Homelands Pt. 05 Ch. 06

So Veronica did just that.

And she took her time doing it.

Trying to imagine what Nick would do in her shoes, and trying not to let that upset her, Veronica slowly made love to every part of her sister's body. Every moan and sigh from her sister made her own pussy quiver. When she finally made her way between her sister's luscious thighs, Veronica savored the sweet yet salty nectar of Patty's juices.

Just as it got to be time to switch places, Nick emerged from the shower. The sight of those hard muscles, dripping wet and glistening in the afternoon sun, made her ache even more fiercely than she already was.

Over the next few hours, the jealousy Veronica had felt earlier stayed mercifully at bay. It wasn't that Nick and Patty didn't give her any reason to feel justified for being concerned. In fact, it was clear to her that when it was all over and her blood cooled off and she had a chance to overthink things again, she'd be even more anxious than ever.

But the pleasures they visited upon each other in that bed made it impossible for her to think about anything else.

#

The bedroom was exactly what Annie expected. Large, but not nearly as lavish as it could have been if her father had really wanted to go all out. All hardwood floors and dark, earthy tones with luxurious but comfortable furnishings. The bedposts and the legs of the furniture were gilded dragonclaws. But other than that, there was no sign of the mythical beast that her father deemed an expression of his true inner self.

She'd almost expected to find statues of them everywhere. Or a fireplace made to look like a dragon's maw. Perhaps a painting of a dragon above the bed. But that would be too blatant, too ostentatious, for her father.

If any of those things had been there, though, Annie would probably just have found them endearing. There was something delightfully over-the-top about her father's little obsession. She liked the idea that she'd tamed a dragon. Sat atop him and flew up into the sky, her head filled with clouds. Drank his fire.

The possibility for terrible metaphors was endless.

Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to the bedroom.

Though it was thoroughly impressive, it wasn't the type of room that would make her feel she was spoiling if she so much as opened a drawer or sat on a couch.

"These are your quarters," her father said, sweeping his hand out like a game show host.

A slap in Annie's face.

"My quarters?" she asked. "I...I thought I'd stay with you."

He turned around and cocked an eyebrow at her. "Well, you need somewhere to keep your stuff, don't you? A place where you can have some privacy when you need it?"

Her heart raced. Was he suggesting what she thought he was suggesting?

"Of course you're welcome to share my bed whenever you want," her father said. "And I do hope that's where you'll be tonight. But I've learned the hard way that too much of a good thing can really kill all the intimacy."

"You want me to move in?"

Annie felt like an idiot the moment the words left her lips.

Of course that's what he was saying. Did she need it spelled out for her?

"There's no pressure here," he said, stepping closer to her and placing a hand on her shoulder. "You can think of this as your second home. Spend as much, or as little, time here as you want." A hint of a smile formed on his lips. "No one's trying to steal you away from your mother and your grandparents."

"Of course not," Annie said. "I didn't mean that."

He kissed her forehead then turned back to the room. "There's a TV behind that wall there," he said, gesturing towards a panel of stained wood. "A minibar underneath, of course. But don't tell your father," he added with a wink. "The nightstand drawer has some toys you may or may not want to use. And there's a bunch of fitness equipment in the closet." Turning back to her, he said, "In time, of course, you'll realize that you can do whatever you want with the place without so much a lifting a finger. But I know it's all still new to you. So I tried to think of everything."

"Th-thank you," she said.

Why was she stammering? Could there be a worse time for her spine to turn to jelly and her tongue to bloat up lie a blowfish?

"Take some time. Settle in. Figure out where everything is, make yourself pretty, have a drink," her father said. "When you're ready, you can join us out on the veranda."

"Us?" she asked.

"There's someone I'd like you to meet," he said. Without any further clarification for that little bombshell, he kissed her on the cheek and left her all alone in her quarters.

Annie sighed the kind of sigh that she'd previously thought could only come from kids who wore all black and tons of eyeliner.

She didn't feel like watching TV or working out or drinking by herself, let alone experimenting with her new sex toys. That would only make her father's absence more unbearable. All she wanted to do was be with him. Preferably just the two of them, at that. But if he wanted her to meet someone, she'd humor him.

