17. Taldesa
Taldesa
Avie—her best friend who had been missing for three weeks was in GloomsDale because she was fucking someone.
Why didn’t she just say that?! Why couldn’t she just tell me?!
A million angry thoughts filtered through Tala’s mind.
All of them conflicting with the worry and doubt she had been carrying for so long.
If she was back at the temple with the Valiant Circle, she would grab Cercel by the collar and demand he spar with her.
Unlike the others, the top student didn’t fear her recklessness the way the others did.
When she was angry, she was more prone to mistakes, but that didn’t mean her hits didn’t hurt like hell.
Why couldn’t you have just said something to me Avie? Do you not trust me anymore?
“Tala…”
Casimine’s voice pulled Tala outside of her body enough that she realized she was pacing.
Her hand hurt from how tightly she had been clutching the opal.
Ameriden had sat on the floor, pulling Casimine’s body between his legs to support him.
Through all her emotional turmoil about Avie, she had completely spaced on the fact that Casimine had stressed out his body finding her friend for her.
He had done it as a token of his affection for her, whatever the fuck that meant.
She had once thought Avie had affection for her, but doubt clouded Tala’s mind.
What had she done that Avie didn’t trust her anymore?
Had she said something too direct? Had she hurt Avie to the point that she thought it was better not to tell Tala anything about this situation?
Also, who the fuck was this guy she was in bed with?
“You okay, sunshine?” Ameriden asked.
Fuck it.
Tala swallowed down the awful feeling, moving to kneel at Casimine’s side. His cyan skin had paled considerably, but he at least looked aware of his surroundings… mostly.
“I’m fine,” she assured, resting her hand on Casimine’s shoulder. “What about you?”
“I’m perfect,” Casimine said, though his eyes were a little heavy. “I’m just sorry if that was upsetting to hear…we weren’t sure how close you were with her.”
“Yeah, well, that makes two of us,” Tala muttered before shaking her head. She refused to cry. “But it’s fine. All that matters is she’s all right.”
“Wow, you’re taking this really well,” Ameriden remarked. “I think I’d lose my shit if Casi slept with someone without me.”
“Never gonna happen,” Casimine mumbled.
“Wait—Avie and I aren’t like that.”
“You mean she’s not your lover?” Ameriden perked up.
“No. And honestly, right now I’m not sure she’s my anything…she’s not mine.”
Avie had never been Tala’s, but they had been each other’s in a way that was very different from Casimine and Ameriden.
Where Tala lacked in social graces, Avie excelled.
When Avie couldn’t hold her own, Tala was there to be assertive for her.
They were best friends, but now Tala wasn’t sure what they were, only that it hurt the more Tala thought about it.
Tala couldn’t punch anything and she definitely couldn’t leave the two bards unsupervised, but maybe…
“How fucked up are you right now?” Tala asked.
“Ah…” Casimine blinked, slow with reflection. “I mean, I’m pretty drowsy. I could probably sleep for a while.”
“But you aren’t hurting anywhere, right?”
Casimine shook his head.
“And you’re okay?” Tala asked Ameriden.
He laughed, “I’m always okay, look at me.”
Tala nodded.
Then she dropped the opal. It fell onto the carpet with a thump that echoed in her ears. Tala shifted back on her knees, unsheathed her batons, and placed them on the coffee table. The two men looked curious as Tala pushed the coffee table away from Casimine.
“Okay,” Tala nodded, crawling in front of Casimine with a determination. “What do you need from me? I go to the healer regularly. I was just examined last month and I haven’t been with anyone in a long time. How do we do this?”
Casimine’s eyes widened at the same time as Ameriden’s jaw dropped.
“Are you sure?” Casimine asked. “We haven’t been with anyone since our last healer visit, but we’re happy to give you time to think it over—”
“Yeah, that was supposed to be a gift,” Ameriden said. “There’s no rush—”
“Do you two wanna fuck me, or not?” Tala demanded, hands resting on Casimine’s thighs as she leaned toward them.
Why can’t I have this? If Avie’s doing it without a care in the world, why can’t I?
“Of course we do.” Casimine leaned forward.
