The dining chamber glowed with the warm light of a dozen tall candelabras, their flas reflected in the polished silver and gold of the ancient tableware.
The long oak table, carved with scenes of dragons coiled around ancient heroes, had been set for a private supper. Thick velvet drapes in deep crimson hung heavy against the tall arched windows, muting the distant sounds of the city.
The air carried the rich aroma of roasted lamb seasoned with rare mountain herbs known for their strengthening properties—ant, as Chelsea had quietly explained while overseeing the kitchens, to restore and sustain a man’s vital energies after days of battle and nights of passion.
She was aware of his multiple liaisons and was okay with them. She knew that he was a man who wouldn’t stay put with her alone.
Jake sat at the head of the table, freshly bathed from the hot springs yet still carrying the faint scent of mineral water and the musk of recent exertion. His dark hair was damp and tousled, falling across his forehead in a way that made him look both younger and more dangerous.
He wore a simple black silk robe tied loosely at the waist. His body still humd with the afterglow of hours spent in the steaming water with Raani—her initial hesitation giving way to ardent surrender as he had taught her the rhythms of pleasure, her mouth and hands worshipping him before he had taken her again and again in the heated pool.
The mory lingered in the satisfied set of his shoulders and the faint scratches along his back, hidden now beneath the silk.
Chelsea sat to his right, close enough that her knee brushed his beneath the table. She wore a gown of soft ivory silk that clung to her familiar curves, her dark hair loosely pinned.
There was a quiet pride in her eyes as she watched him eat—the sa look she had worn since he was a boy, only now layered with sothing deeper, sothing fiercely possessive and loving.
She had prepared the al herself, selecting the lamb and the virility-boosting herbs with deliberate care, her hands moving with the quiet efficiency of a woman who had spent years anticipating his needs in every way.
Across from her sat Rosa, Gran Rosalinda, regal even in a simple deep-green robe. Her silver hair was braided elegantly tonight, and her violet eyes held a serene satisfaction.
She had left Jake’s chambers earlier with the sheet clutched around her, but the mory of their interrupted passion and the later reunion in the hot springs with Raani had left a glow on her face. She ate slowly, occasionally glancing at Jake with a small, knowing smile.
Raani entered last, still damp from the springs, her dark hair loose and her golden eyes carrying a new softness beneath their usual warrior sharpness.
She had changed into a simple black tunic and breeches, but the flush on her cheeks and the faint marks on her neck spoke of the hours she had spent learning the depths of Jake’s desire. She took her seat with the disciplined grace of a Dragon Maiden, though her gaze lingered on Jake longer than protocol demanded.
Elise arrived monts later, her cheeks still faintly pink from whatever private thoughts occupied her.
She had spent the afternoon eting her sister in the city, as she had done several tis in recent weeks.
The two won had grown closer since Elise had begun spending more ti at the villa.
Elise wore a modest blue gown that did little to hide the lingering glow of her earlier encounter with Jake.
She greeted everyone with polite warmth before taking her place at the table, her eyes flicking to Jake with a mixture of affection and recent mory.
For a ti they ate in companionable silence, the only sounds the soft clink of silver against porcelain and the occasional murmur of servants refilling goblets.
Jake ate with deliberate appetite, the tender lamb and fragrant herbs restoring so of the energy the long hours with Raani had demanded.
When the plates had been cleared and the servants dismissed with a quiet word from Chelsea, Jake set down his goblet and looked at the four won gathered around him. The candlelight caught the sharp planes of his face and the steady, commanding light in his eyes.
"There is sothing I need to say to all of you," he began, his voice calm but carrying the weight of absolute certainty.
"I have been with each of you. With Rosa, in the quiet hours when the world felt too heavy. With Chelsea, who has been my anchor. With Elise, who reminded at the inn what it ans to lose myself in another’s body. And tonight, with Raani, who gave herself to in the hot springs with a trust I will not betray."
He paused, letting the words settle.
Raani’s cheeks flushed deeper, but she did not look away.
Rosa’s lips curved in a small, private smile.
Chelsea’s hand rested lightly on his forearm beneath the table.
Elise’s eyes widened slightly, though whether from surprise or the confirmation of what she already suspected, it was impossible to tell.
"I am having sex with all of you," Jake continued, his tone direct but not cruel.
"And I want you to know it from , not from whispers or assumptions. Tonight I want to have sex with all of you. Not separately, not in secret, but together if that is what we can agree upon. I want us to co to an understanding. If any of you have sothing to say—jealousy, fear, anger, or simply a question—I want to hear it now. I will not have resentnt festering in the shadows of this house."
He leaned forward slightly, his gaze moving from face to face.
"I do not want any of you to believe I will love one of you less than the others, or one more. I love each of you differently, yes—but no less. Rosa, you gave roots when I had none. Chelsea, you gave a ho and a heart to return to. Elise, you gave fire and the reminder that I am still a man who can lose himself in pleasure. Raani, you give strength and loyalty that no blade can break.
And there will be others—won who will co into our lives, into this villa, into my bed. I will cherish every one of them as I cherish each of you.
That is the truth of what I am. If that truth is too much, tell now. I will not force any of you to stay in a life you cannot bear."
The silence that followed was thick but not hostile.
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