Like a good daughter.

It would look weird if she went right down, so she walked around the room, opening drawers and running her hands along the edges of the hand-carved furnishings. That ate up all of three minutes. She hadn't even looked in the nightstand. With a nod to herself, Annie decided to take a quick shower. It was still hard not to think about her dragon mounting her, but the cold water did help cool her jets a little.

Afterwards, she took her time getting dressed. Even if she hadn't been looking to eat up time, that much would have taken forever, what with all the choices her father had left her.

The top part of the wardrobe was full of beautiful evening gowns, cocktail dresses, skirts, and sundresses, all in a variety of cuts, colors, and lengths. In the drawers, she found all manner of other garments, from bras and panties in her exact size to lingerie and casual wear. There were tank tops, gym shorts, pajamas, jeans, T-shirts, blouses, everything. Some of it wasn't quite her style, but a personal shopper who'd known her for years could have done worse. In fact, the only things that she had trouble picturing herself wearing were the fancier things. Her father somehow knew the exact right shades of the right color. To judge by how well represented each was, she even thought he could tell the difference between colors she absolutely loved and those she wore only once in a while.

After much indecision, she settled on a little black dress. It didn't show a lot of imagination, but she figured that you just couldn't go wrong with a classic like that. And it made her feel all grown up to wear it. Girls her age only slipped into stuff like that for prom night.

The vast collection of shoes that greeted her when she opened the closet almost made her cum. Row after row of pumps, flats, heels, boots, sandals, and tennis shoes stared back at her. She knew right away that she'd be able to find the exact right pair for any outfit, on any occasion. And they were, of course, all in her size.

Ultimately, she settled on a pair of black stilettos. The pair of with the silver bows were tempting too, but she wasn't feeling daring enough for anything quite so catching. Even though there were some beautiful necklaces that would have gone perfectly with them.

Annie didn't feel comfortable dipping into the jewelry collection. Her father wouldn't have put it there if he didn't intend for her to wear some, but it still felt like she'd be breaking some kind of rule. That stuff belonged to some other woman. An older woman. With enough class and elegance to know that real jewelry was the kind you wore around your neck, on your fingers, or in your ears, not dangling from your belly button or sticking out the side of your nose. What had ever made her think that looked good on her?

After going through the wardrobe and seeing the wonders awaiting her inside the close, it didn't surprise Annie in the least to find the makeup kit of her dreams in the bathroom. She knew that their kind didn't need to use cosmetics, and not just because they were naturally beautiful. Supernaturally so, she reminded herself. Point being, if she felt the need to augment her appearances at all, she could do so with a mere thought. Or should have been able to. As her father had said, this was all still new to her.

So Annie did her best to accentuate her eyes with some mascara, eyeliner, and eye shadow. Then she applied some brick red lipstick. Her skin had become so flawless ever since she'd come of age and instinctively dropped her mortal guise that she didn't need anything else. It felt like she was cutting her routine in half though.

How had her mothers and sisters kept it all a secret from her for so long?

She'd known that she was different from other girls. Had spent hours online reading about women who didn't get their periods until they were in their late teens. But aside from the whole lack of menstruation thing, she'd had no idea that her body was any different from that of her girlfriends. That the awkward bouts of acne she'd suffered through, and mastered the art of disguising, had only been a manifestation of some mask she'd subconsciously worn. It seemed so crazy to go to the effort of forcing herself to have imperfections that she then went to great pains to hide just so that she could fit in.

But that was all behind her now.

Here, in Summer, she could embrace her inner goddess. Flaunt her true appearance, without any shame or fear.

That thought sent shivers down her spine. Though there were still things she'd like to change about herself, she was one sexy bitch. And it was getting easier to tell herself that without wanting to either laugh or cry.

Convinced that her father would have no hope of resisting her, Annie left the room. She had to force herself not to walk too fast as she made her way through her father's palace. In four inch heels, allowing her excitement to get the best of her was a recipe for a sprained ankle. Not to mention graceless as fuck.

