Special Valentine’s special excerpt: Chris, Ylianor and Duncan’s unique pledge in Book 5 of the Virtus Saga

“Christopher Templeton, do you pledge your heart, spirit, body and mind to Ylianor Caldwell and to me, Duncan Caldwell, to be our lover, mate, friend and kindred spirit?”

“I pledge my love and my life to you both, Ylianor and Duncan.” Chris looked at each in turn. “So that we may be one while still being three. I want to be your lover…” His hand slipped down to fondle their sex. “Your friend…” He squeezed their hands. “Your brother…” He placed his palm over their hearts. “And your mate.” He touched their heads. “For as long as I breathe because it’s what my heart commands.”

Impulsively, he wrapped his arms around Ylianor and crushed her against him, ravaging her mouth hard and deep. “I don’t have any special sharing power, so I’ll have to rely on inadequate words.” Out of breath, he drew back slightly. “I love you, sleeping beauty, with all my heart and spirit. I’m just sorry it took me so long to see it. But now that I do, I want you next to me all the time, in and out of bed, in and out of life. And to put your mind at ease, this pledge is my choice. No family, no father’s threats would’ve ever convinced me to take a woman, any woman, as my companion, if she weren’t as special, as powerful, as beautiful as you are.”

“Demon…I…”

“No, sleeping beauty, not now.” Then he turned to the leader and pulled him close. “Sorry if I’ll sound repetitive, my dark handsome prince. I don’t know what other words to use, what new ones to invent to tell you of the depth of my love for you. I know now it must’ve started before time itself and will last until the end of time. So it sounds hollow to pledge it, along with my life, to you, but it’s exactly what I’m doing, ‘cause you are my everything and can take both whenever and however you like, to do with them as you please.”

“Angel…” He was not supposed to talk, not yet, so he closed his mouth.

“To you both I vow my undying loyalty and trust.” The flash in the blue-gray eyes was evident also in the semi-darkness. “But I also tell you I want no plans for the future—”

“Rules?” The princess’s question sounded sarcastic.

“No rules either.” The angel chuckled. “Just a whole lot of sex.”

“Agreed.” What else to say?

Then his gaze ran to his princess. “Ylianor Caldwell, do you pledge your heart, spirit, body and mind to Christopher Templeton and to me, Duncan Caldwell, to be our lover, mate, friend and kindred spirit?”

“I pledge my love and my life to you both, Christopher and Duncan.” She looked at each in turn. “So that we may be one while still being three.” She took a deep breath. “I want to be your lover…” Her palm pressed on their crotches. “Your friend…” She grabbed their hands. “Your sister…” She touched their hearts. “And your mate.” Her hand traveled to their heads. “For as long as I breathe because it’s what my heart commands.” Then she caught Chris, kissed him lavishly. “It’s not merely because I love you that I want to be with you, Demon. You are a hard man to please, and not just in bed…” Her smirk betrayed all the happiness she was trying to control. “You have an impossible life. Too much sex and an overwhelming love I can never hope to compete against, much less beat. But you’re also the greatest master of pain I’ll ever know, and the challenge of living with you every day of my life will repay me of all your numerous shortcomings.” She drew near enough to whisper in his ear, though not enough to cut Duncan out. “Never forget I chose you because you are such an impossible case, and it’s not love I expect in return, rather your respect and loyalty, when we’re not in bed, of course.” Letting him go, Ylianor spun to the leader, melting in his arms and his kiss. “I love you. I always have and always will. In you, I find my strength, my power, my very reason for living. When you also became the voice in my head, it proved beyond any doubt we belong to each other in a way no other two mortals are. So the love just grew, until I can’t think of myself without you, until at times I don’t know where I end and you begin.”

Yes, you do and much more. With an obvious effort, she pulled away. “To you both, I vow my love, my trust, my very life. They all belong to you, both of you, yours for the taking, not because I’m a submissive slave, but because I’m equal among equals, master among masters now and until the end of time.”

Now it was Duncan’s turn. “Ready, Princess?” He glanced at Ylianor.

“Yes, my love.” She nodded, before taking on a very solemn air. “Duncan Caldwell, do you pledge your heart, spirit, body and mind to Christopher Templeton and to me, Ylianor Caldwell, to be our lover, mate, friend and kindred spirit?”

“I pledge my love and my life to you both, Christopher and Ylianor.” He looked at each in turn. “So that we may be one while still being three. I want to be your lover…” The words rolled off sweetly, spoken a thousand times before, yet as true as when he had first uttered them. “Your friend…” He followed the same sequence Chris had set, along with the hand play. “Your brother and your mate, for as long as I breathe because it’s what my heart commands.” He spun to Chris. “Angel, what can I say more than I said in all the years we’ve been together? No one else has ever touched me as deeply as you. No one ever put me on fire like you do. No one ever made me rethink my decisions or turn them around as you did. No one ever challenged my heart and mind as much as you did. And I never want you to stop any of it, until there’s life in either of us.” His mouth closing on Chris’s sealed the words forever. Their tongues clashing awakened hungry desires and stirrings he already knew would be unquenchable too soon. Still, he wanted it all and drew back only when the need for air became more pressing than his angel’s intoxicating taste. “Princess, for you I have two words alone. Thank you.” He uttered them softly. “Thank you for being in my head, in my heart, in my spirit, my life. Thank you for the constant sharing. Thank you for the love and for having believed in it far more than I ever did. Thank you for having waited for me to come round to how immensely I love you. Thank you for putting up with my…insufferable lover, as you call him.” His wide grin took them both in. “Mostly, thank you for always being there as your own woman, never a submissive slave. You are our master, the one who teaches and gives us new strength every time your spirit breathes on us. You are our deep-rooted core, the one without whom we wouldn’t exist or be where we are today. You have made all this possible, so again I can only thank you. I…no…” He glanced at Chris and received a silent go ahead. “We can’t live without you.” He smiled broadly, opening his arms to invite both inside. “I can’t tell you how lucky I am to have the two of you in my life. I want to share everything with you, never as a leader, always as a lover. For you, there are no restrictions. For you, I’m always available. For you, I’ll always be there. To you, I vow my entire self forever.”

He held on to allow the feelings to sink in before moving on to the final act.

Which required a separation.

So he drew away, returning to his initial position.

“Princess, repeat with me.” He fed her the words before he said them, and she came right along with him. “As Leaders of the High Council, we acknowledge and bless our pledge. Let nothing human or otherwise ever come between us.”

With Ylianor working at his side, he combined the male and female components of their energy, until they flowed together, three different colored beams of red, yellow and dark blue—Chris, Ylianor and Duncan respectively. The three rays hovered for a moment in midair. Then plunged, mixing into a stream where colors blended and divided in a logic all their own, becoming amber, orangey, purplish, greenish, grayish or darker.

Now done, it sealed them forever.

And they were really one!