Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 121146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 606(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 606(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Celia honestly couldn’t answer that—which only made her cry harder.
Hold never said anything, he just cradled her close to his chest and after a little while, she felt Fierce join in the embrace, hugging her from behind and pressing his broad chest to her trembling back.
Being naked between them had become almost normal now and Celia found herself comforted by the way the twins held her. It was like she was something special and infinitely precious—a person to be cherished and cared for and treated with respect.
Or maybe she was reading too much into it, but it felt good. She was surrounded by their warmth and their caring and their big, muscular bodies felt wonderful against her own. It occurred to her that she had never felt little and protected this way when Peter hugged her. And he’d never let her cry on his shoulder either. Whenever she got sad—which wasn’t very often—he got restless and handed her a tissue.
“Darling, do try to dry it up,” he’d say to her. “No one likes a mopey woman. Try to put on a cheerful face—will you?”
But Hold and Fierce didn’t ask her to “put on a cheerful face” and neither of them got restless or irritated with her. They just let Celia cry until at last the tears had run their course and she was able to swipe at her eyes and take a long, trembling breath without sobbing.
“Thank you,” she said to both of them. “I…I’m sorry I cried all over you but thank you for being nice about it.”
“Your pain is our pain, my lady. That is what it means to be mated to a Kindred warrior—or warriors,” Hold told her. He cupped her cheek in one hand and swiped at her tears with his thumb. “I think you’re warm enough now—maybe we should all get up and have something to eat? It’s probably about time for Last Meal now.”
Surprisingly, Celia did feel hungry. She nodded at once.
“All right—I could eat.”
“I could too,” Fierce growled. “What did you pack us?”
“Just some protein bars and some fruit, I’m afraid,” Hold said apologetically. “I couldn’t fit a rehydrator in the pack.”
“That’s all right—I’m so fucking hungry I’ll eat anything right now,” Fierce growled. “Come on—get out the pack and let’s eat!”
21
CELIA
The three of them sat up—they couldn’t stand in the low, silver dome of the tent but they could sit quite easily, even the tall twins.
“I’ll turn up the lights so we can see what we’re eating,” Hold said, but Celia stopped him.
“Wait—can I please put on my clothes first?” she pleaded. “I don’t feel shy when we’re in the dark and I know you two can’t see me but—”
“Can’t see you? Of course we can see you!” Fierce interrupted.
“What?” Celia crossed her arms over her breasts. “All this time you could see me? Even though it’s so dark in here?”
“Kindred have excellent night vision, my lady,” Hold said apologetically. “I’m afraid all of your own clothing is still wet—I’ll go out and put a dryer on it in a moment. In the meantime, maybe you’d like to wear some of our clothes? Fierce—give her your thermal shirt.”
“Sure.” The Dark Twin fumbled around in the darkness and then handed Celia the long-sleeved shirt he’d been wearing earlier. It was made of what felt like extremely thin and delicate silk.
“I don’t see how anything this thin could keep you warm,” Celia remarked, even as she turned her back to them to slip it over her head.
“It’s made of a special silk that holds in body heat,” Hold told her. “Just put it on—you’ll see. It’s not as insulating as a warm suit, but it works quite well.”
Celia finished pulling it over her head and looked down at herself. The Dark Twin’s shirt was so big on her she could wear it like a dress—the hem fell to her mid-thighs and she had to roll up the sleeves several times to use her hands. But at least she was covered…well, sort of.
Because when Hold turned up the portable glow light at the top of the tent’s silver dome, she looked down and realized that the thin, pale green silk was clinging obscenely to every curve. It showed not just the points of her nipples but the rings of her areolas as well.
“Madre de Dios!” Celia muttered to herself, tugging at the shirt to try and keep it from molding to her body so blatantly. But there seemed to be a static cling type situation happening because no matter how much she tugged, it always stuck to her again like glue the minute she let go of it.
“Stop trying to hide your gorgeous body, lelka,” Fierce growled, his dark eyes sleepy with lust as he looked at her. “We just spent a whole solar hour pressed together with you naked between us—you shouldn’t feel any shame now.”