Shades Of Green Read online

  “She would be very young.” Thal bit her lip, hoping they wouldn’t forbid it. She couldn’t mate with men who wouldn’t allow her to teach her daughter what needed to be done.

  “How young?” Gaige frowned. “Children need tae be children.”

  “It’s no use then.” Thal sighed. “I can’t have a daughter and not teach her our ways. I must teach any daughter we have what her responsibilities are. We would have to start when she’s very young. I might be able to put it off for a few years, but I would certainly have to start her training by the time she’s thirty.”

  Both Kiran and Gaige laughed at that.

  “What’s so funny?” She shifted her gaze between them.

  “Darlin’, our daughter will be a woman at the age of eighteen. She’ll be an adult. By then she’ll hae had the childhood we want tae give her. You’ll be free to train her to follow in your footsteps any time after she’s fifteen, or so.”

  “Really?” Thal’s heart grew lighter. She could still train her daughter. “I wouldn’t start her training until she was at least eighteen.” She smiled. “We don’t mature enough to pay attention until we reach that age.”

  “It’s because you’re children. Children should run and play. They learn their social skills by doing those things with others. We firmly believe that no child should ever be deprived of their childhood.”

  That was an obstacle out of their way. Thal moved from between them and held out her hand when they would have flanked her again. “Don’t. I can’t think when you’re so close to me like that.”

  They grinned at each other and then turned their attention to her. “Ye probably shouldn’t hae told us that, lass.”

  Thal frantically glanced around them. It was nearly dark and the other nymphs had already settled down on the other side of the glade.

  The other men patrolled the area. Each of the cardinal points bore a watcher searching the darkness for the first sign of ogres.

  “Jamie,” Gaige called through the darkness. “Kiran and I will take our mate and scout ahead.” At the other man’s nod he continued. “In the morning, take them tae the glade beneath the north peak. We’ll meet ye there.”

  “As ye wish,” Jamie replied with a smile. “Good luck to ye.”

  Thal frowned. Good luck? Why would he wish them good luck? The shifters had already proven they could see well in the dark. Luck should have little to do with it.

  Chapter Thirteen

  It was nearly ten o’clock by the time they reached the glade, and Gaige couldn’t wait to dismount. Riding with Thal’s full breasts pressed against his back had been pure hell. The heat from her body only drove his temperature up, but not in the manner that would make him dismount and take a swim. His cock throbbed with the need for release.

  “We’ll make camp here.” Kiran dismounted and then turned to help Thal slide to the ground. He held her against him for a minute before pressing a quick kiss to her lips and releasing her.

  “We’ll stay here in the cave. It has a hot spring deep inside.”

  “The ogres could be in there.” Thal backed away from the mouth of the cave with a shake of her head.

  “No, love.” Gaige dismounted and pulled her into his arms. “They won’t. Our Aunt Maggy tells us there’s magic in the cave that the ogres won’t care for. She used to tell us stories when we were boys. She drilled it into our heads that if we were ever chased by ogres or trolls we were tae hide in this cave, if we could get to it.” He smiled ruefully. “After we reached the age of fourteen, we’d been sure she was pulling our legs. Surely trolls and ogres didn’t really exist.” He kissed her forehead then took her hand and led her toward the cave. “It wasn’t until a few days ago that we realized she hadn’t been pulling our legs, after all.”

  They entered the cave they had played in as children. “We used to camp here when we were younger.” Kiran lit a torch they’d stored on the wall and led the way deeper into the mountain. “We left things, as I’m sure others have left things.” He turned to them with a smile. “I only hope that there isn’t a group of boys here now.”

  “As do I,” Gaige added. This was where he hoped to claim their mate. He didn’t know if he could take sleeping another night with his mate so close, yet still unclaimed. It might drive him mad.

