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Grinning so widely my cheeks ache, I turn to Archie and Nico. “I’ll see you later.”

They both bow to me and I attempt a giggling, uncoordinated curtsy, before claiming Bastien’s arm and following Pennie down the hall.

Pennie pauses before a door at the very end. “I promise you are safe. My quarters aren’t like where the others live or where you are likely to reside during your stay, but this is where I am most comfortable. If you find my area unpleasant, we can move.”

“I’m sure it will be fine,” I say before glancing at Bastien, who grins in agreement.

“I love it down there,” Bastien murmurs to me as his song becomes more sensuous, like Barry White is helping out in the mood department.

“How often does Penniehelpyou… or whatever?”

I feel Bastien’s confusion and am not surprised when Pennie answers, “His needs are different than his wants. My space is always open to him and we share connection, affection, love, and what your favorite books would consider muchsmuttiness. But biologically, his needs fluctuate. In times of stress, more connection is required. Joy can inspire more need. Meeting you certainly caused a spike in his physical demands.”

My expression brings a sexy grin to Pennie’s face and a shimmering flush to Bastien’s.

“It doesn’t bother you… that I—that Pennie and I, and sometimes Archie—are intimate?” Bastien asks, but he can already feel my lust in our song.

Then it hits me. “You were worried that I wouldn’t understand or I would judge, weren’t you?”

He nods a little sheepishly. “It’s a lot to ask of someone who doesn’t understand our realm or our biology. Sharing is frowned on in your world, though your books—we’ve read them all—gave us hope that you would be more open-minded.”

I lean and nuzzle against his cheek. “Why choose, right?”

Bastien beams. “Exactly.”

Pennie’s skin glistens brighter as he watches Bastien and me. “Let’s go… before I grab you both and take you right here.” He doesn’t wait for an answer and leads us through the doorway.

Stone steps form the staircase, and two flights down, we reach a cavernous space glittering with more jewels than my brain can process. They line the walls and the floor, more gems than exist in the world. The colors flare to life but it’s not the stones that are lit; it’s Pennie, the cracks in his skin so bright now they cause the entire subterranean room to shimmer. Like a million or even a billion suncatchers… let’s just say Pollyanna would never leave this room, like ever.

“Wow,” I say, my jaw falling open at the sight.

I feel Bastien fluttering, his song now needy and anxious for connection. Just as strongly, I feel the way he wants me with him. I am definitely not an unwelcome intruder in their private time. Bastien wants me here…needsme here. And Pennie’s eyes hold me in a way that inspires so much pulsing inside me that I can’t imagine wanting to be anywhere else.

“Bastien,” Pennie says sharply, “attend to me.”

A wicked smile appears on Bastien’s face and he leans to lightly kiss my cheek. “He’s very demanding but always kind,” he whispers, “and his bossiness drives me crazy.”

Bastien releases me and approaches Pennie, giving a respectful bow before beginning to remove Pennie’s clothes. The cravat is loosened first and then the vest and the shirt come off, all while Pennie’s panty-drenching gaze remains on me. Pennie hands his excellent hat to Bastien, who carries it to a hatrack that reveals Pennie’s fondness for hats from a variety of eras.

Bastien continues undressing Pennie as Pennie asks, “What’s your pleasure, Lady Bianca? To watch first or dive into the deep end of us?”

I bite my lip, considering just briefly because the answer is about as subtle as a flashing billboard. “The deep end…definitelythe deep end.”

He groans his approval. “I am so pleased. Bastien, attend to our Lady.”

Bastien releases Pennie’s pants before removing them and returns to me, gently helping me free of yesterday’s clothing. Pennie finishes removing his own clothes, so that when I’m naked, so is he.

My gaze immediately fixes on his profoundly intriguing equipment…dang.

Chapter16

Bianca

How isthatgoing to feel thrusting inside me? That’s all I can think at the moment, if that can even be considered a thought. My nipples are tiny, needy pebbles and I gasp as Bastien lightly rubs his feathered finger over one and then the other. My body trembles and I can barely breathe, but my gaze remains on a cock like no cock I’ve ever seen or imagined.

I should have expected it, but I didn’t work it out—what all those cracks in his skin and his scales might mean about the rest of him. But, of course, a cracked-skin, scaled monster man naturally has a cracked-skin, scaled monster cock.

I nibble on my lower lip, unable to tear my eyes away. “Will you burn me if I touch you? The coals inside you… will theysingeme… likeinsideme?”