Heirot

Vlad smirked. "It was nothing. Only a foolish dream." His eyes trailed to the doorway, where he could hear Atul making breakfast. "He is right. You should keep yourself as strong as possible. Just in case..." he grinned at her almost boyishly.

Tenele blushed, smiling as she turned her face slightly away from him. She had the feeling that the two of them were going to be very nagging and watchful of her. "Promise me you won't be so overprotective that I want to kill you?" she asked him. Still, it was a long shot. They didn't even know if it would work, and Tenele didn't want to get her hopes up about it. Not yet. It didn't stop her heart from filling with excitement and joy. What was it that made her want this so bad?

"My love," she sighed, placing a hand on his cheek. "Because you are the most amazing husband in the world, and because you love me with all of your heart.... you should go draw me a bath." She grinned at him.

Vlad blinked at her, and then smirked. "A spoiled wife could lead to spoiled children," he mused, stroking his chin.

"But, the mother needs to be pampered for the good of the children," she protested, falling back against the soft pillows. She smiled at him, stretching her arms above her head, but careful when stretching the lower half of her body. Her right hand lightly ran over the bruised mark on her breast.

Vlad glanced down at her wounded chest. The normal reaction would have been regret or dismay, but seeing his love mark only brought a territorial glow to the vampire's smile. "I will draw you a bath, for the good of the children," he said warmly, standing to return to the house. He walked past the kitchen on the way to the bathroom, and paused to glance over the king's shoulder. Though neither man could be counted short, Vlad had a few inches on their outerland lover. "Doesn't smell deadly, he encouraged wryly as he tried to identify what the man was cooking.

Atul chuckled, shaking his head at Vlad's comment. "Go obey your wife," he ordered, nodding off to the bathroom as the vampire passed him by. He finished up his cooking and blew the small fire out. He flopped the... assorted colored food into a handmade clay plate and carried it out to Tenele with fork in hand. He lowered it down in front of her and smiled.

Tenele arched an eyebrow at it, hesitantly taking the plate and the fork. "It looks, eh, delicious."

"Try it," he ordered, knowing it didn't look anything close.

Tenele took a small bite, her eyes going wide. "Wow!" she explaimed, taking another bite. "This is good!"

"And you had your doubts!" the king protested. "Its klief."

"Eh?"

"Just eat it," Atul chuckled, kissing the top of her head. Tenele did, and faster than she should have because the moment she started eating was the moment she realized how hungry she was. When she finished she dropped, the plate next to the round bed. Atul crawled back in bed with her, letting the beauty rest back against his chest. "I'm glad you liked it," he sighed, running a gentle hand down her arm.

Vlad lit the stove beneath the tub and ran the water until everything was hot. He put his fingers in and waited until it felt comfortable for human skin. Then he stood up and went back out to the Verandah. Seeing Atul and Tenele curled there together stole his breath for a moment. They looked...well, they looked amazing together. Warm and alive and comfortable. He crouched next to the bed and studied Tenele's empty plate. At the corner was what looked like some sort of carrot that had been left behind. He stared at it.

After a moment's consideration, he plucked it up between his thumb and forefinger and tossed it in his mouth.

The flavor was dull and made no sense to his vampiric tastebuds. It was akin to a human trying to appreciate the taste of a rock. But that wasn't really the point. He swallowed the object without chewing it, and smirked to himself. There was no point in feeling left out of things he couldn't appreciate in the first place. He simply wanted to try it. He felt like having Atul's cooking too, in his own way.

He wiped his mouth as if they might actually notice and rose cheerfully to sit on the bed. "It is time," he proclaimed to his half-passed-out wife." He raised an eyebrow at her, wondering if she would try to walk it herself or submit to her pride and let one of them carry her. Either way, he was going to be entertained.