Tala could see the grayish blue extended to his sclera, moving almost like the waves of an ocean. An ocean was a better alternative to get lost in than her anger.
“We just want to make sure this is something you want, even if you’re hurting right now,” Ameriden said.
“I’m not hurting.”
Casimine pressed his forehead to hers. “Yes, you are.”
It was infuriating how well they had seen through her in such a short amount of time.
Not that her little freak out earlier had helped her hide, but Tala hated when people could read through her indifference.
It was almost as bad as how indifferent they were to her temper.
Fuck, she was going to need to be more honest here, wasn’t she?
She avoided Casimine’s gaze, only to be caught by Ameriden’s. He had rested his chin on Casimine’s shoulder.
“Fine. I am hurting and…I need something to make it stop.”
“All right,” Ameriden slipped his hand over the back of hers, “You understand that if we do this, it’s both of us right?”
“Yeah.” Tala leaned closer to Casimine. “I can take it.”
Still, he didn’t close the gap between their mouths. Tala was trying to be polite given she was going to be a guest in their bed, but fuck, if it wasn’t frustrating being so close to the mouth that held so many secrets.
Ameriden groaned, “Stop being a cock tease, Casi, and kiss her already.”
“Can’t a man savor—”
Tala pushed down onto Casimine’s thighs and closed the distance.
The moment their lips met, Tala wanted to sigh with relief.
Kissing was a different kind of physical, one that didn’t require Tala to bleed.
Casimine’s hand tilted her neck, adjusting the angle so he could pry her mouth open with his tongue.
He sighed, all soft like the material of his sheer blouse.
Impulsively, Tala reached up for the fabric, gripped the edges to pull their bodies closer together. She was getting thoroughly distracted by Casimine’s tongue when she felt Ameriden’s hand fall to the small of her back. The movement startled her, drawing her from Casimine’s mouth with a gasp.
“How was it?” Ameriden pressed a kiss to Casimine’s temple. “Tell me.”
“She kisses like how she speaks. Hard and relentless,” Casimine sighed, his hands cradling Tala’s face like she was something precious. The idea made something weak melt inside her.
“You kiss like a sap,” Tala quipped, before sending a challenging look at Ameriden. “If you wanna know so bad, maybe you should get off your ass and try me.”
Ameriden’s grin could make any conservative member of the Valiant Circle flush, and while Tala couldn’t deny that her skin had grown significantly warmer, she refused to back down.
“Okay, sunshine.” Ameriden yanked her toward him, to the point that she had fallen into Casimine’s lap. “Sate my curiosity.”
Tala didn’t have a chance to bark back as Ameriden had already pulled her in over Casimine’s shoulder.
He was a lot more forceful, less concerned with stealing her breath and more interested in swallowing her tongue.
When Ameriden groaned into her mouth, her thighs tightened around Casimine’s hips in response.
The layers of her wrap shorts was bothersome, but she could still feel the heat radiating off of Casimine—could feel him pressed right between her legs—
“Fuck,” Ameriden huffed against her mouth. “You taste so good.”
“And you smell like saffron and spices,” Casimine breathed against her neck. “Like something I’ve forgotten I needed.”
Needy wasn’t a word Tala ever would have associated with herself, but when Ameriden placed a hand on her ass and pulled her more tightly against Casimine’s groin?
That was the only word she could think of.
Maybe they could tell how desperate she was based on the small noises that were escaping with every grind of Casimine’s hips.
She practically whined into Ameriden’s mouth, one hand lost in his short hair, while the other was still clutching Casimine’s blouse.
And the sounds they’re making!
She had thought they had been loud through the wall, but now Casimine was panting in her ear. Ameriden wasn’t much better, moaning every time Tala sucked on his tongue. It was so much and somehow not enough. When Tala pulled back, they both looked wrecked—exactly how she felt.
“Not gonna lie, not sure how much foreplay I have in me,” Ameriden panted. “You’re both making me crazy.”
Tala would have made a smart ass comment about the man’s stamina, but her own patience had evaporated by the time Ameriden had started kissing her neck.
“How do you want us, beautiful?” Casimine asked, resting his hands on her and stilling her rolling hips.
