Teasing

"I prefer just you and Bella." My eyes flicked up to Vera, but she just smiled at me. She wasn't mad that I had just said I didn't want her.

Isa turned her head to look at Vera and her hand slid lower to play with my abs and try to distract me. I felt Isa's worry fade as she studied Vera. How women can ready each other like that amazed me. I wasn't sure they weren't mind readers. "If he had taken you as a wife, like me and Bella that wouldn't be the case. I am happy you seem to realize he wasn't rejecting you, or under valuing you."

Vera moved her hand up Isa's side and leaned in so that she was almost kissing Isa's back, "I know that. He wishes the cause to be gone. I am so happy to not have to try and read this man. You and Bella think more like he does, and I do not. I cannot thank you enough for keeping me out of trouble with him. I am fine following someone else's lead with him."

I saw the smile as Isa turned back to me. She tucked her head under my chin as she thought. It was hard not to listen. "While you might be right that 91 would solve a potential confrontation on rank between your slaves and your wives, I don't think you would be capable of meeting your requirements. Even more so if she chooses to fight you on it."

"Oh, but I have the perfect plan for that already."

Isa frowned at me, "What?"

"That is your and Bella's problem. Their children fill your debt, remember. I think our mother is still sure you will take over the branch house. I don't pretend to understand what our lord might be thinking about it, but I know you two. You could never order a family member to their death. I don't blame you but that means you cannot run a house. As it does require you to look at life like a disposable commodity. Sooner or later, you have to lose a match, or you lose other things your house needs to survive."

This was not a conversation I wanted to have with two women in my bed, so I stopped. I had love in my hard heart for all three of them, but not nearly as much as I had for my small Diamond. I didn't want to hurt any of them, but life would do that, or death would, eventually.

That was like throwing cold water on the situation. I reached out farther to pull Vera tight into Isa who was already tight against me. Isa was silent in thought; Vera was silent because Isa had been. Vera had been on the street for a long time. She hadn't been worried about even meeting the law let alone being able to become a Matriarch, so she hadn't lost anything becoming a slave. She might have gained in many ways.

After a moment of holding them close. I kissed Isa's hair and then Vera's cheek, before disentangling myself and standing up. I was crazy to think that there were more important things to be doing than those two, but it didn't stop me from knowing it was true.

Isa looked up at me from the bed. "You aren't wrong. We just cannot get away from abusive behaviors in this life. I will talk to Bella about it. You really think a house daughter cares for her son?" I couldn't stay standing and dropped onto the edge of the bed, holding my head. Isa moved quickly to hold my shoulders. She had seen me like this before. "Vera, go tell the messenger that Mir is awake."

I tried to reach out to stop Vera from springing away, but I was too slow. The messenger already knew I was up. I could feel him not far away. "I am ok, Isa. I just overused myself yesterday. I can tell you for sure that if that woman doesn't love her son, she is a hell of an actor. It is hard for me to stay angry with what that dirt did, as I now know everything, he was weighing to come to the conclude that led his mother to be holding that knife in the alley." The memories were fading but the ones that I thought were important had haunted my short sleep.

Isa kissed my neck and moved up to softly lick my ear before she spoke just as softly to me. I could feel the messenger moving closer, he would be here soon, "Bella and I will deal with it love. There are enough slaves here that we should be able to feel safe talking to the dirt without you. We will handle this as well."

Her words took some of the tension off my shoulders and made my head a bit clearer. I leaned my head away from her exposing my neck to her even more as her hands worked down my arms and she bit my ear lobe before moving down my neck with light kisses.

The messenger was at my main door now. I knew he could see us. I knew he could always see us so what did it matter if he came in. "How did yesterday go for you then?"

The messenger let Vera open the door. She seemed worried as she moved into the main room. I could feel the messenger trying not to feel anything, but he seemed annoyed. That was strange. I normally couldn't read the specials through the black flames.

"Not bad once I convinced your brothers I was not going to let them come with me." I could feel her annoyance at having to convince them. I caught a flash of Travis being particularly hard to convince. I wasn't sure what I saw but I think his wives might have distracted him more than he agreed to let Isa leave alone. "Vera helped me fine the people I most wanted to talk to. She is right they aren't worried about meeting the law at this point. What I found strange is they aren't afraid of hard work either. They thought it was strange that-"

Isa cut off as the bedroom door was opened by Vera. Isa just remembered she was undressed and ducked behind me more. She looked for the sheet, but it would require her to move from behind me to get it. I founded it funny that Isa was worried about being exposed before a messenger, but Vera had just walked through the whole house with only a collar on. I wasn't worried about either of them. Though Vera couldn't order the other slaves away from her they could not with intention hurt her, and my brothers knew I would skin them alive if they touched what was mine without permission.