  “Thank the gods it’s empty,” Kiran said with a sigh as they reached the warm cavern. Steam rose up from the heated pool off to the side. “It looks just how I remembered it.” He strode over to the shelf someone had carved into the wall long before they’d camped there as boys and laughed. “The boys are still bringing canned goods. We’ll hae a breakfast of beans and peaches in the morning.”

  “I like peaches.” Thal said with a smile as she began to disrobe next to the pool.

  “What are ye doing, lass?” Kiran said on a choked whisper.

  “I’m going to bathe. I’m sticky and I smell.” She pulled her top off, and then pulled her knife from her belt and let it drop to the floor before she shimmied out of her pants and turned to them.

  Gaige couldn’t speak. He could barely breathe as he stared at his mate’s perfection. Full breasts tapered down to a slightly rounded belly and wide hips. Her lovely porcelain skin glowed in the low light from the torch. He swallowed thickly, his cock practically dancing beneath his kilt.

  A glance at Kiran proved that the other man had a similar reaction to their mates’ beauty. Not only had his cousin reacted, but his cock planned to stay there awhile, if the tent it pitched in Kiran’s kilt was any indication.

  Thal met his gaze, piercing each of them in turn with eyes the color of newly awakened moss. There was no hesitance, no embarrassment in her expression. She just stared at them, a slight smile on her face.

  It was the first time Gaige had seen that color in her eyes. Like the glades she awakened, her eyes shifted across dozens of shades of green. Each mood she had bore a different shade, from hunter green to the light glowing green of new leaves.

  “You’re welcome to join me.” She lifted a brow and looked them both up and down. “The trip here did little to keep you two clean.”

  “Do ye know what you’re doing, lass?” He hoped she did. Gaige wasn’t certain he could swim naked with her and not make her his.

  She stared at him for a few seconds, her lips parted. Nervously, she touched her upper lip with the tip of her tongue. “I think so.” She smiled. “I hope so.” Turning, she stepped into the pool, slowly lowering herself into the warm water.

  Gaige kicked his boots off and untied his kilt, letting the material slide to the ground. Moving slowly, he entered the pool, moving up behind Thal.

  “Ye have no modesty, woman.” He breathed the words against her neck and grinned at the goose bumps that rose on her skin.

  “Why should I be modest? This is the body nature gave me. We are about to engage in a natural act.” She grimaced. “I only wish nature had made it as pleasurable for females as it is for males.”

  He stared at her for a moment, speechless. “You’ve never had pleasure during sex? In two hundred years, no man has ever brought you to orgasm?”

  “Orgasm?” A little crease formed between her brows before she shook her head. “Females were made for breeding, not to have pleasure.”

  “Jesus!” Kiran splashed into the pool. “That had to have been some idiotic nineteenth-century selfish male who told you that.” He shook his head. “Both sexes are designed to derive pleasure from the act. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a selfish pig and you have my permission to tell him that.”

  “And mine.” Gaige cupped her chin in his hand and slowly lowered his head.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Thal didn’t understand the strange sensations whirling through her middle as Gaige pressed his lips to hers. These two men had kissed her more times in the last few days than any other male had kissed her in her entire life.

  Each time they touched her, her body reacted. Either she shivered, or
her insides went up in flames. What was it about their touch that made her want more, burn for more?

  Heat swirled in her middle, flaring out to encompass the rest of her body. The warm water lapping at her skin only added to the lovely sensations washing over her. Her nipples pebbled in the cool air as she stood waist deep in the heated pool.

  Gaige’s tongue pressed against the seam of her lips. She wasn’t sure what he wanted. Pulling away slightly, she opened her mouth to ask and he swooped in, thrusting his tongue deep into her mouth.

  Why had she never known these feelings were possible between a man and a woman? Why had no male before him showed her that she could feel pleasure in a man’s touch?

  She gasped when he lifted his hand, his fingers plucking gently at her nipples. There was no excited pawing with him. His hands didn’t grab and bruise, they moved gently over her flesh, coaxing pleasure-filled moans from deep inside her.

