Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 55964 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 280(@200wpm)___ 224(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55964 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 280(@200wpm)___ 224(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
“You were distracted.” His voice is still arrogant and aristocratic, but there’s a faint thread of amusement in his tone. He strokes my cheek again, long, spidery fingers curling around my chin. “I will allow it. Did you…enjoy yourself?”
“Too much,” I admit, and he gives me a rare smile.
I smile back and it feels…good. Natural. Easy.
Thirteen
After that, Neska leaves to return to his threads. Zaroun insists on bathing me, and so we climb into the tub together, him leisurely pouring handfuls of water over my skin as I relax against his chest. I’m boneless and exhausted, but in the best kind of way.
My head is full of churning thoughts in contrast to my sated body. I think about Neska, and how he’d watched us, and Zaroun hadn’t noticed or cared. I think about how when I touched Neska, Zaroun would moan in pleasure. Do they all watch each other take turns with me? Do they all three feel it when I touch one of them? Or are they so connected in each other’s heads that they feel another’s response and react? If so, why be jealous of each other? There must be more to it.
“There is,” Zaroun murmurs lazily, tracing wet circles on my breast. “But it is not for a mortal to understand.”
I turn to look at him, because I know I didn’t say such things aloud. “Are you prying into my mind?”
He just smiles, his eyes covered by the now-wrinkled blindfold. “Perhaps you are just easy to read?”
Hmm. I don’t know if I believe that. I’ve always been good at hiding my emotions. It’s part of the job.
A spider scuttles into the room and drops a pod near the door just as my stomach growls. A wry laugh escapes me, because of course the Aspect of the Future would know when I’m going to be hungry. The sight of the spider reminds me of earlier, though, and Apple. “Is that more fruit?” I ask him. “How do the spiders find it and bring it here when there’s nothing growing around the tower?”
“They follow the threads.”
Another enigmatic answer. “What threads?”
“The threads.” He teases wet fingers around my nipple, making it tighten. “They stretch from life to life, but also from plane to plane and place to place. There is nowhere and no-when that cannot be accessed. The spiders see our needs and seek them out for us.”
Hmm. “Do you think they could bring me a recipe book? Or sweets? Something other than just fruit?”
“Again?”
Again, huh? “Yes, again.” I smile as he nuzzles my throat. “What can I say? I desire sweet things.”
“Then you should always have what you desire.” And his hand trails under the water to between my thighs, and then I’m not thinking about sweets (or anything) for hours.
“And that is how I acquired a pet spider,” I tell Aron’s anchor through my mirror. “I think they have told him to watch me and get things that I need, but I like the company.”
“A pet spider named Apple,” Faith echoes, blinking at me through the mirror. “You…you know that’s not normal, right? You know that’s fucked up?”
I chuckle, because Faith has such a crass way of saying things, and yet I appreciate her bluntness. “I know. But I like Apple. He’s very sweet and eager to please.” I push the needle through the soft, gauzy material I’m working on, glancing down at my embroidery work. “And the fact that he’s a spider doesn’t bother me any longer. I was wary of them when I first arrived, but I’ve grown used to the sight of them hiding in corners and lurking on the walls.”
In the mirror, Faith shudders delicately. “I am appalled. I mean, if you want a puppy, ask for a puppy.”
I tie off my stitches and lean in to bite the thread now that I’ve finished my work. “I’d be afraid Apple would eat the puppy.”
“This is an absolutely horrifying conversation,” Faith tells me in a cheerful voice. “Holy shit, and I thought things were weird here in Aron’s realm with all the sparks and lightning storms and people trying to fight each other at a moment’s notice. But you win. You are officially the anchor with the worst job. I won’t even fight you for the title.”
Am I the anchor with the worst job? “I truly think you are overstating things.”
“Me? Be dramatic? Never.” Faith grins at me through the mirror. “I’m glad you called, though.”
“Called?”
She waves a hand, dismissing my confusion. “Figure of speech from my world. I’m just thrilled to hear from you. You…you’re good, right? You’re happy? You don’t feel like we abandoned you?”
Her seeking gaze in the mirror is worried. I’m touched that she’s so concerned. I truly didn’t know what to think of the three Spidae and my choice to remain here when I initially made the decision. It felt as if I were out of options and only one true path to take. Yet as time passes and we all settle in with each other, I find that my contentment grows by the day. I look forward to seeing Zaroun, Neska and Ossev when they stop me in the halls or wake me from my sleep. I’m no longer worried that something is wrong when they approach me. I have fine dresses and all the food I can eat. I have a garden. I have a pet. I have endless, endless orgasms and three lovers who want nothing more than to make sure I’m well-pleasured, even though I’m supposed to be serving them.