HerMatesEmbrace (10 page)

“All right. What happened out there and why were you smiling
so widely?” Colm came into the room and closed the door behind him. “And don’t
give me that you would have known if you were there again. I’m not in the mood
for your sense of humor.”

“She’s softening, Colm. It may take a little time, but she’s
relaxing around us.” Linc tossed his pants on the floor. They hit with a wet
plop even as he strode into the closet for more.

“How do you know she’s softening? Is it just because she
didn’t get upset over an unexpected dunk in the water? And she still doesn’t
smell right. What’s it going to take to get that stuff off her?” Colm asked and
frowned severely.

“I’d bet a good scrubbing and maybe taking her bag away from
her. I don’t think it’s simply one thing, but hopefully we won’t have to do
that. And no, it’s not because she didn’t get upset about ending up in the lake
instead of looking at it, although that does reassure me. I like that she has a
sense of humor.” Linc came out of the closet wearing brown pants and carrying a
white shirt.

“Well, why are you smiling so much?” Colm folded his arms
across his chest.

Linc could tell he was nearing the end of his patience. Linc
leaned back against the door jamb and savored the memory of her arms around
him. “After we fell into the water, she hugged me and didn’t pull away when I
kissed her. She only seemed to realize that she wanted to keep her distance
after we swam back to shore.”

“She just hugged you for no reason? You didn’t pull her up
when she was floundering?” Colm frowned.

“No, I didn’t save her. I came up and she started laughing.
A moment later, she’d put her arms around me. I couldn’t resist the temptation
to kiss her.” Linc walked over to him and put an arm around him.

“Do you think she’d do it again?” Colm asked as he hooked an
arm around Linc, bringing him flush against his body.

“I think she could, in the right situation. From what I’ve
seen, she can be impulsive. I’d say if she’s relaxed around us, it will happen
more and more often.” Linc leaned in and nipped Colm’s neck.

“We’ll have to work on it then. I want to see some of this
impulsiveness.” Colm gripped Linc’s hair and pulled his head up. His mouth
captured Linc’s in an aggressive kiss.

Chapter Ten

Cami woke with a smile on her face. Today, they were going
on a run. She wasn’t going to dwell on what had happened yesterday. She’d only
get tense and it would probably ruin her entire day. She wasn’t going to let
that happen. It had been too long since she’d run for the enjoyment of it. She
wanted to feel the wind ruffling her fur, the earth beneath her paws and the
thrill of the chase.

She’d expected a knock at the door from Linc or Colm to jerk
her out of sleep, but apparently she’d woken before them. She dressed in a
light blue shirt and darker blue skirt. After brushing her hair, she went out
into the hallway.

Their door was still closed and she wasn’t going to go knock
on it. It was still early. She left hers open so that they’d know she was
awake. With a light step, she walked down the hallway. She thought about doing
some serious exploring, but decided to wait until later.

She’d have at least a few days to poke around in most of the
rooms in this fortress. Laed and Kynar weren’t here yet, and when they did get
here, it could take days to catch the
tamaurgi
. She was curious to see
everything in this
Thent
. Not that she expected it to be too different
from
Scali Thent
simply because this was part of Linc and Colm.

Deciding to go down to the kitchen for an early morning cup
of hot
dorin
, she rounded the corner and headed for the stairs. The more
she thought about it, the better that fragrant brewed drink sounded. It was
also past time she introduced herself to some of the women. She might not be
staying here, but she wasn’t going to act as though she was better than them or
that they didn’t matter. It would be good to have someone to talk to other than
those two men.

Descending the stairs, delicious aromas drifted around her.
They were already cooking. She knew there would be more than theArdin,
the
chatar
and healer in the building. If this building was comparable
to the one at
Scali Thent
, there would also be barracks for some of the
men who were on guard duty. The women would be preparing breakfast for them as
well.

The walk down the long hallway to the kitchen was almost torture.
Her mouth was watering and her stomach growled. She pushed the door open and
found herself the center of attention. Four women were in the kitchen and work
stopped as they stared.

Beyond them, she could see meat already roasting on a spit
over glowing coals. Nearby, she could see a glow from a brick oven. Something
in two pots bubbled. She’d bet one of them was the
dorin
she craved.

“Hello, I’m Cami.” She smiled. Her eyes swept over the women
and stopped on a short willowy redhead at a scarred worktable with her hands in
a pile of dough. She recognized the woman from the dreams of Colm and Linc.
From the hostile look on the woman’s face, she wouldn’t be welcoming Cami
anywhere but out the door.

“They told us your name,” an older woman with silvering black
hair said as she turned back to the stove in blatant dismissal.

