... though Emerald wasn’t his enemy.

  She breathed softly in his ear. “Surprise.”

  Trent’s thoughts went in a dozen directions without settling on any one. Was she coming onto him? Why drag him all the way down here for that? She’d given no sign she was interested.

  Emerald’s palms gently slid down his midriff. “Nice abs. You work out?”

  “Uh... yes. Now, what did you want to show me?”

  She molded her warm body to his back as she shifted to his other ear. “What I show you depends on how you answer my next few questions.”

  “About?”

  “Me.” She squeezed his midriff and then kissed his neck before she rested her chin on his shoulder. “I like you, Trent. I like a great many things about you. So, do you like me?”

  As Emerald embraced him from behind, he could feel every curve of her athletic body against his back. Her question almost felt like a trick, but why would it be? She might be a flirt and a tease, but he didn’t get the feeling she was being so now. She was serious.

  “Yes.”

  “And do you want me?” Her lips brushed his ear. “Do you want to be inside me?”

  He considered how best to answer that, then settled on the truth. “I don’t know yet.”

  She froze, then laughed and gave him a playful shove. “Wow. Really?”

  He spun to face her and raised both hands. “I don’t mean that in the sense that you might think! You’re a gorgeous woman, and supremely capable. I do like you. But given I think you’re serious about this, and not teasing me, I wanted to give you an honest answer.”

  Emerald raised an eyebrow. “But? I distinctly heard a ‘but’ in that explanation, which is why I’m pondering walking away in a huff. A very huffy huff.”

  “But you’re Ruby’s sister, and I barely know you.”

  She frowned. “What’s Ruby got to do with us?”

  As his heart pounded and his cock angrily demanded to know why he had turned down an opportunity to bend Emerald over the controls of the orrery, Trent refocused on how he felt about every woman in his tribe, and about Ruby, specifically.

  “Both Ruby and our relationship mean a great deal to me. She made clear she’d love for you to join us, but if you’re going to join our tribe⁠—”

  She raised a hand. “Who said I wanted to join your tribe?”

  “You said⁠—”

  “I said I want you to fuck me. Hard, here, and now. I already know from Ruby that you’re a fantastic lay. But when did I imply I expected more from you than a roll in the hay?”

  He considered her for a moment, then decided she was serious. “Let’s take a step back before we move forward. You know I’m the chief of a Windborne tribe, right?”

  “Oh yeah. Beth made that crystal clear. Which is why she should have no problem with you bending me over those controls and pounding me until I can’t walk.”

  “But do you know what else being a Windborne chief means?”

  “That you have a lot of wives, and you’re going to have a whole litter of children with them. I think that’s great, and I’m happy for all of you. But I don’t want that.”

  He frowned. “You don’t want to join a tribe?”

  “I don’t want children.” Emerald turned serious as well. “I definitely don’t want a relationship where my man expects me to be at his beck and call, and I certainly don’t want to settle down in some small town after whatever happens with Tallun.”

  Trent nodded to show he understood. “So where do you see your life after all this?”

  “Out there. My dream has always been to die climbing the highest mountain in the republic or knee deep in battle with my enemies. I’m a born wanderer. I can’t very well leave a couple of sobbing brats behind, wondering if Mommy’s ever coming home.”

  Trent thought of Spike, who had been trapped in the Firmament for almost as long as Emerald had been alive. “You want to die?”

  She snorted. “Well, of course I don’t want to die.” She walked to the orrery, then gazed up at it. “I want to live forever, or at least as long as I can. I like living.”

  “And these two desires don’t conflict?”

  “I don’t see how they would. I like challenging myself, but I’m not so conceited as to think that I’ll keep coming out on top if I keep thumbing my nose at death. At some point, I’m going to get myself killed. But at least it’ll be fun.”

  “So it’s not that you want to die. You’re simply not afraid of dying.”

  “Yes. If I do die, I want it to be in battle and not in bed. I want to see everything there is to see in this world, witness the rise and fall of nations, and maybe even kill a king at your side. Since we’re apparently having a serious discussion instead of sex, do you understand why I’ve never settled? It certainly isn’t because I don’t get horny.”

  Trent knew she was testing him with this question. He also knew the wrong answer might upset her. Even so, he had faced more serious dangers, and he thought he understood.

  “You never settled down with anyone because they’d die and you wouldn’t.”

  “That’s one reason, but not the only one.” Emerald glanced sidelong at him. “The other reason is because any man I settled with would expect something I can’t offer.”

  “Which is?”

  “A warm body in their bed every night, and a doting wife who will mend their clothing, cook their meals, and raise their children. I can’t be that for anyone, and I don’t want that.”

  “So what do you want from a relationship?”

  Her sky-blue eyes blinked. “Seriously?”

  “Yes. I want to know. If we’re going to be together, we need to understand each other. So? What do you want, Emerald? From me?”

  “I want you to let me go when I need to wander. I want you to not worry about me when I disappear, and then frantically toss me down on your bed when I show up on your doorstep six months later. I want kisses and cuddles and sex that makes it hard to walk in the morning, but only if you trust me to stay faithful even if you only see me twice a year.”

  “And you’ve never trusted anyone to be comfortable with that?”

