The way Mirxalyn held her gaze on me speaks plenty of emotions, making me shiver. It bothered my heart, igniting the heat and desire that I wasn't sure if I was ready to take in. But instead of diving in, I looked away from her bothersome eyes that she rarely gave away.
It was not that I didn't like the way she looked at me right now. I feel the security and protection in them. It shelters me. But with the rarest slyness curved in them—I can't. It made me feel bothered about something I wasn't fully ready to commit to doing with her—making love.
I looked away and softly whispered, "Don't give me that look."
Mirxalyn's brow shot up, and her tone went soft, but it was laced with hidden meaning. "What, look, my dear wife?"
I shivered, hot and bothered, but I masked it. I glared at her. "THAT!" I exclaimed defensively, trying to hide the heat and desire building slowly in my abdomen. Then I added, but I could not finish my words without blushing badly, "That kind of looks like you..."
"Like what?" Her voice deepened and was meaningful, and it made my heart race and bothered me.
"Like you want to eat me," I mumbled softly as I looked away.
Mirxalyn gently grabbed my chin, forcing me to face her before she asked teasingly, "And what if I do? Do we have a problem with that?"
I looked at her—really looked at her like she had grown two heads. But no words were forming from me; I just opened them before closing. It was nothing except for the blushing cheeks I had. The tension was palpable and charged, but with Elizabeth Fraye's presence, everything could either lighten up or get worse.
But between the three of us, regarding our relationship status, she's both.
Fraye suddenly chuckled, breaking the tension a little. Mirxalyn and I exchanged looks before looking at her, confused. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to laugh at this moment," she apologized, gesturing to our position and the building tension between us. I'm lost and confused, making her swallow and calm herself before continuing, "I laughed at how funny we looked right now. Bernila was sitting on your lap in full blushing mode, and you, Mirxalyn, you teased her with desire to claim her and make her yours to equal mine." I blushed at her direct explanation because it was true; I'm still straddling my wife's lap, and Mirxalyn looked away, masking her amusement. "Just kiss each other, make love. I don't mind watching, and maybe, perhaps, I could join later after you have fully mated."
I swear I'm already a tomato from blushing too much. I glared at her, whining, "FRAYE!"
"What? It's not bad. You're our mates. We have rights to each other," Fraye reasoned, which was legit, but what made me hide on Mirxalyn's neck was Fraye's additional comment. "And I don't mind doing it together in the same bed."
"I love that idea," Mirxalyn agreed, catching me off guard.
"I know." Fraye winked amusingly, and my jaw dropped.
"Shall we do it now or after we fully mark?" my wife asked in consideration, and I couldn't believe that I was hearing this conversation as if I weren't present.
"Hm, it's better after you fully mark each other. It's more appropriate and perhaps could spice it even more when it's us, three." Fraye considered the thought carefully, and it was so unbelievable. Then she chuckled, adding casually, "Oh, remind me when you're done, so I won't be bothered by it."
I blushed over their conversation, and my wife, Mirxalyn, agreed to her request. "Duly noted."
I might have been blushing because of their honest conversation, but I managed to glare and annoyingly remind them that I was present. "Seriously, I'm still here, and you're talking about it as if I'm not."
They both looked at each other, grinning, before Mirxalyn responded. "Well, we got the reaction we needed."
I glared at them. "YOU!" I exclaimed, feeling embarrassed and hot at the same time. I just realized having two mates, particularly them—they could send me to an early grave. But I can't deny that they made my life interesting and vibrant. Then I sighed, admitting about the thing I wasn't ready for, "Honestly, I want to do it, but I'm not ready for a threesome."
Both went still and quiet, carefully digesting what I had admitted to them before their teasing smile went soft. Mirxalyn squeezed my hand for assurance.
Fraye's gentle hand tucked my hair behind my ear, saying, "We might be teasing, but we meant every word about what we desire with you. But we understand about not rushing you into anything."
"But we did it," I said softly, making her giggle.
"Yes, we do because you're comfortable with me; you trusted me completely, and I'm taking the responsibility for it. But with Mirxalyn, I could tell you're careful around her, and it's because of her position in the family, her title, her shifting aura, and where her true feelings lie."
Mirxalyn looked at me with concern before asking, "Baby, is that true?"
I was quiet for a few seconds before sighing, nodding a little, and then explaining. "If I looked at them, I felt pressure. But whenever I focus on you and myself, us, I hold on to it, although you are still holding on to something I couldn't fathom."
"When you're ready to know them, you'll know them, and I'm not going to stop you from exploring it." "And about my position in the family, I'm just good at it, but it doesn't mean you need to act like me. You'll be the queen of this empire because you're my queen. And being my queen doesn't need perfection; I only need your truth, you."
"Then can you tell me about it, your past?" I wondered carefully.
Mirxalyn giggled and kissed my forehead, igniting the mark faintly before saying, "You will, but for now, rest, or else I might do something you're not ready for."
"Mirxa," I pouted.
"Just saying," she responded, pecking my lips.
We're having a warm moment when Mirxalyn lets me sit between them, and her expression changes. I wanted to ask, but Fraye pulled me into her arms, shaking her head because Mirxalyn was once again in her intimidating queen facade, and then Xerxec came.
"Lady Mirxalyn, sorry to interrupt, but there's a telegram addressed to you. It was on your office desk," Xerxec reported politely.
