“I’d like to work with her to pleasure you,” she said breathlessly. She wriggled, pushing the dress up and over her head. Her nipples stood out big and dark in the warmth of the quiet room.
“I’d like to—oh!—I’d like us to both use our mouths to pleasure you. And I’d like to... to...” her voice trailed off into a moan of pleasure as I lifted my hand away and mounted her. Listening to her fantasies about sharing herself with me and with Kai had made me hard as a rock.
She wrapped her legs around the small of my back and thrust hungrily against me as I filled her up.
Afterward, I lay on my back with an arm behind my head, looking up at the ceiling. She lay with her head pillowed on my chest, breathing softly.
The thought of increasing our Persona circle by adding a third person was attractive, and not just because it would mean some exciting new possibilities in the bedroom. The ability to work together with Cara hugely increased the power of the Personas; bringing another into that circle would increase that potential power again.
At the same time, it was true that the idea of having both women as willing sexual partners at the same time would be a dream come true for me. I knew that in some lands, for a man to have more than one partner was considered wrong, and for three people to enjoy each other at the same time was considered positively deviant, but I had never subscribed to that idea. Except in the case of romantic relationships between warband leaders, the people of Saxe were not prudish about sexual relationships between consenting adults. If Kai and Cara wanted to join me in bed at the same time, that was fine by me. If we could expand the circle of Personas while we all enjoyed each other's bodies, so much the better.
On that pleasant thought, I drifted off to sleep.
In the morning, Cara and I woke feeling refreshed. We had slept the night through, and we only woke up when a servant tapped discreetly at the screen door to let us know that he had brought breakfast. He entered followed by two others, and the little group laid out food and fresh wash water for us on the low table, before bowing their way out.
We ate and drank and put the warmed and scented wash water to good use. Feeling refreshed and energized, we headed out and went downstairs. I wore the civilian aspect of the Ironside Persona, and Cara dressed in the non-combat aspect of the new Tree Spirit Persona. It suited her perfectly, and I could see from the confident sway of her hips and the cheerful way she hummed as she walked ahead of me that she was very pleased with it.
The first person we met was General Koshu. He was sitting on a low seat in the main hall, looking out thoughtfully into the practice court, but he stood and turned to us, bowing as we entered. His bristling beard had been washed and brushed, and he was wearing a neat robe of black, similar in style to the robes which Toshiro wore.
“I have something for you,” he said, addressing Cara once he had greeted us.
“For me?” she said in surprise.
“Indeed. A useful gift. Come, I will show you.”
Cara and I followed the General, who seemed pleased and excited at the prospect of giving Cara his gift, whatever it was. Cara squeezed my hand and smiled at me as we went with him.
Koshu led us out of the house. Nearly all trace of the battle was gone. Lady Kai’s troop of riders were camped a little way off from the house, in rows of neat tents, with horses picketed in lines nearby. A little above them, in a rougher-looking camp, were the mercenaries. The Byakko continued to lounge in the shade by the lakeside, some way off to our left. It crossed my mind that despite their size and ferocity in battle, they were not dissimilar to domestic cats in their capacity for sleep.
“It’s up here, by the mercenary camp,” Koshu said as we walked with him up the hill away from the house. When we reached the camp, the mercenaries who were up and about stood to attention. Koshu cast an approving eye over them, then set them at ease.
We walked through the camp and up to a grove of trees overlooking the tents.
“Here,” Koshu said proudly. “Here is my gift to you.”
There was a beautiful black horse picketed there, dressed in rich, gleaming tack and harness.
“His name is Yokaze,” Koshu said. “He is the horse which was given to the treacherous Kitsune priest, who turned out to be an agent of the Festering. One of the men found Yokaze wandering in the woods after the battle—he ran off when the priest began to transform, but now he is here without a rider, and I thought that you would be the most appropriate person to give him to.”
“Thank you!” Cara said. Pleasure at the gift shone in her eyes. As she approached, the great black horse came forward to let her nuzzle his silky neck.”Yokaze,” she said, and the horse whickered in response. “What does the name mean?”
“The word means ‘night wind’,” Koshu explained. “He’s named for his color and his speed.”
“He’s a perfect gift.” Cara smiled at the general. “Thank you.” She turned to me. “I’m going to have to try him out.”
The horse was fast and responsive. When Cara mounted, he immediately answered her reins and her heels. She leaned over and spoke into his ear, and he tossed his head and broke into a canter, heading down the valley in a great loop. As he put on speed, I heard Cara whoop with joy and the horse neighed in
