Two Knights of Indulgence (22 page)

She was Gabriel and Michel’s woman.
 
That thought allowed her to breathe a bit
easier.
 
Thierry’s warm face and calm
demeanor settled her nerves quite a bit.
 
He was straightforward, and she immediately knew she could trust
him.
 
As she took his hand to shake it,
energy roiled through her, and she connected with him, their souls touching.

It wasn’t like when she touched Matthias and
Nicolas.
 
There was no lust, no
desire.
 
There was only the touching of
knowledge and emotion.
 
Her thoughts were
confirmed.
 
She could trust this man with
her life.
 
Thierry’s eyes grew large as
he looked at their paired hands before staring back to her.

“What is that?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, Thierry.
 
Why not show me the way to your injured
friend?”

Thierry smiled and walked up the entrance stairs to the
open double doors.
 
The rest of the men
followed behind her.
 
She was so focused
on her task ahead that she barely looked at interior, other than to note it was
opulent.
 
They moved to the second floor
and down a gilt hallway, the walls covered in expensive fabric and luxurious
artwork.
 
After passing several doors,
they stopped before one.
 
Thierry backed
away after opening the passage.
 

Britt took a deep breath before rushing in.
 
There were two more large men, both covered
in splattered blood, the one at the head of the bed coated in it.
 
Britt sensed he was coated in the female’s
blood as he was hovering over her and wore a sneer on his face as she
approached.
 
He looked as if he were a
wild animal, ready to pounce on anyone who got near his fallen mate.

She recognized the protective stance of both men.
 
This was their female, their lover.
 
Worry and torment filled the room, scenting
the room with fear.
 
They feared they
would lose her.
 
Britt would ensure they
didn’t.
 

Nicolas stepped to her side and tried to calm the
raging beast on the bed.
 
“Michel, Gabriel, this is Britt.
 
She’s here to help.”

Britt eased closer, the man seated with the woman’s
head in his lap never stirring.
 
She
smiled at him in an attempt to allay his fears.
 
When he didn’t respond in kind, or respond at all, she focused on the
woman and saw she was indeed in dire need.
 
Large bandages were coated in blood.
 
She could be bleeding out even now.
 
The man be damned, Britt needed to check the wound.
 

She dipped to the bed, resting on the edge.
 
Collecting
Kadence’s
hand in hers, Britt closed her eyes and began to hum quietly.
 
She hoped her light wouldn’t get too bright
and scare the man ahead of her.
 
If he
moved the woman as she worked, he could harm her more.
 
Britt lifted her other hand and began to hang
her open palm over
Kadence’s
body, floating in large
circles until it narrowed into smaller ones just above the wound.

A light formed under the bandages, in the exact spot
the wound was, and mere seconds later, was gone.

“The sword missed the major organs.
 
She was lucky.
 
She could’ve bled out if it had been a few
inches to either side.”
 
Britt stood, a
smile on her lips, as she stared directly at the aggressor.
 
This one was Michel, she was almost sure of
it.
 
He was filled with a pain she could
not touch.
 
She was about to turn and
leave, but felt the necessity to add something for Michel’s benefit.
 
“But you, you have some wounds, yourself.
 
Deep wounds.
 
And the healer for those lies in this bed.”

Britt turned to Nicolas and Matthias.
 
Both men smiled at her as Nicolas pulled her
close.
 
She felt exhausted, as over the
last two days she had barely gotten any rest.
 
She wobbled on her feet, even in Nicolas’ embrace.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m just exhausted.”

Thierry and Alain stood in the hallway, the latter
resting along the wall, popping bits of apple into his mouth from his
blade.
 
Thierry looked pensive, his
furrowed brow hiding how handsome he had been when he’d introduced himself.
 
“
Kadence
?”

“She’s healed,” Matthias spit out from her side.
 
“Britt needs to rest.
 
We need to get her into a room.”

“No.
 
Thierry
was supposed to have answers for me.
 
I’m
tired of being kept in the dark.”

Thierry smiled.
 
“My dear, we will have time for that tomorrow.
 
We’ve all had a hell of a night.
 
I, for one, could use a shower and a soft
mattress.
 
It looks as though you could
use the same.”

“I’ve been waiting too long.”

“
Aye, that
you have.
 
But one more night won’t be the death of
you.
 
It will be much easier to handle
the truth if you’re rested.”

How in the world was she going to rest knowing her
future was going to be determined by what he said?
 
It looked as though she had no other
choice.
 
“Fine.
 
Tomorrow, then.”

Matthias grasped her hand and led her up another
flight of stairs.
 
Rich, red brocade
fabric glistened with hints of golden thread under her feet as she moved, soft
lights glittering along the wall sconces.
 
Nicolas opened a door to the right, his hand skimming the wall until the
light was turned on.
 
She eyed them both
before she walked in.
 
She wanted to
sleep within both their arms, but at the same time wanted a moment of privacy,
something she hadn’t felt she’d had in forever.
 
A good night’s sleep, alone, would do her wonders.
 