They wanted her to think at a time like this?
When all Tala wanted was their hands on her?
Their bodies against hers? The thought of them last night had almost broken her discipline.
Meditation hadn’t helped, the louder they had gotten and Tala’s hand stalled between her thighs, just shy of touching.
“I want you both.” Tala bit her lip, suppressing the whimper at the back of her throat. “I can’t think straight right now—”
“Shh.” Casimine pressed a soft kiss to her mouth. “We have you.”
Ameriden fell back onto his heels, removing his shirt quickly. The expanse of his chest wasn’t a new sight, but knowing Tala was allowed to look and touch with their approval? She would take every chance she got to stare at him.
“Come here, sunshine.” He plucked her from Casimine’s lap as if she weighed nothing and set her in his, surrounded by a pile of blankets and pillows. “Let’s get you out of these work clothes, hmm?”
Casimine was already working the sash from her waist while Ameriden had found the fastener on her top.
Before Tala knew it, she was bare below the waist with Casimine staring directly between her legs.
She was incredibly open, wet and vulnerable.
Tala should have been embarrassed, but it was hard to be when the bard was staring at her like that.
In fact, Tala felt bold enough to widen her legs and that seemed to set something off in Casimine as he grabbed her thighs.
“Keep her still for me, Amer.”
It was an odd phrase, one that alerted Tala’s fighter mind until she realized what Casimine meant. Ameriden’s hands had finally opened her top wide open, revealing her breasts. He groaned against her ear, hands slowly traveling to cup them as Casimine shifted to lay between Tala’s legs.
“You look so sweet, Tala,” Casimine murmured against her mound. “Let me have a taste.”
Tala could only stare, enthralled by his gray eyes. Ameriden must have grown impatient as his finger finally brushed her nipple. An insistent, strong pressure that had Tala arching into him.
“Come on, baby girl, use your voice,” Ameriden chuckled against her ear before biting it.
She gritted her teeth, fisting the material of his pants as an anchor. Casimine was already lowering his mouth to her cunt, breathing against her skin and an uncontrolled whine escaped her mouth.
“Tala,” Casimine’s breath teased her skin. “You have to give me permission.”
Casimine had always been grossly charming—the perfect prince, the ideal gentleman.
But in that moment, there was something truly villainous about his expression.
When Tala tried to reach for his head with the intention of pulling him down, Ameriden wrapped an arm below her breasts, trapping her arms to her side.
There was no doubt in Tala’s mind that Casimine knew exactly what he was doing and the spike of anger shot through her.
“Put your mouth on my cunt, you bastard,” she snarled.
The shadow of his charming smile vanished, revealing wickedness beneath.
“As you wish.”
Tala nearly shot out of her skin at the first brush of Casimine’s tongue.
Ameriden’s arm kept her in place, the other mercilessly playing with her nipple.
Sex had always felt like a different kind of battle, one Tala couldn’t easily break free from.
A part of her was so entangled with control, that resisting the two bards only came naturally to Tala.
Her hips jerked away whenever Casimine licked too deeply, but his hands—despite being soft and near delicate—were firmly holding onto her thighs.
When Tala twisted in Ameriden’s arms, he bit her neck, drawing another needy sound from her throat.
It was so much, yet her body—or maybe her fucked up head—refused to submit.
“Come on, Tala,” Ameriden panted against her neck. “See how much Casi wants you? Don’t you wanna be good for him?”
Tala hated how much a part of her wanted to let go, but that stubborn streak was clawing for control.
She turned her head, intent on cursing him when he crushed their mouths together at the same time Casimine’s fingers slipped inside.
He brushed deep, tongue working against her clit with a pace that was so overwhelming, Tala went barreling into release against her will.
She cried into Ameriden’s mouth, fists clenching more fabric of his pants to the point that she thought something might have torn.
All the while Casimine’s pace never relented, continuously pulling every drop of pleasure from between her legs.
By the time she grew languid, Casimine was sitting up, pressing a kiss against the inside of her knee.
“You good?” Ameriden asked, brushing her cheek.
Weakly, she nodded.