Well, that was rude. Anger bubbled up in Cami as the other
women followed the woman’s example. She looked over her shoulder and made sure
there wasn’t anyone in the hallway before she went into the kitchen completely.
No one anywhere in sight. She wasn’t paying for someone else’s actions.

“They may have told you my name, but obviously no one taught
you any manners. I know why she would have a problem with me being here in a
way.” Cami nodded her head toward the redhead. “I also know that you may feel
some loyalty to her or one of the other women in this
Thent
Linc and
Colm have fucked in the past. Considering how large that number is, you should
know better than to start taking sides.”

The older woman turned around and glared at Cami. “The Ardin
sought them out. You don’t belong here.”

“They were a convenience. If the women here aren’t idiots,
they should have seen it. If Colm and Linc had wanted any of those women,
really wanted them, those two men would have chosen and claimed. Their
relationships before have nothing to do with me. I’m not sleeping with them,
and even if I was, that’s between them and me. It would be their choice. I
didn’t take anything.” Cami’s lips tightened. As good as her mood was, she
wasn’t going soften the truth. It would cause trouble later.

“It wasn’t that way.” The redhead shook her head.

“Did they make promises of a future? From what I know of
those two men, they wouldn’t promise one woman something and then move on and
promise another the same. If you’re going to burn someone’s food, burn theirs.
I have nothing to do with their choices.” Cami braced her hands on the work
table and leaned forward.

“There were no promises.” The redhead shook her head.

“I don’t even see why you’d be so angry unless you were only
after the power of being their Lady. Why should you settle for less when your
true mate might be out there?” Cami knew it was a little hypocritical when she
wanted to keep her mates at a distance.

“That’s an interesting opinion coming from you.” The voice
of the
chatar
came from directly behind her. “Especially considering
your plans.”

She spun and gaped at the man. How had she not heard the
door open or a single footstep when he entered? The other women hadn’t even
given an indication he was there.

“My situation is different and I suspect you know much of
how it’s different.” She narrowed her eyes on the black-haired man. What
surprised her was that he hadn’t told Linc and Colm exactly what she was to
them.

“I’ll admit you have reason for your fears, but not for
letting it rule you. Do you think your reasons are going to stop the Ardin’s
pursuit? They know there’s something special about you.” He smiled slowly.

The predatory expression surprised her. Every time she’d
seen him, he’d looked serene and utterly at ease. Not that he’d ever appeared
to be a man who spent most of his time with books. He was almost as muscled as
the warriors. She didn’t doubt that he was as intense as any other male Santir,
but was surprised that the controlled man showed it.

She clamped her lips shut on any reply to that taunt. No way
was she getting into an argument about what they did or didn’t know. It was bad
enough she’d said what she had in front of the other women. She blamed it on
already being angry, but knew that was no excuse.

If she wanted to keep Linc and Colm unaware of exactly what
she was to them, she needed to keep herself under control. She couldn’t expect
the women not to talk about what they’d witnessed. When they did, it would
eventually get back to Colm and Linc.

“What did you come in here for?” The
chatar
asked as
he moved over to the table.

“A cup of
dorin,
for the most part.” Cami shrugged.
It appeared the second part of her goal wasn’t going to happen, at least not
immediately. Maybe they’d get over their anger at her taking what they
considered their place soon enough when they realized she didn’t intend to take
it.

The
chatar
walked over to the large hearth and pulled
a kettle off the hook. He poured two mugs of the dark brew and handed her one.
“It’s some of the best you’ll ever taste.”

“Thank you.” Cami brought the steaming drink to her lips and
took a small sip. It was stronger and richer than she’d had it before. She
wondered what they did differently to make it taste that delicious. “It’s
good.”

The clearing of a throat brought Cami’s head around to the
women again. She found the redhead staring at her.

“Did they tell you about me or the other women here? Is that
how you know they were with me?” Her voice was hesitant and a blush colored her
cheeks.

“No.” Cami didn’t elaborate on the curt answer.

“We didn’t need to. She apparently knows a lot about us.”
Colm’s deep voice rumbled just behind her. “Those visions that led you to us
were much more specific than you want us to believe, weren’t they?”

Didn’t anyone in this place say “hello” when they entered a
room? Not to mention make a sound when they opened a door or stepped on the
floor. She was getting tired of people sneaking up behind her and not only
because they seemed to come at the very worst time. Although she had to admit,
that was annoying and a huge part of it.

She shot him a narrow-eyed look, but didn’t bother to say a
word. He could speculate all he wanted. He didn’t have any proof of that.
Walking in on the tail end of a conversation wouldn’t be enough. He didn’t know
the specifics of what had come before. She could have gotten enough from what
they said and their attitudes to come to her conclusions.