  “I’ve never met any man who would be comfortable with that, and to be honest, I never asked. Because while I know what I need, I also know what I’d be asking of my partner. Asking a man to be with me and then leaving him alone for six months wouldn’t be fair to him.”

  “I see. But I’m different?”

  Her frown turned teasing. “I don’t know. Are you?”

  “I am. I have my other wives, and I love all of them a great deal. I also don’t ever want to stop them from chasing what excites them. So were you to run off to explore ancient ruins, you wouldn’t be leaving me alone. You’d be leaving me in good hands.”

  “A number of good hands, and yes, that’s part of why I’ve decided you’d be a good partner for me. But the main reason I want you is because of who you are.”

  “And who am I? In your eyes?”

  Emerald laughed merrily. “You want me to make you a list of reasons why you’re my ideal man?”

  “You asked me why I want you. Turnabout is fair play.”

  “I suppose you have me there.” She took a breath. “Trent, the day we met, you saved my life. Then you helped me stop a war and save hundreds of my sisters.”

  “We all did that. Together.”

  “But you led the effort. I also just watched you charge fearlessly into the darkest parts of the Firmament to save the soul of your latest fiancé, laugh in the face of devil mages, and make a friend out of a three-hundred-year-old executioner. You never gave up on finding Ivy, no matter how impossible or dangerous it seemed. I love how bold you are.”

  “The same could be said of many, including my wives.”

  “Perhaps. Yet your tribe doesn’t exist without you, and neither does Princess Victoria’s chance to regain her throne. So to answer your question? Any man I take as my lover needs to be a match for me, and I think you are. So I want you.”

  Trent smiled. “All right. I’ll admit you make a good case.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Emerald brushed back her long, dark hair and swayed her hips as she walked toward him again, but stopped a few paces away. Her eyes drank in his as her lips pressed together. The faint light of the orrery highlighted every curve as she waited for his decision.

  “So where does that leave us? One-night stand? Casual fling? Or something deeper?”

  Trent closed the distance between them and took Emerald’s hands. “It means we could have a future together. I appreciate you being so forthright with me about what you’re looking for, so I’ll be the same. I am attracted to you, and I could live the way you propose.”

  “Which is… what way?”

  “I’ll be your home when you need one, and think of you fondly when you’re gone.”

  “And you wouldn’t expect me to settle down with you? You wouldn’t tell me no when I told you I’m off to climb a mountain? You’d always let me go whenever I asked?”

  He leaned close. “I’d only want you to be happy.”

  She kissed him again, and then their hands were freely roaming each other’s bodies as she showed him just how eager she was. Their kiss was far deeper than even the one he’d had with Ivy. He enjoyed it quite a bit. She ended it before he did, then smiled warmly.

  “So that’s what I want. And to be clear, this offer applies to you only. When I need a man to bend me over the furniture, I’ll come home and find you. I don’t sleep around. I will sleep with you when I’m here, but when I’m not? I need you to trust me to stay faithful.”

  “I can do that.”

  She brushed back her hair and smiled. “You can, can’t you? From another man, I’d think you were placating me, but you don’t seem the sort to do that. Damn.” A true blush found its way to her cheeks. “I didn’t expect you to make such a big deal out of this.”

  “Emerald, the chance to have a woman like you is a very big deal.”

  When her soft lips mashed against his again, it was clear to him she didn’t intend to stop. He considered all the reasons they should wait until they knew each other better, but he also knew what Emerald wanted and what his wives would allow... and what he wanted.

  Ruby had already said she would be fine with Emerald joining their tribe, even if they wouldn’t share him on the same night. Bethany had made it clear multiple times that she thought Emerald would be a good addition, though she wouldn’t be thrilled about Emerald not having children. Fortunately, he knew Emerald could hold her own against Bethany’s wiles.

  He doubted either Revca or Kari would object to what might happen in this orrery, and Ivy had made it clear she was comfortable being one part of a Windborne tribe: his tribe. Finally, he knew he wanted this brave woman at his side and in his bed.

  So with nothing to stop them, Trent slid his hands down Emerald’s sides to possessively grip her firm ass. As he squeezed, she groaned and hugged him tighter. One of her hands slid down his midriff and shamelessly cupped his now rock-hard cock.

  She pressed closer. “Oh, that’s nice.”

  He groaned softly as her fingers teased him. “I’m glad you approve.”

  Now teasing him with her fingers, she licked her lips. “Just so we’re clear, I want you to fuck me today. We’ll discuss blowjobs later.”

  Ivy wanted to wait until marriage. Emerald wanted to have sex with him right now. He could appreciate the perspectives of both women, but only one of them was currently playing with his cock.

  “Yes. But you choose how you want it.”

  She shuddered in delight. “I want to look you in the eyes while you fuck me. You can do me from behind later on, but I want to look into your eyes during our first time.”

  Trent held her hungry gaze as he slid his hand between her legs. “You’ve got a deal.”

  She gasped as her thighs instinctively tightened around his hand, and then she eased them apart. They stroked each other through their clothes as their gazes remained locked, as if each of them was daring the other to look away first. Finally, Emerald spun about and pushed her ass against him, grinding slowly and seductively.