Tenele knelt on the bed, and then slowly stood up, standing on the plush uneven surface of the mattress. She seemed to contemplate it, and took a step towards Vlad. She held out her arms to him, wrapping them around his neck and pressing her warm naked body to his. "Will you spoil me one last time?" she asked him, nuzzling her nose to his. "Would you carry me?" She learned her lesson the last time she walked in front of the two of them, and wasn't about to feel that humiliation again.

Atul smiled, stretching back in bed. It made the muscles on his torso pull invitingly tight.

Vlad's arms instinctively surrounded her, draping over her curves like they were built to fit together exactly this way. Damn it, he couldn't possibly tease her when she was being this lovely. He'd been defeated. "Very well," he murmured against her hair, lifting her slowly off her feet. His body stirred at her soft contact against him; an impossible reflex to prevent. He turned with her, and did a double take at Atul's form on the bed. A low sound curled from his throat before he even realized it. He swallowed back the reaction, but really, the two of them were too much. He barely kept his thoughts clean as he made it the rest of the way to the bathroom. "Not a word," he snickered as he set her down in the warm water, knowing she could feel his reaction to them through their link. He watched the rippling liquid flood in to wash over her smooth skin, her silver hair, the raised bite on her chest. The sight sped up his pulse. "How can a man be expected to stay calm in this environment?"

Tenele smiled at him as she sank back gently into the tub. "I'm glad your not calm," she admitted. "It makes me feel wanted, and beautiful. Unless its all Atul, and in that case I'm very jealous." She stretched her legs as much as she could in the tub, feeling the heated water sooth her... sorer areas. The feeling rolling through him was contagious, and she could hardly understand how she could want him so much after all they'd done last night. She wasn't even sure her body could handle it... and she knew the night would be no different.

That made her nervous. The idea of being with Knight made her so unbelievably nervous. Knight already had the memory of being with her, because he could see the memories of Vlad and Atul. But, she... for it this was like sleeping with Vlad for the first time all over again. It was exciting and frightening and a tad bit embarrassing. She thought of all these absurd things, about what his expectations might be... Since while he was Vlad and Atul he was also... not. What if she was disappointing? Especially since her body wasn't up to full par.

That made her determined to suck up the discomfort.

Tenele put her hands to her head and focused on clearing her thoughts because, to her horror, she just realized she'd been broadcasting them. To distract herself, and maybe her husband too, she reached out and stroked a wet hand down his abdomen to the his slightly enticed member, going down the length of it and back up to his naval.

Vlad shivered under her touch, pleased with the attention and knowing full well he shouldn't act on it. On the other hand, there was no hiding his thoughts any more than she could hide hers. The way she thought of Knight, with anticipation and excitement and a little fear, appealed to the vampire. It felt like the right reaction. He allowed himself the not-so-humble thought that if Knight was he and Atul combined, he must be impossibly attractive, and romantically skilled. Maybe it was weird, but the thought brought an arrogant smirk to his face. "Perhaps we should tease you all day," he pondered innocently. "To ensure you are prepared." He placed a hand over her wet palm and guided it slowly over the muscled contours of his abs.

Tenele's mouth went dry as she followed where his hand led her. "I..." Was he serious? She couldn't tell if he was serious. She'd been waiting for him to play a trick all morning, given the state she was in and she had a terrible feeling this was it. But, the idea... the mere mental image of all the possibilities made her quiver with desire. She tried to hide the pleased look on her face, feeling she shouldn't be so aroused by the idea. Shouldn't she want a break? Didn't most women?

Vlad's smirk broadened into a sadistic grin as her thoughts ran through to him. "I am not most men," he boasted, ever confident of his bedroom skills.

"So I noticed," she whispered, curling her fingers against his skin. She thought that maybe she should enjoy all the attention she could get, while she could get it... Because soon she'd be round and unattractive to him.

A shudder ran through Tenele as she felt a tingle of pleasure, and then heard a snicker from outside. She didn't have to see Atul to know what he was doing with his own body, and the reverberations were travelling between them. "Atul!" she scolded.

*Atul,* Vlad choked in unison with Tenele, caught equally off guard.