“Don’t do it,” Amber said after Zoe closed the door.

  “Do what?” I asked, sitting next to her on the bed.

  “I don’t want to talk with you,” she replied.

  “That’s perfect, because I want to use your sweet little mouth for something entirely else,” I joked, brushing her white hair away from her face so I could see it. “What bothers you, little elf?” I asked.

  “You!” she growled, getting up from the bed and walking to her bag on the table. It seemed like she was looking for something, but in the end, she was just taking things out and putting them in.

  I stood behind her and wrapped my arms around her. Pulling her into a hug, I stopped her from rummaging through her bag. “And what’s the real problem, Amber?” I asked softly, my breath brushing against her long ear.

  At first, she tensed in my embrace, but then rexed, pressing her back into my chest. “I don’t have any clean clothes,” she murmured.

  I doubted Amber hated undry enough to have her mood ruined over it. Most of her clothes were still in Antranth anyway. Maybe she was already thinking about going back there. I didn’t believe she was down because she would miss me or because she feared traveling alone.

  More likely, it was the choice waiting for her in Antranth. Should she stay there? Pack for just a few days again? Take everything? One way or another, she had to decide - stay in Antranth, bring a few things here while still paying for her room there, or move everything to Ortas. To live with me. And my two girlfriends.

  “You don’t know what to do,” I murmured.

  Amber sighed heavily, just standing in my arms.

  Or perhaps she did want to stay with me, but asking if I wanted her would put her in a vulnerable spot. That wouldn’t be easy for her.

  “There’s a pce here for you, Amber,” I said. “I want you here, with me, Zoe, and Azura in our bed.”

  “That’s the problem!” she hissed, pulling out of my arms and shoving me back.

  I grabbed her hand and pulled her toward me. This time, she was facing me.

  “I won’t change that,” I said, looking into her pale blue eyes. “I have two girlfriends, and I will sleep with other women. If that’s something you can’t accept, then you should stay in Antranth. Maybe we could see each other from time to time, have some fun, you’ll sell us potions. Or… you can come back here. I want you to come back. I want you, Amber.”

  “As another toy in your collection?!” she scoffed.

  “It seemed you liked to be my toy.” I smirked.

  “Ghh! You’re impossible!” she grunted, trying to push me away, but I held her close.

  “My toy in bed, but outside of it…” I trailed off. I didn’t want to put a name to it, to commit to anything - especially when I didn’t even know if I would ever see her again after that morning. “Maybe something more,” I finished.

  Her angry expression rexed to one of uncertainty as she thought about it.

  “Would you want that?” I asked.

  “I don’t know,” she sighed. “If not for those two bi-” She snapped her mouth shut and swallowed. “If not for Zoe and Azura, then sure, I’d want to stick around and see what happens. Moving to Ortas isn’t such a big deal. I live in a tavern anyway. But they’re here. And they’re the problem. No! You’re the problem.” She jabbed a finger into my chest. “You’re insatiable!” she growled.

  “With a woman like you?” I asked, sliding my hands to her wide hips. “How could I resist?”

  She smiled softly, biting her lip, staring into my eyes.

  “Agh!” Amber groaned, tilting her head back, looking at the ceiling.

  “You knew what I was like from the start, Amber. And I’m not going to change. It’s your choice if you want to be part of my life. But I do want you in it.”

  She looked at me, remaining silent. I leaned forward and kissed her. Her lips responded as she pressed her body against me. We teased each other for a moment before she suddenly pushed me away.

  “You can’t stop thinking about sex!” she scoffed, moving toward the table.

  “With a hot elf like you?” I asked.

  “Don't bme me for that!” she interrupted me before I could finish my thought. “You just think with your cock all the time!”

  “Are you going to Antranth?” I asked, back to the serious topic.

  “Yes!”

  “Will you be safe on the road alone?”

  She stopped packing the things she had tossed on the table earlier and looked at me.

  “I hate you!” she hissed before turning back toward her bag.

  “And what have I said this time?”

  “Whatever,” Amber murmured.

  “Will you come back here?”

  “I don't know,” she replied as she finished packing.

  “If you don't come back, I’ll understand. But I’ll be waiting for you.”

  Amber stepped up to me. Grabbing the shirt on my chest, she pulled me into a kiss. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her close and squeezing her ass as our lips teased each other.

  “And who can’t stop thinking about sex all the time?” I asked, with our lips still brushing.

  She grunted, pushing me away, and moved out of the room. She left her bag, so at least she was staying for breakfast. I moved after her, and when we reached the ground floor, Zoe was waiting there.

  “Master, Azura and her mother are cooking breakfast. They will bring it in here,” she said, gesturing at the living room. “And I woke up Mari. She should be here soon.”

  “Thanks, baby.” I gave her a peck on her cute pink lips before we stepped together into the room.

  As I sat down, Zoe plopped down in my p, sitting sideways. Amber sat next to us, giving us a weird look, but it wasn’t long before Azura came in, holding a few bowls that she put in front of us with a grimace on her face.

  Hannah entered a moment ter with her two smaller daughters and more food for everyone.

