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  The big Kindred rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.

  “Remember that, uh, ‘cream’ you saw shooting out of the tip of my shaft when you were watching me in your dreams?”

  “Yes.” Brynn nodded, trying not to think of how he’d looked, fisting his long, hard shaft until the white cream had overflowed everywhere. “Yes, I remember.”

  “Well, that’s my seed—all males have it. A male needs to thrust his shaft as deeply as he can inside a female’s pussy before he shoots it—that plants the seed that takes root in her belly and makes a baby,” he explained. “Now do you understand?”

  “I…I think so.” Brynn felt her breath coming short and for some reason she kept imagining herself with Varin’s thick shaft buried to the hilt in her forbidden area. No, not forbidden area and not downstairs area, she told herself. Pussy—his shaft in my pussy.

  But just the thought of that made her blush and shift and squeeze her thighs together tightly.

  “Does it happen every time?” she wanted to know.

  “What? Does he shoot every time or—?”

  “No—do you make a baby every time, I mean,” she clarified.

  He barked a laugh. “Hell no, little one! If it did, every planet in the universe would be in danger of overpopulation.”

  “So you don’t just…just do it for that—to make a baby?”

  “No, you do it for pleasure.” The hungry look was back in his bronze eyes as he spoke. “To make each other feel good…to bring your female closer to you.”

  “Oh.” Brynn cleared her throat. “Thank you for telling me,” she said at last, not looking at him. “You…you must think I’m horribly ignorant.”

  “It’s like you said—you were kept ignorant on purpose,” he murmured. “And besides—you deserve to know what to expect before…” He grimaced. “Before you get joined to whatever male your father picks for you and go off somewhere.”

  “Will you…will you come with me? When I get joined and leave here?” Brynn asked softly.

  “Yes.” His answer was immediate and fierce. “Yes, Princess—I’m not leaving you—or letting you leave me—again.”

  “Oh.” For some reason it made her feel better to think of the big Kindred coming with her to wherever she went. “Thank you,” she murmured.

  “Welcome.” He nodded. “If that’s all, you’d probably better get to sleep. You’ve got a big day of dancing lessons and basket weaving and etiquette classes tomorrow.”

  “Ha-ha,” Brynn said dryly, recognizing he was making fun of her. It was funny but not funny too, because unfortunately it was true. “And what will you be doing?” she asked him. “Practicing in the Arena?”

  “I have to keep my skills sharp—I need to be ready to defend you at any time, Brynn,” he said seriously.

  “But you’re only here with me at night,” she pointed out.

  “Because that’s when you’re most vulnerable. And your day guards were trained specifically to protect you—so you don’t have to worry,” he assured her.

  “But when do you sleep?” Brynn asked.

  “I catch a few hours after training—I don’t need much.” He shrugged. “And it doesn’t matter where I am or what I’m doing in the palace—I can feel your distress if you’re upset. And if I feel that you’re in danger I’ll come to you, always.”

  “You’re…you can feel me?” she murmured, surprised.

  “Strong emotions, I can. And sometimes I get flashes of you—visions even when I’m not asleep and dreaming. The other day I saw you and that ridiculous Lady Amalthia while she was trying to teach you to arrange flowers. You looked bored—can’t say that I blame you.”

  “Lady Amalthia’s beautiful.” Brynn defended her head lady in waiting automatically. She didn’t exactly like or trust her very much, but sadly, Amalthia was the closest thing Brynn had to a friend here in the palace. Or she had been—until she and Varin had begun to talk. But were they friends now, Brynn wondered? Or were she and the big Kindred something else, somehow?

  “Don’t fool yourself—Lady Amalthia would stab you in the back as soon as look at you,” Varin said flatly, interrupting her speculation on the complicated nature of their relationship. “In fact, I wouldn’t trust any of your ladies in waiting if I were you—they’re all politically motivated.”

  “Who should I trust then? Only you?” Brynn challenged him.

  “I’m the only one with your name burned into their flesh, little one,” he pointed out in a low growl. “And the only one so attuned to you I can hear your heartbeat and pick out your scent in a crowded room. Yes, you can trust me. The others…” He shrugged. “Well, just be careful.”

  “I will.” Brynn drew her knees up to her chin, being careful to keep her skirt smoothed modestly down. “Thank you for talking to me, Varin. For…explaining things without laughing. Much,” she added.

  “I am happy to help, Mistress,” he rumbled, returning to a more formal tone. “Do you require anything else of your slave tonight?”

  “No—yes,” she said quickly, changing her mind as she remembered her original purpose. “I want you to…to stop…stop touching yourself,” she said in a rush.

  He raised his eyebrows. “So you don’t have to watch me anymore in your dreams? Or because you don’t like what you see?” He indicated his long, muscular form, still propped easily against the door frame.

  “It’s not that—you’re very handsome,” Brynn said and then blushed furiously, realizing what she’d said. “I mean—very strong,” she amended quickly. “Your body is very big and strong and…and, uh, muscular.”

  “I’ve made myself strong to serve you,” Varin said softly. “But if you like the way my body looks—”

  “It’s embarrassing, all right?” Brynn burst out. “And I…when I dream of you doing…doing that, I always wake up feeling so…so…”

  “Hot and bothered?” Varin suggested. “Restless?”

  “Well…” Brynn thought of how restless she felt, of how her breasts felt sensitive and the place between her thighs—her pussy—felt so hot and wet. “Yes,” she admitted at last. “I guess…that’s one way to put it.”

  “I tell you what,” Varin said reasonably. “I’ll stop it—stop touching myself—if you’ll try it yourself, at least once.”

  “You…you want me to…”

  “Touch yourself,” he growled softly. “Pet your soft little pussy, Brynn. Make yourself come.”

  “But…but why?” she whispered, her heart pounding. “Why would you want me to do that?”

  “So you can see how good it feels,” he rumbled. “It’s not fair for you to ask me to give it up unless you try it first to see exactly what it is I’ll be giving up.”

  “But I told you, I did try it,” she protested.

  “Yes, but only for a minute or two and you never made yourself come,” he growled. “That’s the deal—you touch yourself until you come and then see if you still want me to give it up. If you do…” He shrugged. “I will. It’ll be damn hard but I will—but only if you try it first.”

  “But…how will I know if I, uh, come?” she asked, feeling bewildered.

  “You’ll know.” His bronze eyes were burning and heavy-lidded. “You’ll feel a peak of pleasure and your inner muscles will clench. Your breath will come short and your nipples will get tight. Afterwards you’ll have a feeling of satisfaction—sometimes even sleepiness, as though you’re all done somehow. Well…” He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Will you try it?”

  “But it’s wrong,” Brynn protested weakly.

  “It’s not wrong to give yourself pleasure,” Varin growled. “Why do you think the Goddess gave you a soft little pussy that feels good when you pet it if she didn’t mean for you to touch it? You’re ignoring her gift when you cut yourself off from that pleasure.”

  This was pretty much the exact opposite of what Brynn had learned in the convent but somehow, when the big Kindred said it, it made sense. Still, she hesitated.