Free Queens' Warriors by Mari Byrne

fortified with steel from the Klakin mines and provided both relief from intemperate weather, but also from invaders. There was more to the house than just what the eye saw, and the temperature could be better regulated in the underground portions of the house.
    The windows shone in the afternoon sun, his favorite view of them at this time of day. Looking behind him, he found the sun shone brightly in the colorful sky. Glancing back to the windows, he discovered them strewn with the various colors of their world.
    If you start to tear up, brother mine, at least let me take the woman. Wouldn’t want you to sob and accidentally drop her.
    The sarcastic voice echoed through Shan Lin’s mind, but he ignored it. He would remember the words next time he and Vincent sparred. Smiling, he urged his horse toward the solid wood door.
    Vincent was the first to reach the steps leading up to the door of their home. Dismounting, he left the reins on his saddle and murmured softly to his horse to find its own home. Patting it gently on the rump, the horse bumped its head against Vincent’s chest then turned and made its way toward food and shelter.
    Before he took another step, a bald man dressed in a shiny, flowing shirt, butter-soft leather pants and knee-high boots stepped out of the door and began speaking.
    “Ah, my Lords. It’s good to have you home. And I see you’ve brought a guest. Wonderful, just wonderful! I’m always grateful to have company. Will you be wishing a suite made up for her? Near the both of you, of course.”
    Ignoring the hand stretched out toward him by Vincent, the man strode past Vincent and down the steps toward Shan Lin and his horse.
    “Do get down off the beast and let me have her, Shan Lin.” Before Shan Lin could protest, the man stepped up to him and grasped hold of Shari. Taking her with a reverence he normally reserved for infants and children, the man cradled the woman carefully, then turned and made his way back up the steps.
    “Do be so good as to wipe your feet before you come in. Mistress Lichen has just finished cleaning the carpets and you know how she is about them. Don’t forget to bring in all your baggage as Josef isn’t quite up to the task. Poor man has suffered from another bout of the grimes.”
    Even as the man spoke, he continued toward the door, bent down to reach out his hand to the doorknob without jostling the woman he carried, opened the door, and on his last word, shut it behind him.
    Shan Lin and Vincent looked to each other, shrugged their shoulders then went about the tasks they’d been ordered to do. A smile lingered the entire time they worked. Whether the woman knew it or not, the man who had practically raised them, along with their parents before their mother’s death, had just accepted Shari as the brothers’ possession. Winters had just stolen their bride out from under their noses.
    The woman didn’t stand a chance.

* * * * *
    Shari awoke slowly, a feeling of contentment running through her as she stretched her body languidly. Remnant feelings of her orgasm tingled through her, while her sleepy thoughts steered toward the wonderful dream she’d just had. Absently, she wondered why she felt so much better. Nearly all the pain had left her body.
    Shrugging cautiously and not about to discount possible divine intervention, Shari remembered the two men gratefully and with benevolent thoughts. Apparently, they had worked a miracle. At least the one beyond the unbelievable orgasm.
    Two of the most gorgeous men she’d ever laid eyes on had just finished giving her the best orgasm it had been her privilege to partake of. Finishing her stretch, she reached her hand back under the sheet covering her to run her hand down her naked body.
    I’m alone in bed, still slightly aroused from my dream, and it’s not as if I’ve had anyone to share it with in awhile. Might as well indulge.
    Following those thoughts, she closed her eyes as her fingers found the springy