  “Good morning,” I welcomed them. Hannah frowned, seeing Zoe sitting in my p, as she grunted a response. At least her youngest daughter replied cheerfully, while Alyssa waved her hand at me before she sat down next to her mother.

  Mari joined us a moment ter, sitting next to Amber as Azura sat down next to me.

  “Hey, are you alright?” I asked Azura softly, since she was still grimacing.

  “I don't like cooking,” she murmured.

  “Azura, sweetie,” Hannah said. “You will get better at it with time.”

  “I don't want to get better at it,” Azura replied with her head lowered.

  Hannah looked at her daughter with a frown before she sighed and focused on her food. We ate scrambled eggs with sausage and veggies in silence, though they tasted really good. Mari was the first to finish, eating quickly before getting up and leaving the room without a word.

  Once everyone else was done, Hannah rose from her seat. “Girls, pick up the dirty bowls,” she said.

  “I’ll take care of that,” I said quickly, standing from the table and setting Zoe on her feet. “You cooked, I’ll clean,” I expined when Hannah gnced at me. Not only did it feel fair, but I was also hoping to earn some brownie points.

  “Azura, do you want to go for a walk around the city? With me and the girls?” Hannah asked.

  Azura looked at her mother, thinking for a moment, but then she hummed a short no. “We’re going to the dungeon.”

  “The dungeon?!” Hannah gasped. “That’s dangerous!”

  And just like that, all the brownie points I’d been hoping for went up in smoke and blew out the window on the wind.

  “We stick to the lower levels,” I expined quickly. “We’re quite safe there. And Azura, you can stay if you want.”

  “No,” she replied.

  I turned toward Hannah and shrugged before I began to pick up the dirty bowls. Azura’s mother was looking at her with a frown in the silence that fell over the room.

  “We won’t be there for long, so perhaps you could go for that walk after we return,” I suggested, hoping to reach some middle ground between them.

  This time Azura hummed her agreement, which unfortunately her mother didn't understand.

  “It means yes,” I grunted, heading to the door.

  Hannah looked at me, then at her oldest daughter. “I’m gd we will spend time together, sweetie,” she said, spreading her arms for a hug.

  “Me too,” Azura replied, hugging her mom. I left the living room, with Zoe and Amber moving after me. The elf turned toward the stairs.

  “Bye, Amber,” I said, wondering if it was the st time I’d see her. When she didn’t respond, Zoe and I moved to the kitchen, where I started washing the dishes while she sat on one of the counters beside me, kicking her legs as her tail slowly swayed behind her.

  Before I was finished, Azura joined us, sitting next to Zoe, watching me.

  “What happened here?” I asked, wondering why Azura didn't like cooking.

  “I can’t cook,” she replied.

  “That’s why your mother wants to teach you,” I suggested. It could be a good chance for some mother–daughter bonding, and maybe it would help Hannah see that I truly meant well for Azura.

  “I don't want to,” Azura murmured.

  “Is there any particur reason?” I asked.

  Azura didn’t answer, but got up and pulled a pan from one of the cupboards. She set it down beside me and sat next to Zoe again. At first, the food inside looked fine, maybe just a little overcooked. The sausages, however, were cut into rge chunks and a bit too burnt, while the vegetables had been chopped so small they’d turned into pulp.

  “You hid it?” I asked with a smile.

  Azura hummed, not seeming particurly interested in expining anything.

  “Too much salt?” I guessed, since nothing else would’ve made it inedible.

  “And there shouldn’t be eggshells in it. And I overcooked it. And the sausage pieces are too big. The vegetables are too small,” she said, and from her tone it was clear those weren’t her own reflections, but more likely tips from her mother that Azura had taken as criticism.

  “And I cut myself,” she added, raising her hand to show me a tiny cut on her finger. It wasn’t anything serious, she had barely nicked her skin, but apparently it added to the whole situation.

  “I don’t like cooking,” she murmured, lowering her hand.

  Her mother had probably meant well, trying to teach her, but had only pushed Azura further away from it. Or maybe she just had two left hands when it came to cooking. Considering she hadn’t even used her hands for the st ten years, that could’ve been a problem.

  After I finished the dishes, I stepped in front of Azura. I lifted her hand and kissed the tiny cut on her finger. “You’ll be okay,” I said, kissing it again. “And your mother wanted to teach you, but more importantly, she just wants to spend time with you after not seeing you for so long.”

  “I want to,” Azura replied. “Just not cooking.”

  “You know you can stay and not come with us to the dungeon?” I asked.

  “I want to go.”

  It was her choice, and I wasn’t going to force her to do something she didn’t want.

  When we got back to our room, Amber and her bag were gone. She had left a few potions on the table for us, which I took as a good sign, since I still hadn’t paid her for them.

  As we prepared, I kept thinking about the elf, realizing that I really wanted her to come back. She was hot, sexy, and wild. She could make healing potions for us. But more importantly, I loved teasing her, those little exchanges we had. And then the big ones, in bed…

  I was hoping she would return.

  Once we were ready, Mari joined us on the ground floor. After a short farewell between Azura and her family, we headed toward the arena to meet Cassia. I’d need to expin that Tori wouldn’t be exploring with us anymore, and convince her we should still go to the dungeon, just the lower level.