Mirxalyn's voice was ice as she asked. "From whom?"
"It's Lady Mycillas of Atlantia Lake," Xerxec answered politely.
As Mirxalyn nodded and waved her hand, Xerxec left. When he was gone, I felt the tension become charged because my wife, Mirxalyn, had been staring in one way, calculating over something I wasn't sure what was about or if I was ready to know about it.
Again, Fraye eased the tension with familiarity, saying, "I see, she's alive."
"Indeed," Mirxalyn sighed, nodding. "Anyway, I'd better go. It may be important." Her voice was soft despite the tightness in it before she stood and reminded Fraye seriously, "Fraye, let her rest."
"Maybe, or we could have fun while we wait for you," Frayed teased. I blushed, but not with Mirxalyn.
She glared slightly before sighing, pleading, "Fraye, please."
Fraye noticed the vulnerability in my wife's tone and agreed, shooing her gently. "I know. Go. I'll take care of her."
When my wife was gone, Fraye did something outrageous. She scooped me into her arms as if I didn't weigh anything before teleporting—more on running to the music room. I wasn't sure why she brought me here, but I followed her to a hidden room where old paintings were stored neatly and preserved, and one dark, grand piano was untouched but well-maintained.
"They kept it clean and maintained," Fraye said softly as she checked every corner of the small functional room.
"Where are we?" I asked curiously.
"My sanctuary," she answered, not looking at me, but her voice was filled with rawness and longing.
"Yours?" I mumbled.
She nodded before answering, "Yes, I had plenty. But this one, if you're bored, you can be here. I'm allowing you."
But I sensed something in her voice, like she was hiding something from me. "Fraye, don't be like Mirxa. Don't hide something from me."
Fraye smiled at me before answering, "I am not hiding anything, but there are some things that it's better to hear from Mirxalyn."
"That sounds heavy, but okay, I understand," I responded before wondering about a name Xerxec had mentioned. Then I asked, "Who's Mycillas?"
"She's a shaman who had been around the family, giving warnings," she answered, checking an old dreamy painting of the moon meeting the sun. Then she continued, "She's peculiar, harmless, but could be dangerous if wronged. But now we received a message; maybe it had something to do with Mirxalyn's fate."
"What do you mean?" I wondered, joining her, checking the paintings that caught my attention.
"Meaning, there were moments that Mycillas sent a message or paid the family a visit for either a warning or a reminder. But either way, it had meaning, and the family, whoever she was trying to contact here, must answer, because if not, karma lands on the family." She answered as she wrapped her arms around my waist, leaning her chin on my shoulder as I showed her a midnight painting of the Knightrose courtyard covered in snow.
I leaned on her before asking gently, "Has it happened before?"
"Yes, plenty of times until I was born." She answered as she kissed my shoulder before adding, "The family started to change when I reigned and became the family head, and the royals took notice of the family. It explains why we ruled here."
I shivered from her kiss before guessing, "So, you're the first queen of the Knightrose family?" She hummed against my skin, kissing my neck, and I didn't like how she could easily turn me on. I almost moaned when I decided to change the topic before we do something here. "You paint?"
"Before I did," she answered, giggling softly. She knew what she was doing to me, and she was not stopping.
I frowned, pulling away from her. "And you play?" I asked as soon as I escaped from her hold. She nodded, giggling. I blushed, but I managed to ask, "Can I hear them?"
"Sure," she replied, but instead of playing the piano, she captured my lips.
Her kiss was the same soft, tender, fairly dominating, and claiming. Instinctively, my hands clenched on her clothes, pulling her closer as our kiss deepened, roughened, and heated. She pulled me closer and lifted me at ease.
"Damn you. I told you to play the piano, not this," I said hoarsely between our kisses.
Her lips curved against mine before saying, "I felt it. You're calling me. I'm just retraining myself in front of Mirxa."
"She'll be mad. You promised her that you'd let me rest tonight," I reminded her, but she didn't stop kissing and touching me. Her touches were gentle, setting my body in the heat, which I bet Mirxalyn would be able to feel. She even pressed me against the wall, and her hands made me melt on her. "Fraye."
"I got you," she whispered softly, kissed me tenderly, and let me release the heat that I had been holding since they teased me. Then she whispered to my ears, panting, "Whenever you feel the need to release the heat, you can come to Mirxa or me; we'll help you."
I nodded quietly before I pulled her for another kiss and then leaned my forehead against hers, saying, "You still owe me a song."
Fraye giggled and kissed my forehead. "Sure, let's get you to bed before she storms here."
***
I don't know when I fell asleep, but I could feel the comfort of the same bed I shared with them when I sensed tension. They were not bad tension, but the air was filled with it, and then it was followed by two familiar voices. They were talking about something serious and filled with consideration until I was mentioned in their conversation.
"Me?" I frowned, wondering, "What are they talking about?"
As I was lying still, half-asleep, in our master bedroom, I began concentrating on the two people who were talking around me. The more I focused, the clearer it became. I heard Mirxalyn's firm but worried voice talking with Fraye.
"Mycillas wanted to meet her in person."
"And you know what it meant, right?"
"Yes, and it scares me."
"Are you sure you're scared for her, or are you scared that your feelings will change because of your unsaid past?"