  When Kiran moved up behind her, she cried out, her head dropping back on her shoulders when he lowered his head to suckle a strangely sensitive spot between her shoulder and neck.

  Thal whimpered when Gaige ended their kiss. Why? It had been one of the best experiences of her life. She cried out yet again, her hands moving to grasp Gaige’s head when he bent and pulled her left nipple into his mouth.

  Liquid heat pooled in her middle, sliding from her vagina as they continued to carry her away on a sea of pure pleasure. What fool had told her women couldn’t feel pleasure? She didn’t remember now, and frankly, she didn’t care.

  Kiran reached around her, his fingers delving between her legs. She stiffened slightly, expecting pain.

  “Shh...love.” He breathed in her ear. Scorching heat enveloped her as his fingers slid through her wet flesh. When they found and circled her clitoris, she cried out. Nothing felt as good as their hands skimming over her body.

  Fire raced through her blood. The blaze of what she could only describe as lust washed over her. Stiffening in their arms, she felt her mind grow hazy, and her body exploded into a million points of light. Colors flashed through her mind as she gave herself up to the climax she never realized she could have.

  Kiran held her to him, her back pressed tightly to his front as Gaige slowly lifted his head from her breast.

  “I-I...”

  “You’ve never felt that way before?” Gaige reached up and pushed her hair off her sweaty brow with a smile.

  Thal shook her head. She couldn’t speak at the moment. How could she have had sex as many times as she had over the last several decades and not know that a female could feel this way? Did no one ever share this information with nymphs? She would, by god.

  “Will the intercourse feel as good?” she asked hopefully.

  “I hope so, lass.” Kiran kissed her neck. “Are ye ready tae find out?” He groaned at her nod. “I’m glad tae hear it.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kiran glanced at Gaige. He’d expected his cousin would take her first, but he found that he couldn’t wait another second. His balls felt as though they might explode if he didn’t find release soon.

  Do ye mind, cousin?

  Gaige met his gaze with a smile and shook his head. The slight movement was all the encouragement he needed. Gently, Kiran turned Thal in his arms. Lowering his head, he pressed his mouth against her full lips, still damp from his cousin’s kiss. She opened for him when he traced the seam with his tongue, plunging it deep into the honeyed depths.

  His cock hardened beyond what he thought possible. It throbbed, straining against her abdomen as he pulled her tighter into his embrace. If he didn’t know better, he would have thought that his cock had already claimed its mate with no help from him, throbbing with the need for release.

  “Are ye sure, Thal?” I dinnae think I can stop my beast from claiming ye. If we do this, ye can never leave us. You’ll be stuck with us for the rest of your life.” He didn’t know how long nymphs lived, but shifters lived for a long, long time. She would at least live as long as they did.

  He rested his forehead against hers. “This will tie our lives together. You’ll never be free of us.” She had to make an informed decision. It wouldn’t do to have her change her mind after the deed was done.

  Reaching around her, he slid his hands down her back, moving over her hips and down to cup her perfect ass. “Will ye take us as your mates? Will ye live with us for the rest of our lives?”

  “Yes,” she replied with a gasp as Gaige reached around her and thrust his fingers through her thick, damp curls.

  “We can smell you. We both scent your arousal. Our bears can smell it, too. They want nothing more than tae make you their mate forever and a day.”

  “Yes.” She whispered the words against his lips. “A thousand times yes. No one has ever made me feel this way. Not once in my life have I felt towards a man the way I feel for you and Gaige.”

  Hope took flight in Kiran’s heart. Did that mean she was starting to love them? He hoped so. It hadn’t seemed important until just that moment that she love him. Until that moment, he hadn’t realized that in the short time he’d known her, he’d already come to care for her.

  Was it love? He wasn’t sure. He only knew that even if she didn’t agree to mate with them, he never wanted to spend a day without her in it. If that was love, then he had fallen hard and fast.

