“Besides,” Zeph said, “a girls’ night lets us catch up.” Her bright sapphire gaze lit on Stella with disconcerting intensity. “Stella can tell us about having sex with Jak.”
Stella choked on the mulled wine she’d just sipped as Lena shot up straight from the trunk she’d been rummaging through. “What?” Lena demanded. “You had sex with Jak? When did this happen?”
Ambushed, and very much unused to being the center of attention, Stella found herself backing up and had to make herself stop. “I didn’t,” she protested, but it came out weak and far from convincing.
“She did,” Gen told Lena. “In the carriage.”
“The sweet, sweet scent of sex was all over both of you,” Zeph confirmed cheerfully. She sat cross-legged on one of the two beds and patted the spot next to her. “Now tell us all about it.”
“No,” Stella replied. They all continued to look expectant. “We didn’t have sex, and I’m not talking about it.”
“Yes, you are,” Zeph informed her.
“You’re blushing,” Lena pointed out with a delighted smile. “Something happened.”
“And we want to know every little detail,” Zeph said.
“Maybe not every detail,” Gen countered. “But we definitely want to know what happened between you. Was it romantic?”
Was it? Probably not by any reasonable definition. It had been surprising, and hot, and so very sexy.
“The look on your face, Nilly,” Lena murmured. “You have to tell us.”
“At least tell us if the rumors are true,” Zeph pleaded. “Is he as well-endowed as the stories suggest?”
“Don’t you know?” Gen asked with surprise.
“Why would I?” Zeph seemed genuinely perplexed.
“I figured you and Jak had been lovers at some point,” Gen replied.
“No way.” Lena shook her head, finally extracting her own sleepwear from the trunk. “Not Jak.”
“I haven’t had sex with everyone,” Zeph complained.
“Almost everyone,” Gen corrected. “And I know you flirted with Jak.”
“So did you,” Zeph retorted, but without heat, her gaze lingering on Stella thoughtfully. “And maybe I suggested a romp to him a time or two, but he wasn’t interested. We all know that Jak has only ever had eyes for Nilly.”
“True,” Gen agreed on a sigh. They all looked at Stella again. “So…” Gen drawled. “Are you still a virgin or not?”
Clearly, she wasn’t escaping this room without telling them something. “I am still a virgin,” she replied, sounding prim to her own ears. “And going to stay that way, as you are all perfectly aware that it’s difficult for me to have physical contact with anyone.”
“Difficult is not impossible,” Lena said, meticulously folding the clothes she’d shed and wriggling into a set of bronze velvet pajamas that complimented her brown skin and gorgeous caramel hair. She settled onto the bed next to Gen, fluffing the pillows behind her. That left Stella facing her inquisitors—or taking the spot next to Zeph.
“Nevertheless,” she said, “we did not touch. Aside from what I needed to do to heal him, we did not have any physical contact.”
“That’s not saying much.” Zeph sipped her wine, eyes knowing over the goblet’s rim. “There’s a lot of sexy stuff you can do without touching. Aha! She’s blushing harder. Was that it? Did Jak put on a little show for you?”
How does she know? Stella’s blush had gotten so fierce it felt like her cheeks might burst. Clutching her own goblet, she put her head down and sat on the bed next to Zeph. At least that way she wouldn’t have to face them. “Maybe,” she admitted in a small voice.
Zeph clapped her hands, crowing with delight, an echo of her gríobhth First Form in it. “Go, Jak! Ha. I love it.”
“Wait, what do you mean?” Gen asked. “What kind of show?”
“He jerked off for her,” Zeph explained patiently.
Gen’s soft indigo eyes grew round, and she leaned forward to stare at Stella. “Really?”
With a huff of impatience, Lena crawled around Gen and sat on the edge of the bed, bare feet dangling. “I’m with Zeph now,” she said. “I want to know everything.”
“That’s all there is to know,” Stella tried, to a chorus of protests.
“Is this something that guys do?” Gen demanded.
“Not for me.” Lena sounded disgruntled about that.
“Some of them,” Zeph said, stretching out toward the foot of the bed to lean on her elbow. She slid a grin at Stella. “The confident ones. Our Jak is comfortable in his skin. And I bet he was happy to show off for Nilly. Wasn’t he?”
Still mortified, Stella simply nodded. Then drained her wine. At a nod from Zeph, Gen plucked up the carafe from the warmer on the table between the beds and refilled Stella’s goblet. Stella didn’t normally drink much, as the alcohol tended to make her shielding more permeable, but tonight she needed the release. Besides, she’d grown up with these three and was used to their psychic presences. That could be true about Jak, too, she supposed…
Zeph nudged Stella’s hip with her toes. “How big?”
“I don’t have any basis for comparison,” Stella informed her.
Lena held up her palms about a hand’s length apart. “This big?”
“Bigger,” Stella admitted, and all three girls hooted with glee. “Shh. Someone will hear.”
“Pfft,” Zeph scoffed. “Only Rhy and Astar have the ears for it, and all three guys were planning to hit the tavern and do some drinking.”
“All right, Nilly. Enough dancing around this.” Lena pointed at her. “Put down that goblet and show us. Length and girth.”
Knowing her friends would never give up—and that they’d forgotten their troubles in the merriment of the conversation, which they all needed—Stella complied. Putting down her wine, she held her hands apart.
“No!” Gen gasped. Lena fell onto her back as if struck dead, and Zeph whistled, then poked her toe into Stella’s hip again.
“And the girth,” she reminded her.
Lena popped back up again, mouth falling open as Stella approximated Jak’s girth with rounded fingers.
“Moranu take me,” Zeph murmured reverently. “I should’ve tried harder with Jak.”
“You were too busy chasing Astar,” Gen retorted, more out of habit than anything, as she sounded a bit in shock.
“And very pleased to have caught him,” Zeph agreed happily. “Though Astar is more like—” She levered up to demonstrate with her hands, and Stella shut her eyes and clapped her hands over her ears.
“Lalalalalala,” she sang. “I do not want to know about my brother’s member!”
All three girls broke out giggling, so Stella figured it was safe to look again.
“His member.” Zeph rolled her eyes. “Nilly, sweetheart, if you’re going to be doing nasty sex games with Jak, we need to teach you the proper filthy terms.”
“I am not going to be doing any such thing,” Stella informed her.