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  We all stepped inside and Lucian pointed to the walls of the chamber, which were curved into a kind of oval. In fact, the whole room was kind of like being inside a giant, stone egg. There was something in the air—some magic or power I couldn’t put my finger on that sent a tingling thrill down my spine. I wondered if whatever it was had preserved this room, keeping it safe and secure for centuries until it would be needed again by people like us.

  “Herein find the means to protect your female,” Lucian read. “The Chamber of Bonding admits all, bonds all, loves all. So it is the Chamber of Triune-bonding!” He pointed excitedly at the wall where there were more pictures of two guys making love to one girl. “If you have need to sever that which the Goddess has made between you, this chamber also holds the key,” he continued.

  “The Claw!” I exclaimed, pointing to where a picture of the golden claw had been drawn on the cave wall with little wavy lines of radiance coming out of it.

  “So what do we have to do to get it?” Drace growled.

  “Be patient, bond-mate.” Lucian frowned at him and continued reading. “But that which is not whole cannot be severed,” he went on. “A bond must be sealed before it is broken. Think well on what you do before you break what the Goddess has wrought and squander the love she has given.”

  “Um…does that mean what I think it means?” I asked in the long silence that followed. “Are we going to have to…”

  “Seal our bond before we can break it,” Lucian finished for me. “No wonder Tanta Loro said Drace and I wouldn’t be able to make it without you, ma 'frela—a psy-bond between two males can only be sealed when they bond a female to them.”

  “Makes sense.” Drace frowned.

  “Uh…” I shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. “Do you guys actually…I mean, are we really thinking of…of doing that?”

  “Of sharing you completely? Both of us making love to you at the same time, baby?” Drace’s eyes were suddenly half-lidded as he looked at me.

  “Gods, the feel of you between us…it would be so sweet.” Lucian stepped forward, his eyes blazing with lust.

  “Guys,” I said desperately. “I’m not sure about this. I mean, we’re all uh, dirty and grimy from trekking through the jungle all day.”

  “That must be why the ancients provided a cleansing pool—look.” Lucian pointed to the other side of the round, fur covered bed and I bit back a little gasp of surprise.

  Inset into a hollow place in the floor was a long, oval pool just a little bigger than the bed itself. It was so quiet and still I hadn’t even noticed it but when I took a step closer, I saw little wisps of steam rising from it. There was even a little pile of round, hand-made looking soaps at one end of it. Yup, all ready for a bath. A three-way bath, my mind whispered.

  Unbidden, an image rose before my mind’s eye—the three of us naked and washing each other in the pool, rubbing all over each other’s bodies with soapy hands. Then climbing out and making love on the fur-covered bed, touching and tasting…taking and opening…

  “This…this is some kind of a sex cave!” I exclaimed, taking a step back from the pool and the bed. “The people who built this wanted everybody who came in to have all kinds of kinky, menage a trois sex in here!”

  “It is the Cave of Triune-bonding,” Lucian pointed out mildly. “But I fear my bond-mate and I are getting ahead of ourselves…and forgetting the ‘no-sex’ clause in our contract.”

  “Lucian’s right,” Drace said. “This is the exact thing you wanted to avoid, baby—hell, that we all wanted to avoid—from the very beginning. Sealing the bond.” He looked at Lucian. “You’re sure that’s what the walls say?”

  Lucian scanned the hieroglyphic writing again. “Unfortunately, yes. You cannot break an unsealed or partial bond.”

  I took a deep, trembling breath.

  “Look—I promised I’d stick with you guys to the end and its not that I don’t want to keep that promise. And it’s also not that I don’t want to be with you—I do. I care about you both. I…” It was on the tip of my tongue to say that I loved them but somehow I couldn’t—couldn’t let myself go that far. “I want you,” I said instead. “It’s just…you’re both so big. I’m afraid you’d split me in two!”

  “Is that all?” Lucian looked relieved and Drace chuckled a little.

  “Is that all?” I demanded. “Isn’t that enough? I mean, I know you guys are supposed to make some kind of hormones that make a girl, uh, stretch but I just don’t see how you could possibly—”

  “Prepare you to take us both?” Lucian murmured. “Ah, but ma 'frela, you haven’t even given us a chance to try.”

  “He’s right, baby—if you give us a chance, you’ll see how gentle we can be…and how good it can feel to have both of us inside you at once,” Drace promised softly.

  I bit my lip indecisively. On the one hand the idea of taking two such huge shafts inside me at the same time was freaking scary. But on the other hand…

  On the other hand, look at their faces, whispered a little voice in my head. They want you…they care for you the way you care for them, Rylee. If they promise to be gentle, you know they will be. And besides, why don’t you admit you want this to happen…that you’ve wanted it for days, ever since the show you put on for Lord Mandrex?

  I had to confess it was true. I couldn’t help remembering the hot way the three of us had loved each other when we put on our little show for the rich Cantor Lord who looked like a fallen angel. I wanted to do this…I was just frightened. But maybe it was time to get over my fear.

  I looked back and forth between them.

  “You swear you’ll be gentle?” I asked.

  “So gentle you won’t feel even a moment of discomfort,” Lucian promised.

  “And we’ll stop if I say to?” I pressed.

  “You’ll be in complete control, baby,” Drace promised. “If you say stop, we’ll stop right away.”

  Lucian cupped my cheek in his hand. “Drace and I care about you, Rylee,” he murmured. “We would never want to cause you pain.”

  “Well…”

  Part of me couldn’t believe we were doing this, but I couldn’t deny my feelings for my guys any longer. It’s just once, I told myself. Just once and then we’ll all go our separate ways. What harm is there is having a beautiful memory to cherish and remember when we’re all separated?

  “All right,” I said at last. “But let’s get cleaned up first—I’m all sweaty.”

  “I think a dip in the cleansing pool would do us all a great deal of good,” Lucian murmured.

  “I agree.” Drace gave me a wolfish grin. “Come on, baby—let’s get relaxed and see where things go.”

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Rylee

  “Okay.” I lifted my chin, trying to make my voice strong. “Let’s do this.”

  I wasn’t afraid of this, I told myself, wasn’t afraid of being with both my guys at once. I could handle it.

  I leaned down and started to take off my boots but Lucian was suddenly kneeling at my feet.

  “Allow me, ma 'frela,” he murmured.

  “Yeah, baby—let us undress you.” Drace was behind me, tugging at the hem of the red, long sleeved tunic I was wearing. I lifted my arms and let him pull it over my head, baring my breasts to both of them as Lucian slid the boots skillfully off my feet.

  God, I couldn’t believe I was doing this and yet it felt so right. The more I had their hands on me, the better and more natural it felt. It felt like the power inside me—the binding power of a La-ti-zal which everyone said I had—was reaching out towards both of them. As though I was supposed to be doing this somehow.

  I didn’t try to fight it. Before I knew it Drace was standing behind me, his arms around my waist, pressing his warm chest to my back while Lucian was pulling down the red leggings that went with the tunic.

  I stepped out of them as Drace kissed my neck. I was embarrassed to note I was half naked now—down to the lacy red pantie