The rest of the place belonged in a damned romance novel. Or maybe those silly fantasies that Veronica liked to read. The ones Annie had secretly borrowed a few times back in middle school, but had lost all interest in by the time she got to ninth grade.

There wasn't enough room in her mind to take it in though. She was too focused on how pretty her feet looked in her heels and the wonders her low-cut dress was doing for her girls. Her father would flip his shit when he saw her. He'd also do a good job of containing his reaction, because he never really let anything show. But she'd know.

At least, that was the hope.

Before reality smacked her in the face.

Her father's companion noticed Annie first, giving her a friendly wave. Even after the unjustly beautiful woman acknowledged Annie's presence, her father still didn't turn to face her. His eyes lingered on the impressive cleavage laid out before him. When he did greet Annie, he gave her a warm but brief smile then turned immediately back to the other woman.

As much as it hurt her to say so, though, she could see why she hadn't gotten the reaction she'd hoped for from her father. This other woman was gorgeous. She had a prettier face than any Annie had ever seen. Even Olivia would have been jealous. The woman's hair fell about her shoulders in a gentle waterfall, curling slightly at the tips. Near the root, it was dark brown, but the parts that had been exposed to the sun longer were closer to blonde. Her lightly tanned skin was shockingly pale by Summer's standards, but that only served to accentuate her big, dark eyes and her ruby red lips.

Why had Annie gone with brick red? Ruby was so much more striking.

As if that wasn't bad enough, the baby blue dress she wore was so flimsy that you could see everything she had to hide. And she was hiding the kind of body Annie wished she had. Her breasts were about the same size as Annie's, perhaps a touch smaller, but she was so much thinner that it seemed like she had a much bigger rack than she did. Her body was trim, toned, and athletic, but her muscles were far from bulky. Her waist was impossibly narrow. There were toddlers with thicker waists. Her legs were longer than made any sense, given that she was a few inches shorter than Annie. They were also enviably lean, with subtle hints of feminine curves but not an ounce of unwanted fat or excessive muscle.

Hell, Annie wanted to fuck the hell out of her right then and there, and she was trying her best to think that she was looking at a hideous beast.

Why did this woman have to exist? And if she was going to be so rude as to do that, couldn't she at least exist elsewhere?

"Annie, I'd like you to meet my sister, Nina," her father said.

For a moment, Annie's heart soared. That meant she wasn't competition for Annie after all. But then she remembered that all anyone did in this world was fuck their relatives. That the man she was afraid she wouldn't be able to hold on to was her father. It only made things worse that Nina was his sister.

Annie tried to see the family resemblance, but failed. The only thing the two of them had in common was medium-brown hair and fairer skin than the rest of Summer's children.

For starters, there was the eyes. The first thing everyone noticed about Annie's father was his gorgeous green eyes. But Nina's were brown, like Annie's.

Why didn't hers seem boring and ordinary then?

The differences didn't stop there, though. There wasn't even a hint of gray in Nina's hair, nevermind deep lines etched in her skin. No, the damn woman's skin was flawless. Truly flawless. She didn't have that sorta-young-sorta-not look that all the older women of this world, from her two mothers to her grandmother, seemed to have.

Nina looked young enough to be his daughter rather than his sister. Which would have made her Annie's sister instead of her aunt.

Her aunt. This woman that she was busy both hating and eye-fucking was her damn aunt. How much crueler could life be?

Nina leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Annie." As she stepped back, she brushed a lock of Annie's hair back from her face, proclaiming, "You didn't tell me your daughter was so incredibly gorgeous." Turning to her brother, Nina asked, "Am I going to have to beg for the littlest bit of your attention now?" Then, back to Annie, "I will if I have to, but it's really embarrassing when I do. I really have no shame."

Annie giggled.

"She is gorgeous, isn't she?" her father said, giving Annie a grin.

As his eyes traveled up and down her body, his thick brows climbed higher and higher. Annie felt something very much like heat radiating out from somewhere deep inside him. She'd picked up enough from everyone else to know that meant she was reading his Libido, and to know what it was telling her, but it was the first time she'd ever experienced it.

