41. Fenric
The sky was shedding its pale blue for glowing oranges and pinks as the Dark Lady finally docked in Bjornkill after being slowed up thanks to a late-summer squall.
The large town was already slowing down—except in the red-light district.
Sellers had closed up their shops, and most of the other people had wandered home for a meal and some well-earned sleep so they could do it again tomorrow.
The hour was too late for them to see if the house they’d rented on their last visit was available.
They had no choice but to grab some rooms at a nearby inn.
Tomorrow, they could look into getting Aria more permanently settled in the town and getting fresh supplies for their trip to Dunley village.
Lirion directed them to the inn he’d stayed in previously. The place was nice enough he wouldn’t feel bad about putting his little sister up there and moderately priced, which wasn’t bad since they were still riding high on the wealth they’d stolen in Baza.
After a hot meal and a bath, Fenric wanted nothing more than to fall into bed and sleep until his bones stopped aching and the world stopped swaying.
The only thing that could make the bed more comfortable would be to have Lirion lying beside him, his wonderful scent and steady breathing lulling him into a deep sleep.
Fenric didn’t want to admit it, but after the past two weeks at sea, he’d found he slept much better with his arm thrown over Lirion’s waist. Not that he’d tell the man. All he’d get for the admission was hours of teasing.
He’d found Lirion, Aria, and several of the other team members in the main hall drinking ale and listening to a storyteller weave a bawdy tale about an adventurer stuck in a castle with a bunch of horny ghosts.
He’d heard that one long ago, and he was sure Maxie was going to get quite the education this evening if the guy told the uncensored version.
Before Fenric left the room, Lirion offered him a tired smile and said he’d be up shortly.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Fenric chucked off his boots, tossed his shirt over the nearest chair, and left his pants and socks in a pool on his side of the bed. Behind him, the door opened and closed, followed by a soft scent that always accompanied Lirion.
“Did you drag Puppy up with you or did you leave him with Rain and Mal to be thoroughly scandalized by the storyteller?” Fenric asked as he pushed to his feet and pulled down the thin sheet.
“Oh, I think all men could use a little education in the carnal arts, and it’s never too young to start.”
But that wasn’t Lirion’s voice. It was Aria’s.
Fenric jerked his head up in time to see Aria grab a handful of her light and flirty dress and lift it over her head.
The flimsy fabric fluttered to the ground, leaving behind a lovely but naked succubus standing in his bedroom.
More importantly, she was the younger sister of the man he was fucking.
Nope, nope, nope. Big ol’ giant nope.
“What are you doing?” he shrieked, ripping his eyes away from her naked body only to look down at his own and recall he wasn’t wearing a stich of clothing. He snatched up a pillow and held it in front of himself, attempting to clutch it to both his chest and cock.
“I thought it would be obvious. I mean, you have been screwing all sense out of my brother.”
The bed creaked, and Fenric’s eyes moved to see her crawling across the mattress toward him.
Hooded green eyes stared up at him, glittering like gems in the flickering candlelight.
Lush lips were turned up in a seductive smile that likely called countless men to her side.
He should have been tempted. Any sane man who was attracted to women would have found her positively alluring. All Fenric felt was horror.
“No! Noooooo! Absolutely not!” He scurried around the bed to the door in the small room and yanked it open. Sticking his head out into the empty hallway, he bellowed at the top of his lungs, “Lirion! Lirion Windstrum, get your ass up here and fetch your sister!”
It didn’t matter if the entire inn heard him. Someone needed to come get this woman; preferably Rain, since he was the one who was supposed to be keeping up with her appetite.
Fenric shut the door but left it open just a crack so he could hear Lirion’s approach. Cautiously, he lifted his gaze to find her stretched out across the bed, her melodious laughter filling the room like this was the funniest thing to ever happen to her.
“What happened with you and Rain? I thought your arrangement was working out for both of you.” Fenric had really tried to make his voice sound sympathetic and understanding, but his brain was too frazzled and tired to scrounge together much empathy.
If she was having trouble feeding, why did she come for him?
Wasn’t Malfas supposed to be the one waiting in the wings, ready to hop in and feed her all his horniness?
“Nothing happened. It’s just that Lir speaks so highly of you. I thought I’d have a taste,” she replied, her low voice a haunting mix of teasing and seductive.
“Yeah, well, I’m not on the menu for you. Go round up Rain or Mal! Fuck, try a nibble of Belstrom. I’m sure he’d be happy to serve.”
“Awww, you do like my brother.” She cooed at him like he was an adorable animal.
Fenric couldn’t stop his head from snapping up. He glared at her, giving his best Are you fucking kidding me? look. “Of course I do! I wouldn’t be having sex with him all the time otherwise.”
Footsteps thundered down the hallway, and the door burst open, Lirion filling the doorway. More footsteps echoed in the corridor—probably from the rest of the team desperate to know what the gossip was, nosy fuckers.
Lirion sighed after taking one look at his sister and shut the door behind him. “You just had to test him, didn’t you?” Lirion shuffled over and picked up the dress she’d dropped on the floor, holding it up with one finger.
Through nearly closed eyes, Fenric could barely see Aria bounce to her feet and pluck the dress from his finger. She slipped it on over her head, and Fenric managed a small breath of relief, opening his eyes properly.
“Come on,” she said to her older brother. “Wouldn’t you?”
“No. I would listen and trust what you told me,” Lirion grumbled.
Aria’s titters of laughter continued as she left the room. Fenric followed her to the doorway and stuck his head into the hallway, where Rain and several of the others were gathered, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
Fenric glared at Rain. “Are you not satisfying her?!”
Rain puffed up his chest and thrust a finger toward him. “Do not question my virility!”
A previously closed door flew open, and Malfas stuck his head out. “I can help!”
This was what Fenric got for wanting a quiet night and sleep.
Fuckers. Every last one of them.