Except for two nurials.
I'd completely forgotten about Dexter's daughter. Arach and I strode into the bedroom carelessly and startled her. She jumped up and backed herself against the wall; snarling ferociously. Dexter got up too—looking bewildered—and went to nudge his daughter's face.
“Oh shucks,” I swore softly. “I'm sorry, sweetheart. It's okay; you're safe here. We didn't mean to scare you.”
“I will not walk lightly in my own home,” Arach said to the nurial sternly. “You are welcome here but you must behave.”
“She's an animal, Arach,” I snapped. “She doesn't understand you.”
“She's a fey animal, Vervain,” he shot back. “She understands more than you think.”
And sure enough, the female nurial relaxed into merely watching us warily.
“I think now is a good time to move them into the boys' room,” I suggested. “The Twins will have a nice surprise when they wake up.”
“Very well,” Arach agreed.
Arach went over to Dexter's bed and lifted the massive piece of metal and mattress as if it were cardboard. I held the door open for him, and he took it down the stone hall to the Twin's bedroom. Dexter padded after us; stopping along the way to coax his daughter along when she got nervous. We found a place for the bed near the door and then stepped out of the room and off to the side to let the nurials by.
Father and daughter wandered into the room and circled the perimeter. Dexter was showing her around; stopping at the interesting parts like the corner full of toys and the enormous scratching post. She sniffed at each sleeping child; her head pulling back in surprise after she scented Brevyn. I tensed at that, but she just walked away and finally settled in the bed. We left the door open a crack and headed back to our bedroom.
After our door closed behind us, I asked, “What do you think of Deidre?”
“Who's Deidre?” Arach asked in confusion.
“Dexter's daughter,” I said. “What do you think of the name for her?”
“Oh.” He frowned and considered it. “It's fine with me, but you should ask her.”
“I suppose I should,” I laughed.
“And I suppose you should return to the God Realm and warn the others about the Demon Destroyer,” he said gently.
“Yeah,” I whispered. “But I think I need some dragon fortification before I go. Come here, hot stuff.”
Arach grinned and swept me into a passionate kiss. I soaked him in; the taste, feel, and scent of my dragon husband. There was no one like Arach. But then, each of my lovers was special, and there was one in particular who I had to get back to soon. So, I didn't sink too deeply into Arach's erotic embrace. I didn't focus too intently on the way his fire was rising to fill his skin with lovely heat. I didn't lose myself in the steel and silk of him. I just took enough to empower me, and then I eased away.
Arach swept up my hand and kissed it, “Destroy the Destroyer, A Thaisce. I will wait here for your victorious return.”
I smiled brilliantly. That was my dragon; ever the encouraging one.
“I'll tell you all about it when I get back.”
And then I used my ring to return to the God Realm; right into Toby's bedroom.
Toby took one look at my face and sighed deeply. “We don't have time to finish what we started, do we?”
I'd forgotten that I'd left him hanging, as it were. I looked over his beautiful, naked body; the smooth contours of his chest, the thick biceps, that intriguing V that led to his eager manhood. Toby's silky hair spread over his shoulders to outline his body in the most enticing way. I could feel my heartbeat speeding up as I admired him, and by the time my gaze returned to his amazing eyes, Toby was grinning sensually.
“I think we can spare a few minutes,” I said breathlessly as I reached for the hem of my dress.
“No; leave it on,” his voice was low and aggressive.
Toby swung me up into his arms and carried me over the bridge to the island bed. He set me on my feet beside the bed but then roughly turned me around and bent me over it. Before I could catch my breath, he had my full, faerie skirts flipped over my head and was pushing apart my legs with his own. I grabbed handfuls of bedding as Toby drove into me suddenly, and then I sighed as the pleasure began to build. With his strong hands on my hips, Toby slammed into me wildly and took us rapidly into ecstasy.
Despite the intensity of it all, it still took more than a few minutes. But I wasn't about to complain.
Chapter Twenty-Four
When Toby and I returned to Pride Palace, my husbands and fiance were all appropriately apologetic, and they had even called back the God Squad. Perfect, since I needed to speak to all of them.
I accepted apologies, kissed my men to seal the deal, and then strode into the dining hall to let everyone know what I'd discovered. But before I could get into my news, Re had something he wanted to say.
“I wanted to wait until you returned to say this so I could say it once and be done with it,” Re said.
“Okay.” I waved him to where I stood at the end of the dining table.
Re stepped up beside me, looked over the gathered gods, and then shifted his stare to Kirill. “My daughter did not use Ptah's staff to kill demons.”
Kirill grimaced, but Re wasn't done.
“I know this for a fact because I have Ptah's staff,” Re said.
That got everyone's attention.