Now that was what she'd been hoping for.

"Well, I hope you're more gracious in victory than I am in defeat," Nina said.

"Oh, stop," Annie said, blushing. "Look at you!" With a jerk of her thumb towards her father, she added, "He just might end up sitting on the sidelines, lonely and neglected."

That got a grin out of her aunt, and a chuckle out of her father. Then he planted a lingering kiss on the top of Annie's head.

"Lucky for me then, your aunt won't be around too often," he said, letting his hand settle on the small of Annie's back. "At least not for a few more months."

"Why is that?" Annie asked.

"Our children aren't yet of age," Nina said. "I spend most of my time in Orange County, playing single mom." Turning to her brother, who she offered a playful smile, she said, "Seems someone is more interested in making babies than he is in raising them. Hmm?"

The world began to spin.

Her aunt's use of the word "our" had given it away, but it had still taken that last bit to really drive it home for Annie. The two of them had children together. Brother and sister. Against what everyone kept telling her was the only stricture their people had.

Silly as it was, Annie felt wronged. If not by the act itself, which had to have taken place when Annie was still a toddler, then by his decision to keep it from her. But of course he had. Was he to broadcast to the whole world that he'd committed the one act that was forbidden to their kind? Besides, he was telling her now, more or less. How much sooner could she have realistically expected him to reveal it?

On some level, she felt disgusted too. But that was no less ridiculous. If it was okay for her to sleep with her father, for all of them to sleep with their closest relatives, why the hell couldn't they have each other's children? It hadn't made any sense to her when Nick had informed her that it was the one thing they couldn't do.

It also got her blood flowing. Why Nina and not her?

Well, there were plenty of good reasons why. They'd known each other their whole lives. Grown up together. Annie was practically still a stranger to him.

But what if?

That was when she noticed that the silver dragon's head sitting atop her father's cane was no longer missing an eye. Another emerald had appeared. Of course, that could have meant a lot of things, not least of which being his ascension to the throne. But Annie told herself that it was for her. He'd found a second someone to show him the world.

"That's not fair," her father said, in response to the charge Annie had almost forgotten that Nina had made against him. "I've spent a lot of time with them. And would have been glad to be there more, if I could have been."

"I know, I know, your duties as Shadow kept you very busy," Nina said, rolling her eyes. Then, to Annie, she said, "I only agreed to help him orchestrate all of this so we won't have to lie about, or to, our children when they're ready to join the court."

"Orchestrate what?" Annie asked.

Her father gave her an expressionless look. "Your brother and sister weren't kidnapped."

Annie managed not to gasp, but it was a close call.

But, then, of course they weren't. Why else would he have responded so casually earlier when she'd asked about them? If they were still in danger, still missing, that would have been utterly callous. If only subconsciously, she'd known then that her father had lied from the outset. She just hadn't allowed herself to admit it, because then she'd have to consider the possibility that her father wasn't trustworthy.

"They ran away," he continued. "I just said what I said so that all of this could happen."

"So we could be together?" Annie said, heart pounding.

He offered her a wan smile.

No. Of course not. They could have been anyway.

This wasn't about her. It was about putting him on the throne. Like Nina said, the point was to let their children enter the court as their children. For that to happen, he had to be in a position where there was no one above him to punish him for breaking the rules. Everything else was just incidental.

"I don't get it," Annie said. "Couldn't you have taken the throne at any time anyway?"

Nina shot her brother a flat look. No, not flat. There was the tiniest hint of amusement at the corner of her aunt's mouth.

"Some people take risks," he replied, more to his sister than his daughter. "Others prefer to have a sense of how things will turn out before they push any chips in."

"So, what, you lied to us because you wanted someone to distract the king before you took your shot at him?" Annie asked.

Her aunt laid a finger on the side of her nose.

"Look, I know you must be upset," her father said. "And I'm very sorry about what happened to your uncle. But the two of you are making it sound like I had a really good chance before and I held out for a really really good chance. That's not what happened."