“We were looking for you. Actually, I didn’t expect you to
be awake yet.” Colm came into the kitchen, walked around her and leaned a hip
against the table as he watched her.

“I usually wake up early,”she admitted. On the journey here,
they’d always been up and busy before she’d woken, so it had been a little
strange to her.

“Colm, is she down there?” Linc’s voice carried into the
room. It was surprising since that door was rather thick.

Colm pushed open the door. “She’s in the kitchen.”

“Where did you think I went? Laed and Kynar haven’t been
stopped yet. I’m not going anywhere.” Her brows drew down. She could feel the
anger rising in her.

“We didn’t think you’d tried to leave. Not in the sense that
you were running for the travel-gate. We thought you might have decided to go
running on your own.” Colm shrugged as if it was nothing to worry about at all.

Her jaw tightened and she felt her teeth grind. Magic began
to rise inside of her. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to
find a place of calm inside of her. She couldn’t let it get out of control. The
last thing she wanted was to grab one of their hands and give them some of the
power when they were the ones who’d caused it.

When the deep breaths and concentration had taken the power
down to a more manageable level, she focused on Colm and saw Linc walk into the
room. The kitchen was getting a little crowded. “What would be so bad about
that?”

“I believe Linc’s mentioned something about how I like to
get my way.” Colm’s eyes swept over her in a heated pass. “You going off on
your own wasn’t the plan.”

She could almost feel that look as it ran down her body and
then upward again. Lifting her chin, she tapped her foot. “The plan as I
understood it was for me to see the forest and get a chance to run. I don’t see
much changed about it.”

“With us.” Linc walked over and poured himself a mug of the
fragrant brew. “That’s what would be different and that’s what would make him
angry and me as well. I’m looking forward to the run today.”

“But you could run on your own.” She didn’t understand what
the problem would be unless they were concerned for her safety. “Laed and Kynar
aren’t anywhere near here yet, so there’s no need to shadow me.”

“We’re not afraid that you’ll be attacked while you’re out.
We want to be with you.” Linc shook his head. “I know you’re fighting the
attraction hard, but try to remember that we aren’t.”

She blushed, because she hadn’t thought about their
perspective. Admittedly, she was still angry, so that could be part of the
reason she hadn’t been at her most perceptive.

“Now I haven’t seen that before.” The
chatar
came
closer and stared at her face.

He leaned closer. She leaned back because he was getting in
her space. She wasn’t so comfortable with that.

“What?” Colm’s gaze sharpened and he stepped closer. “Oh, I
don’t think that’s happened before. At least I didn’t notice it if it had. I
don’t think I would have missed it. Linc?”

“No, I definitely haven’t seen that.” Linc stepped close and
now she had three men around her, staring at her face.

“What?” Her hands balled into fists and her voice rose.

Colm blinked. Almost before she saw his hand move, she felt
his fingers close around her wrist. “Calm down. Take some deep breaths.”

She narrowed her eyes, unwilling to let them sidestep the
issue. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. At least, I don’t think it is. We’ve just
never seen anything such as this before.” Linc frowned.

“Haven’t seen what before? You’re all looking at me as if I
was some strange new creature.” She pulled back, trying to get Colm to release
her wrist. She wasn’t out of control. He didn’t need to be ready to take some
of the excess.

“Well, you’re not strange, but what’s happening with your
eyes is. They’re glowing gold right now. By glowing, I mean if it was dark, I
wouldn’t have any problem finding you. Have you ever seen them do that?” Linc’s
hand settled on her shoulder. “Relax, he just wants to make sure that he’s
there for you should you need it.”

“But I don’t need it. I’m angry and a little nervous because
I’m being crowded again, but so far the levels are manageable.” She met his
eyes and hoped he could see that she was sincere. “And no, I’ve never seen or
been told before that my eyes glow. I’m sure someone would have mentioned it
before. Look at your reactions.”

“That’s good.” Linc smiled and his hand tightened in what
was probably meant to be a reassuring squeeze.

“Can you take this discussion out of my kitchen?” The older
woman turned with a spoon in her hand and pointedly looked at all four of them.
“We’re trying to get food ready in here and you’re in the way. It will never
get done with all of you here.”

Cami saw Colm’s lips twitch. “As soon as I get my
dorin
,
we’ll go somewhere else to work through this.”

The woman poured a mug of
dorin
and handed it to
Colm. Her eyes went to the door in a pointed reminder. Cami bit her lip to keep
the laughter inside. Colm took the cup and smiled at the woman. Those two might
rule the
Thent
, but this kitchen was hers.