  “Then it’s time, love.” There that word was again. Perhaps that was what he felt for her. He stared down into her lovely green eyes and knew that he could do without many things in his life, but he never wanted to do without Thal.

  Reaching up, he cupped her cheeks before lowering his head to ravish her mouth. Gaige stood behind her, his fingers buried deep in her sex, making her moan. She panted between them, on the verge of another climax.

  Kiran met his cousin’s gaze and rested a hand on his arm. Gaige pulled his hand from between Thal’s legs with a nod.

  Bending, Kiran scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the makeshift beds at the other end of the cavern. They might be in a cave, but they could make her as comfortable as they could.

  Gently, he placed her on the thick mattress and kissed her again. Lightning shot through his blood as gentle fingers curled around his cock, sliding along its length. Impossibly, it grew larger, thicker, beneath her touch. Throwing his head back, Kiran thrust his hips, unable to control himself for a minute as she stroked his impatient flesh.

  He gave her a small smile as he pulled away, letting her know it wasn’t a rejection, merely a change in plans.

  Purposefully, he moved between her thighs to stare down at her blond, downy-soft curls. Gently, he pushed her legs apart and licked his lips at the sight of her glistening flesh. “Ye smell so sweet. I can’t wait tae taste ye.” He leaned down and swiped his tongue over her. Parting her plump lips, he laved her clit with his tongue before pulling it into his mouth and sucking hard.

  Thal reached down and thrust her fingers through his hair, holding him to her. She closed her legs, her thighs gripping his head tight and he grinned. He loved giving her pleasure. Though his cock ached, he refused himself release until he proved to her that they could pleasure her.

  “Ye were meant tae feel this pleasure, lass.”

  “Please,” she begged, pulling his head back to her quivering form. Her head thrashed on the pillow and her body grew tight as he suckled and laved her hard clit. Sliding his hand up her leg, he smiled. Finding her wet and ready, Kiran eased two fingers deep inside her and curved them upward.

  Her breathing grew fast and erratic. Her body quivered with the need to climax while he thrust his fingers faster and faster. Just when her body stiffened, and her back arched off the bed, Kiran fluttered his tongue over her clit, and Thal bucked violently with a high-pitched scream.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Thal lay on her back, spent. Dazed, she stared up at the two men who had rocked her world. She smiled when she realized that she finally knew what that expr
ession meant. She’d heard humans use it, but had never understood its meaning before.

  “Are ye ready, lass?” Kiran leaned down and kissed her. She tried to answer, but couldn’t speak. He must have seen the answer in her eyes because he smiled. “I never thought tae say this in my lifetime. I’d almost given up hope, but I love ye, lass, more than I ever thought possible in such a short time.”

  Thal’s eyes widened at his declaration. He loved her? Was that possible? Could she even love a man? It wasn’t as though her people made a habit of caring for men. Until a few days ago, she hadn’t spent more than a few hours in any male’s company.

  Her chest ached at the thought of leaving these two. Did that mean she loved them? Could she live happily without them the way she had for her entire life up until now?

  She looked at the two men who claimed she was their mate and smiled. “I love you, too.” They were easy words to say once she said them the first time. “I love you both and I never thought it possible for me to love a man—any man.”

  Why did they stare at her that way? Their hungry expressions almost scared her. It was as though they were starving and she was dinner. Her clit throbbed at the thought.

  Gaige reached out and gently cupped her breast. “We’ll both want to make love to you, Thal. We want to make you come, again and again. Does that frighten you?”

  “It excites me more than anything,” she replied with a slight shake of her head.

  She shivered when Kiran reached out and cupped her mound. As much as she wanted to come again, she wanted them to show her what making love was really like. The version she’d been introduced to all those years ago couldn’t possibly compare.

  Thal rested her hand over Kiran’s and met his gaze. “Make me your mate.” Why not? Living with them these last few days had been like a dream. Living with them the rest of her life could only be more of the same—especially now that she knew she loved them. Before them, she’d had no idea she was even capable of that emotion.