The two men followed her in, their larger than life
personalities filling up the large space.
 
Her gaze floated over the large four-
postered
bed with silk bedding and the antique pieces all over the room.
 
Ornate wardrobes and dressers littered the
space, making it feel more like a museum than a home.
 
Thankfully, the bed looked sumptuous, and she
could imagine getting lost in the layers of thick bedding atop it.
 
Getting lost sounded soothing.
 
Not being here, in this moment, surrounded by
the insanity she’d fallen into would be a cure-all.

Britt avoided Nicolas and Matthias. She waited for
them to get the hint and leave, but they were being thick or obstinate, or
perhaps a little of both.
 
She lifted her
gaze to each of them as they lounged against the back wall, both of them
watching her with hooded glances.

“There’s a bathroom through the door on the left.
 
There should be dry towels and a robe or two
in there, if you wanted a shower before you went to bed.”

Britt looked longingly at the door.
 
A shower was definitely on the agenda.
 
“Where are your rooms?” Perhaps that would be
a stronger hint for them to leave.

 
Both men turned
to one another for a split second before their gazes locked on her.
 
Matthias stepped closer to the door. “This is
Nicolas’ room when he stays.
 
My room is
across the hall.
 
Come find me if you
need anything.”

Nicolas remained in the spot along the wall, silently
appraising her.
 
“Do you want me to find
elsewhere to sleep?”

“Yes.”
 
She did,
yet didn’t.
 
He rose to his full height
and headed for the door, no questions asked.
 
“Wait.”

Nicolas turned and faced her, one brow raised in
question.

“Do you agree with Matthias?”

His eyes rounded as he apparently caught her
meaning.
 
She didn’t want to spell it out
for him, as saying the word
whore
would have been too difficult.
 
His expression
softened as he gazed at her.
 
“Not
hardly, but in his defense, he was raised in another time.”

“As were you.
 
That doesn’t excuse what he
said.”

Nicolas moved closer, drawing her into his arms.
 
His firm embrace was warm and loving.
 
As she melted into his heat, he dropped a
kiss to her forehead, and the connection came alive.
 
The conduit of emotions and sensations was a
bridge linking them together.
 
Britt felt
tears spring to her eyes.
 
This was a
closeness she didn’t want to forgo.
 
The
thought of never being this close to either of them was heartbreaking.

“No, it doesn’t excuse what he said, but he hasn’t
accepted the changing of time as easily as I have.
 
He’s much too serious.
 
I have embraced the changes through time more
readily than he has and enjoyed the world around me.
 
Matthias shies away from the world,
preferring to be a silent witness than a willing participant.
 
So, in some ways, he still holds on to some
of the old tenants.
 
Someone
needs to open his eyes to what the possibilities could be.”

“I discussed it with him, his mind seemed set.
 
I won’t fight him on this, but then that puts
me in an awkward position.
 
If I turn to
you, I ruin your friendship.
 
If I walk
away, none of us finds happiness.”

“Britt, you are a woman beyond compare.
 
You’re stronger than any female I’ve ever
met.
 
Don’t give up on what could
be.
 
Go to him.”

“I tried.
 
I
won’t chase him.
 
If he can’t accept
this, then it’s all our loss.”

“You would walk away so easily?”

“Easily?
 
It will be the hardest thing
I ever do.”
 
Britt moved into Nicolas’
embrace, needing to feel his strong limbs around her.
 
Perhaps she needed one night, one night to
forget there would be no tomorrow for them.
 
She nuzzled his neck, smelling the masculine scent of him.

Nicolas’ lips found hers, his rough kiss searing her
nerve endings, the sensation sizzling to the tips of her toes.
 
He drew her even closer, molding his large
body along hers, allowing her to feel every inch of him.
 
His cock grew against her belly, letting her
know he was ready for more than her kiss, he wanted her body.
 
She wanted him as well, but feared pushing
Matthias further away.
 
Britt pulled from
his insistent mouth, her mind on only one man.
 
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the one in her arms.

“I want you more than I can put into words, Nicolas,
but without Matthias, it doesn’t feel right.”

“He had you alone on the plane.
 
I had to listen to the two of you, wanting to
join you and couldn’t.”

“I’m sorry.”
 
Matthias had wanted her to choose, and she’d been incensed.
 
It seems she
had
chosen all along.
 
“You
mean a lot to me, but I can’t be with you without him.”

Nicolas stared at her for a long moment, a wash of
disappointment running over his face before he caught the emotion and hid it
away.
 
“I’ve lived a long life filled with
folly, running after wine, women, and song.
 
Matthias was always the strong one, his shoulders bearing the weight of
more than they ever had to.
 
He has never
found love.
 
Of either of us, he deserves
the happiness you could provide.
 
I will
walk away; I know the connection you share with him is stronger.
 
Better that one of us hurts than all of
us.
 
Go to him.”

“I don’t want any of us to walk away.”
 
She felt a strong connection to them both,
but what he said wasn’t a lie.
 
There was
definitely a stronger pull toward Matthias.
 
“But you would do that for him?”