of the party, I’ll go down on you. Deal?”
In spite of herself, Kett smiled. Yesterday notwithstanding, she was pretty sure she could be way more unbearable than Bael. After all, she’d spent her whole life practicing.
“Deal,” she said.
“Excellent.” Bael kissed her and she relaxed into his body, warm and sleepy but becoming less so by the second. Especially when his fingers started tracing patterns farther down her back to her buttocks, and slipping in between.
“In fact,” Bael said against her mouth, “theoretically I got rid of two of them last night. So don’t you owe me?”
Kett rolled her eyes, privately thinking the same thing. Going down on Bael was no hardship. Not at all. His thick, heavy cock had felt so damn good in her mouth. It had been ages since anyone had come down her throat- ages since she’d let anyone-but he’d tasted delicious.
However. “Not until you shower, mate,” she said, sitting up. She was feeling pretty grubby herself, and now that she looked at the bed she could see dirt all over it. Whoops. Well, it was a good thing Nuala’s staff was so diligent.
“Mmm,” Bael said, sitting up with her and nuzzling her throat. “You’re all dirty too. What were you doing, cleaning chimneys yesterday?”
“Dragons,” Kett said, her voice squeaking a little as he found a sensitive spot on her throat. “Occupational hazard.”
“Mmm,” Bael said again. “Well, in that case, maybe we should both shower. I’ll clean you if you clean me.”
Kett thought for a second about Bael all naked and wet and found herself nodding vigorously. But she’d no sooner pushed back the covers than someone hammered on the door and two identical voices yelled, “Happy Yule, Kett!”
She winced. Her sisters, who didn’t seem to have grown up at all since they were old enough to talk.
“Wake up,” cried one of them.
“Or we’ll come in and wake you up!”
“I’m awake,” Kett called grumpily.
“Good, ’cos we didn’t really want to come in and see what you’re doing with Bael.”
One of them giggled. “Daddy’d probably disown us.”
“Yeah, ’cos we don’t know what any of that stuff is.”
“I mean, honestly, how old does he think we are?”
“He was younger than us when you were born!”
“He so can’t lecture us about this.”
Sighing, Kett reached for her shirt, tugged it down over her thighs and wriggled away from Bael to open the door.
“Was there a point to this?”
Beyla and Eithne beamed up at her, blonde and ringletted in their perfectly tailored, full-length, structured and petticoated dressing gowns. They looked like cake decorations.
“Happy Yule!” they chorused.
“Happy Yule. And happy birthday.”
“Happy Yule, Bael!”
Kett glanced back. He had the covers pooled around his waist and was looking delightfully sleepy, scruffy and sexy.
“Yeah,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “Right back atcha.”
They giggled in tandem.
“Come on and get dressed,” Beyla said.
“We’re having breakfast in Mama’s suite.”
Kett looked at their bright, eager faces, then back at Bael again. The bedcovers were tented over his lap.
“Guys, I was kind of busy,” she said.
“Kett!” Eithne’s eyes widened with mock surprise.
“We’re not supposed to know about things like that,” Beyla admonished.
“Well,
“I could know!” Beyla cried.
“Girls,” Kett interrupted before they went any further.
“Come and have breakfast,” Eithne said.
“Mama won’t let us start until everyone’s there, and I’m
“No, you just want to open your presents,” Eithne said.
“Yes, and Daddy won’t let us do that until we’ve had breakfast!”
They looked so woeful, Kett nearly laughed.
“All right,” she said, and they both cheered and hugged her. She backed away, making a face. “Look, just give me five minutes for a shower, okay?”
“Oh, like that’s what you’re going to use it for,” Eithne giggled.
“I’m dirty,” Kett protested, grabbing a handful of her filthy hair.
“You certainly are,” Bael interjected, which made the girls giggle again.
“Five minutes,” Beyla said. “And then we’re coming back!”
“And this time, we won’t knock!” Eithne warned.
They retreated and Kett closed the door, leaning against it, her eyes closed. When she opened them, Bael was grinning at her.
“A shower, huh?”
“Yes,” she said, pushing off from the door. “Which I shall be taking alone.”
“Oh,” he pouted. “No fair.”
“Yes fair,” she said. “I need to get clean. I ain’t having breakfast with my family covered in soot and smelling of sex.”
He grabbed her as she passed him and nuzzled her neck. “I think you smell good,” he said.
“Then you’re weird.” Kett broke away and made for the bathroom. She paused. “I think the room next door is empty if you want to use the bathroom.”
“Are you sure I can’t share yours?”
For a second, Kett allowed herself the fantasy of Bael in the shower, wet and soapy, steam rising from his skin as he pushed her back against the wall and kissed her hard as he slid his cock against her. Moisture dampened her thighs.
They could go on for hours…
“Sure,” she said firmly, and shut the bathroom door.
Chapter Eight
Bael stepped out of the shower to find clean clothes lain out on the bed. They fit pretty well, leaving him to wonder just whose they were. He wasn’t as broad as Kett’s father and he was a good deal taller than her brother. The clothes looked too fine to belong to a servant. For a moment he considered the possibility that they’d belonged to an ex of Kett’s, but judging by the reaction of her family last night, she wasn’t in the habit of bringing men home.
Weird.
He dressed and went next door to Kett’s room, hoping to surprise her before she’d finished getting dressed. He was out of luck. She was just pulling on her boots, dressed in a cleaner version of the clothes she’d had on yesterday. Her damp hair was slung back in a thick braid and she smelled of something fresh and lemony.
“Are you sure we have to go for breakfast?” he asked.
